#this specific taste unless i'm in town and shes working

[nappingmoon]

guys my friend who works at dunkin insisted on making me try matcha when she makes it and oh my god this is one of the best things ever. i'm a convert!

[vulnerasti-cor-meum]

longgggg vent post. I'm sorry. Im just feeling maddened lately. at best I probably sound like a petulant teenager.

my mom's making a huge fuss abt my bday weekend. she was proposing we go out to eat for next few days. That's absurd. it's absurd and unthinkable bc I have actively been skipping sit-down dinners with her, because I am on a self-campaign to minimize time with her. I hate dinner. I have nothing to say. she stares at me when we're eating.I am hungry every evening. And I have no appetite in the morning. and I have nightmares about her. about screaming at her and about her being my enemy. and my poor progenitress is at home all the live-long day (listening to YT preachers all day) because Im the one using the car for work, so who knows what that does to her. she hardly eats, herself, and even less now that there's no excuse for dining with me. I said that we can eat out ONCE, at texas roadhouse, which In my brain I consider to be too tacky because Im trying to develop good taste, but in my heart, who tf am I kidding. last therapist told me that if I want my mom to respect me as a man and not a child, I need to show her Im a man and not a child, but my resentment is such that I dont want to show her any part of myself at all, All Ive ever felt is rejection from her. on every axis and dimension. and now she's divorced and jobless and isolated from broader culture and Im her early retirement fund until some day in the long and unhappy future.

and now I have a lover whom Ive been seeing for seven months, we've been intimate, we go on dates, he buys me tix to the cinema and we hold hands for two hours and he's told me he adores me and is crazy about me, and I dont think I believed him even though I think he may have been wooing me (how seriously though?). Even though I said IDK if I could see us being anything more than occasional lovers, he still continued to see me afterward. And now I'm crazed for him my body ails for him my stomach is in knots and my brain is abuzz. I canceled a date two weeks ago with him because I was sick. He said he'd wait for me. When I texted him five days later that I was better (four days of silence), turns out he had left on a postponed roadtrip. (he didnt tell me. was he still waiting for me? why didnt he tell me? was I entitled to know? Of course not.) He leaves back for town today: He said he'd keep me posted (more specifically on some property he was contemplating buying at the trip-destination). I told him Id like to see him again soon. he heart-reacted. There's no reason to expect I wont see him again unless it's due to the inherent unstable bond between uncommitted chemical bodies. I dont know how long to wait till I ask him to see me again. I dont want to be a creep. I dont want to seem creepily desperate but I need him to know I want him so badly (or even at all! even if just for an evening!) and that yes I do want to work out something even one degree of magnitude "more" than what we are.I want to give of myself more generously. I want to be his possession.He doesnt reject me in that he's told me Im perfect even if my rship with my mom keeps me from giving myself more to him. I dont know if his kissyface emotes mean anything. I keep analyzing seven months' of texts like a statistician or a conspiracy theorist.

I want a new job but Ive only been here a year and can barely handle the work for which Ive been employed and which even is the only kind of work that accords with my resume. Clients depress me and get me down (senior citizens; fixed incomes; living in slums. I always fear that Im looking into a mirror of my own future). my colleagues are the sweetest persons in the world and my hours are so forgiving, so I know I should be grateful, but it's so hard so so hard.

I've been telling myself lately that God has meted out a long and unhappy life for me and that I know this in my heart, but who knows how much this is truth and how much this is slanderous against God

[magicalara]

The Scents Of Kuroshitsuji: Phantomhive Manor

@briccy started asking me about the scents of characters. Now here we are. I'm gonna see if I make a series out of this so we're starting with the Phantomhive Manor and next will probably be the reapers. If there are any specific people or groups you'd like to see, send an ask and I'll fit it in somewhere! Enjoy!!

TW: mentions of death but like it's black butler, what do you want from me. also Ciel is o!ciel I'm not gonna do r!ciel or the 'rents unless asked otherwise lol sorry

Ciel Phantom:

The Earl of Phantomhive doesn't have a distinct smell as it changes with the environment and the mission he's on. For example, if the Queen hasn't given him a task and he's just working on Funtom stuff or is just generally in the manor or town house, he smells like paper, ink, and books. However, given he needs to be in places like the circus grounds in the Noah's Arc ark, he smells of dirt and sweat. Alternatively, if his mission requires him to mingle amongst the rich, he smells clean, like soap. Sebastian might also put a sweet smelling perfume on Ciel if he needs to up the whole "child Earl" thing.

Sebastian Michaelis:

Sebastian, like Ciel, has a main scent which morphs depending on the environment he's spending the most time in. When he's in the manor, though, I like to think he has the continuous scent of sweets or baked goods (especially chocolate) on him because he makes the stuff for Ciel. However, he does always have a faint undertone of a dangerous scent to him. It isn't blood, and it isn't death. But it does radiate danger. This is amplified when he's going demon mode or it's night time, specifically between the hours of 11:30 PM to about 4 AM and most intense between 12:30 AM and 1:00 AM. His dangerous scent is like that of a predator, waiting to capture it's next soul.

Mey-Rin:

Mey-Rin is curious because, while she does have a nice sized collection of perfumes (mostly from Ann when she was alive and Nina Hopkins), she doesn't use them as often as one might think. She only uses it during special occasions, such as an important big event (like the show in mbditw), or if she feels she's loosing touch with her femininity again. This is especially true after nights where she has to revert to assassin mode such as in Book of Circus. Otherwise, she just smells like general cleaning supplies such, mostly laundry detergent.

Baldroy:

Bard smells like smoke. Cigarette smoke, usually, but sometimes firearm smoke as well from guns, bombs, etc. But it isn't in a bad way. Because of his soldier background, it fits him. It fits his look, his accent (in my head, not the anime idk what they did in the anime), his vibe. It's almost comforting and protective in a sense. He was a dad and now protects and looks after the manor as is his job but also after Mey Rin and Finny because those are his best friend and almost child respectively. He knows they can protect themselves, but he also wants to protect them as best he can and the smokey scent surrounding him brings comfort vibes, especially to them. Not to Sebastian, though, who gets the startings of a headache when he smells smoke for too long, even if Bard isn't around.

Finnian:

Finny smells like outside. Dirt, trees, grass, certain flowers depending on the season. Point is, he smells like the essence of nature. He loves spending time outside because of his past, and, if left alone long enough, he would spend all day just messing around outside. He always has dirt under his nails and, on working days, specks of it around his face.

Tanaka:

Tanaka has different scents depending on who you ask. To Sebastian, it's an old soul who's very respectable (he doesn't taste like a normal human, I doubt he smells like one either so yes, he can smell souls). To the trio, it's the tea he drinks as well as a soft bookish scent. Like an old book in a library. To Ciel, though, it's comfort. He smells like home. Tanaka is the longest companion he's held, and he's most relaxed around him.

Snake:

Snake doesn't have a smell. Snakes don't smell like anything, and neither does he. The only time when he does have some sort of scent is if someone like rubs dirt on him or uses perfume or cologne or something like that. And even then, it doesn't last long and you'd have to continuously keep putting it every like 30 minutes to an hour if you want it to stick. Sometimes, though, this comes in handy for when he needs to sneak around.

The Phantomhive Manor:

The last is the manor itself. To outsiders, it smells like house. A fancy house full of expensive things. To those in the know, it smells like blood. To those who live there, it smells like home. To Ciel, it smells like the past. Even though it's an entirely different structure, he can still faintly smell his mother's perfume in the library, the scent of his father's favorite ink in the study, the scent of his aunt who would do house calls for his asthma in where his childhood bedroom was. It's home, but it's also so bittersweet for someone who lost his family so quickly. Special inclusion: to Undertaker, it smells like regret.

[bitchapalooza]

I think Rosiepuff dies after they had escaped the tree. Chef is alone, and leaves after capturing just a single troll. If they were in the tree, she would've been catching a lot more for trollstice and probably had help. I also think brozone was created after escaping the tree, because it would've been hard to go separate ways in a small tree. I also think the bergens wouldn't have let the trolls be super loud in the tree, because it would have gotten on their nerves since they were always unhappy when it wasn't trollstice before the ending of the first trolls. Branch acts as though he hadn't seen any of them since the band broke up, which would've been hard if they were all confined to a single tree. A lot of people believe Branch to be older than Poppy but I'm not sure if that's necessarily the case. We also don't know much about troll aging considering tiny diamond could immediately talk and seems to have an intellect similar to an adult troll.

That’s what I thought too until I took the inconsistencies in the series into account. The timeline we’re presented with doesn’t make much sense to me; we’re told Trollstice happened 20 years ago. World Tour and Band Together are a month apart. The band splitting up was 20 years ago. On the fandom wiki it seems to claim it’s been a years between trolls 1 and 2, but I’m not sure how much I can believe that when I don’t see the actual source stating that. We are to assume that Branch and Poppy are at least 21-23 in the first Trolls, making them toddlers when the escape from Bergen town happens, and at least 24 in trolls 3. When the flashback to Rosiepuff happens, Branch looks to be about 4-8 years old, while in Brozone he was probably 1 or 2.

I’m sure they thought things out well enough but just didn’t exactly execute it very well since Branch’s past wasn’t a focus until trolls 3 and neither was the total past of the pop trolls, just their escape and what it’s led up to and what we got in trolls 2.

I think the bergens treated the trolls like livestock and figured that if they didn’t do their thing they probably wouldn’t actually taste good. There would probably be many gray trolls around if their spirits were down and repressed so often, which in their logic would be bad livestock and probably be seen as an infectious disease, leading to many needless dead livestock to prevent the spread of disease and the end of trollstice. The trolls probably had designated sing times, or just kept their singing to specific people(ie bands or singers) and kept it to INSIDE the tree(probably a naturally occurring hole in the trunk or in their respective individual pods) where the noise muffled enough to not attract attention.

As for the brothers going separate ways, well they’re small. The tree is very big to them. It’s probably more like a whole town or city for them. You’d actually be pretty surprised at how easy it is to not see people you know in a small town— I live in a small town with limited neighborhoods(like 2 or 3 actual neighborhoods and the rest are RV parks and mostly year round empty cabins and vacation homes) and apparently more than 5 of my coworkers actually live not far from me. And yet, I never see them when I’m out and about running errands(unless it’s the only Walmart between towns, other than that, I never see them. I don’t even see the one who lives right across from the post office! And I go to the post office very often! I’ve only encountered coworkers outside of work 3 times in the past 2 years). They could easily avoid each other if they were actually really trying to. And the escape wouldn’t really change that fact because many families probably got separated in the fray anyway, both in the group with Peppy and the group with Viva. Again, idk how trustworthy the wiki is and where they get their sources from, but it does mention Clay and Viva having escaped the Bergens together.

And I’m not trying to argue or anything, I mostly took this ask as an opportunity to explain my thoughts behind the timeline lol 🤷‍♂️

[seyemvertisepra]

So, this fucking stuff.

The background context of it is much more fascinating then what it tastes like, but to answer Trykster's question, it had a slightly bitter, earthy taste, with the bitterness becoming less pronounced the longer it was aged and bringing out a kind of smokey sweetness. One of the things it's made out of is essentially a parnsip, so if you can imagine that sort of mineral turnipy taste, but richer, you basically have it.

To actually explain what it is and how you developed, like with a lot of things about us, you have to go back to the way our societies were originally structured. Pre-industrial revolution, the city builders and farmers of Centauri Prime were women. They stayed in one place while men were nomadic, traveling in family groups between settlements where they had wives.

Women raised their daughters, and men raised their sons. When a woman gave birth to a baby boy, he was handed off to his father's Clave as soon as they arrived in her settlement. She was usually fine with this; she'd been taught that it was more important to expend her energy on raising the town's daughters to continue their mother's work, they were her family's real next generation.

Now uhhh. Here's some mildly gross information. We were not mammals, we were descendants of something like protomammal psuedoreptilian synapsids, so we didn't feed our infant children the way mammals do (do not let canon propaganda fool you boobs weren't a thing) we uhm. We fed them the way that certain species of birds do. You know, like penguins.

I'm saying that you feed your baby by throwing up in their mouth, yes. Isn't nature beautiful (actually discussing this was a huge social taboo in the Republic, incidentally, a bigger one then even humans and women breastfeeding feeding their babies in public. God forbid any of the other species find out how we evolved to feed our children, the indignity.)

Anyway the one thing we did have in common with humans is that only afab people could do this. So our Centauri parents who just welcomed a beautiful baby boy have a problem; dad is taking the baby, but also dad doesn't have a way to feed the baby. Before we developed agriculture, this problem could be solved well enough by just crushing whatever he was eating into baby food. However, the development of a society always offers the development of new and better ways of doing things.

Like pretty much every family in her town, mom's family has a kitchen garden as well as livestock, and one of the animals their ancestors domesticated is called a Shaka- it's a kind of blind, terrestrial eel, which reproduces quickly and in large numbers and can be reared in compost bins much like an earthworm. They eat the Shaka themselves, but they also collect and eat their eggs, which are the primary food source they produce. This is one ingredient in Spoo.

The second is a kind of parnsip-adjacent tuber called a Jania, which has the unusual quality of being a vivid blue color. It's an important staple food crop, though it's strongly agreed that the texture is unpleasant until it's cooked or well pulverized. At some point in the past someone mixed together pulverized Jania, Shaka fat and eggs, cooked it over heat for a long time, aged it for less bitterness, and bam! We invented Centauri Pemmican. It keeps for a long time, and you can make it in large quantities, and while you as someone with other food sources probably won't eat it unless there's a famine, it's the perfect thing to give to your husband as a stable food supply for your child.

So yes, originally, Spoo was baby food. That's actually what the word means. It's specifically baby food that most men grew up on, something that they often got consistently well into their third year. Because of this nostalgic comfort food aspect, because it keeps for a long time, and because it's pemmican and thus very nutritious and full of protein and energy, over time it became very popular for adults as well as children.

It was absolutely an acquired taste for people who didn't grow up on it; it was more acerbic then other kinds of pemmican, it can be gritty if prepared poorly, and it had a color that humans in particular found off putting. In its natural form it had a pemmican like consistency, but it was also commonly boiled down and used as a stock or eaten as a soup by itself, like tomato soup, which was most people's preferred way to eat it because was much more appealing when used as a base for other ingredients.

I'm also aware that there was Spoo flavored ice cream, and weirdly enough, energy drinks. Possibly other things once humans got a hold of it, but those two things were specifically our inventions.

[theorangestar]

When do you think Mako, Bolin, Korra and Asami's birthday's dates are, and how they like to celebrate?

I won't pick a specific date for any of them, since the Avatar world probably has their own calendar that we know nothing about, so I'll only guess the seasons.

I firmly believe that Bolin is smack-dab in the middle of spring. Asami I'm guessing is early to mid fall. Now, the canon lore says that benders are most often born in the season corresponding to their element, but that's not the only time babies are born benders. So traditionally Mako would be in summer and Korra in winter, but I actually think it's the opposite. Mako was in winter, and Korra was in summer. I like the idea of them being opposite in most ways than the average person expects.

So celebrations.

Bolin. Loves. Parties. As a kid on the streets neither brother really got to do much for their birthday, although they would each try to make the day special for each other. But once they're adults and have real stability, Bolin decides to make up for all the fun he's missed out on. He has a big get-together with as many friends and family as he can invite. Loud music, drinking, party games, cake with frosting in outrageous colors, the whole nine yards. He'll crash early the next morning and will complain about how tired or hungover he is, but he won't consider doing anything different.

Mako is very opposite. He doesn't want a big production made about him, but he's brothers with Bolin, so there will inevitably be some form of production. Usually he'll get his favorite meal for lunch, treat himself to a crepe or something sweet for dessert, then spend the evening at his apartment with his close family and friends with drinks and soft music, just talking and having a good time. If there's a particularly good play performing that year, Bolin and Asami will drag him to watch. Bolin will go see anything, but Asami usually has good taste. Korra only goes under protest.

Asami probably grew up with Hiroshi throwing her lavish parties, complete with petting zoos, entertainers, go-cart racing (since Asami would be too young for a real car). However, I don't think Asami had many friends growing up. Any kids at these parties were probably the kids of other CEOs and politicians who were only there because Hiroshi knew their parents. As an adult, she's toned it down a lot. No more petting zoos, no entertainers (unless someone else hired them as a surprise), and with her actual friends as guests. She still races her cars. Maybe she goes to the spa in the afternoon. But everyone's invited to dinner at her place, and yeah, things are toned down from when she was a kid, but this is Asami Sato. It's still the most expensive and lavish food money can buy. She says "Oh I just want a nice quiet dinner with my friends," as if she didn't just spend a sports car's worth of money on liquid nitrogen ice cream and gold leaf.

Korra has a complicated relationship with her birthday. Just by how the avatar works, the day she was born was the day Aang died. Most of the people in her life knew him personally or are greatly inspired by him. For most, it's a day of mourning, so as a kid, it's also the only day Katara doesn't come to visit the compound, even if she does leave a gift. However, it's one of the few days her parents get to visit. They spend the whole day together, just the three of them and Naga, until she's a little older and she's allowed to go into town with a White Lotus escort. Once she's in Republic City, there's more widespread mourning of Aang, especially on Air Temple Island. It's rough for a while there, especially for Tenzin, but eventually it comes to be that the family mourns Aang in the morning and celebrates Korra's birthday in the evening. Korra feels weird for mourning Aang every year, since in a way it's mourning herself, so she usually spends the morning outside the city with Naga just enjoying nature. Her parties are like Bolin's but more lowkey.

[rainofaugustsith]

SWTOR: Galactic Seasons Help 2.0

We are now into our second week with the new SWTOR Galactic Seasons program. I think others have voiced the same concerns I have about Galactic Seasons. If you are a solo player - or even a group player who prefers to be with friends or guildmates - the objectives may not be to your liking. They are very clearly trying to push specific play styles which are not to everyone's taste, specifically PvP and GSF matches. Moreover they seem to specifically be pushing players to group with strangers. For example, veteran flashpoints show up as a weekly objective - but they don't count unless you use group finder.

The GS system seems to be bugged to holy hell - if you check the Bug Reports forum on the SWTOR official site, you will see numerous reports of activities not counting toward the priority objectives (PO), POs with confusing/conflicting names, and other issues. SWTOR had a maintenance patch scheduled for May 6 that was to correct some of these bugs, but as of May 7 it has been delayed.

Having said that, let's be honest. A lot of us want some of the goodies offered, like the stronghold and companions we may have missed out on. With that in mind, here's my newest list of suggestions that may help.

1. You do not appear to need to complete the entire objective on one character. This is exactly how Conquest works - your kill count is shared across your legacy. For example, I needed to kill 75 specific NPCs on Balmorra. Project Hexapod has 33 (yes, I counted LOL). So I sent three characters through that heroic to get to 75. The Black Hole required six completed missions. I did the three instanced ones on a character, then did three more on another toon.

2. Consider the instanced areas. There are numerous instanced heroics and repeatable missions where you can work toward those kill mission and heroic counts without fighting with anyone else over mobs or getting in the way of anyone attempting to complete a story or planetary quest. There are also a few open world missions that, by nature of their mechanism (macrobinoculars), don't mess with anyone else. I've included an updated list under the cut. 3. The heroics bug. So there are a number of POs that require three heroics on a choice of three planets. In my experience, they only have counted if they have been completed on the first planet named. In other words, if the heroic PO is "do heroics on Belsavis, Hoth or Tatooine" like they are here, the ones from Belsavis will count, but the ones from the other two planets will not. I can't guarantee this will work for you too, but it's worth a try. It's worked for me with the "Belsavis/Hoth/Tatooine" and "Alderaan/Corellia/Balmorra" heroics.

4. The path to tokens is slow going for Preferred and F2P. If there's something with the tokens you really want, consider subscribing for a month or two. I normally would not recommend this, but I'll be honest and say it's the route I'm taking too. 5. You get one re-roll daily on your daily POs. Use it wisely. I've been using it to roll away PVP and GSF and really trying to do anything solo that comes up. In my experience, re-rolling often just gives you another PVP or GSF PO - so don't waste a solo PO that has come up. 6. After a month, you reportedly will be able to use game credits to buy levels. I don't know what this credit sink will be. But if you have considered buying levels with cartel coins - you may wish to wait. You also may wish to consider what is less burdensome: doing POs you don't enjoy, or doing content you DO enjoy and saving credits to skip. List of instanced/non-competitive with other players missions and heroics under the cut, now updated to include Onderon.

Instanced missions:

Empire Black Hole: Glow; Hypermatter Directive

Dantooine: Beneath Suspicion

Onderon: Good Hunting (open world, but you carry the bait so there is no clickable and AFAIK nobody can steal the two NPCs you must defeat); Recording History (open world but you are scanning landmarks with binoculars so nobody can steal your objectives and there is no need to compete for them); Tamed; Proving your Worth (requires you to click a brazier outside the instanced area but the entire fight is instanced).

Ossus: Know Your Enemy (not instanced, but this involves scanning landmarks, so there is no competition for mobs or objectives)

Republic Black Hole: Eyes and Ears

Dantooine: Pirates. Again; An Enemy Among Friends

Onderon: Proving your Worth (requires you to click a brazier outside the instanced area but the entire fight is instanced) ; Tamed; Cleaning Up the Streets Ossus: Remembering the Past (not instanced, but this involves scanning landmarks, so there is no competition for mobs or objectives)

Section X: Priority Containment

BOTH FACTIONS

CZ-198: Anti-Toxin Acquisition/Anti-Toxin Recovery

Oricon: Hand that Sees/Eye of Terror

Rishi: She Who Devours; A Crew of Your Own (literally all you have to do for this is speak to Harlow Ricks twice). NB: there are some reports on the Bug Reports forum that this mission is not counting for certain characters.

Mek-Sha: We're Wanted Men

Dantooine's heroics are instanced, but are considered extremely hard for solo players to complete.

Instanced, AND lots and lots of mobs:

EMPIRE:

Heroics:

Balmorra: Project Hexapod (HAS COLLICOIDS for that 'kill bugs' objective); Resistance Sympathizers; Settling Debts (careful - don't pull more than one mob at once in here). Thank you @tishinada for the heads up on the additional Balmorra heroics!)

Belsavis: Old Enemies (careful; the mobs in here hit hard)

Corellia: Prison Busting; Wookiee Revolt

Hoth: Static; A Traitor’s Punishment

Korriban: Armed and Dangerous

Nar Shaddaa: Botched Interrogation; Terminal Injuries; Recruitment

Tatooine: Blood and Sand

Taris: Last of the Tarisian Pirates

Voss: First Commando’s Call

REPUBLIC:

Heroics:

Corellia: Under New Management (the end requires you to click an objective outside the instance but there seemed to be multiple objectives, and the mobs and 99% of the heroic are all instanced)

Coruscant: Enemies of the Republic (they’ve recently added 10+ new NPCs to this, too) ; Trouble In Deed

Nar Shaddaa: Breaking Down Shadow Town ; Lab Animals; The Morgukai (careful - all the mobs in here are golds and silvers hanging out in pairs or trios, with a couple of champions thrown in.); Shadow Extraction

Taris: Rakghoul Release; Total Elimination

Tatooine: Reap the Wind

Voss: Trial of the First (exact same thing as the Imperial mission)

[deberiaestarescribiendo]

Hit me with your best shot

A/N: Hey! I saw the #WritersWednesday challenge on @autumnleaves1991-blog blog and thought it was an amazing opportunity to let the creativity flow and though I just started showing my works on here I guess giving it a chance wouldn't hur anybody and maybe some of you would enjoy this as much as I did writing it. And on that note, I'd like to thank every writer on here because your works have helped me a lot during these weird times; and of course speacilly to you @autumnleaves1991-blog for this and your "You're my best friend" series that made me cry, yearn (so much yearning) and loved every single minute of it, thank you!

Pairing: Javier Peña x Female character ( I decided to leave her very undeterminated as it's narrated on Javi's perspective I decided to use she/her pronouns, but I guess you could read it as a f!reader?)

Summary: Post-season 3, Javi and the character go on a date to Laredo's funfair (You could read this as a small piece on its own or as a part of the series I'm currently writing; if you're interested is on my blog and I haven't posted much since I opened it)

Warning: None (let me know if I should mark something) fluff! maybe some kissing...

Another thing! I've just finished this, so brace yourselves for some mistakes and mispellings, sorry

(I was listening to Kacey Musgraves while writing this, if you want to add more fluff to it)

She’s lovely with that white summer dress, she’s tapping her feet nervously looking around the street waiting for his car to arrive, but Javi is parked on the side of the road chewing a nicorette that has already lost all its taste. He observes how she peeks at her watch. He’s already late and doesn’t know what would make him feel any more terrible: standing her up or going on a date with her like an old creep.

Come on, Peña he urges himself to make a decision, but before he can make up his mind, he hears the door unlocking.

“Hey! I thought something had caught you up” she smiles and any doubts he had had been lifted. Gosh she’s pretty

“Sorry, I’m late I had...” he can make up any excuse and he feels he’s just smiling like an idiot.

“Don’t worry” she seats and adjusts her dress shyly “I see we’re making progress” she motions to his mouth

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been very good.” Javi says proudly and follows the road full of car towards the fair “I haven’t had a smoke in...a month, I think”

“Congrats!” she cheers “You deserve a reward then” she grins

“Sure?” he smirks eying her briefly not losing the sight of the road

“Whatever you want” she nods

“But a cigarette, of course”

“Obvs” she chuckles

“Then I better think for a really good reward, I deserve it”

“Yep”

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

­­­­­­­­­She’s talking about the first time she came to the funfair being a child. Javier is listening partially; part of his focus is on everybody around them. It feels like all Laredo is there and they had been stopped a few times already by people that wanted to shake his hand and thank him for his service; and Javi starts to feel like the music is too loud, there’s too many people around them and that he doesn’t want to hear the word “hero” anymore. So he tries really hard to look at her, to concentrate his mind on how she interrupts her speech when she looks directly at him, how she blushes, how the warm breezes moves the baby hairs that frame that beautiful visage, how her lips shine with that chapstick she uses and that he’s dying to taste.

“Anyway we can do any ride but that one” she points at the big one in the middle that spins fast creating a wave of screams and laughter every time it makes a round “Unless you want me to puke all over your pretty plaid shirt”

“You like my shirt?” he smirks

“Yeah” she tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear “You look like a real cowboy” she adds. Her smile is brighter than any of the thousand small lights that illuminate the fair.

“I like your dress” Javier leaves his hand hang languidly close to hers until their skin brushes against each other. When he sees she doesn’t recoil, he grabs her hand locking his fingers with hers.

He can sense her nervousness, but hopes it’s the good kind. The exact same feeling he has at the moment, those soft palpitations that he hasn’t felt in years; the butterflies. Eventually she answers his compliment:

“Thanks, it was just 10$” instantly she looks down at her feet “God! I’m terrible at this”

“At what?” the people look at him and then at her, and then their gaze is fixed on their intertwined hands. Javi knows that the rumors are already spreading and hopes that whatever she’s going to hear about him in the next few days doesn’t ruin this.

“Dates...flirt...this” she points at him and then herself

“I cannot believe that” he counters

“Seriously? hey your dress is pretty; yes it cost me ten dollars” she mimics

“I thought it was cute”

“Cute?” she raises her right eyebrow

“Yes, you’re cute” Javi maintains

“You too” she admits

“Me?”

“Yeah! A pretty cute cowboy in plaid” she laughs

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

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­She makes him forget about this damn town, even Colombia and everything that happens seems a billion years away. If the people around them bother her, she doesn’t say. She doesn’t speak with him like anybody in town after he’s been back. For her it’s just Javi, and this Javi can have fun: he has shared a cotton candy with her, he has done some of the strongest rides even if his back is killing him, he has hold her waist when she jumped and screamed on the Tunnel of Terror and then laughed out loud when they got out.

“Javi!” she calls “We forgot about your reward for your first month without a smoke” she holds his hand and stars running towards the shooting gallery.

“You have five shots to win one of our wonderful set of prices. You just have to hit the little birds once”

The targets come and go up and down on the wheel, the paint on them is chipped, testimony of a long life in these funfairs and many missed shots. She takes one of the guns and closes one of her eyes aiming towards the wooden forms that spin on the wheel.

“Take a look of the plushies, cowboy, I’m gonna win you one” she says cockily

“Yeah, sure” he scoffs

“What? you don’t think I’m capable?” she turns towards him, gun still in her hand

“Wow, first of all, never point to somebody with a gun” Javi grabs the barrel and pushes it downwards “even if it’s not real, and second, open both of your eyes to aim” he explains

“Yes, sir. I forgot you were an agent. I better follow your orders, then” she winks at him and with a deep breath resumes her posture to take her first shot. Failing.

“Shit” she grunts “Have you chosen?” she points to the wall on the right full of stuff toys

“Erm...Does it matter?”

“Absolutely, come on, it motivates me”

The toys are horrendous; surely they’ve been doing their round around every fun fair in Texas for ages.

“Okay, one of the teddy bears” he agrees with a shrug

“No! no! be more specific” she scolds “Do you want the big one? the white one with the red bowtie? the brown with the small farmer hat? Or...Look!” she jumps excitedly “There’s a cowboy one, I’m gonna get you the cowboy” she nods and tries a second time, missing.

Javi mocks her and leans on her shaking in laughter.

“Yeah, really funny. Why don’t you try then?” she passes him the gun. After he has collected himself, he adjusts his posture and aims. Nothing.

She crosses her arms over her chest and observes him with an amused grin.

He doesn’t wait longer until he tries again and misses.

“You only got one left”

“Say goodbye to your teddy bear, cowboy” she whispers in his ear. Her sweet perfume and her voice distract him briefly. For a second he wants to throw the gun away and take her in his arms at last.

Javier shots again

“No luck today, sir, if you want to try again is three dollars”

Javi refuses the man with a gesture; she doesn’t say a thing for a minute, but then snorts and cries in laughter

“You’re lousy shot!” she screams

“You missed too” he defends

“Yeah, two shots, and you three, but who of us is a well trained agent, huh?” she sassed

Javi bites his lip, both hands on his hips; he knows there’s no way to defend his shitty shots.

“I still gained a reward though” he gazes at her

“Yeah, that’s true. What do you want then? I still have a few of dollars on me if you want a sundae or something”

“No, not that” he walks towards her and she instinctively recoils until she’s against the tent of the shooting gallery “I want something sweeter” he places his hands on her waist.

“Wh-hat?”

He bends and holds her at the same time, saving the height difference between them. He just brushes his lips against hers at first until she sighs and comes closer to him standing on her tiptoes. Javi deepens the kiss savoring the fruity chapstick she wears. Her lips are soft and sweet as he has imagined since he met her, her soft moans are music to his ears and he wants to hear more.

“Wow, you’re an incredible kisser, Javi Peña, but a terrible shot” she assures.

[k-evans-reads]

32, 34, 42, 78

32. do characters influence your writing style?

✨: Characters do influence the writing style! For softer characters we pick different settings or handle scenes differently than we would with a more passionate or louder character

🌯: We for sure write differently! Poppy and Nickie, for example, are very different. Nickie's much more loud, honest, confident, and sarcastic, so that bleeds through in her actions and dialogue. But Poppy is much more sensitive, introverted, and quiet, so she is more timid in her actions and dialogue.

34. how do you name characters and places?

✨: We spend a lot of time picking the name. We always develop the character first before naming them so we know what seems to suit them

🌯: And then for places, obviously everything in Higher Love is real-life places so those were just a matter of picking the settings, but for The Outsider we used some generators for fictional country names, or for some upcoming chapters, just thought up some names quickly. Also, for Poppy's name, we knew it had to be more traditional, so we were poking around Google and name lists for a bit until we decided to do a flower name, which is where Poppy came from, and then we worked backwards to make a non-nickname first name for her, which ended up being Penelope!

42. describe the aesthetic of a story in 5 words.

🌯✨: Dirt, eggs, Nike’s, small town

(to anon- I'm sorry this ask took hours to answer haha we've been debating over these words the whole time!)

78. how do you choose where to end a chapter?

✨: A lot of time the end of the chapter kind of presents itself. There’s often a place that feels right to end it.

🌯: And we also try to never really finish it suddenly, unless it is for a specific reason (like the final chapter of Higher Love) or it just feels right. We try to wrap everything up a bit so it's not full of unresolved thoughts and leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth, or pure like "what the heck" emotions.

[tarousprettybaby]

this is that clip thingy

I was talking about this like last week, I think. I have a long-term story thing I've been working on for quite some time and would love some feedback on it. While this particular part I'm going to share isn't related to Haikyū characters yet (none of them are in this scene), I plan for this to be Haikyū au kind of thing. Below the cut is the thingy.

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: None, except crying ig

Type: It's not quite fluff, not quite angst, I suppose

================================================

“So…where am I going again?”

“Scarlett, we’ve been over this. Please don’t star- “

“I’m not trying to start anything.” At least not this time. “I just wanna know where it is….”

A heavy sigh falls from her mother’s lips, “It’s in the more rural part of Japan, the Hyogo prefecture specifically.”

“What’s the name of the town?” She doesn’t really care what it is. She’s just trying to stall, really, hold off from leaving home as long as possible.

“…I can’t recall at this moment.” Is her mother’s rather dismissive answer. It’s not on purpose; she knows that. Scarlett’s reading her mother just as much as her mother is reading her. One is trying to delay, the other is trying to rush.

Huh, it’s funny to see the tables turned.

“Miho already has your stuff, correct?” her mother turns to her from the wall she was facing.

“As of this morning, all my possessions should’ve been in her house.” Scarlett leans more to the side, past her mother’s form so she can see the wall. “Unless you gave me the wrong address… I’ve never seen that rune, what’s it called?”

Her mother looks back at where Scarlett’s gaze is locked. “A yemnah rune. You’ve never seen it because you’ve yet to get past intermediate rune casting.” Her mother takes a pause as she peruses the design, critiquing her work. It needs to be deathly accurate, after all. Otherwise, it won’t work. “It’s a mix of different nomenclatures, so it’s more complicated.”

“I can tell. Smaller, more basic runes from Ireland, I think, are around the edge, but the center is completely foreign to me.” The words fall from Scarlett’s mouth quickly, just as quickly her feet carry her towards the wall. She also studies the symbols recognizing a few others in her proximity. “It has a time seal on it?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” I already know why; I just wonder if the why has sunk in for her.

“…”

“Mom. Why?”

“…To make sure you can’t come back all the time. So, you can truly indulge yourself in your apprenticeship.” the words are a little shaky. Yeah, that sounds accurate.

Before she can even start her next sentence, Scarlett’s mother continues.

“This is going to be important for you, Scarlett. I hope you know I’m not trying to shuck you off to someplace far away from me. I- I did the same thing when I determined my path, and I think it gives you a real sense of leadership.” Her presence is directly behind Scarlett now, and she gently reaches her hand out towards her arm. Rubbing it slowly, soothingly. “And your aunt, she’s already in an area of study you like… now you can help teach others about it. Share your passion, ya know?”

“Hm. I get what you wanted for me, but you did it behind my back. Registered me in a, for lack of better words, shitty school, took me away from everything I know, and all during one of the most important years for me.” Scarlett’s voice has raised slightly, and she’s whipped around towards her mother, looking her in the eye, tears threatening to spill over. “You couldn’t have found a teacher suitable at Aberghee’s? Or at some prestigious magic college. Somewhere other than the middle of nowhere in Japan? Somewhere that would’ve made it easier for me?”

Her mother’s gaze steels over a little, and the energy in the room shifts. Her mother’s aura has the bitter taste of disrespect in it.

“Scarlett, maybe I could’ve, but you need a challenge. You want the world, and yet it seems you’re unwilling to work for it.” The steel melts into a pool of liquid metal, warm and malleable. “…You’re so much like me and yet so different. You’re better than I was at your age. But those similarities we share are ones I wished to have combated earlier in my life. It would’ve made the transition to my position so much easier, and I promise you will thank me later for this.”

No, no no, no, no, she’s not right. You could take over now if you wanted to. You could.

“This place you’re going. It has history etched into its very ground. Miho even tells me that a witch can have a connection to this piece of land unlike any other. That most witches will never experience it, but that those who do will reap the benefits of it.”

She’s right. You’ve read about the Hyogo prefecture, it has so much you can learn... NO. NO, reject it. She’s just trying to make you conform.

Scarlett’s thoughts are interrupted by her mother’s arms surrounding her. The aura is light and full of love, unreplaceable love.

“This is a chance to find a part of yourself that no one yet knows. Please take it.” The whisper is nearly incomprehensible, but the emotion contained within it is undeniable.

I-I have to go, don’t I.

“But how am I supposed to grow when there’s no one like me there? Just Auntie Miho, right? There are not really any other witches in the area, are there? What if they shun me? Disregard me and treat me wrongly. How will I recover?”

Her mother nods sadly, “Yes, the land has mostly non-witch folk, many who have probably never even seen simple manipulation spells. But I think that’s part of its allure. The differing cultures is one of your interests, right? To learn of other beings and their paths. This is undeniably the first chance in your life to have such interactions.” she stops briefly before quickly adding, "And I doubt any will pick a fight with someone they don't know the power of."

Her arms leave Scarlett's body, one dropping to her side and the other coming to scratch her head. She continues lightly, with an almost scolding tone,

“I definitely should’ve brought you with me to more council meetings.” She sighs and shrugs, “But the past is the past after all.”

Scarlett is not really listening to her mother’s rambles. Turning the idea over in her head, her eyes take on that far-off look in them that happens whenever one thinks about something tough. The next words come out before she can stop them.

“When can I leave?”

Her mother stops talking immediately and regards Scarlett with quiet contemplation.

“My flower, patience is a virtue you still have yet to master. Though I can sense the slight fear within you.” a crooked grin taking on her features as she vocalizes the thought.

She leans in to give Scarlett another hug, a tight one that has their auras connecting for a moment. A feeling that both sigh in happiness at.

“My flower, remember mein tallag opriva.”

Scarlett pulls away first and is about to question her mother’s words.

I never was that good at translating the ancients.

But her words are severed in mid-air as the runes on the wall start to move in patterns, and suddenly a brilliant blue light burst forth from it.

“Looks like Miho set up the rune portal as well.” She mutters, “It’s time to go, my flower. Are you ready?”

Scarlett looks up at her mother, straight in the eyes. The emotions swirling deep within the dark brown are palpable and make her mother shudder. ‘She’s more than ready…’ she thinks. Both their eyes shine a bright gold as they are locked on each other. It’s a brief flash of color, one so brief you may have never seen it. But it tells them both an unspoken truth.

“Mom, please, I’m perfectly ready. The real question is, are you?”

[shadow--writer]

Through That Mist I See the Shape of You and I Know That I'm in Love With You

h

after WEEKS of writers block and rewriting this bitch I HAVE FINISHED. TITLE (it slaps)

Maeve x Lucas. Sometimes I wonder what it’d be like to tell you I love you. 6k

CW (im changing it lol): mentions of past trauma (Lucas), some bat hisses n hatred, flirting, these are dorks in love

@dela-png​

A headache was starting to build behind her eyes. 

Were all dates with Lucas going to be this...eventful? 

...unlucky? 

Incredibly unlucky?

She stared at the bat on the table, who was currently locked in a hissing battle with her partner. Tehi had fluffed herself to look bigger than she was, wings spread on the table. The high pitched hiss was directed at the one and only Lucas. 

Who was shooting her a wounded plea for help. 

Oh this was going swimmingly. At least she didn’t get bit by an eel this time. 

...unless he could summon them to land, which she almost doubted. But knowing him and the magic of this town? It was likely. 

She sighed, massaging her temples. 

“You royally pissed her off,” she said after a moment, cracking an eye open to look at him. She giggled, watching him rest his head on the table. He banged his forehead, making her snort. 

“Why! I didn’t do anything,” he moaned, looking over at her. She patted his head, Tehi letting out another hiss. 

Currently, Tehi was in front of their dinner, biting his hand every time he reached for something. His hands had suffered quite a bit in the past ten minutes. 

He stared longingly at the apple rings and the butternut squash he brought. “She’s even guarding dinner,” he grumbled. 

The situation was...delicate. 

Tehi, bless her heart, was on thin fucking ice. Lucas, bless his heart, was treading on eggshells. 

And her? She had no heart to bless but she was ready to give up and go on without any more squash (sadly enough). 

Having a territorial protective bat had its downsides. She grew up with Tehi, finding her in a tree injured and eating the fruit for harvest. Broke her ankle trying to get her down, her father lecturing her for hours after. 

But Tehi knew her. And she could read how she felt about Lucas just by body language alone. 

And Tehi was not happy. 

Of course, the sentiment was sweet, Tehi was being protective because of things in the past (that she was currently trying to viciously ignore), but...now she was just making sure Lucas starved. 

And Lucas…

Was sulking. She saw no end in sight unless Tehi stopped hissing. 

Second date was going worse than the first. 

“Most animals like me,” he said, reaching for Tehi, jerking his hand back as she lept for him. “Why not her? Is it a scent thing?”

“It’s uh...me thing.”

He looked up at her as she scooted closer to him, resting her hand on his knee. “Tehi doesn’t...like people getting close to me...romantically. Friends are fine, but you are um…”

“No longer a friend?”

She patted his knee with a smile. “No, I still treasure our friendship, we’re just different now.”

“So she just doesn’t…”

“Like you. Being with me. Like this.”

“How does she know?”

She felt herself flush. “She um...just knows! She’s been around me most of my life so she can read me pretty well.”

“Oh...like Jolie and me!” His brows furrowed. “So she doesn’t like...me being with you?”

“It’s a very horrific crime, I’m afraid. Mo mhuirnín dílis,” she said, kissing his forehead. He settled into her touch, Tehi letting out an indignant squawk. “I don’t think she’ll ever forgive you for this.”

He made a face. “Well she’ll have to get over it.”

“Mmhmm, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me for a while longer.”

He opened his eyes, smiling a little. “I like being stuck with you.”

She flushed. “Don’t be sappy in front of my bat. She hates you enough already.” 

He puffed his cheeks out in a pout, the face strikingly similar…

...to one she made. 

“I don’t want her to hate me though,” he whined, looking over at Tehi. She clutched her strawberry close, letting out a very angry hiss at his gaze. He turned away. 

“I’m afraid you have no choice. You’ll grow on her eventually.”

“Eventually,” he repeated with a grumble. “Eventually, is not a now.”

“Be patient, mo grá. She’ll come around. You have a way of getting to people.”

“I do?”

“You did with me. It was very shocking how fast you managed to wedge yourself in my life.”

“Yeah. Then you tried to get rid of me.”

“Strong words! It was more like...give you a nudge elsewhere.”

He raised an eyebrow, making her giggle. “Fine. Maybe I was getting rid of you. But I had very good reasoning for it.”

“Did I do something wrong?” he asked softly, making her blink in surprise. 

“No...it was just...you scared me a little,” she murmured with a small smile. “You still do.”

“Why?”

“You’re...different. From what I’m used to. You’re just...so...open.”

“Is...that a bad thing?” 

Curse those eyes, big blue and pleading. It was like he didn’t even notice how he affected her when he looked at her like this. 

She brushed his hair back. “You built a window instead of a wall. You wear your heart on your sleeve.”

Tehi watched them, perched on a plate. Lucas reached over and she bit his finger. He let out a curse, shaking his hand as he pulled away, sticking his tongue out at Tehi. 

She bit back her laughter. “I can help with those.”

“It’s fine,” he muttered, popping the finger into his mouth. 

“Is it bleeding?”

“A little.”

“Lucas.”

“Mm fine. I’ve gotten worse.” Her eyes were drawn to the scar around his neck, and the ones disappearing into the collar of his shirt. They felt familiar, like something she’d seen before. She reached out, brushing one of the scars. The ones that looked like the marking of an animal. 

Or the symbols on her walls. 

He jolted under her touch, staring at her with wide eyes. She pulled away quickly, not thinking. 

“I’m so s-sorry! It’s just…” her brows furrowed. “Those markings feel familiar. I’ve seen them before...not just when my clinic was broken into.” She met his gaze. “What are they from?” 

His eyes darted away as she asked, wringing his hands. “Made some...bad choices,” he said gruffly. “It’s nothing.”

She blinked, shifting away. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

He reached over for her hand and hesitated. She bridged the gap and laced their fingers. “You’re fine,” he murmured, sitting up and leaning against her. “Just stuff I don’t want to talk about.”

She hummed, resting her head on his shoulder. “I understand. I won’t ask if you don’t wanna talk.”

He squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”

“It’s the least I could do,” she said with a smile. “Besides, we have bigger fish to fry.” She looked back at her bat. “...and that’s getting dinner.”

He winced. “Does she have to bite me?”

“Apparently.”

Tehi chirped, preening. 

He glowered. “She has sharp teeth.”

“I offered to help.”

He slouched against her, knocking her off balance. She let out a small squeak, wrapping her arms around his neck before she fell out of her chair.

He laughed, resting his head against her shoulder. 

“Lucas I’m gonna fall!”

“Mmhmm.”

“And take you with me.”

“That’s nice.”

“Get offa me!” She was giggling, bumping her head against his. “You’re too heavy!”

“Mm but if I can’t eat tonight then I guess I’ll just sleep.”

“I can move her, you know.”

“Yes but that’s not gonna stop her from biting me.”

“…or trying to eat your hair.”

He cracked an eye open, wincing. “That too.”

She giggled, kissing the top of his head. “Good news is, she tries to eat everyone’s hair.”

“Is that just...a Tehi thing?”

“Yeah. I think she thinks it’s going to taste any better the more she tries it. Though, watching her chase Malory around was pretty funny.”

“What did he do specifically? You mentioned lying, calling the guards and erm…”

“Murder? Trust me, I have thought about it.”

“I’m aware.”

She flicked the tip of his nose, making him wrinkle it back. “He accused me of stealing. Tehi, well, she’s a bat. No sense of money and trade, only get food to live. I paid for what she took, but he...wasn’t happy about her taking it in the first place. He has the best fruit in the market so her taking things...became a habit.”

He winced. “So he calls the guards on you?”

“Every time he sees me near his booth. Sucks the best fruit in the market has to be sold by an asshole.”

“I could always go grocery shopping for you. If you’d like me to.”

“You...would? For me?”

He nodded, resting his chin on her shoulder. “If he’s the one making you walk all the way to Center City to get fruit, then I’d be happy to go for you.”

She turned and hugged him, burying her face in his neck. “Oh thank the stars. I was close to trying to grow my own fruit. It would have been a disaster. I can barely take care of my medical herbs.”

He let out a small squeak, arms slowly wrapping around her. She made eye contact with Tehi, and if looks could kill. 

“You’re a disaster,” he murmured, making her giggle. “Amani grows plants if you ever want to ask her about them. I dunno if she grows any...fruit, but I know she has aloe. I get some of my spices from her.”

“She has plants? That’s amazing!” She brightened at the thought, letting him go. He smelled deliciously sweet, like nutmeg and cinnamon. “...you think she’d teach me how to keep a plant alive?”

He grimaced. “She could barely teach me. I killed a succulent and she quit.”

“I don’t have the time to take care of plants. Or I just don’t balance my time wisely.”

“I um...don’t manage my time well either.”

“...yeah, you workaholic.”

He blushed. “I-I’m not that bad.”

She quirked an eyebrow. “Mmhmm. Working yourself to the point of passing out is not that bad.”

“That was one time.”

“I had to carry you home!”

“You had help!”

“Same thing!”

He snorted, making her giggle. Tehi blinked at them, seeming unimpressed. 

And now they were being judged by a bat. 

He moved over to grab a strawberry, Tehi chirping at the sight.

“I think we found our way to get her to like you,” she said, leaning against him. 

“Food?”

“Always a good choice.”

He prodded her side, making her swat at his hands with a squawk. “Is that how I won you over?” he teased. 

She wrestled his hand away from her side, struggling against him trying to poke at her again. “What if it was?” she said, sticking her tongue out at him. “I might just marry your pumpkin squash if I could get to it.”

Tehi chirped as if she liked that idea better.

“Hey! Don’t take her side!” Lucas said, turning to the bat on a plate. “She’s mean, I’m the nice one.”

“Aww, are you mad that she likes me better?” she teased, kissing his cheek. “What? Can’t win the affection of one little bat?”

“She’s not little and you know it.”

She giggled, tapping the tip of his nose. “If it makes you feel any better, my family would love you.”

“They…would?”

“Mmhmm. Especially my father and grandma. Cooking fanatics. I grew up trying new dishes. But…sadly I got my cooking ability from my mom.”

He laughed, a blush warming his cheeks. “I could teach you if you’d like.”

“You’d quit.”

“I would not!”

“Oh please! Most of my dishes either explode or are inedible. You’d quit within two minutes.”

“If we don’t have another great Jolie flour incident I’m sure it’ll be okay.”

“…Lucas, I am the great Jolie flour incident.”

“You can’t be that bad.”

“Try me. I’ve burnt eggs that weren’t cracked.”

“…how did you even do that?”

“Long story.”

“Trouble,” he said, ruffling her hair.

She grinned. “You like it.”

Tehi chirped again, staring at the strawberry he had. He tentatively reached over to give it to her, Tehi snatching it from his fingers and holding it close in her claws. He jumped back, the chair toppling over at the force.

He fell backwards with the chair, making her crack up. 

“Did I not warn you she’s protective of her meals?” she asked, looking down at him. 

“Apparently.” He winced, rubbing the back of his head. “Not.”

She giggled. “Whoops.”

“Does she do that to people she hates?”

She grabbed a strawberry, handing it to Tehi, watching as the same thing happened. A wicked little smile played across her face as she mimicked what he had done, down to the facial expressions and knocking her chair back.

Her head hit the floor hard, but she was giggling.

He shot her an unimpressed look, fighting his smile. “Gee. Thanks. I feel way better now.”

She looked over at him with a smile, her hair spilling out across the floor. “That was the funniest reaction I’ve seen to her.”

“…thanks.”

She snorted, squishing his face. “Don’t pout.”

“You’re so mean though,” he said, voice muffled due to her squishing his cheeks. “I don’t think I’ll ever get over this slight to my pride.”

She kissed him lightly. “Mmm I’m sure you will.”

He shifted closer to her, wrinkling his nose. “Don’t patronize me.”

She giggled, running her hands through his hair and rubbing her nose against his. “I would never.”

He snorted, kissing her softly. “She really likes strawberries, huh?” he whispered after a moment. 

She bit her lip, smiling. “She’s gotten me to like them just as much. Back home we had strawberry plants growing everywhere! Blueberries and blackberries as well. My Mhamó would bake so many pies during the first pick of the harvest. Our fingers would be stained red,” she said with a giggle. “Once Aislin ate so much her mouth was stained for a week. Someone thought she ate a person! Devoured them right off the bone!”

He snorted. “Are they your favourites?”

“Well…” she pursed her lips, thinking. “Have you ever had the first strawberry of the year? Ripe and sweet? I could eat them for hours and not tire...so...I guess they are. Tehi loved them from the get-go and I always carry some around.”

“Is that why you always taste like strawberries?”

She blushed, blinking. The question was innocent, she bit her lip and giggled again. He brushed her hair back, thumb running against her skin. “I um...guess so! But I don’t hear you complaining,” she said, nuzzling his cheek. 

He shifted his face to capture her lips, burying his hands in her hair. “I think I like them better this way,” he said with a soft smile, nose brushing against hers as he kissed her again. 

“We should get back up,” she murmured, being cut off by him kissing her again. “Lucas.”

“But if we don’t get up Tehi won’t keep hissing at me.”

“But squash.” She pouted, thinking about it. “I’m serious about marrying it.”

“How about you marry me instead, then you’d get all the squash you’d want.”

She snorted, kissing the tip of his nose. “Want me to have an affair with your cooking? It’s very tempting, I must say.”

He laughed, resting his forehead against hers. “Well? What do you say?”

She giggled, tugging at his hair. “Let me think about it.”

“Don’t take too long.”

“Oh yes because I’m the one asking you. What? Many people flocking to your door? Struggle tying you down?” she joked, kissing his cheek. “I’ll have to have more before making my decision.”

“If you can get around Tehi, that is.”

“I can get around her. She loves me. You on the other hand...”

He sulked. “Don’t remind me.”

She giggled, rising to her feet and picking up her chair. “Need help?”

“View is nice from here.”

She raised an eyebrow, squatting down next to him. “I’ll sic Tehi on you.”

“...you wouldn’t.”

“It’ll get her away from the squash.”

Damn, the puppy dog eyes. “You wouldn’t.”

“Don’t give me that look.”

He kept at it, she groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Fine! I wouldn’t. But you should get up at least.”

He sighed. “If I keep feeding her will she like me?”

“It’s how you got me to marry you.”

He snorted, getting off the chair and putting it back up. “Well I guess it’s not all bad then, huh?”

“Make a fruit pie and she might love you forever.”

“...she can eat those?”

“She sure damn tries. My dad tried making one and she had eaten most of it by the time we finished dinner. He was so mad he tried to ban her from the house.”

He laughed as she sat down, reaching over Tehi (and giving her a pat) to pile more squash onto her plate. She let out a happy hum, biting into it. “Mmm alright maybe I will marry you,” she said, cracking an eye open to look at him.

He plucked a cinnamon apple ring, dramatically holding it out for her. He raised his voice an octave. “Maeve O’Connor, will you do me the honour of marrying me?”

She snorted, laughing. Her cheeks warmed, she knew it was fake. He was joking. But it was nice. He was looking at her with a soft affection, like he actually meant it.

But he couldn’t have. He didn’t even love her.

“And then have an affair with your cooking?” she joked, pushing down her feelings. He was just flirting. 

He slipped the dessert on her finger, kissing her knuckles with a wink. “If it gets you to say yes.”

She giggled, staring at the treat on her hand. She bit into it, smiling at the familiar taste. 

He gasped in offense. “Maeve, that's your engagement ring!”

“It’s delicious.”

“I worked hard to earn the money to get that! I spent weeks working up the courage to ask and you eat it?!”

“But it’s good!”

He kissed her once, then twice. “You are going to make me work every damn day of my life, eating my hard earned money like that.” 

She smiled, tilting her head up to kiss his chin. “Mmmhmm. But you asked me.”

He only shook his head, stealing food from her plate. 

“Hey!” she yelped, reaching for the fork. He held it just out of her reach, teasing her. 

“Aww can’t reach?” he said, kissing the tip of her nose. 

“Curse these short limbs,” she replied, crawling into his lap. He blinked as she wrestled his hand, tugging the fork back down to her. She bit the squash off the end, grinning smugly. 

He flicked the tip of her nose. “That was mine.”

“No you stole it from me. I’m not gonna marry a thief.”

“But Tehi won’t let me get any more!”

“I can get it for you!” 

“No! You’re just gonna eat it all!”

She pursed her lips. “That’s true.”

“And you think I’m a thief.”

“You stole it from my plate!”

“You don’t have any evidence.”

“I watched you! And don’t repeat my shitty logic back to me!”

He laughed, ruffling her hair. “Can I at least have a bite of your engagement ring?”

She gasped, clutching her hand close to her chest. “Never. It is my engagement ring. I can eat it if I wish!”

“But I gave it to you!”

She made a face at him. “But it’s mine now!”

He made a move for her hand, she pressed her hand against his cheek, holding her other hand above her head. “No!”

“But Maeve!”

“No!” She was giggling so hard her ribs hurt. 

There was a flutter, and the makeshift ring was snatched off her finger. 

Tehi chirped, perched on a nearby bookshelf with the apple ring. 

She and Lucas stared for a moment before cracking up. “Looks like neither of us got it,” he said.

“And it looks like someone objects to this marriage.”

He tilted her chin, smiling softly. “She’ll have to try harder than that to stop it.”

She blushed at the sincerity of his words as he kissed her. For a moment she thought he was serious about it. He’s really gotta stop that, messing with her heart and head like that. 

“So...a bat huh?” he started, looking back at Tehi. “Like animals?”

She smiled, trying to fight her blush away. “Yeah. Tehi was an unexpected twist during a hide and seek game, but I grew up loving animals. My older sister has two dogs now.”

“Oh?” “Yeah! They’re very sweet girls, energetic as well. I dunno how she deals with him all the time. She’s written to me many times about how much they get into the baby food back home. She and her fiancée have four kids, one is a wee baby. Cutest little thing.”

“Do you like dogs?”

“Depending on the dog, but yes.”

“Depending on the dog?”

“I’m uh…” she flushed. “Scaredofbigdogs.”

His brows furrowed as he mouthed her word jumble back. “Scared? Why? They’re babies! Big sweethearts!”

She scratched the back of her head. “Well um...I got attacked by wolves when I was a teen. Kinda puts a damper on the whole...big dog thing.”

“...well. That’s a good reason.”

“Oh wow thank you for your approval, oh mighty big dog master.”

“Hey, they get a bad rep. Big dogs are amazing. They just get labeled as dangerous because they’re big.”

“Oh, so like you?”

He let out a choked noise, blushing furiously. “Well I-I mean...y-yeah?”

She smiled, brushing his hair back. “Hmm...I guess you’re okay.”

“Thanks. My fiancée is so loving.”

“Only for you.”

He rolled his eyes with a smile, chasing her for a kiss. She giggled, cupping his face in her hands. 

“I’d like you even if you were a big dog,” she murmured, kissing the tip of his nose. 

His cheeks reddened as he chuckled. “I’d like you even if you were a small dog.”

“Hey!”

“Thumbelina, you couldn’t be big in any form.”

She sulked. “You don’t have to say it though.”

He smiled, kissing her fingertips. “It’s true.”

“Hmph.”

He squished her face, rubbing his nose against hers. “Don’t pout.”

“I’ll pout if I wanna,” she sniffed, making him smile. “I’m small but I pack a punch.”

He winced. “I’m aware. I think you broke my nose.”

She giggled, biting his fingertip. He yelped softly, pulling away. She grinned at his glare, him holding his hand close. “Don’t be a baby. It was a love tap.”

He muttered to himself, looking at his hand. She left a small indent. “I felt no love in that tap.”

“You didn’t look hard enough.”

He snorted, resting his hands on her thighs. “Yeah let me rethink about you kicking me in the nose lovingly. That’s for sure what I felt.”

“In my defense, you insulted my honour twice. If you won’t defend me, who will?”

He tapped his fingers, making her squirm. “I learned my lesson. Next time I’ll win.”

“Mmm next time huh?” She giggled, throwing her hair off her shoulder. “Want a rematch?”

“Absolutely. This time I know your secrets.”

“Someone’s a sore loser,” she teased, flicking the tip of his nose. “And you only know some of my secrets. I am a mysterious woman, you may not know all of my secrets! I’ll kick your ass every time.”

He kissed her softly, holding her hands and lacing their fingers. “We’ll see.”

“Oh I know it.” He rolled his eyes, making her smile. She looked at their clasped hands, hints of cinnamon sugar still dotting her ring finger. He raised her hand, kissing the sugar away. 

“Hey, that's hints of my long lost engagement ring!” 

He smiled, kissing her inner wrist. “You were right about it being delicious.”

She rolled her eyes, fighting back her smile as she slowly climbed to her feet. “I know.” She looked at the food on the table, long forgotten. “I’ll...put things away. Take some home?”

He kissed her palm, letting her hand go. “You can keep the squash. I think it’ll get eaten.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “I have enough food at home, and you need it more than I do.”

“I don’t need it.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

“...yesterday.”

He raised an eyebrow, she blushed. 

“...morning…”

“Exactly. And I get lectured.”

“Well, you had time to eat, I didn’t.”

He rolled his eyes. “Potato patato. Take it, and please eat. Who will kick my ass if you’re too tired?”

“Amani.”

“...touché.”

She giggled, picking up the plates. “If you want to keep trying to win Tehi’s affection, I’ll leave the fruit bowl out. I’ll pack some of the apple rings for you.”

“Okay.”

She hummed, wrapping the squash and apple rings up in a cloth, looking over her shoulder to see Lucas making kissy noises at Tehi, holding a strawberry out for her. She hissed when he moved close, stopping when she saw the gift. 

Maeve giggled, placing the plates in the sink. 

“...is this yours?” he asked after a moment. 

She looked up, moving closer to where he was pointing. It was a sketch, one of many she had scattered about. Her brows softened as she looked at it. “Yeah. It’s of my home.”

“It’s beautiful, I didn’t know you drew.”

“I usually paint, but sketching is nice. My aunt taught me how, since drawing is a good skill to have with magic.”

His eyebrows shot up to his hairline, watching her with soft eyes. “Magic?”

“Yes! Like sigils! Those can be used in different ways, drawing helps guide it. I have a sigil on my neck at the base of my skull…” she lifted her hair up, showing the three swirls. Mind-body-soul, as her sister said. It was her first, a stick and poke they did on a whim. “It helps amplify the magic I want to use, it can’t amplify raw magic, that comes from you but…” she blushed. “Sorry, I’m rambling.”

He blinked, smiling. “No no! It’s interesting, tattoos are a way to transfer magic?”

“They’re a way...to channel it. To draw from you and your surroundings. Tattoos are more permanent versions of sigils, but they are some of the most powerful.”

“I think I have one of those.”

She lit up, bouncing on her toes. “Really?” He nodded, cheeks reddening. “Where is it? Can I see? What does it do? What are the side effects?” 

The look he gave her was startled, she blushed, rocking back onto her heels. “I um...sorry. I just...love this type of magic.” She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. “Most people don’t do tattoos with it, since they are permanent. I could...ask slowly?”

“O-Okay!”

“Where...is it?”

“On my back. Between my shoulder blades.”

She furrowed her brows, wrapping her arms around him, prodding at his spine between his shoulders. “Here?”

He nodded, staring at her wide eyed and blushing. “Y-Yep!” he squeaked out, making her giggle. 

“What does it do? Magic wise, I mean.”

His brows creased, overshadowing his eyes. “I...don’t know exactly. I think it makes me...stronger? When I want to be. It helps with...healing and I have a higher pain tolerance.”

“So a strength sigil? It would...feed on your strength you have and help aid you when you tap into it. The pain tolerance and healing could be a meaning behind some of the symbols, but I’d have to study those.”

He smiled, laughing. “If you wanted me to take my shirt off you could’ve asked.”

She blinked, going over the implications before blushing. “I um! I didn’t mean it that way! S-Sorry it just-”

He kissed the tip of her nose. “You're fine, I’m teasing.”

She grumbled, wrapping her arms around him as she stood on her tiptoes. “I wouldn’t mind it either.”

He blushed, making her bite her lip as she smiled. 

“I have been studying sigils for a while now. I just made another breakthrough with some! Currently looking into light sigils due to how easy they are…”

“May I see?”

Her lips parted in surprise, eyes widening. “Y-You’d want to see it?”

“Of course I do! It’s something you get excited about, even if I might not understand it...why wouldn’t I?”

“Not um...everyone likes to listen to me ramble.” She giggled, nervous. “It’s fine! I tend to be long winded.”

He kissed her softly. “I think it’s cute, I like seeing you talk about it. I’d be happy to listen.”

She kissed him back, harder. She knocked him off balance as she pushed herself off the ground. His hands hovered over her waist for a moment before he bundled her close. 

“I’ll show you,” she murmured, letting go of him. He set her down, letting her take his hand and guide him to her room. “My room is a mess because of it, I must warn you.”

He laughed. “I’ve seen a messy room before.”

“Yeah. Yours,” she teased, winking as she nudged her door open. Tehi followed them, chirping as she fluttered up to a small bookshelf cluttered with small trinkets. Tehi snuggled close to the dog Lucas had given her, so many weeks ago. He stared at the bat and the wooden dog, his smile growing giddy. 

“You still have it!”

She looked over, smiling. “Of course I do, why wouldn’t I?”

He wouldn’t meet her eyes with a bashful smile. “I didn’t think you’d keep it.”

She squeezed his hand. “It was a gift.”

He looked at her with a soft smile, letting her guide him to sit on the floor. She gathered the pages on the floor, lips twisting as she looked at the symbols. “Do you want to draw your own?” she asked, half bent over, looking over her shoulder.

“Draw my own?”

“I can show you, if you’d like.”

“Alright.”

She smiled, face warming. Her freckles on her arms started to glow brighter as she scooped up blank paper. He held out a hand for her, helping her sit, nestled in the crook of his side. 

“I’d like to see your tattoo eventually,” she said, laying out the papers. “If you’d let me.”

He kissed her cheek. “Sure, I’d be happy to have a magic expert analyze it.”

“I’m no expert. You’d be better off seeing the magician in Center City.”

“I’d rather have you.”

“I’m touched.” She reached over his lap for her pens, chewing on her lower lip as she looked at the blank sheets of paper. 

“What’s first, oh mighty powerful witch?”

She giggled, handing him a pen and scooting a paper over. “Drawing the sigil. Here’s the light one I’ve been using.” She showed him the page, a line curving down and another tucked in it. Three lines connected the swirling ones. “These symbolize balance. Balance with light, no light can exist without shadow and shadow cannot exist without light.”

He traced the three lines connected the swirled. “And these symbolize the bond between the balance?”

She grinned, clapping her hands. “Yes! Exactly!” She leaned into him, holding her pen. “Sigils are all about the idea and magic you’re trying to put out there. What you want to happen, putting that want into the drawing and the magic in the air, activating it with the same.”

He watched her draw the sigil, copying her movements. “And how do you activate it?”

“Some are powerful enough to use a look, or a connection. I usually use my hands. Your hands are powerful.” He finished drawing the sigil, letting her take his hand and hold his palm open. She traced the lines, like she had some time ago. “Remember your palm reading?”

“Yeah.”

“Lines hold meaning. Heart, sun, fate, head, life. Magic flows through your hands. Hands are the start and the finish of magic, the connection between you and the earth. Am I making sense?”

“Kind of.”

“Think of it...like a connection. Magic from your hands seeps into the thing you’re trying to activate, a sigil in this example. Your hands are...an anchor.”

“Oh…” he whispered, looking at his hands. Peering at them with critical eyes. “That makes sense.”

“And now that you’ve drawn the sigil with the intent for light, you anchor and channel that magic into your want for light.”

“How?”

“I can show you.” She got to her feet, blowing out the candles. Tehi chirped, bouncing on the shelf as she watched them. 

She reached out blindly, letting him take hold of her hand again and lead her back. Sitting back down, she placed her hands on her sigil. 

“Palm against the drawing,” she murmured, trying not to break the fragile air of intimacy hanging around them. “Think of light and the sigil will answer. Think…a fire. A candle. The sun on your face.”

“You?”

She stiffened, blushing. “I-I guess s-so,” she squeaked, making him chuckle. She watched him place his hand on the sloppily drawn sigil. 

She chewed on her lip, trying to hide her giddy smile. His eyes fluttered shut, leaning against her. She leaned back, breathing in and letting it out with the idea of light. 

Her sigil folded, and started to glow. She smiled, satisfied, before turning to look at him. His face was set in concentration, the room was quiet, their breathing soft. 

Slowly, the sigil folded, glowing brightly. She cheered, the sound startling him into opening his eyes. He paused when he saw the ball of light at his palms. 

“I did that?” he asked, eyes growing wide.

She grinned, tackling him in a hug and kissing him fiercely. He laughed against her mouth, cradling her head in his hands. “You did!” she said, glowing brightly. 

“What else can you do?” he asked, staring at the two lights. When he looked back at her his excitement was infectious, making her bounce. 

“Ice, earth and I once made a gust of spring air appear in the middle of winter! Plants didn’t work out well, but we can work on it! Imagine what we could do!”

“We?”

She blushed at her mistake. “I-If you want to. T-That is.”

“You’d let me help?”

She nodded, biting her lip. She wasn’t meeting his eyes, in her excitement she thought he’d...like to. 

But he wouldn’t. Why would he? 

He grinned, tilting her head back to look at him. Her thoughts evaporated. “I’d be honoured to help. If you’d have me. That is.”

“Hey I offered don’t get insecure on me now.”

He laughed, kissing her softly, sitting back up with her in his lap. She giggled against his mouth, burying her hands in his hair. 

“Okay,” he murmured. 

“Okay!”

They stared at one another for a moment before giggling again. 

“I did magic,” he murmured, staring at the light floating by her shoulder. “I made that, right?”

“Your magic. I didn’t do anything.”

His grin was quick to creep across his face, as he reached out to hold the light. She cupped hers in her hand, blowing it into his face softly. He sneezed as it exploded in a bunch of tiny lights, floating around his hair like a halo. 

Tehi chirped again, chasing a few of the lights. 

Smiling, she brushed his hair back and scattered the glitter that sat there. 

He blew his into her face, making her giggle as it exploded across her cheeks. “Oh look. More glowing lights to add to your already glowing face,” he teased, brushing her cheeks. 

She tilted her head to kiss the pad of his thumb, smiling. 

“So what’d ya say? Wanna explore magic with me?”

He tilted her face up, kissing her with such affection it made her heart skip a beat. 

There was a softness to his gaze when he pulled away, his brows set in content and his lips upturned in a gentle smile. A tender look settled into his eyes as he kissed the top of her head. 

“I’d love to.”

[socially-awkward-chocobo]

Pspspspspspsp tell us about your corrupt Hylia Au I'm invested

Uhh, I have no idea what to talk about since the actual plot is still a work in progress and what I do have I'd rather keep under wraps atm. Maybe I can just mention random facts about characters?

Lyn has freakishly good memorization skills, she tries to downplay it but she can make it through Lost Woods without Allan - as mentioned in Allan's post - and the majority of Penumbra Plateau. For context, Penumbra Plateau is a plateau hollowed out by the Yiga and designed to be as confusing as possible to any and all outsiders. And that works, for most people. Not Lyn, but by this point I'm being redundant

Vaz and Zael both often make Lyn test subject zero of many things. This is because Lyn's often around Zael do to being forced to be her bodyguard. The experiments they have Lyn test often explode in Lyn's face, which makes her very unhappy with those two. She gets back at them by reorganizing all their tools or books when they aren't looking. Lyn will also mix goron spice into the candies she makes them. They really should learn to not p-ss off the pettiest person they know.

Revali and Ebony are - so far - the only ones who can make Lyn's competitive side come out. Ebony because siblings and Revali because he declared Lyn his "archery rival" when he noticed her practicing.

Speaking of Revali, he and Vaz are wind magic rivals.

When Revali first met Lyn, he was so offended because he saw Vaz teaching Lyn and thought he was being replaced as a rival. Something about cheating was mentioned. He gave Vaz the silent treatment for like, an hour, before somebody finally explained it to him. The three of them were ten at the time. It was hilarious to all adults watching.

Sometimes, even though it doesn't happen that often anymore, half of Lyn decides to eat frogs. It's started by Green, and supported by Vio who wants to record what the frog tastes like and what (non-poisonous) effects it has on them. It always upsets Red, and Blue doesn't give a flying f-ck because the group knows better than to leave Lyn alone where unidentified possibly poisonous plants could be found. She's right, and nine times out of ten, someone (usually Ebony or Ghirahim) stops them last minute.

Ebony doesn't remember much from before being caught by the Sheikah (as Shadow, of course), but they do remember a game called Shadow Tag, and that someone lavender colored hair taught them the bomb spell they enjoy so much. (They figured out it was Vaati)

Lyn is an arsonist. They are quieter about it than Ebony with their excessive explosions, but it's still there.

Ghirahim, in this au, uses he/they pronouns. Also he has the appearance he had in the fire temple because I think it looks cool.

Valora Town is the only one of the Gerudo towns that has the “not allowing men that aren’t Gerudo in” rule. And even then, it's only because they want to see how many people are willing to cross-dress (unless there was a serious issue or it would make the person in question feel dysphoric.)

And that's all I can think of right now, if you want to hear about something more specific just ask.

[fandomfunk]

Nick's never been one to get out of town unless it's some big deal the survivor has to deal with (and needs his assistance, specifically). He's always enjoyed staying at the office, keeping the radio tuned to their local station going, and working exceptionally late nights, including this one. However, Ellie was going to be gone for this evening. Out with a date to a fancy restaurant somewhere out of town. When she had asked him, he only grinned, waved his hand and sent her off to have fun. He didn't give her as many breaks as he'd have liked to, but she enjoyed working for him, so he assumed she didnt mind much.

"And you're going to make sure no one gets too drunk, right?"

"Yeah, Nick! I got it, don't worry."

"Alright. I just want you to have a good time."

"I know," she grinned, and wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks."

"No problem," he smiled, and waved his hand. "Shoo, I got asses to kick and paperwork to finish, and I'm all out of asses to kick." She laughed, grabbed her purse, and exited the door. Nick sighed to himself and glared at the paperwork on his desk. Although he didn't want to do it, someone had to, and someone like the Mayor certainly wasn't going to bat an eye to anything that didn't involve him or the annihilation of an entire city (by Fat Man alone, mind you). Humming along to the radio, he removed his trench coat and fedora, placing them on the rack next to his desk. His eyes lit up as the song ended and one of his favorites began to play.

Now, Nick Valentine has always been a man of simple tastes. Even when he was a cop, he supposes, he liked things that were easy. Dancing just happened to be one of them. It started with tapping his foot when the song came on, and he leaned over to turn it up. The saxophone and other components just combined to make him smile, sing along, and sway his hips. He realized that he needed something, something to dance with. So he took his coat and hat off the coat rack, grabbed it, swung it around, dipped it once, and laughed at himself. Continuing to dance in his office, he felt free for once. It had been awhile since he had danced last, and it felt exhilarating to do so now. He was so caught up in dancing that he didn't even notice Ellie poke her head back in the door.

"Hey, I just forgot my-" she stopped herself, staring as Nick swung the rack down and back once again. She smiled. "I don't even need those extra bottlecaps," she whispered as she slowly shut the door, content that Nick was finally feeling like his old self again. And it was just a glass of wine, after all. Her date could pay for that.

Nick Valentine is secretly a skilled dancer.