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#i can type in the message box but there's no post button
caesium-55 · 2 months
Text
—everything is orange. [ ii ]
pairing: lando norris x kpop idol! reader
summary: a racecar driver who needed a fake girlfriend to dispel rumors and a kpop idol who needed publicity for her song. somewhere in between orange cars and orange sunsets, stands something they're afraid of naming.
warning/s: graphic description of blood and gore, body insecurity, lando might be a lil ooc
masterlist.
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God bless Jinnie Jo and her overly prepared self because you thought you’d die when you got attacked by the damn shellfish allergy in the car on the way to the hotel. It's fortunate that Jinnie happens to carry around your allergy meds. You dry-swallow the tablets without hesitation, uttering your thanks to Jinnie.
“Song Dan-ssi gave me a list of your allergy meds before we left,” Jinnie tells you. Warmth floods your chest. Manager-nim may be in another country but he never fails to take care of you. You're definitely going to buy something for Manager-nim when you return to Seoul. A jacket perhaps?
The first thing you do the moment you enter your hotel room is kick your boots off, take a warm shower, and reunite with the love of your life—the bed. The mattress swallows you whole and you let out a content sigh as you allow your body to sink in it. Not even ten minutes later, you grab your bag, which you have haphazardly thrown on the bed, take out your phone, and open the X app. You type Lando’s name in the search box.
username1: i am disgusted by the people who still support lando norris like yall really support a man who got a girl pregnant and refusing to take responsibility? i just know mclaren is lying when they said he's not the father
username2: justice for the girl that lando norris got pregnant! he should be kicked out of mclaren!
username3: that girl lucky bc her baby daddy is THE lando norris. she should tell us how he fucks in great detail
You cringe. Your fingers tap the three buttons at the upper right corner and without hesitation, pressing report. You continue to scroll down the tweets, reading them one by one as the clock ticks.
username4: what lie will mclaren tell again to protect little lando norris?
Your phone pings. A notification bar appears on the upper portion of your phone screen. You have received a message. You stop reading the tweet and open your messages app.
unknown number: hey
unknown number: this is lando
unknown number: your boyfriend?
unknown number: the fake one
You immediately save his number in your contacts. You name him Lando Norris.
you: hey there
you: do i just call you lando or
lando: you can call me baby
You snigger at his flirting attempt. Ten points for trying, Lando Norris.
you: okay baby
lando: 😳
lando: okay
lando: we agreed on hard launching each other in socmed right?
you: yah
lando: i kinda don't have a picture of you?
lando: pr told me to ask you if you can send me one
lando: i’ll send you one too
you: i have an idea
you: put me on your story
lando: yeah im planning to do exactly that
lando: have you been listening to what we talked about earlier in the meeting?
you: then delete it after a few mins
lando: wait why
you: make it look like you did it on accident
Your first mistake in your first PR relationship with another idol is that you immediately hard-launched each other on Instagram after Dispatch released his pictures kissing a guy in a bar. People got skeptical and most of them called out your relationship as a PR stunt. They called you a cover up, which you were, but they weren't supposed to know that.
You're not going to make the same mistake twice.
lando: and this will work?
you: let's not shake the confidence i have
lando: 😂
you: people are already expecting mclaren to set a pr stunt so you can gain the public’s hearts back
you: u have to make yourself look like you never needed a pr stunt in the first place, that you’re not trying to win the public back
you: people will catch up if you suddenly post that you have a girlfriend in the middle of your hot issue
you: netizens are quickwitted theyre not as dumb as most of us think
You hope you're explaining it well. You're trying to make your point as clear as possible but it's hard. You forgot the other English words you’ve learned.
lando: okay i get ur point
lando: i’ll do what u want
lando: someone has to tell pr what u planned though
lando: it's not going to be me
Fuck the PR. You're not going to tell them and let them have a field day tomorrow. That's what they get for expecting you to sign that stupid first contract they made.
You open your camera app and take a quick selfie.
No. Your nose looks too big at that angle.
Again.
Now, your forehead looks like an airport.
Again.
Your teeth are showing. The coffee stains are visible.
Again.
Again.
Again.
you: *sent a photo*
lando: i
lando: help me with the caption? my braincells flew off
you: idk not good at captions
you: just say hello loml or smth
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This is the story you want to tell:
You met Lando a year after you departed from ORACLE in Australia.
You have a mutual friend—named Tori Allen—who introduced you to one another. Tori Allen does not exist. She's just the fictional side character of your love story.
You started out as friends. Lando is freshly out from a breakup and you’re just trying to live a quiet life after your fall from grace.
You talked for months because of your mutual interest in cars. Eventually, you started going on casual dates.
You asked Lando to keep it secret. He said yes in respect to you. HAN Entertainment already released a press statement regarding your mental health status after the 2021 incident so the public would assume that this was the reason why.
The relationship turned serious three months before Lando’s scandal.
Lando never got the girl pregnant. He never touched that girl. He was loyal to you.
Jinnie almost breaks down the door the next morning. You open it before she can do so. She angrily stomps inside your room and you close the door behind her. Her face is red, her expression taut.
“It's seven,” your eyebrows crease together. You make a quick glance at the phone in your hand. 7:22, the clock in your lockscreen projects. “You told me we are supposed to meet at twelve.”
“McLaren PR called me up,” Jinnie informs you. You’re beginning to get an idea where this conversation is going. “You didn't do what we agreed on.”
“And what did we agree on?” you cross your arms over your chest. You flutter your eyelashes innocently at her.
“That you’re going to choose photos to post on each of your accounts and let PR handle the captions. Norris posted something immediately without PR checking it and deleted it!”
“Did he tell you that it was my idea?”
“No, but I know that it was and it turns out I’m right. You just confirmed it.”
“Did it work?” you question.
“I can't with you!” she throws her hands up in the air, frustrated. “We are supposed to follow orders!”
“No,” you say. “You are supposed to follow orders. That's what Yoon PD-nim told you. He told me to do what I believed was best.”
You open X. Lando’s name is at the top of the trending list. You press his name and read through the tweets that appeared.
username5: LANDO NORRIS WHAT IS THIS BEHAVIOR
username6: EVERYONE HERE ARE THE RECEIPTS *screenshot*
username7: is this what you call the freudian slip lol
username8: I AM NOT CRAZY GUYS LANDO ACCIDENTALLY STORIED HIS GF IN HIS PUBLIC ACC
username9: he deleted it so quick too 😭 im sure the man panicked
username10: HE CHEATED ON HIS GF AND GOT A GIRL PREGNANT??!?
username11: for all we know he didn't even bang that girl 🤷 his girlfriend’s pretty hot he’s definitely not cheating on her
username10: men cheat on their pretty wives and girlfriends all the time
username12: not lando norris that man’s in love LOVE can u see his caption
username13: the caption??? lando’s pretty smooth with his words
username14: he’s taking smooth operator lessons from carlos
username15: im crazy but what if this is just a pr stunt 🤔
username16: girl he won't delete the story in a panic if it's a pr stunt
username17: he was definitely going to post it in his priv and made a mistake 😭
username18: very lando of him
username17: he stronger than me bc if my girlfriend was that pretty, her face will be flooding my instagram
username19: ignore lando, his girl tho 😳
username20: he called her loml omgggg
username21: booo luisa’s prettier
username22: fok off and move on
username23: lando can you fight? meet me at the kfc parking lot and let's fight
username24: probably not but he can run you over with his car
username25: i swear ive seen that girl before i just cant pinpoint where
username26: IT'S [NAME] EX MEMBER OF ORACLE WE HAVENT SEEN HER SINCE 2021
username27: so he bagged a kpop girlie??? lando got game dayummm
username28: isn't [name] an illegal street racer? that's why she got kicked out of the group right?
username29: an f1 racer and a street racer couple 😳 omg what in booktok is this
username30: she's not a streetracer she only watched the street race
username28: she told you that herself?
username30: her company did
username31: THEY CANT BE DATING OMG LANDO YOU CAN DO BETTER SHE DOESN'T DESERVE TO BE A WAG
username32: and u think ur better than her?
“It's working,” you state. You turn to Jinnie, raising your phone in the air and waving it. A smug smirk spreads to your lips. “It's working.”
Nobody is doubting the relationship like the time with Minhyung. This is a good start. Now, onto the next part.
“So are we really going to keep having lunch dates until your race?” you poke the shrimp on the plate with your fork. You're having pasta again. In the same place, too. It sucks but you swallow the food and smile as if you’re enjoying the meal.
For today's outfit, Jinnie chose a Valentino Garavani black midi dress paired with Jimmy Choo Antia leather sandals. Lando matched your outfit with a black silk button up and off-white pants. You’re both playing the “looking like a couple” card well.
“I believe so,” Lando says. You mentally count the days of the calendar in your head. The FP1 is scheduled to begin in two days. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask….”
“Hm?”
“The team didn't scold you a lot, did they?”
“They didn’t,” you give him a tight smile. Did he worry? For you? That's very sweet of him. “Why would they? My plan went great.”
Lando nods, “It did. You’re good at this.”
You smile at his compliment, shrugging a shoulder. I’m supposed to be good at this. I have no other choice.
“Let's show them our story,” you say. “Show, not tell. People are more inclined to believe actions rather than words. Show them the story we want them to know and we don't answer their questions early so we can keep the attention and the curiosity on us. Once the timing is right, you answer their questions, one by one. This is risky because if we don't act right, we’re done….”
You set the fork down and finally stop terrorizing the poor shrimp. It's completely obliterated now.
“But I believe we can act right,” honesty bleeds through your words. “You're lovable and you already act like a sweet boyfriend without trying.”
Lando purses his lips and averts his gaze. You see pink dusting his cheeks.
“I try.”
“Nice try,” your words come out dry. You give him a thumbs-up. “Also, I’m full.”
“You only ate half your plate,” Lando points out.
“The portion is too big. I’m a light eater.”
HAN Entertainment is partly to blame for that. You got accustomed to their extreme diets and small meal portions that you cannot even eat more than a small bowl of rice.
“Do you not like the food?” he asks, concerned.
You don’t answer the question. Instead, you lace your fingers together and rest your chin on them, leaning slightly forward.
“I have another plan. Wanna hear it?”
You still don't like having attention to yourself. The feeling of having eyes watching your every move, waiting for you to make a mistake still terrifies you. But attention, the right kind especially, is a weapon. You need a weapon to fight this war. A war to build your career again.
“Keep them on their toes,” the instructor of your PR training class once said. “Give them what they want piece by piece, just enough to keep them wanting more, but never give them everything.”
Until now, you still abide by her teachings. God bless Kim Gaon-ssi and her big brain, wherever she is now. She resigned from HAN entertainment a year ago.
It's been a few days since Lando pulled that stunt in his Instagram story and yet, the attention you're receiving from the fans is not simmering down. You didn't expect anyone to be this involved or curious about a driver's love life but here everyone was.
You wake up at seven and then proceed to spend an hour on your phone while lying in bed to push all the sleepiness away from your system. You leave your bed at nine, change out of your sleeping wear, perform a whole morning ritual inside the bathroom, and by eleven, you send Jinnie a message to get brunch and invite her to eat together inside the privacy of your hotel room. She arrives after fifteen minutes with hotel service food. You eat until twelve thirty and after eating, you begin to get ready.
The free practice session is at 5:30 PM. You can afford a bit more time to get ready so you shower again. It took you nearly two hours. In the meantime, Jinnie prepares your clothes.
You mentally thank the heavens when you see trousers neatly folded on your bed. If Jinnie forces you to wear dresses again, you’re going to lose it. You're conscious of how big your thighs look. You don't even have a thigh gap. Big thighs, small ankles, and muscular calves. They're just a few of your numerous bodily insecurities.
Jinnie pairs the Moon Choi black back pocket trousers with a Dior Toile de Jouy Sauvage silk top. For the shoes, she chooses a pair of white Fila chunky sneakers. She helps you apply your makeup and fix your hair. To finish the look, you grab your black cross body bag, smart watch, sunglasses, and a black ball cap.
Jinnie snatches the ball cap from your hands and replaces it with a McLaren ball cap. A tacky orange with the number four. You raise your brow at her. She gives you a pointed look, a look that says: don’t even try to protest. You sigh, resigned, and pull it onto your head.
She scans your appearance, dragging her coal eyes from the top of your head to your toes. She huffs, satisfied.
“You look perfect.”
Perfect is the goal.
Jinnie drives you to the race venue. She drops you off at the parking lot. She's not happy with it. Jinnie wanted to come. You told her no. You can handle this little act alone. You don’t see an ex-idol with a manager, do you?
The moment you exit the car, you slip on your mask. Figuratively and literally. You tip your ball cap upwards to scan your surroundings, searching for the way in. You carry your phone in your right hand and your paddock pass in the left. Lando gave it to you during dinner yesterday.
A racing event is crowded with people. That's a given. Perhaps not as crowded as a concert but still crowded nonetheless. A stage will not separate you from the people nor a barricade. Unfortunately. You have no bodyguard, no manager, no HAN Entertainment staff.
You're not here as ORACLE’s [Name] but as Lando Norris’ girlfriend.
Your feet lead you to a path where there are less people. You message Lando that you’ve arrived. He replies in a matter of seconds.
lando: ill come and get you
lando: wait for me
You remove your cap, fix your hair, before pulling the cap on. You spot a man with a Nikon DSLR standing a good distance. He is wearing a cord around his neck. The word MEDIA is printed in bold white letters. Your lips curl a little underneath your face mask.
It is show time.
During your trainee years, acting classes are mandatory. You know the basics. You're confident that you're good at acting. If you weren't, the company wouldn't have pushed you to act in two dramas as a side character during your rookie years. You received a reward for your performances, too.
To look lost, you have to keep glancing around you as if you’re contemplating which way to go. You have to look unsure of your actions. Hesitant. You have to constantly look at your phone as if you’re reading directions in it or texting someone to tell you where you should be going. You have to scratch your nape a few times to express nervousness. You're in a place you don’t know, it’s natural to be nervous.
Someone is bound to approach you and help you. When they do, you remove the cap but not the mask and then hope they know who you are. When they don't, well…. that's a problem for future you. You haven't thought that far.
“Hi, excuse me, do you need help?”
You perk up. Orange fills your view. A group of four girls have approached you and they all wear twinning McLaren merch. You can see that three of them sport the number four in their shirts, Lando’s race number. You involuntarily swallow.
There was a case once where a rookie actress got beaten up by her idol boyfriend’s fans promptly after the release of their dating news. Fans can be so jealous to the point of violence. It's a toxic fan culture. That's why so many Kpop idols resort to keeping their relationships private and secret. You hope you won’t get beaten up.
But also, given that they’re McLaren and Lando fans, there is a high possibility that they’ll recognize you. Which is exactly what you wanted. So you push that stupid fear aside and keep the show going.
“Hi, uh,” you remove your cap and lower your face mask until it's bunched up below your nose. “I’m kind of…lost? Do you know the way to the, uh…”
You forget what it's called. McLaren garage? You don't remember the exact word Lando used. You're still not confident that you know the difference between a paddock, a garage, and a livery.
“Wait, I know you!”
You purposely widen your eyes.
“You’re Lando’s girlfriend!”
You smile sheepishly, scratching your cheek with your finger.
The girls break out into loud and high-pitched squeals. Their voices are so shrill that you cannot help but wince. You motion for them to quiet down. Inwardly, you want them to keep being loud. Loud enough to warrant the attention of the photographer, your target.
“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, we absolutely have to take a selfie!”
You barely understand her rapid spitfire of words until she takes out her phone. Panic instantly swells within you.
This is not the plan. You only wanted one person to take the necessary picture. Not this.
You hastily slap your hand over the lower half of your face. You stagger backwards and stumble against a sturdy wall. Your hands fly out to your sides as you feel yourself lose your balance. Two hands grip your shoulders and you hear a surprised woah! from behind you. You lift your head.
It's not a wall. It's Lando.
His beautiful, beautiful eyes gaze down at you. The colors look lighter under the sun. His thick brows are furrowed together, his forehead creasing.
Lando spins you around so you're face-to-face with his hard chest. You squint at the multiple logos printed on the long-sleeves he’s wearing. Is this what he wears when he races? He swiftly takes the McLaren ball cap off your hand and puts it on your head. His hand remains tenderly flat on your shoulder blade, the other lays on your cheek as if he's trying to cover your face. You tug your face mask up and rub your throat.
“Hi,” Lando greets the girls sweetly. This causes the eruption of another wave of high-pitched squeals. “I’m sorry but do you mind if we keep the cameras away? Our relationship isn't out and as much as possible, we’d like to keep it that way. Can we respect my girl’s privacy please?”
He sounds exactly like a male lead in a romance Kdrama. You know it's fake, that the both of you are playing roles, but his words and the way he delivers them so effortlessly makes you momentarily doubt if he's really acting. It causes a butterfly to flutter in your stomach and your pulse to steadily accelerate. His hands are large and warm and for a moment, it makes you wonder if this is what security feels like. If this is what it feels like to be loved.
Then, you get reminded that it is all an act.
How can actors not fall in love with their co-actors when acting can feel this real at times?
“Thank you,” you hear Lando say. You miss the previous parts of the conversation because of the thoughts that invaded your mind.
“You look so cute together, oh my god. I’m going to die,” the fangirl adds. Lando’s chest vibrates as he chuckles, the sound deep and warm.
“We need to go, sorry. Enjoy the race today.”
He taps his thumb against your shoulder blade and he starts walking, his hands not detaching themselves from your skin. You keep your head low as Lando guides you away. In your peripheral vision, you see the photographer’s camera pointed towards the two of you. A self-satisfied smirk plays on your lips.
“How did I do?” Lando asks the moment he removes his helmet. He is sporting a bright grin, so bright that you're sure it’s going to make the sun envious, as his fingers comb through his damp curly hair. A few stray strands are stuck on his sweaty forehead. You feel the urge to sweep them aside for him.
You search through your mental thesaurus for the synonyms of the word amazing and have chosen: “Impressive.”
Light beads of sweat trickle down his face and neck. A McLaren staff member comes and hands him a towel to wipe them off. Lando thanks her and she leaves. He thrusts the towel towards you. You blink in confusion.
“Will you do the honors?”
“Can't you do it yourself?”
“But you have to play the part of a sweet girlfriend, am I right or am I right?” You roll your eyes at his cheekiness, rising to a stand. You place the McLaren jacket in your hands on your chair. Lando handed it to you before he climbed into the car. You don't know the reason behind his action. Nevertheless, you held the jacket for him.
You take the towel from his hands, your fingers grazing with his. Lando’s smile threatens to split in half as he puts his hands behind his back, parts his legs a little, and then bends down so you won't have a difficult time wiping his sweat for him. You're not that much shorter than him and your height difference is perfectly reasonable and comfortable but you're still grateful that he's doing this for you.
You don't wipe his sweat. Instead, you pat them out. Patting is gentle on skin. The towel will simply absorb the sweat on his skin. Rubbing the skin can lead to skin irritation and inflammation. Lando’s eyes flutter close at your actions and you swear you see him leaning against your hand.
“You raced good today,” you praise him.
You have zero idea on what happened in the past hour. The cars went around in circles. Then, they time their laps. They’re not even racing each other. You thought they would.
In all honesty, you think the entire thing is a bore. The street races you went to when you were a teen were more fun. A minimum of three drivers gets injured every race and it's highly likely someone ends up dead, which is your messed-up definition of the word fun.
You’re more interested in the special guest who decided to grace the track with its great reptile presence. A dinosaur. Kidding, it's just a lizard. It looks like it was surveying the scene and strategizing a great dinosaur invasion.
Lando's chest swells, “Well, I have to impress my girl.”
He opens his eyes and they meet yours. They're twinkling with mirth.
“Color me impressed then.” Despite your words, your tone is unimpressed.
He smiles impossibly wider, now showing his full set of pearly white teeth. He bites his bottom lip. You stop patting his sweat and lower your hand to the side.
“You don't have any more races tonight?” you question. Lando straightens.
“Later at 9 PM.”
“That's quite late.”
“It is?” Lando’s head tilts to the side a little. “Do you sleep early?”
You hardly sleep at all. You have a hard time maintaining regular human sleeping and waking hours. Like the other half of the world population.
“That's not it,” you shake your head. “I kind of just expected that the next practice session would be tomorrow morning.”
“Singapore usually holds night races. Track temperatures are low and the organizers can broadcast the race during peak viewing hours in European time,” Lando explains. “And they hold two practice races a day because it only lasts an hour.”
“That makes sense.”
“Are you hungry?” Lando questions, smoothly redirecting the conversation to food.
“I could eat.” You're not particularly hungry. You're not full either.
“I know a good place that sells these amazing wraps.”
Wraps sound enticing. You can't remember the last time you've eaten one.
“Lead the way.”
You chew on your beef wrap slowly as your eyes focus on the screen of your phone. The voices of the sports announcers live broadcasting the ongoing race fill Lando’s driver room. After buying the wrap, he brought you to his driver room so you can enjoy the privacy as you ate. You appreciate the thoughtfulness. You don't think you can eat outside. So many people can see you.
username33: LOOK AT THESE PHOTOS I AM GOING FERAL
username34: HOLUP LANDO'S GIRL WAS IN THE PADDOCK??? ON THE DAY I DECIDED NOT TO GO?? EVJSNSVSISKS
username35: girlie was hiding 😭 she deliberately went through the back of the paddock so no one can see her going to the garage
username36: my friends and i met her today! she looks like she's lost and as fellow mclaren fans, we went to help her and she was so sweet omg and so so shy too. we tried to take a pic with her but lando arrived and told us to respect his girl’s space
username36: and i quote “do you mind if we keep the cameras away? our relationship isn't out and we’d like to keep it that way. can we respect my girl’s privacy please” WHEN I TELL YOU I MELTED ON THE SPOT
username37: girl he really said that???
username38: i’m her friend and yes he really said that 😭
username39: little lando norris is not so little anymore
username37: pls tell me you backed off immediately
username38: we did!! we kinda feel bad now that we discovered she's been battling anxiety since 2021 and that she doesn't like having photos of her taken
username40: NO BECAUSE THE WAY LANDO IS SO PROTECTIVE OF HER?? THE WAY HE SPUN HER AROUND AND PULLED HER TO HIS CHEST?? THE PROTECTIVE HAND ON HER BACK?? HIM COVERING HER FACE?? WE ALL KNOW [NAME] HASN'T BEEN IN THE PUBLIC EYE SINCE 2021 BC OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AFTER HER SCANDAL AND LANDO REALLY TRIED TO PROTECT HER
username41: bae i think you forgot that he's also the reason why [name] is gaining attention again bc he accidentally storied her in his insta
username40: that's why i said tried bestie
username42: i cant believe im crying over this LANDO NORRIS U BETTER TREAT OUR GIRL [NAME] RIGHT
username43: im waiting for @hanentertainmentofficial to say smth
username44: girlie’s career flopped and now she's leeching off lando’s money smh 🙄
username45: bestie she never needed his money she’s already rich from being an idol
username44: correction ex kpop idol, her money’s probably already running out
username45: bestie she's still richer than you while you're 14 (your bio says your 14) and still living with your parents
username46: AND THAT'S VERY SLAY OF HER,, YOU CAN'T EVEN GET A RICH MAN TO LOOK AT YOU
username47: that girl who claimed that lando is her baby daddy is suspiciously quiet rn
You turn your phone off and toss it inside your cross body bag. A sigh flies past your lips as you lean against the back of the couch, setting your unfinished wrap down. Your eyes flutter close. They're beginning to sting. Too much reading.
Sleep latches its claws on you and you allow it to take you.
You stand in darkness, allowing the deafening silence to swallow you whole. Suddenly, a thousand eyes appear. Unblinking. Bloodshot. They're bulging out of their sockets. In unison, the eyeballs move and lock on your figure. Judging. Judging. Judging. Your body trembles at the weight of a thousand gazes. You can’t breathe. You can't speak.
Please stop looking at me.
Please.
I’m begging you.
Stop.
The eyes slowly became bigger and bigger. Then, they disappear. You let out a shaky exhale. You turn around and the world becomes a blinding white.
Cameras. Thousands. No, millions of them. The loud clicking noise fills your ears. Your hands stretch in front of you, trying to cover your face and your body from them. You can only squeeze your eyes shut.
Silence.
The scene changes.
You register the feeling of sand getting stuck in between your toes. Your eyes slowly flutter open. The overcast skyline and the rising tides, the telltale ingredients of a brewing storm over the horizon, can be spectated from the shore. You recognize this place. This was a place you swore you're never going to step foot again.
Jeju.
You hear your mother’s gentle voice whisper your name behind you, causing goosebumps rise on your skin and your entire body to stiffen. It's not the name you own now, but the name you were born with, the name she gave you, the name you lost when you moved to Seoul.
She calls your name again. Again. Again. And again. You ignore every single one.
She stops.
You slowly turn around and you see your mother standing there, a few steps away, barefoot like you and wearing a dress. You remember this dress. She wore it when she was pregnant with you. She keeps the photo in her wallet.
No Eun Ha looks as beautiful as she was in your childhood memories. You greatly resemble her. The eyes most especially. That's why looking at mirrors feels more like a punishment to you more than anything else.
The word “Eomma” rots inside your mouth.
Your Eomma smiles at you. It's empty, her smile. When she smiles, they never reach her eyes. That's the way it has always been. For a second, you consider apologizing.
Eomma, I’m sorry that you have to raise a child you didn’t want. I’m sorry for stealing the light in your eyes.
You don't grow the courage to say it out loud.
No Eun Ha remains smiling. You notice that the edges of her lips curl higher and higher until the smile begins to look unsettling and sinister. Then you see the skin on her cheek tear apart as her smile grows and grows. Blood drips down slowly to her neck and stains the top part of her dress. She opens her mouth into an inhumane size and you see a thousand razor-sharp teeth lining up inside it. Everything is a gory red.
You scream in absolute terror.
She says your name again, her voice this time is not as gentle as you remember.
You wake up screaming and in cold sweat. You fall from your bed and onto the floor on all fours and begin vomiting your guts out. Nothing comes up. Only saliva. You break into pathetic sobs on the floor. Terror is a familiar feeling but you will never ever get used to it.
You don't know how many hours have passed. The floor used to feel cool against your skin but now, it's never been warmer. You still don't possess the strength to leave the floor. Your body feels as if it's being anchored down giant stones.
You're exhausted. You’ve done nothing but you feel exhausted.
You want to run.
You want to run away from this pain and exhaustion.
You need a life where you're no longer exhausted.
Desperately.
A sudden shriek interrupts the silence that wraps the air. A woman's. You don't even flinch. You know it’s just Jinnie. She's the only one who has access to another keycard of your hotel room.
When Lando’s panicking face comes into view, you are shocked. So shocked that you involuntarily raise your arms and accidentally hit him below his jaw. He stumbles backwards, not expecting the blow. He let out a pained groan, hand clutching the area you hit. You quickly rise to your feet, a thousand apologies already on the tip of your tongue. This action, however, triggers a wave of vertigo. Your vision blackens temporarily, your knees giving out at your own weight. Reflexively, you grab hold of the nearest thing beside you, the mattress to soften your fall, before your shaking knees meet the floor.
“[Name]!” Lando’s voice is so loud, you flinch.
When your vision returns, his face is the first thing you see.
“Good morning,” your voice is flat and rough.
Lando hisses and his large hands cradle your cheeks. You're suddenly made aware of how large his hands are. They can cover your entire face with how big they are.
“You're pale,” his voice wobbles. “Shit.”
You want to pass out again. His hands feel so, so comfortable and so, so warm that you want to sleep with this feeling.
“Hey, hey, don't close your eyes. [Name]—” Lando hands move swiftly. One second he’s holding your face. The next second he’s lifting you up in his arms. “Jinnie, call an ambulance!”
The word “ambulance” causes you to wake up. Like really wake up.
Oh, shit.
You struggle in Lando’s arms, “Andwae! No ambulance!”
You pry yourself away from Lando, hopping down to the floor, but the man doesn't retract his hands completely. He still holds onto your forearms to support you as you try to stand.
“No. Just no. I’m fine.”
“[Name]!” Jinnie scolds. She's finally functioning again. She froze in shock when she saw you earlier.
“I’m fine!” you shout. “I’m fine! Really!”
When you get caught that you're weak, you retaliate.
You grit your teeth and clench your jaw.
“I’m. Fine.”
They don’t believe you. You can see it in their eyes. However, they're not going to argue with you. You know they won't.
“I’m going to shower,” you announce. Lando’s grip on your forearm tightens just as you pivot your heels to head to the bathroom.
“I think it's best if you stay today.”
“We all agreed that I’m going to be in the paddock from the practice sessions until the race night.”
“I’ll tell the PR team that you won't go today.”
Your brows furrow.
“Just… Rest for today, okay?”
You turn quiet. Hesitantly, you nod.
“Thanks.”
He turns to Jinnie and tells her, “Take care of her for me. I’ll visit after the qualifying.”
And like that, Lando Norris leaves the hotel room.
215 notes · View notes
antimony-medusa · 2 months
Text
How To Set Up An Ao3 Exchange
One of the first things I say whenever anyone asks me about running exchanges is that if you have more than about 30 people in the exchange, do NOT try to match it by hand. That is so much work and takes so much time. Use Ao3's matching algorithm. And people say sure, and then they look at how Ao3 works and they go uhhhhhhhhhh I think we can make a google form work. Because google forms are reasonably intuitive to make work, and Ao3 exchanges are— not.
But the thing is, once you understand the underlying logic for Ao3 collections, they are not that bad, and seriously I can't overstate the benefit of having Ao3 do the matching for you. That's like the difference between 80 hours of curating data as it comes in and then matching it (what happened with hand-matching 325 people for holiday exchange), or 2 hours of double-checking the matching (what happened with matching 125 people for 48 hour exchange). You have to put in extra work to get an Ao3 exchange set up, but it super pays off in the end. So! Here is an intro to how Ao3 exchanges work on the back end. This explanation assumes you know how to sign up for an exchange because I've posted ones like that before, for example, here.
Let's get into it.
THE COLLECTION
The first thing you want to do is set up your exchange collection. If you go to your right-hand drop-down menu, you click on My Collections.
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That brings you to every collection you have ever made, and you go to to the right and click "New collection".
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That brings you into the back end of the collection. You want to go down and put in a name for the collection that will be the url (so no spaces), a display name, an email for the collection to email when something happens to the collection (this will be public, so use a fandom email), and a basic description.
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There's places there to do custom icons and headers, but those are optional, but you can go in and make your exchange pretty later if you want!
We are still in the "setting up" stage of the exchange, so once we go to preferences, you want to select all the tick boxes and make it look like this.
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Moderated means that you'll have to manually approve things to be added to the collection (not absolutely necessary but can keep out trolls, and it also means that you can manually check that gifts meet minimums before you let them in to the exchange), Closed means that no one can submit things to the collection yet (once you open your exchange you de-select this), Unrevealed means that any works in the collection will show up as "mystery works" and not be readable (so you keep it unrevealed until the posting date, so people can post early but not spoil the surprise), anonymous means that all authors will be anonymous (this depends on if you have an anonymous portion of your exchange, so it's optional), "show random works" just means that you get a selection of different works when people visit the collection at different times, "send a message to the collection email" is optional but is useful for moderation (like if you're checking people off a list when their gifts get delivered), and "type of challenge" you want to be set to "gift exchange".
and then on this page the only other things of concern are places where you can put in an FAQ, a description and some instructions, but those are all optional! I normally host the FAQ on tumblr, so I just say "go check the tumblr at [link]".
And then you hit the submit button.
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Now we get into the nitty-gritty.
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First up is some optional stuff— you can add in the times that you're going to do things! This is useful for communication, but not necessary. We're still setting everything up, so you do not want Sign-Ups to be open, that is only selected once you have everything ready to go.
Then scrolling down, you get to Requests and Offers.
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This is where you specify the absolute minimum ships or characters that you want people to give you to sign up. 10 is the maximum Ao3 allows, so I always set it to 10 for both "allowed", which is the maximum the site will allow. And required is the low number. I usually set it to a minimum of three, to make sure someone doesn't sign up with "i will only write one ship" or something. This way, people will have to do a minimum of three separate requests and offers.
The "requests visible" is part of the back end thing, and it's up to you if you want to select it or not. If you keep it unselected, the only person who will be able to see requests is the mods, and eventually each person will see their assignment. If you select it, people will be able to browse everyone's requests and both maybe target offers so they can write for a specific person, and be able to find treats (extra bonus gifts) to write for people whose requests they like. Each side has its own benefits or negatives, it's up to you which ones you want to go with!
And here we get into more of the matching info! Let's look at Request Settings.
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Now this is what the settings would look like for a multi-fandom exchange. The "details/description" box you want to make mandatory because that is where people will put their DNW and their prompts (and you absolutely want to make sure everyone has a DNW), and the url is an optional one which lets people link an off-site letter on google docs or dreamwidth.
Fandom allowing up to three fandoms means that people can do crossovers if they want (or tag a request something like 3rd life/hermitcraft), and if I wanted to say that people had to request 3 separate servers I would say "must be unique" but I'm okay if people sign up with three Dream SMP relationships in this idea hypothetical exchange, so I'm not selecting the unique button.
I'm ignoring the characters button cause that's extra complication, the only other thing I want to look at is the relationship button. A minimum of 1 ship per request (and there's a minimum of three requests), and let's say you can go up to 20, so people can request LOTS of different ships. I did select "must be unique" so someone can't sign up with the same ship three times. The "allow any" button is off, which means that I will have to select relationships that fit under the fandom that I selected one up, I can't request Shubble/Niki Nihachu (Origins), and put it with a fandom request for Hermitcraft. This has set it so that the absolutely minimum someone can sign up with is 3 relationships (3 requests * 1 relationship each), and the absolute maximum is 200 relationships (10 requests * 20 relationships each).
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Requests will look much the same, except I am not putting down details/description or a URL, because I'm not letting people submit requests about what ship they "really" want to match on, they are going to be equally matchable to everyone they offered. Some exchanges will let you submit a requests DNW, but honestly that is so much extra work for the mods, I would not recommend it unless you think it's necessary to stop people from dropping their gifts later.
Okay, so now we take a brief digression into a tag set.
THE TAG SET
Okay so basically a tag set is an extra set of sliders that lets you fine-tune your exchange. If you do not use a tag set, when people sign up they will be able to use every canon tag on the archive, and only canon tags. Which is a LOT of tags, but when I ran an exchange without a tag set there were multiple times of hitting non-canon relationships or tags. But it's also a definite extra complication, tag sets are extra fiddly work and they are even less intituive. If you just want to go without a tag set, skip down to the matching segment. If you do want to avoid hitting people signing up with non-canon tags, keep reading.
I'm gonna say right off the bat that tag sets are the single most like "oh I am getting into the GUTS of the machine" part of running Ao3 exchanges, but if you can make them work they can super streamline both the sign-up (for your participants ) and the matching process (for you).
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Oh boy, tag sets. Here we start getting into how exchanges start squeezing the interface to make it do what we want it to. I'm using a tag set, so first I clicked on the "tag set" url there and I made my tag set, and then I came back and selected its name from the drop-down menu on the collection. I leave all the tick boxes open, because selecting them will again restrict you to canon tags, and we specifically want to be open to noncanon tags both because of issues like "ijevin & tiny tim" not being a canon tag, and because the way MCYT tags are wrangled and made canon does not work for how the exchange machine reads information. We specifically want a collection of non-canon tags tuned for our needs. More on that later.
So, I started a new tag set, and I'm over there on that screen, looking at it. What does that screen look like?
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Okay so, part of the appeal of a tag set is that your participants are able to specify the difference between "Rendog & InTheLittleWood" and "Rendog/InTheLittleWood". You don't have to worry about people getting undesired shipping, because people were specifying if they wanted shipping when they signed up. You can reduce a great deal of people getting matched badly by using relationship matching, because most of the time even if people want a Tommy-centric fic, there's a pretty big difference between people who want "Tommy & Technoblade" and "Tommy & Dream". By specifying who you want the gift to be about, you remove a big hurdle of matching right away. That's why most exchanges run on relationship matching.
However, if there are 37 people on a given server, that's something like 2,600 possible combinations of people if you include both romantic and platonic, and that's before you start getting into trios, and that's just way too many tags for the mods to enter manually. So what you do is run a nomination period, and for a week or two weeks you go to all your participants and you go "do you want to sign up for this exchange? Nominate the tags you want to use now! If it doesn't get nominated, it can't be used!" And then people head to the tag set to nominate.
So, on this page, you want "visible tag list" to be selected, because you want people to see what's already been nominated so they don't duplicate, and you want "currently taking nominations" to be selected because you will be taking those nominations instead of doing them all yourself.
So you have to set up limits on those nominations.
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The point of taking nominations is to make matching easier, so people normally use the same fandom and relationship limits as they are going to use on the sign-up, to make sure there aren't dozens of tags in the tag set that nobody's using, just cluttering up the space. It also helps stop the issue where someone sees a tag in the tag set, goes "oh man I love that ship" and signs up, but its an extra tag that no one intended to offer, so they don't match to anyone. That's why sometimes people keep the amount of tags that can be nominated low, I've seen people limit this to 10 tags, or even 7, so that's up to you.
And you save, and now when you link your participants the tag set, they will have a "nominate" button.
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They will hurry over to press that button, and then they will see a page that looks like this.
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This is a thing where you absolutely want to give your participants detailed instructions, because what Ao3 will try to do is auto-fill people's nominations with canonical tags. WE DO NOT WANT CANONICAL TAGS. CANONICAL TAGS ARE THE ENEMY OF EXCHANGES. CANONICAL TAGS ARE THE ENEMY OF MCYT EXCHANGES IN PARTICULAR.
Remember back when we clicked the button that says tags have to be unique? The canonical tag for Philza & Technoblade doesn't have a server on it, and people might want to be requesting that relationship for SMPEarth, Dream SMP, Origins SMP, or arguably even QSMP. If you only have the canonical tag, people can only request a specific dynamic once, for one server. And that is a problem for every situation where people interacted on multiple servers, and with the network of overlaps that is Empires/SOS/3rd Life/Hermitcraft and DSMP/Origins/SMPEarth/QSMP, that's going to lead to unhappy participants. So you tell people to nominate the ship and also "disambiguate" it, and add the server in parentheses. And then all your participants will hit the button to submit, and you will go into the "review nominations" button, and you will let those tags into the tag set.
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Now I just distributed the tag set to a couple friends, so let's look at what this looks like behind the scenes.
Brace yourself, it's gonna be wild, but I believe we can get through it.
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Now here is a perfectly standard look at tag set nominations after a few people have gotten into the tag set. This is why they pay tag mods the big bucks.
As you can see, there are a few things to be gathered. The first things is a bunch of people used the canon tags (because that's what Ao3 tries to get them to do), someone else nominated an x-reader ship, we have one tag there twice (spelled differently), and the tags are Piped (they have both the person's tax name and the username). (You can let tags in that are Piped, but I find that it makes the tag set harder to read, and usually exchanges are character-focused unless you're writing video blogging rpf anyways, so I ask people to submit tags unpiped, using usernames.) And for the tags that were nominated in a way that I want (unpiped, and disambiguated so they're unique), Ao3 is trying to get me to use the canon tag. But I don't want the canon tag, I want a unique tag, with the server on it, with no pipes. So.
So were I moderating the tag set, after a few minutes it would look like this.
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That's going through and disambiguating the tags (adding the server, which I could tell because of the fandom it was nominated under), removing the piping and using the usernames instead of tax names, and then re-ordering the names so they're alphabetical so people can find them on the list later, rejecting the x-reader tag, rejecting the duplicate and allowing the one that's spelled correctly through. Amazing. I have tags that I want to use (I did some other tags that were ready to go in other fandoms as well). I hit submit. Am I ready to go?
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No, because tag sets are the most complicated part of exchanges.
I open up my tag set, and if I scroll down to "Unassociated characters and relationships" there are a bunch of tags that are are lost, Ao3 doesn't know where to put them. This is because we very carefully made unique tags that have not been wrangled anywhere, and Ao3 said "i don't know where these go" and shoved them all together in a garbage bin at the bottom of the page. So we have to manually go in to associate them to the right fandoms.
You hit the Edit button on the tag set, and scroll down to the bottom, to "tag associations", and start selecting where tags go.
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Honestly this is a great time to be listening to a stream or a podcast or something, and then you have the tag set open in another tab so you know what all the unassociated tags are, and you just go down the list like a databasing machine. It is not hard, cause you disambiguated each tag with its own server, it's just time consuming. Note. This is why people go in and accept tags regularly during the nomination period, because if you do this all at the end you've got a BIG job ahead of you.
So, you turned on your VOD playlist and you associated all your tags, and all the tags are where they are supposed to go. You have a beautiful tag set.
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But wait, you say, looking at this beautiful tag set. Some of those tags look at little different. What is the "Dream smp and only dream smp" that a couple of them have?
Well.
You see.
Ao3 designed tag sets to work a certain way, and nobody uses them that way. It turns out that "Quackity/Wilbur Soot (Dream SMP)" is a wrangled canon tag, and the system goes "ah, I know where this goes, this is a sub-tag of the major tag, and the top-level tag is Video Blogging RPF, so it goes under Video Blogging RPF, as all MCYT tags do. I am very smart. I have stuck this Dream SMP tag under Video Blogging RPF. I am a good machine". And then you go AUUUUUUUUGH, and then you turn up the podcast a little louder, and then you sit down and you delete the old tag and you write out a new tag that the system doesn't know what to do with, and it goes uhhhhhhh and sticks it in "unassociated tags" and then you go in again and you manually associate it into the right server.
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It's not hard, it's just time consuming. Shouting at the tag set like STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO as it helpfully tries to stick dsmp tags in SMPearth and you wrestle it out of SMPEarth and into the right fandom bucket.
Deep breath moment. Honestly that's the most fiddly part of a fiddly process, so if you can get through this you're absolutely golden.
Anyways. You got clean disambiguated unique tags, and then you associated them in the right spot, and then you found the ones that got sorted to the wrong spot and you associated them yourself, and now you have a beautiful tag set ready to go. It's a thing of beauty. Shed a tear. Your participants can select from anything in this tag set, and you know they want to use these specific relationships, because they submitted them to you. What next?
THE MATCHING
Okay. You have your tag set set up and it's accepting nominations. Your participants are filling it out right now. You go back to your collection. it's time to tell it how to match.
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This is the "minimum number to match" pane, and this is the minimum numbers to make a successful match. You want 1 for Fandom, and 1 for Relationship, and that's it. People will show up to the machine as a viable match as long as they have submitted a fandom and relationship that matches someone else's offered fandom and relationship.
This is a minimum viable exchange. You're ready to go. As soon as your tag set is done (or immediately if you're not using a tag set), you're ready to go back and open your exchange to sign-ups.
Congratulations!
FURTHER TWEAKING
HOWEVER. There is more that you can do. For example, do you want to allow people to request or opt into NSFW? There's an easy way to do that! First thing is you go back to your tag set, and you scroll down to the "ratings" section that you've been ignoring.
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You select G and E, and that way, if people are opting into explicit that means they're okay with NSFW, and if they only select G, that means they only want a non-explicit piece.
Then on the collection you switch the requests and offers sections to include a place to specify a rating.
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You want them to definitely specify at least one, and if you maximum allowed is 2, people can opt into both and say "i'm good with whatever"!
Then you scroll down to the matching section, and you tweak that to make sure that people will match on Fandom, Relationship, and at least one Rating.
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Bingo. You now have a toggle to turn NSFW on and off.
But a lot of people like to match by TYPE of gift too, specifying if they want art or fic or playlist or web weave etc. How do you do that? Ah, at this point you are master of all you survey, and you can make tag sets do absolutely anything you want. You go back to the tag set and you scroll down to "characters".
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Now we were matching on relationships, so the character box is unused. And it lets you put in your own tags. So what you do is you start to add in custom tags.
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And then you go back to the Collection settings, and on the requests and the offers you go in to the "characters" section and you say "must select at least one, can select up to six".
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And then, you guessed it— you go back to "minimum number to match" and you set that "characters" tab to 1 minimum, 6 maximum. Now people who specified that they wanted Art can be matchable to artists who Offered Art. You have unlimited power, the world is at your fingertips.
There's even more customization that you can do, too! There's "additional tags", which is entirely custom tags you add yourself, that can be anything from specifying if people want fluff or horror or hurt/comfort etc— with the recursive exchange we used it to specify the works people were recursing— I'm considering using it for holidays with the holiday exchange. You can let people opt in or out of major archive warnings by selecting "archive warnings" as a thing that's in the tag set and that you're matching for. Once you understand how the underpinnings of how the machine works, you can wrestle it into almost any shape you want.
So. Whew. That's how exchanges work, under the hood. When I say that this is significantly easier than hand matching the holiday exchange, I ask you to picture just how complicated hand matching gets. Go forth! Thrive! Set up exchanges if you want! The world is your oyster!
Feel free to message me if you have further questions.
236 notes · View notes
a-d-nox · 4 months
Note
Hi I read your post about vertex persona chart and the part you said to save it and check the astroclick travel map to see where we are meant to travel and why or where can we feel at home
So I'd like to ask how can we do that? Can you make a post of how to read the lines please? Thanks
how to convert your vertex persona to an astromap and some observations for when you read this astromap
first get the persona chart
on astro.com go to the "extended chart selection" page, for "chart type" use the "persona chart" option, click the big green "show the chart" button, the vertex is already preloaded in the options so use the drop down to select "vertex", finally click the "go!" button next to your name.
now convert the chart into a map
click the "save" button, two options will appear - click "add to 'my astro'", a pop-up message will say it is added to your collection - use the "click here" hyperlink to bring you the vertex persona's "extended chart selection" page, click on the plus button in the "horoscope for" box, two options will appear - click the "edit" button, select any gender aside from the preselected "event/other" so the astromap can be formed (because it requires a gender to become a map), click the green "continue" button, click on the three lines in the upper right corner for the side menu to appear, click the "locational astrology" section, two options will appear - click "astroclick travel", and you are there!!
on to the observations!
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☆ sun/dc line can make you feel like you where bound to meet people who give you genuine attention
☆ sun/mc line can show you where you feel the most yourself and/or will help you realize who you are / who you want to be
☆ moon/ac line will show you where you want to settle down and make a house a home
☆ moon/ic line can show where you reconnect with your mother and/or make you feel vulnerable like a child
☆ moon/mc and/or the vertex persona's 4h ruler / mc line will show you where you are meant feel right at home - you are likely to adjust well to the change of scenery too
☆ when you visit a mercury line you feel like it is fate that brought you there - things might weirdly line up, you might have important conversations, and/or meet important people
☆ mars/ic lines are where you tend to make a lot of impulsive decisions that lead you towards your fate
☆ mars/mc is where you can really get to work on a passion project of yours
☆ mars zenith is where your passions can become your career - your ambition will serve you well
☆ jupiter lines tend to make you feel happy, fulfilled, and lucky
☆ uranus/asc and/or uranus/mc lines are where your fan base is majorly from and/or where you can amass a lot of followers
☆ uranus/ic lines are where you can be your most free and authentic self
☆ uranus/dc lines are where unexpected huge life changes occur
☆ neptune/dc is where your dreams can come true
☆ neptune/mc is where you will transcend this lifetime
☆ pluto/dc lines are where a lot of people are obsessed with you
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like what you read? leave a tip and state what post it is for! please use my "suggest a post topic" button if you want to see a specific post or mythical asteroid next!
click here for the masterlist
click here for more related to planetary & object persona chart information
want a personal reading? click here to check out my reading options and prices!
© a-d-nox 2024 all rights reserved
114 notes · View notes
amakumos · 1 year
Text
CUPID’S CORNER — twenty ; out of all people
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because he’s a little shit, nishimura riki sends a totally embarrassing confession about you to “cupid’s corner”, a twitter account that posts anonymous confessions from decelis academy students. but when that joke confession suddenly makes a bunch of people confess to you on cupid’s corner (for real this time!) riki finds that he’s jealous — and oh… he can’t believe it took him a fake confession to realise that he’s crazily in love with you.
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Riki, Taki, Jo and Jongseob’s room has been absolutely trashed five minutes into the celebration, and the team hasn’t even won the whole tournament yet.
Coach Lee had somehow got them more pizza than they asked for — there were seven people there, why in the world did he order 7 boxes?
“Let’s play truth or dare,” Harua says, taking a sip of his coke.
Jongseob chuckles awkwardly. “What about like… who’s most likely to?” he suggests. He knows Riki’s going to use this opportunity to ask everyone if they’re your mysterious secret admirer.
“Nah,” Sunghoon says. “Come on. Sit in a circle.”
Riki sits down the fastest. Jongseob is right — Harua has just handed Riki the opportunity to figure out who “volleyball anon” is on a silver platter, and Riki’s absolutely going to take this opportunity.
He just doesn’t know how bad it’ll hurt when that person finally admits it.
“You’re going to try and figure out who it is, right?” Taki asks Riki, and the boy nods. “Can’t you wait after the tournament?” he sighs.
“Why?”
“Because I know you, and you’re not going to take this well.” Taki says, sitting down besides Riki. “You’re jealous about (Name)’s mysterious admirer, and you might think now that you’ll handle it super well — but when you hear the person say they have a crush on your best friend, reality’s going to hit you and you’re going to be a mess. We have our tournament tomorrow, and I kinda want you to direct your focus at… winning.”
Riki groans. “I can handle this perfectly fine.”
“Suit yourself,” Taki says. “Just don’t go crying into your pillow tonight.”
“Okay, truth or dare! Let’s go with you, Riki.” Sunghoon says, a smirk on his lips. “Do you like (Name)?”
“I haven’t even answered truth or dare yet, Hoon.” Riki frowns.
“Okay. Truth or dare, Riki? Pick truth.” Harua whispers the last part. Just to piss him off, Riki picks dare.
Harua doesn’t seem to be upset about Riki’s decision at all. “I dare you to tell (Name) you like her.” Harua says.
Riki shrugs, pulling out his phone. He just needs to make it really obvious to you that he’s joking. Riki doesn’t want his confession to you to be done because of a shitty dare. “What do you want me to type?” he asks.
Harua seems surprised at Riki’s reaction. “Tell her you love her and you want to be her boyfriend.”
Lame. I’ve said that before, Riki thinks.
Except that was before he realised he liked you, but things shouldn’t be that different, right?
When he types it, he adds a shit ton of emojis. You’ll surely know he’s joking then. But when he presses the send button, something tells him that he shouldn’t do it. Then, he feels nervousness.
Taki examines his expression carefully. The older boy knows Riki’s a little bit scared to send the message.
You both playfully flirt with each other all the time, Riki thinks. He knows you well. And he knows that you won’t think much of it. He just has to not think much about it.
So he hits send, and immediately shoves his phone back in his pocket.
“Wow, no hesitation?” Heeseung asks, shocked.
“A lot of hesitation, if you looked closely.” Taki said, and Riki rolls his eyes. “Okay. Who’s next…” Riki says, eyeing everyone in the circle.
He suspects Jo the most, in terms of being your mysterious secret admirer. He’s talked to you before, and you’ve said that you thought Jo was really nice, and he made you laugh before.
Plus, he told Riki not to pry after he found out that Taki knew who “volleyball anon” was.
“Jo.”
The boy looks up from his phone. “Hmm?”
“Truth or dare?”
“Truth,” Jo replies.
Riki smiles. Jongseob gulps.
“Are you volleyball anon?”
“No,” Jo replies. Riki looks at him intently. Jo doesn’t seem to be lying. Plus, Jo has a tell — the tip of his ears turn pink when he lies. And Jo’s ears aren’t pink.
“Hmm.” Riki hums. “Okay.”
So it’s not Jo. And Riki doesn’t think he suspects Harua at all now — the boy hasn’t really interacted with you since he first met you. Sunghoon and Heeseung don’t really talk to you too much, they just know you as his “girlfriend”.
It’s obviously not Taki. But if it was, Riki would jump off a bridge.
So that just leaves… Jongseob.
Riki thinks he’ll just wait his turn. But he thinks it all makes sense. Jongseob’s text message, asking about whether or not Riki thinks you like him back. Jongseob somehow not messaging the group chat whenever your name is mentioned. Jongseob’s barely noticeable jaw clenches when everyone else makes fun of Riki for liking you.
It’s got to be him. Out of all people, there’s nobody else it could possibly be. Unless, he’s overlooked some of Harua’s interactions with you. Or, if Taki has been tricking him, and the thought of that makes him want to crawl into a hole and never come out.
“Riki? Hello?” Taki waves his hand in front of his face. “Hmm? Sorry.” Riki says, snapping out of it.
“I was asking you truth or dare.”
“Truth?” Riki asks, and Taki smiles. “Good.”
“Riki, is it true you like (Name)?”
He should’ve seen this one coming. He might as well just admit it, right? He didn’t exactly want to confirm it, because… he would get teased mercilessly.
“Sure.” he says.
The room erupts into cheers, shouts and yells. Everyone is yelling. Everyone is saying “I knew it!”. Everyone is telling Riki: “Finally!”
Everyone but… Jongseob.
“Now was that so bad?” Taki asks Riki.
No, Riki thinks. It wasn’t bad at all. In fact, admitting his feelings out loud felt rather… nice.
“So, my turn now, right?” Riki asks. Everyone nods, and Riki lets out a deep breath before looking at Jongseob. “Jongseob, truth or dare?”
Jongseob knows one way or another, Riki’s going to spin this around and make him tell the truth.
Truth: Is it true that you’re volleyball anon?
Dare: I dare you to tell us if you’re volleyball anon or not.
There is no winning. He might as well come clean. That’s what he was talking about with Taki, before you had dropped by to hand over a package you wanted to give to Riki. Admittedly, Jongseob was jealous.
But to be completely honest, the boy knew he had practically zero chance. Maybe just a little part of him hoped that he would have some shot of being with you.
“Truth.” Jongseob says. Might as well get it done with.
“Are you volleyball anon?”
Jongseob wants to say yes. The answer is yes. He parts his lips to say the word — but nothing comes out.
It is all just silent.
And that silence tells Riki everything he needs to know.
“So… you are?” Sunghoon asks.
“Um… yes?”
All eyes are on Riki.
Fuck. Taki was right. Hearing the words from the person itself stings a little. And Riki feels like he shouldn’t be upset — because you’re great! Of course Jongseob would have a crush on you, because to Riki, you’re the best person alive. People would have to be stupid to not see how great you are. And he supposes that Jongseob is not stupid.
It’s just that jealousy is a terrible feeling. And that terrible feeling is telling Riki to tell everyone that he needs to get some air, and leave.
His phone pings with a message. Great timing, he thinks. He looks at the contact, and it’s you. “Give me a second, this is important. I’ll be back.”
Riki leaves the room, and the atmosphere inside gets less awkward much faster. “Is he going to kill me?” Jongseob asks.
“I don’t think so,” Taki hums. “I think he just needs some time to really digest this information.”
Riki checks the text message you sent him.
love you too, it reads, with a lot of emojis. are you drunk? is your follow-up message, even though you know Riki doesn’t drink.
no, he types back. just… nothing.
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twenty -out of all people! previous ☆ next ♡ masterlist
author's note. welp he knows
CUPID'S CORNER! a riki smau. genre: smau, crack, fluff, idol au pairing: non-idol! riki x non-idol! reader warnings: swearing, ignore timestamps taglist is CLOSED!
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CRY BABY ➜ HAIKYUU
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How the haikyuu boys comfort you when you’re crying! (gn!reader)
feat — Hajime Iwaizumi, Oikawa Tooru, Kuroo Tetsuro, and Sugawara Koshi
w.c: 5+ (i have no self control)
☾ content: an unnecessary amount of suggestive innuendos (not 18+ material but read at your own discretion nonetheless), mentions of insecurities, fluff, comfort and weed.
☾ note: i finally posted something and the fact that I rewrote this seventeen times is laughable (for reference, I started this on February the 19th) lmaoooo anyway—don’t be a stranger, reach out and tell me what you thought or request something! i love feedback! <3 
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k.t
An absolute menace. If this man ever finds you crying, he will fight everyone and anyone within a six foot radius of you, regardless of it being their fault or not.
Kuroo is the kind of man that would smother you to the point where you are sick of him.
He’d be constantly checking in on you; making sure you’re eating right and staying hydrated (If he catches you munching on a bag of Cheetos and a half empty can of sprite, he’s cooking you a five course meal).
Don’t be surprised when his tall, lanky, body flails down the stairs in an attempt to make you laugh. When you ask him about it, he’ll tell you that his pain is worth your smile 😭 But then you’ll hit him for being a dumbass 🗿
His well-toned arms would wrap around your waist as he whispers sweet nothings into your ear; cute things like, “it’s okay baby, I know,” or “I’m here.”
Absolutely refuses to leave your side. You need to pee? He’s coming with you. There’s someone at the door? They can come back later. You need to go to work? No you don’t.
Once you finally calm down, he’ll ask you what was wrong with extreme caution. He tries not to push it—even though he desperately want to know what happened—so he’ll slyly slip in subtle questions every now and then to gain a better understanding of the situation.
In the end, he’ll ruin whatever soft moment you two had by making really bad puns and dad jokes.
If he’s in the middle of work and finds out you’re crying, this man is running out of wherever he is to come home to you. And when he’s overseas, he’s already hovering his thumb over the call button under your contact (which is so cutely named “doriyaki💔” based solely on the fact that you accidentally ate his when you two were dating. Thirteen years ago…in middle school. Mf never forgot.)
The type to bring you roses and takeout after work 💜
Sends you wholesome messages throughout the day, even if you’re in the same room:
K: Ik I tell you everyday but you’re my other half and I love you with my entire heart ♡ ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و
Y: tetsu, you’re literally sitting right beside me—
K: I know
K: I just wanted to remind you ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚
Does that really attractive thing where he gently rubs his thumb over your knuckles while you’re talking.
Coddles you like a child; won’t let you do ANYTHING without his supervision or approval.
He won’t typically cry when you’re sad but if he feels like it was his fault, he’s fucking crumbling. He can’t handle knowing he was the reason and would do anything to make up for it. Even if it means prancing around in that maid dress you bought him last year 🥲
He’ll offer you his weed pen and, if you’re lucky, you two will hot box in his car before hitting the nearest beach. The smell of the salty ocean air and indica filling your nose while Kuroo’s arms wrap around your waist is enough to make you forget about all your problems. And the way he looks into your eyes—dear god. The amount of love and adoration swirling in those dark pools of his has your heart hammering. How could you possibly cry when he looks at you like you’re the most precious thing in the world??
If you tell him you look ugly from all the crying, he’s cupping your face in his hands and telling you you’re the most beautiful person he’s ever seen and kissing you until you admit it.
Kuroo is a business man but he’s also incredibly family oriented and romantic. If he’s really busy and can’t immediately come to your aid, he’s decorating your entire living room later that night. The walls are decked out with blinking Christmas lights and the table littered with your favorite dishes, all ranging from sweet to spicy entrees and desserts. The first thing you notice isn’t the gorgeous decor of your otherwise plain apartment, it’s the dashingly handsome man kneeling in the doorway. In his gloved hands is a bouquet of flowers and in the other a glass of wine, smiling as if to say, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there before but I’m here now.”
His body has to be touching yours. Whether it be his hands on your neck or his legs on your thighs, there has got to be some sort of body heat between the two of you, not that you minded of course.
He’ll also make you a nice up of tea or coffee and offer you a warm blanket for cuddles. If you choose to take him up on his offer, he’s quick to kiss away your tears and burry your head in his chest. Nothing’s more important to him than these moments where he can be your comfort; your rock.
And as much as he hates seeing you cry…there’s something about that vulnerability that makes him feel one with you. Well, that and when he’s literally one with you but yk—
Just an overall sweetheart when he finds you crying to yourself.
“Listen to my heartbeat, love. You hear that? Yeah, that’s the sound of me having a heart attack—don’t ever scare me like that again...you okay now?”
Overall a solid 8.5/10, he’s an amazing cuddle buddy and doesn’t invalidate your feelings but he can’t help but tease you too. It’s nothing major but little condescending jokes here and there end up pissing you off and leaves him in the dog house 🥲
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o.t
His very first instinct is to find out what happened.
The second is to stop you from crying—as much as he loves seeing your tears in the bedroom—he can’t stand to see them when you’re upset. It breaks his heart :((
He’d rather see you cry on his cock :(((
He so desperately wants to cry alongside you but he’s too afraid to reveal his vulnerability so he scrunches up his face and hides in your shoulder to conceal his tears. He’ll 100% deny it too if you bring it up.
Actually a huge sweetheart when it comes down to it. He’s tending to your every need, treating you like royalty and even cooking for you!
He would let you do whatever you want. Unlike Tetsuro, Tooru is the kind of comforter that encourages you to do whatever you want to make yourself feel better. Hell, he’ll even join you if you let him. Even if there’s something he’s not particularly fond of, he’s putting his distaste aside and doing it for you 💜
The kind of person to reenact the entire Romeo and Juliet play in the middle of the living room by HIMSELF—or with Iwaizumi—just to make you laugh.
Endless teasing. It doesn’t matter if you’re crying about something serious or something stupid, this dumbass would say the most out of pocket things at the WORST times, sometimes without meaning too.
Would let you braid his hair and do his makeup if you promised not to show anyone. But when he’s not looking, you’d sneakily send filtered pictures to the Argentina group chat.
@OfficialY/N: [[attached an image: 5]]
@OfficialY/N: my boyfriend looks so pretty :)
@TheBestRomero: lmaooooo posting this rn
@OfficialY/N: I—
‘@TheBestRomero tagged @MilkBread and @OfficialY/N in a post!’
@TheBestRomero: Never looked better @MilkBread! Everyone, thank @OfficalY/N for the photo ;)
@OfficialY/N: 🗿
“Y/NNNNNN!!!”
“Shit.”
His own insecurities fuel him. He puts himself down a lot, saying he doesn’t deserve someone like you and often spends his nights away from you crying about it. Instead of going out to celebrate his win with his teammates, he coupes himself up in his hotel room and makes silly little edits of you that no one will ever see. He understands how you feel, more than you ever would know, but he’d never openly confess it. Instead, he uses his insecurities to comfort you. No one could make you feel as warm as he does even if they tried.
Thinks it’s all his fault so he often apologizes on his behalf even if it has nothing to do with him.
This man lives in constant fear that one day you’ll just up and leave him—just like in his last relationship—so he lives everyday reminding you just how much he loves you.
Scatters random love letters and post-it notes around your shared apartment, his favorites being, “I love you my little milk-bread stealer” and “remember when we shared a kiss at the altar? me either, let’s make that memory together :)”
Sends you gifts from his travels. As cliché and romanticized as it is, he’ll write you post cards from wherever he is because sometimes a simple text isn’t enough.
Shyly suggests to take you out on a date to make you feel better. He feels the most vulnerable here so if you decide to tease him a little bit he’s pouting for the rest of the night. It’s 100% worth it though to see this gorgeous man’s plump lips puffed out as he brattily glares at you through his thick eyelashes 😩
If someone hurt you, Oikawa is immediately all over it. He isn’t extremely violent, nor has he ever been, but when it comes to you he’s willing to throw hands with just about anyone. However, if it’s a body builder three times his size, he’ll most likely call up Daichi and Iwaizumi to help him 😅
Checks in on you every so often. Since his job has him overseas a lot, he’s hardly home but he always makes the effort. He catches wind that you’re crying while he’s in Peru? He’s FaceTiming you almost immediately, no matter where he is or what he’s doing. Once he even FaceTimed you in the middle of a preliminary match.
(^We all know that oikawa was single because his ex-girlfriend said he spent too much time playing volleyball so I think he’s extra cautious about his time because he’s so scared that you—the absolute love of his life—is bound to leave him for the same reason. You wouldn’t, of course, but he’s mindful of it regardless 😭)
Hesitantly lays you on his lap, moving slowly to make sure you’re comfortable. If you make no effort to move away, he’ll lean into your touch and rub soothing circles on your shoulders:
Oikawa’s movements are silent. He’s gently pulling the collar of your oversized shirt passed your shoulders and gently pressing his lips against your neck. His kisses are soft, eagerly trying to cover every inch of your skin as you let out shaky sobs.
“It’s okay, beautiful,” he cooes, nuzzling his nose into your hair as his hands run up and down your sides, “I’m here for you. Everything will be alright now, I promise.”
Would definitely stick his tongue out cutely at you, threatening to kitten lick your tears away unless you stop crying. He probably wouldn’t do that because that’s kind of gross but it makes you laugh anyway.
Constant reassurance. He would tell you all the right things to make you feel loved and secure in his warm arms 💕
Posts “my s/o is sad so i am too :(” on his Instagram with a picture of you crying in his lap. Your face isn’t shown in the picture but the way you buried your face into his torso easily gave you away.
^ You’re beating his ass after that.
Depending on how bad you’re crying, Oikawa will either gently hold you in his arms with his fingers gliding through your hair or he’s silently listening to you rant. He might not have the answer to everything but he sure as hell is good at giving advice and listening. He’ll give you everything you need and more.
He even wears the cologne you love so that you can smell it when you cuddle him to sleep.
If he’s home pray to god for mercy 😭 he’s not letting you out of his sight, let alone out of his arms. Much like Kuroo, he has to be touching you. Doesn’t matter where or how, physical contact is an absolute must for you two (it’s his primary love language).
Let’s be honest, this cocky mother fucker would use this as an opportunity to turn you on. Like I said, he loves seeing you cry in the bedroom so once he sees your red eyes, tear-stained cheeks and smudged eyeliner, all blood rushes to his head. He gets so dizzy he physically can’t think of anything else. Once he feels that you’re starting to feel a little better, he’s jumping into action. His hands are snaking from your waist to the inside of your thighs, gently kneading your skin as his hot breath tickles the back of your neck.
“You look so fucking gorgeous when you cry, precious…I wanna see more. What do you say? Will you let me take care of you?”
^🦋🦋🦋
Would 100% send you pictures of cute dogs and himself
If you’re wearing makeup that gets ruined after you’re crying, he’ll touch it up for you as best as he can and if you’re being honest it’s better than what you normally do.
Tries to make you brownies but quickly remembers he doesn’t know how to bake for shit and nearly burns down your kitchen ☺️
Willingly gives you his milk bread in hopes of cheering you up
The kind of man to head to a bakery or flower shop before seeing you, getting you only the best things he could possibly find.
He’s a pretty good listener and would make connections to his own life to let you know that you’re not alone <3
“Please don’t cry, baby, what’s wrong? Want me to run to the store and get you something?”
5.5/10. He’s just too much of a drama queen to handle the situation 100% seriously
Overall an 8/10. He knows when to be serious so when you’re crying about something important, you better believe he’s going to be all over it. There wouldn’t be an ounce of joking or teasing in his voice until he sees a smile on that beautiful face of yours <3 (but then right after he’s back to calling you a crybaby 🗿)
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s.k
Immediately panics, no matter how big or small the issue is. He doesn’t even have the gall to hide it, he practically has a mental breakdown in the middle of the living room and asks you what happened and if he needs to get the cops involved. (Sure on the court Suga was the best at keeping everyone calm but what happens when he can’t be calm? All hell breaks loose 💀)
Once he gets over his initial shock, he’s quick to react. He’ll do subtle sweet things like running you a warm bath with aroma therapy or giving you massages with essential oils—anything to keep your mind and body at ease 💕
More times than not, during your bath, he’ll pull up a chair and start scrubbing shampoo into your hair. Even though he’s not a masseuse, he might’ve been in his past life with how perfect his technique is 😩
The kind of man that would make you homemade pastries when you’re sad. Just imagine crying your eyes out in a dimly lit bedroom and Suga comes in with a dopey smile on his face and a plate full of apple flavored cream puffs. What’s better than that??
Would give you one of his hoodies since he knows you love the smell of his vanilla and citrus shampoo.
Professionally sings the song, “under the sea,” from The Little Mermaid. He’ll encourage you to sing with him and if you do, Suga’s heart swells. Doesn’t matter if your voice cracks or if you can’t sing, he just loves the fact you’re trying. (If anyone gets the reference—you’re hot.)
Wouldn’t hesitate to call Daichi if he suspects someone has been harassing you in any way, shape or form:
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“Y/N’s crying.”
“Huh?”
“Y/N is crying.”
“Who is—hold on. Is this Sugawara-san?”
“Yeah.”
A sigh could be heard on the other side of the phone.
“…just a minute, I’ll send you over to Daichi-san.”
“Thank you.”
Click.
“Hello?”
“Daichi, Y/N’s crying.”
“…I told you not to call me at work, Suga—”
“But it’s important! I think someone is harassing them! They came home from work and wouldn’t stop crying! I think it has something to do with that bastard Kumura from sales!”
“….the one with the boat?”
“The one with five.”
“Shit,” a lot of rustling and the jangling of keys could be heard, “ETA 10.”
ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival
Makes you rest in bed for days. You developed a small headache from the crying and as soon as you mentioned it to your fiancé, he was immediately treating you like a sick child incapable of taking care of themselves.
Constantly uses pet names like it’s a mantra, so much to the point where you think he might have forgotten your real name.
He’ll even hit up the pretty setter squad to support you. They’ll all make sure you are laughing and smiling in no time! However, if he notices a certain blonde setter getting a little too close to what’s rightfully his, he won’t hesitate to grab you by the waist and establish his boundaries:
“Ooh, a new outfit,” Atsumu hums, gently running his fingers past the light blue material of your shirt, making you jump slightly in surprise. He chuckles, tilting his head to the side and grins cheekily, “hehe sorry, honey. Ya just look real pretty.”
You turn around and take notice of his lingering gaze on your body, making you shake your head and offer him a goofy smile. You were used to the twins’ blatant advances toward you, knowing full well he enjoyed teasing you any chance he got—especially if he found out you were feeling down. In a strange way, it was his way of comforting you.
“Hey ‘sumu,” you laugh sheepishly, taking a small step back from the flirtatious setter’s advances only for him to close the gap again, “how’ve you been?”
“Better now. I finally get to see ya, precious.”
Strike one.
“Precious? Well that’s a new one,” you snort, crossing your arms and keeping your eyes level with his, “where’s your brother?”
Atsumu’s eyes wander from your eyes to your slightly exposed chest right down to your thighs.
Strike two.
“He’s in tha back gettin’ firewood. Wanna go ‘round and see what trouble we can find, sweetheart?”
Strike three.
Suga wastes no time in pushing past his old orange-haired kohai and stalking up to the two of you, having seen the entire interaction before it even began. The blonde setter feels a sudden rush of cold air cascade down his spine but chooses to ignore it, big mistake. Not even a second later, the source of his discomfort is standing right in front of him, grabbing you by the waist and quickly pressing his lips against yours. You jolt, feeling Suga’s tongue prod against your lips as he stares right at you, as if to say, “keep your eyes only on me.”
Yeah, Atsumu left soon after lmao (forgive me—idk how to write the way atsumu talks 😭😂)
Being as artistic and crafty as he is, he attempts to paint a portrait of you. Initially, he was saving it for your anniversary but once he sees the crocodile tears streaming down your face, he decides to give it to you early.
Magic hands. It doesn’t matter where this man touches you, if his hands are anywhere near your body, expect a massage that’ll have you drooling. There’s just something about his soft yet firm touch that makes you fold. It doesn’t help that he knows all the places that make you squirm either.
Would cover your face in cute stickers for no real reason at all. You don’t have kids but because of Koshi’s job as an elementary school teacher, he’ll always have at least a pocketful of cute stickers his kids give him.
Gently pokes you on the side of your stomach, chanting, “negativity begone!”
Says things to himself as if you aren’t in the room. He’ll up and say, “I really wish that my amazing partner was happy! What could I, their oh-so-amazing fiancé, do in this a dire situation!” Which usually ends up with you giggling into his chest.
Makes you tea, coffee, or hot cocoa depending on your preference but is always so extra about it. Your tea would have honey and lemon served with a lemon bar, your coffee would have latte art severed with a slice of toffee cake and your hot cocoa would have marshmallows served with a s’more 💕
Just lays with you until you decide to speak. He’s really considerate of other people’s feelings, especially yours, so he would embrace you in his arms and waits until you’re ready to talk.
Gets his entire elementary class to do something for you. The next day after you’re crying, he’ll tell his kids that you’re not feeling well so he wants them to make something nice for you during arts and crafts time. Expect plenty of cute little hand-drawn cards, necklaces, and macaroni art.
Constant videos of him interacting with the kids. He’ll be dancing with one of the girls, playing catch with one of the boys or even singing with the whole class. It’s the cutest thing ever to see him messing around with them 😭
Just a super considerate sweetheart who holds you on a pedestal.
“Take as long as you need, honey, I’m not going anywhere.”
1000000000/10. I don’t make the rules, he’s the best. No further debate 😭
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Bless it be the lucky son of a bitch that gets to cry into Hajime’s huge, tattooed, biceps 🙏🏻
As soon as Hajime sees your tears it’s all over. He immediately jumps to the conclusion that someone hurt you and unless you tell him otherwise, he’s planning someone’s murder checking in with all your friends and family to see if they know anything.
(Very concerned and devoted husband 10/10)
As soon as he gets an understanding of the situation he approaches you more sensitively, gently asking you what’s wrong while he wipes your tears away. The last thing he’d want to do is make you feel worse of course.
The kind of comforter that’ll load you into his pick up truck and take you out on a late-night drive through the city.
He’ll come home from work ready for a night of classical music and body oil. As much as he refuses to admit it, he loves these moments. The evenings he gets to spend with you, stripped of all clothing, completely and utterly bare to him just so he can take care of you makes him feel whole. The feeling the warmth of your body under his touch gives him reassurance that you’re okay so as much as it helps you it also helps him. (It’s a completely sexless endeavor full of non-sexual love. He’s gently rubbing oil into your tense muscles, just wanting to make you feel better—he’d never take advantage of your vulnerability.)
Hajime’s day job as an athletic trainer requires him to know a lot about the body so the massages he gives you are absolutely mouth watering 😩 (sometimes you even pretend you’re sad just to get a full body massage)
When you look at him with those big, gorgeous, doe eyes of yours—brimmed with tears nonetheless—he swoons. He thinks you’re such a pretty crier and would tell you that without hesitation.
Randomly tapes passive aggressive letters to your bathroom mirror 😭
“Stop crying, you look like a gremlin. Love you ♡”
“Take a shower stinky, you’ve been in bed for days.”
“Idc if you’re sad, you better not watch 90 day fiancé without me.”
^and once he’s done being a little shit 🙄 he’s forcing you to cuddle him on the couch like the huge softie he is 💕
Shyly offers to cook you dinner. The adorable little blush on his tan cheeks as he shuffles into the kitchen wearing nothing but his boxers and a “kiss the cook” apron leaves little to imagination. At that point, you’re hardly crying anymore, all you can think about is how fast you can get him off under those pretty pink ruffles.
Playfully picks fights with you. You’ll have a small stain on your shirt that Hajime notices and he’s teasing you about it 😭 like you’re crying and he’s just like “babe…did you have mochi without me? How could you?” And you’re just there like 🧍‍♀️
His arms. That’s it. That’s your comfort.
Rubs the upper parts of your cheeks with his thumbs, removing the tears from your face before they fall. He hates seeing you cry, it makes him feel like he failed to protect you.
The kind of man that’ll play the song you two danced to at your wedding. The both of you gently swaying to the music as your daughter, Asaka, comes running in, doing her own little dance with her little bunny rabbit 😭
Like Tooru, Hajime will randomly send you selfies throughout the day. Most of them are either really out of focus or just plain dorky but they make you smile nonetheless. (A lot of them are just him flexing in the mirror at the gym)
Gives you his Godzilla™ hoodie then gets mad at you for wetting it 🗿
Takes your daughter out of school early to surprise you at work.
Asks Oikawa to play a few practice matches with you when he’s in town, knowing how much you enjoyed watching the Argentinian play:
“Iwaizumi,” the brown-haired setter rushes off to the side of the court, catching you and your husband laughing at something by the bleachers. It was like high school all over again—the image of young Hajime trying to pick you up in the gym suddenly flashed in his mind.
Both you and Hajime turn.
“Yes, ‘kawa?”
“What’s up, shittykawa?”
Two completely different responses.
“Oh,” Oikawa reels back in embarrassment, cheeks glowing red as his eyes flickered back and forth between you and your husband, “I keep forgetting you two have the same last name. Still haven’t gotten used to it.”
You both share a quick, knowing glance, before bursting out into fits of laughter. That’s right, you remembered, watching Hajime strike up a conversation with his best friend with a look akin to annoyance, you were an Iwaizumi. The realization almost made you start crying again. Almost.
If you have long hair, Hajime is using one of your daughter’s hair ties and putting your hair up in a ponytail so your tears won’t stick to your bangs.
Constantly poking your cheeks. He just loves the feeling of your soft skin in his hands so he’ll knead at the small squish in between his palms until you’re muffling your words. He does this a lot when you’re crying so you stop talking and breathe.
Loads up animal crossing on your matching Nintendo Switches (you both have the limited edition green and blue one) and gives you cute things he finds around his island like white cosmos and blue sea shells 😭 he’s also the kind of person that would spend all day setting up a ocean-side cafe in game to surprise you on a little animal crossing date 🥺💕
^(idk man, the idea of seeing hajime spending hours perfecting the ideal picnic spot has my heart all warm and shit. For reference, your date spots would look something like this 😭😭)
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Practically force feeds you if he suspects you haven’t been eating well.
Tickles you 😭 this man would be a menace if he finds you crying. He’s pulling out the “tickle monster” card and chasing your ass around the house until he’s got you trapped underneath him. Your daughter thinks it’s a game and joins him 🗿 the little traitor—
The kind of man who’ll prioritize you above all else. Everything that isn’t you become irrelevant and the only thing on his mind is how he could possibly make you feel better.
“Hey hon, want me to take the day off? We can go to that amusement park you and Asa are always talkin’ about.”
11/10. Hajime just has a comforting aura around him that makes you instantly feel at home. The combination of his biceps wrapped around your waist, his natural scent of oak, and the gentle rain pattering against the hard-panned window is all too perfect 💜
I ran out of ideas lmfao
||Requests Open||
611 notes · View notes
wintertidewater · 2 years
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A Beginner's Guide to Feminist Action: Independent, Anonymous, and Inexpensive
Stickers
There are wonderful feminist artists who sell stickers, however, the cost of small scale labor and shipping doesn't make it financially favorable for all of us.
Making your own can be as simple as using a pen, paper, and any type of tape. Glue can be a replacement. If you have extra tape, and it is clear, like scotch tape, you can "laminate" your paper to protect it. Hairspray works as well. Both tools can be found at places like Dollar tree if you don't already have one. Benefits of this is that the size and mottos are completely in your control and can be diversified.
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Paper name tag stickers also work and are easy to mass produce with no cutting or adhesive necessary. You can write on them directly and they come on plastic so they're ready to peel like normal stickers. They come in packs of 25 or 50+ and can be found at places like target or walmart.
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If you'd like your sticker to be permanent or are worried about others undoing your work, go back to Dollar Tree and get the small tubes of super glue. Place your laminated paper on a pole, use two small bits of tape to hold it in place, and squeeze out 1/2 to 1 small tube of the glue starting at the top. Once its stuck, take off the two bits of placement tape and apply glue to the full sides as well. This will make it weatherproof and unpeelable.
The goal of public feminist expression is exposure. Accordingly, postings in high traffic areas are more favorable than remote ones. This doesn't have to mean city hall. Parking lots, malls, schools, parks, and intersections are all favorable places. Stickers work well on poles. Placing them above crosswalk buttons ensures viewers.
One advantage of stickers is anonymity. You can quickly apply one and move on without drawing attention to yourself.
Writing
We're all familiar with the cascade of male genitals drawn everywhere. If there is one thing to learn from that, it is that graffiti can be as simple as using a sharpie in a bathroom stall. Sharpies work well on most surfaces. If you feel comfortable stopping somewhere to take the time and write or draw, they make a very cost friendly and effective tool. Thicker permanent markers are better for higher visibility, especially if the message isn't near eye level. Your messages can again be laminated with a layer of super glue.
You can also write with spray paint but assuming you are not experienced with this, it can be an unnecessary risk especially as it is audible and requires a larger surface area.
Posters
Posterboards do not need to be bought. If you've ever worked in a warehouse or at a store, you know just how many hundreds of flat solid pieces of cardboard are chucked everyday. You can approach a store employee to ask, or take a look around in their recycling bin outside. Some stores with long hours begin restocking before closing. At this time, you can simply ask whoever is right there unpacking and you will be allowed access to those trays and boxes. You can use old moving boxes and so on.
A quick and cheap way to complete your posters is to again go to dollar tree. In the school section they have packs of large paper letters with each containing the alphabet thrice. These work as reuseable and readily available stencils. As stencils, once you position them, you can use a can of spray paint, trace them, or even spray it with dyed water to leave your message. Little bits of tape or pebbles on the letters may be necessary if you're using spray paint to ensure they stay in place under the air force. You also can simply tape them on to be permanent however most phrases do not use letters evenly and so more packs (and thus more money) will be needed. Spray paint is available at walmart for $6 a can. I recommend black.
A great place to put posters is on your nearest overpass (or bridge that crosses your busy roadways). Make sure they are on the inside of the fence to avoid the risk of them falling and creating hazards for drivers. You can have two sets of signs for each overpass to cover both sides of traffic.
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This is an example (of which the credit is not owed to me) from a recent roadtrip. The three signs read, "Women", "Liberty", and "Justice" on the Iranian flag. The second set of signs is on the other side of the bridge and its corresponding fence to be visible to the cars on the left side of traffic.
Adherring your posters to the fence well is important due to the winds from cars underneath and on the bridge. Make 4 (or more) holes in your board near but a sturdy distance away from the corners and sides. Rope, twine, wire, and duct tape are possible options to tie it to a chainlink fence. Maybe your sock has a hole in it. use that to tie your poster to a fence. Cut it into strips or use it whole. Point being you do not need to spend money. You can be resourceful as far as your imagination goes.
General
While doing any of these, it is a good idea to wear a mask, hat, and nondescript clothing to protect your identity. Be mindful that that outfit can make you seem more suspicious. You know your own neighborhood best.
If it is safe for you to do so, make use of the cover of night. Depending on the hour of night, even the busiest places will likely be completely empty.
Be wary of cameras. Scouting a place out in a completely different outfit during the daytime is wise to avoid landing up on film. Make note of where the safe places to graffiti are.
For both protection and to look less suspicious, if you have a dog, take her on a walk when you do this. You can also use a baby stroller for a similar reason with the added bonus of it carrying and hiding your supplies.
None of these projects should cost more than a flat fee of $7 for materials which can be used again and again.
Pepper spray and a knife are always recommended. Biking is also favorable. For the most part, you're safe as long as you keep moving when biking.
I hope this helped give you ideas on how you can create a feminist presence in your neighborhood. Good luck and stay safe.
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asshlyyyy · 1 year
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Strawberry Pie
It is time to get rid of some drafts that I have had for months at this point. Even if they have a few sentences I want to get them out. I also hope that having these one-shots thrown in people will remember me... and maybe my posts will do better then... (22 notes). It really is unmotivating sometimes. Looking at your follower count and then your notes. Like so far... the year is not going good for this account.
Masterlist
Pairing: Austin Butler x Fem!Reader
Warnings: Mentions of Death, Fluff, Mentions of Baby Talk, Perhaps Some Swearing. Spelling and Grammatical Errors. Let me know if I missed anything!
Word Count: 1.6k
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You scrolled through the list of songs on your phone. Today you were in a cheerful mood. You were happy, and you felt no sense of sadness. Let’s not jinx it just yet, but you had big plans today. Austin was out with his agent talking about some upcoming deals. You wanted to surprise him with a small gift. 
Once you finally decided on the song you turned off your phone and went over to your recipe box. You only had a few recipes in there that were from you, but you had your grandmother’s as well. She always talked about how you were going to get that box when she died and well… That day came a couple of months ago. It still pained you, but you were finally in a good mood. 
Peering through all the recipes your eyes found the one you wanted, Strawberry pie. You remember eating this during the summers at your grandmother’s house. It was such a fond memory and such a wonderful pie. You pulled it out of the box and brought it over to the middle island. 
You brought out all of the ingredients needed and started to get to work. You had a few hours before Austin came in, so in theory… the pie should be cooled down when he arrives. That way you two can have a slice after dinner. Seems like today is a day you’ll be spending in the kitchen. You had no issue with that though. You loved being a housewife. 
As stereotypical as it was… it was nice. Not having to worry about working. You were able to stay home, keep the house clean, cook your husband a wonderful dinner… or order it… and tend to other matters. Hopefully one day you can add a little one to the equation. For now, that wasn’t on Austin’s list and you had to respect that. 
For dinner, you had planned a dish that would go along with your pie. You were thinking about making salmon with mashed potatoes, and then some type of veggie on the side. It just depended on what you had. That seemed like a good meal, and then you two could have some pie afterward… It sounded perfect. 
Once everything was in the oven and everything was getting cooked you decided to take a break. You untied your apron and took it off. You’ve been standing on your feet for some time now, you wanted to sit down, and that is exactly what you ended up doing. You grabbed your phone to check your notifications.
A few messages from Austin, some even from your sister. A missed call from your mother, a few emails- wait… a missed call from your mother? You went ahead and called her back. Your mother usually didn’t call. If she did, she would let you know. Plus, she didn’t leave a message either which… is even weirder. 
“Hello?” Your mother’s voice entered your ear.
“Hi momma, I was just returning your call. I didn’t know you called.” You said to her. 
“Oh, I didn’t mean to. I just accidentally hit the call button instead of something else. I tried to hang up quickly so… I didn’t mean to, I’m sorry honey.” Your mother explained. You let out an oh sound and nodded.
“It’s okay, I just thought it was weird is all. Figured I would give you a call and check-in. Make sure that everything is okay.”
“Well, now that I got you. What’s going on? Anything exciting happening today?” She asked you.
“Well, you remember that strawberry cake grandma would always make us in the summer?” You questioned her. 
“Of course I do,” she replied.
“Well, I decided to make that today for Austin. I was just feeling in a good mood and I figured to use that energy and create something with it.” You explained to her.   
“Oh, that sounds delicious. I wish you would bring us some over, but that is too long of a drive.” Your mother chuckled. You rolled your eyes playfully and shook her head.
“Well next time you guys come and visit, or we come to yours to visit I’ll be sure to make some. I know Grandma would want me to share it.” You told her. 
“Yeah, she would have.” Your mother said softly, “I miss her.”
“I miss her too… it’s been rough… I honestly hoped I would’ve had kids before she passed. She was such a wonderful lady but… You have one fall and it’s all downhill from there…” You replied back with a soft tone. Here was the sadness, that sadness you all so had to jinx yourself with earlier. 
“I know… but, she’s still around. In our hearts… in our minds… in spirit. She will always be around. We just can’t see her,” Your mother recited some type of religicall sentence. Like the father, son, and the Holy Spirit. 
“I know… well… I better get back to it then. I have to check on the Salmon and see how the pie is cooling. Bye, momma, I love you.”
“I love you too, honey.” She replied and hung up. You placed your phone down and let out a sigh. 
You pushed yourself up and walked over to the big sliding glass doors. You pushed them open and stood in the middle. You felt the cool wind brush past your skin in a soothing manner. The clear blue skies let you know that… she was here. The clear blue skies those summers you would spend with her. 
You smiled softly and went back to check your mood, leaving the doors open to let in fresh air… and maybe even your grandma. You knew spirits could do anywhere they wanted, but your grandmother was a respectful woman. She would only enter when allowed, and when it was okay. 
You pulled out the food and started to get the plates ready. You heard a ding from your phone and went to quickly check it. A text from Austin that read, Just down the street. I’ll be home soon :P 
You giggled lightly at the expression he added and shook your head. For once, you had managed your time, and everything will fall into place right when you need it to. You brought the food over to the table and went to quickly wipe your hands. You rushed over to the door and opened it just as Austin was.
“Oh, hi,” Austin chuckled lightly. You smiled and pushed yourself up on your tippy toes and kissed his cheek.
“Hi, I missed you.” You greeted him and moved out of the way. 
“I missed you too, sweetheart… but what is going on?” He looked at you confused.
“What do you mean?”
“You hardly greet me at the door.” He pointed out to you. 
“Well- you aren’t wrong, but I made dinner… and I made a special dessert. One I’ve been wanting to make you for quite some time.” You explained to him.
“Let me freshen up and I’ll meet you in the kitchen then okay?” With a nod of your head, Austin made his way upstairs to freshen up. 
You made your way back over to the kitchen and decided to get the drinks. You poured two glasses of water and brought them over to the table. You sat down and patiently waited for Austin. You looked out into your guys’ backyard and smiled. Your grandmother’s backyard was a field of memories. Easter time in the annual Y/l/n egg hunt. You always won of course. No one could ever beat your skills. 
You remember around Christmas time when you would go out with your grandparents and build snowmen with them. The snowball fights you all shared. The summer barbecue with the strawberry pie. God, you’re going to miss having those every year. 
“Oh wow,” Austin said as he entered the kitchen. You looked over at him and smiled.
“Remember how I tell you the stories about my grandma’s strawberry pie?” You asked him gently. He nodded and found his way across from you.
“Every time you tell it, it leaves my mouth watering.” He chuckled lightly. 
“Well… I made it,” you smiled.
“Is there a special occasion? I didn’t forget anything right? Cause I swear our anniversary isn’t until another two months. Your birthday isn’t until another five months… As far as I know, today is nothing.” He started to freak out a bit. You laughed gently at him. 
“I guess I just wanted to celebrate being in a good mood. It’s been rough these few months you know… and I finally wake up and I’m in a good mood. Wanted to treat my boyfriend.” You admitted to him.
“Dammit, I knew I should’ve stopped for flowers.” He swore at himself. 
‘’Austin stop,” you shook your head, “you get me flowers all the time. I wanted to treat you for once.”
“I love you,” Austin said as he reached over for your hand. You blushed gently as he gave your hand a squeeze.
“I love you too.” 
“Well, shall we dig in so we can get to that pie?” Austin suggested with a smile. You nodded early and started to eat your dinner. 
You two talked about each other's day. Though, Austin’s was much more entertaining than your baking story. Though, Austin would never say that. He always had nice things to say no matter what. When the time came to eat pie, you two went out onto the deck to enjoy it. Where you shared stories about your grandma to him.
“Maybe one day we can do that.” Austin hummed from beside you. You turned to look at him confused. What did he mean by that? “Make new memories with our kids.”
“Our kids…?”
“Yeah, I think… I think we can start trying. That is if you want to of course. Share your grandma’s pie to generations.” He smiled as he wrapped his arm around you. 
“I would like that,” you whispered and kissed him softly. 
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I think you all could have noticed that I don't post as much as I used to. It's mostly because I am loosing motivation. I know I talk about the lack of notes a lot... but it really is a big factor. I used to get hundreds and now I'm barely breaking a hundred.
I know it sounds like I'm being ungrateful but I'm just lost and confused in what happened.
Thank you to everyone who voted for a time! I really appreciate it. Also, this is my first time using the queue function so… let’s see if I did it right.
Mutual Taglist: @babyhoneypresley @emmymaehereeeeee @venus-haze @austinstyles
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bits-and-pieces-of · 9 months
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Right, so, Tumblr’s doing that Thing where they play “catch up” with the rest of the 2023 Internet again.
If you haven’t noticed yet, your ability to ‘snooze’ Tumblr live now extends to 30 days from your dashboard, but the icon to access it is a permanent fixture on your Tumblr page.
There are plenty of ways to let Tumblr know that we’re unhappy with their changes - leaving one-star reviews is one example, and people around here are very fond of just directly typing @/staff.
Tumblr does also have a feedback option in the help centre, which I normally access on the IOS mobile app, but should be 95% the same process for everyone.
Step 1: Open Settings, which is the gear icon in the top-right corner of your blog page.
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Step 2: Go into “General Settings” which is listed under “account settings”
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Step 3: Scroll to the bottom of “General Settings” where under “Account” you can find the “Help” button, that opens the “Help centre” window.
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Step 4: Scroll all the way to the bottom of the “Help Centre” home page, and hit the “Contact Support” button.
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Step 5: On the submissions page, select that the type of message you’re sending is “feedback.”
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Then go ham in the message box to tell people who are paid to read that shit exactly what you think of Tumblr’s new policies.
The last window will be an attempt to solve your problem without submitting the ticket, but if you scroll to the bottom right and hit the “submit” button, congrats! You’re done.
Please remember that the person reading it is, in fact, a person, who has little to no power over what Tumblr corporate chooses to do with this website. Their job is to log how many feedback complaints they get, what they’re about, and relay what we want to their superiors.
The more tickets that we send complaining, the more formalized data Tumblr has about what we do and don’t want, other than a handful of 2-10k posts floating around with a vague “@/staff: what the fuck” message.
Good luck, friends, and learn the joys of being a bureaucratic nightmare!
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powdermelonkeg · 1 year
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New and Genuine Tumblr Update Proposals
Bring back the corner flap that opens the post's permalink in a new window
Add a badge that changes color depending on how many bots you've blocked. Blogs with a higher "tier" of badge get priority on whether their reporting is taken seriously, to reduce spam
Add a badge to new accounts that disappears after a month, both to combat bots and to allow users to more easily identify people that don't know how to use the site yet
Bring the green mutuals mark (visible on the followers page on the current version) to the dashboard beside a person's username, for easy reference if you're mutuals with someone you're about to reply to
Make desktop dashboard configuration HTML-configurable, in the same way blogs are (Ao3 skins are a good reference for how this would work)
Make the mobile dashboard color-customizable in the settings, allowing the user to pick the color of the background and text with a color wheel
Accessibility toggle: Takes ALT descriptions and makes them appear as text below the images they're attached to
Change the notes configuration from "comments and tags, tags," and "other reblogs" to a dropdown list of toggles: "show comments," "show tags," and "show other reblogs"
Add a "replied from [username]" message beside replies in notes, to be able to determine who a reply is aimed towards. Extending from this, make this message a link to the post in the reblog chain the reply was made from
Add a "show reblogs only from [username]" box to the notes, with the [username] portion a blank space to be filled in by the person looking
Add an option to the search function to exclude tags
Add an option to the dropdown search menu to sort by most additions
Add an option to the dropdown search menu, specifically for the type of posts, to filter by asks
Add an option to the search menu to "search text only" or "search tags only" to improve search functionality. For example, if I'm searching for "witcher," I have the option to choose to see things tagged only as "witcher," rather than getting every post that says something like "I'm done with the Witcher, now moving on to Skyrim"
Add an option to the report menu for "suspected bot activity"
Add an asker-side toggle for an ask to be replied to privately. Currently, this is on the side of the person asked, and the asker has to request "please reply privately" and hope it's respected
Inform a user who asked anonymously if their anonymous question has been answered
Add a "screenshot post" button that makes a copy of the post in png form and adds it to your clipboard
Divide tags into "indexed" and "non-indexed," configurable by a symbol. For example, #i am up too late would not be indexed and therefore hidden from searches, while #real coffee hours* would be indexed and able to be searched
Add the ability to include multiple tags for search in the archive page of a blog
Add the ability to exclude tags from the archive page of a blog
Change the sideblog list in the "account" menu on desktop to a list of icons along the left side of the dashboard, each one being that sideblog's profile picture, and toggle between dashboards when each sideblog is clicked
Change "post now" at the bottom of a post to "post to [username]," to help with accidental posts to the wrong sideblog. This can be a movement of the dropdown menu from the top of the post to the bottom
Add a toggle to the settings menu for "loop video after completion." The current default is to loop endlessly
With each algorithm tab, include an information button (a question mark, for example) that explains in plain terms where it gets its data. For example "based on your likes" would say "these posts were liked by 10 people you have also liked the posts of," or "in your orbit" would say "these are people that 10 of your mutuals follow"
Add a sorting function to both the "followers" and "following" tabs, for example: "sort by A-Z," "sort by order followed (descending/ascending)," and "sort by date last posted"
Add an option to "block this post" in the meatballs menu of a post, removing the post and subsequent reblogs from your dash and adding them to a blacklist that can be found in settings
Add a search box to both the drafts and queue page, allowing users with several posts in both of these to find and edit posts more easily
These are just off the top of my head. I've purposely stayed away from "remove function that everyone hates" in terms of updates, as I'm aware that some of those have certain criteria and/or are out of Tumblr coding staff's control. The single exception to this is the first point about the corner flap, because I believe its inclusion adds functionality and ease-of-access to the site.
If any of these look good, go ahead and code them in. No permission/credit required, I'm just invested in the future of the site.
@staff
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cosplayinamerica · 2 years
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POM Wonderful / Cosplayer: catcancraft
I decided to bring the Pom Wonderful bottle costume to life after years of joking about sharing the same body type. "Hourglass? More like Pom Wonderful bottle!" The overall aesthetic was inspired by retro cigarette girl costumes, hence the off-center hat that amusingly irritated so many!
Like most of my costumes, the process was all about the details. Everything on the dress was cut, stitched and written/painted by hand. Since I don't have a dress form, I had to fill trash bags with Polyfil to roughly fit my measurements. I even bothered to work up the math for the accurate serving size information for my weight & "liquid volume". As for materials, the dress details are all done in felt & puff paint. (I wanted something that wouldn't crack when stretching over my body!) The hat is made from cardboard, paint, netting, and phonebook paper. The bottle I’m holding is a fully functional purse that was dyed with alcohol ink, lined in cellophane with a ribbon strap and button closure. Purses are a must with all of my costume designs, as the function is as important as form!
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The response was INCREDIBLE! My costume went viral and FAST. I posted the original photos on my Facebook page around 6pm, and by 8pm, I was getting messages about being on the front page of Reddit. (I didn't post it there, but many others did!) By the next day, my phone battery couldn’t stay full as I was receiving an unbelievable amount of messages thanking me for my body positivity, fan art (!!!), and (uncredited, grrr) memes, etc! There was a bit of a backlash (re: my size) from some darker corners of the internet, but far and away the positive reaction overshadowed the bad. Pom Wonderful's PR team re-posted my costume and sent me an amazing gift basket filled with all the Pom goodies a bottle could ever want. Over the years, I've had many people message me thanking me for my visibility, as well as sharing recreations of their own versions of the costume.
The night after I posted the costume, I was handing out candy on Halloween night and I was recognized IN PERSON! Many of the parents had apparently seen me on Reddit. I was floored. Within the first few days of posting, I’d been interviewed for a podcast, featured on Buzzfeed and numerous body-positive articles, so you can imagine the response since the initial posting. It's been three years since I posted the costume, and every Halloween since, the original post and the uncredited meme re-circulate.
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I’m still humbled by the massive response to a costume I ultimately made for my own amusement. But, I think that in itself sums up the spirit of Halloween and cosplay. You can be anything you want, and the joy in what you’ve made will shine. Many people commented on how genuinely happy I looked in the photos. Because I was! A silly vision come to fruition. The Pom costume checked off so many boxes: silliness, body positivity, creativity and more, that it resonated with a wider audience than I'd ever conceived it could, and continues to do so every Halloween. And the fresh pomegranates in my gift package weren’t so bad either.
https://beacons.ai/catcraft/
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caelumsnuff · 1 month
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Oh boy, aren't you just tired of those damn opinions in your fandom?
If you would like to stop seeing my opinions and those of others who don't think exactly like you, i have a great little tool to tell you about called "Blocking."
By blocking me or anyone else who posts opinions that oppose your own, you no longer have to see our posts and we are incapable of interacting with your blog via likes, reblogs, replies, messages, or asks (unless we operate on side blogs, that is). Unfortunately, blocking someone on tumblr never will prevent them from seeing your posts, so you will just have to live with that fact. (Telling other people to block you does nothing positive for you!)
Here, i'll teach you how using myself as an example;
Blocking on your main blog vs your side blog are two different tasks, but ill explain both.
If you are on your main blog, you will need to click on the blog of the person you are wanting to block. It should look something like this.
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You're going to want to click on that small button with three horizontal dots, which will open a drop down menu that looks like this:
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Just click the bright red block button at the bottom, confirm your choice, and you can peacefully go about your life.
Blocking someone from interacting with a side blog is slightly more complicated. You're going to need to be on a desktop to follow this tutorial.
On the left hand side of the screen, you should see a bunch of options like this
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You're going to want to click the drop down menu for "Account".
It's going to look like this. Click on whatever side blog you wish to block this blog for.
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There will be a menu on the right hand side of the screen like so. You are going to want to click the "Blog settings" button at the bottom of the menu.
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From here, you are going to scroll all the way down to the bottom of your blog setting. You'll see a bunch of stuff, ignore them, they're irrelevant to blocking. You will want to click the pencil button beside the pixelated pfps of blogs you have blocked.
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From here the list of blogs you have blocked will drop down and open like so
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You'll want to type the name of the blog you wish to block in the box at the top, like this.
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Simply click the block button
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and ✨VOILA ✨! Blocked!
Now you never have to see those pesty Different Opinions™ ever again! Though it may be a good idea to remember the usernames of the people you block for this reason, in case in the future you mature enough to be capable of civil, critical discussion with people who don't agree with you. Or don't! That's no skin off either of our backs :)
This tool is also quite helpful when someone posts art, fanfics, head canons, or whatever else you may not like. In fact, it is encouraged that you use the block button instead of harassing others, making call out posts, defaming others, or letting something that frustrates you linger in your head!
You should always use the block button when you see something that is triggering to you or puts you in distress. This alongside using the filtering system that tumblr has can keep you much safer. You can do your own part to help others by remembering to never censor words you use on tumblr.com and instead typing the entire word with no euphemisms. This will prevent your post from winding up on the dash/search for someone who has those subjects/words/tags filtered out.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk, and godspeed.
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triflesandparsnips · 1 year
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Man I cannot wait for you disgusting Izzy stans to eat dirt in s2.
You type rapidly, copy-pasting the message you've posted half a dozen times already. It feels good, hitting the button and sending the message -- a fizzing rush beneath your skin, a dull spike of something hot pressing the back of your neck. The jitter fades almost as fast as it comes, and that's the last thing you want. You type "Izzy" into the tag search, looking for another open ask box.
But my darling, you don't have to look for another.
People have the most astonishing ability to sense when they're being watched. Or, in this case, studied-- people, like yourself, can feel when someone is looking them over. All over, in fact-- from the small hairs above the shell of your ear, to the shadowed skin just beneath the collar of your shirt, to your wrists, and your hands, and the tips of your fingers pressing eagerly against the soft indents of your keyboard's keys.
Yes, sweetheart, I see you. And what's more, I'm with you; just over your shoulder, just close enough that I'd feel the air move if you turned around to look.
You do all this because you seek some proof, any proof, that you have the power to make others feel something. There are easy ways to do that, and you think you've found one of the easiest, because it seems so very simple to make others angry: Pick a thing you think they care about, and insult it. Run from any confrontation, hide behind a faceless mask, breathe hard and tell yourself that you did it, you did it, you made them feel what you wanted them to feel (and if you look back you'd get proof, but you rarely do, hardly ever do, and you don't want to think about why)--
But sweet, darling, dear one-- if you ever do turn around-- if you ever look back-- you'll see me there. And I need you to know, above all else: I couldn't possibly be angry with you, not for this.
All that need, all that want-- it's intoxicating to behold. I could watch you for hours like this and never have my fill.
And it's because that rush you seek, dear heart-- that high that comes so fast and leaves you lower than you were before-- that thundering adrenaline that keeps you pressing pressing pressing keys in hopes of finally getting enough--
I think that's the closest any of us will ever be to really understanding the motivation of Izzy Hands. Because you've done it, love. You're him.
Isn't it wonderful, then, that so many would love you despite it all? That so many would seek you out specifically to love you? That there are those who know you-- who see you-- and want to show you how to find a rush that never truly leaves?
My dear and darling, my Izzy: thank you for drawing my attention. You have it now. I'll think of you tonight, and tomorrow, and for days and days-- I'll be thinking of your hands, and the fine hairs just above the shell of your ear, and the shadowed dip between your shirt and skin-- and most of all the burning depths of want you have that push you to do so many ill-thought things.
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klywrites · 10 months
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How to add a page with custom theme
If you want to create a WIP page, character page, page for all your interests (e.g., reading or gaming catalogue, etc.) or whatever.
I tried to keep this as simple as possible; hope it's helpful!
Note: You can only do this on desktop. And this tutorial was made using the new tumblr layout.
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1. Go to Settings.
2. on the right side, under Blogs, click on the blog you want to add a page to.
3. In the middle you will see the basics of your blog that you can edit, such as appearance, enabling asks, choosing whether to show your likes/followers.
Where it says Custom Theme, click the slider to Enable custom theme.
4. Click on the Edit theme button that appears.
Next you will see a left sidebar where you can customize your main theme (theme of your entire blog). On the right side will be a preview of your blog.
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But that's a different tutorial. For now we want to create a page.
5. Scroll down and look for Add a page in the left sidebar.
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Once you add a page, you can give it the Standard Layout or a Custom Layout or Link.
You can choose which one in the top left corner of the box that appears.
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Standard Layout: The page will use your blog's main theme. If you just started out on tumblr you most likely have some default theme. You can type normally in this box, like you would when making a text post.
Link: The "page" can go to an external link.
Custom Layout: The page will have whatever theme you put here in code. Every page can have a different theme. It's great and fun.
6. Choose Custom Layout.
Paste your own code if you know how to make one. Or get one that's made already. Some places to find tumblr themes:
magnus themes
theme hunter
vault themes
shudesigns
glenthemes
You will find some instructions on how to use each theme. I do recommend knowing some basic HTML because it's useful.
7. Once you choose a theme you like, copy the theme's code. Usually the instructions will have a link to an external source like pastebin, where the code's text will be stored.
8. Paste the code in your Custom Layout box.
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9. Give your page a URL.
10. If you want, you can click the slider to Show a link to this page. If you enable it, a link to the page will appear on your homepage. In this case, give it a title.
Alternatively, you might be using a custom main theme and don't want the link to show up in its default way on your homepage because you would rather play around with the custom code. Or perhaps you want the page to be "secret" (e.g., it's available, but not ready to be shown). Or you might have minor pages and it doesn't really matter to you if people can find it or not. A page could be entirely just for you. In that case, disable Show a link to this page.
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You can click Update Preview to see how the page will look. This will show on the right side.
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12. When you're done, click Save.
Note 1: The preview isn't always accurate due to spacing constraints so I recommend having your new page open in another tab. (You must save it initially otherwise it won't exist.) So any time you make changes, save your code and see how it looks in another tab.
Edit code > save > open new tab > type in URL of your new page. Any time you make changes, refresh if changes don't show immediately.
Update Preview is good though for minor edits like font colour.
Note 2: If you exit custom theme editing, you will lose prior progress. So remember to save! But sometimes you don't know if you want to keep the changes you made. That's another reason I recommend having your new custom page open in a separate tab. If you exit custom theme, you won't be able to restore previous saves in the event you decide you actually prefer some previous changes. If you keep editing open, you can freely undo (ctrl+z) any changes you made and save when you're happy.
Congratulations you have added a page to your blog and given it a custom theme!
If you're unable to create/save a custom theme and you get the dumb javascript message (“Looks like you’re trying to add some Javascript or invalid html to your page. You’ll need to contact Support if you’d like to use Javascript.”) go here on how to fix that.
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smugshiranui · 1 month
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As mentioned in my previous post I have some Hakuouki merch I'd like to liquidate.
All rates below do not include shipping, I would need to price shipping depending on purchaser location.
Hijikata merch - 20 USD
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Kazama Merch - 5 USD (would prefer to ship with other items)
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Hakuouki Chopsticks - 10 USD (there is damage on the outside of the box I can provide pictures of)
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Harada & Heisuke Dakimakura - 20 USD
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Shinpachi Merch - [N/A]
I have MANY merch pieces of Shinpachi including standees, buttons, bromides, keychains, etc. There is over 100 individual pieces (a good amount of duplicates). Anyone interested in Shinpachi merch is encouraged to message about details so I could try and take pictures of more items. I can also bundle in smaller hauls of Shinpachi merch with other ones.
I just took a quick snap of some of the types of things available but there is a lot more.
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Willing to consider offers as well as offer reduced rates if bundling together !
DM me if interested!
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harukadrawsthings · 8 months
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EDIT 7/10/2023: Wow, in less than 24 hours I already got the 5 slots filled! Thank you to everyone and my apologies to those who didn't manage to have a slot in time. There's always a next time! As soon as the replies become ready I upload them but there's no deadline. Stay tuned!
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Original post 6/10/2023:
Hello, everyone, hoping that this start of Autumn is being good for you!
I've been a little busy dealing with mental health and quotidian stuff but over two thirds of the next part of the comic of Soul(mate)s of Light has been already developed. Thank you for your patience once again, expect its upload in the near future once it's ready to show.
In order to maintain the focus on the comic strips creation I'm re-opening the Ask box for a very short time once again. This post will be updated as soon the inbox gets closed.
After validating the questions of 5 different users made that include at least one to AU characters I'll temporarily close the Ask box once more. First come, first served. So if you were saving questions in the meantime, hurry up and ask them now while slots are available!
BEFORE SENDING AN ASK:
Last time in August when I was checking the pending messages and validating the questions that were suitable for replies I’ve observed a few things that I want to bring out some attention, as well reminding about a few factors:
There were users not respecting the “Maximum three character-directed questions per user” rule. Please consider there are other people that send questions and it’s not fair for them to have to wait longer because somebody made more asks.
For a better management of posts, I also want to ask to please make those three questions in a single post whenever it’s possible instead of sending them separately.
If someone sends me more than 3 character-directed questions per wave of replies, I’ll either only respond to the three first questions and suppress the others, or select the best 3 questions of that message.
Please don’t ask the characters questions about crossovers with IRL IPs unrelated with Pokémon. It’s 99% certain I won’t answer them. I reinforce that I reserve the right to not reply to questions that I find them inadequate to my AU standards or for other reasons not listed in the rules.
Although I don’t forbid questions done to characters that aren’t part of the main/secondary cast of the AU story, please consider that questions made to characters outside that circle are subjected to be unanswered if I conclude that replying them doesn’t bring anything relevant either to the readers or to the AU itself.
If the Ask Button isn’t available it’s because I’m not accepting character-directed asks at the moment. Do not use this thread to send character-directed asks. Please wait for a reopening and save your questions for next time! 😊
Author-directed questions are quicker to be replied than character-directed ones (especially if there's no character-directed ask included in the entire message). If I see it helps to speed up the inbox cleanup I can consider giving priority to answer this type of questions.
A reminder about the original rules to also be considered
Be polite, don't use foul language/swearing.
SFW asks, only! NSFW asks will never be replied.
Gore scenarios are very unlikely to be replied or if it involves a trigger subject that requires a real graphical depicting as well.
I reserve the right to not reply to a character ask if I find it inappropriate or for any other reason not mentioned here.
Maximum three character-directed questions per user. If author-directed questions are included alongside with character-directed questions, please don’t surpass 3 character questions and 2 author questions (making it a total of 5 questions per user).
Due to my personal life and the development of a new comic, replies to the asks won’t have a fixated deadline to be developed and published. Please be patient!
If I find the asks to be suitable for replying I might take some time to draw the character answers since it's something I have to do in parallel with ongoing projects like AU comics or illustrations (and there's my personal life to consider as well, of course!).
The more questions in the same ask message I receive, the more time I'll need to draw them as well since I have to submit every answer on the same post!
I give priority to draw answers for the asks I receive first in my inbox. Asks sent after someone has done it first will be in the drawing queue.
While I don't discard the possibility of drawing replies to questions directed to characters that don't have much relevance to the AU I can consider to do them if I conclude it's doable. However, I recommend that the questions are done for characters that are more prominent to the story.
I highly advice that the questions are asked in English, although I understand questions done in Portuguese or Spanish without having to use automatic translators for other languages.
Thank you in advance!
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cmgiftexchange · 2 years
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CRIMINAL MINDS FANDOM GIFT EXCHANGE 2022
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Welcome friends + fans of Criminal Minds to the 2022 fandom gift exchange. Hit that follow button - wheels up in 17 (days).
Firstly, what is a fandom gift exchange I hear you ask? That’s simple. It’s like Secret Santa, but instead of receiving a candle that someone got from their grandma last Christmas and didn’t want, you get a fan creation made (or written) just for you.
Okay, so how does it work? Everyone will both receive a gift, and create a gift. After the 12th, you will get a DM from us with the details of your recipient’s wish list, so you can get started. There will be a week’s window to post your gifts - starting Dec 19th - and you can choose to do this publicly on tumblr or AO3, or via direct message.
Do I get to choose my own recipient/Santa? You will be assigned both a recipient and a Santa based on your answers to the form at the end of this post. You will be matched by the ships and characters you’re willing to create for/wish to receive works about, the content you’re able to create or wish to receive, and any other factors we think might be relevant. This is so you don’t end up having to write a story for a character you don’t like, or a ship you can’t tolerate. We’ll ensure that you also don’t receive anything that might be triggering, upsetting, or inappropriate in terms of rating - as these are all things you’ll answer about on the form.
Okay so what fan works are allowed? FanFiction (anything over 1000 words), fanart, video edits, fanmixes (min. 8 tracks) and creative gif sets will all be accepted as gifts - the important thing being you should present something you yourself would be happy to receive (in terms of quality, a finished piece etc.) In the form, you can select preferences for these, as well as letting us know what type of creation you’re willing to gift. We will match you to your recipient and Santa through this.
We are allowing NSFW content in this exchange, however, as minors will also be allowed to participate, please read the info of your recipient very carefully to ensure you don’t gift someone something inappropriate. Also be sure to use the community guidelines on tumblr, and the rating system on Ao3 (if applicable) to ensure this content is seen by the correct eyes!
Okay, this sounds great! I’m in! What next? Please fill out this form and submit it before November 12th - be sure to thoroughly answer all the questions. You will receive a DM from this page on the 13th assigning you your recipient, including all the info stated in the form. No personal or private information will be corresponded! If you wish, you could follow your new fandom buddy, but we recommend you don’t do this until submission time as it may be very obvious! From the 19th December, you can begin to post your gifts, or send them privately. Any publicly posted gifts should include a tag for this account so we can repost them for everyone to see. We will also be creating an AO3 collection so be sure to add your fic to that.
The deadline for posting your gift will be the 25th December - if you are concerned you may not meet this deadline, please DM us and we will try to help. We don’t want anybody going empty handed this holiday season, but equally, we all know life gets in the way and there may be reasons you fall behind which we can help with.
Please reblog/share this with your friends so we can make this the best holiday exchange possible! Please note, not everyone will be celebrating the same holiday, or the holiday season at all, so please only theme your gift around the season if specified! Our ask box is open for any queries or concerns you may have. Happy gifting!
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