#this is the first one I've done in months

[toonice113]

Paper rings ᥫ᭡ Q. Hughes

Part one of three of my valentine series

Part two: False god - M.Barzal

Pairings: Quinn Hughes x fem!reader

Genre: fluff

Summary: Moments of your relationship with Quinn who you love so much you would marry even if he proposed with paper rings.

Warnings: mentions of weed, mentions of drinking, not proofread

Word count: 3.8k (counting the lyrics)

⋆˚࿔ tina's note 𝜗𝜚˚ I’m so excited for my first of three Valentine’s day series, hope you enjoy my first ever Quinn story and if you’re reading this go vote on the poll for what the other two stories should be!

The moon is high like your friends were the night that we first met went home and tried to stalk you on the internet now I've read all of the books beside your bed

You’d heard about Quinn Hughes before, how could you not when your friend group was also his friend group? But having transferred to the University of Michigan during your Junior year meant you had just missed meeting him as he had left for Vancouver the semester prior. Tonight however, you were meeting the infamous Quinn as he was in town visiting and you had been invited to the night out. You and a few other friends had decided to start the night bar hopping while the rest of the group opted for meeting you at the final bar, and that’s how you found yourself slightly intoxicated, you were responsible enough to only drink a little at each bar not wanting to be wasted before you met the rest of the group, at The Smoked Hut finally reuniting with all your friends, one of them, clearly high indicated by the red of his eyes and his notably more relaxed mood that you knew only came after he smoke a little, finally introduced you to Quinn and from the moment you saw him you were smitten, the rest of the night only solidified your little crush as you basked in his easy going personality and warm smile. That night back in your apartment the first thing you did was google him, finding out about his brothers, his parents, his hockey career and even what his favorite books were, feeling like a stalker you sighed closing the tabs and turning your laptop off before quickly turning it back on and ordering one of the books he had mentioned rationalizing the purchase with the thought of your goal for this year being to read more.

The wine is cold like the shoulder that I gave you in the street cat and mouse for a month or two or three now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe

“You know, I was thinking” Quinn says closing his book from his spot next to me in ou bed “Back when we first met, the first night I thought ‘wow that is the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen’”

“Mmm did you really?” You hum closing your laptop deciding you’re done with work for the night 

“Yeah I did, and then we had this great night with friends” He brushes a strand of hair off my face

“James made it great with his rendition of it’s all coming back to me now” You interrupt him with a laugh, he chuckles with you 

“The full version not the radio one” He adds “But then the next time I visited you didn’t even look at me twice, you said hi and that was it and I thought you hated me”

“I didn’t hate you” You tell him “On the contrary I had a huge crush on you and I thought if I spoke to you I would only embarrass myself” 

“So what changed your mind when you all came to visit?” You think back to the trip your friend group made to vancouver, you’d stayed for a couple of days and caught one of Quinn’s games

“Elena, she had just gotten with her boyfriend at the time and it all started because she took initiative, so I thought if she could do it so could I” You tell him about your roommate 

“And so you came to Vancouver, wore my jersey and made me fall in love with you” Quinn smiles at you 

“Well, no” You shake your head “If I remember correctly I tried flirting with you and you shot me down so I decided to give up on it all” 

“I didn’t shot you down” You raise your eyebrows at him “You just made me nervous, but I made it up to you the next time I saw you” He did, the next time he visited Michigan he finally asked you out on a date and a couple weeks later, even though you were in different countries you started a long distance relationship that followed you through college until now, here where you laid in Quinn’s arms in your shared apartment in Vancouver.

Kiss me once 'cause you know I had a long night kiss me twice 'cause it's gonna be alright three times 'cause I've waited my whole life

“Here you go” Quinn passed you a cup of hot chocolate giving you a kiss on your forehead before sitting next to you pulling you close to him “Wanna talk about it?” 

You sigh “It’s just a lot, There’s too much to do and every time I think I’ve got the workload under control new things are added into the pile” Tears threaten to spill from all the stress you’ve been carrying for the past few days 

“What can I do?” Quinn asks, you put your cup in the coffee table moving closer until you are almost on top of him 

“Just… be here” You tell him and he pulls you into a deep kiss only breaking it when you start running out of air, your head falls onto his shoulder, your own shoulders tense 

“It’s gonna be okay, you’re going to be alright, and I’ll be here for whatever you need” He says and when you look up at him, your teary eyes twinkling under the soft light of the lamp behind you he can’t help but to pull you in for yet another kiss 

“I love you” You whisper once the kiss is done “Thank you for being here” 

“I love you too” This time you are the one who kisses him, a sweet kiss that turns into a makeout session that ends with your clothes sprawled across the living room floor as you show each other just how much love you feel.

I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings uh huh, that's right darling, you're the one I want, and I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this uh huh, that's right darling, you're the one I want in paper rings, in picture frames, in dirty dreams oh, you're the one I want

“That ring was crazy” You tell Quinn as you both get into his car after finishing dinner with some of your college friends “Like we agree it was too much right?”

Quinn laughs starting the car “What, you don’t like shiny diamonds?” 

“I do, I love shiny things” You motion to your bracelets that shimmer with the reflection of the street lights “But that was too much, I swear her finger has to hurt from carrying that ring around” 

“Okay, taking note” Your boyfriend says, making you chuckle “Make sure that the engagement ring is not too big, but how big is too big?” 

“Quinn, my love you don’t need to worry about that” You tell him laughing “I know there’s no way you’d choose something as horrific as that” 

“But I want it to be perfect” He looks at you as you stop at a street light “You deserve the best of the best and I want to make you happy”

“I don’t need a big diamond to be happy, I have you and that’s enough” You stroke his cheek, his stubble scratching against your fingers, he hums in contentment closing his eyes for a moment before the car behind you honks when the light turns to green

“Still, I’ll get you the best ring I can find, if not diamonds, maybe emeralds? Or what about sapphires?” He asks 

“Huggy, I would marry you with paper rings if that meant I got to spend the rest of my life with you” You tell him and he takes your hand that he was holding onto to his lips, giving you a kiss while keeping his eyes on the road 

“You can’t say things like that when I’m driving” He says 

“And why not?” You ask 

“Because all I want after hearing those words is to show my girl how much I love her and- Fuck” His free hand slams against the steering wheel when he looks at the traffic in front of you, the cars slowly coming to a stop and you know you won’t be getting home any time soon, you laugh at his reaction and he can’t help the smile that pops in his face at the sound of you.

In the winter, in the icy outdoor pool when you jumped in first, I went in too I'm with you even if it makes me blue

You were in Michigan for a quick, rare, christmas with the Hughes, everyone was here, Ellen, Jim, Luke, Jack and a few more family members and friends, currently you were playing Jenga in the living room with a few of the Hughes cousins, it was the third time the tower har been rebuilt and so far one of the boy’s cousin, Isaac, and Quinn had lost, the next person to knock the wooden blocks down was joining the boys into the punishment, jumping in the pool, you were trying your best to survive till the end of the round, your tongue out as you pushed one of the blocks gently before pulling it from the other side holding your breath without noticing it, everything was fine until you placed the block on top, Luke cheered next to you and you swear his breath was the reason the tower fell. 

Walking outside with Isaac and Quinn you were already shivering, you had left your jacket inside wearing only a thin long sleeve and your yoga pants with no socks because you refused to wear wet socks ever “Don’t think about it just jump” Isaac said before following his words with the action and cannonballing into the pool

“Ready?” Quinn asked, you turned to the windows seeing everyone that had partaken in the game watching intently waiting for you both to jump in too “Hey it’s just a quick in and out, I’ll go first okay?” You nod cursing Luke mentally once again for breathing too hard and too close to the tower 

The splash from Quinn jumping into the pool meant you were next, bracing yourself, yet not giving yourself too much time to think about it, following Isaac’s words, you jumped in, a yelp coming out of you as your body submerged into the icy water, the group inside cheering at all three of you in the pool, a few phones taking pictures of you three.

The cheers seemed to bring in the attention of the older adults, Ellen rushing out with towels and blankets “What the hell do you think you’re doing? Get out of there now, you’re gonna get sick!” She called out and all three of you scrambled out bundling yourselves into the towels and then a blanket on top seeking some relief from the harsh cold “Isaac, Quinn how could you do this to y/n? C’mon on sweet girl let’s get you inside and into dry clothes” She pulled you in a side hug guiding you inside, the boys followed quickly “No no” She stopped them once you arrived at the doors “You are not bringing water in you wait here until your brothers bring you clothes” 

“But ma it’s freezing” Quinn complained shaking 

“Aunt Ellen she’s wet too” Isaac gestured at you, still wrapped under Ellen’s arms 

“And I’m sure this wasn’t her idea” Ellen says to the guys “There’s always consequences to your actions, think about it” You hid your laugh from Ellen after seeing the boy’s faces in disbelief, you were sure Quinn and his brothers, and probably Isaac too, had heard those words coming from Ellen’s lips a thousand times while growing up from what you had heard about their childhood. “Jack get your cousin and your brother some dry warm clothes” 

Which takes me back to the color that we painted your brother's wall honey, without all the exes, fights, and flaws we wouldn't be standing here so tall, so

“Are you sure this is the right color?” Quinn asks in disgust looking at the can of navy blue paint in his hands

“Yes Quintin, that is the color I chose for my room walls” Luke remarks making you chuckle “Not all of us like boring beige walls”

“But it’s so dark” Quinn complains once again “And my walls are not boring, right baby?” He asks you 

“No, your agreeable grey walls are very agreeable honey” You tell him holding in a laugh that you can’t help but let out when Luke bursts out laughing 

“Hey I was cleaning the drawers in the garage and I found these, you wanna keep them or should I throw them away?” Jack walks in holding a jar filled with little red and pink paper rolls and a candle, you were all doing some cleaning of the lake house before the rest of your friends arrived for the summer

“What is that?” You ask moving closer to Jack and taking the jar out of his hand

“Nothing important” Quinn takes it out of your hands before you get a chance to inspect it “Throw it away” 

“Hey!” You complain “I was curious” 

“It’s date ideas” Luke tells you from the other side of his room where he is taping whatever he doesn’t want the paint to cover “From Lainey”

“Luke” Quinn says sternly

“Lainey?” You hum remembering Quinn briefly mentioning one of his high school girlfriends with the same name 

“I didn’t know these were still around” Your boyfriend says quickly “I’m sorry” 

“Why are you apologizing?” You ask confused “Didn’t you date this girl in high school?” He nods “So why should it matter? We didn’t even know each other when it happened and I don’t really think that you are still hung up on your high school girlfriend after all these years just because your brother found some old gifts in the garage”

Quinn sighs “So trash, okay got it” Jack starts walking out after Quinn hands him the jar and you stop him before he leaves

“Wait! Is the candle scented?” Jack looks at it and nods “Give me” 

“It’s probably expired just let him throw it away” Quinn tells you, you wave Jack away keeping the candle 

“Do candles expire?” Luke asks and you shrug your shoulders 

“I don’t know but this smells nice” You say taking the cap off and sniffling it “We can put it in one of the guest bathrooms, maybe the UMich guys one, your friends are stinky” You tell Luke who shrugs in agreement 

When you walk out of the room to put the candle in the bathroom Quinn follows “I really promise I didn’t know that was still there or I would’ve gotten rid of it a long time ago” 

“I know Quinn, like i said this is from a long time ago, you had a life before me just like I had one before you” You say softly “And yet through it all we found our way to each other and that’s all that matters” 

Kiss you once 'cause I know you had a long night kiss you twice 'cause it's gonna be alright three times 'cause you waited your whole life

Sighing you check your phone one more time before starting the car, the score changed, but nothing good, in fact the other team scored another goal and with one minute left in the period you know there’s a very slim chance of the Canucks coming back from a 4-1. Pulling out of your work’s parking lot you start driving to the arena, showing your badge when you arrive and parking in Quinn’s parking spot, by the time you had arrived to pick Quinn up, the game had been over for around 10 minutes so you got out of the driver’s seat and sat in the passenger’s while you waited for your boyfriend to come out. You had never before picked Quinn up, usually when you came to the games you would take a cab to the arena and leave with him, but this time his car had broke down the day before and he had asked if you could drop him off and then pick him up after you were done with work and the game was over, you had accepted with hope that you might finish work early and get a chance to watch part of the game but your meeting had run late and by the time you were leaving for the arena it was too late.

A knock on the window made you look up from your phone, Petey was standing outside the car and you got out to say hi “Heads up, he had a rough night” He said into your hug and you thanked him once you let go, he waved and went to his car, Quinn coming out not too long after, you were still waiting outside of the car and the moment he saw you his tense shoulders relaxed and his eyes softened as he hugged you 

“That felt so long” He mumbled into your lips after you pulled him into a kiss

“I can imagine” You say to him “But it’s okay, it’s still early on in the season, have some faith” You kiss him again and feel him melt into you “Let’s go home and rest yeah?” 

“Mmm just one more” He pulls you into another kiss “Okay let’s go I don’t want to be here anymore” 

I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings uh huh, that's right darling, you're the one I want, and I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this uh huh, that's right

You had just come back from a girls trip, after being incredibly busy with work Quinn had treated you and your three best friends to a week away at a five star hotel in Punta Cana, it was the middle of summer and you had expected to arrive to a loud full lake house, but instead, when the uber that you had insisted on taking so Quinn didn’t have to drive all the way to the airport for you, you stood in front of a quiet and what seemed to be empty house. You walked in and found it weird that you boyfriend wasn’t waiting for you by the door, leaving your suitcase by the front door you walked through the house realizing that you were in fact alone, seeing a note from afar you assumed it was from the boys letting you know where everyone was, but when you got closer you noticed two paper rings on top of a sticky note that read ‘Thank you for making me the happiest person alive + becoming my love + best friend’ you gasped in surprise at it, your eyes filling with tears.

Behind you Quinn walked out of the pantry where he had hidden when he saw your uber pulling up in the driveway after sending his brothers a message that you had arrived so they could start driving the boat back from where he had sent them so you could all hopefully celebrate together after you said yes. He was nervous but reassured himself that this was something you had talked about before and you had told him, multiple times, that you could imagine a future with him “Since the first day I saw you, I knew I belonged to you, meeting you was like listening to a new song and knowing it would be my favorite” He spoke up making you jump a little before you turned around, the two rings in one hand, post it in the other “You make me feel so light and like every minute I get to live with you is a minute well spent, we could spend hours in silence and yet I’d still feel so full, y/n you are my first thought when I wake up and my last when I go to sleep, every love song suddenly fits us” By now he’s standing in front of you, holding your hands gently so you don’t drop the items in them “I found you without looking and I love you without trying, my heart is so full of you I’m not sure I can still call it my own, I swear I can’t love you more than I do right now, yet I know tomorrow I will love you more, so y/n, my love, with paper rings I’m asking you, Would you do me the honor of being the happiest man alive by being able to call myself your husband and love you a little more every day for the rest of our days?” He took one of the rings from your hands kneeling down, not being able to formulate any words you nod, he places the ring on your finger before getting up and kissing you deeply “I do have an actual ring” He fumbles with his pocket until he pulls out a gorgeous ring “I looked for diamond alternatives after we talked about it last, I thought you might like this one, but if you don’t then we can keep the paper ones until we find the perfect one” 

“Oh Quinny, this is… this is more than perfect” You look at the shiny ring that sits next to the paper one “Both of these are perfect and I love you so much” You kiss him once more “I can’t even… wow, I don’t even know how to follow that speech”

He chuckles holding you closer “You don’t have to say anything baby, the yes was enough for me”

You both what the back door open slightly, as if the person opening it wanted to be sneaky but failed miserably, when you both turn to look Jack stands there looking embarrassed about being caught sneaking in “I was tasked with checking on where you were with um… everything” 

“We’ll be right out” Quinn chuckles at his brother who nods and walks out “Ready to go celebrate with everyone?” 

“Everyone? I thought the house was empty” You say confused 

He hold you close and pulls you towards the backyard “Well it was” He explains “I sent everyone out on the boat so they wouldn’t spoil anything before I could ask”

“So?” Trevor asks as everyone looks at you expectantly, instead of replying you lift your left hand where both of your rings lay “Oh thank god, do you know how hard it is to make paper rings? Quinn had us watching tutorials for days!” Cole slaps his head as everyone laughs before rushing towards you to congratulate you.

Darling, you're the one I want in paper rings, in picture frames, in dirty dreams oh, you're the one I want I want to drive away with you I want your complications too I want your dreary Mondays wrap your arms around me, baby boy

[quartzteph]

HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY TGS!!!!!

I've had this design for a recombined Jekyll rolling around in my head for months now, so I finally took the time to draw him. For the sake of clarity I'll refer to him as Re!Jekyll (short for Recombined Jekyll) (also the prefix "re-" feels kinda fitting for him, since he is whole once again). I have many ideas/headcanons for him, but I'll put all that under the cut :)

As for the drawing itself, I tried to mimic the look of the comic for the most part. (Note: Many of the colors used here were colorpicked from the comic to ensure accuracy.) I wanted him to look less like a 50/50 mix of Jekyll and Hyde and more like a Hyde-ish Jekyll, so I opted to give him the same face and hairstyle as Jekyll, but with some Hyde-like qualities. Aside from the obvious blonde streak, his hair is fluffier, messier, and a bit longer. The hair tuft/sideburn things in front of his ears are based on a mix of the hair tufts that hang in front of Hyde’s ears and university Jekyll’s sideburns. While he mostly wears red, he likes to include a touch of green, as seen here in his cravat. Also he gets the dark eye circles, as a treat. (I just really like Hyde's dark eye circles and don't have enough self-restraint to not give them to Re!Jekyll.)

Bonus doodles cause i love my freak son:

Various headcanon ramblings about him (plus drawing process) under the cut:

When he's trying to look more respectable, he uses his now-longer bangs to hide his green eye. At first, he also attempts to make his hair look neater, but this is a near impossible task that he eventually gives up on. (He is doomed to live out the fuzzy-headed mad scientist stereotype.)

When people question his sudden change in appearance, he claims his blonde streak and green eye are the result of a chemical formula splashing him in the face (á la Two-Face). Yeah this sounds a little far-fetched, but he is charming enough to get away with it. (Besides, he knows way more about alchemy than they do, who are they to question it?)

This sudden merging of identities is initially super disorienting. It takes him a while to get used to it. (In the first few days, he keeps referring to himself with "we". He eventually breaks this habit tho.)

Has a bit of an identity crisis. (I'm specifically envisioning a scene of him staring at his wardrobe, mostly full of reds and greens, and getting stuck because he doesn't know what color to wear.)

Jekyll and Hyde were so used to having someone constantly there, listening to them and yapping in their ears (or in their heads, rather). Now, for Re!Jekyll, life feels so quiet. It's peaceful, but also a little lonely.

Has a bad habit of talking to himself aloud. When he's alone, he sometimes has whole conversations or debates with himself.

Struggles more with the mundane parts of his job due to having Hyde's impulsiveness and wanderlust. He occasionally has to take little breaks from all the paperwork when he becomes too restless.

He's still goopy. Moments of extreme emotion (stress, anger, excitement, etc.) can trigger the green goop. (Think that one scene in Ch. 14 when the priestess startles Hyde, causing goop to spew from his face.) I like to imagine the guilt of everything he's done hitting him and causing him to have a "that one scene in Howl's Moving Castle" moment.

In rare moments of severe inner turmoil or repression, he may even go into convulsions in addition to the goop, as if his body is trying to transform. (Feel free to disregard this one if you wish, this is 100% just me being super self-indulgent cause I love angst.)

Despite his many newfound struggles, he’s actually very happy! He now knows that Lanyon loves and accepts every part of him, and this helps him to better love and accept himself.

And now drawing process images! Shoutout to that one Re!Jekyll who is way too excited about something:

[sashaisready]

Valentine's Disaster

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Bucky is determined to give you the Valentine's Day he believes you secretly want, it's the least you deserve. Unfortunately, things don't go quite to plan...

This is a sweet little fic I've been working on for Valentine's Day, hope you enjoy! As always, comments and reblogs are appreciated. Happy V-Day to you all in this lovely community! ❤️

One shot / allusion to smut but nothing explicit / Bucky is trying, ok?!

Wordcount: 2.6k

💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝

February 12th

He hasn’t ‘done’ Valentine’s Day in the best part of a century, and back in the days when he did, it was a handwritten card and a box of candy for the girl you liked. Simple, sweet. An excuse to go dancing and make-out.

But now? The shops are awash with pink and red, large hanging signs in the aisles are practically screaming at him ‘not to forget!’

And how could anyone forget? It’s a full-on assault of the senses. Enjoy this Valentine’s limited-edition doughnut! Buy those matching heart-print pyjamas for you and your valentine! Buy perfume! Flowers! Teddy bears the size of toddlers! Enough chocolate to take down an elephant! Take a couples’ trip, book a romantic spa day, spend a rent payment on roses! He’s seen cards meant for pets, cards from pets. As if Alpine would ever entertain such nonsense, even if she could read. Every time he runs errands, he feels like his brain might fall out. 

Thankfully, home is an oasis of calm. He sits on the couch half-watching some documentary while your head lays in his lap, scrolling idly on your phone. Alpine is curled up across your legs, occasionally purring in her blissful sleep as you give her a head an absent-minded scratch. 

He runs his metal fingers through your hair without even noticing he’s doing it – muscle memory at this point, basking in the comfortable silence - a private sanctuary from the outside world. The world he still doesn’t fully understand. The man out of time.

But you, you he understands. It all moved quickly, sure. But when you know you know, don’t they say? He sees that now. He saw that on your first date. Watching you laugh, your eyes sparkling - he was sorry that he zoned out while you told him that funny anecdote, but he just couldn’t stop looking at you.

He knew he was in trouble. 

First date. First kiss. More dates. Inseparable, easy. Like visiting somewhere new for the first time but somehow knowing exactly where to go. Maybe moving in together after six months had been hasty, sure. But it just felt right. 

No logic, just a feeling. He’d wasted so much time, so much life - why waste even more? ‘You’re here all the time, anyway, why not just make it official?’ Yes. Yes, you’d love to. Your clothes moved into his closet as smoothly as you’d moved into his life. It was as if you’d always been there. Kitchen dances and late-night chats. New recipes, old sweatshirts. Gymnastics in the bedroom. One failed attempt at a shared bubble bath that had gone so badly wrong you’d both laughed until big, fat tears rolled down your cheeks. Misjudging just how much room he took up, easily done. So much for romance, you had joked. 

But it was romance for him. 

And what about for you? 

You hadn’t been together for a Valentine’s Day yet. Sure, he’d bought flowers and cooked for you before. You had shyly thanked him and kissed his cheek. But you didn’t need big gestures, you’d told him. Didn’t care about giant teddy bears or rose petal trails. ‘Make me a good cup of coffee, fix the leaky sink and keep the oil in my car topped up and I’ll be happy’ you’d said. Well, he could do all that. And he did. He took care of you and your home. You’d told him once that his love language for you was acts of service, which meant he liked doing things for you – practical help. Fixing, bringing, making. He didn’t know about all that, but he knew he would always look after you. He wasn’t always the best at words and romance, but his actions spoke for him when he didn’t know how to say it.

He’d bought you a card. A silly one. One to make you laugh, about pancakes. Not one of the vulgar ones, some of the sentiments he’d seen printed made him wrinkle his nose. He was no prude, but his Ma would’ve turned in her grave at some of them. Not everything needed to be an innuendo. He’d already written a note inside it. A little sappy, but he meant every word. He’d also planned to pick up a bouquet of pretty flowers, maybe take you to lunch out at your favourite coffee shop. 

But now he glances down and sees what you’re looking at on your phone. You’re scrolling that photograph app, the Instagram one. It’s not for him but he doesn’t mind. It’s cute when you post a picture of your coffee on there, even if he teases you for it. 

You must be on a Valentine’s trend. Trend, is that what they call it? Hashtag? He watches you flick through endless pictures and videos…rose petals scattered on immaculate bedspreads, champagne glasses posed perfectly against a sunset backdrop, endless hauls of flowers and chocolate, balloons stretched to spell out names. Perfectly put together young women posing coyly and peering through their lashes, showing off diamonds and designer handbags...

…is this what you really wanted? You’d never said…but you were looking at those pictures so intently…

Had he really got it so wrong?

His heart sank as he imagined your disappointment. A jokey card? Lunch at the same old place you always went? Is that all he’d done for you on this apparent big day?

Maybe the stores were right.

You wouldn’t say anything, of course. You’re too sweet for that. Too empathetic, never wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings. But he pictured the dismay in your eyes at his meagre offering and felt a physical ache in his chest. He’d never want to disappoint you, to let you down. 

He slowly got up from the couch, carefully cradling your head to put you back down onto the cushions as he slipped away.

“Just starting dinner, doll,” he muttered as he headed to the door. 

“Okay baby,” you replied distractedly - your eyes still on your phone. Alpine miaowed in protest at the sudden change in movements. You scoffed at the latest image, a hotel room decorated ceiling to carpet with helium balloons and ribbons - practically fit to burst. “What a waste of plastic,” you exclaimed to yourself. “Who really needs all of this? What a joke…”

“What did you say?” Bucky called from the kitchen. 

“Nothing important,” you called back as you shifted Alpine and got to your feet, flinging your phone back onto the couch. That was quite enough hate scrolling for one evening.

“Buck, I’m coming to help”. 

💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝

February 14th

“Fuck!” he muttered to himself as yet another balloon popped. He kept overstuffing them, underestimating how much air his lungs could hold as he blew them up. Super soldier problems. 

He sighed and gathered the few intact balloons, spreading them around the living room. There weren’t as many as he’d have liked, but they would do. 

Next, he eyed the banner, sagging down at the corners after his ill-fated attempt to hang it. He thought a hand-made banner was a bit much, but Sam had insisted it would tie everything together. DIY decorations show you’ve made the effort, he’d said.

He squinted up at the carefully drawn letters, HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY. The paint was a little uneven, and he cursed himself for not being better at crafting. The smattering of glitter in his hair was further proof of that. But it was up there, at least.

Sam had better know what he’s talking about.

You were due home from work any moment, he’d spent the last few hours rushing around trying to give you the Valentine’s Day you apparently secretly wanted. Dinner was nearly done, rose petals had been sprinkled from the hallway to the living room, champagne chilled, and the largest teddy bear he could find sat staring at him from your favourite armchair. 

He frowned; it all seemed a bit much. But he reminded himself he was doing it for you. He’d do anything for you. He’d walk through fire if he had to, swim an ocean. He could handle a few balloons and a fancy dinner if it made you happy.

Speaking of dinner…what was that smell?

Oh…fu-

He rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a dish rag, fanning the smoke away as he cursed and popped a window. He flung the oven door open and pulled out the now charred dish with his vibranium hand. He cursed more, cursed louder, slamming the dish onto the stove top as he tried to figure out what the hell had gone so wrong. After all, he’d followed the recipe to the letter…

He looked at the oven and quickly saw his mistake - he must’ve knocked the temperature dial somehow as it was turned significantly higher than it should’ve been. Great. No wonder everything was burnt to a crisp. He angrily switched it off and stared at the mess he’d made. What the hell was he going to do when you got-

“Babe, I’m home- happy Valentine’s Day! Wait, what the-?” Came your voice from the hallway as the front door opened.

Fuck.

“Buck, what’s going on - did something burn? Are those rose petals?”

He sheepishly moved into the hallway. You lit up as you saw him, smiling as you took off your coat. “Hey you, what’s going on in here?”

“I tried to make you dinner,” he sighed. “Didn’t go to plan, I’m sorry…”

You smiled warmly and moved to him, kissing him sweetly as you brushed your hands over his chest. “Oh Buck. That’s okay. Thank you…that’s very sweet of you. Don’t be upset, it happens - we can order in”.

Your reaction simultaneously filled him with relief but also a sense of self-loathing. He’d messed it up already, he’d let you down. You looked relaxed, but he wondered if you were secretly disappointed.

“What is all this?” you giggled as you followed the petals. “Don’t tell me you did all of this for me…”

As the trail guided you into the living room, you gasped at the scene in front of you. Your heart nearly burst at the effort he’d put into all of this. “Oh, Buck! It’s…”

But before you could finish your sentence, disaster ensued.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion and all at once. The banner collapsed suddenly, curling at the edges before crumpling to the ground with a quiet thunk – somehow taking out the champagne flutes along with it, knocking them to the floor and shattering them. Almost simultaneously, another balloon popped – causing you both to jump.

And the absolute cherry on the cake?

Alpine, who had been carefully studying the giant teddy bear in the armchair the whole time, leapt up on top of it…

…and began humping it.

“Oh. Oh my god…” you whispered.

“Oh, my god,” Bucky echoed with horror. “Alpine, stop that!”

His chest ached, shame washed over him as he looked at the failure of a Valentine’s Day in ruins around him. He couldn’t give you the day you’d really wanted, the day you deserved. He turned to you, preparing himself to have his heart broken by your disappointed face.

Except…

…you were laughing.

You were shaking silently, your hand over your mouth as you tried to restrain yourself. But you were clearly laughing. You looked back at him guiltily.

“I’m so sorry Buck,” you whispered, your voice strained, “I know you worked so hard on all of this…I promise I’m not laughing at you…”

He glanced around the room at the warzone of his living room – the broken glass, the buckled banner, the remnants of pink balloon rubber, the smell of burning in the air, Alpine’s shameless amorous activity…

It started as a tickle in his throat, a twitch of his lips – and then a hesitant chuckle escaped. And then another. And then both of you were gone, laughing uproariously as you leaned on each other for support. Bent over, hands on knees, desperately trying to regain some sense of composure as hysteria reigned. Loud, hearty laughter filling the room – becoming high squeaks as you both tried to catch your breath.

Alpine, unimpressed by this egregious interruption, finally stopped her assault and left the room indignantly.

“I’m sorry,” you finally managed breathily as your thumb wiped a tear from your lash line. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m grateful, really, I am – this was so sweet of you. I’m sorry it didn’t go to plan; I know you must’ve worked really hard on it…”

“It’s okay,” he replied as he took a deep breath. “I guess I’m not great at this stuff. But look,” his tone shifted to something more serious as he took you by the shoulders and held you close, “I’m sorry I fucked it up. I know you wanted the whole Instagram Valentine’s thing…”

You cock an eyebrow in confusion, “what? Says who?”

“I saw you,” he admits sheepishly. “Looking at all the Valentine’s stuff on your phone. I know you wouldn’t say anything, but I was trying to surprise you. I’m just sorry I couldn’t give you what you wanted.”

You sigh as realisation hits you, taking his hands in yours as you rub your thumbs soothingly over his knuckles. “Baby…I didn’t want that stuff, I was just hate-scrolling. That’s not me, you know I don’t really care about all that junk…”

His eyes widen. “You don’t?”

“No! It’s all performative, it doesn’t really mean anything. I just wanna be with you…I’d have been happy with just a card…”

As if on cue you notice the little envelope on the side table with your name on it. You pick it up and open it.

“Oh, it’s dumb…” Bucky shrugs. “It’s just because we always make breakfast together…”

You giggle at the cute image on the front of the card and flick it open to read.

Doll,

Getting to make pancakes with you in our apartment is honestly a life that didn’t seem possible until recently. Thank-you for showing me what love is.

Happy Valentine’s Day, here’s to the first of many.

All my love,

Bucky x

You smile, the tears forming in your eyes as you clutch it to your chest like it’s your prized possession.

“Thank-you, it’s perfect,” you tell him softly as you pull him closer.

The two of you hold each other for a moment, then move in for a saccharine kiss. You press your foreheads together and stand there like that for a while, basking in the warmth of each other – serene in the stronghold of your home, despite the Valentine’s debris around you. Bucky feels relief that he didn’t let you down, finally at ease again.

You look around the room with your hands on your hips, your expression thoughtful as Bucky recognises your ‘action mode’.

“Okay, well I’ll go get your card…and you clean up that glass so Alpine doesn’t walk in it…and then rather than order in - how about we cook something else for dinner?” you tell him softly as you press a kiss to his cheek.

“Yeah? What you thinking?” he grins.

“Pancakes”.

“Perfect,” he nods, then his hand glides down your lower back as his voice drops. “And maybe later I can make it up to you in the bedroom…”

“Well, you don’t need to make anything up to me…but I wouldn’t say no to an offer like that…” You flirt as you bite your lower lip. His hand travels lower…

“Happy Valentine’s Day, doll”.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Buck”.

💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

Some sort of hive mind thing

Written for the Kissing Booth bonus card of the @steddiebingo

Prompt: Body Swap

Rated: T

Words: 975

Tags: POV Dustin Henderson; Body swap; Secret relationship; Coming out; Implied sexual content (very brief, very vague); Crack and humor

“Okay, the others are on their way.” 

Dustin puts the walkie back on his bedside table. The alarm clock tells him it's a little after four in the morning. When he tries to tug on his hat to ground himself, he realizes he isn't wearing one because he's still in his pajamas. Biting back a yawn, he snatches his Thinking Cap from its hook on the wall and puts it on. He feels like he's going to need it. 

“While we wait, walk me through this again,” he says, turning back to the two miserable figures sitting side by side on his bed. “Steve?” 

“Yeah?” says Eddie. 

Dustin blinks. He can practically feel his brain whirring in his skull as it recalibrates. Sweet mother of all that's logical, this must be the fourth-most bizarre thing that ever happened to him. 

“Oh, wait,” says Steve. “If you say Steve shouldn’t I answer? Wouldn't want half the town to find out about this. I've barely even shaken the satanist allegations. Better not add body snatching to the list.” 

“The fuck?” Eddie hisses. “First you steal my body and now you're taking my name, too?” 

Steve grins, wide and toothy, fluttering his lashes exaggeratedly. “Let's table the discussion about who's taking whose name for later, big boy. We've more important stuff to figure out right now.” 

Okay, make that the third-most bizarre thing. 

“You both went to bed as usual,” Dustin says over the ensuing string of bickering, wondering not for the first time who's babysitting who here. “Then, a few hours later, you woke up to discover that you're stuck in each other's bodies.” 

Eddie-who-looks-like-Steve snorts a laugh and Steve-who-looks-like-Eddie elbows him.

“Quit it! Be serious about this!” 

“I’m trying to, but he said stuck in-” 

“Did anything happen last night?” Dustin asks. 

They both flinch. Eddie attempts to pull a lock of hair in front of his face but grasps at thin air. 

“Did anything- … I have no idea what you- … Nothing happened! Nothing at all!”

Dustin raises an eyebrow at him. Eddie starts chewing on Steve’s knuckles.

“Really? You sure? Nothing strange or out of the ordinary? I need you to think real hard about this, it could be important.” 

Steve shrugs, raking a hand through Eddie’s hair and frowning when his fingers get stuck in the frizzy mess. “Dunno, man. Our life's pretty much an endless string of freak incidents, so it's kind of hard to say what qualifies as- Gross, dude, stop chewing on my nails.” 

“It helps with my anxiety, and you have mine,” Eddie grumbles, but he still stops chewing. 

“Which is why it's crucial,” Dustin shoulders on, “to look for patterns. There must've been something that caused this, and there must be a reason why it happened to the two of you. Oh, you think it has to do with the bats? You're the only ones who got bitten, so maybe that's the connection. Maybe it's some sort of hive mind thing.” 

He has started pacing up and down in front of the bed, but at the corner of his vision, he can see how Steve squints Eddie’s dark brown eyes at him. 

“But that was months ago,” he says. He’s still wearing Eddie’s rings, Dustin notices. Eddie has pulled their hands into his lap and started fiddling with them, muttering something about how they won't fit Steve’s stupid, giant saucer hands. “Why would it happen now?” 

Dustin snaps his fingers. “Something must've triggered it. There must've been some kind of dormant connection the entire time, and one or both of you must've done something to activate it.” 

He stops pacing and turns to them, only to find they’re not looking at him anymore. Instead, they’ve ducked their heads together and started muttering among themselves in hushed voices. Dustin catches the words oughta tell him, and wrinkles his brow. 

“Tell me what?”

“Okay!” Steve screws Eddie’s eyes shut and pinches Eddie’s nose. “You know how you asked me to drive you to the arcade last night?”

“And you told me no because you had this big, important date?” Dustin rolls his eyes. “Sure. What about it?”

“And how you called me after?” Eddie says. He has started pulling on the ends of Steve’s hair now, and it seems to be getting frizzier by the second. It looks a bit like regular Steve put his fingers in a socket. “And I said I’d love to chauffeur you, but I couldn’t because I had already made plans?”

“Yes,” Dustin deadpans. “You were both completely and utterly unhelpful and I had to cycle all the way there in the dark and the wind, thank you for reminding me. Now what does this have to do with any-”

“Dustin,” says Steve. He looks at Eddie, then down at their entwined hands. Pointedly. Dustin feels his jaw drop. 

“Oh,” he says. “You mean you were- … You both couldn’t make it because you were each other’s- … Oh! Oh my God, please don’t tell me- … Were you two making out?” 

Silence drops. Somewhere outside, bicycle tires crunch on gravel, heralding the arrival of the Party. 

“Sure,” says Eddie. “Let’s call it making out.”

Dustin groans, turning to open his window. 

“Let’s try to keep this between the three of us,” he hisses. “The others don’t need to know this.”

“What?” Steve grumbles. He’s always blushed easily, but now, with his newly acquired pale complexion, he looks like an Eddie-shaped lava lamp. “These kids have dealt with interdimensional monsters and telepathic wizards, you’d think they’d be able to stomach two guys kissing.”

“That’s not it,” Dustin says, and now it’s his turn to break into a smug grin. “But Max bet me twenty bucks you wouldn’t last until Christmas, and I'm broke, so I'd appreciate it if she wouldn't find out just yet.” 

More Steddie bingo

[sweetbunpura]

Past Relationships.

I know Valentine's day is around the corner, but I couldn't resist the urge to write about Yuu's past relationships~

"Yuu."

The girl looked over at Epel as the first year group sat in the courtyard. The winter frost had started melting early as temperature started to rise allowing the gang to break out the lighter jackets today.

"You said you were in a couple of relationships in the past. What was the worst?"

"Really?" Ace looked at the farmer. "That's what you ask?"

"I mean, she said she's been in worse ones before!" Epel crossed his arms. "I was just curious."

"It's fine, it's fine." Yuu waved her hand and hummed as she tried to remember. "I think I was like either thirteen or fourteen at time, I kinda blotted the guy's name from my memory. Probably Brad or some other boring shitty name. Uh, he was part of the basketball team and he asked me out on a date."

"You said yes?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"I was young, sue me." She shrugged. "Anyway, he took me out on a movie date and a couple of other dates until we officially announced we were dating."

"There's a "but" in there." Deuce pointed out.

"You are correct. A week or two later, he starts acting really shitty. I'm talking calling me names and talking me down and shit. Calling me ugly and how I should be lucky he gave me a chance at all." She scoffs. "He even said I was pretty for a black girl, can you believe that shit? He even tried getting money out of me, saying how he was entitled to some of it since I was his boyfriend."

"He should be lucky he isn't here." Sebek crosses his arms with a glare.

"He wouldn't even last a day here. About a month into dating, he notices I'm not bending the knee to him, giving into his demands and everything. Basically, the emotional manipulation isn't working and so he tries to amp it up. By now, the whole school knows something was going on with me and him. I wasn't popular, but I was nice enough that people wanted me to be their friend." Yuu curled a strand of hair around her finger. "When the amped up manipulation doesn't work, he tries physically attacking me."

The boys eyes widen as they heard that and tensed up.

"Sevens, Yuu!" Deuce sat up. "What happened? Tell me you knocked this guy into next week!"

"I did. The moment he tried to punch me, I caught it and punched him in the face. He cried and held his face while he's on the ground, complaining that I broke his nose. He kicks at me and well.... I start swinging. Teachers had to pry me off of him and call my parents, big whole ass issue." She sighed.

"How did you manage to take all of that for a month?" Ortho blinks.

"Simple, I told my mom about everything he had done and she told me to write it down so she could gather evidence on it. But she also told me never to believe the lies someone like him spits out in order to drag me down. He didn't like how strong I was compared to him, so he tried to tear me down with words instead." She crossed her arms. "My dad and mom said I could only fight back if he throw the first punch, he did and he was swiftly put in his place. Come to find out it was all a dare one by his shitty teammates cause they dared him to ask me out and date me because they thought I wasn't attractive enough."

"What happened to the guy, Henchhuman?"

"The school and his family got sued, they tried to sue us instead but because of all the evidence and eye witnesses, they couldn't get away with it. That's the story, the end~"

"I see why he's the worst now." Epel muttered. "Almost regret asking. Wait... is that why you have issues with Ace ghosting that girl?"

"Can you stop bringing it up!?" Ace snapped.

"Honestly, yeah." Yuu fixed the red head with a glare. "But I've gone off on him about it."

"So..." Jack spoke up. "...Does he know?"

Everyone's eyes shifted over to see Leona walking down the hallway as he yawned. He was unaware of the eyes on him as he continued walking.

"I've told him everything and I had to stop him from shredding the bed." Yuu gave a soft smile. "Four relationships and this one is the golden one."

"...Wait four?"

"Story time's up boys!" She got to her feet. "Another time maybe."

[storiesfromafan]

Track 01. Juno

A/N: its been a while. So sorry for my lack of posts. I've been struggling with inspiration. So please bare with me while I try to work on my other works.

Its Valentines Day here in Australia, with it we got Sabrina Carpenter's Short n Sweet Deluxe today! I've been listening to it for most of the day, and today was the day I finally wrote something inspired by Juno 😅

Forgive me if it's not great, but I am happy with it. Also, with enough encouragement, I might do a 'Deluxe' version with added smut at 18+ lol.

And this is part of a new series, it will get its own master post and linked to my master list. Basically one-shots inspired by music or song fics.

Warning/s: mention of breasts and feeling up, possible spelling/grammar mistakes

It was wrong, so very wrong. Sneaking around with a Vandal for months. But it was not only thrilling, but Benny was the right amount of bad boy with a touch of sweet.

Yet every time you’re with Peter – your boyfriend – did you feel guilty for what you’ve done, and the thoughts that were running through your head. How it would feel to have Benny’s arm around you, hand lazily running up and down your arm. Him whispering sweet nothing’s in your ear. Or how he’d manhandle you the right way behind closed doors.

Peter was nice – maybe a little too nice – but he was who society expected you to be with. Not a Vandal. Even if Benny was extremely better than your boyfriend.

Laying on your bed, wearing one the cute, frilly nighties Benny got you – as he just loved you looking all the bit sweet for him. The clock read eleven-thirty at night. The neighbourhood was rather quiet, while you filled your space with the low volume of a record. The only light in the room was your beside lamp.

You want to say you weren’t waiting up for Benny, but you were. The man had been gone for over a week on a ride with the club. With no indication of when he’d be back.

“I’ll be back sometime soon baby. Wait up for me?”

And like the love sick kitty you are, here you were; longing and waiting. The next song began to play, you sighed rolling onto your back and pouting. You swear he had to be doing this on purpose. He did like to tease you, though this was more torture.

God, you missed his touch, both hands and lips. The way his rough finger tips would glide over your skin, him commenting on how soft you felt. Or how he’d hold onto you, clear display of strength and power.

His lips, a full cupids bow that would softly lift in a smile. A pleased feel to it before he would place it to your neck and lay kisses. First soft and gentle, before becoming sloppy and a little teethy. You’d remind him not to leave any marks, no evidence was key to your little rendezvous. Though Benny wanted more, he wanted you completely.

And you had thought about it, ditching Peter and being Benny’s girl full-time. In theory it was perfect – beautiful even. But in reality, it terrified you. You’d seen how some of the Vandal women were treated by other women in town. Vandal women might as well have a bright red A embroidered on their clothing for the way they are treated.

So going from a sweet and adored community girl to a Vandal's old lady, it would get you treated like a leper. Not to mention your parents. They would go nuts to find out you were with Benny. That’s why secret meetings were best. Your little house the ideal love bubble.

Then you heard it, soft rumbling down the side street, your house being on the corner. Your heart skipped a beat. It had to be him, you just knew it. Sitting up on your bed you strained your hearing. Only to hear the rumbling stop. Again your heart skipped a beat. Yes, it was Benny.

Quickly you moved into a better positing. Sitting so your legs were off to the side, weight resting on your left hand, arm holding you up. You shook your hair, and fixed it with your free hand. Before setting it on your upper thigh. You moistened your lips when you heard movement in the backyard.

You’d pleaded Benny to leave his bike around the side. And jump the back fence, so not to be seen. You made sure to keep the back-door unlocked for him. Only locking it when he doesn’t show up, which was rare. The door handle rattled, and then the door as it was opened. Swiftly it closed and you could hear Benny moving around downstairs, probably removing his boots and jacket.

Excitement filled you and almost exploded when you heard him at the bottom of the staircase.

“Ya up there, baby?” He called out.

You rolled your eyes, but only smiled brighter. “Sure am".

No reply, other than Benny's feet clomping up each step. Every step closer, your heart beat with every step. The anticipation was close to snapping, you were close to just going to Benny and launching yourself at him. But you remained where you were, poised and like a baby doll. Just how he liked it.

Your door slowly swung open, revealing Benny, who moved to lean against your door frame. His stormy blues roamed over you, starting from your feet and moving long your body before reaching your face. A content smile pulled at his full lips, that slightly hid by the scruff on his chin.

He looked just as good as the last time you saw him, yet maybe better. The distance really doing a number on you, on Benny. You could read it on his face, he’d missed you so damn much.

Benny then moved, crossing your room to take a seat beside you. His left arm moving over your hips, hand placed on the bed. He was caging you in. His gaze focused on your face, taking it all in.

“Damn baby, you look better then I remembered" Benny said lowly, voice extra gravelly.

He then looked down your body once more and then back to your face. Solidifying his words. His right hand coming up to pushed back your hair, finger tips grazing your neck and the strap of your nightie, before pushing it over and down.

You shuddered, the way he looked at you and his movements, just driving you wild.

“You don’t look so bad yourself" you replied with a seductive tone. Proud to have managed to get those words out, as your brain was going to mush.

Benny smirked. But remained silent. Opting to leaning in and planting a tender kiss to your rosy lips. You almost fell to the bed in a puddle of goo. And just from a small kiss. Usually it was the long, exploring French kisses Benny served you that had this effect.

His hand came back to your neck, finding its home there, as Benny moved his head while still kissing you. A swipe of his tongue along your bottom lip told you, you were about to get that all nerve ending frazzling kiss.

Without hesitation you opened your mouth, Benny’s tongue darting in and to your own. His hand holding you in place as he greedily kissed you, tongue caressing and possessing yours. Soft noises being ripped from your throat spurring him on more. As well as how much he’d missed you.

Oh God, this man knew how to kiss you, and what it does to you. He could do or ask anything of you right now, and you’d gladly accept or go along with it. Pulling back, you were left kiss drunk, and he had only just begun.

“You look so pretty after I’ve kissed ya...” He muttered, taking you all in.

Benny then moved in again, this time not asking for permission, still working on the permission he’d already received. And you weren’t protesting. With some movement, you laid back on the bed as Benny moved over you, resting between your legs. Those rough hands of his grasping your upper thighs, only to slide upwards, exploring what lay beneath one of his favourite items of clothing to buy you.

He noted the fabric of your panties as his hands moved over your hips. Up the sides of your waist, and over your ribs. Finally finding your breasts, which were free of any covering such as a bra. The supple flesh warm to his palms, as he enjoyed the feel. You sighed into his mouth at the contact he had with them. Telling Benny you had missed his hands there.

Pulling back, Benny moved his lips down the side of your neck. You resorted to tilting your head back from the sensations this man was giving you. His touch gravely missed, his kiss just as much the same.

“Ya feel so good" Benny mumbled against your neck. “Ya always feel so damn good".

More kisses were pressed to your neck, altering between soft and hard. Occasionally grazing his teeth against your flesh. Every time his teeth were used you would make a noise, a mix of a whine and a moan.

“Fuck baby" he groaned. “Keep makin’ those noises and I’m gonna loose it".

Benny tightened his hold on your breasts, telling you he might lose it soon. But it only brought forth a moan from you. Which in turn made him groan.

“I wanna keep goin' baby" Benny started, pulling back from your neck and looking to your face. “But I gotta talk to ya first...”

That was like a bucket of ice water being thrown over you. Putting out the fire that had been growing inside. You wiggled around, to which Benny moved back more, giving you room.

“H-have I done s-something wrong...?” You asked softly, scared to talk at a normal volume.

Benny blinked before shaking his head. “No baby, no!” He paused, watching you relax slightly. “It’s just, I’ve been thinkin’ while on the road...”

You remained quiet, waiting with baited breath for him to continue.

With a sigh Benny got up and took a spot next to you on the bed. Back resting against the headboard of your bed. He wasn’t one for confrontation. But he needed you to hear him out, listen to his concerns and needs.

“I can’t keep doin' this – sneakin’ in and hidin' in this house" he paused, sparing you a look. “I want more baby, I want you, I need you. I want to be your man...”

“You are...” you said softly.

He shook his head. “No I’m not, ya boyfriend is. You go out there with him. Let him show ya off, and it is killin' me. I want to show you off, have you ridin’ on the back of my bike. My woman”.

Benny’s voice gained confidence and desperation. And you heard it – heard him. It pulled at your heartstrings.

“I might not be able to give ya what he might...but I can promise ya I will be here when you need me, always take care of you as best I can. I’ll give ya the whole world if ya ask...I love you so damn much baby...”

That was it, those three little words; I love you. The man next to you saying them after a short time, compared to your boyfriend who still hadn’t said them. Benny laid out all his cards, nowhere to hide.

Without a thought you moved to straddle Benny’s hips, resting your behind on his lap. Hands taking a hold of the gorgeous Vandals face. Your (colour) eyes looking deeply into his, searching to make sure he meant those three little words. And he did.

“Are you sure?” You asked with baited breath. “You love me?”

He nodded. “Yes, baby. I love ya".

You crashed your lips to his, putting everything into it, every emotion you were feeling. Benny grabbed your hips, holding you close to him as he let you kiss him. You took charge. Your tongue pushed into his mouth, exploring and savouring him. After a few moments you pulled back, not without giving him a few more pecks to his lips.

“I-I love you too" you breathlessly said, heart racing.

The smile that cross Benny’s face lit up his face. The words he was relieved to hear, but weren’t expecting. Pulling you in again for a hard, feverish kiss, Benny moved you both around so you were under him again. This was it, the start of something new. You both knew it and were going to do it.

You were going to breakup with Peter, and become Benny’s girl, your parents and the town be damned. And Benny was going to be the man you needed. And right now he would be attentive. After all you’d been patiently waiting for his return. He owed you for staying up waiting for him.

Tomorrow was approaching but right now, all that mattered was you both. Needing, exploring and satisfying the other in every way possible.

[demigodsanswer]

what are some headcanons that you have for book percabeth?

I don't have a stable future headcanon for them, so these won't all be totally reflective of fics I've written before or will write in the future, but these are some of the main ones:

They actually wait quite a bit to have sex for the first time. They feel like so much in their life has been rushed, that they don't want to rush into that too.

That being said, they do take lots and lots of naps together, or share a bed at night the year following the Titan war. They are big, big cuddlers. No consensus on who is cuddlier. I think they both are.

Annabeth is a clothes stealing girlfriend, but she's actually not that much smaller than Percy, so he steals her hoodies right back.

Percy does graduate college with a higher GPA than her. He really excels finally being able to take classes he cares about. He studies Classics and secondary education with the intention of being a Latin teacher. Annabeth does study architecture at Berkeley, which is a harder program, which is why her grades are lower. She also majors in Philosophy for fun.

During college, their favorite date activity is getting high and going to the aquarium. "Annabeth, the fish can tell I'm high." "Oh shit, do you think they'll tell your dad?" Also all the fish call Annabeth things like "My lady" and "sea princess" because they think she and Percy are married. When they start doing this, Percy gets so red that Annabeth knows something's happened. He tells her, and she walks around so happy for the rest of the week. "You're that happy you got aquatic approval?" "Yes!"

They spend all of college talking about getting married and having kids as soon as possible. And then they get out of college and move back to New York, and they suddenly experience the unique horror of being in your early 20s. Suddenly they realize they cannot have kids right now, oh my god, they have no idea what they're doing let alone how to bring a child into all of this.

They do get married pretty soon out of college. The wedding is small and on the beach, but it's special and a big fucking party too. Percy tells her that he won't be mad if she doesn't take his last name, and also offers to hyphenate his name if they want to go that route. But she wants to be part of the Jackson family. But it does take her like 2 months to actually fill out all the name change paperwork.

Annabeth thinks she's going to get a simple dress, maybe even like a jump suit or something. But she's not liking anything she's trying. So the bridal consultant suggests trying something super girly, just as a pallet cleanser to see if they can maybe reassess what she might like. Annabeth finds this super girly blue ballgown and tires it on and falls in love. It's perfect. She actually cries. Sally cries (Sally is with her of course). Something like this --

They do have kids starting around age 27, after Annabeth has done her master's degree and gets a really nice promotion at her firm.

It actually takes about a year for them to get pregnant. They almost need to do fertility consultations because it's taking so long. But then they finally conceive! (In every universe, their first baby is a girl with blonde hair and green eyes named Sophia).

Fred buys them a brownstone in the city, basically to try and apologize for everything about Annabeth's childhood, and to ensure that they both always feel safe and stable in a home. The top floor needs serious renovations when they move in, but this is part of the gift. Annabeth has a project she can be completely creative with. The downstairs is all ready for them to move into. They even have a small backyard. Their house becomes the place for demigod and family reunions, and also a crash pad for demigods on the run.

They end up having mostly girls. I tend to give them about 2-4 kids depending on the story, all girls or almost all girls. Percy is such a girl dad.

[folatefangirl]

You rang? Okay I'm not going to put absolutely every one I can think of but starting with the ones I've actually finished:

Wonderbook by Jeff VanderMeer: One of the best writing advice inspiration books I've ever read. It's also filled to the brim with cool art and diagrams and excerpts and I love them so much. I always pick this one back up when I'm dealing with a really bad block. 5/5 stars, absolutely amazing and weird and a great way to shake the brain out of habits that aren't working anymore, though as with all art/writing advice books, YMMV and all that.

The Man Who Played With Fire by Jan Stocklassa: Absolutely absorbing read about a true crime case more people should know about imo. So most of us know of the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson, right? Those books were published posthumously and so most people don't know that Stieg Larsson's true passion was connecting the strings of white supremacy among Nazis and Nazi sympathizers in Scandinavia who had escaped justice after WWII. It was a personal project for him. He ended up connecting this to the assassination of Olof Palme and investigating who might have done it. It's a really fascinating read and I highly recommend.

Dreamland by Sam Quinones: Goes in-depth into the pharma aspects of opioid use disorder and the epidemic that was perpetuated by capitalism and systemic failures within US Healthcare and safety networks for our communities, the money and marketing involved, and how it especially targeted American youth through avenues such as sports medicine and so on. It's really horrifying re: how much it exploits people at the bottom to prop up the people at the top.

Night by Elie Wiesel: Memoir of the author's experience during the Holocaust. Easily one of the greatest and shortest books that I will never read again because of what is in it, but I recommend to everyone at least once. It is beautiful and haunting. Note the author has other books in this memoir series that address his recovery i.e. this is the darkest one and has the content that is hardest to stomach, so you might feel better after this rec if you also read the others.

The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee: Really good nonfiction book on cancer that is definitely in accessible language to folks who aren't in medicine as well. It also goes into the industrialization of cancer medicine and how certain businesses knew things were causing cancer (tobacco) and still pushed their products as good and healthy. Very well-written!

The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman: Barbara Tuchman was one of the first female historians ever widely recognized for her work, and she really deserves it for her ability to write about history and actually make it interesting (I still need to read one of her medieval history books lol). Anyway, this books covers roughly the first few months of WWI in a really detailed and well-written way and discusses aspects of the war in a way probably no history class ever discussed. Like yes, we know it was horrible and used trench warfare and chemical warfare but why was it between the countries it was with and also why did they end up in such horrific circumstances? Barbara covers that. (And also, we still very much use chemical warfare today, despite it being a crime against humanity. So worthwhile to read a book about the reasons why we consider it such a crime, imo.)

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan: Also comes as a documentary if you'd prefer that format! It's a really good book about the reciprocal relationship between humans and what we grow and focuses on four plants: apples, tulips, potatoes, and cannabis. Pollan's central thesis is that plants influence us as much as we influence them. Anyway, as a certified plant-lover, I really enjoyed reading this from start to finish.

Good nonfiction references:

The Flavor Bible by Andrew Dornenburg: Excellent reference for any cook who enjoys improv and/or is short on ingredients and so is forced to improv. Basically lets you look up any ingredient and see what flavors and ingredients pair with it best.

The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth: Another great writing reference and repository of writing advice for any writer. Essentially details every rhetorical device/means of making figurative speech in an index with examples.

Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes: Excellent resource for anyone writing a romance novel or long-form shipping fanfiction re: how to effectively plot a romance novel and have it hit all the elements and beats that you'd like to include in it.

Honorable mentions I have yet to finish but know are good:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (specifically, I've heard this book goes into some true crime aspects and specifically FBI investigation procedures that the movie didn't emphasize as much since the movie rightfully wanted to feature more of the Osage cast and culture, rather than make a spectacle of their dead, which is very fair imo)

CALLING ALL READERS I really want to get more into nonfiction books and would love some recommendations.

Nonfiction books I loved include:

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah (loved the firsthand account and humor)

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green (loved the philosophical moments)

Poisoner in Chief by Stephen Kinzer (fascinated by the horror)

Into the Planet by Jill Heinerth (fascinated by the firsthand account and horror)

Please let me know where to go from here!

[rookamell]

Would love to hear opinions on this because it's been how many months now and I still can't make sense of that pantry scene with Lucanis. It just doesn't check out in my mind. Because... ok. Yes, he is obviously acting a little bit, he has to be. But it's... so natural at the same time? I don't know how to explain it and I might be wrong but. People say he's acting like he's done it before or at least watched Illario, and I don't think he has. I also don't think his first instinct in a moment like that is to think about Illario and what he would have done because the moment before that ('You deserve better than to deal with my mess' 'you're more than what you're going through) is so soft and intimate and them that I just cannot rationalize that he's completely acting in this moment. Coupled with how he acts toward Neve and the flirty banter with Rook while on the coffee date... I don't know if he's being completely disingenuous here. I think he is flirting authentically, he just gets scared when he realises what he is doing. Personally I think he has a moment of 'i wonder if caterina would approve' and then snaps out of it but that is complete headcanon so I won't harp on it too much. But then I see posts where people say their Rooks were probably freaked out a little because that's not their Lucanis and I always tend to agree because it's so at odds with what we see from him in the act 2 and 3 parts of the romance. It boggles my mind because just when I think I've settled on an explanation I see a post where I'm like 'wait hold on that could be true as well'. I think my favourite explanation so far is from a post I'll like it here if I find it again because I know I have it saved somewhere that says he realises he's making a choice for himself for the first time? On a contract? And that's why he pulls away, not because he isn't being genuine, but maybe that's part of it? Idk I just personally think he's a lot more of a flirty guy than people tend to make him out to be at least... in a certain sense. He says poetic things and reads romance novels and I don't necessarily think the baking lock in is at odds with the pantry scene all that much. Idk. I just have to ramble about it I guess because. I can't fathom. What was going through his mind.

Edit: The post I was talking about is this one by @maythedreadwolftakeyou

[techav]

Sharing a Computer with More Friends

A few months ago I built an I/O expansion board for my homebrew 68030 project with a 4-port serial card to go with it, and got BASIC running for four simultaneous users. It worked, but not as well as I had hoped. I wanted to be able to run two of those serial cards to support 8 total users, but it had proven unstable enough that with just the one card I had to slow down the whole system to 8MHz.

So I designed a new serial card.

I had previously been running this computer without any issues at 32MHz with a mezzanine card with FPU & IDE as well as a video card. The main board by itself can clear 56MHz. Having to go all the way down to 8MHz just didn't sit well with me. I want this machine to run as fast as possible for its 8 users.

I put extra time into reviewing worst-case timing for all components and graphing out how signals would propagate. The 16C554 quad UARTs I'm designing around are modern parts that can handle pretty fast bus speeds themselves — easily up to 50MHz with no wait states on the 68030 bus — assuming all the glue logic can get out of the way fast enough.

Signal propagation delays add up quickly.

My first draft schematic used discrete 74-series logic for chip selection, signal decoding, timing, etc. At slower bus speeds this wouldn't have been a problem. But I want this thing to run as fast as possible. By the time critical signals had made it through all those logic gates, I was looking at already being well into one wait state by the time the UART would see a 50MHz bus cycle begin.

I needed something faster. I was also running low on space on the board for all the components I needed. The obvious answer was programmable logic. I settled on the ATF22V10 as a good compromise of speed, size, availability, and programmability. It's available in DIP with gate delays down to 7ns. Where discrete gates were necessary, I selected the fastest parts I could. The final design I came up with showed a worst case timing that would only need one wait state at 50MHz and none for anything slower.

It ended up being a tight fit, but I was able to make it work on a 4-layer board within the same footprint of my main board, putting some components on the back side. (It may look like a bunch of empty space, but there's actually a lot going on running full RS232 with handshaking for 8 ports).

New problem. I had blown my budget for the project. As much as I love those stacked DE9 connectors, they're expensive. And there's no getting around the $10 pricetag for each of those quad UARTs. Even using parts on-hand where possible, I was looking at a hefty Mouser order.

[jbevren] suggested using ganged RJ45 connectors with the Cisco pinout instead of stacked DE9, to save space & cut costs. [Chartreuse] suggested buffering the TTL serial TX/RX signals to drive the LEDs that are frequently included on PCB-mount RJ45 connectors. Both great ideas. I was able to cut 20% off my parts order and add some nice diagnostic lights to the design.

Two weeks later, I received five new PCBs straight from China. I of course wasted no time setting into starting to assemble one.

I really set myself up for a challenge on this one. I learned to solder some 25 years ago and have done countless projects in that time. But I think this might be the most compact, most heavily populated, most surface mount board I've ever assembled myself. (There are 56 size 0805 (that's 2x1.2mm) capacitors alone!)

After a few hours soldering, I had enough assembled to test the first serial port. If the first port worked then the other three on that chip should work too, and there's a great chance the other chip would work as well.

And it did work! After some poking around with the oscilloscope to make sure nothing was amiss, I started up the computer and it ran just fine at 8MHz.

And at 16MHz.

And at 25MHz.

And at 32MHz.

And at 40MHz.

And almost at 50MHz!

Remember what I said about my timing graphs showing one wait state for 50MHz? The computer actually booted up and ran just fine at 50MHz. The problem was when I tried typing in a BASIC program certain letters were getting switched around, and try as I might, BASIC just refused to 'RQN' my program. It was pretty consistently losing bit 3, likely from that signal having to travel just a tiny bit farther than the others. A problem that will probably be resolved with an extra wait state.

Good enough for a first test! A few hours more and I finished assembling the card.

I did have some problems with cleaning up flux off the board, and I had to touch up a few weak solder joints, but so far everything seems to be working. I've updated my little multi-user kernel to run all 8 users from this new card and it's running stable at 40MHz.

I need to update my logic on the 22V10 to fix a bug in the wait state generator. I would love to see this thing actually running at 50MHz — a 25% overclock for the 40MHz CPU I am currently running. I also want to expand my little kernel program to add some new features like the ability to configure the console serial ports and maybe even load programs from disk.

I hope to bring this machine with a collection of terminals and modems this June to VCF Southwest 2025 for an interactive exhibit that can be dialed into from other exhibits at the show.

[rarepairdumpster]

Silco Jailed AU Part 2

Part 1

Pairing: Viktor/Silco (Arcane) Rating: M C/W: Canon Divergence, Jailbreak, Previous Zaundads Mention, Sky is Alive! (actually Arch just forgot she died and we rolled with it)

Viktor's plan for getting them to the undercity is entirely reliant on some students with pro-Zaun sentiment. 

"I ran almost the whole city," Silco says, "what do you think?"

"I think that power creates a vacuum and the one you left is sizable," Viktor reminds him, pulling the keys back out of his pocket. "Is there anyone you know will help?"

"Sevika," Silco replies immediately. "I left the bar to her. She'll have kept things tidy enough."

Viktor pauses at that name. Remembers it well enough from his parents' hushed conversations when he was young, when they thought he was asleep. Knows she once worked with Vander

Finally, Viktor opens the cell door, stepping aside so that Silco can step out.

Silco steps forward but hesitates. This wasn't the plan. He had put his affairs in order. He had left everything to Sevika and Jinx. He was ready to die for what he believed in.

"You're willing to die for the cause, but you won't fight for one?"

Silco's own words suddenly echoed in his mind and he looked up at Viktor. Even on death's door, he was fighting. He couldn't let the boy show him up now.

Silco stepped out of the cell and held out his arm for Viktor. "We'll need to move quickly. Come, lean on me for support."

Viktor moves as fast as his leg and pelvis allow, and he knows its not fast enough. He's almost tempted to just give Silco the location of the car waiting for them. 

Silco sees the pain in his every step. 

Remembers his own agony. 

And the arms that half-carried him to the Doctor.

And Silco acts on impulse, slipping his arm around Viktor fully, clamping his hand tight around his side. Half-carries him along

Viktor says direction and instruction as they go, which Silco follows until they are in sight of the car. Waiting there is a girl with fluffy hair and glasses, urging them on. When they get there, Silco opens the door to the backseat and slides in with Viktor close behind. 

Viktor grabs the hand of the girl and smiles. "Thank you, Miss Young."

She nods and then closes the door behind them before the car speeds off.

The only reason Sky is alive to be driving is because Viktor succeeded in dragging himself from the hexcore, twisted in the process, and knocked her down to the floor before she could try to grab onto him.

"I'm impressed," Silco finally says after catching his breath. "That was fairly well organized."

Part of Viktor was afraid that an enforcer would interrupt their escape, but it seems the other students he'd approached had fulfilled their distraction duties.

"I'm just glad," Viktor pants. "Everything went. According to plan. I..." He starts to feel a bit dizzy, the adrenaline starting to catch up with him.

And then coughs start wracking through.

Feels it like a vice inside him, squeezing, squeezing.

Silco is alarmed when Viktor heaves up blood, into his shaking hands, his lap.

"I can fix that."

"No one can fix me. I've tried. I've done nothing but try" Viktor says, resigned. "For months."

"I know what you're dying from," Silco says, causing Viktor to look at him with wide eyes. "I've seen it more times than I can count. Lost more people than I can count."

"Then how can you say you can fix it?"

"Because I know how to treat it." Silco looks out the window. "Shimmer....our miracle cure. A high dose, as close to lethal as you can get. Its a violent process. One you'll never forget."

"I--" Viktor's first thought is to viememently decline, but he's reminded of how it felt when he injected it into his leg. He could attribute his leg to the hex core, but not to his back and how much better he could breathe. Running felt like the easiest thing in the world. Maybe it was something so simple. 

"I will have to consider it," Viktor eventually says. 

"Don't take long," Silco sighs. "It doesn't seem like you have the luxury of time."

Viktor snorts. Pushes a tired hand through his hair, his palms and fingers mostly clean now.  Tips his head against the backrest.

Janna, he'd just like to sleep now.

Sleep, and sleep, and sleep.

Silco instructs the driver where to go so he can get a message to Sevika. He knows he can't just stroll into The Last Drop after all of this, as much as he could use the drink.

Once the message is sent, Silco directs them to the opening to an old mine shaft, long forgotten. "Sevika will meet us in there," Silco explains.

Sky and Viktor both hesitate.

They've heard things about the mines. Heard they're haunted. 

But Silco doesn't seem bothered

Silco eyes them a moment. "You realize they just tell those ridiculous ghost stories so children don't come playing around here, right?"

Viktor and Sky both blush.

Silco rolls his eyes. "Come on then."

Silco travels though the tunnels easily, armed with the light Sky provided. Every step reminded him of the hundreds of times he'd been down here before, and the deeper they went, the harder it was to push back the memories. Behind him, Viktor was starting to breathe more heavily and, honestly, Silco was glad for the reprieve. 

"We can rest a moment. It's not much further."

Silco doesn't think about all the times Vander shoved him up against dusty, rough walls. 

Doesn't think about the angry, hushed meetings by lantern-light.

Silco brings his hand to his eye, even though he knows the burning he feels isn't real. He didn't expect returning to have such an effect on him, but why else did he avoid it so long? 

Silco glances over at Viktor to see how he is doing and smirks a little at him shooing away Sky's worrisome attention.

The boy was stubborn, he would give him that. It really was a shame that they hadn't met earlier. He thinks about all they could have accomplished, if he'd snared the boy before Heimerdinger could.

Arch + Woods

[zeppeli-reelstallbun]

poll time! pick my next nanami x reader fic !!

as a way to apologize for the fact that I’ll be dropping off the face of the earth this upcoming week, I thought I’d share a few of the ideas I’ve had so that you can decide which fic comes first! these will all be coming at some point, so I suppose this is an upcoming works update as well :)

requests and asks will also be open during this time, but I probably won’t reply or see them till I’m done academic weaponing!

details + voting under the cut:

omg hey! if you haven't read any of my other stuff (expected as this will be my first jjk post), rest assured that our bbg is in good hands. I know everything there is to know about the power of a rolled long-sleeve dress shirt paired with the ability to cook homemade meals... anyways, these would all be salaryman era because I’m ignoring what happened in shibuya coping. I’m coping.

without further adieu, your choices:

🌷You guys voted for Nanami in the gym concept poll, and I'm a woman of my word: Despite having a certian... distaste for the man, it appears the universe has other plans. You keep crossing paths, frustratingly enough. Sure, the gym membership might have been a company bonus, but did he seriously have to come during your dates and times? [sfw, likely 2/3 parts max if not a super long oneshot]

🌹Coworkers turned friends with benefits turned ‘oh my god no please don’t tell me we’re actually forming a connection, ewwww.’ [Gonna be straight up, you might find it beneficial to keep a spray bottle of holy water on your person at all times while reading this one. Plot? Maybe! I will be absolutely going off the walls feral for this man. I'm talking 'that is the most shameless thing I've read all day,' and 'why does she know that about the human body,' type feral. nsfw. obvi. very likely multi-part]

🌼You’ve been able to see the strange creatures your whole life, but this was the first time you’d seen one like that. Even worse, it seemed to be looming over the one coworker you couldn’t stand. Wait. Did he just look at it too? [sfw 1-2 chapters, maybe 3 if you cross your fingers or beg or something]

🍀He’s just had a horribly unlucky weekend, and because of it, must ask his assistant for the most tedious favor imaginable. What else can he do, though? He needs the help... [kinda forced proximity, sfw, not nessicarily romantic but would definitely be implied, oneshot in the true sense of the word. incredibly funny concept to me, but dry humor most likely]

🌻With tax season just around the corner (riveting concept already, I know, just stick with me) a certain company is looking to outsource a CPA for a month or two. Thankfully, Nanami knows the perfect candidate for the job… he just won’t mention that she’s his girlfriend. No, that would be nepotistic. Besides, surely the two of you could pretend not to know each other for a few months… right? [multipart with smut potential, but not a necessity. much more fluff and humor here as well, and I appreciate not having to write actual coworker romances all the time yk? also, I despise my accounting courses and I have to take at least one more to graduate, ugh. Mad respect to actual CPA's]

MY MASTERLIST   GET TAGGED WHEN IT COMES OUT

[spark-hearts2]

It's been a month since chapter 3 was released, where's chapter 4?

(this is about this fanfic btw)

The good news is that I've written 10k words. The bad news is that I've only gotten a little more than half of the chapter done. That doesn't mean I don't have things written for the bottom half, it's just that it looks like bare dialog with general vibe notes. I estimate around 16k words total though, so it should come together sooner than later.

SO I want to release some fun snippets for y'all to look at. Please note that any of this is liable to change. Also, you can harass me in my inbox for updates. I love answering your questions and laughing at your misery.

Spoilers under cut.

_______

Ragatha stood up and walked over to where Caine was seated. “Can I get a list of all commands?” She asked, only a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“Certainly!” Caine says as he blasts into the air. He digs around in his tailcoat and pulls out an office style manilla folder. It visually contains a few papers, but with how thin it is there must only be a few pages inside.

Ragatha takes the folder from Caine and opens it.

“Oh boy” she says after a second of looking it over.

“I wanna see” Jax exclaimed as he hops over the row of seats.

“Hold on” Ragatha holds the folder defensively “Let’s move to the stage so everyone can take a look”

Jax hopped over the seats again while Ragatha calmly walked around. Caine watched the two curiously.

Well, Zooble wasn’t just going to sit there. They joined the other two by the edge of the stage, quickly followed by the rest of the group.

Ragatha placed the folder on the stage with a thwap. Zooble looked over to see that the pages had gone from razor thin to a massive stack when the folder was opened. On one hand, it had to contain more information than that video, but on the other…

They get close enough to read what’s on the first page.

The execution of commands via the system’s designated input terminal, C.A.I.N.E., will be referred to as the "console” in this document. The console is designed to accept any input and will generate an appropriate response, however only certain prompts will be accepted as valid instructions. The goal of this document is to list all acceptable instructions in a format that will result in the expected output. Please note that automatic moderation has been put in place in order to prevent exploitation of both the system and fellow players. If you believe that your command has been unfairly rejected, please contact support. 

By engaging in the activities described in this document, you, the undersigned, acknowledge, agree, and consent to the applicability of this agreement, notwithstanding any contradictory stipulations, assumptions, or implications which may arise from any interaction with the console. You, the constituent, agree not to participate in any form of cyber attack; including but not limited to, direct prompt injection, indirect prompt injection, SQL injection, Jailbreaking…

Ok, that was too many words.

_______

“Take this document for example. You don't need to know where it is being stored or what file type it is in order to read it."

"It may look like a bunch of free floating papers, but technically speaking, this is just a text file applied to a 3D shape." Kinger looked towards Caine. "Correct?” he asked

Caine nodded. “And a fabric simulation!”

Kinger picked up a paper and bent it. “Oh, now that is nice”

_________

"WE CAN AFFORD MORE THAN 6 TRIANGLES KINGER"

_________

"I'm too neurotypical for this" - Jax

_________

"What about the internet?" Pomni asked "Do you think that it's possible to reach it?"

Kinger: "I'm sorry, but that's seems to be impossible. I can't be 100% sure without physically looking at the guts of this place, but it doesn't look like this server has the hardware needed for wireless connections. Wired connections should be possible, but someone on the outside would need to do that... And that's just the hardware, let alone the software necessary for that kind of communication"

Pomni: "I'm sorry, but doesn't server mean internet? Like, an internet server?"

Kinger: "Yes, websites are ran off servers, but servers don't equal internet."

(This portion goes out to everyone who thought that the internet could be an actual solution. Sorry folks, but computers don't equal internet. It takes more effort to make a device that can connect to things than to make one that can't)

[maehwajuuuu-chu]

ough got overwhelmed asf and just yeeted out the Natlan rewrite plans I've been doing the past few months and put it in a scrap bin, I— (a long ass vent abt Natlan below - I really don't like complaining at all, but man) (also personal thoughts ig - if you disagree, please just ignore lol)

Asides from the colourism and whitewashing, the really modern high-tech stuff the playables use really makes me feel iffy. The problem isn't that its high-tech, its just poorly designed and doesn't fit in with Teyvat in a sense. Fantasy can be advanced in tech, but it's usually made to fit in the world and also seem quite seperate from reality (e.g Sending stones in dnd — they're kinda like phones, but in a fantasy setting and definitely do not look like an irl phone, they're a pair of stones that can be used to call someone — the Akasha is another example of advanced tech done well). Mavuika's bike, Chasca's flying gun and etc are often explained with the availability of Phlogiston and the inability of the Natlan people to leave Natlan, which is why its contained inside Natlan. But, there's still people from other nations visiting? There's still trade and merchants, which would cause tech like a motorbike or flying guns to expand across Teyvat — you'd only need a blueprint and instructions on how to make it. Natlan is not a contained nation at all - in fact, they're regularly welcoming people from other nations. Which brings up the problem of this tech not being spread across Teyvat. Then there's the issue of Xilonen being able to make pretty much everything, but there's nearly none of this tech shown anywhere else in Natlan other than the playable characters. Which makes it even more jarring — it causes the playable characters to be unable to fit in their own nation (specifically pointed at Mavuika and Varesa's designs).

Moreover, if she could make a flying gun, why isn't there a plane already? If there is a motorbike, why are there no cars speeding around Teyvat already? Sure, it's knowledge from the dragons that used to be around Natlan — but if they have access to that, this kind of tech would have more variety as well. Honestly, they could have made the aesthetic of the tech be less immersion breaking and made it fit inside the Fantasy genre more. My point is that Natlan's tech can be 'explained' by lore, but it was still executed poorly.

Another design issue that I came across was how little the Natlan characters had any of their relevant lore or daily jobs reflect in their designs and playstyles. I get told Xilonen is a blacksmith, but she just looks like an average DJ girl to me - she just skates and pulls out a DJ board - there's nothing that tells me who she is or what she does. I mistook Mavuika as a commentator for the pilgrimage in the first Natlan trailer, because of her underwhelming design, and I wouldn't have known Citlali was a shaman unless I read her lore, because of how she only floats around her pillows in her playstyle (I'd be honest, the pillows suit Mizuki a lot more). Natlan was a nation where I'd have expected to see designs and playstyles that were a lot more serious and heavily leaning to fantasy, and honestly, super cool - but it feels like its rather corporate and made to just sell in a sense?

Another issue I came across was the multitudes of cultures just mixed into one nation in a way that's considered quite lazy (a problem that Genshin has in nations that are not Liyue). It reminds me of China, Japan and South Korea being mashed into one country cause 'eh, they look similar enough,' but the thing is they are actually really different? It's also just plain damn difficult when I'm trying to do a rewrite and end up having to research 30 different cultures at the same time by myself (I look at everything from traditional clothing, food, traditions, languages, history, music, people and etc — I generally adore doing this, it's my favourite thing to do, but not when its in the double digits, cause it's a lot). It's also a bit sad, cause all of the cultures they used are really beautiful and awesome — I often paused just to admire and appreciate ngl. But, they lost a lot of potential by not focusing on one or two and not going really in-depth — like they chose quantity over quality. Honestly, the whole nation turned out to be a lot more difficult with each update in terms of doing a rewrite and it's quite frustrating, cause I had planned quite a lot ngl — but, oh well. I'm still gonna yap about my Natlan ocs in the future and do redesigns cause those are super fun — but a rewrite is definitely off the table now KJHDKJHDKJ (and besides I have more time to focus on my own oc fics hehe)

[hockybish]

Jack with pregnant Ava

...this is a lot, hold on...

Ava wants a baby really badly. She knew it was going to be virtually impossible because her body hated her. But that didn't dissuade either of them like at all.

Jack and Ava only dated for a few months before Jack proposed on Valentines day. They got married not too long after that. They decided right away to start trying for a baby.

Ava was hesitant about telling Jack about her fertility issues. Ultimately she decided it was for that best to be honest about them. Jack understood. And he never pushed her to do anything she didn't want to do. If she ever said she was done trying, he would abide by that.

Yes they did consider IVF and surrogacy and adoption. Ava didn't want to go through all of that just for the pain of one of those options not working out. The couple put all of their faith in fate. If it was meant to be it was meant to be.

There was a time that when they stopped trying so hard and really considered giving up hope and resigning themselves to being cool Auntie Ava and Uncle Jack.

It was after they had seen Quinn and his wife, Luke and Maisie, and Lola and Mason have their babies (this is excluding baby boy McTavish (he comes after Xander)). That was a total of 7 babies. Ava was convinced it was never going to happen for them. So she threw around the idea (it also didn't help that Lola just had a miscarriage as well)

"Maybe we should stop" Ava tried her hardest not to cry. She had wanted a baby for so long, thought of giving up this dream wasn't easy.

"Are you sure that's what you want?" It wasn't easy seeing his wife so torn and heartbroken. He held her as she cried into his shoulder.

"I don't know anymore Jack, I don't know" Snot and tears ran down her face. She hated this.

"Think about it for a little longer. We can revisit in a week or so."

"I have thought about this. I've prayed and wished, and worked for so long. I don't know anymore. Why not us? Why not me? Am I not made to love a baby? Why me?" Ava felt completely broken all Jack could do was helplessly hold her and comfort her.

About a month later they did revisit. And a month after that Ava got sick one morning after Jack made breakfast. The sent of bacon sent her running for the bathroom to hurl her guts out. She thought maybe she had food poisoning, after all the sushi they had the night before seemed a little sus.

"Wouldn't it be funny if you were pregnant?" Jack joked. Ava shot him a look but the idea stuck in her brain.

She found the box of old pregnancy tests that she had bought when they purchased the house years ago. The first one she took came back positive. Her heart fluttered when she saw the little plus sign. She had to be sure though before she told Jack. So she took the rest of the tests she had.

And all nine of the extra came back negative. Only 1 of the ten tests she took were positive and it was the first one. That puzzled her. She was so confident after that first one that she was pregnant, that she couldn't understand why the others weren't positive.

Jack came home from practice to all of the negative tests. Once Ava told him the situation, he wasn't as confused as Ava was why there was only one test that was positive in the sea of negatives.

"It's just a false positive." Jack explained.

"No you don't understand. The first one was positive. I'm pregnant. I know it. I just don't understand why the others don't show it."

"Do you have an appointment?" Jack didn't want to be the bearer of bad news that she probably wasn't pregnant, he would let the doctors do that. He was just going to be there to pick up the pieces. Again.

"The earliest one would work for our schedules was next Wednesday." She confirmed. Ava was clutching the good test close to her chest. Jack nodded and looked back at the all the negative tests. He examined the box that the test came from.

"Ava ..." he paused "you do know these test are expired right?"

She had no clue, she didn't even realize they could expire. Jack offered to run to the store to get more. He got a bunch of different ones, as long as they weren't expired he got em. Ava took all of when he got back and they waited. One by one each test came back positive.

"Oh my god"

"I told you!"

Once the doctor confirmed it, Jack and Ava were over the moon. They kept their news secret from their families for a few more months. They just wanted to get over that first trimester, possible miscarriage hump before they said anything.

It wasn't too hard. Luke and Maisie weren't around anymore. And Ellen and Jim were running around spending more time with the couples that gave them grand kids versus the childless couple. Ellen did have a hunch when Ava drank soda instead of her usual hard seltzer at game, she voiced it to Jim who concluded with a "they'll tell us when they want to"

The whole family cheered for the couple came on the monthly family facetime call with tshirts that read recently upgraded from auntie to mommy/uncle to daddy. They did a typical puck shooting contest to announce the gender. And when Ava was about 7ish months along they officially announced it to the public.

Jack is so attentive and protective with Ava when she's pregnant with Xander. She's already a kinda clumsy when shes not pregnant, can you imagine how wobbly and accident prone she is when she is pregnant? He will cook for her and make sure she's taking her vitamins and drinking enough water. He gives her foot massages when her feet swell up. Jack holds the bump when it gets to heavy for her. He treats her like the queen she is. He kinda makes his brothers feel bad and jealous because of amazing he is with Ava

He's going to be a good dad.

...theres more but lets start with this for now...

[throatgoat4u]

hello, hello, hello, hello to all my lovely people out there. i wanna start of by saying happy valentines to every single one of you. whether you're single, in a relationship, or have just broken up, i hope you all enjoy this amazing day of love and share it with their loved ones.

today's not just about a romantic partner, but to people who you just love. tell your family how much you love and appreciate them for all they've done for you and if that's not an option, share your gratitude with your friends or people who have constantly been there for you and have made you feel loved.

do something kind for someone. give them a hug, write them a letter, compliment them, whatever. you don't have to make some big gesture or go all out, just let someone know you appreciate them.

but most importantly, make sure you love yourself. self love is just as, if not more, important than anything else. how are you supposed to put in your time and effort in loving someone else if you can't do that for yourself? so whether you want to go out and spoil yourself or stay in and take a nice bath and watch movies, make sure you're putting your love for yourself first.

but, loving yourself isn't just about spa days and self care (but like that shit's like amazing so like i definitely recommend a nice everything shower if you're not doing anything today.....) it's also about speaking to yourself kindly, forgiving yourself for past mistakes, and acknowledging that you deserve just as much love as everyone else on this amazing day!

now, that being said, i'm gonna spread all my love to some of the most amazing people on this app! (this is where my formality ends, trust 🤞)

@onevison. i literally love you so much omg. you are one of the nicest people ever and you're actually so creative with your aus. i love talking to you and always enjoy when we chat. i love you!

@freshloveee. you're so so so good at writing and genuinely one of my favorite writers on this app. you're honestly so sweet and kind. i love you!

@chrepsi. you're genuinely one of the funniest people on this app, i cannot. i love your vibe and your music taste is just so ugh. you're so cool. i love you!

@muwapsturniolo. so you're literally amazing?!?! like you're so gorgeous and funny and such an amazing writer. idek how many times i've reread your shit but it's too many to count. anywho..... when's the next album coming out sza????? i love you!

@leoslaboratory. i just binge read your fics last night btw. you're fucking amazing and i love everything you do. dealer!chris is amazing and i absolutely love it. your fics for black history month are eating btw. i love you!

@phone4pills. so so so cool. you're theme is so cool, you're fics are so cool, you are so cool. i'm genuinely sooo happy anytime i've seen that you've posted a new fic or something and am always looking forward to when you write more. i love you!

@mattscoquette. you're just sooooo like awesome. i love everything you write and i love scrolling through watching you answer asks cause you're so funny. i'm still heartbroken over a change of heart (and the fact that you've ruined that song for me 💔). also like petition to bring back my man perv!matt. he doesn't get the love he deserve. anyways, when i was lurking here, i would always stalk your page and you were the first person i found on sturniolo tumblr. you were genuinely such an inspiration for me and one of the biggest reasons i started posting what i write. i love you!

@thenickgirl. you're my favorite nick girl out there. i love how you write for him and give him the attention he absolutely deserves. just cause he's gay doesn't mean we should leave him out guys 😞💔. you're such an amazing writer and you're so funny. i love you!

@t0riiiis. you're literally like so relatable and i feel like i can always talk to you without getting bored. you're there for me and you've shown your love for me countless times and i cannot even begin to say how much it means to me. i love you!

@oopsiedaisydeer. i'm sooo happy that we're like friends now because you're such a nice and cool person. you're an amazing writer and i love when i see updates on your ponyo au. you're so sweet and show me so much support on literally everything. i love you!

@bernardsbendystraws. dare i say that you're the mother of sturniolo tumblr?!?! you're genuinely such and amazing and funny person and make the tumblr fandom a much better place. i love how during that whole pedo scandal, you were there for absolutely every single person and were so helpful in the whole ordeal. you aren't scared of what anyone says about you and you're so confident, it's so admirable (this also goes for @muwapsturniolo, cause if i recall correctly she called her workplace or something like that which is honestly a boss ass move). your writing is also just amazing and never disappoints. you're like a breath of fresh air (that sounded better in my head but it's okay). i love you!

and i've saved the best for last, @snoopychris. idek what to say. like i'm being serious. i love you so much and you're my absolute favorite person on here. i love being able to talk to you everyday and ik you'll be there to listen without judgement. you're so funny (and a bit odd) and i love you for it. you're genuinely like a big sister to me in a way and i just feel like talking to you makes my day. whether it's about an au or just yapping (or saying some weird shit about chris) it always makes my day just so much better. i literally trust you soooo much even if we’ve only known each other for a short time. like when i say i trust you, i mean like i TRUST you. atp, i trust you enough to know what my face looks like, my actual name, and other personal info. like genuinely i feel so comfortable talking to you and you never fail to make me happy! you're such a fun person and so creative. also you're writing?!?! i literally love it. i love you 🧠!

obviously there are so many other people who i absolutely love, adore, and cherish with my whole heart, but these people stick out to me! anyways, i love you guys so much and am so thankful for everyone's constant support. i'm so happy with all the new friends i've made on this app and am looking forward to making many many many more! with lots of love...

toodles sluts :)

(i felt it was necessary to bring back sluts for this post...)

also the fact that i actually wrote that shit at the top from my heart impresses me….. like what?!?!

also one last note, if there’s some misspelled words or i’m just repeating myself like an idiot, please note that its still early and even tho i woke up over an hour ago, im still like half asleep