#which is extra great because they’re the ones that have been pushing me to learn to drive even though they think they didn’t

[agent-oo-z]

Shout out my muster joint problems!

Turns out driving is very bad for the following joints:

Back

Neck

Shoulders

Elbows

Wrists

Fingers

Hips

Knees

Ankles

Toes

If you said “hey Ani, isn’t that just about all of the joints?” Then you would be correct!

[shutupineedtothink]

More Moiraine & Lan (and the Bond) thoughts, because I really just can’t help myself.

Just thinking about how we know every Aes Sedai and Warder share the Bond, but we don’t see any other AS/Warder teams using it as a form of communication NEARLY as much as Moiraine and Lan do.

Like these mofos are having full conversations with head tilts and tiny eyebrow raises and 3 seconds of eye contact from the jump. Sometimes not even looking at each other. And it’s extra great if you’re a show only like me because you only realize it when you go back later after all the stuff with the Bond is explained in 1x04/1x05. Like I remember thinking when I was first watching the pilot ‘wow, these two are really in sync, clearly they’ve known each other a long time,’ but it’s so much more than that obviously.

Now, one easy explanation for this is that we’re just seeing them the most, they’re main characters, and s1 especially does a lot of work hyping up the Bond and how important it is so that we get the full impact of them being cut off later. Makes sense.

But… idk like even Alanna and Ihvon and Maksim, who are actually in a romantic relationship, don’t seem to prefer the Bond as a way to communicate. We even see them have their little diplomatic discussion before Ihvon goes to follow Tomas. It’s an actual conversation. Maksim even prefers the Bond masked, so I guess in that way they kind of have to talk to each other.

Verin and Tomas are pretty quiet in general, but still it’s not emphasized that they use the Bond to communicate that much. Perhaps this is also highlighted by Tomas’s advice to Lan that the Bond isn’t the only common language they share with their Aes Sedai.

Except for Moiraine and Lan, it’s like AT LEAST 80%. It’s the primary way they communicate. Because 1. they’re both so naturally reserved on the outside (but feel very deeply on the inside), and 2. I imagine it comes in handy to be extra good at it when you’re on the road searching for the Dragon Reborn and you don’t want everyone around you to know what you’re about.

Then there’s Stepin’s comment from s1 to Kerene, “Can you imagine their dinners?” Which is funny but also very telling. To all the other Aes Sedai and Warders, Moiraine and Lan seem pretty cold and distant, to everyone else and each other. But again, that’s by design to protect their mission. They’re just having conversations no one else can see, even other Bonded pairs. It’s like most AS and their Warders use the Bond as insurance, a fail safe even, to understand and communicate with each other, with normal human communication (i.e. TALKING) as the primary method. But for Moiraine and Lan it’s the other way around.

My POINT BEING, that this adds weight to their storyline in S2. Like they are REALLY struggling because on top of everything else, this fundamental piece of their relationship and communication is just gone. And it opens a door for Moiraine to push Lan away, when she NEVER would have been able to before, practically or emotionally. And he reels from her attacks because he’s just not as good at understanding her without the Bond, when he would have seen right through that shit before, just from feeling alone. So Tomas can say to him, you need to really listen, but 20 years of shared emotional mind reading is not that easy to bypass. You don’t learn normal person communication skills overnight. Certainly not when there’s this gaping hole in your head/heart where another person you probably knew better than yourself should be but isn’t.

Anyway, I think it just adds even more credence to why they’re both so lost throughout most of S2, especially Lan. And what makes them so badass with the Bond but so absolutely uncoordinated without it. And why every other Aes Sedai/Warder thinks they’re fuckin weird. And why we love them, because who doesn’t want to be so fundamentally understood like that? Who doesn’t want their own secret language with someone that no one else really gets, but that person gets you on a level so real it can’t be replaced? That’s what we’re all reaching for, and that’s what they have with each other. For better or worse.

[tobesolonely]

Y/N and Harry are expecting a baby, and they’re both very impatient.

happy 5k to meee! when I made this account at the height of the pandemic in 2020 to pass the time i would’ve never thought i would’ve made the friends i have or gotten so much support with my writing!! thank you besties! i hope you enjoy! 

warnings: smut

please buy me a coffee to celebrate! :D

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

“I just don't think we need three different kinds of bottle warmers, love.” 

Y/N looks at her husband looking down at the half-full cart that’s now one bottle warmer fuller. According to every baby blog and “new mom” website she scoured, bottle warmers were a must-have. However, there was no general consensus on the best one. Y/N didn't really see any other option but to try a ton. (Besides, it's not like he couldn’t afford it.)

“Then tell me which one’s the best.” 

Harry's eyebrows wrinkle in confusion. “How would I know which bottle warmer is the best?” 

“How would I know?” 

He opens his mouth to quip back but can't think of anything to say because once again she's right. How would she know?

“Ok, darling,” he resumes pushing the cart through the aisle with a defeated sigh. “You're right.”

A credit card swipe and a short 15-minute car ride later they’re home, depositing all their recent purchases in the half-complete nursery. It was nearly stuffed to the brim with clothes and instructions for toys Harry began assembling but never completed and baby wipes and strollers and now, three different types of bottle warmers that it was a little overwhelming. The good kind, though. 

By the time they finish that, they’re knackered, sprawled out on the couch with the tv playing lowly in the background.

“How does stir fry sound for dinner?” Harry absentmindedly traces over her plush thighs with the pads of his fingers while he seeks her approval. “I don’t think those bell peppers in the fridge have got much longer.”

“Mmm, sounds good,” she cranes her neck up to look at him, not wanting to leave her position on his chest. “Not too spicy, please. I can’t handle it right now.”

“I know, love.”

Y/N knows Harry knows, but she still reminds him anyway. He gently helps her up and guides her to the kitchen, lifting her up on the counter so she could cut up the vegetables while he stood at the stove and cooked the chicken. He’s about to sprinkle a generous amount of red pepper flakes atop the chicken when he remembers her polite request that he doesn't make it too spicy and he sets it down, deciding he’ll add it to his own portion separately.

“I think these are all chopped up.” 

Harry hums and walks over to where Y/N is positioned on the counter to inspect her handy work. Most everything she knows in the kitchen she learned from Harry, and he definitely still teases her about her skills with a knife. At least she tries! 

While the look on Harry’s face tells her he thinks her chopping skills look like that of a ten-year-old, all he says is, “Looks great, darling! You’re so helpful.” (The pregnancy has made Y/N more sensitive than usual and Harry knows she's liable to cry over the tiniest things so he’s been extra sweet to her)

With the chicken now simmering on low, Harry adds the vegetables to the dish and adds a bit of water to help soften it faster, making sure to add a generous amount of seasoning. Y/N appreciated this because she wasn't the biggest fan of vegetables (especially peas and broccoli, which Harry coincidentally loved) so whatever he did to make them even the tiniest bit tastier was helpful.

Twenty minutes later they're enjoying dinner, bowls filled with heaping piles of steaming rice and chicken-veggie stir-fry. Harry stands in between Y/N's legs while she’s sitting on the counter (occasionally giving her bites of his food even though they’re eating the exact same thing).

“Who taught you how to be such a good cook?” Y/N randomly questions in between a mouthful of food. She knows the answer is Anne, but she just likes stroking Harry’s ego sometimes.

“My mum,” he answers. “And lots of practice. I could teach you…”

“I’d rather not.” 

Harry chuckles at his wife’s hatred for cooking. “Luckily for you, it brings me great pleasure to cook for beautiful women,” Y/N narrows her eyes at him, “I mean you. My beautiful woman. Don't give me that look.”

“Are you gonna make baby food from scratch, too?”

Harry raises his eyebrows in consideration, pressing a quick kiss to the tip of Y/N’s nose. “There’s a thought… hadn’t even thought about that. I can do that.”

“I mean, you did say you love cooking for beautiful women.”

“I do,” Harry smiles at his wife for a few moments before the look on his face changes to one of accusation. “Are you trying to tell me something? Did you look?”

“Okay listen, I may have taken a tiny peek at the monitor when we were at the check-up on Tuesday…”

“Y/N!”

“I couldn’t help myself, Harry! I don’t know how you haven’t been going crazy over it,” she absentmindedly rests her hand on her stomach. “If I didn’t know I’d probably be so annoying right now.”

“That’s true. I’m sure you would be.”

Y/N playfully reprimands Harry by swatting his bicep. “You love how annoying I am. It’s why you married me. You said it in your vows, remember? There’s no going back now.”

Harry kisses the side of Y/N’s neck, then travels up to the sweet spot right below her ear before moving to the apples of her cheeks and then finally, her soft lips. “I wouldn’t dream of going back on it. Tell me more about this baby girl we’re having, since you like to ruin surprises.”

“I can’t help my wandering eyes!”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Harry responds sarcastically. “Are we telling people?”

“I think it’ll be fun if we kept it our little secret,” she reaches up to play with the curls at the nape of Harry’s neck. “Maybe we’ll tell your mum and mine. We’ll see.”

“You’re right,” his hand travels up the back of Y/N's shirt. She shivers at the feeling of his cool rings against her warm back, “Instagram post instead?”

“Harry!”

“I’m joking, love!”

“Help me down from here. My butt’s numb.”

“Have you been thinking of names while you’ve gone all this time knowing without me?” Harry easily lifts her off the counter, not removing his hands from her waist even once she’s steady on her feet.

“H, it’s only been two days.” 

“Two days longer than I’ve known,” he bends down just enough to ghost his lips over yours. “Come sit on my lap. Let’s brainstorm.”

Harry gently guides her toward the direction of the living room, plopping down first on the couch so he could pull her into his lap. There was no other place Harry preferred Y/N to be than in his lap whenever he was around her. 

“Are you upset that I peeked when we were supposed to wait?”

His eyes soften. “Of course ‘m not mad. I guess since we’re being honest I may as well admit that I took a peek, too.”

“Harry! Why were you gonna let me think I was the only impatient one?”

“You’re just easy to mess with,” he pulls her flush against his body. “I was gonna see how long I could keep it up, but I can’t do it anymore. I feel too bad.”

“When did you peek?”

“Right after you did.”

Y/N lets out a dramatic gasp, cheeks heating up in embarrassment. “You saw me? I thought I was being sneaky!”

“I’m sorry to say you’re not as sneaky as you think you are,” he fiddles with the strap of her tank top, pushing it down her arm slowly. “I admire the effort though - it’s very cute, love.”

“Thank you,” Y/N cocks her head to the side. “Are you happy? That we’re having a girl?”

“Y/N, I’m so happy that I don’t think I can properly put into words how I’m feeling,” his hands travel along her back. “I’m even happier I’m having a baby with you. I don’t care about anything but having a healthy baby with you.”

“H, you’re gonna make me cry,” Y/N says dramatically, a small pout on her chapped lips. “You’re very cheesy - I love you so much. How did I get so lucky?”

“Would you believe me if I said I asked myself that same question every day when I wake up beside you?” Harry taps her on her side. “C’mon, up you go.”

Y/N lets out a little groan. “Why? I just got comfortable. Your lap is the best seat in the house.”

“Wanna show you how much I love you and how happy I am that you’re giving me a baby girl,” Y/N’s eyes widen as she scrambles off her husbands lap and onto the empty space beside him, legs folding beneath her. “Can I have a taste?”

“I thought we were discussing baby names?” Y/N jokes.

“I think we should do this first,” Harry drops to his knees, “Turn around f’me, darling- on your knees- yeah, just like that,” and immediately attaches his mouth to her clit, giving a firm suck. He quickly moves to her slit and licks up it, collecting her wetness on his tongue. Y/N can tell by his quick pace and sloppy licks that he's feeling plain desperate, and she momentarily wonders to herself how long he's been in this type of mood. 

Almost as if he's read her mind, Harry pulls back and says, “Been wanting to get in between these pretty thighs since we were comparing all those bloody bottle warmers at the store…” before diving back in. She turns to watch as he pokes and prods at her holes with the tip of his tongue, working faster the heavier she begins to breathe. His palm rests on her ass cheek, which also aids in keeping her spread open for him. Harry places three pecks on her clit before removing his mouth from her core just long enough to turn her around so her bottom was on the couch instead.

Harry hooks his right arm under Y/N’s left leg and throws it over his shoulder, using two fingers to rub over her clit. He lowers his head back down and attaches his lips to her bud again, looking up through his lashes at her. Y/N uses her shoulders to support her body weight, using one hand to lift her tank top and tweak her nipples while the other tangles in Harry’s curls. His tongue flicks back and forth over her clit as he locks eyes with her before sticking his middle finger in his mouth and inserting it in her heat.

“Harry, I love you,” Y/N tells her husband breathlessly, voice filled with lust. “I love you so much. I’m so- oh!” 

She lets out a sharp gasp once Harry adds two more fingers in one swift push, easily accommodating to fit his digits. His fingers burn in the best way possible, and she can’t wait to feel his cock. The whole time Harry’s fingering Y/N he’s giving her sweet praises–telling her she always opens up so well for him, that she get so fucking wet, that she tastes sweeter and better than the finest desserts. It’s nearly too much.

“I can’t put into words how much I love you,” Harry whispers as he relentlessly curls his three fingers up over and over again to stimulate that spongy spot deep inside of her. “I want you to cum for me, my love. Cum for me so I can get inside you, hm? Can you do that for me?”

Y/N’s mouth falls open in a silent scream as she releases all over Harry’s fingers, clenching so tightly around him that he has to tell her to relax so he can comfortably pull them out. 

“S’fuckin’ tight…” he mutters moreso to himself, pulling his joggers and boxers down to his ankles in one swift go. “All mine?”

“All yours,” she responds so quickly she nearly sounds pathetic. “Please, H. Just give it to me please-”

Harry pushes Y/N up and back onto the couch so her back is against the armrest. “Comfortable?”

Y/N’s heart swells a tiny bit at her husbands concern for her comfort even when he was having her in such a filthy state. “Very. Please fuck me.”

Harry slips himself inside Y/N’s warm heat, letting out a quiet groan of relief at the feeling. Y/N whimpers and locks her legs around Harry and he takes that as his cue to move. He slides out nearly all the way before slamming his hips back inside her, grunting loudy in pleasure.

“That’s a good girl…just take it, darling,” he snaps his hips quickly into her, skin slapping against skin. “Lay there and take it like a good girl…My good girl…”

Tiny moans esacpe Y/N’s mouth and she doesn’t try to suppress them in the slightest, wanting her husband to hear how good he was making her feel. He always made her feel good, always put her pleasure first.

“My clit, p-please,” Y/N stutters out, reaching for Harry’s hand so she can place it at her core. Harry places his hand at her core and begins rubbing in hard, tight circles, knowing exactly how to stroke Y/N to bring her to her release.

“Tell me how good it feels.”

“So, so good. Gonna cum, H,” Y/N moans, bucking her hips up so they meet Harry’s. “Don’t stop H, please don’t stop!”

“Yeah? You’re there, angel?” his thrusts become impossibly faster. “Me too, baby. You first. Cum for me, Y/N.”

Y/N orgasms for the second time that night, waves of pleasure washing over her body that satisfy her in the best way possible. Harry’s not far behind her - his hips stutter to a stop before he lays his weight on top of her and cums, being mindful not to lay directly atop her bump.

The couple lay in silence for what feels like ages, basking in the afterglow of their sex and orgasms. Harry places a chaste kiss to the top of Y/N’s head before gently untangling himself from her, already thinking about which bath bomb he wanted to use when he went upstairs to run her a bath in a moment. 

“So, about those baby names…”

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

Please let me know what you think! and please buy me a coffee to celebrate! :D

[eyes-of-rock]

Gambling With The Heart

chapter one

Eric Singer X OC

Jewel took the gamble of her life when she moved from a small town in Canada to Las Vegas to pursue her dream of making a name for herself as a professional poker player. She’s all alone in a new city until a chance meeting with Eric Singer changes that.

Jewel’s POV

Two weeks ago, I took the biggest gamble of my life. I moved from my small town in Canada to Las Vegas.

I have two great loves: poker and classic metal and rock. I have no musical talent, so I decided to pursue being a professional poker player.

I was fascinated when I saw my dad and his friends playing it at our kitchen table. I fell in love right there and then. I dedicated my life to learning and playing the game. That dedication paid off because I was good enough to win every tournament back home.

That’s good, but winning tournaments in Atlantic Canada isn’t how you make a name for yourself. It's not how you make it to the next level. The only way to do that is to play in tournaments in places that matter.

Naturally, the closest place to my corner of the world was Vegas—the gambling capital of North America. I had my eyes on Vegas for years. It's been a dream of mine to make it here and play since I was a kid.

I finally took the biggest gamble of my life, packed up my whole life, and moved here. I knew in my heart it was the only way to make it. It's the only way I'd honestly be happy. It's a risk, but it's one I had to take. I know I'd regret it if I didn't.

Am I scared? Yes. I'm terrified. If this all goes south, I have no one to run to here. Everyone I know is a country away. Yet, I am pushing that fear down.

After all, I'm good at hiding my emotions. You have to be to be a good poker player. You can't let anything slip through. You can't let anyone at that table know anything you're thinking.

You not only have to be stoned-faced, but you also have to learn to read other people. Which I also happen to be good at. It is a curse because no one can hide anything from me. I know right off the bat if they are up to something. It saves me a lot of trouble but makes it hard to find people to let into my life.

I'm playing in my first major tournament, which is coming up in the next few days. This will determine if I have what it takes to play with the big boys. I have faith that I can do it. After all, people consistently underestimate me. I doubt it will be any different here.

In the meantime, I still have a couple of days worth of work ahead of me. I took a job as a card dealer. That way, I can still pay the bills and make extra money if I don’t win immediately. It's a fun job; you can make extra money on tips.

I'm sitting in a restaurant alone, having lunch on my day off. I figured I had to start getting used to doing things alone. Plus, I felt like getting away from my apartment and trying to unpack my whole life. So I'm sitting here people-watching and waiting for my food. Trying to pretend I'm not lonely. At least no one can tell by my face.

I glance across the restaurant as three people sit at one of the empty tables. It's two older men and a woman. The two men look familiar to me. Like I know them from somewhere, but I can't place where.

One has long, shoulder-length dark hair and a dark goatee that matches. He also has an erring and wears a dark denim jacket, t-shirt and jeans.

The other one has longer hair. His is lighter blonde at the top but fades into a darker blonde at the bottom. It suits him well. He's wearing some bracelets on one wrist and a nice-looking watch on the other.

I don't know much about watches, but I've won some when people have gotten desperate. I always pawn them off for the money, except for the first one I ever won. It was my first game, so it meant a lot to me. That one I kept as a good luck charm. I’m always wearing it.

They look like they’re rock stars. So that's for sure how I recognized them. I just can't place what band or bands they are in. This is going to drive me insane.

———————————————————————

Eric's POV

“Now that kiss is over, have you considered trying to find someone again?” Lisa asked me as she read over her menu.

I think it's a known fact by every person I know I have the worst luck regarding women. Every relationship I've had has ended for one reason or another. Most of them don’t last more than a few months.

After a string of failures, you just kind of give up. I'm not someone who gives up quickly either, but sometimes you just have to accept it's not happening. You aren't going to have that life, even if you want it. There is no point in trying when you know how it will end; with the girl finding someone better or finding something about me, they can't get past it.

“Here we go again.” I sigh. I know Lisa means well, but we’ve had this conversation before.

“We’re just worried you might be lonely,” Lisa says.

I hate people worrying about me. I can handle myself just fine. I'm okay with being alone. I've accepted it, plus I'm not alone. I have friends and my cats.

I look over at Bruce.

“Can you make her stop worrying about me?”

“No, because I worry about you too,” Bruce admits.

“You don't need to. I'm fine,” I say, dismissing him. “If I wanted someone, I could find someone.”

That statement isn't completely true. I'm sure I could find someone; can I walk up to her and lay it on? No. I'm not that kind of guy. I can’t flirt to save my life. I completely lock up and just start rambling about something random. That turns off most women, to begin with.

“Really?” Lisa says, sounding unconvinced, “I don't think I've ever actually seen you chat up a girl before.”

“I've known him 30 years, Lisa, and I have never seen that.” Bruce agrees with his wife.

“What do I have to do to make this conversation stop?” I ask, groaning, “Do you have to witness me failing with a girl? Would that make it end?”

“We just care about you, Eric.” Lisa says, “I just don't want you to end up alone.”

“Stop being so cynical,” Bruce says, “Maybe me and I can help you find someone.”

“Do you have many single female friends I don't know about?” I ask sarcastically.

“Um,” Lisa says, looking around the restaurant, oh, I don't like where this is going.

“What about her?” Lisa said, looking over toward another person in the restaurant.

I glance over to see who she's looking at. There’s only one person it can be. A pretty young woman with dark hair. She's sitting alone and can't be older than twenty-five. There is no way this pretty young woman would want anything to do with me, an older man.

“If I go and talk to her, will you two quit it?” I ask; I already know how this is going to end. So I might as well get it over with to enjoy my lunch in peace.

“Yes,” Bruce says.

“Fine, I'll go talk to her, but I'm only doing it, so you two shut up,” I tell them as I get up and walk over to where she's sitting.

———————————————

Jewel’s POV

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the blonde guy getting out of his seat. Then I see him coming over towards me. Why is he coming over here? Oh my god. Maybe he noticed me looking at them? I wasn't staring; I was just trying to figure out who they were. I guess I'm about to find that out.

“Hey…..uh….nice watch.” He awkwardly says, pointing to the watch I wear for good luck.

“Thanks, I won it in a poker game,” I tell him, holding up my wrist.

“You won a 10,000-dollar Heuer watch in a poker game?” He asks me, sounding taken aback by that; it takes a second for what he just said to sink in.

Did he say that this watch I won in my first tournament, which I've been wearing daily, is worth 10,000 dollars?! What in the fuck- I mean, I knew the guy who lost it was drunk, but I didn't think he was that drunk. I've been wearing a 10,000-dollar watch as a good luck charm, thinking it was worth 1000 dollars at most.

“This watch is worth 10,000 dollars?!” I gasp in total shock.

“Yeah…wait, you didn't know that?” He says, looking intrigued by how I never knew that.

“I don't know anything about watches,” I admit,

“The guy who lost it to me placed it down as a last-ditch effort to stay in the game on an all-in worth about $500.” I explain, “I guess he was way more wasted than I thought.”

“He must have been, you got that watch for a fucking steal.” He says, looking astonished some guy would bet this watch on $500.

“If you know nothing about watches, why did you keep it?”

“Oh, it was my first major win, so I kept it to commemorate it,” I tell him, “It's kind of my good luck charm.”

“Well, you lucked out; that's also a hard watch to come by.” You can just tell Watches is this man's passion. He seems very knowledgeable, and his face lights up when discussing it. It's honestly cute.

This still doesn't solve the mystery of how I know him, though.

“I fucking guess so.” I laugh, “I guess I won more than I thought in that game; I'm Jewel, by the way.”

“I’m Eric.” He tells me with a smile, “Are you a professional poker player?”

Eric. Hmmmm. There are a lot of guys in rock named Eric. It doesn't narrow it down too well, yet I feel I'm getting closer. It's too bad he didn't give his last name.

“Well, yeah, kind of. I'm not at a high level yet, but I'm working towards it.” I tell him, “What do you do?”

“I’m a drummer, watch collector and sports nut.” He tells me.

Drummer. That's when it clicks. He's fucking Eric Singer of KISS. Fucking hell. I feel embarrassed it took me this long to put it together, considering they’ve been one of my favourite hands since I was a kid. In my defence, Paul is my favourite member.

“Oh, you’re Eric Singer! That's how I know you.” I say out loud, proud I figured that out by mistake. Jewel, that's an inside thought, you dumbass.

“Yeah, that's me.” He laughs.

“Can I ask you something?” I ask him.

“Sure,” Eric says.

“Who's the guy you with? I know him somehow, too, but I can't place him.”

“Oh, that's Bruce Kulick. He was in KISS probably before you were born.” Eric tells me,

“Oh god, that's embarrassing.” I confess, “Considering he's my favourite KISS guitarist.”

“He does look much different than he did back in the band.” Eric jokes, “So you’re a KISS fan and a poker played?”

“Yeah, that about sums me up. You’re just missing the fact that I’m Canadian.” I laugh.

“Oh really? Canada is a beautiful country; I bought this watch in Toronto. Did you come here to play poker?” He rambles in the cutest way possible.

“Yes, I did,” I tell him, “About two weeks ago.”

“Wow, you’re new to Vegas then. If you want, I can show you around sometime. I'm not from here either. I’m from Ohio but lived in Los Angeles for a long time; I loved here a few years ago, though.” Eric offers.

I don't know anyone here, plus who the hell would say no to Eric Singer showing you around Vegas? That's like some experience people would pay for. Plus, he's very friendly and talkative. So I’d probably learn some excellent stuff; I also like listening to him talk.

“Okay, I'd like that,” I smile at him.

“I’ll give you my number.” He smiles back.

“Okay, I'd love that,” I replied, taking out my phone so he could enter his number.

“Okay, I'll be right back.” He says, getting up and rushing back to his table with Bruce Kulick.

The woman at the table, who I assume is Lisa Kulick Bruce’s wife, reaches into her purse and hands him some paper and a pen. Then he quickly writes down what I'm thinking is his phone number.

“Here you go,” Eric says handing me his phone number on the piece of paper. I can't remember the last time someone gave me their phone number written down. It's so charming.

I tare off a corner of the paper and reach into it to my purse, grabbing a pen. I write down my new number, my American number, double checking in on my phone and hand it over to him.

“And here’s my number.”

“Thank you.” He smiles taking it from me, “Just call me and let me know when you'd like to meet.”

“I will,” I tell him, then he turns and walks back to his table. Just in time for my lunch to arrive.

Well, I've been here two weeks, and I managed to get Eric Singers' phone number without even trying. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. Maybe I'm not as alone as I think.

[bow-of-aros]

Day Eight: Nuzzles

Summary: Crutchie couldn't have asked for a better end to a better day, and Jack always makes sure that he's smiling.

-

Hey folks! A Jack and Crutchie fic was honestly inevitable, and I just think that they're so cute and they care about each other so much. I hope that y'all enjoy this one <33

-

It had been a great day for selling. The weather was nice, the people were in a good mood, Crutchie’s leg was barely bothering him, and he hadn’t even had to make up a new headline! The buyers had been extra generous, or maybe they’d just felt extra bad for the poor crippled boy that day, Crutchie didn’t really care which one it was when he’d managed to pocket a whole extra dollar on top of the thirty cents he’d need to buy his fifty papes tomorrow!

He lets himself ride the high of a job well done all the way up to the rooftop, propping his crutch against the railing as he dangles his feet off the edge, taking in the sight of New York going about its evening.

After a while, Crutchie can hear the tell-tale sound of Jack’s voice as he makes his last rounds, telling all the boys to stay out of trouble.

Jack’s a natural leader, Crutchie’s known it ever since the moment he first heard his voice. It’s loud, it takes up space. And it isn’t loud for the sake of being loud like most of the other guys here. When Jack speaks, it always sounds like he’s saying something important, something worth listening to.

He’s charismatic and his voice carries over the rooftops, so Crutchie can hear Jack say to Race,

“Wouldya keep an eye on Romeo and Elmer tonight? I have a feeling that they’re itching to get into some trouble.”

Crutchie’s sure that Race says something in return, likely accompanied by a salute featuring his trademark cigar, but it doesn’t quite carry up to where he’s sitting.

On the other hand, maybe Crutchie’s just more attuned to Jack’s voice than anything else.

The clanging sound that always accompanies Jack scrambling up the ladder pulls him out of his thoughts just in time to see a grinning, ink-stained face pop up over the edge of their so-called penthouse.

“Hey Crutchie! How was selling today?” He speaks as he hauls himself up the final few rungs and plops down rather unceremoniously next to the younger boy, “Is your leg giving you any trouble? Didja get enough food? Do I need to rough anyone up for you? Because I will!”

Crutchie’s learned to not take all the questions to heart. At first, he’d thought that it was Jack thinking that he couldn’t take care of himself, and it was only after a very stern talking-to that he’d realized that Jack was just like that.

No wonder he was the leader of the Manhattan newsies, he was basically everyone’s mother.

“Heya Jack, selling was great, actually!” Crutchie started ticking off the answer to Jack’s questions on his fingers, “No, my leg’s not giving me trouble. Yes, I got enough food. And no, you don’t need to rough anyone up for me. The Delanceys decided to leave well enough alone today so you can stop your mother henning!”

Jack presses a hand to his chest in mock offense, “Mother henning?! Is it really mother henning if I just want to make sure you had a good day?”

“Nah, ‘course not.”

“Good,” Jack said, leaning more firmly against Crutchie’s side.

“Mom.”

“Why you little—”

And Jack slung an arm across Crutchie’s shoulder to reel him in close, using his other hand to ruffle his hair until Crutchie was laughing and half-heartedly trying to push him away.

It’s nice, Crutchie thought as Jack let up and hooked his chin over his shoulder, just appreciating the little things. The sunset over the New York skyline, spending time with his family after a good day, laughing like they had no cares in the world.

Soft hair brushed against his neck as Jack nuzzled in closer and, “Hehey, knock it off!”

“Knock what off?”

“You know.”

Jack only responded by moving in closer, trapping Crutchie against his chest when he tried to squirm away and rubbing a lightly stubbled cheek against his neck.

“Jahahack!” He whined through his laughter, “You need to shahahave!”

Scrunching up his shoulders did nothing, only inviting gentle prodding against his sides as Crutchie fell back into Jack, giggling brightly all the while.

Jack lets off after a few moments with a, “Alright kid, I think you’ve had enough. Now, hold still so I can sketch ya!” He trails off for a moment, reaching for his sketchbook and muttering, “I wish that I could keep you this happy forever, but a picture’s gonna have to do.”

Crutchie lets himself settle back against the bars of their penthouse, a soft smile lingering on his face as he watches his best friend—no, his brother—flip open to a blank page and begin smudging charcoal all over it.

He’s never been able to figure out how Jack can create something beautiful off of a blank page, but as his tongue sticks out in concentration and his eyes flicker up to meet Crutchie’s every so often, he just counts himself lucky to be considered worthy of a piece of art.

[phoenix-fell]

RWBY emotions and the stages of grief

Okay, hear me out and I’m sorry this is a long one but I’m just a bit intrigued by the emotions of our girls and how they’re being shown. (And a little tired of RWDE folk ripping it to shreds for the comedic outputs). I do feel like the girls mildly symbolise 4/5 of the stages of grief - which I’ll weave in throughout.

We have an obvious loss of innocence/purity and hope from Ruby - which I think is going to be especially interesting in the next couple of episodes, because while Blake has taken the reigns a little here and there, we know that WBY get shrunk and it’s going to force Ruby back into carrying her team (literally).

I quite liked in the last episode just how detached Ruby is from everything; from not noticing the Bees flirting, to not really engaging with the fact Yang is looking for her arm at the auction, to after the auction when she’s just completely oblivious to everyone’s conversation and focused on the sword. I think CRWBY have done a great job of framing her as isolated and detached, or ‘Depression’ - seeing as she speed-ran the first 3 grief stages.

Weiss, though, I feel might be just as interesting. She was framed alongside Ruby when the Bees were having a pun-off. She’s been thrust forward as the comic relief as she struggles to understand the world around her. I know Ruby is heading for a breakdown, but I don’t think Weiss is far behind. 

Since the beginning, she’s been ‘Defiance’, a carefully put-together character who likes to be in control of the situation. But now, it’s not just that she’s somewhere unfamiliar; their entire plan fell apart, she watched her friend die in front of her, she has no home, no school, no idea whether she saved anyone and no idea how to get out of the world she’s been dropped into. When the cracks start to show, she’s often framed without her face, because she’s still keeping so much inside, trying to regain control whilst trying to process the fact she has nothing to go back to in Remnant. She’s had blatant evidence to suggest she’s in a fairy tale, but remains in ‘Denial’. Because, if she is, she can’t control that, right? She’s just walking through someone else’s story.

I feel like Yang has been extra ‘brawler’ the last couple of episodes which I feel is because her go-to is to exude strength in these types of situations, it’s her coping mechanism. The first time we see her she bursts into the scene throwing rocks at the Jabberwalker, her first interaction is an outburst because she failed to keep her sister safe and at the auction it’s clear she’s pissed at the Racoon, possibly because losing her arm is so inherently tied to her ability to fight and keep people safe. She seems to reflect ‘Anger’. 

While Blake might just be coming out of a cocoon of character development - if she’s pushing forward a Bumbleby arc then I have to believe that feral Blake at the end of last season was when something snapped, but she’s having an easier time remaining composed because ultimately, the worst DID happen - and then she found Yang again, she has a second chance, away, removed from the chaos and war of the world they’ve fallen from and now has a second to breathe and let herself feel. Blake finds comfort in being in a story she knows, because she’s learned the moral of it, and wants to avoid the pit-falls that Alyx did - essentially, ‘Bargain’ her way through to a happier outcome.

I feel like either Ruby’s, Jaune’s, or Neo’s arcs (or maybe even all three, or everyone’s) will inevitably lead to Acceptance. Whether that’s accepting the loss of their loved one, accepting the love of others, accepting your own feelings, that you can’t always be the hero/save everyone or accepting you won’t always be in control.

[mrbigpepperoninipples]

SPOILER WARNING ABOUT HAZBIN HOTEL

Holy crap what a final! Episode 8 was super good. The characters fighting clothes were dope, and they were pretty bad ass at the beginning of the fight!( not so much in the middle of the fight with the whole sir pentous dead thing and Alastair getting hurt thing, but they became badass at the end and won so that was cool) Having niffty kill Adam was hilarious cause I thought it would’ve been Alistor or like an angel who mistook him for a demon, but no it was this small dirty maid beating the living shit out of him!!! loved episode 7, hazbins hell is really interesting to learn about. I wish there was more episodes so we can know more about pentagram city and it’s different areas and cultures because canable town was really cool! I wish we could’ve seen more of the town though like how does the town get money, why does Canable town have such a polite community in hell? Are they hellborn or sinners? If they’re sinners, does every cannible like the 1920-1940s style? If they hellborn what is their species called? Enough about my questions and complaints, I’ll get to them in a bit

The ending was so mysterious and left so many questions for me. Which is a good thing cause it leaves a lot for season two!( I’m soooo excited!!) It seems the Vees are going to be the main antagonists for season two, judging by how they were apart of the song at the end of the episode saying the vees are going to be the biggest overlords in hell now or something along those lines. The Lilith reveal at the end shook the living Christ out of me like holy crap dude.

The things I would change for the show would be to make season one longer. If they just added like four more episodes sir pentous death may have been more impactful to me. Its clearly not Viv’s or the staffs fault for the show being short. You can tell the staff tried their hardest to push the plot and give the characters as many layers as possible with the limited time they had, and they did good! But I am saying I would have loved to watch an episode of just the characters at the hotel playing bored games, or an episode of husk running errands for Al around hell and he has to take niffty along, or an episode of sir pentous building wepions but everyone keeps geting in the way and messing him up. Stupid goofy episodes that don’t move the plot but can give you more information about the characters backstories, preferences, dislikes, and how they interact with each other. I would have loved more episodes about sir pentous since his death was suppose to make me sad, to move me, to make me angry at Adam more than I already am! But I didn’t feel anything. Also his death was very anticlimactic. Adam literally just snapped his fingers and pentous was gone, pentous should have at least done some damage to Adam. Another thing I think should’ve changed was the pacing for episode 8. The episode was quick and should have been like 35 minutes long in my opinion.

I don’t think It’s the staffs or Viv’s fault that the episode was rushed. I think Amazon is to blame. They may have wanted to rush the season and it’s finally because we all know animation is expensive, and I bet it costs an extra pretty penny training animators to adapt to Vivzies style. However, Amazon has the money to achieve all of this and more! Hopefully season two will get the goofy episodes i so desperately crave. I’m still disappointed that we could’ve had soo much more character interactions and much more information about hell, Lilith, THE LITERAL MAIN CAST( I know I keep talking about how I want to know more about the main cast but come on, they’re so interesting) if we just had 4 or even 2 more episodes we might have had all of this.

In conclusion I loved this finally, it was great! but I do hope season two has more episodes.

[thebroccolination]

Hey Key, do you have a favourite ship of all time or is it really hard to chose from certain couples? As I see you post about a lot of wonderful couples :)

Hi lovely Anon! :)

I got this yesterday morning and I’ve been thinking about it ever since because of course my brain went directly to WinTeam.

I mean, they’re definitely the ship I’ve written most about. 38% of the fics on my current AO3 account are about WinTeam. :’)

Buuuut there were a lot of, like, formative ships that I didn’t write much or anything about. And they’re ships I always go back to whenever I’m between fandoms or just in the mood for something familiar and loved.

Like RayK/Fraser from due South! They were a massive part of my teen years in fandom. If you haven’t seen it, please give it a watch! It’s all remastered and up for free on YouTube! They still mean the world to me, and some of my favorite fics of all time are about them.

And then there’s merthur, whose meteoric and enduring impact on fandom should be studied by science. I read Awake by Cori Lannam and cry at least once a year.

There’s klance, who are loud and annoy each other and were never going to be canon and VLD was always going to be a catastrophe (who doesn’t keep a story bible to keep track of their own show), but the components for an incredible dynamic were there and fans did what fans do best and made gorgeous, heart wrenching fanworks that surpassed anything in canon for me.

I also love Stony, but I want to clarify that, like, most of my love doesn’t come from the extremely bro-y Marvel movies. I was intrigued by Chris Evans and RDJ’s portrayal of Steve and Tony back when I first saw Avengers, so I came home, opened Tumblr, and looked for the movie fandom that surely already existed. What I found more of, unsurprisingly, was comic fandom, and the more I found out about Steve and Tony in the comics, the more I was underwhelmed by the movies. So basically, the main reason I’m not into Stucky is because Stony fans presented this canon head explosion from the comics first:

There’s also drarry and wolfstar, and I love them the same way I love klance: the source material is disappointing, but the components for greatness were there, and fandom elevated them.

Okay so! Those were all fanon ships, and I always knew none of them were ever going to become canon (though Merlin’s, uh, debatable, maybe discussable—“the man he loves is dying so he’s holding him” REALLY), so I kind of think of them in a separate but equal category to the canon ships.

WHICH ARE:

Viktuuri is one of those ships that just feels like shelter for me. Just, Yuri on Ice was made with such devotion. Not just love, but passion. There’s no antagonist, just Yuuri’s own anxiety and Viktor painstakingly learning to understand and speak a mutual language so he can coax art and beauty and sincerity from Yuuri’s exhausted and heartbroken soul. I’ll always love them extra special.

These two trainwrecks.

KongArt! The whole arc of Kongphob and Arthit’s relationship in SOTUS is just so satisfying and beautiful to me, I just rewatched it with friends in January and I’m already rewatching it again with a different friend now. :’)

WENZHOU. I’m also rewatching Word of Honor and just having a marvelous time re-experiencing just how unhinged they are for each other. “YOUR SON WAS KIDNAPPED WHILE YOU WERE ROLLING AROUND IN THE DAISIES” “ah” “thanks for killing the moment”

And honestly there are more ships I love, but that wasn’t your question!

Of all time.

Hmm.

I think it really is them.

They’re everything I love in a ship: push and pull, vulnerability, sass, unhinged desperation for each other, and two characters I love equally.

WinTeam just has me by the soul, man.

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

The beginning of a weary dreamer regaining control of their life

There’s just something about this time of the year when a lot of people consider making big changes in their lives, especially if they already spent a lot of time thinking about it. Sometimes you just need a sign to give you that extra push to take action. And sometimes it’s like an aha moment where you just wake up one morning and suddenly everything’s crystal clear. Either way, change happens whether you like it or not.

That said, I’m not the one who’s looking to make any big changes in my life right now. Everything’s going well for me and I have no reason to fix something if it ain’t broke. Of course, I’m open to improving myself and stepping out of my comfort zone, but really, it’s the little things I’m more into right now. Maybe that’ll change later on, but for now I’ve found a rhythm and pace in my life that’s well suited for me so I intend to stick with it. Not everything you strive for has to be big and ambitious - stability is an option too.

Before coming home, we spent some time visiting Marlo, Don, and Mindy, Marlo’s friend from college who’s visiting. Mindy was an aspiring fashion designer who dabbled in theater, which was how they met. I think the last time I saw Mindy was at Marlo’s college graduation, which was a long time ago. A lot has changed for her since then, and not entirely in a good way.

Marlo said that instead of staying in New York like she originally planned, Mindy went to stay with her mother in the UK and take a gap year. It wasn’t until years later when Mindy realized she made a mistake that would eventually cause her to lose trust in her parents, probably forever considering how things turned out. After hearing what she’s been through, I don’t blame her for having some resentment towards them.

What makes Mindy stick out is the fact that she’s a psychic. As in, she randomly gets small flashes of something happening in the near future. It’s something she inherited from her grandmother and great-grandmother ever since she was young. Her powers didn’t fully come in until she was around 13, which was the same for her grandma, and that was when she began using her visions to get into various shenanigans.

Like the future, Mindy says visions can be finicky. Most of the time they come true, usually in unexpected ways, kinda like a self-fulfilling prophecy. Most of the time they’re good things, which makes her try to make them come true. However, in rare cases when it’s bad - as in serious, not inconvenience type of things that usually happen for her - she manages to avert that possibility happening.

To Mindy, her powers were just something that were always there. Sure, it can be inconvenient at times, especially when she was younger and didn’t quite understand what it meant to have such an ability. Of course, most of what she learned is through trial and error., as well as typical teenage shenanigans. In other words, she was a troublemaker in a well-meaning sort of way, the kind of person who just wanted to use her psychic ability to help others.

I remember getting caught up in a few of her shenanigans back then, usually because of her meddling. Though, despite some misunderstandings, Mindy was able to help out, which is really the reason why she embraced her ability. Her grandma was the kind of person who wanted to use her powers for good, and Mindy wanted to be like her in that aspect.

Marlo said Mindy was the reason why the Sunny Theater Troupe didn’t shut down when the director lost her mojo - it’s because Mindy had a vision of her announcing her resignation and wanted to change the future. If Mindy hadn’t meddled, the theater troupe would’ve been no more and Marlo wouldn’t have been discovered by an acting coach who encouraged her to pursue her dreams. And if that hadn’t happened and Marlo went back home instead, she wouldn’t have met Don or become an actress. So it’s kinda like a butterfly effect sort of thing. And that’s why Mindy means a lot to Marlo and Don.

To me, Mindy seems like the person who manages to make things work no matter what. I’ve always liked her “over-the-top” personality, as others called it. Sure, she can get a little heavy handed, but her heart’s in the right place. Though I can find pushy people hard to get along with sometimes, there are situations when you need someone like that to get you moving - as long as they respect you and your boundaries.

From past experiences, Mindy says nothing’s more important than enforcing your own boundaries, especially when someone tries to trample on them. As someone who’s been on both sides - being the one whose boundaries aren’t respected and being the intruder - I imagine she has a lot to say on that.

After being betrayed by her parents when she needed them the most, not only she’s trying to become a bit more sensitive when giving someone a gentle nudge, but she also realized more than ever how important it is to help someone in need. Despite how her mother made her feel about her psychic abilities, Mindy will never stop using her powers the way she wants to. And she won’t ever let anyone convince her that her misfortune was her own fault because she didn’t foresee it.

Basically, Mindy made the mistake of staying with her mother after graduating. She didn’t have a rough childhood or anything, and she always got along well with her family, which makes what happens later on all the more baffling. Mindy believes it started when her mother decided to go back to school for her master’s. Next thing she knew, Mindy’s mother took off to law school in London and the family barely saw her afterwards.

The following year, Mindy went off to college, and she too barely kept in contact. Not too long after she left, her father and brother moved across the country without consulting the rest of the family, so she never got to say goodbye to her childhood home. Sometime later, her mother filed for divorce, and that was anticlimactic for Mindy. Looking back, she said that it made sense that she didn’t really feel anything when the family broke up - it just happened and that was really about it.

In short, Mindy’s mother set her up with this guy who was the son of some very important attorney that she was trying to get close to. Mindy described him as a very charming guy, but that was about it. While she had visions that showed their relationship in a good light, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy about it, almost like it was a warning. At this point in time she says it’s not worth beating herself up for not acting on her intuition - she’s already done enough of that in the past. She was young and foolish and really thought that she found “The One”.

Mindy described it as a whirlwind romance that didn’t really feel “real”, mostly because her mother and his father wanted them to be together. There was also another aspect regarding Mindy’s psychic powers that complicated things. Basically, they exploited her for it and that contributed to how she later resented her gift for getting her into that mess.

However, the one good thing that came out of her unhappy marriage was her daughter Misty. Her ex spoiled Misty and he seemed like a good parent, but Mindy later realized that his care and affection were superficial. As for Mindy’s parents, they seemed indifferent towards Misty, something she didn’t realize until much later on when she realized that her marriage wasn’t working out.

What got to Mindy the most about the whole thing was how her parents were well aware that she was unhappy and refused to help when she reached out to them. She admits that communication wasn’t always their strongest suit, but back then it was treated as a funny thing because life wasn’t serious back then. Looking back, she found that her parents were kinda superficial and often glossed over serious stuff, which was why she had a tough time when she left for college.

It’s not bad to be carefree, but it’s a problem when you act without considering other people’s feelings. Mindy’s been doing a lot of reflecting since cutting ties with her ex and parents, so she’s been trying to put the pieces together. When she mentioned what kind of people her parents are, it makes sense why she’s the way she is with her meddling. Her carefreeness and need to take action no matter what are traits that can easily be good and bad.

Mindy’s mother was the one who insisted that Mindy suck it up and deal with what she got herself into, which is kinda hypocritical coming from someone who walked out on her family on a whim. Mindy suspected that her mother was jealous of the fact that she never got psychic powers since it ran in her family and that resentment grew as she got older. She relentlessly mocked Mindy by saying that her powers were useless because she should have known that she wasn’t gonna happy, and therefore, she brought it on herself. Talk about victim blaming, especially from someone who put the victim in that situation.

As for her father, Mindy said she felt the most betrayed by him. She described him as the fun, life of the party type - good as a friend, not so much as a parent. He would brush Mindy off whenever she tried to confide in him, complaining that she was bringing down the mood and needed to lighten up. His main reason for not helping Mindy out was because he didn’t want to get involved in that. In other words, her unhappiness put a cramp in his style and he didn’t like that. Some parent he is.

Even when Mindy brought up Misty and how she was concerned for her daughter’s wellbeing, her parents were basically like, that’s not our problem, Yes, they really did refer to their granddaughter as a “problem”, an inconvenience that isn’t their concern. That’s another thing Mindy can’t forgive them for.

In the end, the only family member Mindy could turn to was her younger brother Travis, who just finished grad school. Mindy’s grateful, of course, but she’s also upset that he had to be the one to pull her out when their parents refused to. Her ex’s family made getting a divorce a nightmare, and with her parents taking his side in keeping her trapped, Mindy was unable to really do anything unless she wanted to risk losing Misty.

Luckily, Travis was able to find some people who were able to help Mindy and Misty leave and avoid a lot of the potential consequences of a messy divorce. It wasn’t easy as it took over a year for everything to be finalized, but they did it. And now Mindy’s finally free.

One of the first things Mindy did was get back in touch with various friends she lost contact with over the years. Her ex was the controlling type who didn’t want her associating with certain people. In other words, he treated her like a trophy wife, a caged bird. Marlo was one of the few she kept in sporadic contact with, as well as the first to know what happened to her over the past several years.

Mindy and Misty actually live about half and hour away from Marlo and Don, and it’s in a nice neighborhood. Of course, Mindy still has a lot of unpacking to do, so we helped her out with that. I’d say we did a pretty good job and the place looks a lot more livelier. They may not have much for now, but once they settle in, it’ll really feel like home. I feel like it’s a huge step for Mindy, a sign that she really is free.

As for what’s next for Mindy, she says she’s gonna take it slow. For now, her main focus is on finding a daycare for Misty before classes start. She’s picked up some online courses from a local community college as she’s really considering going back to school. But since it’s been over a decade, Mindy wants to do sort of a trial run before taking the plunge with grad school, especially since she still isn’t sure exactly what she wants to go back for other than to stay in something related to the fashion industry.

There’s also the possibility of her using her visions to take a peek into her future, something she’s tempted to do at times. Life seems to be easier when you’re young, probably because you don’t have as many responsibilities and worries on your shoulders. Mindy says she’s still in kind of a weird love-hate relationship with her psychic powers, and with her mental state admittedly not in the best shape, she’s kinda tuned out her visions. That’s not to say they’re not reliable, it’s more that she just doesn’t have the mental capacity to deal with it.

Funny enough, she kinda reminds me of Steven and his struggles with his powers when he was in a low mental state. I bring that up because Mindy mentioned that his song Taking Back What’s Mine really helped her a lot in terms of getting the courage to move on from the past and take control of the present. She discovered him and Emmaline by chance and was mind blown when we told her that not only we know Steven, but that Emmaline grew up in the same neighborhood as us.

Since Mindy’s not far from Marlo, I hope that one day I can arrange for her, Steven, and Emmaline to meet one day. I know they would be touched to find out how much their music resonated with someone.

I’m glad that Mindy’s doing well and I’m looking forward to seeing more of her in the near future. I know Marlo’s glad to finally see her after all these years. An uncertain future isn’t necessarily bad, especially if you’re taking the wheel. And like Mindy’s visions, the future isn’t always set in stone, so there’s nothing stopping you from taking charge. It’s your life, your future, so it’s up to you to decide what you want.

After hanging out and catching up with Mindy, we headed to Rosevine to hibernate for a while. Since the objective is to take it slow after the rush of the holidays, we decided to take the scenic route. It took longer and we might have gotten lost a little, but I think it was worth every minute.

Read on AO3

[lightningarmour]

Further considerations about Star Trek and exceptionalism.

In an earlier post, I went on at length about a certain episode of TNG that made me uncomfortable on rewatch because it kind of presents this idea of exceptionality being like, the most important thing one can strive towards. I’ll not start reiterating my whole point all over again, but I mentioned in that post that one of the episodes that kind of directly contradicts the “great men” ethos is Lower Decks.

I’m not going to get into a whole analysis of Lower Decks exactly. It’s a tremendous episode, possibly the highlight of Season 7, excluding the series finale. What I do want to get into is the lessons we could learn and the ways we could build on the sort of concept of this episode. It is remarkably good because they do such a great job of having basically the entire plot of a standard episode of TNG happening in like, the background, or at the periphery of this episode. Like, ah we are rendezvousing with a Cardassian double agent at the border and then sneaking him back into Cardassian territory. 

That would be an entire ass episode just on that premise alone. But here they do a fucking incredible job of like, having all of that happening just beyond like the scope of these low rank officers. Where they're all partaking in the events but each are only privy to a piece of the whole story. Plus it has some of my personal favorite shit in Star Trek which is the world building stuff, the kind of off-duty moments in Star Trek where you get to see like, what clothes people wear, what they do for recreation, that kind of stuff. 

Including one of the characters being a civilian working aboard the ship. One of the bartenders from Ten Forward who just clearly likes his job because he enjoys socializing with people, and he even like, mocks one of the junior officers for having to like, follow rules and shit because he's in Starfleet. It's one thing in DS9 that I really really fucking love about Jake Sisko, where in the early seasons they make reference a few times to like, him going off to the academy and whatever, and there's a little bit where he's kind of interning with O'Brien to learn a bit about how to work as an engineer, and ultimately Jake decides that Starfleet isn't the life for him, he wants to be a writer, pursue the arts, and he's worried about disappointing his dad. 

And I REALLY fucking love characters like that that kind of push back against the notion that oh the only important thing is advancing your career and becoming the captain of a ship and all that. Similar to my issues with the episode Tapestry where Picard rejects the idea of being just a regular guy. So yeah Lower Decks includes a lot of things that I really like and that really makes Star Trek feel at it's best to me.

Part of what makes Lower Decks work as an episode is that you are already at least mildly familiar with the characters. The episode introduces a couple of loser junior crewmembers as the POV for the story. Two are new guys. Three if you count the bartender guy. Now if the whole thing had just been a bunch of fuckin randos and the show is just saying like "yeah just trust us these guys totally work on the ship and you've just never ever seen them before" it would lack some credibility. There is actually a Voyager episode that massively rips off Lower Decks and this is the big mistake they make, they give you a handful of literally who characters.

So you get the Bajoran girl from the Red Squad episode returning, as well as fucking Nurse Ogawa who has at this point been in like every medbay scene in the show for like 3 or 4 seasons. She's kind of like a glorified extra. She's only ever in the background and is mentioned by name but like, only insofar as Crusher will say like Nurse Ogawa get me a dermal regenerator or whatever. But then it's like bam here she is and this is her life and these are her friends. It's such a good use of a minor character and it makes me wonder if she had been planned as a possible focus character for a while. In almost all those shows aside from the like, starring 7-8 cast members, you do not get a ton of recurring background characters. DS9 has a few more but they mostly show up sparingly and if they are appearing at all, it's to play a part in the episode. Ogawa was just like, there constantly in the background.

I have lamented before about how Michael Eddington is such an underutilized character. His betrayal and defection to the Maquis is really good, but in retrospect it could have had way more impact if he had been allowed to appear in the show more than like 5 times total prior to his turncoating.

It made me think a bit of how in Discovery they make the boneheaded choice of having the show focus on one character instead of an ensemble cast. Like, Michael is the MAIN CHARACTER. Stammets, Culber, Saru, Tilly and I guess Giorgiou are like, her supporting cast, they basically get no agency of their own, but her aside I'd say those are like the only real "characters" in the show. However, you get like, an entire consistent cast of crewmen on the bridge of the ship. In TNG, the person at helm control varies. It's Wesley while he's still on the show, then it kind of rotates between a handful of rando extras, same with the people at the back wall computers. In Voyager, there are almost no consistent background characters, infamously there were more Extras that appeared throughout the show than there were supposed to have been crew aboard the ship. So like, in those shows because the bridge is almost always staffed by the primary cast of characters, the one or two other random people don't really matter. But in Discovery the bridge crew are all the same people even though they are effectively extras. Half of them don't even get fucking names in the first season, and it's not until like season 3 at least that the people writing the show thought oh hey maybe we should like, use these characters and have them like, be people.

So it made me think that with the nature of like, tv shows these days being less episodic and more arc based, you theoretically should have more planned out in advance, and plus there's the fact that TV shows are kind of made like movies now, budget wise. You don't get as many episodes a season but now the few you do get are big and epic and cinematic and blah blah blah.

So what if, with adequate planning, you had that kind of a character set-up. First season they are just a background crewmember. Almost an extra. They are maybe named on-screen but get at most like one or two lines the whole ass season. Then over the course of like 2 or 3 entire seasons you very gradually have this character go from extra to guest star to regular, staple member of the cast. Whether it's something along the lines of Ogawa where she is just there to hand things to Crusher for like 3 seasons, but then like oh after a time you start getting a couple moments of crusher like having conversations with her just like you see happening between the main cast. Then like, in one episode she is brought on an away mission. Little steps building the character. I'd want it to happen so gradually that you can't point to a single episode where like AHA, there, that's the one where she becomes a main character!

The idea being that you could get to see a character who isn’t portrayed as some sort of “Great Man” or special person who through sheer fortitude and exceptional talent or will or whatever managed to be one of the big special important people, but just a regular fucking person who manages to succeed and be recognized for their contributions. A way to make it feel like all those background people are genuinely people who are all just as important to the ship as the captain or chief engineer are. (I will once again reiterate my love for Reginald Barclay for being a complete loser who none the less is treated with respect and kindness by his fellow crewmembers and manages to contribute to the team despite the fact that he’s kind of a dingus.)

ANYWHO, my GF and I were discussing all this and after talking about it for a while it was a bit funny because we realized that oh wait, they already kind of did that exact thing with fucking Miles O'Brien. He appears in the fucking PILOT of TNG as just randomly one of the guys on the bridge of the Enterprise, and even one of the people who ends up manning the BATTLE BRIDGE which IIRC you see twice in the entire fucking show. Very funny how early they set up the fact that the saucer section can disconnect from the rest of the ship and then they just never fucking bother with it again.

Anyway after being in the pilot, O'Brien starts only showing up as the fucking transporter room guy. So like, any time they have to beam down somewhere, he is usually, but not even always, the guy at the console doing the beaming. He gets like, token lines just saying like "three to beam down" or whatever. Then, gradually he starts getting to be like an actual character who says things and does things that matter in the episode and even gets like a character focused episode where he has to confront his prejudice against Cardassians. And then fucking BOOM, he becomes a star character in DS9. Went from an extra to a main cast member, exactly like I was talking about, and I want MORE Miles O'Brien's in the world.

[perianfrost]

Join the Chorus 12/25

A Macdonald Hall advent fic, which has basically turned into "Bruno Walton only gets into the Christmas spirit because of Boots O'Neal."

December 12

Boots spent most of the next day looking like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Bruno tried to focus on other things, but the sight of Boots grinning like an idiot all through lunch was enough to distract him from the next step in his big plans. 

The Sasquatch Squad was in the middle of some heavy lore research. Most of the school was, to be fair, but the Squad had Elmer on their side, and that meant they had a huge leg up 

It was even enough that Bruno felt justified in taking some extra time to do some extra credit, and dragging Wilbur with him. 

“I thought you hated Christmas decorations,” Wilbur said, digging through boxes as Bruno kept watch. “Why are you looking for the extras?”

“Boots likes them,” Bruno said absently. He was keeping watch at the door. “If we’re going to stay, might as well decorate, right? Any word from your mom?”

“Still holding out,” Wilbur said after a pause. “But Dad thinks he can convince her. I bet she’ll send a huge care package. She fit a whole chicken in one once, for my birthday. Maybe another one just for Christmas cookies.”

Bruno pulled his head back into the storage room. “Tell her to send extra fudge. With the marshmallows. And the walnuts. Oh, and–”

“Who says I’m sharing?”

“Well, we are your best friends–”

“But they’re my cookies!”

“--you know we like those ones with the nuts–”

“You’re a nut!”

“Are you looking for decorations, or what?”

Wilbur mumbled something Bruno graciously decided to overlook, and picked up a box that was bigger than himself. “Got your bo– got Boots’s Christmas in a Box. If we see Bigfoot on the way back to the dorm, I’m throwing the box at it first. Then you. Just so you know.”

“The Squad is on it,” Bruno said, pushing the door open and into Mr. Sturgeon’s chest. “Sir!”

“Mr. Walton,” Mr. Sturgeon returned. He brushed all down his suit in one brisk motion. “May I ask what you’re doing in this storage room?”

“Uh,” Bruno said, pulling the door closed behind him. “Just looking for an extra pillow, sir. Mine seems to have gone missing.”

The headmaster nailed Bruno to the ground with an especially fishy stare. 

Bruno had learned a lot at the Hall despite most efforts to the contrary. He hadn’t learned to lie to Mr. Sturgeon. He pushed the door back open to reveal Wilbur. “I did lose a pillow, sir. But we were just… hoping to get some extra decorations for the rec hall. Maybe room 306. Boots and I are staying for Christmas.”

The headmaster nodded at Wilbur. “Hackenschleimer.”

“Sir.”

Mr. Sturgeon nodded gravely at both boys. “I heard that we are to have the eh, pleasure of having you over the break. I suppose I can’t be too disappointed by your sudden show of holiday spirit. Carry on.”

Bruno blinked. “Really, sir?”

“I’m sure anything would improve the state of that room. Get on with it then.”

“Thanks, sir!” Bruno said, and waved  Wilbur forward. 

“And Walton? Mrs. Davis tells me it was you who led the run on the office for all those permissions forms to stay.”

Bruno nodded, unsure if this was going to be a lecture or not. 

Mr. Sturgeon nodded. “Very good, Walton.” He gestured for them to be on their way, and ahem’d.

Wilbur moved first, knocking Bruno into a trot with the box. Dazed, Bruno kept walking.

It was worth all the fake pine needles in his sheets to see the look on Boots’s face as he came in from studying with the Squad later. Boots had a great smile.

Bruno liked to put it there.

This was absolutely not a huge problem.

[hugsandchaos]

Once she’s sure that Shadow’s okay with it, you can’t tell me Sticks wouldn’t ask about his alien half. It’s actually through this that they learn his black and red coloring and abnormally sharp teeth are from his alien half, and he shows off his wings and makes his tail longer for them to see. He mentions having a third eye, but doesn’t really want it out because it brings bad memories.

They also learn about the benefits his alien half gives him; Better sense of sight, smell, hearing, and he’s able to digest raw meat. And if we include hedgehogs purring, then we say that Shadow’s purr is a lot deeper and might sound like a growl, so that’s another misunderstanding cleared up.

I bet that Tail would try to race Shadow in the air or that he reveals his wings because he quite literally flew in through the window because he was called after a member injured themselves and he’s actually one of the most knowledgeable in the medical field. Put him in a room of surgeons and he’ll understand everything. And probably blast a hole in the wall trying to get out, so not the best idea.

I think they’d help him eventually get over his fear of being like someone named “Black Doom”, who had a real knack for mind control and used it in the worst ways and help him control his own mind control powers that surface when he’s really stressed.

As for the green blushing thing, they’d probably ask occasionally “You’re not going to vomit, right?” because sometimes, they genuinely can’t tell and they want to know if they should grab a bucket.

For limb removal and other healing stuff, Shadow would learn to sit and let it happen.

And may or may not be smiling when no one’s looking because he feels so loved right now.

For the fourth thing, I think they’d try to fight for Shadow, but if they need help, he’ll push himself to help them out and one of them would compliment him because what he did was so great! They’re proud of him!

Next, I feel like Shadow is very touch starved, but is embarrassed to ask for affection, but Knuckles’ hugs are some of the best in his opinion. The big guy’s very strong, which means tight hugs, and Shadow really likes those when he’s overwhelmed or overstimulated. Knuckles is happy to have someone who can handle his hugs!

I think that the way he’d learn to ask for more would be “Is that the best you can do?”, and then have his soul crushed into his body. And if we include Sonadow, Shadamy, or we have them in a polyamorous relationship, Shadow’s definitely the one keeping them in bed an extra five minutes for more cuddles. He’s been sandwiched between them once and had the best nap in months.

Another Black Arms related thing is that Shadow would probably enjoy carrying people around in the air, and he uses his tail to grab things a lot more often. And yes, he’s slept upside down before. Yes, he’d do it again. And another thing—

Sonic: Cool red stripes, magic powers, monkey tail, and a pair of wings? Could he be any cooler?

Shadow, not paying attention: *just singing Bad Romance to himself while doing something*

Sonic: Are you kidding me?!

😆 I love the idea that Boom Shadow is that one character who has the singing voice of an angel, but would rather be punched in the face than sing in front of anyone. He actually gets a little flustered over it and Sonic likes to playfully tease him about it like “But you’re so good!” and Shadow turns green and he’s like “Shut up!”.

Is it so bad that I feel like traumatizing Shadow to hell and back and then dumping him on Team Sonic?

[luckydragon10]

KinnPorsche Ep06 Lines of Power

Me again, bringing you lines of power, framing, and staging in KinnPorsche. Whew. Who knows a cure for an emotional hangover?

I normally organize and post for LoP on Sundays, but I have a busy day tomorrow, so I'm pushing this out extra fast. In case this gets buried in rapid-fire posts in the KP tag... could a few kind folks please do me a reblog? 🥺

More LoP posts: [Trailer] [Ep01] [Ep02] [Ep03] [Ep04] [Ep05] [Ep07]

DILF. Such a DILF, P'Chan.

The staging here is fantastic and logical for the situation but so rare. We have characters in foreground with focus, midground, and background, AND we have characters at varying levels throughout. It makes a great composition, in my opinion, while still being sensible for the situation and the setting. Getting up higher on a rock affords a better view, just the thing for a search party.

Also...Big, I gotta say, P'Chan is so far above you it's not even funny. The vertical height difference really underscores that P'Chan is Big's superior in numerous ways.

Nice low camera angle to catch the stars, much appreciated! Adds to the tenderness here.

The ratty cover and sides of the truck make a great frame, almost like they're in a nest. (Calm down, @moerusai. I know exactly what you're thinking. Tsk.)

You know what else I'm seeing? Looking at the bottom of the truck cargo bed, it's neatly horizontal and even. We tend to see a lot of tilted lines — either subtly tilted or dramatically — in KinnPorsche to show things that are out of alignment, but here, things are balanced between the two leads. They're equals in this situation. Equally in trouble, equally desperate to survive.

Speaking of tilted angles....

The line I'm looking at here is easy to miss on first watch because Pete's head is well framed and upright, but look at the angle of the lower part of the car door. It's really, really tilted to the left.

The music in this scene adds very obvious tension, but that line helps underscore the threat that Vegas poses because, frankly, this dude is scary. Run, Pete, run!

Crooked line, curvy, wandering, lost.

Actually, there are multiple crooked lines. This shot has a beautiful almost-symmetry with the road cutting the top section and the dark body of water below also creating crooked, funny lines.

Lost, they're very lost.

Also, if you were to align this shot vertically, you could see a sort of hourglass, like so:

I doubt the cinematographer was intentionally trying to make an hourglass (??), but I like it anyway. Then again, maybe it really was intentional and represents the passage of time? Or it represents that there's a limit to how long they'll have this opportunity to communicate? Always fun to speculate.

Yesss, one of my favorite shots from the trailer!

It's been significantly darkened here, which I find interesting. Perhaps it was kept light in the trailer for better visibility and pop, whereas here we need it darker because of the time of day. The darkness of this shot wouldn't have stood out well in the trailer.

Quick recap of what I said back when I analyzed the trailer:

Bless drones. This. This damn scene with the expansive space, and yet these two leads are squished intimately close to one another. Look, I realize they’re handcuffed, but still, exaggerating that proximity with the huge view is MWAH *chef kiss* perfect. Plus…c'mon, that soft curved line of the road? Such a contrast to all those harsh verticals before. It’s a softening, a bending, which is going to be necessary for the relationship to come together.

Yep, still holds up. All I'd like to add now is that they are turning a corner in their relationship. This episode is about both of them (though perhaps Kinn especially) learning how to bend their pride and meet each other in the middle.

To me, the two walls of the crevice look like puzzle pieces that fit together. The angles of the slopes match and are made to be placed together.

Kind of like our two leads. 😭

Additionally, their arms create a line between them, balanced and connected and sharing that power evenly.

That background rock is being brilliantly used. It's practically a third character here, representing the heavy, heavy weight of their emotions.

Also, Kinn is diminished. He's partly obscured by the rubble slope from his legs down. He diminished here because he's giving up control, willingly, to Porsche. Porsche meanwhile has the front slope that tilts right as well as the upward slope of the top of the rock opening the right side of the frame to him, showing him the way he can run to freedom.

Porsche has the power here, and the lines emphasize that.

And yet he hesitates, frozen in place. 😭😭

That rock is working overtime, adding weight and gravity. I titled this screencap "You Are My Rock Now." And yet they let each other go.

😭😭😭😭😭😭

Nope, nope, done being analytical now. You'll find me in a hole in the ground, trying to process my emotions.

///

More LoP posts: [Trailer] [Ep01] [Ep02] [Ep03] [Ep04] [Ep05] [Ep07]

I was in a bit of a rush for this post, as I mentioned, so feel free to shout at me if you find any other special gems.

You can also visit @antique-forvalaka for some color theory, @yeetlegay for voice analysis and other meta, @chaoselmo and @gradienta for costumes, and a whole bunch of other cool KP fans and meta in my Damn Good KinnPorsche Meta doc.

[prof-peach]

Hmm... out of curiosity, which of Eevee's evolutions would you say is the most demanding to care for? Easiest to care for? Obviously, I understand each individual will be unique, but I figured learning the average expectations is a good starting point. A friend of mine's Sylveon is a total drama queen, so it got us thinking about the average temperaments of Eevee evolutions in general.

If you take out both individual Pokemon personality, and we ignore climate needs and variations from region to region, then it’s on average like this:

Jolteon is top of the list, by far the hardest, but more because if they use their electricity near houses, buildings, lampposts, you know, most electrical stuff, it can cause a lot of damage. Not all town power grids have adequate protection everywhere from electric Pokemon and the energy they can both take and give out. They are a difficulty due to modern day factors, but also they are prone to shedding, and boy do those needles get everywhere. You will stand on one, it will not be fun. Shocks and trainer damage is high with youngsters too, they’re not fully able to control their abilities for a while, and have to learn a lot to harness them, if they have no other electric Pokemon to learn this from, you the trainer have to step in and take the lead, which can be both long winded, and dangerous at times. On top of this, they require dedicated exercise routines, and need to burn a whole heap of energy to stay healthy. They have to run, a cooped up lifestyle doesn’t do anything for them. Emotionally they can be sticks in the mud, tricky for young trainers, and will always push the rules to breaking point to see what they can get away with. They are omnivorous, but prefer a meat based diet, something some trainers struggle with.

Glaceon can be tough, they need at least 3 months of the year in a cold climate to stay healthy for the rest of the year, freezing conditions, ice on the ground, all that jazz. Some professors advise you send them to residential facilities for this timeframe if your location is not cold enough, kind of like sending them on a 3 month vacation. They’re not as easy to live beside, great for those who run hot, but if you’re anything like me, and constantly have cold hands, then this Pokemon will make that a lot worse. They won’t freeze your home, but boy does it become apparent when one’s been in the room for a while, you’ll need an extra blanket.

Flareon. Your house insurance will probably go up if they learn you have a fire type. Actually quite capable of handling their own heat, unlike others, flareon has to learn to harness more and more heat gradually, building its internal fires with training and teaching. At younger ages they have a kind of built in trip switch, when they put out a high temperature, if their body isn’t capable of handling it yet, their flame cuts out briefly to prevent harm to their own body. The tolerance for the trip switch goes up as the Pokemon becomes more capable. For some reason the more difficult eeveelutions stated above do not have this feature, and can put out too much power, that can harm themselves.

Vaporeon are statistically dumb as a bag of rocks, while some seem wise, on average, they don’t have the most developed brain. You know, being mostly water and all. This means, they tend to be a bit…accident prone. They are the eeveelution we get sent to us the most, because they chase boats and get caught by motors, they get stuck in pipes, they eat tin cans, or find their way into vents and can’t find their way out. Honestly they’re so elegant, people expect them to be super clever. You will always be busy with a Vaporeon. They’re also escape artists, so making your house literally watertight is important if you have one that shouldn’t be out and about. Their care however is simple enough, good oily fish based dinners, an option of both a bucket like bed (to be a puddle in) and a regular day-sleeping bed, plush type for comfort. They need to swim daily, so a pond, a pool, a river or lake, whatever, will be fine. They can and do swim in salt water, but we advise you let them swim for at least 5 minutes in freshwater afterwards, to flush their system of excess salts that can lead to long term issues.

Sylveon are very temperamental sure, their strength usually leads to overconfidence, they have strict social hierarchy’s in the wild, making their natural habits often challenging to lax trainers. They need a lot of supervision, as they can be mischievous, getting up to no good while your backs turned. In terms of care they tend to prefer a life of luxury, and can expect a very plush life. Their habits mean you'll be apologizing for them thieving things if you take your eyes off them too. Notorious den makers, hoarding shiny items, unusual trinkets, socks, and fancy clothes given the chance. I say it with ALL pokemon, but keep an eye on them, don't just let your team wander off into the great unknown, it's unsafe, rude, and irresponsible. Leafeon are surprisingly easy, like plants, they adapt well, can handle frost and cold a lot of the time if it's a natural part of their home's climate, and upon evolution, they will suit the local area they change form in. So if you evolve them in a mossy winter forest, they'll have tolerance to the cold. If your local climate is quite hot, they don't wilt and burn in the sun as much. The grass aspect of them is heavily underrated, and allows them to be probably one of the toughest eeveelutions of the lot, handling their natural area's weather and climate very well. They will however suffer quite a bit if you travel to somewhere they aren't adapted to, without you making changes to suit them. A hot climate Leafeon will potentially die in the winter cold of a mountain forest for example.

Which leaves the easiest duo, Umbreon and Espeon. Both about the same as each other in terms of needs. Able to live in cold and hot areas with relative ease, so long as they have shelter from intense hot days, and some respite from bitter icy winds, they thrive in human conditions, and usually fit right into a family that shows them love and patience. While Espeon is better suited for the day, and Umbreon the night, this doesn't mean they cant switch up their body clock to work better with you, and with daily tasks. they ENJOY their relative times of the day, but it doesn't mean they cant switch it up, just bare in mind that they'll have a preference, and may be grouchy if not allowed out during that time. Their diet is omnivorous, they're often very suited for indoor, calmer, more social lifestyles, and can be found in many locations, requiring little in terms of unusual care requirements. I am in no way saying that their care is impossible, nor easy, depending on the species, simply stating the information, and you can do what you want with that.

[unwrittenlibrary]

magnetic force of a man

summary // loving him in the summer is warmth and radiance.

or; three summers showcasing the growth of your relationship with bucky. [bucky barnes x fem!reader]

words // 4.5k

warnings // post-endgame bucky & softness & kind of corny

notes // inspired by taylor swift’s lover. somehow this just came out, i’m not sure how i feel about it.

my writing is free and it will stay free, but if you enjoy it and you have the resources, consider donating to my ko-fi!

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

| Summer of 2025 |

You meet Bucky at the Farmer’s Market in June when you both reach for a red delicious apple. It’s awkward laughs and friendly introductions.

You’ve heard of him before; Janet who runs the apple stand talks about him and how perfect of a match you would be. Unbeknownst to you, Eugene who runs the plum stand, says the same thing to him.

“You’re the man Janet won’t shut up about.” You smile sweetly. Your eyes scan his small basket of fruits and vegetables. He’s got a lot of different things. He must cook, you think. “I’ve been told I would like you.”

Bucky laughs. His eyes scan your basket too, you wonder what he thinks of all your choices. “You must be the woman Eugene won’t stop talking about.” He leans towards you and in a mischievous tone whispers, “I think they’ve been trying to set us up.”

It makes you laugh. “You’ve got a beautiful laugh.” Bucky compliments. His smile is genuine and he’s got blue eyes that are filled with kindness. You can see why Janet had been trying for so long to get you to meet him.

“Thank you.” You step towards him when another man rushes past you. “I have to ask, what have you heard?”

Bucky shrugs. “Just that you’re beautiful and you make the best apple pie Eugene’s ever tasted.” Bucky leans towards you again. “So far, he’s spot on.” The implication makes heat rise to your cheeks and you smile down at your basket.

“Guess I’ll have to make you some pie so you can see if he’s two for two.” You look back up with a teasing smile. Bucky’s eyes light up in excitement.

He shakes his head in amusement. “I hope I’m not being too forward, can I have you number?” You’re already pulling your phone out of your pocket to hand over.

That’s the beginning of your story.

˚《

Your first date is the last week of June. After weeks of texting and even some phone calls, Bucky had finally asked you out.

He takes you to a drive in up in Warwick and you park in the middle row of the second screen to watch Grease. The sun is still out when you arrive, so there’s some time to get snacks and settle in.

“Did you know it was throwbacks weekend?” You ask as Bucky flips through his radio stations in search of the correct one.

He shakes his head. You can see his fingers shaking a little nervously as he looks up at you. “Is Grease okay? I’ve uh, I’ve never seen it. It looked cute.” He grimaces and it makes you smile.

“I love Grease.” You say softly, reaching your hand out for his. “Are you nervous?”

Bucky laughs awkwardly. “Am I that obvious?” Your eyes trail over his gloved hands, his left hand resting on his thigh as you hold his right.

“I think it’s sweet.” You reassure him. “You must be hot in these. It’s June.” You flip his hand so it’s palm up and trace your finger over it.

“I haven’t done this in awhile.” He admits. There’s a red tint to his cheeks, one that’s not from the summer heat, and it makes you giggle. He eyes meet yours and he smiles tensely. “I’m uh- I-“

“You don’t have to say it.” You pull the glove off hastily so his flesh hand is revealed to you. “I know who you are. You can keep them on if you want, but you don’t need to.” You place the glove back in his palm and wrap his fingers around it.

Bucky watches you for a moment. “You know who I am and still want to go one a date with me?” You frown at his self-depreciating tone.

“I know who you used to be. I don’t know you though. The real Bucky Barnes. That’s why I want to go on this date with you.” The radio begins reciting rules of the drive-in and you look at the screen. The sun is setting behind it quickly.

When you turn to look at Bucky again, he has a grin on his face as he watches you. “Come on! Let’s get snacks before the movie starts.” You turn to push open the car door and Bucky follows after you easily.

You don’t know it yet, but that’s the beginning of your pull over him. Bucky thinks he would follow you to the ends of the earth if you asked him to.

˚《

Your first kiss is two weeks later after watching a movie in central park. It was Dirty Dancing this time. You’ve been on five dates.

You’ve learned that Bucky likes going to these throwback playings and experiencing the movies he missed while under Hydra’s control. You’re happy to indulge him, truly.

You just wish he would do more than hold you hand. Which, okay, maybe that isn’t fair. Sometimes he’ll wrap an arm around your shoulder and you’ll lean your head against his chest. He’ll even give you a kiss on the cheek goodnight, but he still won’t kiss you on the lips and you’re starting to think he just doesn’t want to.

One date? Okay, he wants to be respectful and not move too fast. Two dates? A little weird, but he was from a different time. Three? Did they just not kiss back then? You can’t imagine a charming Bucky Barnes who didn’t steal a kiss from a pretty girl. Four had you on the edge of your seat waiting for the kiss that didn’t happen.

Now, as Bucky walks you home, you think of all the ways you can bring it up. You even think of just kissing him yourself, it was the twenty-first century and women can make the first move.

Except, you can’t help but think, what if he doesn’t want to kiss me?

“You alright?” Bucky’s hand gripping your elbow gently forces you out of your head. You look up at him with wide eyes and nod a little too hastily. “You sure? You’ve been silent for like, fifteen minutes.”

His eyes are concerned pools of blue as he stares down at you. The words just come tumbling out of your mouth, “Why don’t you want to kiss me?”

Bucky just stares at you in shock. You feel heat on the back of your neck and shift in uncomfortable embarrassment at your outburst. “I’m sorry!” You blurt out. “I’m not trying to make you uncomfortable. I just want you to kiss me and if you don’t want to that’s fine!” You suck in a deep breath. Bucky is still watching you silently, so you continue on. “I would just rather know now if you don’t want to kiss me instead of finding out later.”

You finish quietly with Bucky still watching you. If you weren’t so panicked, you would probably recognize his look as him digesting the words. But the panicked feeling mixes with the sting of rejection and you begin to back away. “Well this was great. Hope to never-“

Bucky’s hand wraps your waist and he hauls you back into him. His lips meet yours harshly, but it’s not painful in any way. It’s somehow gentle and his lips are soft against yours. Your eyes close and one of your hands comes up to rest on his cheek while his hands hold steady onto your waist.

When you pull away it’s with a gasp of air. “I’ve wanted to kiss you since that day in the Farmer’s Market.” Bucky admits breathlessly.

“So why’d you never kiss me?” You ask curiously. Cars speed past you on the street and there’s a group of teenagers who all gag as they pass you, but none of it matters with Bucky in your arms like this.

Bucky smiles. “I told you. I haven’t done this in a long time.”

˚《

By August, you and Bucky are going steady. You go to the market together most weekends and Bucky calls you his girl to the people you’ve both become regulars of.

He’s even talked about introducing you to his friends and going out together one night when they’re all free.

It makes your heart race and your fingers twitch with excited nerves. You think you love him, which seems crazy when you think of how you’ve only been seeing each other since June, but you do.

Thinking of him makes your heart beat faster and your face warm. You want to spend as much time as can with him and hang onto every word he says.

It seems like he feels the same way too, but you’re just not sure. Fall is right around the corner though. That means schedules pick up again and the weather gets colder, so you’d like to know if Bucky feels the same way or if this was just a way to pass the time in the summer.

You just don’t know how to say it though. Every time you think of saying the words your nerves get the best of you and you blurt out something he finds endearingly awkward and doesn’t think anything of.

“I still can’t believe a show like this exists.” Bucky murmurs in awe from beside you on his couch. You’re not really pay attention to the random reality show you’ve put on though. You’re focused on the way his eyes shine curiously and how he smiles whenever the host makes a shitty joke.

Your feet are settled in his lap and he pinches your shin when he turns to look at you. “You’re not even watching the show.”

“I love you.” You blurt. That’s one way to do it, you think. You were afraid you would regret the words when you said them or even feel embarrassed, but you don’t. All you feel is lighter, like you’ve created a better world by letting Bucky know somebody loves him, even if he doesn’t feel the same. “I don’t know if you wanted this to be summer fling or-“

“Summer fling?” Bucky laughs. His hand moves up your leg. “I’m not going around calling you my girl to everyone who’ll listen because you’re some fling.”

The words make you laugh. “I love that laugh.” Bucky admits quietly. When your eyes meet his again, he smiles sweetly. “I love you too.”

When he leans towards you for a kiss, you meet him halfway happily.

| Summer 2026 |

Being with Bucky has made you far more confident in yourself. His reassurance and constant support pushed you to be better and you knew he felt the same, so you figured moving in with him was the next step.

You had the perfect plan on how to ask him too. You had recruited Sam, who had taken a liking to you immediately, and gotten an extra key to your apartment cut with the word home engraved onto it.

While you spent the day getting the key cut and making room for Bucky’s things in your space, Sam spent the day distracting him. By the time you hear Bucky knock on your door, you’re about to burst with excitement.

You smooth down the front of you skirt and suck in a deep breath. “Hey!” Bucky’s eyes trail over you in surprise.

“Hey. Did I forget a date?” He looks up nervously, but his shoulders relax when you shake your head with a bright smile. “What’s this then? Not that I don’t love you in this skirt.” His hands find your hips and trail up your sides.

You pull his hands off and pull him inside the apartment. “I have a surprise for you!” He follows you into the kitchen easily and you pull out the small box containing the key.

You rock back and forth on your heels excitedly as Bucky begins to slowly unwrap the box. He watches, completely bemused by your excitement, and moves even slower to tease you.

“Stop!” You laugh and he shakes his head before tearing the rest of the paper off. He inspects the box slowly before opening it.

When his eyes land on the key, he doesn’t say anything and your smile drops. You watch as he stares and your excitement diminishes by the millisecond.

“Do you… Do you not like it?” You ask, unable to handle the silence. Bucky swallows thickly before looking up at you. Your heart drops as the burn of his rejection settles beneath your skin. “You don’t.” It’s not a question.

He reaches for you, but you step out of his grasp. “It’s not that I don’t like it, I just… I’m…” He doesn’t know what to say or how to actually say no to you. It’s obvious.

“You mentioned your lease was up soon and that you didn’t want to resign. I thought…” You trail off. You feel like you can’t breathe. You and Bucky were so good together, this seemed like the logical next step.

Had you read everything wrong? “I meant… I was looking at places closer to you.” Bucky says like it’s supposed to make you feel better.

“But you don’t want to live with me?” Your back hits the counter and you flinch at the harsh feeling. Bucky raises a hand, as if to comfort you, but drops it at the last second. “I don’t… Understand? I guess?”

Bucky runs a hand over his face. “I’m just not ready to live together yet, sweets.” He says softly. His face is grimaced as if the words pain him.

Join the club, you think. “Can I ask why? It seems like the next step, you know? We’ve been together for a year. I figured we’d move in together, start talking about marriage. Our future.”

Bucky’s eyes flash to yours. You hadn’t even thought it was possible, but it feels like your heart drops even further. “Do you not want to get married?” You ask slowly.

“I don’t know.” Bucky answers hesitantly. “I never planned a life. I never thought I’d get all this.”

You know he’s trying to make you feel better about the situation, but his words only hurt you more. “So being with me hasn’t made you think about your future at all?” You question. You think those words are what breaks you. The tears come rushing to your eyes and your face is hot with a mixture of anger and hurt.

“That’s not what I meant.” Bucky’s getting upset too. He’s clenching and unclenching his fists, something you’ve learned he does when he’s stressed. “I just meant I’m not sure what I want.” A beat of silence. “Shit. I mean-“ He groans in frustration and you sigh.

“I know I want you. A future with you.” You say quietly. You move to the close the box, key still inside, before shoving it into one of your kitchen drawers. “So, I think you should figure it out. What you want. So I know whether or not I should move on.”

Bucky watches you with tears brimming his own eyes. “Sweets-“

“I think you should go home, Buck.” You cut him off in a gentle tone. “Think for a few days.” You begin to move towards your hallway, ready to fall into your bed.

“Like… Like a break?” He asks tightly making you pause. You look at him over your shoulder and shrug.

“If that’s what you want to call it. I think you just need some time to figure out what you want for yourself. If it’s not me, that’s okay, but you should know.” You look back down your hallway. “I deserve to know too.”

You wait until you hear your front door slam shut to fall into your bed. When you notice Bucky’s shirt draped over your vanity chair, the tears come.

Not how you imagined your summer starting.

˚《

The month of June goes by, blossoming into July and Bucky doesn’t reach out. You’re heartbroken over it. Though that doesn’t sound like the right term because it really feels like your heart has been torn from your chest, but there wasn’t really a word for that.

You know you were the one who had suggested the break, but you figured he would have cared for you enough to give you a formal break up. Had you really ever known Bucky? What had gone wrong?

“You weren’t with Bucky yesterday!” Janet gushes when you stop in front of her booth. Your heart cracks at his name. “He always has such sweet things to say about you! Why don’t you two come together anymore? Your work schedules mess you up?”

Your eyes flash to her in confusion. Had Bucky not told her? “Janet… We broke up.” You say quietly. You’ve mastered the art of sounding cold when explaining to your friends and neighbors Bucky wouldn’t be coming around anymore.

She shakes her head like you’re not telling her the truth. “He was just talking about how he was trying to learn his mama’s famous peach cobbler recipe to make for you.”

“Must be another girl.” You say in a heated tone. “I haven’t spoken to him in weeks.”

She frowns. “He said your name, darling. That I’m sure of. Called you his girl and everything, just like he always does.” She explains softly.

“He’s delusional then.” You hiss. You stomp away from her cart. You’ll apologize to her next week, but for now, Bucky has somehow managed to ruin your day.

˚《

There’s a knock on your door that night. Your heart almost stops when you recognize the pattern that Bucky always led with.

When you check the peephole and confirm it’s him you almost don’t open the door, until you notice the tin-foiled dish in his hands.

“What are you doing here?” You ask harshly before he can say a word to you. You lean against your door jam, effectively blocking him from setting foot into your apartment. “And what is that?”

“A poor attempt at peach cobbler.” Your pulse quickens. “And I’m here to apologize.” When you look up and see the sincerity in his eyes, you sigh.

“Come in.” You step aside and he smiles gratefully as he steps past you. He places the dish on your counter and turns to face you nervously.

You stand still across from him. You had never thought you would feel this awkward around Bucky. “I’m sorry for… for hurting you that night.” He starts off quietly. “And for not reaching out, but you were right, I did need to figure my shit out.”

“You could have told me that.” You say softly. “Hey, you’re right! Let’s take a break and figure stuff out. Going ghost on me? That broke my heart, Buck.” You cross your arms over your chest like they’re a shield.

“I know.” Bucky says in the same apologetic tone. “I just… I was embarrassed because I made a fool of myself. Because I wanted to say yes. You have no idea how badly I wanted to say yes, but I was too scared to.”

You shake your head. “Scared of what? It’s me, Buck. I love you. You know I love you.” You hadn’t imagined having this conversation with him and you can’t keep the emotion out of you voice.

“What if you see parts of me living together that you don’t see now that make you not want me?” His tone is resembling that of a broken man, one you’ve only heard stories of.

The Bucky Barnes you know is healing. He’s charming, soft and intimidating but full of life and happiness. Not this. It breaks your heart and against your better judgement, you reach out to cup his cheeks in your hands. “There isn’t a part of you I won’t love, Bucky.”

“I still get nightmares. So bad I wake up screaming and unable to breathe.” He says softly. “It takes forever to get out of them.”

“I’ll hold your hand and help you through them.” You say without hesitation. “Bucky. The point of a relationship is to grow together. I want to do that with you, do you want to do that with me?”

His hands reach up to grip yours. You almost sigh in relief at the feeling of his hands in yours after weeks without it. “I do.” He says steadily. “Can we… Can we not be on a break anymore? I miss you.” He admits quietly.

A part of you thinks you should pull back. He had hurt you and you were still upset. But another, larger part of you, missed him more than he had hurt you.

“Yeah.” You say after a moment. “No more break.” You pull him towards you. He meets you readily in a kiss.

˚《

By the end of August, Bucky’s got a drawer full of things in your bedroom and his books have started to overcrowd your coffee table.

You communicate better. He shares more about his nightmares with you. He talks about the future he sees with you, one with a family and dogs in the backyard of the house he hopes to build.

You’re still nervous to bring up moving in together again. In the end it doesn’t matter though, because Bucky is the one who brings it up.

“Can we…” He starts nervously one night as the two of you eat dinner. “Would you want to talk about moving in together again?”

You look up at him a little shocked by the question. “What do you mean?” You shake your head. You know what he means. “Do you?” You ask quickly.

He nods slowly. You can see his nervousness in his tense jaw and clenching and unclenching fists. “I would like to move in together.” He’s talking kind of robotically, like he’s been practicing the words so they came out perfectly.

It’s sweet, you think. The gesture makes you laugh softly. “I would like to move in together too.” You reach across the table and wrap a hand around Bucky’s wrist.

His shoulders drop and you move to unclench his fist. “Yeah? You would?” He asks, less robotic in tone and more excited.

“Yeah.” You nod in confirmation. Bucky gives you a bright smile that’s impossible to not return.

Come fall, Bucky’s given up his apartment and has got an entire bookshelf taking up room in yours.

| Summer 2027 |

It’s July again and Bucky wants to propose.

Over two years together and the Farmer’s Market feels like the perfect place to do it. It’s where you had met and had become a daily part of your guy’s routine.

The only issue is, he’s pretty sure you’re thinking the same thing. Not that you’re onto him, that you want to propose too.

And, okay, Bucky is all for what women have accomplished in the almost century he’s been alive, truly. But proposing is his thing, it just is.

You had been the first person the say I love you. You had been the one to originally ask him to move in together. He wanted nothing more than to be the one down on one knee with his mother’s ring that he had begged and begged some museum curator to give up.

Which ultimately means, he has to beat you to it. So his plans are a little rushed. He had originally wanted to do it at the end of summer, when fall was rounding the corner and leaves were turning brown, but July would work.

July was when you had gone on some of your first dates and was when you had shared your first kiss. July was meaningful and July would work.

“Are you okay?” You ask as you absentmindedly run your fingers over the apples in front of you. Bucky’s eyes shoot up to look at Janet behind the stand, who smiles at him knowingly. You turn to look at Bucky with raised eyebrows. “You’ve been fidgety all day.”

Bucky lets out a fake cough. “I just feel a little off.” He lies. It’s a poor lie and it makes your lips quark up at the corner.

“Want to go home?” You ask, already stepping away from the apple stand. “We ca-“

“No!” Bucky’s hands grip your shoulders and he forces your to stop. You smile at him in question and Bucky quickly drops his hands back to his side. “I mean, no. Probably just allergies.”

“Uh-huh.” You say in obvious disbelief. “The super soldier suddenly has allergies.”

Bucky sighs in defeat. “You know, don’t you?” He asks and you laugh softly. Your hand finds his and you interlock your fingers together.

“Only because you left the ring on the counter last night and I saw it when I went to get water.” You say apologetically. Bucky drops his head so his forehead rests against your shoulder and lets out a groan.

You press a kiss to his temple before nudging him away. “Ask me.” You urge softly. Bucky wants to say no, that he wants to do it right, but this seems almost fitting.

You were what pushed him to be better, so maybe it made sense for you to be the one who pushed him in this too. He wasn’t sure he would even be able to without it, honestly.

He sucks in a deep breath before dropping to one knee in front of you. There are gasps of people passing by, but Bucky keeps his eyes on you as he pulls out the ring. Resized and cleaned, ready for your finger.

“I have a speech so just, bear with me. Okay?” A smile spreads across your face as you nod. “This is the third summer I’ve spent completely in love with you. I didn’t know I could feel this way about someone. Sometimes I’m still shocked that you wake up everyday and choose to be with me. But I promise I don’t take it for granted. Not for one second because I love you so much and I wake up every morning ready to show you forever. And I… I um.” Bucky swallows. “I had more planned, but I’m so nervous and I just want to ask you already.”

“Ask me.” You whisper with a bright smile. A group has gathered around you two by now, everyone murmuring in excitement but you and Bucky can only stare at each other.

“Will you marry me?” Bucky asks softly. He can see his hand shaking as he holds out the ring to you even though there’s no doubt in his mind that you’ll say yes. “Please?” He tacks on for good measure.

You nod quickly, holding your left hand out to him. “Yes. Yes. Of course!” You cheer. Once he has slipped the the ring onto your finger, you pull him up by the collar of his shirt.

You kiss him without a care in the world. Bucky’s hand comes up to rest on the back of your neck as excited cheers resound from all around you two.

When you pull away you’re smiling brighter than he’s ever seen. Bucky can’t do anything but return it.

His eyes move around the crowd and find Eugene, the man who runs the plum stand. He smiles kindly at Bucky and mouths I told you so. Bucky laughs to himself before pressing a kiss to your head.

This Farmer’s Market was probably the best decision Bucky had ever made.

It had brought him you.

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

notes // what did i say about soft!bucky? that he was all i knew how to write!!

reblogs and replies are always appreciated, especially if you read and enjoyed this piece!

[eat0crow]

I’ve been seeing an increasingly large amount of people get into fic binding lately, which is fucking amazing! I love each and every one of you guerilla publishers! With the history of fandom takedowns, purges, and the bull shit legislation corporations try and start every few years, it’s so good that fics are being given permanency. 

I’ve noticed that fic binders seem to be focused on longer fics, ones in the 50k onward range, which makes sense and is great because these fics absolutely deserve to be put into print! But, the thing is, my favorite fics have almost always been short one-shots, and no one seems to be talking about binding them.

So! I’m gonna show you how to bind short one-shots.

A couple of things before we get started, the method I’m going to show you is called saddle stitching, it works best for works between 5-20k. This method is affordable, utilizing things you most likely have already, and lasts years. (I have booklets that are literally a decade old and still holding strong.)

For longer works Coptic binding is my personal favorite, it’s not only affordable but also produces some beautiful spines. (Video talks about different types of string, but shows off some gorgeous spine work). If you have a little more money to spend on a project, I recommend hardcover binding. I don’t like perfect binding and while Japanese style binding is pretty it’s a nightmare on your margins.

 @armoredsuperheavy​ has an amazing list and perfect tutorial that has everything you need to know about bookbinding and typesetting . The tutorial goes into in-depth detail on exactly what you need to do every step of the way. The only thing I do differently when printing one-shots is that I only have one signature so I  print everything as one booklet. This orders the pages for you.

The most important thing you have to remember is to select flip on the short edge.

Also, add page numbers, trust me when I say it makes everything a world easier.

What I use:

Body text: Garamond 10.5

Meta information: Garamond 8

No gutter

A 1 inch top and bottom margin, and a .7 inch margin on both the inside and outside (Note: If your work is closer to 20k you’re going to need to account for page creep, so I recommend adjusting your outside margin to .9 and your inside margin to .5, this will even out when you cut)

What you’re going to need: 

Mircosoft word—Sorry, I know everyone uses google docs now, but you’re going to need Word in order to print this as a booklet. If you have Adobe Indesign you can use that too, but it’s more expensive.

Card stock or craft paper—Anything 75lbs or more.

Embroidery Floss and Needle. Super cheap compared—and if you have beeswax on hand—the exact same as bookbinding string.

Ruler

Scissors

Craft Knife

Nail file 

Index cards

Clips

Thumbtack

(Washi tape is an extra to add decoration and protect the string, though, if you really want to reinforce the spine duct tape is amazing.)

Okay! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get started.

What you’re going to do is carefully fold your card stock and pages in half, ends flush together, running the edge of your ruler or bone folder, if you have one, over the crease. You’re then you’re going to start placing your pages inside the cover. To minimize page creep, each time you add a page, first push it in place with the needle, then go back over the crease with your ruler or bone folder. It should look like this when done—

You’re going to prep your booklet for sewing next.

What you’re going to do first is open the booklet up, make sure everything lines up as close to perfect as you can, then fold the index cards over the side of the book, to prevent the pages from creasing due to the clips. Then clip them in place to prevent wiggling and make the hole punching easier. Do this to all four sides.

Traditional saddle stitching uses three holes, and you can too, but I like to use seven because it maintains better tension. For my hole guide, I measure 1 and 1/4th of an inch up to my first hole—this leaves me about 1 and 1/4th of an inch between the bottom of my page and the seventh hole. From the first hole, everyone after that is measured 1 inch apart.

After you’ve measured everything, it’s time to jam the thumbtack through the marks you’ve made. The pages have a tendency to move as you do this, so it’s vitally important that all four sides are being held in place with those clips. (If you have an awl, cool beans, they work better.)

For the love of God do not put the crease between your thighs when you start hole punching. I know it’s easier, but learn from my dumbassery and don’t do it bitch!

You should have something like this—

Now it’s time to sew. Which, because I’m weird and love hand stitching, is my favorite part.

I use one strand of floss, folded over for a double-stranded effect. I find this works best because each hole is gone through twice, leaving a four-ply binding. When measuring how much string to use, my rule is double the length of the spine, triple if you’re feeling unsure.

Now traditionally you’re going to start from the inside outward, leaving your tail within the book. I like to leave my tail on the outward spine because I cover it with washi tape. What you’re going to do now, is go in through your 4th hole(Leave around two inches for a tail, more if this is your first time), out through 5, back in through 6, like this—

When you get to seven you're going to follow the same pattern until you get to hole 1, where you will turn and sew toward the middle. When you get to hole 3 for the second time, you’re going to double knot the tail to your string and cut off the ends.

A note about tension, it’s important that you maintain even tension throughout each hole, this takes practice, but it gets loads easier the more times you do it. You want your string to be tight, with just enough give to make closing the book easy. If you have too much tension, over time the strings will wear through the pages. Too little and the pages will move around inside the binding.

Essentially your sewing pattern will be: in 4, out 5, in 6, out 7, in 6, out 5, knot the end, in 4, out 3, in 2, out 1, in 2, out 3, knot.

It should look like this when done—

Now you might notice this along the edge of your book—

That’s page creep. Some people leave it, I cut it away. This is the biggest pain in the ass of the entire process, and I have yet to get a perfectly clean edge any time I’ve done. The only way to get that clean edge is with a guillotine, but I don’t have one, so this is where the craft knife comes in. (If you don’t have one, you can use a box cutter, provided the blade is fresh.)

What you’re going to do now is place your ruler along the edge of the paper you’re going to cut away. Pro-tip, I recommend cutting 1/16th of an inch into the card stock, 1/8th of an inch into the entire edge of the book so that each of your pages have the same starting point, like this—

Becuase my hands shake really bad when I apply tension to them, I stick my book under a sheet of glass, hold it down with a big old book, and use my body weight to keep everything in place.

It’s important that you go slow, cut page by page, and apply even tension from the top of the book down to the bottom.

Now if you’ve done this and still get these little fly aways—

Join the club! Fortunately, they’re really easy to get rid of and smooth out, just use your nail file to sand out the edge.

And that’s it! Congratulations, you’ve bound your very first book!! If you want to hide the spine add your tape, but if not, you’re done, my friend!