#u r articulate!! u speak so well!

[eldritch-nightmare]

I was just wondering, how would slender court someone? This isn’t a request, I’m just genuinely curious

uhm u know wht.. ive never really given it much thought... i don't actually write a lot of slender content so i've never had to think for it but.

it would take courting so seriously, like. slender is the type to ask for permission to even start courting you in the first place. i won't tell you that it is romantic, because it doesn't know anything about romance, but it certainly tries.

it can't give you grand gifts or anything of the sort unless it tasks a proxy to do so. which... i mean.... it's certainly a thought that crosses its mind but.

so while it can't shower you with gifts (unless that's something you want then... i mean... i guess it wouldn't hurt to have toby fetch something that catches your interest. just once or twice.), it will definitely spend as much time with you as it can.

slender would want to take its time courting you for many different reasons, namely because it isn't... actually sure what the difference it between courting and dating.

it also seems like the type to gift u rocks. rocks r nice gifts, so it gives u the best rocks it can find.

[yok00k]

truth or dare

pairing: hellokittylover/coquette!oc x boxer!jk

genre: angst, fluff

‧₊˚🎧⊹♡— are you playing? truth or dare

synopsis: rumor has it that jungkook is entertaining other girl(s)

word count: 3.3k

warnings: angsty, oc got: attachment issues, daddy issues [like the author], etc. oc is also kinda dumb (and broken) but she’s figuring shit out, lowkey she’s that bitch, jealous!oc, side characters were kinda introduced, mention of jk making out w/ another girl, jk’s character is complex: one sec he’s a playboy and another sec he’s down bad for oc?, open ending, unedited

a/n: this took place when jk and oc were in 2 month situationship and still getting to know one another! so their boundary wasn’t clear..

₊˚⊹ ᰔ

Everything seems to be a dream as soon as you wake up on another glorious day.

you’ve never felt so energized like this before. it’s a little strange to say but, you even feel like you’ve been reborn for some unknown reason. maybe today is going to be a good day for you.

well let’s see.. you’re off from work plus you basically got nothing to do other than clean your room a little for a little bit and to just chill around!

one of the first things you do as soon as you wake up is stare at your phone, particularly to see if jungkook has sent you a message yet as he always never fails to not. a simple yet sweet “good morning pretty :)” and “did my baby girl sleep well?” can add a bright color to your day. it shows that he cares and that he’s thinking about you too.

the anticipated message from your comfort person unexpectedly did not pop out in your notification. it kind of threw you off. jungkook never misses sending you at least one message, precisely at 8:30 every morning. even in the mornings where he had a boxing match the night before. today is indeed such a strange day.

you’re in no position to be sad just because he didn’t message you. in fact, you’re not, you’re just surprised, or so you think. at the same time, you shouldn’t be in shock owing to the fact that there’s no label between you and jungkook. indeed there’s something going on with you and him, whatever that would be except for being girlfriend and boyfriend.

you often ask yourself where you two stand. for you, it’s indistinct to identify what you are to him. all you know is that he is someone special to you. jungkook makes you feel like you’re the prettiest girl in the whole universe every time he’s around you. it’s the way he articulates his words when speaking to you. you can’t explain it.

you’re more than aware that you’re growing emotional attachment to him. getting used to his affection and now that you didn’t receive a message from him to start off your day, it dismays you. although you’re not sure if there's a hidden motive beyond those gut feeling, you choose to ignore it and start typing on your keyboard.

good morning my ggukie!!

r u free today?? kinda wanna hang out with you >o<

delivered | 9:01 am

since you didn’t establish any kind of plan that you’ll be doing today, you’re thinking of inviting him over. you have lots of things to show him, things you purchased when you went shopping with your best friend who also happens to lives next door, Yun-jin

speaking of her before you even forget, you have to call and ask her how her night went from clubbing last night. she initially invited and forced you to go. but your thousands of homeworks and seventy other things on your checklist didn’t permit you to go. partying is always fun, especially with her, but you have to stay focused on your priorities.

you find her inbox off your message app, the first thing you saw was her latest message from this morning

im aliveeeeeeebwwkwwjhskw

sent at 3:33 am

it made you chuckle lightly. she’s completely wasted. there’s no point of calling her as she’s probably still down. so, you decided to pull up to her apartment, bring a few painkillers with you. you’ll bet seven grand that her hangover is going to be so bad.

opening the door using the key she gave you, you spot her laying on the cream and fluffy rug in her cozy white themed living room. you quickly make your way towards her.

“yunny wake up” you said, gently rubbing her back. “i brought you some painkillers, take them quickly” handling her a couple of pain relievers.

₊˚⊹ ᰔ

you’re currently searching for breakfast in her mini fridge, something yun-jin can eat so she’ll feel better. your poor friend is a complete mess as she lazily walks toward the counter in front of you.

“last night was so fun, you should’ve come,” she murmurs, hopping on the bar stool as she watches you cook her breakfast. “Jaeyun won’t stop asking me about you.”

oh you almost forget about him. Jaeyun is Yun-jin’s childhood friend who has a huge interest in you. well that’s what Yun-jin has told you, but you swore to her that you won’t tell him that you know. back in your senior year of high school, you mostly have the same classes as him. oftentimes you two hang out and study together in a local cafe. you enjoy his company a lot, but only as friends. just when you and Jungkook started talking, your friendship with Jaeyun unintentionally grew apart. you lowkey miss hanging out with him. anyways, you take a mental note to check up on him later.

yun-jin tells you more about what you’ve missed. most of them are about the hot guys that she encountered in the night club. that’s not new to you because she’s always out there looking out for hotties.

“oh i forgot to tell you, you remember Blythe? she’s wildin’ last night too” of course, how could you forget about the girl who spreads malicious rumors about you? you genuinely don’t know what’s up with her as she constantly talks shit about you though you never know her personally. to you, she’s just a friend of a friend and some type of hater. indeed, it’s a one- sided beef. she is also known for making out with multiple guys and god knows what at every party she’s in.

“my god, who was her target last night??” you interestedly asked. you and yun-jin have a silly habit of keeping track of her targets. you two soon discover that she goes for the basketball players and athletic guys in general.

“I don't think we’ve seen the guy in a club before but I’ve heard he does underground boxing.” she said as her eyes glanced to her left, trying to recollect her memory. Jungkook might be familiar with the mysterious man. he could be either in his circle or one of his opponents.

you just hum, you expected she’ll go for another basketball player. you guess she’s trying something new.

“but girl, let me tell you. the boxer guy looked so drunk and she was dry humping on him like a damn get a fucking room bro” she adds more details on the tea, while pretending to cry as she covers her eyes.

“wait was the guy totally intoxicated ?” you ask as cracking the eggs on the hot pan.

“No, he was still responding back to her, running his hands around her body and stuff.” you’re glad you didn’t see that yourself, or else you’ll cringe. your friend giving you a summary of how the night went is enough. still, it’s entertaining. for a while.

“let me see if she posted something on her IG” yun-jin utters, pulling out her phone from her pocket.

she taps on her screen multiple times, and finally she finds a story that the girl posted. “look, she posted this”

and with that, yun-jin faces the phone your way. you take a glance on her screen, showing you a low exposure photo of the girl sitting on the uknown guy’s lap. her face is showing while his face wasn't captured. the blurry image seems normal. until your eyes examine the familiar tatted arm that’s wrapped around the girl’s torso. you swear you’ve seen those tattoos before. it takes you a while to recognize the ink into the deep layer of their skin.

then it hits you— those not-so-foreign tattoos belong to jungkook, your jungkook.

oh. your heart suddenly drops.

your eyes lock with the phone screen surface longer than the usual, by which makes your friend frown.

“hey, what’s wrong?” Yun-jin concernedly ask

maybe that’s why he hasn’t texted you yet. maybe he slept wit—

“y/n? you ok?” your friend calls for you again, interrupting your thoughts, though they didn’t fully vanish.

shifting your eyes to her, you blink rapidly “yeah, i’m completely ok,” swallowing your lies away. you can feel your eyes watering, and you don't want your friend to see you break down.

after cooking her breakfast, you decided to head back. “I forgot that I have something to do, I’ll go now” you rapidly put your shoes on

‘she’s not eating this breakfast with me?’ Yun-jin thinks as she watches you leave her apartment.

₊˚⊹ ᰔ

As soon as you get back to your apartment, you walk towards your bedroom. immediately, you throw yourself on the bed.

“I’m so stupid” you groan as you kick the baby pink multi layer bedsheets on your bed.

and once again, you can’t explain this bothersome feeling. anger? feeling betrayed? jealousy? sadness? all of the above?

you can’t understand. no, you’re trying to understand in the midst of confusion.

you really like him, you really do. and he says he likes you too. he even confessed his feelings to you first! since then, it was safe to assume that you two will establish a label soon. you were so sure of it, until now.

how.. how come he’s with another woman?

the more you think about, the more you feel the sting in your heart. the unpleasant emotion is spreading inside your system, it’s urging you to throw up. you find yourself removing dead skin out of your cuticle using your thumbnail, a habit which you only do to relieve anxiety.

you have so many questions that need to be answered. were the feelings he felt about you real? or was he just playing you? or did he just forget that you exist in his life last night? or did he just lose interest in you? these questions bring out your inner conflicts. so many questions you’re afraid to know the real answers of.

just before the skin next to your cuticle bleeds, your focus shifts to the triple loud ping coming from your phone. Of course, those messages belong to the one person who you least likely want to face right now.

morning pretty

sorry just woke up, having a severe hangover rn

still down to hang out? I can pull up a little later

sent at 11:59 am

his text confirms your suspicion, proving that he was drinking heavily last night. you can’t stand seeing him today. you will just cancel your initial plan and make up some lame excuse.

nvm, we can just hang out another time.

no, erase that. you’ll avoid him from now on, there won’t be another time!

nvm, I feel sick. please don’t come over.

seen at 12:00 pm

my poor baby, i’ll take care of u

sent | 12:01 pm

no need, thanks tho

delivered | 12:01 pm

not being in the mood to keep talking to him, you send the last message before putting your phone on ‘do not disturb’ mode. leaving jungkook’s messages unseen

considering that your day has been ruined, you choose to shut down the world and take a long nap.

₊˚⊹ ᰔ

on the other hand, jungkook definitely notices how cold you turned out to be. maybe it's the time of the month for you. thus, today his mission is to grab things you typically crave for: brown sugar milk tea, some sweet pastries from your favorite bakery shop, and finally, the icing to add on top, a bouquet of white roses.

jungkook usually pampers you with a bunch of food and affection. that’s why he pays attention and takes mental notes (or even notes on his phone) of tiny details about you. it satisfies him to see you all spoiled.

that’s the reason why he jumps out of his messy bed and initiates to get ready. starting off his usual morning routine by taking a cold shower. not much time after, he applies his skincare.

Jungkook hears loud chatters of two men talking from his living room as he walks out of his bedroom. he opens the door and perceives his hyungs chilling by his couch.

“yah jungkook, that chick you brought from last night was way out of control” Jimin complains as soon as jungkook enters the living room.

“yeah kook, kicking her out at 3 in the morning wasn’t a good idea. she’s loud as hell and I had to deal with one of your neighbors' complaints again” Taehyung, who was their designated driver, added annoyingly.

“whose chick?” jungkook confusedly asks.

“yours” both of his hyungs exclaim in unison, which the youngest responds with a shrug.

to be honest, Jungkook doesn’t remember shit from last night. he can recollect some memories, but not a whole bunch. drinks. yes, he drank a lot. there was this girl he randomly made out with, however he can’t remember her name or what she looks like. not that she’s relevant to him anyways.

jungkook chooses to not care about the insignificance, he could spend his time better than that. and by the word better, he spends time thinking about you.

₊˚⊹ ᰔ

the constant sound from your doorbell that’s been ringing for who-knows-how-long wakes you up from your wonderful nap.

you gently rubbing your eyes, then you tap the screen of your cellular to see the time; 3:59 pm.

shit, how long were you out for? no idea. you look at your window and see the raindrops rolling down the glass. it was just sunny before you drifted to sleep a few hours ago.

down below to your screen, you notice jungkook messages and a few missed calls from earlier and just now.

7 missed calls from 🐰

55 mins ago

I’ll stay for the night so I can take care of you

delivered | 12:03 pm

just grabbing few things for my baby and I’ll be there soon.

delivered | 12:30 pm

it’s raining heavily and now I’m stuck in traffic

delivered | 1:01 pm

I’m here!

delivered | 1:44 pm

baby? are you home? I'm here

delivered | 1:51 pm

don’t know where u at but I’ll be here waiting at your front door :(

delivered | 1:56 pm

after reading his texts, you rush to the door. there’s no way that man will wait for those hours outside your front doo-

indeed, he’s in front of your door, waiting for you to open up to him as he’s sitting on the ground. besides him, a couple of light brown paper bags, his backpack, and a bouquet of flowers are also laying on the cold cement.

“hi my pretty!” he cheerfully greeted you, rushing to get up from the ground. jungkook walks up to you with a smile full of relief and happiness as if he wasn’t wasting his time for two hours waiting for you right there.

you attempt to avoid his gaze, your eyes examine his black long sleeve that really fits him nice and is damp.

“come in, you should change your clothes.” you mutter coldy

it’s inevitable to not be concerned that he got wet from the rain. Even if you don’t wanna let him in, it will guilt you if he gets ill.

jungkook does what he was told, gathering all the stuff he brings with him and steps into your flat. he feels the strange coldness as soon as he lands his eyes on yours. something isn’t right. something is wrong with you.

He settles his things by your couch and changes into a new oversized t-shirt in front of you. after changing, he reaches for the paper bags to show you the things he got.

“look baby, I got you your favorite drink, some pastries, i know how much you lov-”

“thank you, but you shouldn’t have. I told you to not come” your stern voice cuts him off before he finishes his sentence. you’re trying to keep your cool. your tone is full of nothing but seriousness. not a hint of sweetness in them, which makes jungkook tilt his head on the side, confused by your odd attitude.

“but baby, I just wanted to be here to take care of you.” he insists. by all means, he won’t listen to what you say.

“I hate when you do this” you sigh

“did i do something wrong? are you mad at me?” he attempts to reach you, but you’re too quick to avoid his touch. “tell me what’s wrong baby, please” Jungkook added once more. he doesn’t understand why you avoid him.

“do you treat your other girls like this too?” you ask, eyes shooting lasers at his. an anger rushes through you as the thoughts of him spoiling girls other than you.

“my pretty, what are you talking about?” Jungkook furrows his eyebrows, looking down closely to you. where are you getting these notions from?

“my friend saw you last night”

it took him a couple seconds to remember

“listen to me baby, whoever I was with, she meant nothing” Jungkook defends himself quickly, reaching for your hand, trying to reassure you that she’s insignificant.

it’s not working.

“I just wish you could’ve told me we weren’t exclusive.” you said wipe a tear from your upper cheek before it could roll down further.

“or maybe I was just dumb to assume we were since you initially told me you liked me, I'm sorry, I don’t really know how this whole thing works” you dryly chuckle, honestly admitting to him that you’ve never been in this type of complicated situation before. now you feel like a fool, getting mad at him for something you can’t hold against him.

jungkook shakes his head, reaching for you one more time, placing his gentle on the side of your face, caressing it. you did nothing as you stood still.

“no, i’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I do like you. I still do and that won’t change. I was just so drunk last night and could barely remember what happened. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”

but somewhere deep down is telling you that he’s only sorry because he got caught.

“you’re free to do whatever you want, Jungkook. I don’t think we’re on the same page so it will be best if we don’t see each other anymore” you articulate as best as you could.

you don’t want to let him go, due to the fact that you’re growing so much feelings towards him. it’s almost as if you’re enamored. but that’s also the same reason why you must let him go. you must, or you’ll get hurt deeper.

“y/n, please don’t say that”

“No, you know how much I like you. you know how much I value you. yet in return, I feel like I’m just a plaything to you that you can play with whenever you want.”

“that’s not true baby, you know that” Jungkook protests, shaking his head. the main problem is you don't. you absolutely have no idea of his motives for pursuing you. is he doing it because he's falling for you too? or he's just playing one of those games. those dangerous games you won't involve yourself with.

he’s looking for words to proves you that his feelings were genuine, but fails to. maybe because he never knows how to show his real feelings. or maybe he was never genuine to start with.

"I'm not one of your playthings. so just— ” you pause, shifting your eyes on the ground. “go away"

Jungkook locks his gaze to you, hoping you will look back at him and take back what you said. but he can read you face and make it seem like he’s not welcome there anymore.

without any words, he leaves, leaving you accompanied with melancholy.

series m.list

[intertexts]

biting the bullet and saying this is a fine place to talk about ashe winters also. because i have a lot of thoughts on that headcanon & i know other people do too & it's been long enough that i feel that it would be disingenuous not to at least, like, talk myself through it here so u guys can hear my thought process. prefacing this by saying hey! please don't make any assumptions about me based on one headcanon i don't love!

anyway i deliberately watched pd almost entirely in a vacuum because i didn't want spoilers or fanon to affect my perception of it. transfem ashe & her ubiquity was like. not what i was expecting? it's a headcanon that's Everywhere, & when i heard about & noted this i was like, okay, cool, there's going to be so much thoughtful analysis out there of ashe & their relationship with their dead mom & mark & the pd & that freedom and liberation they bring ashe &grief & guilt & trying to figure out what it means to have something for yourself when it's haunted! of course that's the core of this! of course canon analysis will still recognize that this is fanon and not canon!

to be clear, the reason i even still find the headcanon compelling and am not just bitter on it is because seraphex has been doing this (the thoughtful analysis) since the beginning n a couple others r doing this, & actively engaging with ashe's narrative as a trans narrative, & i hold affection for the way i would write & think abt her. but, like. for the most part, that's not what people are doing. it feels to me like at this point a lot of the ashe i see is girl ashe, like... just so there's a Girl Prime Defender? which is, y'know, necessarily not bad in and of itself, do whatever u want. and certainly no one's obligated to engage in fandom critically. but i do think we should, and that it's a good thing to do! but, like, effectively "girl ashe winters but im never going to touch on transness or anything and she's just a normal girl with a demon book" is different!! than "transfem ashe winters" which assumes and begs a different and more thoughtful type of relationship With gender. please for the love of god don't take this as me saying "well trans girls aren't real girls" please. this is not what i'm saying. "cassie sandsmark but she's just a boy who does all that instead" and "transmasc cassie sandsmark" are, narratively speaking, two entirely different things. same goes for ashe. this is what i was saying. with genderswapping.

anyway, the thing that does irk me is when people make canon pd analysis while using feminine pronouns for ashe and assume like yeah yeah obviously canon is stupid we all know ashe is a girl!!!! of course i can just treat that as canon. like, i dont know how to clearly articulate this in a polite way, but like-- she/her ashe is a headcanon. if you want to write meta specifically about or in relationship to your headcanon-- sure! but if you're trying to make genuine points about canon while intentionally blurring the lines between fanon and canon like that. i'm not going to really respect what you say about canon? again, this isn't just a pd thing. jane crocker he/him butch lesbian to me but i've never liked, like... canon-alpha-kids non-gender-related analysis where they're he/him ing her. like, like it or not-- if ashe winters Was canonically a girl, transfem or cis-- the story would be different!! similar, sure, but not the same!! things would hold different meaning!! things DO hold different meaning!! if you genuinely think that gender makes no meaningful difference when talking abt media im like going ahaha ok and scrolling on.

this also vaguely loops back around into the uncritical girl ashe so there's a Girl In The Crew thing earlier because like, you know, there's a lot of folks who only use this headcanon who aren't transfem & aren't engaging with her in a personal projection (if you're doing this extremely valid i love u) or transfem narrative way, and Only Ever Hitting Ashe with the Girl Beam, and i cannot lie to you folks-- hey. why's the shy, quieter, level-headed, awkward pc who Keeps All The Boys In Line And Thinks They're Silly and also has Long Hair the Only One you're Ever calling a girl? why is that? what are the biases you might be reinforcing or unconsciously leaning into? earlier i was saying how things. mean things!!! this is like. i don't love it. on the face of it it feels bad and shitty. crazy how only the soft spoken healer guy is ever a girl. it sucks and i hate it. if you're doing this i think you should stop and at least like fucking think about it.

&, y'know, this is certainly a little bit, like. gnc guy staring at vaguely gnc guy character: holy shit hes just like me. trans girl staring at same vaguely gnc guy character: holy shit she's just like me. there's no One Correct Answer here because headcanon & the way we think about characters is!!! personal!! they're both good if they bring both people joy!!! [obviously there is frequently erasure of transfem subtext in fandom i am aware of this it is not what i am talking about in this specific instance] & frequently they both bump up against each others sore spots through no fault of their own. what is crucial is being like. respectful of that & civil & allowing space for both readings to exist simultaneously.

anyway. i don't particularly have any great conclusion to wrap this up. i think if you're she/hering ashe because u think that it's Fucked Up that there are No Girls In PD and you want Girl Characters, you should maybe try getting into actual play shows by and with girls in them. i have recommendations. i have so many recommendations. trying to headcanon your way out of what the show fundamentally is-- four white guys on a discord call-- is not going to make you happy. please. please. god. if you're genuinely engaging with transfem ashe as a trans narrative i think that's cool and its not what im into but i see where ur comin from. keep doing ur thing have fun etc. if you just think Ashe should be Girl u should simply consider cisswapping/genderswapping its awesome it's fun also u should tag it so that people who do not particularly want!! to see girl ashe winters & like the canon character as he is!! or people who are uncomfortable with "hey what if soft spoken long haired boy was Girl, Actually" (for what should be obvious reasons) can curate their experience and won't get frustrated and miserable!!!!

i think that genderbend/cisswap aus have sifted out of popular fandom consciousness for lots of reasons with varying levels of validity & have instead been replaced with "well literally just trans ur character then". which is fine obviously, im transgener, etc. but the thing is, right, that being trans is a thing in real life, which actually means something, and carries weight, and like, very much says something about you. everyone can do fandom however they want forever, its a free country, but for me personally & the way i engage with media & the way i do think it is Good to engage with media, it feels.... disingenuous at best to just. say "well this character's trans now because i want them to be!!!" with zero thinking about characterization and narrative context and the weight which being trans would carry. and, you know, obviously there's narrative worlds where being gaytrans Doesn't actually mean shit or carry weight and shifting genders is as easy and common as making pancakes, this isn't me making any massive generalizing statement, but for the most part, transitioning is, like. that says something!! both diegetically (in-world), in how characters think of and interact w/ their transness and non-diegetically (outside-the-world), in what you are saying, either intentionally or accidentally, by making them trans. if you're interested in just.... having alt gender versions of those characters, genderswapping is free, easy, and fun!!!

[ilbound]

@stellarisen has requested a story : ❝ there is a reason one’s duty as a soldier ends only in death . it changes you . ❞ // roche to Verona?

𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒅.

A common scene ( one increasingly so ) , in truth , to catch Verona throughout the day at the piano when there is a l u l l in the workday.  Perhaps , this is merely her way of staying busy , to keep herself preoccupied ; but the wiser of her company knows the real reason ( she plays to distract herself from her own mind , from the way it fractures & frays ) .  Some have said the MAD are the most articulate in their creative endeavors , Verona seems to be no exception.  There's a certain WELL-PRACTICED SWAGGER in the way she plays ; ringed claws are graceful , fluent in every chord , the force of the melody asking her body to s w a y to and fro , music swelling to fill the place with a somber ambiance ( after all , the choice in composition oft’ reflects her heart & sorrow is a language most universal ) .  It’s no wonder she ENTERTAINS for her investors , hardly a consideration to believe they never fail to ask her to PUT ON A SHOW ( & who is she to refuse the demands of the adoring public ? ) .

Roche has returned … Her mind realizes , if only in-between keystrokes.

The SOLDIER’s scent is the first thing to come to her … Then , the way it bleeds down the back of her throat and drips onto her tongue , reminding her of his t a s t e ( the memory of a favorite meal , a thought which causes the chimera to smile ) .  She hears him pull up a chair beside her , settling casually there next to her on her RIGHT so she may be able to see him ( as always , careful of remaining on her good side ) .  Verona , however briefly , lifts her head and offers him a slight nod before returning to her craft.  At least n o w she has someone to play for , it’s always more fun with an audience.  And she appreciates that Roche tries to indulge her when he can ( when he isn’t off doing her bidding , at least ) .

Preamble to his words comes with an intake of breath , as if preparing for something IMPORTANT to say , Verona goes on with her own course.  When he speaks , pointed ear tips t o w a r d s the sound of his voice ; the indication she’s listening.  Though , she doesn’t respond.  At least , not immediately.  As is always the case.  It is rather hard to speak to her when she’s at the piano.  She always seems to … LEAVE HERSELF whilst she plays , being privy to ignoring the world.  But , such as it is , she cannot f o r e v e r ignore such a pressing topic now can she ?

At last , Verona stops , the final chord ringing out through the large room.  With eyes closed , she listens to the resonance of it , to the way it slowly dissipates before , finally , turning and regarding her companion seated next to her.  ❝ And do you at all suppose giving your loyalty to m e will find you any better a Fate ? ❞  Asks as if it might yield a SIMPLE ANSWER , though she knows how h e a v y the question might be.  ❝ Being my hound , Roche , you ought to know the consequences. ❞  She reaches out , gently taking up one of his hands , lifting it to press painted lips to his knuckles.  This , she realizes , is the tragedy in their affair : she cares , she cares all too much ... and that could very well get him killed.  ❝ Given that , ❞ Her gaze is fixed on his hand in hers , a subtle reminder of their UNION ( & does he regret coming to her ? she wonders ) .  ❝ I will do anything in my power to see you live to tell of it.  Even if at my own expense. ❞  The Chimera means what she says , each word comes off alarmingly sincere despite her ever-stoic expression.

[foxtriestobiteandmaimandkilland]

Dude i fucking HATE speaking bc like when im tired i just read posts out loud but under my breath so theyre easier to Process. But likeeee i wanna kill the letter r especially when its at the beginning of a word or after a consonant. Like the word Bro is SOOOO annoying so say bc i just end up saying fucking bwo or some amalgamation of brwrro likeeeee IT EVEN FEELS UNCOMFORTABLE bc idk what shape 2 make w my mouth and never have so i make my best guess and justtt,. Fuck R. Worst letter ever. V is a close second. And the th sound. Man u can rllyyyy tell i had 2 do speech therapy when i was little n ever since my mum literally would never let me speak unless i was speaking as clearly as fuckin possible. Like no glottal stops or w/e they're called n no missin the g at the end of a word and no mispronouncing vowel sounds no dropping Hs at the beginnin of words no NOTHING like ppl at school ALWAYSSSS say how well articulated n shit i am THATS BC I WAS FORCED 2 BE BC OTHERWISE I WOULDNT EVEN B ABLE TO TELL HER THERE WAS A FIRE WITHOUT HAVING 2 GO ABT IT SOME ROUNDABOUT WAY,. Ugh. Anyways. Fuck the letter r. Worst letter alive. Hope it dies a firey death.

[krispiecake]

hh

[bmpmp3]

Do you have any tips for drawing bodies from multiple angles?

WROTE A LOT SORRY its under a cut!

honestly i dont have the most practice with it since a good 70% of what i draw is characters wait up standing looking 3/4s left or right orz BUT some things that helped with the few interesting poses i draw once every fiscal quarter IS.....life drawing orz

specifically life drawing sessions where you do a bunch of quick gestural figures (like a 60 second timer each pose) at the beginning and then slowly increase the time for later poses, like 2 minutes, then five, where you slowly increase the amount of detail and rendering each pose, and then one or two long 10 minute ones where you go all out. i think that kinda structure helps a lot to 1) warm you up and get loosey goosey with ur lines and 2) get in the zone to think about how bodies work without overwhelming urself - like in the 1 minute sketches you could basically only get a weird stick figure, in the 2 minute ones maybe you might get a little more definition in the sillhouette, at the 5 minute poses you got some folds of the flesh implied with a few lines and a bit of hatching, and by the 10 minute ones ur really thinking about how the different parts of the body all interact because you already did some practice (the previous poses) if that makes sense?

ALAS we are in a world situation where cramming 40 people in a room to silently draw one naked person for three hours is not......happening (at least not where i live) so for the past couple years ive had to make do with online resources, which arent half bad! theyre not quite the same, for me at least (i think in person i can see more interesting angles) but they do the job! here's some I've used:

http://reference.sketchdaily.net/en

https://line-of-action.com/practice-tools/figure-drawing

https://quickposes.com/en

https://youtu.be/mNNSwITdPIM (linking this channels clothed references so no one gets a surprise titty in the face but normally i personally use nude references) (although recently ive been using some clothed references as well just because i realized im so out of practice drawing clothes hsjlkfBJKLFJSFKLD)

figure drawing and life drawing and especially gesture drawing is also something thats kinda tricky to learn if no one ever taught you (and honestly its tricky if someone DID teach you lol) so maybe someday i'll get around to trying to explain what ive learned myself if that could help someone

ive tried using 3d models but ive never foudn them that useful, probably for the same reason i prefer irl models to pictures (easier to see whats goin on) BUT sometimes it can help as a rough guideline if ur doing a weird angle youve never done before!!

SPEAKING of guidelines. guidelines are ur friend. guidelines r ur lifeblood. guidelines will always help even if u dont follow half of them they are SO helpful - I OFTEN find myself kinda skipping them, like you can see here in this drawing i havent erased the sketch from yet that i drew a circle and then a line for shoulders and gave up (probably impatient lol):

BUT guidelines can help so much~ when im drawing a full pose i'll usually have guidelines that really are no more than stick figures like basically like:

stick figures with dots for joints and maybe some rough lines here and there like it doesnt need to be nice or perfect since its just gonna get erased anyway~ it helps me keep track of how bones work hjfsdskjvfdfs

OH and artist mannequins.....like 3d models theyve also never done me any good like those wooden ones? I hate em theyre so stiff and i dunno what to do with them BUT.....okay...action figures? not bad....like maybe not so much with anatomy but if you have a doll or action figure with good articulation you can kinda use that to help out with funky poses sometimes!! like i have this one gundam and honestly....even though its a mecha with a giant mecha dong or whatevers going down there its like....not a horrible mannequin for poses jfksdlfjrfkehjklsd

WITH REGARDS TO foreshortening.......................................we are all on our own with that one orz LIKE i have tried every trick in the book, every funky tip and method and technique and none have worked for me so i just wing it jhkDmFJKDLS WELL actually having like a page of really sloppy loose stick figure sketches where you experiment with proportions helps a lot!! i do that with weird poses or angles, like dont worry about about how it looks HELL unfocus ur eyes. unfocus ur eyes. i do that all the time while drawing and its great it helps you see the big picture and the silhouette without focusing too much on one thing~

anyway yeah i dunno i guess a lot is just experimentation but hopefully some of these resources might be useful!!

[elytrafemme]

hi hi asking on anon just bc. idk i don't feel like Being Perceived rn. but!!!! i jsut wanted to say that i really appriciate the way you word things?? bc like. i personally am kinda shit at how i say things and like. obviously we r different people with different experiences but sometimes u word things in a way that makes me go "ohhh that makes so much sense" about Myself and it just. means a lot even tho that's almost definitely not ur intention??? my brain is a mess on the best of days and so it's just kinda nice to be able to see something that's well worded and makes sense and sorta relates to me in one way or another :')

hey hey!!! i appreciate this a lot, actually. i do my best to be eloquent and articulate well here, and find that this is a pretty safe space to do so - i've struggled in the past with not being able to find words, construct sentences or phrases in my brain, or really being able to speak at all, though these are all momentary and psychological related phenomenon, so i can also appreciate when things are worded well in a way that i can resonate with, even if i didn't have the words for it myself

and for that i really appreciate the kindness <3 i'm always really happy that people can relate to the things i say. i have a lot of thoughts about love and healing and reconciling with the past and i'm so so glad i've found a community i can share them with.

hope you're doing well, anon. wishing you much warmth and tranquility in the coming days <3

[meichenxi]

<j q x> and <zh ch sh>: an in-depth pronunciation guide

Help! I can’t pronounce <j q x>! AM I FOREVER CURSED??

No! You shall rise from the void of bad pronunciation! The gleaming ladder of linguistics beckons and shall guide you to success!

Alright, let’s go! 

This, below, is your mouth! (simplified, in paint, please use your imagination) The pointy bits are your teeth - the dangly bit at the back is your velum. The bits that are relevant for us today are the alveolar ridge, post-alveolar space and the palate. 

<j q x> are all technically 'alveolo-palatal' sounds. Your alveolar ridge in your mouth is the bit behind your teeth that is very hard, before it goes upwards and gets softer. Your palate is divided into your hard palate and soft palate - the hard palate is the bit that burns when you eat pizza! 

Alveolar sounds in English are /t d s z n l/ etc - feel how your tongue is tapping off that hard ridge in the first two. We just have one palatal sound in English, made when your tongue approaches the hard palate - <y>, which is usually written /j/ in linguistics. (<this> means spelling, and /this/ means phonemic pronunciation). 

Post-alveolar sounds are sounds which are made when you retract your tongue a bit from the hard alveolar ridge. We have quite a few - /ʃ/ as in 'shot' <sh>, /ʒ/ as in 'vision' <s>, /tʃ/ as in 'church', and /dʒ/ as in <j>, 'jam'. Congratulations, because these all exist in Chinese! If you're a proficient English speaker or your language has them, pinyin <zh> , <ch> and <sh> should be straightforward (though <sh> especially is a little bit more retroflex, i.e. your tongue curled back, than the English). T

Alveolo-palatal sounds are made with your lips spread wide, with the back of your tongue raised to your palate (like in <yes> as in ‘yes’) and the tip of your tongue resting along the back of the teeth. 

Compare the two pictures. The first is the pronunciation of the post-alveolar sounds, so pinyin <zh ch sh>, and the second is the pronunciation of <j q x>. Notice how in the second picture the body of the tongue is much higher, and the tip of the tongue isn’t curled back, but resting behind the teeth. 

In the picture for the English sounds above, please note that this isn’t totally accurate - Chinese <zh ch sh> as well as <r> are more retroflex - they are pronounced with the tongue curled further back in the mouth - but while your accent may sound ‘off’ if you pronounce them in the English way, it’s close enough that it’s unlikely to be mistaken for anything else, so we’ll leave it there for now. The picture below shows the difference. 

In pinyin, <j> <q> and <x> are written with separate letters to <zh> <ch> <sh>. This is really helpful for us, because they are different sounds, but technically speaking we could write them all the same. What?? Because they are actually linguistically speaking in complementary distribution with each other. 

Think about it. 

Do you ever say ch+iang or q+ang? Or q+an or ch+ian? Or pronounce ch+u with the German umlaut vowel ü, or q+u with the normal <u>? You never do!

The consonants <jqx> and <zh ch sh> are always followed by different vowels to each other. Knowing these vowels will help you tell them apart in listening, and aid you, eventually, in production.  

Look at this diagram below of standard Chinese monophthongs (single vowels). The pointy bit is the front of our mouth, and the lines represent height and ‘backness’. The dots are where the highest point of your tongue in your mouth is when you pronounce the vowel. We only need to worry about <u> and <y> for now. 

The /u/ is the <u> we get after <zh ch sh> - e.g. chū. This is familiar to most people with knowledge of Romance languages - it’s a long, clear sound without any change of the vowel (careful native English speakers; we’re not very good at this one). The /y/ is the German <ü> or French <u>. 

The /I/ here is the high ‘ee’ sound that we get in qi, ji, xi etc. This sound doesn’t exist after <zh ch sh>, but also <s r>. Instead, we have what’s often analysed as a ‘syllabic consonant’ - if you think about it, there really isn’t much ‘vowel’ in 是 shì or 日 rì. The first is just a long <shhh> sound - but this is a complex topic best left for another day. 

Why do we get the high sounds (if you make the sounds in your mouth, you can feel that ‘eeee’ and ‘üüü’ move your tongue higher up than the other two) after the alveolo-palatal consonants and not the others? If you remember, <y> or /j/ as in ‘yes’ is a palatal consonant. This sound is actually incredibly similar to that high ‘eee’ - try saying ‘eee’ and then ‘ehhh’ (as in ‘yes’) and notice that when you switch vowel, you automatically say a <y> sound without even trying. If you are making a palatal sound like <y>, or like <j q x>, your tongue is already in the position to make <ü> and high ‘ee’ very easily. And humans are lazy - it’s much easier to follow a consonant with a vowel that’s in the same place, than to change the place completely. Technically speaking this is called ‘ease of articulation’. So when we want to say <qu>, the <u> gains some of the characteristics and is pronounced more similarly to the <q>. 

And if you think about the rest of the pinyin table - this pattern of <q j x> being associated with ‘high’ vowels doesn’t stop with <u> and <i>. You get <chang>, but you don’t get <*qang> (* means ‘wrong’), but <qiang> with an extra palatal <y> /j/ sound in there. You get <zhang>, but not <*jang>, but <jiang>. You get <shang> but <xiang> etc etc. There are essentially no overlapping areas where only the consonants and different, but the vowels are the same. This is hugely helpful for learning to recognise the difference between the two sets of consonants, and also for people understanding you, the terrible, unforgivable second language learner - since there are no contexts in which the two sets can be confused with each other, as long as you pronounce the vowel afterwards correctly, what you want to say should be clear. 

With that in mind, let’s get onto the actual pronunciation!

This is where you want to pronounce <x>. It’s similar to, but not quite the same as, the German palatal fricative written <ch> as in ‘ich’ (NOT as in ‘ach’), so if you have this sound in your inventory, you’re already winning! When you pronounce <sh>, the body of the tongue (the middle bit) is sunk down quite low; when you pronounce <x>, you need to raise the tongue towards your palate (the ‘palatal’ bit of the sound) and bring the front of your tongue under the back of your teeth, almost like you’re going to whistle. It’s helpful for all of these to put your tongue behind your lower front teeth, though you can also make the sound with it behind your upper front teeth as in the diagram below. 

When you say <x>, without any vowels following it, it should sound higher pitched, and your lips should be spread wide. When you say <sh>, it sounds lower pitched and your lips are not stretched - in fact, they’re bunched. Watch videos of native speakers pronouncing them in isolation, and try to copy their mouth shapes. 

<j> vs <q>

Most people can get away with some approximation of <x> because of the difference in vowel sounds, and while it may be wrong, if the rest of your pronunciation is ok, it won’t make a huge difference to people’s understanding of you. Many people, however, struggle hugely with <q> and <j> - and there’s no handy vowels to tell these apart. 

First: Chinese doesn’t make the distinction between voiced and voiceless consonants like many languages like Spanish or Russian, but instead between non-aspirated and aspirated consonants, a little like English. This means that English natives often actually sound more natural when they are pronouncing te de or bo po than other foreigners. For speakers of languages without this aspiration difference (the difference between a consonant with a puff of air and without), this is difficult to get used to, but doesn’t usually cause difficulties with comprehension. What it does mean, though, is that the biggest difference between <q> and <j> is aspiration - <q> is aspirated, while <j> is not. Hold out your hand and try to feel the difference. You should feel a thin stream of air hit your hand in consonants like <t p q>. 

Youtube for practicing:

Grace Mandarin - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05BMKdxHjp8 Mandarin Blueprint - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxIL11PcNXE Yoyo Chinese - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K1RTPxWiI0

BUT - BUT IT’S STILL SO HARD!!! HOW CAN I MAKE IT EASIER??

Firstly, this vowel difference afterwards is incredibly important. Your pronunciation won’t be CORRECT if you only make this vowel difference, but it will go a LONG way towards helping you a) distinguish the correct pronunciation of other speakers, and b) copying them more accurately. What we’re all doing now, as second language learners or learners who have grown up without as much input as we’d like, is retraining our brain to the contrasts that are important. English doesn’t have a contrast between <q> and <ch>, or <sh> and <x>, so naturally if you’re a monolingual native English speaker it’s going to take some time. Be patient with yourselves. When we’re very young babies, we can make a difference between all phonemic distinctions in the world. And then at about 10 months we just lose that ability essentially instantly, because we’ve already established which contrasts are important and which aren’t. That’s not to say kids can’t learn it - because they clearly do - or adults can’t, but that you are LITERALLY RETRAINING YOUR BRAIN.

 It’s not just about where to put your tongue, how to shape your mouth. Our brains are effective - they only store which information is necessary for the language, nothing extraneous. Technically speaking the /k/ in <kit> and <car> are two very different sounds, and in some languages they count as different phonemes and are written with different letters - but you probably never even noticed they were different at all! Because in English, all the extra information that says ‘this sound is pronounced more palatal’ and ‘this sound is pronounced more velar’ just doesn’t matter. So when you’re trying to learn these contrasts that don’t exist in your native language, it doesn’t matter if you can make the sound correctly once. What you actually need to do is convince your brain that every single time you hear or pronounce <j q x zh ch sh> you need to pay attention to contrast it previously filed under ‘not important’.

Lastly: be kind to yourself!!!

This takes babies about 10 months to get down - 10 months of solid, constant input with caregivers that are very focused on them. And you’re fighting how your brain has wired itself to disregard that contrast. How can you fix this? Input. INPUT IS KING. You need to present your brain with enough Chinese, enough different voices and speakers, to make it realise that there’s a crucial, important difference between all <qiang> and <chang> and so on. This will take time, but as long as you have enough input you’ll get there. But be kind to yourself. YOU ARE RESHAPING YOUR BRAIN. 

加油！

- 梅晨曦

[polishksiezniczka]

Camerlengo Patrick McKenna Fluff ABCs | Camerlengo x Female Reader

Il camerlengo deserves more love ❤

Notes: These take place in an AU where the Cardinal Strauss and Commander Richter are guilty of the attacks on the Vatican. 2K words.

A = Attractive (What do they find attractive about the other?)

There are so many things about you Patrick adores: your beautiful, soft smile; the curiosity and warmth your eyes convey; the feminine lilt of your voice. But most of all, he loves you for your heart. The kindness you show towards others makes you an angel in his eyes.

B = Baby (Do they want a family? Why or why not?)

Despite his vocation to the priesthood, Patrick would love nothing more than to start a family with you. He views the love you share as a gift from God, not something that should be disgraced or vilified. The arbitrary man-made rules of the Church which prevent him from realizing this longing—your own little family—frustrate him to no end.

C = Cuddle (How do they cuddle?)

With the utmost care and gentleness. He holds you against him, reverently stroking your hair, face, and body with his warm fingers. He especially loves to admire the suppleness of you, softly kissing each and every glorious inch he can reach. While these moments are few, they are precious to him.  

D = Dates (What are dates with them like?)

Because your relationship with Patrick is technically “forbidden,” you can’t go on dates in the normal sense. When he can, Patrick will use the secret passage between the Vatican and Castel Sant’ Angelo to discretely travel to the outside world in order to visit you. Because you really can’t be seen alone with him, you instead spend time with Patrick in your apartment, often cooking dinner, talking, and just enjoying each other’s company. Even if you can’t confess your love to the world yet, all he desires is to spend every moment he can with you.

E = Everything [“You are my ____________.” (e.g. my life, my world)]

“You are my heart.”

“You are my treasure.”

“You are my life’s greatest blessing. You are a gift from God.”

F = Feelings (When did they know they were in love?)

When he imagined his life without you. The pain he felt even entertaining the notion was too much for him to bear. He knew he needed to tell you before it was too late.

G = Gentle (Are they gentle? If so, how?)

This is one of the main reasons you fell in love with Patrick—he is truly the gentlest soul you have ever met. He treats you as if you were a priceless relic, practically worshipping the ground you walk on and swearing to defend you from any harm. Not that he won’t stand up for what he believes—he is a fierce defender of his faith and possesses the ability to inspire millions with his commanding oratory. But the look of love in his eyes when you catch him watching you makes your heart flutter rapidly in your chest like a schoolgirl’s.

H = Hands (How do they like to hold hands?)

Secretly and with all the affection he can possibly give. He especially loves to brush his thumb across the back of your hand, squeeze them lightly, or bring them to his lips when they are intertwined. When you are alone together, he always wants to maintain this type of intimate contact.  

I = Impression (What was their first impression?)

When you first met Patrick, the always-charming young priest was left speechless. Not only was he enamored of your beauty, he was mesmerized by your intellect and eloquence. At first, he chided himself for such foolish and boy-like thoughts—he was a priest, after all! But after slowly getting to know you, he realized how much you embodied perfection to him: your poise, the uncommon kindness you showed to all those you met, your deep devotion to your Catholic faith. And you couldn’t help but feel the same strong attraction to him.

J = Jealousy (Do they get jealous much?)

Patrick is not the jealous type—he would never have any reason to be. Your love is built on trust and truthfulness, and he alone holds the key to your heart.

K = Kiss (How do they kiss? Who initiated the first kiss?)

You were the first to kiss Patrick. You had gone to him for guidance after suffering a deeply personal anguish. His words were so gentle and reassuring, you couldn’t help but softly kiss his cheek in gratitude as tears slipped silently from your eyes. You were too numb to even feel ashamed, let alone prepare for Patrick’s response: taking your hand and kissing it lovingly, a gesture meant to assure you your feelings were reciprocated.

Because of Patrick’s profession and his constant presence in the public eye, you can’t be together as often as you’d like. But when you are, you nearly die and go to heaven from his mouth’s attentions alone. Patrick’s kisses are gentle, reverent, and full of love. He is never aggressive or rough; instead, he worships you with his lips, laying them everywhere like a starving man put before a feast.

L = Love (Who says I love you first?)

Patrick did. He was running to the helicopter to dispose of the antimatter chamber, willing to sacrifice his life for the safety of the faithful gathered in the Square and his beloved St. Peter’s. As he prepared to take off, he saw you standing on the steps at the entrance to the basilica, tears in your eyes. He silently mouthed to you, “I love you. Pray for me.” You were distraught but could do nothing but nod as tears clouded your vision and watch as he ascended from the plaza into the night sky.    

M = Memory (What’s their favorite memory together?)

One night you begged Patrick to go for a walk around the city together, like a normal couple would. You couldn’t brush away the romantic childhood notions of strolling through Rome with your beloved. He finally acquiesced to your pleas (your doe eyes and breathy implorations being of great assistance to you) and the two of you slipped quietly out into the dusky night. You frolicked at the Trevi Fountain, gazed at the enormity of the Pantheon, and shared a sweet treat from the gelateria while nestled on a bridge overlooking the Tiber River. Although the ancient city was beautiful, the sight beside him was what truly took his breath away.

N = Nickel (Do they spoil? Do they buy the person they love everything?)

Priests are sworn to a life of poverty, so Patrick does not shower you with expensive presents (nor can he afford to). But none of that matters to you because all you care about is Patrick and your love for him. Of his few earthly possessions, Patrick gifted you his late mother’s golden crucifix necklace inlaid with emerald, despite your attempts to dissuade him. He gave you the look of utmost adoration and smiled. “Angelo mio, you are the only one worthy of wearing it.” You wear the necklace every day as a secret declaration of your love for Patrick.  

O = Orange (What color reminds them of their other half?)

There are two: light pink (it is your favorite color and the color of your favorite flower, the gardenia) and white. White symbolizes purity and peace, as it is the color of the angels, and to Patrick, you are his angel on Earth.  

P = Pet Names (What pet names do they use?)

Angelo mio (“my angel”); cuore mio (“my heart”); mi amore (my love); “beloved”; “dearest”; “my treasure” ; “sweetheart.”

Q = Quaint (What is their favorite non-modern thing?)

His rosary, made of olive wood grown on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. It was a gift from His Holiness.

R = Rainy Day (What do they like to do on a rainy day?)

Ideally, he would spend the day curled up together on the sofa with you, reading, talking, or just basking in the other’s presence. Two mugs of tea and a plate of delectable pastries you had baked for him would sit on the table but would remain uneaten because of the sustenance you provide to each other. When he cannot be with you, he enjoys spending time in his study, doing research, reading Scripture, or writing his weekly homily.  

S = Sad (How do they cheer themselves/others up?)

Prayer—he always turns to God and the Saints for guidance.

Naturally, being by your side and in close physical contact immediately quells even his deepest fears. He relishes listening to your soft, sweet voice, lulling him into a sense of profound comfort and eventually, sleep.

T = Talking (What do they like to talk about?)

Patrick is an intellectual at heart and loved the time he spent in seminary. He is incredibly well-versed in a variety of topics, including literature, history, science, music, art, philosophy, and theology. You could listen to him for hours and never lose interest.

U = Unencumbered (What helps them relax?)

You. Patrick can be himself around you, let his guard down. He knows that he can tell you anything. Sometimes when he has a lot on his mind (responsibilities, the welfare of his Church, your future together), he simply gazes at you lovingly and observes the subtle movements you make when you’re engrossed in a task like cooking, reading, or playing the piano.

When he’s anxious and you are not around, prayer provides him a deep sense of comfort. He also relishes in your sweet scent—a small vial of your perfume you gifted him.  

V = Vaunt (How do they like to show off? What are they proud of?)

Vanity is a sin! 😉

But in secret, he loves showing off his Latin skills to you! You find it incredibly sensual when he speaks to you in that ancient tongue.

W = Wedding (When, how, where do they propose?)

On a dreamy spring night, Patrick led you up to a secret balcony near the base of St. Peter’s massive  dome—a hidden observatory shown to him by His Holiness when he was a young boy. The view is breathtaking; you can see the whole city bathed in golden light, the inky blue darkness above cut by the silver caresses of the moon. You turn to Patrick in complete awe and could hardly articulate how beautiful the view was. He pulls you close to him and whispers that he would be happy if he could never see this view again if it meant he could spend the rest of his life with you. You turned to him, overwhelmed with love, your breath hitching at the significance of his words. He then knelt down before you, taking your hands in his.

���Y/F/N Y/M/N Y/L/N, of all the blessings God has bestowed upon me, none is more precious than you. From the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew that we were meant to be together, in this place and time.” His eyes were sincere and insistent, his tone earnest as he held your hands tighter and continued: “My mind told me that we could not be together, that my vows of celibacy and chastity forbid this. But my heart tells me that if a love so pure as ours exists, is it not a gift from God, meant to be treasured? And though I may not deserve to understand, all I wish to know and feel is my love for you.” His eyes shone softly with tears.  

“Y/N, my love, will you make me the happiest man on Earth and spend the rest of your life with me? Will you be my wife?”

X = Xylophone (What’s their song?)

Patrick loves the ancient hymns from the early days of the Church, their melodies hauntingly beautiful yet powerful. “Ave Maria” also has a special place in his heart after he heard you singing it softly to yourself one evening while preparing dinner.

Y = Yes (Do they ever think of getting married/proposing?)

Every day! Patrick is so torn between the duties of his priesthood and his intense longing to spend the rest of his life as your husband. He prays to God often about this personal conflict, but finally decides to propose to you before Him alone, indifferent to anyone else’s judgement.

Z = Zebra (If they wanted a pet, what would they get?)

Because Patrick is so easygoing and affectionate, he would do really well with dogs.

Tag: @lemairepstuff @seraferna

[jiminrings]

Four Seven Eight ♡

To: You

From: Fluffy

Ahem.. ahem.. We shall break this down into however many parts possible..

First of all, I love the type of angst you write.. It’s that realistic road of melted rocks that simply trips you over every single time (to me at least).. Where you go: ‘Ah.. This could totally be something that would happen to me in real life..’ That’s the type of angst that truly gets your eyes watering like a gardening hose.. Not the type that involves people falling off cliffs.. The type that seems so insignificant from a distance but as you step into the tunnel of such pain, you realise.. Well, this shit hurts.. My poor mush mush of a heart.. Ouch! (Maybe that’s why I’ve read take five exactly five times - shoutout to all of your Yoongi fics)

Jungkook.. He truly does love Y/N, and it wasn’t a matter of not moving on from his ex (I do not remember her name.. Condolences to my memory) completely, it was a matter of - holding on to certain things just to make him feel more secure.. And normal.. It’s like how certain traditions carry on for centuries because that’s what makes us feel secure.. Some traditions vanish over time because of things like (tw) w*r, etc.. Some traditions vanish over time because we simply have no need for them anymore.. How certain cultural weddings get cut down in terms of days (Cambodian weddings for example).. That’s life (however cliche).. everything changes, anything changes.. We evolve..

Like a child who refuses to let go of their ever so dear teddy bear.. I feel what Jungkook is feeling... What he did was completely unfair to our Mc though.. To the words I have continuously sworn by: ‘Understand a person, but don't overlook what they did..’ You did bad on that one, Koo.. Very bad..

Oh my my my.. To put into words, this story is one where love conquers it all - not in a way where it can build bridges and cross rivers.. In a way where, without you I ache and bruise all over my heart.. In a way where, with you I blossom and turn into stars.. Love doesn't have to be carefully articulated bouquets, love doesn't have to be anything complicated (even if it is far more than that) The way Koo gives in to buying that ridiculously hard to clean couch.. The way the mc sat threw with him when he was watching those Kiss scenes with Yoongs...

In a way I relate to the mc and in a way I relate to Koo.. As a pretty cold person whose idea of emotions is always a permanent impassive expression every hour of the day.. I can say, space is one of those things that gets us going through relationships.. We need time to process shit... We let things simmer down and a person be prepared to speak rationally and not out of anger.. We let them think of whether they were in the wrong (sometimes ourselves).. Space... I love space..

And yep... This is how I rant.. (alternatively: this is how we writers get out of writer’s block - we write something we feel like writing at the moment or stare at a wall...) Ahhhh, it feels good to give an author the love they truly deserve!!! I’ve been on here for so long... And for once I have finally written you the review you deserve... I mean it with all my soul and in all of Min Yoongi’s White House Wainscotting that you are a wonderful wonderful author.. One of my favourites.. I get all happy when you upload - truly.. Just, wowww!!

As a lover of ending reviews with memes.. Here you are, dear author

Four Seven Eight ♡

ok first off thank u so much ily let's establish that <33 i rlly like taking this realistic-ish point of angst that can possibly happen to u in real life!! i feel like that's been the recurring theme of my fics lately (excluding lyiaik n the soulmate portion of hlwwf tho </3) and im happy u enjoy it!! i like building off what seems to be insignificant details from a distance until it eventually runs deeper than it is superficially!! shoutout to all my yoongis i love em too :D

jungkook truly loves oc n i agree!! some people have their comfort routine that although may seem flawed to anyone not part of it, brings them great relief!! what he did was unfair unfortunately </3 you've articulated the love conquers all bit and i've reread it two times just to intentionally put myself through it!! it's on those little scenes that i feel like emphasized their compromise and love the most.

i'm glad u can relate to both of them to a degree <3 impassiveness is more common than one could think and the notion about establishing space as destructiveness isn't true at all!! ahhhh thank u so much this means a lot to me more than u think <3 ily fluffy n min yoongi white house wainscoting 🫶

[neonun-au]

R!!!!

hehehe you got it Berry~

R: Are there any writers (fanfic or otherwise) you consider an influence?

Yes, for sure!! I think every thing I have ever read has influenced me in one way or another. As for writers that I look up to in terms of style, I think I probably lean the most towards Helen Oyeyemi, Cormac McCarthy, Milan Kundera, and most Japanese contemporary novelists tbh because there is something very specific captured in the subtlety of emotion of novels from the country that I find both so interesting and so admirable. I know it's very much a culturally specific thing, but writers like Banana Yoshimoto and Ryu Murakami, and even Haruki Murakami (despite the issues I take with his shallow portrayal of female characters) just have such an interesting take on the translation of emotion into writing. If I could read them in the original language, too, I can only imagine how much more potent that would be. Also Libba Bray and Donna Tartt to a lesser extent and more recently have had an influence on how I want to craft and create my stuff. Margaret Atwood, as well, since as a Canadian I really cannot escape her and her writing haha She is at the center of Canadian cannon and has been for a long time.

U: Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

Will do! Firstly, I follow and speak with so many amazing and talented writers on here, so I highly recommend so many people. Secondly, I follow so many people whose writing I haven't gotten around to reading yet that I know I am going to really love (I'm thinking @dhoya and @jisungiest in particular right now) so I cannot say much yet on that but, anyway without further ado

@byutafy comes to mind first for the depth of her creations. The way that she world builds and the settings of her fics are so endlessly interesting to me. I get so sucked into the world of every single one of her fics that I have read, and even though I haven't made my way through her entire catalogue yet, I know there is so much talent and quality there ! Most highly recommend At Dawn

@jungwooisms I admire her writing so much for just how detailed and well researched everything is. There is a specific sort of quality to it that I don't know if I can really articulate, but I love. A sort of longing and yearning inside of everything and I love that. I am a big fan of melancholy and she writes it so well. I harp on about Hwarang so much, but seriously the series is SO good.

@naptaemed I still have not made my way through her whole masterlist, but everything I have read (even the old stuff she would rather forget lol) is so good and so well written. The number one thing I love the most about her writing is the effortless humour woven in through everything she writes. Fluff is definitely her forte, but she writes angst very well too. I still haven’t given my full review about it because brain hurt, but I read Lonely Hearts Columns and it is just so, so good. Very highly recommend it. 

[akajustmerry]

Honestly marvel angers me so much like there’s rly so much potential with comic book movies and there’s just so much they could explore but every single movie now feels the same and idk how to articulate this well but they kinda just lack heart? Like some movies u can just feel that the creators rly cared abt the story and the characters but marvel movies just feel so detached and honestly if not for fanfics I would hv 0 emotional attachment to any of the characters. And ik the dc movies r a mess but for me I feel like most of the creators (like snyder) at least seem to care abt the movies that theyre making? Marvel seems to just be making movies for the sake of making movies and making money. I’m kinda hoping with the new movies it’ll get better since they’re exploring new stories but :// at least there’s no more iron man tho I’m so sick of seeing him in every single movie ((anyway sorry for this unprompted messy rant ur post just reminded me of the et*rnals trailer))

you're so right!! dc films still have individuality and you can feel the effort that has been made to, in the very least, craft a certain kind of film that speaks to a directors vision! birds of prey is a perfect example of the way that dc isn't as frightened of not appealing the masses like marvel is so they take a little more risk. same with aquaman, man of steel and shazzam, etc. even non-disney marvel films like deadpool, xmen first class, and amazing spiderman- they don't have the same soulless feel to them because they're not aiming to profit off as many ppl as possible via the construction of an extended universe populated with characters basic enough to be engaging but relatable. non mcu hero films were stories being told to tell A STORY. the eternals trailer feels exhausting. I feel like I'm going to sit through a poorly colour-graded wannabe epic of characters I'm supposed to believe have been here the whole time just so we can sit and listen to them make weird omniscient references to past mcu films. look at me, I'm ranting now haha but honestly I feel u. I am famously angry at the constant character assassination going on to build a cinematic universe. the only thing standing between me and a full hulk out over what the mcu did to the Winter Soldier arch/character is my undying horniness for mr stan. these characters deserve better than being products!!

[sweetrupturedlight]

This week on Sen Çal Kapımı

Serkan's inability to articulate his feelings for Eda has him literally man down, while Eda contemplates their kinda, sorta, maybe mutual feelings and her future. Other stuff happens, but come on, with this episode, Edser takes centre stage as the ship sets sail on the high seas.

Before we jump right into it, last week in this post, I bulleted the things all of us expected was coming. 

Let’s take one moment to note the glorious ways in which all of these things unfolded?

Nursing back to health

Pining

Severe angst

Breaking point

Dear writers of this show, we appreciate you. We are truly blessed.

Now, on to this week. The episode picks up where we left off, with Selin giving Serkan 2 days to decide whether she drops Ferit like a hot potato on the eve of their wedding. Let’s be clear, she wants to dump a man she is supposed to marry in two days to resume a logical and clinical relationship? Is Selin even in love with Serkan? It doesn’t seem like he treated her very well – but then again, it seems their relationship had a very logical genesis – no sweeping romantic gestures, no sweet words, no compliments it would seem! etc. So objectively I’m not sure what exactly makes that prospect better than the one with Ferit – who clearly does love and care for her. But I digress. 

Essentially, this is how it plays out:

Selin: “Let me know in max 2 days if you want to be with me, k.”

Serkan: ...

Eda: Simply exists.

Serkan: Stares directly at Selin as he deliberately grasps Eda’s hand and holds on for dear life.

Now, they say actions speak louder than words... so how is Selin still not clear on the fact that Serkan not rushing to end her marriage means he’s not interested???

Anyhoo, Serkan and Eda spend most of the episode circling around the same.

Did you say yes to Selin?

What is your opinion on my situation with Selin?

Would you stay?

I can’t stay because… reasons

If either one of these to love-struck puppies took a second to reflect, they would realise that they actually have the answers already. Eda in fact, does consider for a minute that Serkan might actually have feelings for her. Serkan however, is convinced Eda cannot wait to get out of his life - which makes his bold move at the end of the episode a great moment for his own growth as a character. He was operating on his feelings and taking an emotional risk, having no idea how she actually felt. Yes, he had the note she left, but up until 20 minutes earlier, he was still fighting Engin on the notion that she could genuinely have feelings for him.

Speaking on Engin, writers, I have faith that we will see Engin mercilessly tease Serkan in the next episode about his heart eyes and his newfound familiarity with the language of love. This is likely going to bring great comedic gold. Its also not lost on me that Engin can so easily see the love between Serkan and Eda, but is totally clueless about his own romantic entanglements. To be honest, I’m not invested in this romance, so whomever he ends up with - or doesn’t - is fine by me.

Listen, I’m high key bursting at the fact that Eda and Serkan both already see the other in their bed(s). Them facing “each other” with longing was one of the smaller moments of the episode, but one of my favourites. And because this show is so good at parallels, I’m putting it out there that we will get a scene of them sharing a bed without Serkan needing to turn his back to her, but also without Serkan ruining the mood once daybreak arrives. Eda is a snuggler and she loves to sleep. I’m looking forward to bedroom shenanigans. Also, can Eda (and Engin) find the pictures of them he’s clearly carrying around in his wallet at this point? Please and thank you.

SIDE NOTE: according to Laila, Serkan has a conference in London “next week” which has been reserved for two people. Since I’m going out on a limb and saying Serkan won’t be travelling with Selin, will Eda accompany him to the UK? One can only hope for a honeymoon romantic getaway business trip.

Adore the “don’t leave” parallels that the show has been dropping like golden nuggets for the past few weeks. Serkan has spent multiple episodes in a struggle with himself. If Eda wants to leave, he insists its not his style to ask her to stay. But by episodes end he is so frenzied at the thought of his life without her, he’s ready and willing to say it m u l t i p l e times. We love a glow up.

Things I loved about this episode:

The handhold 5 seconds in & Eda’s impulsive kiss on his cheek.

The super cheesy let’s-randomly-turn-on-the-radio-and-awkwardly-listen-to-the-exact-song-describing-our entire-love-story. The way I was lapping it up with shovel. Also, Başak Gümülcinelioğlu’s (aka the actress playing Piril) song Sen Çal Kapımı is beautiful. All the fanvids, all the time please oh talented vidders.

Serkan’s meltdown at the office the minute he realised she’s about to leave. Hilarious. I truly enjoy seeing him a little off kilter and a lot out of control. Just looking at how his employees have relaxed since he’s been more relaxed - due to Eda’s influence - is a great subtle storytelling mechanism as well.

Immensely enjoyed Nurse Eda - especially her traditional approach to checking temperatures. LOL. Just a comment that despite Eda believing Serkan and Selin are most likely a thing, she refuses to leave his side in deference to Selin. I totally loved seeing her stake her claim. And judging by the never-you-mind, irritated way with which Serkan basically told Selin to move along, Serkan doesn’t want people around when he’s sick - but he certainly wants Eda.

Serkan going from unable to communicate to “you’re constantly in my head, in my every thought! You’ve taken over my brain! You’ve taken over my entire life!” #FlingsSelfIntoTheSun

THE KISS. Beautiful cinematography, beautiful direction, gorgeous cast, amazing script. Loved everything about it.

Things that broke/confused me

Serkan being a complete dolt and instead of enjoying the woman he loves cuddled up beside him, he takes the time to reiterate that he doesn’t remember their conversation from the night before. SMH. Eda was about to risk it all one last time, and Serkan’s poorly timed dose of realness is the final straw.

The tears in his eyes when she left the office. He was still fighting being vulnerable, even after Eda basically gave him the roadmap with an x for how to achieve success. Thankfully, by episodes end his own desperation at potentially losing her outweighed his “logic” and self preservation. Eda is teaching Serkan that its okay to need other people and that he doesn’t have to shoulder everything alone. #MyEndlessFloodOfTears

Aydan being unable to see how very much Serkan loves Eda and her - bordering on delusional at this point - push for Serkan to marry a woman who inspires no passion, no interest, no life, no spark in him! I understood it initially. But now it’s just comical. Seyfi is clearly team #Edser. I know the Bolat’s have a history of trauma. But pushing Serkan into a loveless marriage, while hurting Ferit and potentially Eda (and Serkan himself) seems absurd to me.

Ayfer’s reaction to the contract was OOT IMO. The show has been quite light handed with drama and this was the first time I thought the hysterics was over done. I understand that it was a shock, I understand that feelings of betrayal and hurt are natural. But a moment of reflection - as well as allowing Eda to explain - would have easily highlighted what Ayfer already knows - that there is a lot more happening between Eda and Serkan than a mere contract. Furthermore, this “Serkan Bolat is the devil incarnate here to take advantage of our poor Eda” is ridiculous. Serkan is a good person - logical and sometimes aloof - but he isn’t devious. If anything, Ayfer getting to know him during their terrarium creating afternoon left her with a good impression of who he is. So unless there are missing scenes somewhere, her suddenly being anti-Serkan feels like a necessity to serve the upcoming plot, as opposed to an organic happenstance. Not my favourite development. This includes her orchestrating Eda’s scholarship in Italy. Feels out of character. But let’s see how it all plays out.

Things I know is coming:

From the fragman, Serkan names a star or something after her #squee

Selin finally getting it

Aydan not getting it

Seyfi being over the moon - along with Melo no doubt

D R A M A about parents and death and cover-ups but I’m ignoring that for now

And most importantly:

Dating

Kissing

Hugging

Giggles

#FlingsSelfIntoTheEverLovingSun #NotPrepared

[meyhew]

wait u said you had an unpopular harry opinion that you couldn’t share until you got back power... whag was it 👀

welcome to the harry styles roast session where i limit myself to saying 5 honest things with an overwhelming amount of love for him

he’s a BRAT. he was already cursed with youngest child syndrome and then he was the youngest member in 1d and Then he was again the youngest one in his own solo band. he’s always been the baby and so he’s just. he’s a brat. we don’t see too much of it now bc he’s so private but i know in my soul he’s obnoxious around his family and friends and he’d get on nerves so much so quickly just like my own little brother 

i dont think this is unpopular but his friends suck <3 and he’s such a huge people pleaser on my god. like my dude.... learn to say No every once in a while. he seeks approval mostly from his friends and it is. not good. get well soon 

this one’s about real life issues and idk how to articulate it best so let me just ramble a little. i have a conflicted relationship with the way he (rarely) addresses social issues. he’s not an activist so i don’t think he’s obligated to talk about anything he doesn’t want to. but at the same time, given the massive reach of his platform, i think he ought to be more... inclusive in the social commentary he does on occasion make himself a part of. he’s been very clear about his stance on issues close to him and that effect the vast majority of his fanbase — queer rights and feminism — and i think that’s a huge factor in said fanbase thinking he’s “woke” or whatever. a lot of white gays who stan him rlly aren’t open to the idea that he’s a person capable of making mistakes and that he isn’t some all-knowing infallible being. but his fans aren’t all white — the pepsi/nfl fiasco was... so ugly. the insensitivity regarding israel/palestine. muslim fans being disregarded and sidelined during hslot (not his fault, but much to think abt regarding his fanbase). and the fact that he said he hasn’t found something to truly stand for just reeks of privilege. i like to think i understand where he’s coming from — he isn’t Technically out, so he doesn’t want to speak over queer activist. he isn’t a person of color, so he doesn’t want to speak over people of color. he isn’t a woman, so he doesn’t want to speak over women. i get that but again — the ginormous reach of his platform is just... there. you shouldn’t speak over marginalized groups you’re not a part of, but you can speak with them. you can uplift them. you can amplify their voices. and i think he should, especially given this very progressive image that’s been created of him. 

facial hair rlly isn’t for him but i support him figuring it out . hope he’s having fun 

this isn’t an unpopular opinion outside the fandom echochamber but... he didn’t end toxic masculinity or do anything groundbreaking by wearing fishnets and some badly applied contour. poc have been blurring the binary line since forever... white ppl are simply late to the party and they need to highlight more poc who have always been doing what white ppl r just opening themselves to <3 

[anotherisodope]

Headcanons for My Fallout Muses

John Hancock

John actually still does have hair, at least in patches, but he shaves it. Wavy blond Roger Daltrey hair is very distinctive, and if he wants to leave his past self behind (and avoid any chance of his powerful, utterly sociopathic brother finding him), he’ll obviously get rid of it.

John is known as the biggest player in all ghouldom not just for his sexual appetites, but for a sad pattern in his life that he’s not actually responsible for. He will become interested in someone, romance them, show them a great time, and cap it off with spectacular sex...only to watch them walk away every time once they’ve scratched their itch, sober up and it sinks in that they just woke up next to a ghoul. He’s spent many an early morning pretending to sleep while someone sneaks out. It breaks his fucking heart, but he just moves on. However, when he encounters those people again and they awkwardly admit their craving for him is back, he’ll flirt and be gracious, but he’ll never touch them again.

Yes, the hat will often stay on during sex. For a while anyway.

John uses chems for a variety of reasons. One is addiction, one is mitigating massive amounts of emotional trauma, one is improving on his natural abilities (transhumanism) to give him an edge on his problems and enemies, one is seeking insight just as with the episode where he found his hat and coat, and one is because he’s a hedonist and they’re fun. He gives out chems because he assumes a bit too much that others will share at least some of these reasons--and also because he doesn’t want people in Goodneighbor dying from severe withdrawal symptoms or bad chems.

John tends to hide just how dangerous he is in a fight so that fools like Finn will underestimate him. He’s starting to reconsider this some, however, since if people around underestimate him too much they will challenge his position, and thus his ability to look after Goodneighbor.

Charon

Charon’s ghoulism is the result of an injection, same as Hancock’s or Eddie Winter’s. The people who brainwashed him wanted the perfect soldier. Ghouls are durable against hardships such as starvation and rad poisoning, they survive a very long time, and their inhuman appearance alienates them from most people. To make sure that Charon was both inhumanly tough and even more emotionally isolated/hyperfocused, he was made into a ghoul as soon as his training and indoctrination were completed. Evidence: he’s not unusually skinny like most ghouls, which can usually only be said of people who took the shot. Winter actually has a pot belly. If you look at Hancock in his Batman swim trunks (squee), you’ll notice he’s surprisingly ripped for a little guy. Then there’s Charon, the sole source of USDA prime ghoul beefcake in the Capital Wasteland. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence.

He was not named Charon by Ahzrukhal. He was named Charon by the group that indoctrinated him. One of them had a grasp of Ancient Greek history and mythology and, on giving a new name to a huge, forbidding-looking man with fierce blue-gray eyes, got inspired. “Charon” in Greek literally refers to "fierce, flashing, or feverish eyes, and/or eyes of a bluish-gray color", and he’s got both. I seriously doubt that Ahzrukhal, who couldn’t even anticipate the consequences of abusing a dangerous retainer and then freeing him of his obligations, would even get the eye reference. Instead, I suspect he purchased Charon’s contract in part because he’s a wannabe, had a theme going and could NOT resist a terrifying bodyguard who fit his “hehe I r demon and u r in hell” kindergoth aesthetic.

Charon does not trust Cerberus. He’s been in too many fights with Gutsies in the past to not notice how twitchy and prone to violent malfunction they are. Nor does he think that it’s safe to rely on a robot that explodes when severely damaged, with enough force to bring part of Underworld’s roof down. He is more observant than most of the Underworlders (though he’s not articulate enough to explain his observations), and may also have noticed the anti-ghoul comments Cerberus makes around smoothskins. It does not sit well with him that Cerberus may be one visitor’s button-push away from trying to murder them all. However, he has no opportunity or permission to speak with Doctor Barrows about the problem, and so instead picked up a few pulse grenades while out on a job for Ahzrukhal and keeps them handy.

Charon does not remember much of his human life, and none of his life before his indoctrination, including his original name.

Charon was originally indoctrinated to be completely obedient to his contractor; his ability to set certain boundaries, refuse non-combat missions, plot the murder of contractors whom he finds morally repugnant, and be sassy and sarcastic to his contractor are all indications of his strength of will, and subconscious resistance to being anyone’s slave.

Getting through to Charon emotionally or sexually would take a lot of time and work due to his indoctrination, his trauma and his total lack of experience connecting with others. His stoicism, which prevents him from being able to do things like grieve or ask for help, would additionally make him harder to connect with. He’s also thoroughly practiced in denying his own needs and desires, which doesn’t help.

Charon spends a lot of time going over past battles and security situations in his head when forced to stand watch as a bouncer day in and day out. Ahzrukhal thoroughly exploits his lack of a need for sleep, meaning that he never gets any time off or ability to speak with others unless he’s out on a job. The result can be days or even weeks of just standing there, watching and waiting. To keep from losing the rest of his sanity, he’ll replay old situations from his career in his head, both for the taste of past victory and to analyze his own tactics.

Nick Valentine

Nick suffers from pain and stiffness in his joints, especially neck/shoulders, because of dust and small debris getting in through his broken skin. He does what he can to repair and maintain himself, but because of his experiences he has a deep, almost unconscious distrust of roboticists, even if he could find one good enough to fix him up. Meeting his brother DiMA provides him with a possible source for repairs that he can trust, but he would still insist on being conscious through all procedures.

Nick is capable of love and sex, but didn’t even let it enter his mind for many years due to being haunted by the murder of his fiancee and his failure to bring Eddie Winter to justice. Now that Winter is dead, he’s way out of practice at romance, he still completely misses other people’s interest in him, still squashes any interest he has in another, still has body issues, and is shocked when anyone flirts openly with him.

Nick enjoys the smell and taste of cigarettes and scotch, but can’t drink scotch anymore because the damage to his face and neck would make him leak it all over himself. :(

Even after all this time, Nick will still look down at himself sometimes and be momentarily shocked to see a metal-framework hand instead of flesh and blood. Other times, he has trouble remembering what the flesh and blood felt like. 

Nick has the most ridiculously overdeveloped work ethic of anyone this side of Preston Garvey.