#why didn’t i think of this before??? I have pics of my cat taped on my wall around my posters n stuff

[megantheestalliongf]

I saw a video of a woman who framed her cats pictures like people do baby photos and honestly that was such a game changer for me

[echoes-of-the-clockwork]

Book Two: Sapphire (Ignis x Reader) Chapter VII

At the Alstor Coernix Station, (Y/n) was inside the convenience store perusing the many items they had for sale. Ignis has entrusted her with enough gil to buy them some curatives. Their supply was low and needed to be restocked. Glancing out the window of the convenience store, she saw Ignis putting gas in the Regalia while Noctis was chatting on the phone. Prompto and Gladio were eavesdropping on the phone call.

Looking back to the items in stock, she searched the shelves for Ignis' favorite canned coffee-ebony. What caught her attention was a small sign taped to one of the shelves.

*****

Due to road closures, we are SOLD OUT of Ebony Coffee for the foreseeable future.

*****

"Uh-oh..." she mumbled.

"What's "uh-oh"?" Noctis asked as he overheard her when entering the store with Gladio and Prompto in tow. She stepped aside and allowed him to read the sign for himself. His eyes widen and nearly popped out of his head as he read the small piece of paper. "Oh, crap. They're out."

Gladio shook his head in disapproval. "Can't let him see this."

"He'd be crushed." The prince glanced outside to see Ignis finished filling the gas tank and was heading their way. "Shit, he's coming this way."

"What do we do?" Prompto asked panically.

"Nothing," (Y/n) replied. "Iggy will be fine without his ebony for a few days."

"Weren't you the one who said, "uh-oh"?" Noctis asked.

"I was, but it's not the end of the world."

"For you it might not be, but for us..."

"Mama Iggy gets cranky when he hasn't had his ebony," Prompto added. "And he gets really irritated in battle if we don't listen to him."

She crossed her arms. "I'm pretty sure he gets irritated not because of the lack of ebony but the lack of listening you three do in battle."

"Damn, no need to call us out like that," Gladio chuckled.

"Still, Specs isn't gonna like being out of ebony." Noctis looked at the (h/c)-haired girl. "You tell him the bad news, (Y/n). The rest of us will try to get a running start to avoid him. And if you survive, we'll come back for you."

She sighed. "Iggy's not gonna lose his mind and go on a rampage because they're out of ebony! And why do I have to tell him?!"

"He is waaay nicer to you than the rest of us," Prompto responded. "If it comes from you, it'll cushion the blow! You make him...gentle."

"What are you talking about?"

"Listen, Iggy's got a soft spot for ya," Gladio told the petite girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We all can see the way he looks at you, but it looks like you're the only one who can't see it. Sorry to say this, but you're a little dense, sweetheart."

(Y/n)'s eyes narrowed in an icy glare. Her jaw tensed as her slitted eyes focused on the shield. She clenched her fists tightly by her side as her gaze bore into his amber eyes. She watched in anger and satisfaction as Gladio released her shoulder and stepped away from her out of fear. He swallowed in fright when feeling a chill creep through his body. He held up his hands in defeat. "Now hold on a sec, (Y/n)..."

Prompto and Noctis rubbed at their exposed arms, fighting off the chill in the air. They stepped away from (Y/n), their teeth chattering slightly. The two best friends exchanged glances before looking back at the angered guardian. They were too frightened to say anything and kept their mouths shut. Without saying a word, she walked out of the convenience store.

Ignis, who had just entered the store, saw her furious expression and looked towards his friends. "It seems one of you has infuriated (Y/n)."

Noctis and Prompto jabbed their fingers in Gladio's direction and said, "He did it," in unison.

"Shit..." The brute mumbled, eyes focused on the girl who was now outside. "Thought she was gonna tear me into tiny pieces."

"Dude, you called her dense. Don't you think it was a little rude and insensitive?" Prompto asked. "I mean, I would be pissed off too."

"What could possibly insinuate her to be "dense," Gladio?" Ignis pried.

"Oh, please," the brute scoffed. "Don't tell me you're unaware of how differently you treat her from the rest of us? Or the way you look at her? That'd make you dense too, Iggy. Probably even more than her. Do you realize how often I've caught you staring at her when she isn't looking in the last two days?"

Ignis didn't know how to respond. He was aware of his own infatuation with (Y/n), but he never realized how often his gaze would drift in her direction. He must've been doing it more than he noticed in the past two days.

"What? You've got nothing to say?" Gladio retorted after seeing Ignis fell silent.

"Is there a response you're wishing to hear?" Ignis replied.

"Just tryna see if our straight-laced tactician really does have a heart and actually can fall for a woman."

The bespectacled man pinched the bridge of his nose. He decided not to entertain Gladio any longer and left the convenience store. Outside, he found (Y/n) near the Crow's Nest, her attention focused on a wanted poster of a behemoth that was causing trouble in the Nebulawood. The reward was large and tempting for any hunter that was eager to test their strength and earn a pretty gil.

Ignis joined her and analyzed the poster. "Tis a feat fit for royalty."

"Aren't you the one who said to keep the trouble to a minimum?" She asked. "I'm pretty sure a behemoth is a large serving of trouble."

"The large sum of gil is not tempting enough?" He asked.

"I'd rather not be skewered by a behemoth even for a large amount of gil."

"A shame, truly."

She snorted with laughter. "Since when are you the reckless one?"

"I am the most cautious of us all," he remarked. "Regardless, we are in dire need of funds and such a tremendous feat would fill our purses."

"You really think the five of us could take down a behemoth?"

"I believe with our combined skills the beast would still be a formidable foe but one we could eliminate."

(Y/n) looked back at the wanted poster. "You certainly have confidence in our skills, Iggy. Maybe too much..."

"Or perhaps you lack the confidence in our combined strength as a group," Ignis stated, peeking at her from his peripheral vision.

She placed a hand over her chest. "Ouch... That one hurt." She then smiled. "I actually believe we could handle anything that comes our way if we stick together, but even a behemoth could cause issues. And it's not like I'm some large, mighty spirit that could match the size of such an immense beast."

""And though she be but little, she is fierce,"" the advisor quoted. "Such a quote describes your spiritual form well."

"Tiny but mighty, huh...?" She looked back at the image of the behemoth. "Still, we might be biting off more than we can chew with such a large target."

"As per words provided by Noct: only one way to find out."

She laughed. "Yes. His carefree nature truly does suit him well. Let's just hope his carelessness doesn't get him or anyone else killed..."

"Which is why we are accompanying him-to prevent such calamity."

Just then, the two heard a familiar 'click'. When they turned around, they saw Prompto with his camera aimed at them. He lowered the device and smiled innocently with slightly red cheeks. "Just takin' some sweet pics. Don't mind me!"

"Are we ready to depart?" Ignis asked.

"Yep! We're going to the chocobo outpost first, right?" He remarked with eyes glistening in excitement.

"It's up to Noct."

"What's at the chocobo outpost for us to do?" (Y/n) wondered.

"Chocobos!" Prompto squealed. "What else?"

"Don't we have royal arms to find?"

"Well, yeah, but this'll be a quick detour! Once we've ridden the chocobos, we can go back to searching for the tombs. And, of course, see Iris in Lestallum."

The girl sighed in relief. "I'm glad to hear she's safe."

"Me too. Guess we forgot to mention the phone call to you." Prompto lowered his camera. "Now then, let's go!"

Ignis and (Y/n) exchanged glances before returning to the Regalia. The three other boys were already in the backseat, waiting for them. The girl climbed into the passenger's seat and peered over middle console at the blonde in the backseat. "Maybe I should sit in the middle seat, Prompto."

"And let you be squished by these two?" He pointed to Gladio and Noctis. "No way!"

The shield wrapped an arm around Prompto's neck and used his other hand to drive his knuckles into the top of the boy's head. "You sure 'bout that, pipsqueak?"

Prompto struggled against the brute. "H-Hey, you're messing up my hair!"

Ignis started the car and pulled out of the Alstor Coernix Station. At Noctis' command, he drove in the opposite direction of Lestallum and headed to Wiz Chocobo Post. Prompto was able to break free from Gladio and giddily bounced up and down in the backseat. His excitement only escalated as the distance between them and the chocobo outpost shrunk.

The moment Ignis pulled the Regalia into Wiz Chocobo Post, Prompto climbed over Noctis. His excitement caused him to move faster, but he tripped on his own feet as he climbed out of the car. He quickly recovered and ran over to the empty pens.

Noctis readjusted his jacket from where he was trampled by Prompto before exiting the vehicle. Gladio closed the door behind him as did Ignis and (Y/n). She leaned against the car and looked around the outpost. "For a place with chocobos, it's eerily quiet."

"Think this side trip was for nothing?" Gladio asked.

"Best we find the owner of the establishment before drawing any conclusions," Ignis said.

(Y/n) wandered around the chocobo outpost while the boys spoke with the owner, Wiz. She browsed through what the store was offering before departing with a smile. She continued walking around until she was stopped by a large chocobo chick. It pecked at the heels of her shoes before rubbing its feathery body against her legs. Her brows furrowed in confusion as to why it was acting somewhat like a cat. Squatting down, she hugged her knees and poked the top of the chick's head. It 'kwehed' in response, fluffing out its feathers.

Smiling, she petted the top of its head. She had only seen pictures of chocobos and was flabbergasted at the size of the chicks. "You are one big chick, but adorable. And your feathers are soft." The chocobo chick bumped its plump body against her legs and caused her to lose her balance. She fell on her hindquarters and blinked in surprise when the chocobo chick hopped onto her lap. It flapped its tiny wings with another 'kweh' before nuzzling its head against her stomach. "Guess I have to add friendly and cuddly to the list."

While petting the chocobo chick that was curled up in her lap, she spotted movement from the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she saw three more chicks heading straight for her. Their chubby bodies bounced as they trotted towards her. Even a few loose feathers were knocked free and sent spiraling in the faint breeze that blew through the outpost.

The three chicks reached (Y/n) and tried to join their sibling. However, there was only enough room for one chocobo in her lap. The other three opted to snuggle their bodies against her sides and back before taking a nap. The girl sighed through her nose when seeing the predicament she was in. "What do I do now...?"

"Oh. Em. Gee!" A voice squealed. The spirit looked up and saw Prompto with his camera aimed at her. Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis were standing behind the blonde as he took pictures of her. "The chocobos love you, (Y/n)!"

"Where did these guys come from?" Noctis asked the spirit.

"They came out of nowhere and ambushed me," she said, continuing to pet the chocobo chick in her lap. "As you can see, I didn't stand a chance."

Not even a minute later, a woman with a yellow apron ran over. "I'm so sorry about this, miss! The babies escaped their pen. I hope they didn't cause you any trouble."

(Y/n) offered the stablehand a kind smile. "They were no trouble. They're quite friendly."

"They really are," she giggled. "This hasn't been the first time they've escaped. I've tried to come up with ways to stop them, but they're amazing escape artists."

The guardian managed to lift the chubby chick out of her lap so she could stand up. The three other chocobos that were snuggled up against her plopped against the ground when she was back on her feet. The stablehand rounded up the four chicks and escorted them back to their pen. (Y/n) brushed the dirt off her dress and tights before asking, "Did you learn why most of the pens are empty?"

Ignis stepped forward. "Remember our early discussion of the behemoth?"

She froze, eyes widening. "Don't tell me...?"

"It's a beast known to the locals as Deadeye. If we desire to use the chocobos, the behemoth must be dealt with."

Her sapphire eyes drifted over to Noctis. "Let me guess, you took the hunt."

"Yeah. Is...that a problem?" The prince questioned.

"Not at all. Just try not to get you or anyone else killed."

Noctis' opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water. "Wha-? I..."

"You are audacious in battle, Noct," Ignis stated. "Which, mind you, has resulted in the injury of others."

"I am not that reckless," Noctis tried to defend himself.

"Sorry, buddy, but I've gotta side with Iggy and (Y/n) on this one," Prompto said. "You kinda are reckless in battle."

"So are you, blondie," Gladio remarked. "The only ones here who aren't reckless are myself, Iggy, and (Y/n). You two would be skewered meat if it weren't for the three of us watchin' your backs. Maybe you kids should leave the beast slaying to the grown-ups and stay here to play with the birds."

"We aren't kids!" Prompto screeched.

Noctis nodded. "Yeah!"

"Then prove it," Gladio shoves past the two younger boys. "Let's go take down a behemoth."

Noctis and Prompto dashed off with Gladio following close behind. (Y/n) clasped her hands together in front of her as she watched the three take off. "Gladio sure does love to egg those two on."

"Speaking of eggs, I do believe a scavenge for ingredients is in order once we've dealt with the behemoth," Ignis said.

The girl glanced at him in disbelief before laughing. "You would think about ingredients at a time like this. I'll see what I can do once we get back. We better catch up with the others. They won't be able to take down Deadeye without us."

"Yes, let's. Our assistance is always invaluable."

Ignis and (Y/n) left the chocobo outpost and caught up with Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio. They hadn't made it far down the dirt trail located just on the outskirts of the chocobo ranch when they regrouped with the other boys. They skirted around the Nebulawood in search of the entrance, but froze when the sound of snapping trees came from within the stone walls. The ground shook slightly with each tree that fell. It was like a domino effect where one tree would fall and then it would immediately be followed by another.

(Y/n) was pulling up the rear of the group when she suddenly heard the voice that had been haunting her ever since they left Insomnia. Stopping, she looked up at the sky and listened closely to the disembodied voice.

Vessel... Costlemark...

Her eyes narrowed in bewilderment. "Costlemark...?"

Ancient... Worship...

"I don't understand," she whispered. Her attention was drawn away from the voice when the sound of a threatening growl emitted from the Nebulawood. When it faded, she looked back up at the sky in hopes the voice would speak to her again, but it was silent. She promptly caught up with the boys just as they managed to locate the entrance to the Nebulawood.

Before they took another step forward, (Y/n) questioned the boys. "So this is Deadeye's prowling grounds?"

"That's what Wiz said," Noctis replied. "Why? You worried?"

"Not at all. Just do be careful. We don't need a dead prince on our hands."

"Hey, this'll be a walk in the park for us."

She sighed. "You say that now..."

"Wait 'til we actually face the beast before drawing any conclusions," Gladio finished the girl's thought. "Just try not to be an idiot and get your ass handed to you. We can't always be there to save you from all the trouble you put yourself in."

"Okay, I get it," Noctis groaned. "I'm reckless. Damn, you guys never learn how to drop anything..."

"We're simply here to watch your back, Noct," Ignis stated.

"Not to babysit you," Gladio added.

The prince threw his head back with another dramatic groan. He wanted to drop the subject and did so by ignoring his companions and entering the Nebulawood whether they were with him or not. Once a little ways into the rocky, windy structure of Deadeye's prowling grounds, he slowed his pace as he followed the path forward. They were surrounded by downed trees, possibly the ones they heard snapping earlier. From the damage done to the trees, it appeared something large had struck them down.

(Y/n) approached one of the fallen trees, her nose scrunching up when receiving a whiff of something that smelt awful. Gladio noticed her slightly disgusted expression. "What's up, munchkin?"

Ignoring the nickname, she responded with, "I've never encountered a behemoth before, but beasts and daemons all have distinctive odors. From the scent, I'm going to assume Deadeye caused all this damage."

"Behemoths have been known to stroke their bodies against trees and other structures to mark their territory, leaving their natural musk as a warning to other creatures," Ignis informed the group.

"Oh, nice to know," Prompto mumbled.

"Behemoths are territorial beasts. If we're not careful, none of us are coming out of this unscathed. We need to be extra careful in this area, especially since Deadeye has marked his territory," (Y/n) said.

Noctis rubbed the back of his neck. "Guess this isn't gonna be a walk in the park..."

Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || Masterlist

[a-detraque-barista]

How They Mark You

Mentions of mental illness, suggestive themes, stockholm syndrome (only in one of them), yandere themes, and prescribed drug use

This...This was A LOT longer than it needed to be. Like I am so s o r r y

Seokjin

Jin had never really had a reason to mark you. He always figured you being next to him whenever you went out was enough. Until today. The two of you were in the grocery store when Jin had noticed the same person down every aisle you two were in. He couldn't help but think that they were following you. Why would they not? It's possible that they see the same endearing qualities in you as he does. But of course, he wouldn't let them have you if they think they could.

He brushed it off until you were checking out and the same person was right behind you in line. From here, Jin could tell that they were a male, around six foot, and coming alarmingly close to you.

"Darling, what's my pin again? I keep forgetting it," it was all Jin could think of for you to come closer to him and type it in for him while he glared at the man. He supposed the fact that he was near wasn't enough for people to get the picture. So, he quickly brought you home.

After putting all of the groceries away, he turned to you, "Did you notice the creep that was following us in the store?"

"Yeah, but I didn't want to say anything cause I knew that would upset you," you shrugged before sitting on the couch before patting the spot next to you for Jin to sit.

Having an idea, Jin leaned his body into yours to push you down with a grin on his face, "I think I know just what to do to keep people away from you."

You tilted your head which gave him room to lean down and start leaving small bites along your neck and collarbone. You had to stay like that for almost a half hour before he finally deemed it enough.

Yoongi

Yoongi was only really jealous before he ruined your life. Before he made you completely rely on him he was always possessive to the point where he wanted to mark every inch of your skin. But now that you're hear with him, he never had that feeling again.

He rarely let you leave your room let alone the house. Although, every once in a while he would let you go out to the back yard for a few minutes.

It was one of those rare days as you laid on the grass and felt the nice summer breeze on your face. Yoongi had to take a call and went back inside when the neighbor had accidentally threw his ball into your yard. He peaked over the fence to see you laying there, not too far from his ball. He had never seen you before, only the man that he thought was living alone.

"Hey, can you pass me my ball back please?" he called out to you causing you to startle awake.

You hadn't even realized you were dozing off until the man said something. Getting up you walked over and handed him his ball before turning around to lay on the ground.

Curious, he started to talk to you. Asking questions about who were and why he hasn't seen you around. You began to enjoy it before Yoongi came out and grabbed your hand to drag you back inside.

Never had he been more furious than in that moment. Not only had someone dared to talk to you, but he even had the audacity to look over the fence at you.

The next day Yoongi let you sit out wearing a necklace with his initials and a shirt with his name on it for the neighbor to see.

Hoseok

Well...Hoseok has already marked every inch of your skin during your daily cuddle sessions. So it baffled him when someone cat called you while walking past. Your neck was covered in dark purple and red marks. How could he not see that you were taken????

The voice that has been living in his head for years gave him a few notes on how to handle it. It ended in you having to hold Hoseok back by his arm until he finally let up on beating the man's face in. You immediately took him home and locked the door.

This wasn't the first time something like this has happened. Last time the police got involved but with Hoseok's history of mental illness he was able to get out of it quite easily. Just a new prescription of medication that he refuses to take unless you personally give them to him.

So deciding on skipping lunch, Hoseok lead you straight to the bedroom and pinned you down on the bed.

"I'm sorry, jagi. But we're going to have to wait until dinner to eat," he sighed as he kissed his way down your chest.

He kept his promise and you didn't have dinner until almost midnight with a fresh layer of hickeys and cum threatening to drip down your thigh.

Namjoon

You weren't even allowed to leave the house, let alone come in contact with someone. Namjoon was always the one to go out and get whatever you or he needed. It definitely wasn't your preferred living style but what else could you do? Namjoon was able to convince you who you needed and didn't need in your life. Leading you to live with him without anyone knowing.

You were sure nobody knew of your existence except for the people you used to associate yourself with. Which also meant you getting lonely most of the time while Namjoon was out doing whatever he was doing.

But today, you wanted pizza for dinner and Namjoon didn't feel like leaving the house. So Namjoon called and ordered it for delivery. Normally, Namjoon would be the one to answer the door in any situation. However, he had gone to the bathroom right before the delivery guy knocked on the door.

You had thought that it would be no harm to answer the door and pay for the food. You didn't want the delivery man to end up leaving and you would have to wait another hour for Namjoon to cook dinner. So you grabbed the money off the counter and opened the door. Smiling, you exchanged the money for the pizza and was about to close the door when the man began to talk.

"You're really cute. Are you single by any chance?" his question made you freeze and stare at him wide-eyed.

"Uh-"

"Sorry to burst your bubble but I'm the boyfriend. Now, if you'll excuse us we're going to enjoy our dinner and each others company. Have a nice night," Namjoon had been smiling the whole time, up until he closed the door. "What have I told you about answering the door?"

"To not answer it."

"And what did you do?"

"Answered it." Namjoon always did this when you broke a rule. It made you feel small and immature when he spoke to you like this.

"Sit down so I can give you your punishment."

That's exactly what you did. You've learned what happens if you don't. The last time you were disobedient you woke up the day after and you could barely walk and you had scars from the knife he used.

You were surprised to feel Namjoon's mouth on your neck after he pushed you to lay on the couch. Usually you would feel some sort of sharp object. But the closest thing to sharp was Namjoon's teeth nipping at your skin.

"I almost forgot how it felt to be jealous."

Jimin

Jimin rarely let you out of his sight, even if you didn't know he was there. He was the most obsessive out of all the boys. He was more lenient on letting you leave the house, but he almost always followed you. The only time he didn't was when he had to take care of important matters.

And because he was so obsessed, he always had something on you that showed you were his. Either the necklace he bought you or the marks from the night before. Or even his hoodie that was so adorable on you he was running low on his favorites to wear outside.

Yesterday, you had accidentally broken the necklace with Jimin's name on it. You were too scared to tell him so you hid it and pretended like nothing happened. You were just hoping he wouldn't notice before you went out with your friends in an hour.

If he did notice, then he didn't say anything. So you tried to forget about the guilt and anxiety that built up inside you to enjoy the little time you had. Jimin may be okay with letting you see your friends, but it wasn't often. He usually guilt tripped you so you would stay home. And it always worked.

Jimin noticed right away that you didn't have your necklace. So before he followed you he looked for it in your shared bedroom. He found the multiple pieces hidden in your drawer beside the bed. He was hurt and furious at the same time.

Quickly, he put on his black hoodie and snap back to where he knew you and your friends were. He may have been livid but he can't let you find out about him following you everywhere. You would be upset with him and he could never live with himself if you got mad at him. He watched for the two hours he allowed you to be outside.

The two hours were almost up and he was going to head home when he saw someone walk up to you in the cafe. He wasn't an employee, so why was he approaching you?

Jimin pieced everything together when the guy handed you a piece of paper that no doubt had his number on it. Before Jimin could storm across the street and into the building, he watched as you dropped the paper in your water and grabbed your things.

His heart was pounding as he walked up to you and grabbed your arm. He spun you around and kissed you on the lips passionately.

"That's my jagi."

Taehyung

Taehyung had always loved taking photos of you. He had a special collection of photos of just you. First, it started in his closet where he would just tape them onto the wall. Then, it escalated into him having to clean out the spare bedroom and use that for the growing number of pictures. He still kept it up even after becoming friends with you. Of course, he would make sure the spare bedroom was locked whenever you came over to his apartment. He didn’t want you to get scared and leave him.

Once the two of you had started dating, he began to take photos of you with his phone whenever you spent time together. Most of the pictures ended up being posted on his Instagram account.

The two of you had a shared account so Taehyung could keep track of who you talked to and what posts you liked. 

That also meant he knew if someone would comment on a pic of you. Usually either you or Taehyung would ignore it and delete it. But there was a certain comment that made his eye twitch in annoyance.

The photo was of you in a tank top and sweatpants while cooking something on the stove. Taehyung loved that photo. You had been making bulgogi with rice right when he had gotten home from work. He couldn’t help but to pull out his phone and make the shutter go off, causing you to side-eye him.

It wasn’t until the next day when you were mindlessly scrolling on Instagram and you had gotten the notification. Taehyung was still at work so you were just laying in bed. Curiously, you clicked on the heart at the bottom of your screen and tapped on the notification.

i wish she was my girl. at least if she was with me her hair would be a mess and hickeys covered her neck. lol

You internally go Ooohhhhhhh shiiiiiit. You had tried to delete the comment but Taehyung had just walked in so you quickly turn your phone off and tossed it to the side.

“Hey babe, how was work?” you asked.

“Could’ve been better. How was your day?” he began to change from his work clothes into just a pair of black sweats before coming to lay down with you.

“Boring. Why’d you lay down? Don’t you want dinner?”

“Not at the moment.”

You looked at him, confused as he straddled your waist. His hand came to rest on each side of your head on the pillow. He leaned down to start leaving open-mouthed kisses along your jugular and shoulder. Biting and sucking lead to him leaning back from his work. 

Taehyung swiped his tongue over his bottom lip before biting it. He reached into his pocket and brought his phone out to take a photo of your neck. After he tapped his finger a few times on the screen he turned it around to show you. He had posted the picture on Instagram with the caption Mine ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Jeongguk

He was...constantly possessive. There wasn’t a day that went by without him marking your neck or staring at you endearingly with infatuation. You could be sitting there watching tv on the bed and you just see Jeongguk’s head up from the side.

You giggled as you went back to watching the show that was playing. This was the only time you got to watch tv so you ignored him. You had been scared when Jeongguk first kidnapped you and brought you to his family home in the country side. 

He was violent and intimidating, especially when you spoke out. It’s been eight months since then and Jeongguk has proven to be one of the most caring people you’ve ever met. He didn’t talk very much but when he did he spoke words of adoration and compliments. On the rare occasion, he would mumble about things like “she’s mine”, “you can’t have her”, and “you deserved this”. Those were the times you worried about when he left and didn’t come back for a few hours. 

Right now, you were still trying to ignore Jeongguk as he slowly inched his way onto the bed. It took him about ten minutes to get on the bed and closer to you to the point where he was laying on his side only an inch away from you. You tried to keep the grin off your face but failed miserably.

Finally looking at him you asked, “What?”

His round doe eyes stared into yours while he gathered the courage to ask you a very important question. He took a deep breath and the exhale blew a baby hairs from your face.

You gave him time as his shyness usually kept him from talking openly about what was on his mind.

“Can-can we get-get...uh tattoos? Together?” his voice was quiet as he held his stare onto yours.

Your eyes widened a bit as you processed what he had said. He had almost a full sleeve of art tattooed into his right arm while you had only had a few here and there because of how expensive they were.

“I don’t see why not,” you turned back to the tv and squinted at the fact that it was now a whole new show. Your lips turned into a pout as you grabbed the remote to change the channel.

Jeongguk grabbed the remote out of your hands and tossed it across the room. You decided not to comment on it and look at him expectantly. 

“I want to get each other’s names over our hearts.”

That...was definitely not what you were expecting but it wasn’t surprising. Jeongguk had been tracing shapes into the skin above your heart for the past week. You supposed it was his name that he was tracing.

“Do you...still want to get them?” his voice was almost a whisper now as he began to trace over your heart again. 

You stayed quiet as you thought about if you wanted to really get his name tattooed into your skin for the rest of your life. Thinking about it, you smiled and began to trace over Jeongguk’s shirt where your name would be inked into his skin.

“Yeah, I do.”

[3wisellamas]

Just Rewatched Books 1 and 2, here’s a bunch of observations and wild, probably completely false theories!

Because dangit, this is how I get my kicks.

-In The Unfinished Car, it was One who Tulip was ultimately speaking to towards the end.  It was One who expressed guilt over allowing the car to happen.  It was One who she finally convinced to let it go as it was, stop trying to fix everything, and even break the car again to restore the turtle peoples’ way of life.  And, it was ONE, not One-One, who jumped into her arms in the end, and made these particular faces, meaning he probably wasn’t entirely emotionless and robotic as conductor:

(apologies for TV pics on these.  ^^; )

-Also, while One-One normally talks in his two different voices, and even converses/riffs on himself, in that scene before his voices combined back into One’s they were literally finishing each other’s sentences -- syncing up again!  Does this mean that One-One is actually just...out of sync, rather than completely broken? 

-I don’t think Amelia was going to the roof of her old university after Alrick’s death to jump.  In The Past Car, she’s clearly on the ground while the roof...flattens?  She literally watches it disappear right in front of her!  And the train tracks are already in place when she gets up there.  So, it might have been less that the train found her at her lowest point, but that she found the train -- and went right up to investigate it!

-And here’s another juicy Amelia theory:  Throughout Book 1, One-One has a tendency to use the words “gone forever”.  He uses it while telling Tulip what will happen when her number reaches zero (making her think she’ll die, when really he just means leave the train forever), then he uses it a second time while in Amelia’s tape, describing “Amelia” (actually Alrick, remember we were led to believe she was Alrick at first), who IS dead.  And the final usage is after Tulip has her exit restored, and One-One says again that she’ll be “gone forever”, but, in this case, he clarifies that that’s a GOOD thing.  So, what if, when One learned about Alrick from Young!Amelia, he used that same phrase, telling her he was “gone forever” -- One meant this as a comfort, maybe even a misguided attempt to convince her she should be happy he’s gone (like, it was One’s way of saying “He’s no longer in pain”), but to Amelia, it’s just reminding her of why she’s on the train in the first place.  Thus prompting...you know.

-Okay, last observation about that damn Amelia tape:  While in there, The Cat mentions that the memories are recorded as the passenger stores them, meaning there may be biases / misremembering / other things that not only change the memories to trap passengers in them, but also change what VIEWERS would see as well -- like how Amelia kept the memory of her wandering the streets after her husband’s death “at a distance”, which prevented Tulip from getting close.  So...what if more elements of Amelia’s tape weren’t 100% accurate, due to misremembering things, convincing herself certain things were true when they weren’t, maybe even her age or the tape itself degrading over time, etc?  Maybe even Alrick wasn’t remembered 100% accurately, with her grief clouding her memories and making him seem like a different, more ideal person?  (I’m bringing this up because MAN did I have a realization later on...)

-After Atticus was turned into a Ghom, the first thing he did was attack Tulip, but he hesitated, allowing her to escape -- as if he remembered being her friend.  And, then, when he was freed from the tube, right next to both Tulip, a passenger whose nice tasty life he could suck out, and the Steward, a robot, the first thing he did was attack the Steward.  Just as he was trying to do before getting Ghom-ed!  So, I think it’s safe to say, that, if the Ghoms really are transformed denizens, they still possess some memory of who they used to be and what they were doing before they were transformed.  So...what does it say, then, that every non-Atticus Ghom we’ve seen has been trying to kill passengers (and NOT hesitate and let them go)?

-Tape Car time.  So, if that’s the only car with its universe projected on the OUTSIDE, then that not only means the train, the wasteland, etc are all fake and part of the car’s projection, but...also the Engine, the control console, and One(-One)?  Does this mean he was a fake conductor, too?

-And then, to make this even more of a mind screw...the Mirror World is apparently NOT a creation of the train, since MT / Lake has been with Tulip since the beginning even in the real world, and she was eventually able to leave the train -- when it’s shown that train-created items (like, say, the device Jesse was wearing when he got his first exit in the Mall Car) CANNOT go through exit portals.  (But, then, for some reason, the handcuffs Mace had slapped onto MT also didn’t go through the portal with her?  Meaning they were from the train?  IDK.)  Point is, though, the Chrome Car is a projection of the train, which itself is not real, as a projection of the Tape Car...but it’s connected to the Mirror World, which is connected to both the real world and the train?  Does this mean the real world is part of the Tape Car’s projection as well?  Is this a damn Matrix situation?

-There’s more Mirror World emergency services than just the Flecks -- remember the two paramedics that showed up in the Chrome Car to take care of Mirror Atticus and Mirror One-One?  I honestly wonder now if they used to be reflections as well, who chose to keep their memories but not be cops?

-Alright, this is my most out-there theory, but I gotta say it.  Mace and Alrick look slightly similar, at least as similar as a human and a featureless reflection cop can look -- the square jaws especially.  And his voice also sounds a LOT like Alrick doing his robot voice with that modulator.  So...maybe a connection there?  Mirror Alrick decided to keep his memories after his death?  I know I’ve seen this theory floating out there before, so it’s not new, but I just had to add it.  But, then, another implication if this is true:  Did he do this to keep remembering Amelia?  And...Mirror One-One wasted no time at all in getting a hold of the Flecks, maybe because they’ve been keeping in contact with him through that car, and Amelia by association?

-Now, for the inside of the Tape Car.  Specifically...what the hell is this thing?

That...looks a little like One.  And during that scene in which MT / Lake is wading down the canal towards the tape -watching room to get her number, the camera actually focuses on this thing for a few seconds -- not enough to really call attention to it, but enough that now that we’ve seen One himself if stands out on a rewatch.  So, what is it?  It looks kinda like it’s watching over the whole Tape Car, with its one eye light thing?

I’ve got two theories that kinda work together on this one, neither of which are very likely considering I’m probably just taking a small background detail way too seriously, but come on, I’m having fun:

-If the inside of the Tape Car is the only real part of the train, and even One(-One) himself is fake...then that’s the REAL One, overseeing the train’s core operations but not interacting directly -- that’s what all the other robots, including One-One, are for.

-I’ve always kinda had a feeling that there’s a Zero to go along with One -- come on, it’s an obvious joke, what with robots running on binary and passengers needing to get their numbers to 0 and whatnot.  So, for now, I’mma call that thing Zero.

-One last Amelia Takeover Theory.  We know, from the Tape Car, that One-One is pretty hands-off about a lot of the train’s operations, his lack of hands aside -- he doesn’t seem to actually visit the Tape Car until something goes wrong there, and grabs his attention -- like Lake smashing up a few Porters.  So...why were One and Amelia there in the past?  Sure, two passengers boarding at the same time and sharing a number is unusual, but One even says it himself, it’s no big deal, on the train anything can happen.  So, why WERE they there?  Maybe it’s because something happened with Amelia in that car...like her waking up before the number-engraving process was completely finished?  (And she smashed a Porter for good measure?)

-Things required to wake a passenger, according to One-One:  Robots, coding, and juice boxes.  (Things required to wake a passenger, according to Lake:  Flicking them on the forehead with metal fingers)  What if one of the actual purposes of the Stewards is to manipulate the pods and wake the passengers inside, and then slip out unnoticed so they can start their journey?

[birlcholtz]

How about snowy and parse?

S N A R S E

okay so. it starts after That One Game. you know the one. the one where parse rushes the goal, almost injures snowy, and promptly gets dogpiled by half of the falconers and a decent number of aces as well (to be fair, his teammates weren't aiming for him). tater yanks him out of it by the jersey, parse feels a little too much like a lost kitten, and then all of a sudden he's halfway across the ice (tater pushed him)

WELL. that night parse watches a replay of it on espn because he doesn't know how to take a break from hockey and he's like oh damn. oh damn i really did almost hurt snow. that's rough. and he decides he's gotta figure out some way to talk to snow so he can apologize

so he instagram DMs him 

(let it be known parse's instagram is about one quarter thirst traps, one quarter pics of him and kit, and fully one half of just kit. snowy doesn't post as often and he's a bit more professional about the whole thing— like, lots of pictures with teammates, pics of the rink and of cool places in providence, but his captions are works of art)

snowy also posts the occasional espn screencap of tater in the sin bin and chirps him brutally in the caption. once he quotes cell block tango and the approximately 10 people who are into both hockey and musical theater go wild

okay enough about their respective instagrams. my pOINT is that parse ig dms snowy, who is mildly ashamed to admit (to himself, not out loud, never out loud) that his genuine first thought was 'wow kent parson is sliding into my dms'

and parse is like hey sorry i rushed you in that game, didn't realize how risky it was until i saw a replay later

and snowy can't help being his sardonic self and winds up sending back something witty and then parse replies and then snowy replies again and before either of them know it they're having a Conversation that they're actually?? both enjoying??

at one point snowy admits he likes cats and he immediately regrets it because parse sends him 6 videos of kit immediately, like within 5 seconds, but then he watches the videos and finds himself unwillingly liking them and then he finds himself requesting more and snowy is like what the fuck is happening in my brain but parse supplies 8 more cat videos and he watches all of them and comments on each one

he also reveals his sister has a cat and parse makes him promise to send photos and/or videos next time he sees her

they DM each other all the time until they finally just exchange phone numbers and at one point parse is like snow. dustin. can u facetime rn i need ur thoughts on kits halloween costume and snowy's like sure why not and that starts a tradition of facetiming every so often that eventually becomes less and less about kit

snowy is preeeeetty sure that jack and parse were together in juniors but he's never confirmed it because that's not his business you know? but he finds himself thinking more and more about whether parse might be into guys. but pride night w the falcs happens and he finds himself sending parse a pic of his newly rainbow-taped stick and adding 'best stick tape' after it

a few minutes later parse replies with a thumbs up and says 'i firmly agree' and they both breathe a little easier

also a few days later snowy accidentally likes one of parse's thirst trap pics from 6 months ago (shirtless pic on the balcony of his apartment) and he immediately unlikes it but it's too late parse sends him a screenshot of his notifications with the most recent one being snowy liking that post, and he also sends a ;) and snowy's like oh. my fucking god. and he replies 'jealous that u actually get to see the sun year round'

and parse reads it and starts typing and stops typing and starts typing and stops typing and eventually thinks 'fuck it' and sends a whole string of winky faces

so snowy's like fine. let's do this. and then this string of conversations happens:

snowy: jack what's your process for taking thirst trap selfies for instagram

jack: what's my process for... what???? what's a thirst trap

snowy: never mind ask bitty

snowy: tater how do i take thirst trap selfies for instagram

(tater is a lot more helpful and snowy relates his conversation with jack and tater chirps jack endlessly for it. at one point jack is like I'M ESL TOO TATER and tater's like YOU HAVE DEGREE FROM SAMWELL. IN THE UNITED STATES.)

so a few days later snowy (with mild trepidation) posts a fairly subtle post-workout pic (jack may not know what a thirst trap is but that doesn't mean half his instagram isn't full of them. snowy has observed the techniques of the master)

his comments explode but he doesn't care. parse likes the pic and snowy screenshots it INSTANTLY (he may have been constantly checking his notifications for this specifically) and sends it to parse like 'not so smug now are you' and parse spends literally 10 minutes trying to come up with a witty response

anyway eventually the sexual tension explodes, neither of them are out so they still have to be kinda. under the radar. but sending cat pictures is their love language, snowy funnels some jam and pie to parse, they argue about kombucha, half their conversations are still chirping but we all know what chirping is, eventually parse does meet snowy's sister's cat and it's amazing, they're approximately the same size so they do share and swap clothes (never anything with team logos on it, even once they're out, because the Disloyalty), jack is literally never questioned about his history with parse again because everyone's more curious about what it's like when parse and snowy play each other. especially since parse is a forward and snowy is a goalie. (there are some truly horrific 'score' jokes made in both locker rooms, and by horrific i mean so unfunny that they're hilarious)

tater is not allowed to answer questions about parse and snowy anymore because once some reporter did ask him and he said 'good for them but i think snowy can do better' and it went viral (bitty texted him 16 crying laughing emojis)

holidays and vacations with parse and snowy look like this: sweatpants in the winter and matching sunglasses in the summer, falling asleep together on the couch, cat toys literally everywhere, more arguing about kombucha, parse teaching snowy the finer points of instagram thirst traps and immediately regretting it, watching terrible horror movies together, adopting more cats

you have two wolves inside of you. one says 'parsnow'. the other says 'snarse'. also known as help i'm laughing my ass off about 'snarse'

okay so. it starts after That One Game. you know the one. the one where parse rushes the goal, almost injures snowy, and promptly gets dogpiled by half of the falconers and a decent number of aces as well (to be fair, his teammates weren't aiming for him). tater yanks him out of it by the jersey, parse feels a little too much like a lost kitten, and then all of a sudden he's halfway across the ice (tater pushed him)

WELL. that night parse watches a replay of it on espn because he doesn't know how to take a break from hockey and he's like oh damn. oh damn i really did almost hurt snow. that's rough. and he decides he's gotta figure out some way to talk to snow so he can apologize

so he instagram DMs him 

(let it be known parse's instagram is about one quarter thirst traps, one quarter pics of him and kit, and fully one half of just kit. snowy doesn't post as often and he's a bit more professional about the whole thing— like, lots of pictures with teammates, pics of the rink and of cool places in providence, but his captions are works of art)

snowy also posts the occasional espn screencap of tater in the sin bin and chirps him brutally in the caption. once he quotes cell block tango and the approximately 10 people who are into both hockey and musical theater go wild

okay enough about their respective instagrams. my pOINT is that parse ig dms snowy, who is mildly ashamed to admit (to himself, not out loud, never out loud) that his genuine first thought was 'wow kent parson is sliding into my dms'

and parse is like hey sorry i rushed you in that game, didn't realize how risky it was until i saw a replay later

and snowy can't help being his sardonic self and winds up sending back something witty and then parse replies and then snowy replies again and before either of them know it they're having a Conversation that they're actually?? both enjoying??

at one point snowy admits he likes cats and he immediately regrets it because parse sends him 6 videos of kit immediately, like within 5 seconds, but then he watches the videos and finds himself unwillingly liking them and then he finds himself requesting more and snowy is like what the fuck is happening in my brain but parse supplies 8 more cat videos and he watches all of them and comments on each one

he also reveals his sister has a cat and parse makes him promise to send photos and/or videos next time he sees her

they DM each other all the time until they finally just exchange phone numbers and at one point parse is like snow. dustin. can u facetime rn i need ur thoughts on kits halloween costume and snowy's like sure why not and that starts a tradition of facetiming every so often that eventually becomes less and less about kit

snowy is preeeeetty sure that jack and parse were together in juniors but he's never confirmed it because that's not his business you know? but he finds himself thinking more and more about whether parse might be into guys. but pride night w the falcs happens and he finds himself sending parse a pic of his newly rainbow-taped stick and adding 'best stick tape' after it

a few minutes later parse replies with a thumbs up and says 'i firmly agree' and they both breathe a little easier

also a few days later snowy accidentally likes one of parse's thirst trap pics from 6 months ago (shirtless pic on the balcony of his apartment) and he immediately unlikes it but it's too late parse sends him a screenshot of his notifications with the most recent one being snowy liking that post, and he also sends a ;) and snowy's like oh. my fucking god. and he replies 'jealous that u actually get to see the sun year round'

and parse reads it and starts typing and stops typing and starts typing and stops typing and eventually thinks 'fuck it' and sends a whole string of winky faces

so snowy's like fine. let's do this. and then this string of conversations happens:

snowy: jack what's your process for taking thirst trap selfies for instagram

jack: what's my process for... what???? what's a thirst trap

snowy: never mind ask bitty

snowy: tater how do i take thirst trap selfies for instagram

(tater is a lot more helpful and snowy relates his conversation with jack and tater chirps jack endlessly for it. at one point jack is like I'M ESL TOO TATER and tater's like YOU HAVE DEGREE FROM SAMWELL. IN THE UNITED STATES.)

so a few days later snowy (with mild trepidation) posts a fairly subtle post-workout pic (jack may not know what a thirst trap is but that doesn't mean half his instagram isn't full of them. snowy has observed the techniques of the master)

his comments explode but he doesn't care. parse likes the pic and snowy screenshots it INSTANTLY (he may have been constantly checking his notifications for this specifically) and sends it to parse like 'not so smug now are you' and parse spends literally 10 minutes trying to come up with a witty response

anyway eventually the sexual tension explodes, neither of them are out so they still have to be kinda. under the radar. but sending cat pictures is their love language, snowy funnels some jam and pie to parse, they argue about kombucha, half their conversations are still chirping but we all know what chirping is, eventually parse does meet snowy's sister's cat and it's amazing, they're approximately the same size so they do share and swap clothes (never anything with team logos on it, even once they're out, because the Disloyalty), jack is literally never questioned about his history with parse again because everyone's more curious about what it's like when parse and snowy play each other. especially since parse is a forward and snowy is a goalie. (there are some truly horrific 'score' jokes made in both locker rooms, and by horrific i mean so unfunny that they're hilarious)

tater is not allowed to answer questions about parse and snowy anymore because once some reporter did ask him and he said 'good for them but i think snowy can do better' and it went viral (bitty texted him 16 crying laughing emojis)

holidays and vacations with parse and snowy look like this: sweatpants in the winter and matching sunglasses in the summer, falling asleep together on the couch, cat toys literally everywhere, more arguing about kombucha, parse teaching snowy the finer points of instagram thirst traps and immediately regretting it, watching terrible horror movies together, adopting more cats

[steves-on-a-plane]

A Whole New World

Title: A Whole New World  Words: 1380 Content Creator: @steves-on-a-plane Square Filled: Castle Walls  Rating: G Pairing: Bruce Banner x Reader Warnings/Triggers: none Summary: Reader hasn’t been to Disney World since she married Bruce. They’ve been together for years but now she’s starting to have “Disney Withdrawals.” Bruce suggests a vacation may be in order and Reader gladly takes him up on the offer. Link: @brucebannerbingo

“It’s getting pretty late.” You thought to yourself. A quick check of your watch told you it was just after two in the morning. You looked to the empty spot in the bed where your husband, Bruce, usually slept. Bruce was still up and working in a different part of the house because he thought that’s what you were doing too. He thought this, because you told him that you’d be up in bed working late into the night. You’d been trying to work, at least earlier on, but you kept getting distracted by more interesting things. Things like the entire internet.

Your current distraction were several tabs each open to various sections of the Disney World website. It was no exaggeration to say you were a big Disney fan. You had all the movies on DVD or BluRay and somewhere in the attic you even had an impressive collection of VHS tapes. Over the years you’d collected trading pins, Mickey ears, plush characters and other toys. You even used to visit the parks every year but that was before you met Bruce.

“Are you still working?” Bruce yawned. He’d appeared so suddenly in the doorway. Apparently you hadn’t heard him walk up. He crossed the room and sat in his usual spot in the bed.

“Hmm? Yeah…Or no not really I suppose.” You sighed closing your laptop.

“Got stuck in a loop of cute cat videos? That happens to me all the time.” He joked, rolling his eyes.

“Basically, yeah.” You agree. “Which is too bad because I really need to get this research to my boss by the end of the week.”

“Well you’ve still got some time. It’s what…Wednesday?”

“It’s past midnight so it’s technically Thursday now.” You groan. “I need a vacation.” You add mostly to yourself.

“We should take one.” He said.

“One what?” You looked over at him.

“A vacation. Didn’t you just say you need a vacation?” He asked.

“Yeah, I did.” You nodded. You moved your heavy laptop from your lap to the table by your side of the bed. “But I don’t mean like last year when our vacation was staying out home for a week with our phones turned off.”

“What did you have in mind?” He wanted to know.

“Well, I used to go to Disney World all the time before we were engaged.” You told him.

“Yeah, I’ve seen all your pictures on Social Media. I never really thought to ask why you stopped going.” He confessed guiltily.

“When we were dating, I just went without you. I assumed it wouldn’t be something you’d be interested in. I mean you’ve never been before.” You explained. “When the Avengers first assembled you were so busy that year, you didn’t really take a weekend off let alone a vacation. That was the last year I went.”

“But things settled down after that.” Bruce reminded you. “The team figured things out after the first year or two. I’ve been able to take vacations or extended breaks since then, but it doesn’t matter why we didn’t go in the past. We should go now.”

“Now?” You asked him.

“Well not right now, but this year. We can go whenever you want.” He promised.

“Are you sure? It’s not really your kind of place. Large crowds, Amusement park rides, overpriced fast food. Should I continue?” You questioned.

“Darling, anywhere you are is my kind of place.” He declared

“You’re so cheesy.” You teased him.

“Well I’m serious. We should go!” He insisted. “We could both use the vacation and it seems like Disney World means a lot to you. I’d love for you to show me around, to let me see the place through your eyes.”

“I don’t think you understand what you’re volunteering for here, but if you mean it, I look into booking a vacation tomorrow.” You said.

“Don’t you mean today?” He joked.  

“Ahhhhhh, do you smell that Bruce?” You exclaimed before inhaling another breath of ferns, moss and sunshine.

“Smell what, Florida?” He asked, wheeling his rolling luggage behind him. You’d just been dropped off by a car service at the hotel you’d be staying at for the week.  

“Yesssss.” You sighed with delight. “Isn’t it wonderful?” You grasped the handle of your own luggage and began pulling it along towards the Hotel Lobby.

“I’ll take your word for it.” He chuckled. Bruce was enjoying seeing you so excited. He couldn’t imagine what you’d be like once you got to the actual parks. “Have you stayed here before?” He asked, following you inside the hotel.

“No, but It’s always been on my list! Don’t worry, most of the Disney Hotels are set up pretty much the same so I’ll still know how to get around. Concierge and check in there, Restaurant there, Gift shop over there, a pool somewhere.” You pointed out the various amenities that you could identify from the front door.

“You really have got this all figured out.” Bruce nodded in approval. He let you continue leading the way to the check in desk where you and a Cast Member named Meghan made sure everything on your reservation was in order. Meghan then offered a map with your room number on it and sent you on your way.

“The faster we unpack the faster we can get to the magic!” You announced, pulling Bruce off to a nearby elevator.

“Now that I can smell.” Bruce was standing on the sidewalk at the front end of Main Street eagerly sniffing the sweet scents in the air. “What is that?” He asked you.

“It’s a combination of the popcorn cart at the entrance of the park, the candied and caramel apples being hand made at the Confectionery and the vanilla scent they pump into the streets.” You explained.

“Pumped into…They pay to force scents into the air? No wonder they charge over $100 a day.”  Bruce wasn’t sure if he was impressed or offended by this idea. He decided not to dwell on it. “Where to first?”

“Pirates of the Caribbean!!!” You exclaimed before charging through the crowd. “Oooh but first, castle pic!!!”

You stopped in the middle of Main Street where a Photopass Cast Member was standing by a camera and tripod. Bruce smiled shyly for the camera and you snuggled up close to him, thrilled to have your favorite man in your favorite place. The rest of the day continued on much in the same way with you excitedly bounding from one end of the park to the other and back again. All the while Bruce followed along happy to have his own personal tour guide.

He listened as you squealed with delight as your boat plummeted downwards on the Pirates ride. He watched you talk excitedly with Gaston during your meet and greet. You both laughed when the Beauty and the Beast villain threatened to steal you away from your husband. He enjoyed the lunch you booked at an Italian Restaurant called Tony’s. It was themed after the same restaurant from Lady and the Tramp. And despite the large copper statue of the two titular dogs at the center of the restaurant, Bruce was surprised by how well decorated the place was.

As your first day at Disney World drew to a close, you and Bruce were herded along with several hundred guests standing directly at the front of Cinderella Castle, waiting with eager anticipation for the nightly fireworks to begin. Bruce studied your face, glowing from the soft yellow atmospheric lights around you. Your smile widened as you told him all about the secret hotel room hiding inside the castle. He brushed a loose strand of hair out of your face, not hearing a word you said. How could he? All he could think about was how beautiful you were and how lucky he was to be there with you.

“What?” You looked up at him, noticing him staring at you with a far-off look.

“Nothing.” He said, wrapping an arm around you and pulling you in close. He planted a kiss on the top of your head. You barely heard him whisper “I love you.” Before the park’s speakers will filled with a fanfare of music. The fireworks show was about to begin.

[queerbycrs]

so... i’m not finished writing this yet, but since apparently the idea is So Popular going by @iamalivenow‘s post, i thought i’d... lay out the basis of my the magnus archives good place au? vague spoilers up to current canon of tma (ep 120) and definite spoilers up to the end of s2 of the good place

my basic thought, at first, was that this isn’t a “full” tgp fusion -- it would incorporate elements of tma canon, and involve various kinds of amnesia. so, the characters are tormented by not remembering bits of their lives, or remembering things that line up wrong, or having flashes of memory that don’t make sense.

so, in this au, the characters already knew each other in ways that are similar but not identical to canon. that’s part of the reason elias-as-michael is so confident it’ll work out: that idiot michael just threw together some humans and hoped they’d click perfectly horribly. these people have history, and it’ll torment them or just be informational, as required.

so, elias is michael, obviously. pre-redemption. (my thought for this is that the torture actually works so it never proceeds to the actual plot of tgp s2-onwards, so no need to figure out how it would work with elias. alternately, the humans go off through the afterlife without architectural assistance. who knows)

i’m not set on who janet is, but i might go with the suggestion of distortion? because that sounds hilarious, honestly

and there are def soulmates in this au, because it makes things ALL THE MORE PAINFUL. from most-to-least solidly formed ideas:

basira and daisy. basira remembers a picture-perfect life on earth, fifty years of marriage, dying in each other’s arms.

daisy remembers being a serial killer and trying to hide it for years until basira caught on and daisy killed her in a fit of rage, and spent the rest of her life regretting it.

neither of them have accurate recollections. but according to their first day in the good place, basira is correct, and daisy doesn’t know what the hell is going on or why she’s here, with the love of her life, who she thought she killed in the biggest mistake of her life.

(basira prolllllllllly doesn’t belong in the bad place, but elias prolly just snatched her up for his Evil Plans. no one better to torture daisy with, right?)

next: martin and jon. they remember working together, in... an archive? or something? and martin was in love with jon, and jon was oblivious.

well, the official matchmaking systems of the afterlife have chosen! you’re the perfect match for each other! have fun!

martin is completely blissed out at first! it’s wonderful! he spent all those years in hopeless love, and now he gets to spend eternity with the man he thought could never love him back!

and at first, jon is actually... okay with it? he’s a little nervous, because he’s never had a relationship that didn’t crash and burn (okay, sample size of one, but that says a lot in and of itself) but it feels so easy, at first, and it’s... okay. it’s nice.

but then his memories start to get... weird. he has dreams of the archive where he worked, except it’s... different. he remembers worms, and running, and a man’s body on the floor of his office.

he remembers a tape recorder, and he starts recording here, too. just in case.

eventually, as jon’s paranoia starts to build and build, things start going bad for martin, too: he’s having nightmares too, of worms and crushing loneliness, and jon is retreating and won’t talk to him, and this cute older guy who works at the kayak rental/canoe group/scuba-diving-but-without-equipment-because-we’re-dead-and-don’t-need-to-breathe place keeps hitting in him and he’s kind of into it and he feels Really Bad about it

and then i get to, like, melanie and tim and georgie, and in this version of the au i don’t know what to do with them, so i would probably pair up melanie and tim -- their respective responses to stress don’t work well together, at All, so i guess if the tension started turning up they’d probably torture each other pretty effectively.

which leaves georgie. and i’m thinking, maybe elias just doesn’t know how to torture her. she was added to his carefully-planned group without advance notice (probably as a test, those goddamn suits in the department don’t understand how difficult and complicated this is--) and so he just. tells her that her soul is perfectly complete on its own, and she has the admiral for company, but she doesn’t have a soulmate.

georgie’s like, sweet. she can live her best life (afterlife) and hang out with her cat that will be with her forever! this is awesome.

(the admiral probably died of natural causes a few years before, after living a full and very happy life; it got a lovely afterlife until georgie arrived and they got to hang out again. this is how it is for all pets. don’t @ me you know i’m right and i will not take suggestions)

it’s not perfect, because elias just keeps throwing Problems at her to see what’ll stick. but she’s doing pretty good.

alternately:

basira/daisy, and

jon/tim. tim’s reaction to jon’s paranoia is probably a lot more external than martin’s is, which probably leads to some nasty fights. jon probably thinks tim is turning against him, it’s a whole big mess. tim might get seduced away a couple times to increase his guilt and add some depth to their bad relationship, because this is Literal Hell.

melanie/georgie, because Wrench Thrown Into Plan, had to make some adjustments. there’s probably some memory mismatch and external pressure, but it’s not too bad.

martin is a complete person who needs no soulmate to make his afterlife perfect. not a monk, like jason (elias scoffs at the heavy-handedness, the unsubtlety of that.) just perfectly fulfilled in solitude.

he probably gets fully seduced by peter lukas, aka mr. “kayak rental/canoe group/scuba-diving-but-without-equipment-because-we’re-dead-and-don’t-need-to-breathe place” guy. and then there’s a lot of, “oh god this was a mistake what will we tell our soulmates” from peter (externally) and a lot of “i’m going to be alone for literal eternity and even my hookup doesn’t know about it, because it’s so unusual to not have a soulmate” from martin (internally.)

looking at it now, version 1 does seem better and more thought-out, so if i do actually progress with this i’ll prolly go with that. but hey, if someone wants to run with version 2... (or one, idc really) please do, i will love it.

SO. onto: demons!

you know in the beginning of tgp season 2, when michael is doing the pep talks to the demons and one of them keeps asking if he can bite the humans?

okay, that, but with jane prentiss

she just wants to infect them. just a lil. just a few worms in their houses, even

(elias screams internally. why are his demons so incompetent.)

nikola is a mannequin in the windows of one of the stores in the cute little town. she moves... just a little bit... whenever you look away (like a weeping angel.) she probably shows up in people’s houses in the middle of the night and stands at the foot of their beds. when elias is asked about it, he assures them that it was just a nightmare.

there are so many spiders in this afterlife. martin loves it. nearly everyone else... does not.

jude perry owns a pizza place with a classic pizza oven. it’s... weirdly hot in there? (”she spent all her years on earth perfecting this pizza,” elias explains to someone who feels like they’re dying of heatstroke. “she adapted to the heat. it would be cruel to take it away from her.”)

the pizza is delicious, once it’s burned the roof of your mouth to bloody strips

mike crew runs the skydiving/flying place. the humans don’t understand why it’s so painful and weird when they do it. they’re clearly just doing it wrong! why don’t they try again. and again.

not!sasha is there, and sasha isn’t. (i don’t know, i can’t think of how it would work.) (maybe she kept throwing a wrench in elias’s plans so he didn’t want her in his neighbourhood.) she’s soulmates with some random demon and is probably out there, idk, tormenting people with weird uncanny valley.

she runs a wax museum, like the museum in tgp s2, when the gang goes to the real bad place and it has plaques for the first person to do some petty bad thing (telling a woman to smile, sending an unprompted dick pic, flossing in an open-concept workplace, etc.) the wax figures also move in creepy ways, just a little bit.

i’m sure once i write this i’ll flesh out more of the demons, but one last thing:

who is mindy st. clair, you ask?

my answer is: it’s not one person. it’s gertrude and gerry.

but how, you ask? isn’t that like, a really special, one-time thing?

well, dear reader, for one thing, points and afterlife designations work differently in this au than they do in tgp, for practical reasons of getting all the characters i care about into hell. and also, the system doesn’t make sense.

so gertrude and gerry either a) both evened out the points (and medium places aren’t very uncommon) or b) this is an au where you can be “claimed” by the good place or the bad place at random, and neither place wanted them. either/or.

the thing is, though, that the medium place is not meant to be torture. and for the vast majority of people, being alone for eternity with only the most mediocre entertainment and literally nothing to do? is torture.

for mindy, she was incredibly self-centred; being alone is fine. she doesn’t mind being around other people for short periods of time, and she probably wants to get laid, but she’s okay in her own company.

most people are not. and obviously we don’t actually know much about gertrude and gerry’s relationship, but what i’m going to guess is that they didn’t hate each other, or especially like each other, but they aren’t each other’s favourite person, either.

thus, the best person to spend eternity with for absolute mediocrity, they can both be alone when they want and also have company when they need to not go completely off the deep end.

and that’s what i have so far.

and here’s a bonus if you read this far: i also started writing a tgp magnus archives au, where michael (tgp michael) got the gang together in s3 by sending them all to the magnus institute to give a statement. i have most of eleanor’s statement written. still not sure what i want to do with it, but there you go: fusion-ception, an au both ways.

[serendipity-angel]

He asked me about you today and I got tongue-tied. Have I really moved on, am i still hurting, am I ready to start anew, questions went on and on. It was easy to say yes and no now because we do not talk anymore. But I wonder whether it’ll change when we see each other eye to eye. Heck I’m even scared that day will come not knowing what I’d feel when I finally see you looking at me.

I didn’t know I was still hurting until I realised how I talked about you and what happened. Maybe downsizing the real pain was a def mech, but these days it all comes crashing on me. Random things —bus rides, doughnuts, burgers, grocery stores, etc— are tickets down memory lane. I remember your favorite burger shop. I remember you promised me you’d treat me a box of krispy kreme because you had 1.0 in one of your subjects. Heck, I even remember that time you asked me to help you with your assignment on Rizal. I remember telling you I wanted to go to the grocery with you just to make a fool out of ourselves eventhough we need not buy anything. Maybe along that line when I was so consumed with the thought of being with you, you were already drifting away.

I knew it when I rode that jeepney away from you that I have already lost you. You told me you love me but you chose being with her. You have to “stick to her,” as per your own words. Love is a choice, bes, and I guess I am not yours.

I was ready to let you go. In fact I deposited the money for the book you ordered for me in your bank account. It was my way of saying goodbye. It was the last straw. I wanna end 2015 without any regrets, without any debts. I wanna start 2016 with a clean slate. I felt lighter. I felt I could go on with my life without you anymore. There wasn’t even an “us” to begin with. You were just someone I met in the internet while I was bored. You were just a stop along the way, not the destination itself. I could on with my journey. Thanks for the ride. But why do you have to come back?

I have accepted your return, opened my arms once again. But I am guarded because I knew one day you’re gonna leave me again. You’ve done it once. Nothing would prevent you from doing it twice or more. And I know you’d be doing it again soon. Still, I was blinded by my feelings. That, maybe, this time, you’d choose me.

We talked. For months we were back again to how we’ve been before. You’re the sole person on my call logs, chats, messages, skype. My world has started to revolve around you again. “If you won’t sacrifice for your dream, your dream will be the sacrifice.” Deym. I gave up pursuing my other dream to pursue my fantasy with you and again, I ended up making the wrong choice.

You broke up with her. You said your mom did not like her for you. You said a couple more reasons why you and her won’t really work out. Okay, fine. I get it. You both were done. It’s okay for us to talk again. You did not have to hide me anymore. We tried to meet up again. Twice, I guess, same place. We were okay. I knew we were. I was ready to fight for you. I was just waiting for the right time. I don’t want to hold back anymore because I know we can give more than what we gave each other. But you said it’s not yet time. You said you want to focus on yourself first. Okay. Agreed. But I tried, bes, God knows I tried.

I said I love you. I told you I want to be with you despite what had happened. I’m over it now. I want to work on us. But you said you did not feel anything anymore. “Iba ‘yung nararamdaman mo sa nararamdaman ko,” your exact words. Did I pressure you when I confessed? You said I did. Okay. You did not have to reciprocate my feelings. It’s okay. I’m okay. I can bear with the pain again so long as your happy. I don’t wanna be a burden so I did not brought it up again.

I’ve been to places just to forget about you. I went on a trip to Calaguas, three days two nights with no internet, no phone signals. But you were still the one I want to be with. As I laid down by the seashore watching over the starry sky, tears just ran down my eyes. Why can’t we be together? Why can’t the two of us happen? I don’t want to lose you. It’s the first time I’ve met someone I can voice out literally anything that comes to my mind. It’s the first time I’ve felt so exposed to the world. I don’t want to lose you so I have to set aside my feelings for you. I badly want to be with you I’m willing to be just your friend. No more expectations. No more feelings. It’s hard, bes. But I have to let these feelings go to be with you, to not be a burden to you.

When I returned from the trip we talked less. Texted, chatted less than we do. But I know you’re online. I always wait for that green bubble on your pic to disappear on messenger before I fall asleep. We’re not talking but you’re online until dawn. Maybe you’re just outside playing whatever online games you want. Maybe you were just out with your friends. Maybe you were talking to someone. And really, you were.

You don’t have to tell me for me to know. I just knew. I felt it when you turned cold. I felt it when you give me short answers. I felt it when it took to long for you to reply on my messages. I felt it when you suddenly disappeared again. I already knew it, bes. I was just waiting for you to confirm my hypothesis. I was waiting for you to be truthful to me. I want to hear it from you. So I waited. I was still hopeful everything was just made up by my silly mind.

We planned to celebrate our birthdays together. Maybe you were planning a surprise that’s why you did not contact me for a month or two. Maybe it was just that. My gifts for you were ready. I even prepared a video for you. I don’t even know how to give it to you. Pasensya na ha? Ito lang muna ‘yung afford ko. Wala pa kasi akong pera at trabaho.

12midnight, I texted you using my new number greeting you a happy birthday. I knew you didn’t know it was me. Thanks for the reply. 2359H, Night before your birthday ended, I messaged you. I want to be the first and the last one to greet you. So I did. It was a lengthy message inclusive of me telling you how I did not know how to give my present for you and so on. It was your reply that will forever be stuck with me.

“I already have someone, bes.” I already have someone. I already have someone.

Finally, the cat is out of the bag. And that my friend, is how my world started crumbling down. There were cracks already. I tried to tape it together. I tried to control myself. But what’s meant to happen, will always do.

Unfair. Life is so unfair. I thought you don’t want to have any romantic relationships? I thought you want to focus on yourself first? I gave you the space that you wanted. But why did it mean someone else filling in? Oh. Silly me. Probably you never wanted me in the first place. Ha-ha.

What do I have now with me? I gave up my dream to pursue you but I have nothing now. It might be because I have nothing that’s why you did not want to be with me.

July 11, 2016. I was at a coffee shop in BGC and i messaged you. Can we meet up? It’s my birthday today. Can I at least see you for one last time? Please. Just a little birthday treat for me. I’ve got news for you too. I came by from a job interview. I think I got in. I think I am not nothing anymore. Please? But nope. You no longer have time for me. Thank you for making me realize this. Thank you for this birthday gift.

I let myself mourn for this loss. Losing you was like losing a part of myself. Well, I never had you in the first place. It was okay to mope around for the first few months but I promised myself I will never let you destroy me again. To prevent death of the entire basket of fruit you have remove the spoils. A part of me, the part that opened up while you were around, has to die for the whole me to survive.

I was thankful for the distraction. I was thankful I did not have the time anymore to think about you, about the pain I was going through. There were days I thought it was all over but there were dark days I knew I have to dance with my demons. Everyday has become a routine of killing any feelings I have felt for you. Love, hatred, anguish, anger, denial. Everything has to go but indifference. In the morning I face different patients, different walks of life, take care of them, help them live, save their lives. In the evening I drown myself with bottles of vodka or soju or rhum just to kill the thoughts of you so I can sleep.

It has been almost two years since we last communicated. I knew you were still out there, probably happy with her. Probably building your life together. But I am here, and I made myself whole again. Funny how dying was the only way for me to live again.

‪I have loved you more than the days we have actually spent together. For years I have been on the sidelines watching you love her, care for her. It was liberating finally seeing you eye to eye without having to feel that heaviness on my chest. I am finally free. ‬

Circa 2017

[we-work-hard]

Room 117

Pairing: AJ Styles x Shane McMahon (younger AJ, current-day Shane)

Summary: Some guy called Shane checks into a rundown motel in the middle of nowhere early one morning. He gets a visitor...

Notes: Young AJ training for CWF matches on YouTube inspired this - he's so cute and lithe and luscious. Also, Shane’s *heart eyes* on Talking Smack (RIP) whenever he looked at AJ sure didn’t hurt (neither did thirsting over Twinky AJ with @llowkeys – ~love you, girl~)

Warnings: Adultery, a slight little tiny bit of Daddy Kink, mention of religion, voyeurism.

Cutie-pie Twink AJ 

Daddy Shane

Room 117

“Were these the towels for 117?”

I roll my eyes up from my book to stare Nate down.

“Uh, I guess.”

“When why the fuck are they still here?”

“...Because you fucking work here and I don’t?”

“Yeah, you don’t work here, but I let you come over and cram for your finals in MY office-”

“Nate-”

“I asked you to do ONE thing to help me out, Marianne- why didn’t you tell me before I let the room?!”

“Okay! Jesus, shut up – I’ll take Mr Big Stuff the towels already!”

“Goddammit, lower your voice!” Nate hissed, as if the guy could hear us from a floor up. Christ.

“Room 117-”

“I’ve got it!”

I grabbed the pile of scratchy towels out of his hands and stomped out of my hotshot Night-Supervisor-Brother’s ‘office’, wishing I’d tried to study through the night at home instead. Office? More like ‘front desk of a rundown Super 8, out in the middle of nowhere’. Servicing probably five guests per night, at the most. Usually truckers. Or creeps.

Not this 117, though. He’d checked in about an hour ago while I was sat behind the desk with Nate, who’d been blowing bits of chewed up flyers at me through a straw while I tried to read. Even douchebag Nate – who claims to have seen everything there is to see while working the early morning shift - looked taken aback by this guy walking into such a shitty place at 2pm to get a room.

As I take the stairs outside to the first floor, I’m a little nervous about having to wake 117 up to hand over these crappy towels. Though he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d get angry or mean.

Mr Shane Jones is the name he gave. Short silver hair, big brown doe eyes, and olive skin. Totally daddyish, if you’re into that stuff, and really, really polite. Gentlemanly, even. It’s like he somehow got lost on the way to a big business meeting in New York and ended up in the middle of Bumfuck, Texas. He’d arrived by cab with no luggage, paid for his room in cash – a pic of his pretty wife and kids on show when he’d opened his wallet. He has no fucking business staying in a place like this. With that shiny suit jacket, and the tight jeans, and the flashy sneakers? Who the fuck is this guy?

I mean, he looked kinda familiar, which is weird, because there’s no way I would have run into him before tonight.

I’d interrupted him paying for the room to ask if he was lost – to which Nate told me to “Shut the fuck up” under his breath – but Mr Jones’d just laughed and shaken his head, before bidding me and my brother a good night, saluting us with the keycard as he left with a sleepy smile.

Nate figured someone with money like that, clearly out of town, might be here to deal. Or to bring back a girl – or a group of girls – from the strip club not far from here as a scummy treat for himself. Guys come here to do that shit all the time, Nate says. I figured he was too wholesome looking for that. Nate told me I’m naive as fuck about what goes on at this time of night, and who does it. Whatever. I don’t believe daddyish 117 with the gold wedding band would do that.

I walk along the gritty windows and rusted railings of the first floor, counting down the room numbers in my head as I approach 117. Huh – Shane still has his light on. A glow spills out from his window onto the balcony – I can see the curtain inside has rucked-up by the bottom left hand corner of the window, furthest from the door. The little bit of light cuts in and out as it hits me at hip level. He must be walking around in there.

Okay, so, I can knock on his door, and give him the towels...

...unless he’s just showered, and is stomping around the room with his dick swinging around, looking for what I’ve got under my arm...

I pause and think. He won’t notice me checking if I bend down to look through the window real quick... And, I don’t mindseeing some daddy-dick tonight, if it happens to be swinging around in there. I’m a grown-ass woman (sort of). His wife won’t know I saw it. Plus, I’m nosy as fuck about what he’s up to. I quietly drop to my knees and peek through the curtain, holding the towels across my lap so they don’t get on the dirty floor. I figure he doesn’t deserve dirty towels, poor guy – he’ll probably already be getting some contagious skin disease from the sheets.

Shane’s not alone in there. He’s talking to someone.

I sit back on my heels, surprised, then look back – who has he got in there with him?

***

I nosily settle in to figure out what’s going on, at this time in the morning. Shane – still in the clothes he’d arrived in, and wide awake – has stopped to stand in front of the bed with his back to me slightly, and he’s with a younger man, way younger – early twenties, I think – who’s definitely not rich.

This one is dressed like the young guys who cut the lawns at my college: loose, worn jeans, black t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. He looks like cute local trash, who probably pumps weights with his equally-dumb friends at the Y, and yells at girls from his beat-up truck. He’s kinda short – shorter than Shane by about five inches - but built, with smooth tanned skin, short brown hair. A cute snub nose and pouty lips, light blue eyes. Hoop earrings pierce both lobes.

Shane is trying to push money into his chest, urging him to take it. I’m legit disappointed – is this guy dropping off drugs? Is this what Shane travels out to the sticks for, in shitty motels? But the younger guy is shaking his head, and pushing the money away, looking down and sighing, frustrated.

Not enough?

It’s not drugs.

Maybe it’s sex.

Family man Shane, travelling here tonight to order-in some rough trade... ? The young guy sure is sweet, in a backwoods redneck way... maybe Shane likes that, too. I feel myself flush in embarrassment about what could be about to happen – I should probably leave these towels on the doorstep and let the ‘transaction’ run its course, if that’s what’s taking place...    

But then I see the younger guy smile – a cute, crooked smile – and step closer, taking Shane’s left hand to place on his own face. He rubs into Shane’s palm with his eyes closed, like a cat. Shane softly chuckles at that, and the boy opens his eyes to grin back at him playfully, but a little wistful too. Oh my... they love each other, just a little?

I watch Shane stroke at the boy’s mouth with his thumb, hesitantly at first, until it seems the soft touching isn’t enough for him. He pulls the guy in and kisses him; the cash he’d tried to give falls to the floor, forgotten.

How do they know each other; how did they meet? Does Shane’s wife have any idea? Curious and fascinated, I can't help but lean in closer to watch them together through the window. They don’t notice me. All they care about is touching each other.

I’m frozen into watching everything that happens between them in that room.

***

Shane is whispering fervently to the younger man between longing kisses, lost in passion for the boy who’s come to meet him. In return, he nuzzles into Shane’s mouth and pulls at the collar of his shirt, his brows furrowed cutely in desperation. I notice that his wrists are strapped up with white tape, like he’s just got back from lifting the weights that keep his arms so thick, and his shoulders rounded with muscle. He looks sweated out under his rumpled clothes already, too, like he hasn’t had time to shower after a workout.  

The back of his shirt says ‘AJ’ in big gold letters – and I don’t know who would wear a shirt with their own name on it... But AJ is his name. It’s what Shane mouths over and over again each time their lips pull apart: “AJ”.

AJ sways forward and pushes his tongue further into Shane’s open mouth, before pulling back to lap at his lips, hands now in Shane’s silvering hair to keep his mouth on his. I can faintly hear Shane growl as he presses a thumb into the soft skin of AJ’s throat at the feel of his tongue, as the touching unexpectedly turns rough; possessive.

Shane forces AJ down onto the bed with a grunt, yanking his t-shirt up to scramble at the buckle of the younger man’s leather belt, then the metal button, and zipper of his jeans. AJ tries to pull his shirt off all the way, enthusiastic and happy to get naked. His belly button winks as the smooth muscle of his midriff flexes, but Shane slaps his hands back and orders him to leave the shirt on. Not yet. Something changes in AJ’s eyes, like a switch flips. He looks at Shane like he wants to do whatever he’s told tonight. Anything, if it’s asked of him. It makes my legs clench together at how hot that thought is.  

Shane nods at him, eyes fiery and firm, and goes back to roughly tugging the boy’s jeans down – he’s wearing tight black and white satin shorts under his pants, also with ‘AJ’ written on the side. Is the luscious guy Shane’s tearing into working as a stripper? But then I see the kneepads, and shin guards strapped to his thick calves (which stay on after the jeans are pulled down over them and off). I figure it out when I see the large gold crucifix spill out from under AJ’s shirt.

Big gold crosses next to the logo – CWF. The flyers Nate had been tearing up in reception to chew up and spit at me. Christian Wrestling Federation.

He’s a wrestler! And a good Southern Christian wrestler, at that. Who’s being roughly stripped of his ring gear by a married man at least 20 years older than him in a motel room right now.

AJ warily grabs the cross in his palm to hide it from Shane, as though he’s ashamed of what they’re doing while he wears it. But the sight of the crucifix seems to turn Shane on even further – he pulls AJ up by the chain and jams his tongue into the boy’s mouth, forcing his jaw wide open to accommodate him. He grips the waistband of AJ’s lycra shorts and pulls them down with no care to AJ’s comfort, taking a black jockstrap with them, over the kneepads, down past the shin guards and off. AJ gasps and moans at the feeling of his exposure.

AJ’s so aroused after the rough treatment and tongue-filled kisses that his thick dick is leaking a clear slick over his belly. A drop drips slowly down the shaft to seep into the dark pelt at the base of his cock. Shane pushes AJ to the bed by his wrists to stare down at his dick with hunger. The intense focus makes AJ writhe against the bed in embarrassment, his chest flushing red under the pulled up shirt. He whines in his throat.

“Shhh, baby. It’s okay,” Shane murmurs while letting go of AJ’s wrists. He gently rubs his fingers along AJ’s Adonis belt and through the hair of his crotch, making him undulate and moan Shane’s name almost sorrowfully.

“I want you to feel good – do you feel good?” his older lover asks soothingly, swiping up a thumbful of the liquid leaking from the head of AJ’s cock. It makes AJ jerk with a moan – Shane rubs the creamy fluid onto the pads of his own fingers. “So good...” he says, pushing the fingers through AJ’s lips, and hooking them into his mouth. AJ’s hips come off the bed in alarm, but more fluid leaks from his penis; I see it get even stiffer. He likes this.

“Aww, I know that tastes good, baby,” he says to AJ’s muffled affirmation, “but I’ve got something you like even better,” he promises, pulling his saliva-covered fingers out of AJ’s slack mouth to undo his own belt and zipper.

So far Shane’s remained fully-clothed, and even now only pulls his underwear down to take his cock out over his undone fly, getting on the bed on his knees by AJ’s face. He grasps AJ up slightly by the neck, gently this time, to bring his face closer to his crotch. AJ struggles to push himself where Shane wants him, thrilling at getting what he came here for. He gladly opens his mouth for Shane, bobbing his lips onto the cock and grasping the base in his fist. The back of his head is supported by Shane’s thigh while he works up and down, Shane stroking the hair back from his forehead and breathing shakily, almost as if he’s indulging AJ by letting him do this to him.  

AJ’s t-shirt has steadily worked its way up to bunch under his armpits, and it’s damp with his sweat. Shane rubs down the boy’s pecs and stomach, and AJ moans around the thick cock nudging at the back of his throat and stretching his lips open, sucking it harder with his eyes squeezed shut in pleasure and concentration. Shane shifts to move his hand further down AJ’s body. But to my surprise, he bypasses his crotch entirely.

Instead, his fingers sink into the meat of AJ’s thigh, grabbing to tug it up towards him, pulling the young man’s legs open. AJ is lapping his tongue at the thick pink head in front of him, but stops to look at what Shane’s doing with hazy unfocused eyes. His head is pushed back onto Shane’s dick with a grunt and a quick squeeze to the back of his neck.

While AJ continues to suck, Shane breathes hard and reaches to rub between his legs; the firm-looking flesh of his inner thighs, and the soft skin behind his balls, which makes AJ’s body jump. Shane rubs harder, and AJ’s legs quickly close around his hand in reflex.  

***

AJ might not be ready for this – and who knows how far they’ve gone before now – but Shane seems to have decided what he wants from AJ tonight. He pulls his hand out from between AJ’s legs and slaps one of them, lightly.

“Open your legs for me, baby – let me touch.”

AJ keens in response. He pulls his legs open slowly, but he shakes. He’s pushed his face in towards Shane’s groin for comfort, holding Shane’s cock against this cheek. He’s biting his own lips.

His body shakes more and his chest heaves as Shane’s fingers explore between his legs and back – it’s like he’s holding his body stiff to keep his own legs apart. I can see Shane’s fingers stroke past the base of his penis, down past his balls, back to the softness of AJ’s perineum – he pushes his fingers up against the skin and massages it, which makes AJ moan and give a slow lick to the cock pressed against his face, unthinkingly. Finally, Shane’s fingers make it to the furled skin of AJ’s opening, which he lightly taps – AJ shudders with shame at being touched there. A dark and wanting smile flutters across Shane’s face.

He growls and pushes AJ off his lap and over onto his stomach roughly, pulling his hips up and tugging the thighs apart – he slaps AJ to keep them like that. I see AJ grab a pillow and push his face down into it, wracking with sobs and gasps at this humiliation Shane is putting him through. Shane crawls further down AJ's body and lowers his head to lick and suck the skin between AJ’s legs, holding his hips, before digging his tongue into him, then smoothing it out and over AJ’s entrance; holding the cheeks apart while AJ tries to writhe away from his wet tongue.

I’m shocked at seeing this, but still can’t look away. AJ’s back undulates as Shane grasps and slaps him over and over while he kisses and licks, opening him up, tearing cries and shudders out of the man under him.

Each time AJ pushes into the bed and away from Shane’s mouth, or struggles from side to side in a bid to get away from his tongue, Shane slaps one of the thighs under him and pulls them further apart to dig in deeper. AJ’s skin is flushed and slick with sweat, his black t-shirt still wrenched up under his arms, sticking to him. I can see his hands clenching into the pillow he’s hiding his face in, fingers opening and closing as Shane moves his tongue in and out of his young tight body.

Shane works in earnest to open him up, and AJ’s hips start to move faster down into the bed with urgency, fucking the bed while Shane tongue-fucks his hole. At this, Shane quickly drags himself away and hits AJ one more time across his thighs, hard. I can faintly hear AJ cry out and see him jolt as a deep red hand print spreads angrily across his skin.  

I’m panicked at what I’m seeing, but Shane pulls him over onto his back and firmly rubs up and down AJ’s body, murmuring passionate sweetnesses to him, kissing away the tears that streak AJ’s face. AJ clings to him; dick still stiff with arousal, redder at the tip. He’s been leaking down onto the duvet; his upper thighs, hips and belly are smeared with his own pre-cum, and his inner thighs are shiny with Shane’s saliva, which Shane touches with his fingers. AJ forces the hand further between his legs and back, and Shane looks at him in question.

“Touch me,” AJ throatily croaks out, squeezing his eyes closed in shame at what he wants so badly.

“Yeah,” he hisses as Shane pushes fingers against his opening, hard.

“Tell me, AJ.”

“I want it, Shane. Want your thick dick in me, not just in my mouth this time.”

He looks up at his older lover like his own words about the sex they’re going to have are turning him on even more. It has the same effect on Shane.

“You want me to fuck you tonight, AJ?” he breathes over AJ’s mouth, sucking his full lower lip and biting it when AJ moans.

AJ turns his head to the side with a grimace at the naughtiness he’s about to let out.

“Yes please, Daddy,” he forces out as I gasp at his words, “I want you to fuck me tonight.”

...

[defunctblogtobedeleted]

8/9/19 1:15am Super Update 2/?

Yknow I really thought hard about naming this one “there’s something about mary.” it would’ve been delightfully tacky, right? Maybe not.

Nah.

Anyway, first let’s start off with tempering some of that unabashed dicksucking I just did. I still feel overweight. I don’t feel Fat per se, I’m gaining a little bit more confidence in myself (especially now that I’m hooking up with girls again), but I don’t really feel as attractive as I was a year and a half ago. I’m much Happier, don’t get me wrong, but it is a simple truth that I’m not quite as sexy as I was then. Baby steps, we’ll get there.

Anyway.

So here’s where we’re at then. Super skinny me, doing karaoke every week, I think I’m still blonde, Mary asks ME out, we start fucking. She’s delightfully kinky, and the way her pussy would writhe as she came and squirted on me every time is something I’ll never forget, for sure. Like it would do this squeezing and pushing motion like something in the back was popping forward and rolling onto me. Very unique. Super hot lol. Quite a mess, but I loved it of course.

Resumed, 8/10/19 12:56 AM

Sorry, had to take care of some patients and then I got distracted watching twitch the rest of the night. Mostly it’s laziness. But pacing these out seems at least a little more respectful to put the amount of thought and reflection on each that they deserve lol. 

I’m also gonna try to dig up the paper-diary posts that I was writing at the time. They’re hidden in some notebooks so I’ll try to go back and find them and insert them where they’re appropriate retroactively.

So Mary. Mary was fun. I remember her making me chicken noodle soup when we hung out and got wine drunk at her place before having lots of raucous sex. I remember getting snowed in at her place and building a snowman with her the next day, pouring wine onto the snow on the roof of our cars and eating it off like little wine popsicles. Mary and I were never exclusive, she made it abundantly clear that she was seeing other people. In fact, she was seeing one guy in particular who she was like... dating? Who I Think was under the impression that they were exclusive or something. In so many words, I was her side hoe lmfao. It was fun. I’ve already written about how we had phish concerts in common and that was enough to make me feel like she really got where I was coming from in a way not many people did. Plus she had these two cute kitties and a whole fuckton of vhs tapes of old 90s movies we used to watch. Had a nice day of watching Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

Mary always did fun little songs at karaoke. I remember she would do “I’m Just a Squirrel” to the tune of No Doubt, and whenever she Really couldn’t think of what to do and was a little drunk she’d do Tequila Wayyy before that meme guy happened this year. It was hilarious, I get why people freaked out about that guy, but she beat him to the punchline for me. 

But she was also into doing a lot of drugs and having sex with a lot of people. So while it was refreshing to be a side hoe it was also only just a bit disconcerting lol. I do my best not to judge though, I’d probably be doing the same tbh. I think just coke freaks me out just because I don’t Like it. 

I can’t remember how we got on the subject, but somehow or another Mary ended up finding out about my cat tail butt plug. I suppose it’s because I brought my sex toy box over to her place and it was in there. But when she found out about it she thought it was amazing and wanted to try too. I think it was just some random day, I suppose I could try to pull up the picture dates, but one day we hung out at Walkers drinking for a while, drove out to an Adam and Eve, got her a nice little black fox tail plug, and then I finally got to live out my fantasy of having sex with a tail on WITH me also getting to wear my tail. Holy fuck it was some of the best sex I’ve ever had in my life. Like absolutely beastial. I remember her meowing at me a lot, I literally came like 6 times after fucking for about 3 or 4 hours. Just pounding the fuck away at each other in every position imaginable. hahahahah holy shit at one point I leaned over the side of the bed to grab some more lube as I was fucking her doggystyle, but accidentally repositioned my knee onto my tail, pulling it out of my ass REALLY quick. One of the worst feelings, like it just ripped out. and then to make matters worse later when we finally finished and I tried to help her pull hers out I kinda just Yoinked it and did the same thing to herrrrrr hahahaha SHE DIDN’T EVEN SLEEP IN THE BED WITH ME. omfg yeah she left to go get a drink and never came back, and I couldn’t tell if she was furious or just too drunk and passed out on the couch. In the morning she didn’t remember being mad and said it was amazing sex though, so it was a relief to know it was the latter. And she posed up for me and let me take some amazing pics :3 It became the start of a furry tail self-porn folder that I’ve cultivated only slightly and solidified my fetish completely and entirely. 

Ah unfortunately that was one of the last times we hooked up. I think in total we were fooling around for like a month or two? Long enough for me to tell my fam about her and my mom to give me a bracelet to give to her which I never did because I thought it’d be weird.

In the end Mary told me that she wanted to get serious with her real boyfriend, and that I probably shouldn’t come over anymore. It didn’t really beat me up all that much, because we had moved on to really only hanging out when we hooked up at her place. She had stopped going to karaoke because her new job she had to work in the mornings on wednesdays, so I didn’t see her as much either. But what totally fucked me is that I had a bunch of stuff at her place. I had brought a PS2 I had borrowed from Spencer and a copy of Kingdom Hearts 1 that I had borrowed from Jimmy over to her place, and she gave me the ps2 back with an off brand controller and without the copy of KH1. She kept her plug and gave me my other toys back, which was to be expected. Totally worth for me lol. But GOD DAMMIT that copy of KH1 and the controller really frustrated me lmao. When she said I couldn’t swing by to just get my own stuff I wrote out this detailed list that she ignored and then her old roommate took my shit and moved out when he found out she was getting serious with her boyfriend. Also a little piece of shit. He was the first person I played magic with in years though so he wasn’t all bad. I think he was definitely jealous that I was fucking mary though. Lol this month one of the things I finally did was replaced that copy of KH1 to start playing it on my own and eventually give it back to Jimmy, and fixed a cable I broke on that PS2. I hate breaking people’s shit/not returning it to them, it really frustrates me.

Anyway, yeah that’s about it with her. We would still see each other once in a while and she was snapping me for a bit just as friends. We’re still really cool. I think her and her boyfriend are doing well still too, so that’s sweet. And I’d see him out at bars and he wouldn’t kick my ass, though I still don’t really know if he knew if I was fucking her lmao. I remember shaking his hand a few times and still being like “I fucking wonder lmao.”

But yeah, having a girl ask me out was a huge ego boost. Mary was a gem. <3

What’s more, is she gave me faith that maybe dating is worth my time. Maybe there’s actually someone out there in the world who’s as weird as I am. Maybe.

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Kawaii Box June 2017

As promised, I decided to do this one first. But there may be “a bit less-text” than usual, I hurt my wrist earlier and it kind of hurts when I type. I quote that because I’ll probably write a lot despite that.

HAVE A SUNNY SUMMER!

Starting us up tonight are the two edibles we got in this crate, the Heart Gudetama Pudding DIY Kit, and the Meito Puku Puku Tai Fish Shaped Wafer. As usual I’ll be covering the DIY in a different post, but I did open and taste the Wafer. If you never had these before, they are essentially a two-sided wafer fish filled with an airy bubble chocolate (which is so good and melty in your mouth~♥). I’ve had chocolate a few times, and strawberry in a different treat- and since I love strawberries I was pretty excited.

It was yummy, 10 out of 5, best item, buy it now  ◟(◔ั₀◔ั )◞

Here we have a cute little set of Japanese Stick Markers. They must be really popular because we keep getting them in these crates as of late, although I honestly have no use for them as of late. These are really cute though, especially the little kitties~ 4 out of 5. In my case they’re not very practical, but their small size and thickness makes them work fairly well and I’m sure they would come in handy for a lot of people.

I was so excited to see these Pastel Animals Stickers. Only once in my first box did we get stickers like these ones, but I think these ones are even fancier. They were both scented (much to my delightful surprise), the first was grape and had a cat and mouse theme, while this set features several cute characters with a lovely strawberry scent ♥ 5 out of 5. I love them!

Now if only Kawaii Box would start giving us those anime-ish dress-up stickers~

Next for two completely un-related items. Here we have a cute pair of Gudetama Socks. I got the adorable bee gudetama :3 As much as I hate wearing socks in the house, I have no problem with them outside; especially cute ones ♥ and what’s cuter than Gudetama wearing a bee striped egg shell?

3.5 out of 5. I really like them, but thinking realistically, the socks may only fit some people. I have smaller feet, but I noticed even then they end up being sort of snug. The soft fabric is also easy to snag on things and tear, or have a few loose strings already (which happened with a past pair I got). They are usually always in good shape, but I felt it was important to remark on that.

Next to it is the Amuse Mameshiba Plushie. This is the third one I got from the same series, but I do believe I never got this one yet. I could be wrong though.

Anyway, what’s great about these cuties is that you can carry them around through your phone or other chains, and use their smooth tummies to clean screens of your devices. They’re highly practical in the sense they’re both cute and useful, and I think they work pretty well. 4 out of 5.

This is the third item in a row that has me convinced Kawaii Box might be mind-readers. You can see why in this topic I made about a month or so ago, but long-story short, it was on my list of top 10 items I’d want in the box. For the third box in a row, I got an item on the list (such as molang and the bear bread maker), or items I intended to put but didn’t (like the nail polish from the last box). Actually, now that I mention it, those stickers higher up in the topic was also on my list... Okay, four things ( •⌄• ू )✧

So anyway, this is the Molang Keychain. There is a huge variety of these Cuties one could obtain (check the above topic to see a pic of most of them. I love the pink heart themed one ♥), and I think I got a pretty cute one. They’re made out of a thick rubber/plastic and include cute little charms on the chain. I can’t say it’s cuddly- but it’s awfully kawaii~ 5 out of 5.

With Molang we also got a cute exclusive Blippo Pastel Star Bracelet. I love that we get little Blippo items in our boxes, it’s so sweet of them ♥ It’s a simple star and silver bead bracelet, nothing fancy. But it’s so cute. I will mention that despite my thin wrists, it still felt a little tight, and it isn’t super-stretchy, so I was careful while pulling it on. 4 out of 5. If the string was a bit looser/stretchy it would have been perfect.

The last items for the day are these two, fun stationary gadgets. Including a fun, simple Let’s Play Gel Pen, with a cute crayon-like charm hanging from it (and a fun little red wax ball on the tip that had to be pulled off first). It’s a basic ink pen but it writes smoothly, which I like. 3 out of 5. The colors are sweet, and the Pen is sure to bring a smile, but it’s not the cutest pen I’ve ever got in these crates. I’ve been spoiled by their decorativeness~

Next is another item I always have fun with, a Korean Deco Tape Set. I LOVE deco tapes (as any other person who enjoys creative things or adding a splash of color to otherwise drab items), so to get such a bit, cute little set like this really made my day~

However, there is one glaring problem...

To get the tape onto the little tape holder, you need to pull one of the sides off to slide it on the roll in the middle. When I was trying to do this, as careful as I was- I nearly broke one of the sides. It cracked twice, and now it seems a bit loose. It still works, but I’m kinda terrified of breaking it ( •᷄⌓•᷅ )

As much as I like it, I will rank it a 3.5 out of 5. I wish the little tape thingy was made from an easier material to pull apart, or at least has more support. But maybe the more you pull it apart, the easier it becomes... 

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Content - 3.5 out of 5. I liked the stuff inside, but a few items did gain a middle scoring.

Total Rank: 13.5 out of 15 Cuties. I loved the past two boxes a lot, and I really liked this one too. I’m not entirely sure if I liked it as much, but I did really like it! As usual the quality and practically is a perfect scoring so I didn’t include them in the above.

If you’re interested in any of the items check out the Blippo website or Kawaii Box to sign up! 

♥ Cutie Scale ♥

(As usual I don’t include the DIY)

1. Molang Keychain - Irresistibly kawaii and chubby~ 

2. Stickers - So sweet and pretty, I love their perfumey strawberry scent~ I also like the cute character designs and ornaments in each sticker.

3. Mameshiba Plushie - It’s a cute little box-shaped doggy :D

4. Gel Pen - The pretty colors are sure to brighten up your day. I love the little charm- even though I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be. 

5. Gudetama Socks - Not only is Gudetama large and sweet in his bee costume, but the patterns and detail surrounding him are made from pure cuteness!

6. Korean Deco Tape - Their small-ness makes them so sweet and cute. If a bit concerning... 

7. Stick Markers - the little Japanese symbols are perfect for fans of Japanese culture :D

8. Star Bracelet - it’s the perfect pop accessory!

9. Fish Shaped Wafer - Plenty cute, but once you eat it the cuteness is gone.

Alrighty Cuties, that’ll be it for this months Kawaii Box. Surprisingly it is marked for June, and it is June. Usually these are off a month (for example, in October you might get the September or November box. I don’t remember how that was working.), so it was a nice surprise to see they fixed that somehow.

Anyway, next is my most favorite, the Tokyo Treat Box! I’m so excited! Until next time, stay cute!

[andreafestefano]

Two-toned furniture makeover for the bathroom

Slow but sure I'm making changes/adding items to our "new" rooms in this house that make it feel more and more like us. It's been SO much fun. :) I can't believe it's been nearly a year since we moved in!

I was thrilled last year when IKEA asked if I'd partner up with them to share some projects with you. I've always been a fan, even when I had to drive four hours round trip to get to the nearest store! I showed you our porch decorated for Christmas last year and today I'm excited to show you a pretty addition to our master bathroom. I just LOVE IT.

I gave you a tour of this room a few months ago and not much has changed. The wall to the left with the black shelves is the area I tackled recently: 

As much as I love that bamboo piece (you can see how I made it into a bar cart here), it never felt substantial enough for that spot. 

Our storage in this bathroom isn't quite as plentiful as our old one. The linen closet is about half the size and I was a dummy and didn't do drawers in the vanities. That is one of the only regrets I have throughout the whole build!

SO. I've always known I wanted something with more storage here. I looked online for nearly a year for a secondhand cabinet I could transform. It had to have drawers and some shelves, and preferably some glass doors as well. I looked at Craigslist and the marketplace on social media and never found anything I liked. 

Enter IKEA...a couple months ago I was walking through and found exactly what I wanted. Well, near exact. It checked all of the boxes except for one -- the color. I wanted a true black. But I knew I could easily fix that (I was planning to paint a wood piece anyway). 

The HEMNES glass door cabinet was a perfect fit (not too deep for this spot) and offered all the storage I wanted! I had an idea in mind for the final finish, so I went with the wood version of this cabinet: 

I thought it would take forever to put together but I was pleasantly surprised. I had it finished in about an hour. I'm getting really good at building those drawers! 

We actually quite liked the wood grain. My husband wanted to keep it this finish, but he knows how my brain works and knew I had a vision. ;) So I taped it off to start the painting process. (I had already secured it to the wall at the top -- I just added one line of painter's tape along the back so the paint wouldn't hit the wall.) 

I get this question every time I paint -- why not paint it all before you put it together? I never do that because inevitably something will get scratched in the build process. And there are some spots I don't think need to be painted. I don't do the backs of drawer fronts for example. I find it much easier to paint when it's all together. 👍

I primed this piece because I wanted to make sure the paint adhered well. The wood wasn't super slick to start with so I think it would have held paint directly. But I've learned it never hurts to take this extra step:

I used BIN Primer for the first coat (I have it tinted). You can see how I use this on our interior doors when I paint them as well. It's a very thin paint that is super easy to apply and dries incredibly fast. Because it's harder to clean up you have to protect your surfaces well and I use cheap paint supplies for this coat. 

I get the detail areas with a small brush (see above) and then roll on the larger areas: 

Because it dries so fast you can move along pretty quick. I used the same black color as our mud room door for this project, called Tricorn. 

IKEA does sell a dark version of this cabinet (as well as white), but it's more of a brown/black. I wanted a true dark black for this space. 

Again, I use a small angled brush for the detail areas, and then roll on the flat spots. A foam roller will give you a super smooth finish!: 

I always go over the surface a few times with my roller -- you may see some small bubbles at first, but a few more swipes will take care of those. 

Once it was dry I was able to put the new hardware on. So pretty!: 

Do not fully tighten your hardware for at least a week after painting. It takes a good amount of time to really cure. 

My idea to make this cabinet look a little different came from IKEA -- they have a white version of this cabinet that has the wood tone inside. I went for that look with the black:

I LOVE the two-toned look! All black would have been beautiful but I love warmth that the wood gives. 

This cabinet is perfect in this spot and we're thrilled with the extra storage: 

Want to know our favorite part? One of our cats is obsessed with cotton swabs so he is always sniffing them out. He'll knock jars of them over just to get inside. I told you he was weird. 

Anyway, now he can't get to them...buwhahaha. AND they look super pretty in here: 

We already had most of the storage jars (from IKEA) but grabbed a couple more as well. I'll list all of the products at the end of this post. 

Isn't it pretty? I am so thrilled with it -- I'm glad I decided to paint it: 

I also ended up adding a battery-operated light from IKEA as well. (This was my husband's request cause he's like me when it comes to cool lighting.) I hung it at the top of the cabinet inside. 

You can only see the actual fixture when the doors are open (take a look at the pics above). It gives a soft glow that's even prettier at night:

This room kind of demands some pops of black with the marble tile. I added some with the IKEA light above the tub first. I knew a tall black cabinet would really balance it all out. 

Here's a view of that area before: 

And here's how it looks now!:

I have big plans for this room (I think crown molding is next), but this piece is a beautiful addition. I could not be happier with how it turned out!

Have you ever painted a piece from IKEA? If you use a good primer your possibilities are endless! I love these pieces as they come but they are so fun to customize as well. 

Here's a source list if you're interested: 

IKEA 365 serving plate used as tray, IKEA

Frosted storage jars, DROPPAR storage, IKEA

IKEA 365 jars with cork lids, IKEA

Knobs, Hobby Lobby

FEJKA faux plant, IKEA

HEMNES tall cabinet with glass doors

I am a Brand Ambassadör for IKEA U.S. This is a sponsored post. Check out our IKEA Christmas porch here:

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And see how I transformed this IKEA TARVA dresser here: 

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[vindicatingchivalry]

Usually how I explain us, the more I do the more I hurt

Dated for 8 months first two were going great until we took acid and I could literally just see on her face she's cheated on me and I was right. That was two months in when I found out. The beginning was a lie. I felt broken I already thought I found my soul mate I wanted to out a ring on her finger. I spent the next 4 hours of my trip trying to talk to her while she went manic and detached. I was never given closure as to why she cheated she told me she thought we wouldn't last and was done. Two weeks later I looked at her phone when she was asleep I found a literal holy fuck ton of nudes and sex tapes pictures during sex... we barely fucked I felt like unloved and unwanted we never took pictures or did anything kinky just plain old sex like once every two weeks because you "weren't in the mood" probably not in the mood for me.... Two weeks later I find her texting a trans girl to guy wanting to fuck behind my back. Then everything settled for a while and it was fine we argued but that's because she cheated and all I wanted was for her to come home at night and stop sleeping over random places because I'm not trying to keep getting fucked over like no trust. That caused some friction because she couldn't handle it, she also had fucked most of her friends so I didn't trust her for shit bisexual and all over town. So arguments about going places or spending the night and shit because she couldn't take no for an answer ever. We barely did stuff or went out because I was never invited to come along her friends hated me because she made them think I was a controlling psycho but she didn't tell them of course all the totally fucked up shit she did. Flash forward some more things are fine like arguing still about going places sometimes bc I'm not invited and I feel left out as fuck in the attic no ac watching your cat. My work schedule flopped to early 8-4 and she had work 3-11 so I used to ask if she could find a ride home sometimes because I was so fucking tired not because I didn't care. She started getting rides from a tire tech that's a coworker and like yeah she then was getting rides from him every day. Then she dumped me on the 4th with no explanation and we've broken up before actually but only for like a night lol. So I was very confused as to why she dumped me in the middle of my shift. She went out to a party with Pete that night while I went home and cried in her bed. She got coked out and drunk and fucked him and cuddled with him all night while I was texting her in bed crying not understanding why and asking her to please be good at the party. I put in my two weeks two days later when I found out she fucked gross pete and probably got diseases. I couldn't move out yet because I didn't have anywhere to go so I was staying there, we still cuddled at night and she still said she loved me and kissed me sometimes and I cried and begged for her love, attention, answers, and all I got was a manic cold wall that couldn't handle any of the reality that was set in. I couldn't handle seeing her at work because we both worked at loves I made it as long as I could before I just crumbled because I couldn't see her and him smoking cigs together outside instead of on break with me. I couldn't do it I snapped one day and just left and didn't come back to work and have been couch surfing for like a week. I'm going to have to move to my mom's that I haven't seen in 6 years because she initially got me kicked out of my house because she stayed for 4 days straight and then I got kicked out and moved in with her because she felt guilty and she had nowhere to go because she didn't want to go matts the kid she woke up and then failed to mention she was at his house and came to mine the same day when we started on Thanksgiving 8 months ago. Cleaned and sucked him off before she left which I funny because I cleaned her room and made the bed every day she didn't want to unless I pleaded her to help. Yeah that's who she cheated on me with though she said she had to talk to him when I was going to work so I dropped her off at the motel where he lived and she said she had a ride in like an hour to leave. But anyways so first matt then pete and all the others inbetween. Caught her texting bodies right in front of me, sending nudes, booty pics. She even has shit in her tumblr of her old ex she never and still never deleted. Tons of people on snapchat that have her nudes saved in chat not removed.. we planned something real together and nothing but games from the start. So I've been couch surfing and had nowhere to go and she had pete in that house when I still had my shit there the other day too and her dad covered for that coke scum fuck. Apparently she hasn't talked to pete in a week or so but bullshit. Then yesterday I asked her if I could have the ticket that was already paid for so I could go to the last warped tour ever after we planned to go together for months I wouldn't even of grouped with her if she didn't want to. But she literally went to Jones beach without me and scalped my ticket at the gate at Jones beach. Her mom gave her 400 bucks that she said she spent and probably blew all on drugs, you can't spend 400 in two days besides coke. I haven't been to a beach in like 5 years and we never went to a concert together. Weirdly after all this I still love her and want her back because my heart is too big. Sigh. I've been suicidal and beyond depressed not eating sleeping, drinking puking. Just sitting around thinking about her and how wonderful everything was back then. She won't even text me now and I'm honestly just beyond my pain threshold I just wished she loved me forever like she promised. I want her back so badly I can't even describe It in words. I still want forever, I gave her a stick and poke tattoo and we spent so much good time together. I taught her how to play xbox and everything we really loved each other. I will miss my perfect little home, best time of my life and her cat that we lived with in the attic. I hate the feeling I'm left with while I just sit around crying wishing she'd even remotely care again and just come back to me and snap out of it.

[lukerhill]

How To Create A TV Gallery Wall

Some say gallery walls are trending out in favor of larger scale art. Maybe. It makes sense that gallery walls on every wall (especially the ones with a ton of tiny frames) might feel a little less “new and fresh” these days. But I’d argue that a collection of frames hung together on the wall feels pretty classic if you stop and think about it. Watch Home Alone. They totally have a gallery wall going up their formal staircase in the foyer where Kevin sleds and hurls paint cans. But one spot I love for a gallery wall these days is actually around a TV. Why? Well, that big black box isn’t exactly gorgeous.

It’s often this hulking dark thing on an otherwise bare wall, so why not break things up and add a few other rectangular things to deemphasize it. It’s not like the TV disappears when you add a gallery – but at least you have a few other (prettier) spots to rest your eyes. And you can always turn on Planet Earth, since that makes any TV look like art in a nanosecond.

We first blogged about adding a frame gallery around our living room television, oh, FOUR AND A HALF YEARS AGO (evidence: here – also how funny is the “What Does the Fox Say?” reference – ah, 2013). Things have evolved A LOT in that room since then (hello paint!) and the gallery got a few tweaks (some new art there, some frame switches there) but it has pretty much stood the test of time. And since I get a bunch of questions every time we show a smidge of it on social media, this post is for everyone asking about framing arrangements, what to frame, how to hang them, and where we get our art. So let’s dive in, Planet Earth Style. I’ll be the whale if you’re that big school of tiny reflective fish.

Dealing With The TV

First, if you listened to last week’s podcast you heard that we got a new TV (the old and very faithful one now lives at the beach house, reunited with our old couch and it feels so good). We also decided to mount our new TV on the wall and used one of those in-wall power cord systems to hide the wire. That whole process only takes an hour or so and is SO WORTH IT. We’ve got an entire post dedicated to creating a cord-free TV wall if you’re interested in a step-by-step tutorial on that. That post also shows you how to hide a cable box if you have one. And if you’re looking to cut the cord, here’s how we did that.

But it’s not absolutely necessary to mount your TV to create a good-looking frame gallery around it. As you can see in the old photo below, we had ours resting on the media cabinet for years. But mounting it has definitely made the room feel more spacious and less cluttered. Also, we are BIG FANS of secondhand dressers as TV cabinets – this one is from a thrift store and we have a similar one in our bonus room from Craigslist.

Getting Your Frame Arrangement Right

Ok, now onto actually hanging your frames around the TV. There are a few methods you can use…

1. The Floor Method

Grab whatever frames you have on hand and want to use (or pick up new ones that you love) and lay them out on the floor, with a gap on the floor in the shape of your TV (measure it to get the correct amount of space). Then just move them around on the floor to see what layout you like. That’s how we created this very frame wall in our original post… back when our living room was overwhelmingly, mind-numbingly brown.

2. The Paper Method

This one is really easy too, and if you are worried you won’t like things once they’re up on the wall, it’s the one to try. Because it helps you visualize things right on the wall before you actually hang the frames. How? Use newspaper, brown paper bags, or even printer paper (taped together if you need to make a larger piece of paper) and cut them to the size of each frame you want to hang. Then you just tape them up on the wall using masking or painter’s tape, and move them around until you like the arrangement and are ready to put the actual frames up in place of the paper templates. You can see that method in use here in our last house where we created a frame gallery in the hallway. Less busy paper would be easier on the ol’ eyeballs, but you get the idea.

3. The Sheet Method

This is kind of a combo move of the two above. SHAROOOKEN! You arrange your frames on the floor, but on top of a large sheet of paper (like brown craft paper, red rosin paper, or even wrapping paper if that’s all you have). Once you reach the arrangement you like, trace each frame onto the paper – even marking the spot where each one hangs on the back – creating an oversized template that you can transfer right onto your wall. It’s best on small to medium sized frame groupings (like this one we hung in our last house) because you’re somewhat limited by the size of your paper roll, but this would totally work on either side of the TV (you’d make two in that case).

4. The Figure-It-Out-As-You-Go Method

You also can be a rebel and JUST HANG STUFF ON THE WALLS! I wouldn’t recommend going totally rogue and just making holes willy-nilly (although I’ve done that and spackling takes like three minutes so it’s not the biggest deal if you end up there). But if you break things down into sections it’ll help you stay on track. For example: start by getting the centering and spacing of the frames above your TV to your liking first. Then that’ll help guide the height and spacing of the frames to the left of the TV. Once those are set, you can match them on the right side.

How To Tie Frame Groupings Together

“Should I use all the same frames?” “Is there’s some sort of formula for mixing them?” “Should all of the art be black & white or all the same type of thing (all sketches, all photos, all paintings?)” Questions like this abound. So I’ll try to explain what works for us and why we typically end up there – although this is definitely one of those “we’ve seen it done so many different ways, there are probably a million ways to skin this cat” kind of things. Personally, we started with all white frames in here, and I slowly found myself craving a little more variety, so over time if I found nice light wood frames (like the two over the TV) or some pretty thin gold ones (like the five of those you see below) I slowly brought those in to mix things up.

But despite having different frames up there, these are three factors that help tie the arrangement together:

Mats! See how most of the frames above have white mats? That ties them together and helps your eye take them all in as one big “family”

Color palette! It might not be what you notice right away, but a lot of the art has similar tones – there’s a lot of green, blue, and pink. And again lots of white in the art and the mats too. Even the objects on the wall (the antlers and the faux turtle shell) are white, so nothing is too jarring and it all looks related, yet not super cloned and repetitive.

Spacing! A lot of times this is the thing that makes a wall feel off. If the frames are hung too far apart, they read more like a smattering of islands, too far away from each other to be viewed as a grouping. The ideal spacing for me is usually 2-3″ (any closer and they can feel clumped and crowded). Also remember to treat the TV like just another frame and try to mimic the same spacing around it. This can be tricky because the TV sits off the wall a bit and that depth can change the spacing depending on your vantage point. I try to step back and view things from the couch across the room, since that’s where everyone will be viewing it most frequently.

What Should I Frame?

Since our arrangement is a mix of frame types and sizes, we wanted the items that we framed to be a bit of a mix as well. Had this been a more gridded frame gallery using identical frames – like this one we did above the couch in our last house or down our old hallway – we probably would’ve kept the art more consistent too. But to give you a sense of the random mix we’ve hung here, I added some numbers to the next two photos so you can see we have up there, where we got things, and why we love ’em.

1. Family photos (one of me with our daughter and a similar shot with our son around the same age – the mat didn’t come with that frame, it came from another frame and I switched it out)

2. White faux antlers (these were black and I painted them white years ago, but now they sell them in white all the time – here are some similar ones and this set of three is awesome too)

3. Another family photo (this is one of our favorite wedding pics because it looks like we’re standing in a bush)

4. A little algae/anemone thing I painted (this one is cut off, as is the middle one above the TV, but you can see it if you scroll up to the photo before it. I just wanted something in those colors and did it quickly to throw it up “just for now” and it has been there for years – ha!)

5. A postcard from a local art exhibit (I loved the colors and the artist,  so why not frame the postcard?!)

6. Photo of a succulent (this is a photo we took while shooting our second book – love the soothing colors and all that white space – here’s a link to it in our Society6 shop)

7. Original painting (this is one of my favorite Etsy artists who sells tiny original paintings & prints and I LOVE THEM!)

8. A book page (yup, this is from one of my favorite photography books by Gray Malin, who shoots beaches from above)

9. Another succulent photo we took and got printed (here’s the link to it on our Society6 shop)

10. A faux turtle shell by Nate Berkus for Target (this was from his very first collection there, memories) – here’s something similar

11. More family photos (on this side it’s John with our daughter and our son in basically the same exact pose – I switched a mat from a different frame into this one)

12. Another original painting (from the same woman on Etsy who did the one on the other side – so in love with her stuff)

13. Map with pins where we’ve gone (got the map on eBay, took out the glass of the frame and backed it with cork so the pins would stick) – here are some similar maps

14. Another postcard (from the very same art exhibit – gives the wall balance and it’s more of those blue/pink tones that reoccur, so it ties things together)

I talked more about my process for finding frameable “art” recently on Instagram too (on one of our trips to the beach house) so check out the video below for more examples of how we fill our frames without breaking the bank:

Also! Frame PSA! The gold frames you saw in that video are my very favorite, and they don’t hail from a fancy and expensive frame store – they’re from Target! They come with the mats, are extremely pretty, and come in a bunch of sizes (I have all three of these sizes all over our house and the beach house). And the artist from Etsy that I shouted out in that last video is Emily Jeffords, who recently got picked up by Minted! Love her stuff so much.

As for how we hang them, here’s a quick video that I made for InstaStories a little while ago (sometimes videos help more than a static pic):

So there it is, a full succulent-riddled detail-riddled rundown of our TV frame wall. If you’re still feeling like you don’t know where to start or how to approach this, my loving encouragement would be: JUST START! You can see from the video above that holes in the walls behind frames don’t even get seen! So if you hang something too low and have to move it up, it IS NO BIG DEAL. Even if you have to spackle a few holes, that is as easy as spreading butter on bread, and you know you can do that. I believe in you. May your walls be happy and your holes be hidden behind frames like mine, ha!

Oh and if you have a lower TV/media cabinet situation and are left with a big bare spot on the wall above it all, here’s what we did to fill that space in our last house. So easy and so cheap! And for more framing/art ideas, we have a whole archive full of ’em, so have at it!

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post How To Create A TV Gallery Wall appeared first on Young House Love.

[lowmaticnews]

How To Create A TV Gallery Wall

Some say gallery walls are trending out in favor of larger scale art. Maybe. It makes sense that gallery walls on every wall (especially the ones with a ton of tiny frames) might feel a little less “new and fresh” these days. But I’d argue that a collection of frames hung together on the wall feels pretty classic if you stop and think about it. Watch Home Alone. They totally have a gallery wall going up their formal staircase in the foyer where Kevin sleds and hurls paint cans. But one spot I love for a gallery wall these days is actually around a TV. Why? Well, that big black box isn’t exactly gorgeous.

It’s often this hulking dark thing on an otherwise bare wall, so why not break things up and add a few other rectangular things to deemphasize it. It’s not like the TV disappears when you add a gallery – but at least you have a few other (prettier) spots to rest your eyes. And you can always turn on Planet Earth, since that makes any TV look like art in a nanosecond.

We first blogged about adding a frame gallery around our living room television, oh, FOUR AND A HALF YEARS AGO (evidence: here – also how funny is the “What Does the Fox Say?” reference – ah, 2013). Things have evolved A LOT in that room since then (hello paint!) and the gallery got a few tweaks (some new art there, some frame switches there) but it has pretty much stood the test of time. And since I get a bunch of questions every time we show a smidge of it on social media, this post is for everyone asking about framing arrangements, what to frame, how to hang them, and where we get our art. So let’s dive in, Planet Earth Style. I’ll be the whale if you’re that big school of tiny reflective fish.

Dealing With The TV

First, if you listened to last week’s podcast you heard that we got a new TV (the old and very faithful one now lives at the beach house, reunited with our old couch and it feels so good). We also decided to mount our new TV on the wall and used one of those in-wall power cord systems to hide the wire. That whole process only takes an hour or so and is SO WORTH IT. We’ve got an entire post dedicated to creating a cord-free TV wall if you’re interested in a step-by-step tutorial on that. That post also shows you how to hide a cable box if you have one. And if you’re looking to cut the cord, here’s how we did that.

But it’s not absolutely necessary to mount your TV to create a good-looking frame gallery around it. As you can see in the old photo below, we had ours resting on the media cabinet for years. But mounting it has definitely made the room feel more spacious and less cluttered. Also, we are BIG FANS of secondhand dressers as TV cabinets – this one is from a thrift store and we have a similar one in our bonus room from Craigslist.

Getting Your Frame Arrangement Right

Ok, now onto actually hanging your frames around the TV. There are a few methods you can use…

1. The Floor Method

Grab whatever frames you have on hand and want to use (or pick up new ones that you love) and lay them out on the floor, with a gap on the floor in the shape of your TV (measure it to get the correct amount of space). Then just move them around on the floor to see what layout you like. That’s how we created this very frame wall in our original post… back when our living room was overwhelmingly, mind-numbingly brown.

2. The Paper Method

This one is really easy too, and if you are worried you won’t like things once they’re up on the wall, it’s the one to try. Because it helps you visualize things right on the wall before you actually hang the frames. How? Use newspaper, brown paper bags, or even printer paper (taped together if you need to make a larger piece of paper) and cut them to the size of each frame you want to hang. Then you just tape them up on the wall using masking or painter’s tape, and move them around until you like the arrangement and are ready to put the actual frames up in place of the paper templates. You can see that method in use here in our last house where we created a frame gallery in the hallway. Less busy paper would be easier on the ol’ eyeballs, but you get the idea.

3. The Sheet Method

This is kind of a combo move of the two above. SHAROOOKEN! You arrange your frames on the floor, but on top of a large sheet of paper (like brown craft paper, red rosin paper, or even wrapping paper if that’s all you have). Once you reach the arrangement you like, trace each frame onto the paper – even marking the spot where each one hangs on the back – creating an oversized template that you can transfer right onto your wall. It’s best on small to medium sized frame groupings (like this one we hung in our last house) because you’re somewhat limited by the size of your paper roll, but this would totally work on either side of the TV (you’d make two in that case).

4. The Figure-It-Out-As-You-Go Method

You also can be a rebel and JUST HANG STUFF ON THE WALLS! I wouldn’t recommend going totally rogue and just making holes willy-nilly (although I’ve done that and spackling takes like three minutes so it’s not the biggest deal if you end up there). But if you break things down into sections it’ll help you stay on track. For example: start by getting the centering and spacing of the frames above your TV to your liking first. Then that’ll help guide the height and spacing of the frames to the left of the TV. Once those are set, you can match them on the right side.

How To Tie Frame Groupings Together

“Should I use all the same frames?” “Is there’s some sort of formula for mixing them?” “Should all of the art be black & white or all the same type of thing (all sketches, all photos, all paintings?)” Questions like this abound. So I’ll try to explain what works for us and why we typically end up there – although this is definitely one of those “we’ve seen it done so many different ways, there are probably a million ways to skin this cat” kind of things. Personally, we started with all white frames in here, and I slowly found myself craving a little more variety, so over time if I found nice light wood frames (like the two over the TV) or some pretty thin gold ones (like the five of those you see below) I slowly brought those in to mix things up.

But despite having different frames up there, these are three factors that help tie the arrangement together:

Mats! See how most of the frames above have white mats? That ties them together and helps your eye take them all in as one big “family”

Color palette! It might not be what you notice right away, but a lot of the art has similar tones – there’s a lot of green, blue, and pink. And again lots of white in the art and the mats too. Even the objects on the wall (the antlers and the faux turtle shell) are white, so nothing is too jarring and it all looks related, yet not super cloned and repetitive.

Spacing! A lot of times this is the thing that makes a wall feel off. If the frames are hung too far apart, they read more like a smattering of islands, too far away from each other to be viewed as a grouping. The ideal spacing for me is usually 2-3″ (any closer and they can feel clumped and crowded). Also remember to treat the TV like just another frame and try to mimic the same spacing around it. This can be tricky because the TV sits off the wall a bit and that depth can change the spacing depending on your vantage point. I try to step back and view things from the couch across the room, since that’s where everyone will be viewing it most frequently.

What Should I Frame?

Since our arrangement is a mix of frame types and sizes, we wanted the items that we framed to be a bit of a mix as well. Had this been a more gridded frame gallery using identical frames – like this one we did above the couch in our last house or down our old hallway – we probably would’ve kept the art more consistent too. But to give you a sense of the random mix we’ve hung here, I added some numbers to the next two photos so you can see we have up there, where we got things, and why we love ’em.

1. Family photos (one of me with our daughter and a similar shot with our son around the same age – the mat didn’t come with that frame, it came from another frame and I switched it out)

2. White faux antlers (these were black and I painted them white years ago, but now they sell them in white all the time – here are some similar ones and this set of three is awesome too)

3. Another family photo (this is one of our favorite wedding pics because it looks like we’re standing in a bush)

4. A little algae/anemone thing I painted (this one is cut off, as is the middle one above the TV, but you can see it if you scroll up to the photo before it. I just wanted something in those colors and did it quickly to throw it up “just for now” and it has been there for years – ha!)

5. A postcard from a local art exhibit (I loved the colors and the artist,  so why not frame the postcard?!)

6. Photo of a succulent (this is a photo we took while shooting our second book – love the soothing colors and all that white space – here’s a link to it in our Society6 shop)

7. Original painting (this is one of my favorite Etsy artists who sells tiny original paintings & prints and I LOVE THEM!)

8. A book page (yup, this is from one of my favorite photography books by Gray Malin, who shoots beaches from above)

9. Another succulent photo we took and got printed (here’s the link to it on our Society6 shop)

10. A faux turtle shell by Nate Berkus for Target (this was from his very first collection there, memories) – here’s something similar

11. More family photos (on this side it’s John with our daughter and our son in basically the same exact pose – I switched a mat from a different frame into this one)

12. Another original painting (from the same woman on Etsy who did the one on the other side – so in love with her stuff)

13. Map with pins where we’ve gone (got the map on eBay, took out the glass of the frame and backed it with cork so the pins would stick) – here are some similar maps

14. Another postcard (from the very same art exhibit – gives the wall balance and it’s more of those blue/pink tones that reoccur, so it ties things together)

I talked more about my process for finding frameable “art” recently on Instagram too (on one of our trips to the beach house) so check out the video below for more examples of how we fill our frames without breaking the bank:

Also! Frame PSA! The gold frames you saw in that video are my very favorite, and they don’t hail from a fancy and expensive frame store – they’re from Target! They come with the mats, are extremely pretty, and come in a bunch of sizes (I have all three of these sizes all over our house and the beach house). And the artist from Etsy that I shouted out in that last video is Emily Jeffords, who recently got picked up by Minted! Love her stuff so much.

As for how we hang them, here’s a quick video that I made for InstaStories a little while ago (sometimes videos help more than a static pic):

So there it is, a full succulent-riddled detail-riddled rundown of our TV frame wall. If you’re still feeling like you don’t know where to start or how to approach this, my loving encouragement would be: JUST START! You can see from the video above that holes in the walls behind frames don’t even get seen! So if you hang something too low and have to move it up, it IS NO BIG DEAL. Even if you have to spackle a few holes, that is as easy as spreading butter on bread, and you know you can do that. I believe in you. May your walls be happy and your holes be hidden behind frames like mine, ha!

Oh and if you have a lower TV/media cabinet situation and are left with a big bare spot on the wall above it all, here’s what we did to fill that space in our last house. So easy and so cheap! And for more framing/art ideas, we have a whole archive full of ’em, so have at it!

*This post contains affiliate links*

The post How To Create A TV Gallery Wall appeared first on Young House Love.

How To Create A TV Gallery Wall published first on https://landscapingmates.blogspot.com

[additionallysad]

How To Create A TV Gallery Wall http://ift.tt/2F8TWOI

Some say gallery walls are trending out in favor of larger scale art. Maybe. It makes sense that gallery walls on every wall (especially the ones with a ton of tiny frames) might feel a little less “new and fresh” these days. But I’d argue that a collection of frames hung together on the wall feels pretty classic if you stop and think about it. Watch Home Alone. They totally have a gallery wall going up their formal staircase in the foyer where Kevin sleds and hurls paint cans. But one spot I love for a gallery wall these days is actually around a TV. Why? Well, that big black box isn’t exactly gorgeous.

It’s often this hulking dark thing on an otherwise bare wall, so why not break things up and add a few other rectangular things to deemphasize it. It’s not like the TV disappears when you add a gallery – but at least you have a few other (prettier) spots to rest your eyes. And you can always turn on Planet Earth, since that makes any TV look like art in a nanosecond.

We first blogged about adding a frame gallery around our living room television, oh, FOUR AND A HALF YEARS AGO (evidence: here – also how funny is the “What Does the Fox Say?” reference – ah, 2013). Things have evolved A LOT in that room since then (hello paint!) and the gallery got a few tweaks (some new art there, some frame switches there) but it has pretty much stood the test of time. And since I get a bunch of questions every time we show a smidge of it on social media, this post is for everyone asking about framing arrangements, what to frame, how to hang them, and where we get our art. So let’s dive in, Planet Earth Style. I’ll be the whale if you’re that big school of tiny reflective fish.

Dealing With The TV

First, if you listened to last week’s podcast you heard that we got a new TV (the old and very faithful one now lives at the beach house, reunited with our old couch and it feels so good). We also decided to mount our new TV on the wall and used one of those in-wall power cord systems to hide the wire. That whole process only takes an hour or so and is SO WORTH IT. We’ve got an entire post dedicated to creating a cord-free TV wall if you’re interested in a step-by-step tutorial on that. That post also shows you how to hide a cable box if you have one. And if you’re looking to cut the cord, here’s how we did that.

But it’s not absolutely necessary to mount your TV to create a good-looking frame gallery around it. As you can see in the old photo below, we had ours resting on the media cabinet for years. But mounting it has definitely made the room feel more spacious and less cluttered. Also, we are BIG FANS of secondhand dressers as TV cabinets – this one is from a thrift store and we have a similar one in our bonus room from Craigslist.

Getting Your Frame Arrangement Right

Ok, now onto actually hanging your frames around the TV. There are a few methods you can use…

1. The Floor Method

Grab whatever frames you have on hand and want to use (or pick up new ones that you love) and lay them out on the floor, with a gap on the floor in the shape of your TV (measure it to get the correct amount of space). Then just move them around on the floor to see what layout you like. That’s how we created this very frame wall in our original post… back when our living room was overwhelmingly, mind-numbingly brown.

2. The Paper Method

This one is really easy too, and if you are worried you won’t like things once they’re up on the wall, it’s the one to try. Because it helps you visualize things right on the wall before you actually hang the frames. How? Use newspaper, brown paper bags, or even printer paper (taped together if you need to make a larger piece of paper) and cut them to the size of each frame you want to hang. Then you just tape them up on the wall using masking or painter’s tape, and move them around until you like the arrangement and are ready to put the actual frames up in place of the paper templates. You can see that method in use here in our last house where we created a frame gallery in the hallway. Less busy paper would be easier on the ol’ eyeballs, but you get the idea.

3. The Sheet Method

This is kind of a combo move of the two above. SHAROOOKEN! You arrange your frames on the floor, but on top of a large sheet of paper (like brown craft paper, red rosin paper, or even wrapping paper if that’s all you have). Once you reach the arrangement you like, trace each frame onto the paper – even marking the spot where each one hangs on the back – creating an oversized template that you can transfer right onto your wall. It’s best on small to medium sized frame groupings (like this one we hung in our last house) because you’re somewhat limited by the size of your paper roll, but this would totally work on either side of the TV (you’d make two in that case).

4. The Figure-It-Out-As-You-Go Method

You also can be a rebel and JUST HANG STUFF ON THE WALLS! I wouldn’t recommend going totally rogue and just making holes willy-nilly (although I’ve done that and spackling takes like three minutes so it’s not the biggest deal if you end up there). But if you break things down into sections it’ll help you stay on track. For example: start by getting the centering and spacing of the frames above your TV to your liking first. Then that’ll help guide the height and spacing of the frames to the left of the TV. Once those are set, you can match them on the right side.

How To Tie Frame Groupings Together

“Should I use all the same frames?” “Is there’s some sort of formula for mixing them?” “Should all of the art be black & white or all the same type of thing (all sketches, all photos, all paintings?)” Questions like this abound. So I’ll try to explain what works for us and why we typically end up there – although this is definitely one of those “we’ve seen it done so many different ways, there are probably a million ways to skin this cat” kind of things. Personally, we started with all white frames in here, and I slowly found myself craving a little more variety, so over time if I found nice light wood frames (like the two over the TV) or some pretty thin gold ones (like the five of those you see below) I slowly brought those in to mix things up.

But despite having different frames up there, these are three factors that help tie the arrangement together:

Mats! See how most of the frames above have white mats? That ties them together and helps your eye take them all in as one big “family”

Color palette! It might not be what you notice right away, but a lot of the art has similar tones – there’s a lot of green, blue, and pink. And again lots of white in the art and the mats too. Even the objects on the wall (the antlers and the faux turtle shell) are white, so nothing is too jarring and it all looks related, yet not super cloned and repetitive.

Spacing! A lot of times this is the thing that makes a wall feel off. If the frames are hung too far apart, they read more like a smattering of islands, too far away from each other to be viewed as a grouping. The ideal spacing for me is usually 2-3″ (any closer and they can feel clumped and crowded). Also remember to treat the TV like just another frame and try to mimic the same spacing around it. This can be tricky because the TV sits off the wall a bit and that depth can change the spacing depending on your vantage point. I try to step back and view things from the couch across the room, since that’s where everyone will be viewing it most frequently.

What Should I Frame?

Since our arrangement is a mix of frame types and sizes, we wanted the items that we framed to be a bit of a mix as well. Had this been a more gridded frame gallery using identical frames – like this one we did above the couch in our last house or down our old hallway – we probably would’ve kept the art more consistent too. But to give you a sense of the random mix we’ve hung here, I added some numbers to the next two photos so you can see we have up there, where we got things, and why we love ’em.

1. Family photos (one of me with our daughter and a similar shot with our son around the same age – the mat didn’t come with that frame, it came from another frame and I switched it out)

2. White faux antlers (these were black and I painted them white years ago, but now they sell them in white all the time – here are some similar ones and this set of three is awesome too)

3. Another family photo (this is one of our favorite wedding pics because it looks like we’re standing in a bush)

4. A little algae/anemone thing I painted (this one is cut off, as is the middle one above the TV, but you can see it if you scroll up to the photo before it. I just wanted something in those colors and did it quickly to throw it up “just for now” and it has been there for years – ha!)

5. A postcard from a local art exhibit (I loved the colors and the artist,  so why not frame the postcard?!)

6. Photo of a succulent (this is a photo we took while shooting our second book – love the soothing colors and all that white space – here’s a link to it in our Society6 shop)

7. Original painting (this is one of my favorite Etsy artists who sells tiny original paintings & prints and I LOVE THEM!)

8. A book page (yup, this is from one of my favorite photography books by Gray Malin, who shoots beaches from above)

9. Another succulent photo we took and got printed (here’s the link to it on our Society6 shop)

10. A faux turtle shell by Nate Berkus for Target (this was from his very first collection there, memories) – here’s something similar

11. More family photos (on this side it’s John with our daughter and our son in basically the same exact pose – I switched a mat from a different frame into this one)

12. Another original painting (from the same woman on Etsy who did the one on the other side – so in love with her stuff)

13. Map with pins where we’ve gone (got the map on eBay, took out the glass of the frame and backed it with cork so the pins would stick) – here are some similar maps

14. Another postcard (from the very same art exhibit – gives the wall balance and it’s more of those blue/pink tones that reoccur, so it ties things together)

I talked more about my process for finding frameable “art” recently on Instagram too (on one of our trips to the beach house) so check out the video below for more examples of how we fill our frames without breaking the bank:

Also! Frame PSA! The gold frames you saw in that video are my very favorite, and they don’t hail from a fancy and expensive frame store – they’re from Target! They come with the mats, are extremely pretty, and come in a bunch of sizes (I have all three of these sizes all over our house and the beach house). And the artist from Etsy that I shouted out in that last video is Emily Jeffords, who recently got picked up by Minted! Love her stuff so much.

As for how we hang them, here’s a quick video that I made for InstaStories a little while ago (sometimes videos help more than a static pic):

So there it is, a full succulent-riddled detail-riddled rundown of our TV frame wall. If you’re still feeling like you don’t know where to start or how to approach this, my loving encouragement would be: JUST START! You can see from the video above that holes in the walls behind frames don’t even get seen! So if you hang something too low and have to move it up, it IS NO BIG DEAL. Even if you have to spackle a few holes, that is as easy as spreading butter on bread, and you know you can do that. I believe in you. May your walls be happy and your holes be hidden behind frames like mine, ha!

Oh and if you have a lower TV/media cabinet situation and are left with a big bare spot on the wall above it all, here’s what we did to fill that space in our last house. So easy and so cheap! And for more framing/art ideas, we have a whole archive full of ’em, so have at it!

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