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idiaa-shroxd · 11 months

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THE PREFECT’S CAT CAFE ꒱ ❝ vice dormleaders. ❞

SUMMARY: after an off-handed comment made by Idia, you find yourself taking what he said into genuine consideration. instead of just bringing some cats into your guest room though, why not find a way to have both cats and profits while being comfy?

warnings; gn!reader x vice dormleaders + ruggie & platonic ortho. long post. rewrote this a bit so sorry if it seems a bit long or short in some places, i just did not like the way some parts turned out. by interacting with this post you agree you’ve read through my navigation and i hold no responsibility for the content you view. part i. part ii. part iii. reading the prologue and first part is highly recommended, before reading this!

HEARTSLABYUL. trey clover.

TREY CLOVER.

“Thank you again for your help, Trey. Thanks to you everything turned out amazing.” You practically beam as you lower the treat onto the floor as the hoard of cats line up politely one by one waiting for their bowls of new and improved cat food. “No problem, prefect. If you ever need any more help with anything I would be happy to help.” He replied, chuckling as he took off his apron and handed it to you to put away.

Fixing his glasses he made his way over to his favorite cat, squatting down and reminding her to eat slowly unless she wanted to choke as she let out a soft meow before hungrily chewing on her food again. As she finished she looked up at him expectantly and her paws tugged onto his shirt’s sleeves. “You can have a treat, just one though.” He relented, not able to deny his favorite kitty. Watching from behind the counter you take a photo forgetting about the sound as you’re caught, quickly looking away. “Hey don’t look at me like that, you’re both extremely cute.”

Trey was quite amused by your business venture when he heard of it, not quite sure whether it would be smart to have animals in a cafe though, considering the food safety for both the people and cats. When he listens to you explain there’s no actual human food, only drinks and snacks from gacha machines and crane machines in a room the cats cannot access he understands and comments that it were a smart idea and he’d be happy to visit your cafe. He even makes you a celebratory pastry as a gift for opening your own business in Twisted Wonderland and comes a bit before opening to hand it to you personally. Perhaps he should of baked it the night before however as one cat locked their sights on him, biting and nipping his fingers lightly that smell and taste vaguely like his treat.

Minutes later after you put your gift away you return to find Trey at your bar counter and a cat in his lap playfully biting him and nudging against his chest as he presses a soft kiss against her head. You decided to stand by and watch the two as he cuddles the cat close to his chest, the kitty headbutting his chin and meowing up at him while a pure and happy smile adorns his lips, a chuckle escaping. You aren’t sure how long it took for him to notice you but he look mildly embarrassed you caught him as the cat is upset at you for stealing his attention away and goes back to meowing at him for love. He ends up staying longer than anticipated as he drinks tea that you brewed and watches you care for the cats before officially opening up. He’s so distracted by you and the cats he nearly forgets he should be working on crowd control at Ramshackle before a card soldier is suffering Riddle’s wrath.

His favorite cat is a maine coon and she has a mix of dark brown and light brown fur, with golden eyes. She’s gotten quite a bit chubbier recently as he tends to feed her a lot of treats, it’s in his nature. Apricot knows very well she has him wrapped around her paws and when you scold her she plays innocent and nudges up to Trey who apologizes to you but defends her. She’s extremely therapeutic for him after a long day as she meows right at his face pawing his chest and stepping all over him. Apricot is also a massive fan of licking his fingers whenever he comes over as he vaguely smells like flowers and he tastes sugary sweet. He got her a new collar, replacing her old grey one with nothing too fancy. A dark green leather collar with golden cake prints, with a silent bell in front and a traditional plain bow in the back. He prefers simplicity over being overly extra.

He does play favorites, he says he doesn’t but he does. Apricot is almost like his child, he babies her, cuddles her, and feels much happier when she’s with him. She’s fairly fluffy so he spends time brushing over her fur as she purrs against him, biting when he stops. He tends to visit on the weekend as he knows there is no way his dorm can survive alone without him on the weekdays, especially with Riddle in charge. He may occasionally try to study while in the cafe but fails to focus for long, she once knocked his glasses off his face by nudging him too hard for attention but he forgave her and apologized to her. He enjoys the way you brew tea for him and makes sure to bring over small gifts for you, and experimental cat treats for your cats to have variety in their meals.

Overall he’s a very good guest. He may try to ask you for an extra treat or two since he can’t help it but he follows the rest of the rules and cats love him.

SAVANACLAW. ruggie bucchi.

RUGGIE BUCCHI.

“Shishishi, are you sure no longer hiring, prefect?” Ruggie asks as you shake your head, already satisfied with your current employees. “No, but thanks for applying, Ruggie. If I ever need someone though, I’ll call you first.” You say with a smile as he nods, coming into the cafe and feeling Pumpkin leap right into his arms the second he entered.

“And besides, if you were working here it would be hard to spend so much time with her, right?” You say, closing the door behind him as you scan the room, pointing to Leona who was hissing at Malleus. “I believe Leona should be right over there! Good luck getting him to go to the dorm leaders meeting.” You say, unsure if he were even listening anymore while petting his cat.

Ruggie was not one to believe in random luck of success. He thought you had zero business experience and would end up quitting within a week, but you didn’t. He had heard all these rumors and just had to check it out since it was the buzz of all other students. After randomly catching you in the halls he goes with you to Ramshackle before you opened, explaining to him the rules and what you had. You had high end pcs and manga? He wondered just how much that would sell for, surely you would not notice one or two of these books missing, right? His mind was more preoccupied on that as you two entered after you made it clear he was not to steal, knowing him. He was actually surprised by just how well you did, this looked like a professional cafe, not Ramshackle. Did you also say you would give him a free drink for being your friend, cause that’s what he heard whether you said it or not.

He was not actually too interested in cats at all, they were all sprawled out all over the place. Sure they were cute, but they were mainly just like Leona. Sleepy and grumpy all the time. As his eyes scanned the room Ruggie ended up spotting a familiar looking cat, as some of them were native to where he lived and prowled the streets looking for food. He thought they were hostile due to how the cats would often hiss and scratch where he lived, but this one was very friendly. Upon making eye contact she made her way and begun licking his fingers. She was so friendly! She were nudging him and pawing at him, crawling up his legs all the way to his arms, meowing louder and louder and acting cute for attention. He knew this cat knew how to flatter others as you gave him a cat treat to try and she was all over him and biting at it. He couldn’t help but laugh and want to play with her just a bit more, he would also take a cup of tea, too since it were free.

His favorite cat is a Sunset Savana (Somali) that has dusty orange-brown fur and bright green eyes. Pumpkin knows she’s a cute kitty and uses it to get his attention, stealing it from others with her soft purrs. She especially enjoys playing with cat toys and getting cat treats from him which comes off Leona’s tab. He claims he would never spend his precious money on a cat collar but surprise surprise her old orange leather collar is gone one day and she is wearing a dirty golden collar with white paw prints all over, and a silent bell. The collar is pretty basic but it is different enough from it’s original collar, it was nice enough for both him and her. Maybe in the future if she were still sticking by his side he would buy her bow or something else, but that would be coming from Leona’s wallet.

He does not play favorites and will pet basically any cat, but does have a soft spot for Pumpkin. He calls her spoiled for eating so much and living the good life, but feels like he can sympathize with her lightly as she used to be a stray before clinging onto you and living the life of luxury now. He does feed her cat treats with Leona’s tab, and gets drinks for himself too, he’s noticed a bit of cat drama going on behind the scenes while picking up Leona one weekend at your cafe and is living for it. Pumpkin is friends with Nebula and Oatmeal, both seem to want to play with each other but Leona and Malleus are enemies, holding their cats in their arms and refusing to let their children communicate in their presence. He’s commented on this to Leona who gave the most disgusted look and claimed Nebula would never like that lizard’s cat. Both he and pumpkin seemed to be laughing at that, with you commenting they were quite alike, just that she seems to be much more friendly and isn’t as self motivated as him.

Overall a good guest. He doesn’t disturb too many of the guests, he did try to steal from one once, but stopped after you threatened to kick him out. He may or may not still be taking from guests but without being caught now, however he gets along well with cats!

OCTAVINELLE. jade leech.

JADE LEECH.

“Ah, prefect. Perfect timing. It is my day off tomorrow and I was wondering if you were available for me to pay a visit?” Jade asked, a business smile presenting on his face. Raising a brow you rephrased what he was asking to yourself and answer. “If you’re asking if you can see Peanut, I’ll allow it. Just don’t bring more than three terrariums this time.” Knowing he would likely bring his latest one to show off to his favorite cat.

“Fufu, you seem to be able to read me quite well, prefect. I hope this means we’re closer now and that you’ll allow me to know you better too.” He said, opening his eyes to look at you as you rolled your’s. “Octavinelle is good at flattery but no more than four hours this time and make your own tea.” You retort, walking off in the direction of your next class as he eyes linger on you a little while longer. Maybe one day you’d realize he were serious about getting to know you better.

Jade was amused by your business idea and kept tabs on it, informing Azul of what was going on when they’d seen a decline of customers. He had never heard of this human concept and the fact it were something common in your world more had caught his attention enough to actually visit under the guise of checking up your cafe for information. He’s unsure what to expect and expects it to be unsanitary and loud but is pleasantly surprised how thought out everything is and how soothing the decor makes him feel. He greets you as you’re surprised he came, making small talk with you before purchasing what you called a cat popsicle and picking up a few cat toys to really “have a true cat cafe experience” as you’d called it.

It doesn’t take long for him to understand the appeal not just from an atmospheric standpoint as your beverages are not lacking in quality and the cats are all well behaved. He finds himself approached by all sorts of fascinating different breeds as he feeds the cat popsicle before playing with the remaining kitty using the cat toy. He finds this certain cat to be particularly endearing as he seems to have a bit of a birth defect with smaller legs than the other cats, asking you about it as you explain you also wanted to give this cat a chance at love. He wouldn’t say he’s smitten but he is amused by the way the cat walks and tries to play with the toy, eventually scratching at his pants before crawling onto his lap to try and reach the toy better, only for Jade to tease him and raise it higher. He’d never thought something so simple would entertain not only the cat but him as well as he finds himself doing just this for quite awhile.

His favorite cat is a Shaftlands (Siberian) that has brown and white fur and green-yellow eyes. He has a natural birth defect that makes it legs shorter resembling a munchkin breed and Jade finds this completely endearing. The cat is completely fluffy and warm in contrast to his colder body temperature and snuggles up to him whenever he visits, Jade can’t help but laugh whenever Peanut makes his way towards him as he helps the cat up onto his lap while he meows up at Jade demanding attention he rightfully deserves. Jade has changed his collar from a plain blue one to a cream white color with orange-golden mushroom prints around the collar, the bell being replaced with a fake leather chicken of the woods mushroom bundle. He can’t help but laugh yet love the way Peanut looks with it on.

He does play favorites and doesn’t get jealous because he knows he’s his cat’s favorite and may occasionally play with the other cats until they get bored, but he mostly pets Peanut. He buys an occasional cat popsicle, maybe once or twice a week as he lets the cat rest on his lap or beside him while he does his homework or paperwork. He’s also brought a few terrariums to show the cat that seems vaguely interested, nudging a glass as he tells them what a great choice they made, whispering an explanation of the contents and where he had foraged them. Despite his sharp teeth and smile Peanut seems to have no sense of weariness as he meows up at him as though speaking before crawling into Jade’s lap for a nap. He unfortunately can’t visit too often since he works at Monstro Lounge but will visit on an occasional day off when you’re closed just to explain his recent forages to his cat.

Overall a great guest that follows the rules and won’t disturb other guests, and he is very nice to his cat if you excuse the occasional comments he makes that sounds like he may be making fun of the cat, or the fact he brings terrariums into your cat cafe.

SCARABIA. jamil viper.

JAMIL VIPER.

Running your finger’s through Jamil’s hair you finish up making the braid and quietly clap to yourself at your hard work. You quietly open your phone and take a picture silently of the view right in front of you, soaking in the very rare occurrence. Jamil stirred ever so slightly in your lap as you placed your phone back down, mumbling ever so slightly as the cat in his hands snuggling against his chest also made a little squeak.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” You asked him as his eyes open up to meet your’s as he shakes his head slightly. “No, ah!” He said coming to the realization he fell asleep on your lap after a long day of practice. He shifted suddenly as his cat stretched, jumping out of his arms and glaring at him for waking her as he gave her a quick apology, pressing a chaste kiss against her forehead as she nudged against him, crawling back into his arms. You weren’t sure which was more precious, a sleeping Jamil or a half awake cat dad Jamil.

Jamil had originally thought of your cat cafe to be a disaster as Kalim had approached him asking if they could go. He did have faith in you, in a way, sort of, but don’t you think this was too much to handle, prefect? He has zero expectations that he would enjoy the place, only expecting it to be somewhere else he had to clean up after Kalim. He hesitantly agrees and after actually entering he’s bombarded with cats, a bit to his dismay. He was the one who did both him and Kalim’s laundry, the cat fur which would stick to them would be crazy. He’s a bit sullen by the thought but the atmosphere and guest room is truly surprising, it actually looks good. On top of that, it does feel really good to be served for once as you make him a coffee, even encouraging him to use a cat toy.

One cat is instantly attracted to him, plopping onto his lap lazily nabbing the toy. She wasn’t overly fluffy enough to shed on him, but her fur was in fact silky smooth as he ran his fingers through, stroking at her chin and stomach as she rolled over, looking at him with curious eyes. For a place with so many cats it was so quiet, enough to make him sleepy if he were not playing with the cat on his lap. Even Kalim was behaving for once, he had to give it to you prefect. He was pleasantly surprised by how quick he was to relax, the sounds of purring like music to his ears as he actually almost fell asleep from exhaustion, realizing just how frustrated he had been lately. He would have to come more often, as long as Kalim behaved that was, if this was the usual experience.

His favorite cat is a Shaftlands (Russian) Blue with black fur and bright green eyes. She’s rather soft despite the short coat, and is not too vocal, but purrs quite loudly once she gets started, spending most of her time napping over being hyperactive and is very low maintenance, which Jamil really likes as it is finally a breath of fresh air, very therapeutic for him. He had replaced her old grey leather collar with a dark brown leather collar that has black and golden snakes engraved, with piercing red eyes. Two snake heads from opposing ends seem to be gripping at the silent bell collar’s mouth as a pretty design, with a brown and a small gold bow in the back to not be too distracting when petting her.

He does play favorites, with subtlety. You know he does prefer short hair breeds and that he tends to favor the quieter cats, but he tends to not play with cats that don’t purr too much. His perfect fit is Cashew ultimately even if he will not admit this out loud out of embarrassment that he had become a cat person like this. He also enjoys coming pre-game to calm himself a bit and enjoys returning after his games. When he wins it feels like a well deserved break and when he loses it feels better than being angry about it in silence as his kitty purrs right against him. You have caught him nodding off a few times before and always try to make him as comfy as possible because you doubt some nights he is even able to get sleep at Scarabia with how often things seem to go wrong and his dorm students need him for help.

Overall a good guest! He’s very peaceful, gets his work done and sometimes tries to get Kalim to not try to move around too much as he pets his kitty!

POMEFIORE. rook hunt.

ROOK HUNT.

“Welcome back, prefect.” Rook smiled at you as he helped you with your groceries, bringing them into the back for you as you give him a quick greeting, kneeling and pressing kisses to the cats nuzzling against you and meowing. “Thank you. Have the kitties been good?” You ask as you look up at him, his arms now carrying an extremely fluffy and cuddly cat that was nudging him. Honestly it would be a cute scene if you actually let him in the begin with. You really needed to change your lock, you don’t know how he keeps getting in without telling you.

“They’re very well behaved, seems they’re as sociable as ever, Mon Trickster.” He replied, helping you up with his free hand as you made your ways towards the back. “Great, glad they’re all good. Since you’re here help me prepare won’t you?” You ask, intending to at the very least get free labor out of him. Maybe you’d actually keep the same lock for a bit longer if it meant a helping hand.

Rook had known you were making a cat cafe even before you had Idia investing. He was watching you stay after class from outside and begun reading your lips, asking Professor Trein if he knew where wild cats were. He of course followed you throughout your entire journey across Sage Island to find cats to make sure you were not attacked by anything feral. Eventually you noticed him and swore him to secrecy about the project until it was actually developed. He was pleased to have a special secret just between you and him even if momentary and helped you take the cats to vets to have all the work done, fascinated by your ideas and the little creatures. He wanted to know all the details of who else was helping you, how long you planned to stay open, your open and closed days, and he sung poetry about it while knee deep in the forest grass picking up a hissing cat.

He was fairly interested with that certain cat, she had kept biting at him, particularly attempting to scratch his face, and you were unsure to bring back as she may of been too feral. Rook assured you everything would be fine as he took care of domesticating the cats and getting them used to touch with you. He once returned and Vil nearly shrieked at him for having bite marks littered across his wrists, but he was smiling the entire time. You were still very unsure about this cat but both she and Rook seemed to have bonded and she calmed down quite a lot and eventually began politely meowing at him and actually going to him of her own volition, a completely glow up you were unsure was even possible considering her previous thirst for his flesh. He only smiled up at you from his kneeling position gently stroking her chin as she purred even louder.

His favorite cat was the former feral Harveston (Norwegian) forest cat that has black, white, and orange fur, with yellow eyes. She’s incredibly fluffy and has gotten pudgier in recent times but she’s very well groomed and doesn’t shed all over the cafe since Rook is the one personally caring for her. He makes sure to use products Vil recommends and likes and that her fur is always glossy, but he also does keep her away from Vil. She never had a basic collar like most of the other cats as he got her one himself, a dark purple-blue collar with gold bows and red arrowheads pointing towards where the silent bell is. Her bow in the back is sort of transparent and a little sparkly with a thin purple-ish fabric and gold stripes. Rook calls the collar Honeysuckle’s reward. He also tends to call her Honey as a nickname since you rejected Neige jr. Neige sr., Roi du Sauvage, or any other name he suggested.

He doesn’t play favorites as he treats all the cats equally, enjoying all their company. However, Honeysuckle thinks otherwise and claims him, every so often a little hiss coming from her lips as another cat approaches her human. He seems to find himself claimed and finds it to be beautiful. An animal seeking human companionship with the one that helped them adjust to domestic life, is there anything more sincerely breathtaking? He does give her a few cat treats but only because she needs to be a good weight and healthy since she didn’t eat much before. He has tried reading manga and playing games but those just aren’t his thing, he prefers telling Honeysuckle about the beautiful things he’d seen that day, including her, and shows her photos he had taken. He also tried to show her his bow but she ended up biting off the string and playing with the string so he learnt his lesson, hopefully. He’s actually trying to find out what kind of string is cat proof.

Overall a good guest for the cats but had unusual quirks. He may stare at some guests and watch them while gently stroking a cat in his arms while whispering to her what they’re saying or doing that was interesting and beautiful.

IGNIHYDE. ortho shroud.

“You look amazing in that gear, Ortho!” You say, clapping your hands as the boy gives you a twirl, excited to show off. “Thank you, prefect! My big brother helped me design it.” He said as you pat his head, happy to have him apart of the team to help you. “Everything he makes is always amazing.” You say as he agrees, happy his brother was praised.

Handing him a tray filled with drinks you don’t even need to tell him which table as he memorized it, heading off to the Ignihyde students gaming away at one of the pcs. “He’ll be fine it seems, Idia.” You say to your loyal customer as he watches Ortho with his face behind manga, squeaking as you spoke to him. “H-Hey I’m not that concerned, I believe in him too!” He says as you giggle, going to make him another juice.

Ortho found out as he was wherever his brother went. He heard his brother telling you about bringing cats to the guest room but was pleasantly surprised you actually did convert the room into a place for cats. He was even happier at the thought maybe you did it for his brother to be happy and even socialize at the thought of pcs and manga! He decided to help you with your plans, getting you materials you needed and staying with his brother who set up the mechanical parts of the cafe. You also allowed him to play with the cats as a thank you for helping you prepare for your cafe! He was ecstatic the first time he got to do so after you and Rook domesticated them properly.

He was so excited to play with kitties, pointing out their breeds and friendliness. As he played with them he noticed a cat from afar with such a genuinely sad face staring at him and he recognized the breed. You explained he was very shy of people still but was slowly getting used to them, and he found himself making his way over. The cat backed away slowly, but eventually came over to Ortho as you handed him a treat to use. He laughed as his parts tickled from tiny cat kisses and from then on he knew what the cat reminded him of, his big brother who tended to have the same look on his face when people saw and spoke to him.

His favorite cat is an exotic shorthair with white-grey fur and orange eyes, and it is 100% because the cat reminded him of his brother and partially claimed him. Taquito is very docile but doesn’t like spending time in large groups, feeling safer with Ortho and Idia. Due to this, Ortho tends to comparing Taquito and Idia, petting the cat and telling him about how his day has gone or what Idia did that day when he is not working. He does enjoy feeding him a lot of treats and since he doesn’t have a need for homework or really plays games and can download all sorts of manga info he spends most of his time working and mainly petting Taquito. Ortho had also gotten him a new collar, replacing the old blue one with a custom black collar with what looked like blue sparks engraved all over. The silent bell is replaced with a flame core’s resembling’s orthos in a yellow color like his eyes.

He tends to come over a lot with Idia even on your days off and has seen the other first years working at the cafe and asked you about it. After explaining to him he had also wanted to try working for your cafe, with Idia and your’s permission. Compared to the others he was a real fast learner and very good with the cats, along with customers. You’ve assigned him to a waiter position and to be in charge of Ignihyde students as they get nervous talking to the other first years. He even had Idia make him a work body that looks similar to the uniforms the other first years wear as well! Ortho and Idia also have no need for money or need anything from you, Ortho instead thanking you for getting Ignihyde to leave their dorm for once but you insisted on returning the favor so he sometimes asks you to cook for Idia so his brother doesn’t just eat instant ramen. Recently though you wonder if you’re cooking just for Idia or the group of men entering your dorm demanding food.

Overall a great guest and even better employee. He does not disturb the kitties and he’s a really positive employee that lightens your burden tenfold.

DIASOMNIA. lilia vanrouge.

LILIA VANROUGE.

“Prefect!” You hear a deep voice as you jump, hands on your shoulder from behind as you nearly scream, falling to your knees. “Khehehe.” You hear the culprit chuckle as you turn around, the diasomnia vice dormleader laughing at you as he got you again. “Geez, I’ve told you to stop doing that, Lilia!” You say while getting up, you should of known better that it was him.

“I’ll stop when it is no longer funny,” he says with a little chuckle. “Then I hope you stop finding it funny soon while you’re reflecting.” You say, a teasing smile on your face as he raises a curious brow. “You’re not going to see Saffron until you’re done reflecting.” You say, walking off as his eyes widened in shock. Wait a minute, prefect. You two can talk it out, right?

He came out of nowhere scaring you senseless while chuckling, inquiring about your new business venture that he’s heard so much about from Cater. Apparently the prefect was going around “collecting stray kitties and making a totally magicamable cafe that you just totes have to visit”, and he was one who had traveled to many places all over the world throughout his time of living, so of course he had to pay a visit. He’d never heard of a cat cafe before and wondered what promise your world’s concepts had to offer as he tagged along back to Ramshackle after your classes, listening to you explain the concept and rules while heading to your cafe. He found it hard to believe that it was your old guest room at first with how fast the wifi was! Those pcs over there were high quality and the latest model designed for gaming, so you actually did get an investor?

He was enjoying the design and atmosphere but upon seeing the kitties he was a little surprised by the sheer amount of them you had. He thought maybe ten as a stretch but you liked smug with over twenty cats. They just kept on coming. You never fail to amuse him, he thought while you were scooping one into your arms as they meowed at you intently, loudly purring against you as they nudged against your chin for pats. He found the scene cute but preferred the pcs over the cats until you plopped the cat into his arms telling him to take a seat, you’d fetch him something to drink. The cat was overly affectionate as he’d nip at Lilia, meowing even louder and pawing at his uniform reminding him of caring for little Silver. He had indulged in that train of thought for a little bit too long as he soon was reminded of his parenting days while cradling the cat, feeding him a treat. This soon evolved into the point where Lilia became a cat dad.

His favorite cat is a Shaftlands (Turkish) Angora with pure white fur and brown-yellow tinted eyes. He’s a very playful cat, slightly fluffy so he combs the cat over every so often when visiting. Saffron loves to tug at Lilia stealing his attention away from everyone, but his lack of coordination always makes him laugh after confirming the cat is okay, helping him into his arms or wherever he wanted to go to like a parent entertaining their child. Due to Saffron watching Lilia play games on the pc he decided to replace his old white leather collar with a new ombre green silk collar, with small white specks engraved. The collar has little weapons on then such as swords or mage books from the games he plays in black, replacing the silent bell with a bat wings in a dark black color and pink-red eyes.

He does play favorites and it is quite clear as his kitty crawls into his lap pawing at him. Lilia is also a pretty big gamer so on certain nights he logs in, he’s coming in early and staying out late as you bring him juice after juice, one hand petting his cat to sleep, the other furiously clicking away to kill his opponent. Sometimes he maybe lose due to his hand suddenly being nudged and nipped due to his kitty waking up and wanting his attention but he’s very engrossed in killing his opponent and looting, however he never blames Saffron since he thinks of the cat as a small child. Other times Saffron may also fall over after jumping onto different ledges, being a little uncoordinated but relatively safe, and Lilia always seem to catch him in time. He murmurs something about “reliving parenthood”, mildly concerning you as you decided to ignore the comment and pour him some juice. He says some really weird things.

Overall a good guest! He may occasionally let out an annoyed grunt while gaming and say his trash talk aloud, but almost every gamer in the world has gamer rage on occasion. The cats seem to be pretty fond of him at least!

thank you for everyone’s support! part two seems to be quiet anticipated but my favorite is probably part three solely because of floyd’s kitty!! nothing makes me happier than floyd finding out about a hairless breed and then going it’s so ugly that is mine. I also plan on posting a au(?) brainrot tomorrow!

（≧∇≦). thank you to 130+ followers and all my reqs from a single post! (*´ω｀*) i’m not too sure what to do for it, but thank you for the support!

©idiaa-shroxd. do not plagiarize, repost, translate, or use my works to train ai.

#twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #twisted wonderland #twst #twst wonderland #trey clover x reader #ruggie bucchi x reader #jade leech x reader #jamil viper x reader #rook hunt x reader #ortho shroud #lilia vanrouge x reader #trey x reader #ruggie x reader #jade x reader #jamil x reader #rook x reader #ortho #lilia x reader

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augustinewrites · 1 year

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listening to the amurta darshan’s faculty argue over budgets is positively mind-numbing, and alhaitham can feel his brain cells dying off with each agonizing minute that ticks by.

this is only his second meeting as the acting grand sage, but he’s already looking forward to retiring. he’s been mapping out his retirement plan for the last ten minutes, actually. he’ll move to liyue, build a house on a very, very high mountaintop, and spend his days reading from sunrise to sunset—

“acting grand sage, what are your thoughts on the matter?”

listening to petty squabbles between old men in his capacity as the scribe is one thing, but having to direct the squabbles is wholly another.

he sits up, doing his best to shake the stupor from his mind before quickly glancing down at the notes his assistant places in front of him.

“naphis,” he says, genuinely surprised. “you intend to relinquish your position as sage?”

alhaitham isn’t truly listening when amurta’s (now former) sage produces an explanation. the next step is to find a solution. find a new sage. naphis’ long-winded soliloquy about ‘ushering in the new generation’ and ‘starting anew’ were simply redundant.

he tunes back into the conversation when naphis says, “i’d like to recommend a former student of mine. tighnari.”

alhaitham knows tighnari. would even go as far as to say he likes him. “of the avidya forest watchers, yes,” he murmurs. “i will reach out.”

he glances over at you when you shift in your seat, glancing at him with that look in your eyes. the one that tells him you have something you want to say.

but then one of the faculty members begins a highly dramaticized account of an lab incident in pardis dhyai that “demands” the proper allocation of funds, and he sighs, realizing this will have to be addressed another time.

_____

the next few days are busy, as the shift of power within the akademiya demands near the entirety of his attention. that, combined with his reluctance to bring work home, lead him to follow up with you a week after the amurta faculty meeting.

“what were you going to tell me?”

“hm?” you roll onto your side to face him, eyes barely open, considering it’s two in the morning. “when?”

he feels bad for waking you, knowing you’re exhausted from a twelve hour shift at the bimarstan. but he’d been penning his letter to tighnari earlier, and couldn’t stop pondering what you’d wanted to tell him last week.

“at the meeting,” he clarifies. “you were giving me…a look.”

“i give you lots of looks,” you yawn, nudging your face further into your pillow. “you are quite handsome.”

“don’t be cute,” he mutters, hoping the darkness of the room hides his blush. “you were looking at me like you knew something i didn’t.”

you blink a few times as the memory comes back. “which time? i give you that look multiple times a day, darling.”

normally, he finds your sass to be quite a turn on. just not when it’s directed at him. “the first time.”

“when you were talking about research grants?”

“not that time,” he frowns. “but— what do you know about that?”

“nothing,” you say much too quickly, but then you lean over, cupping his chin and looking him in the eye. “but when someone so, so pretty and extremely smart submits a grant application…”

“i will set up a private channel just for your submissions,” he promises.

“i was actually talking about kaveh, but that is very much appreciated. we do need new stethoscopes.” you pat his cheek a little harder than necessary, smiling.

“wait, kaveh?” he asks. “really?”

“oh yes,” you nod. “he was talking about an affordable housing project the other night. if the akademiya could spare the funds, he could even move into one of said houses himself…”

“finally admitting you want him to leave?”

“haitham, he used that last of that face cream i bought in fontaine and keeps moving our furniture around. i don’t just want him to leave, i need him to leave. remember when he organized your bookshelves by colour?”

oh, he remembers, trust him. “i’ll have amani pull his application for review first thing tomorrow.”

“a most wise decision,” you hum, about to roll back around when he gently grips your arm.

“we’re not done. i was talking about when i mentioned reaching out to tighnari.”

“oh, that look,” you blink. “he won’t accept the position.”

his brows raise in surprise, because who in their right mind would deny the role of sage? “and you know this how?”

“because we’re friends,” you tell him matter-of-factly. “and i know he’s made a commitment to lead the forest watchers. he’s doing good work there, along withconducting his research. i doubt he’d want to be saddled with a desk job on top of that. let alone one with the akademiya.”

“okay,” he shrugs. if you say he doesn’t want the job, then he doesn’t want the job. there’s no need to delve further into the specifics. “you know the amurta faculty better than i do. who should i ask?”

this time you send him a flat look, pulling away from him and taking the duvet with you. “haitham, i’ve entertained your poor attempt at pillow talk thus far, but if you wish to continue discussing this so bad, why don’t you go find amani? i’m sure she’d love to spend the night with you.”

he rolls his eyes, trying and failing to reclaim the duvet. “jealousy is quite the unbecoming trait, you know.”

“go to sleep, acting grand sage.”

alhaitham shuts up, because, well, you’d titled him. that was a warning sign in itself that he’d deprived you of your sleep for long enough. but you don’t protest as he pulls you close, pressing a kiss to the back of your head, still overthinking. his mind won’t rest until he finds a solution.

“stop overthinking it,” you mutter into your pillow. “you’ll figure something out. you always do.”

you’re right, he realizes. maybe the solution is right in front of him.

_____

alhaitham is halfway through reading kaveh’s application when he hears your muffled threats to his assistant right outside his door.

“move, amani. or i’ll make you!”

amani has a much better sense of self-preservation than he thought, because it’s not a second later that his office doors burst open, and you let yourself in.

“when i told you that you’d figure it out, i didn’t mean this!” you exclaim, waving his letter in his face.

he takes your hand, pressing his lips to the back of it in an attempt to placate you, murmuring, “you don’t want to be a sage?”

“of course i do,” you huff, snatching your hand back. “but— but i’m—”

“the logical choice,” he finishes for you, folding his hands atop his desk. “you obtained two degrees before 25, your thesis on elemental healing techniques is the gold standard, you’re the head of medical and you’re decently versed in botany.”

“botany?” you repeat incredulously. “so maybe the neighbors are jealous of our garden and tighnari taught me how to use naku weed to make special brownies that one time–”

“they were very good brownies,” he assures you. “and you’re still an excellent candidate.”

you go off again, listing off all the reasons why it shouldn’t be you, but all that alhaitham sees is someone who is brave enough to hold their own in council meetings and even yell at the acting grand sage. you’re perfect.

even you sigh unnecessarily loud, pinching the bridge of your nose. “you’re not going to let this go, are you?”

“i don’t intend to, no.”

you’re silent for a long minute, clenching your jaw so hard that alhaitham worries for your teeth.

“i want to make my own hours,” you tell him firmly. “i’m not going to be tied to a desk all day.”

that was something he could certainly get on board with himself. “fine. anything else?”

“give me the day to think on it,” you shrug, moving to sit on the edge of his desk. alhaitham slides his chair back so your knees fit between his legs. “you really think i can do this?”

“the pros of you being amurta’s sage greatly outweigh the cons, so yes.”

you fix him with a long-suffering look. “what were the cons?”

alhaitham thought himself an intelligent man, but he very nearly opens his mouth to answer your question before realizing the answer will likely end with him sleeping on the couch tonight. he chooses to keep his mouth shut, earning himself a little kiss before you sign the contract on his desk.

#alhaitham x reader #alhaitham x y/n #genshin x reader #alhaitham fluff #genshin impact fluff

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liesmyth · 1 year

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locked tomb characters ranked by how cringe they are

because this post by @wifegideonnav reminded me that they’re all losers, but some are even more losers than the others

Hot Sauce: 1/10. This girl is cool in all possible ways and definitely future lead researcher material. No cringe, zero notes.

Pyrrha: 2/10. By far the least cringe of The Olds. Yes her nicknames for Nona have dad joke energy but she’s very earnest about it and it’s cute.

Juno Zeta: 2/10. Total MILF. Very smart and should know better than to get flirty with We Suffer, but I get it.

Marta Dyas: 3/10. A complete badass with a very sensible outlook on avoiding unnecessary forms. Call me Judith because I would also make a pass at her at the first possible chance.

Commander Wake: 3/10. She made Pyrrha fall in love with her, seduced ever-loyal G1deon into hatefucking and galvanized a dying resistance movement. She was genuinely nice to Gideon those 3 seconds they interacted in passing! Then she had to go and hide under the bed of a mentally ill teenager.

Dulcinea: 4/10. Her horniness for revenge is epic. Let down Pal as nicely as she could and managed to outwit Cytherea when it mattered. Not cringe at all.

Camilla: 4/10. Yes, she could kill you in seconds but she did once sell cigarettes, her most liquid asset, for about a third of their market value.

Alecto: 4/10. Scary eldritch woman-shaped creature with a sword, comes highly recommended by Pyrrha Dve. Loses points for confusing Middle English and thinking John was the best possible Sailor Earth when he was clearly the worst.

G1deon: 5/10. Utterly willing to burn for what he believes in. Yes, he probably needs some perspective but he made sure the baby had enough air before kicking Wake out of the airlock and Matthias Nonius thinks he’s an okay dude.

Pash: 5/10. She has that freedom fighter swag and the cool hair but she is a terrible bodyguard coasting on nepotism, sorry to say.

Palamedes: 6/10. He didn’t clock the serial killer pretending to be his ex because he was too busy going to painfully extreme lengths to avoid interacting with her.

Naberius: 6/10. My controversial opinion is that Babs is the least cringe of the Third House throuple. Yes he looks and acts like a peacock but he puts up with Corona snacking on him for no reason and is still nice to her, and gives Ianthe solid romantic advice.

Nona: 6/10. Cringe in the unselfconscious way of a young teenager, and put this ability to use making Pal fess up to his nurse kink. She will never be cool but it’s part of her appeal.

Mercymorn: 7/10. Speaks in onomatopoeias. She knows she is insufferable so she’s gonna do her best to make sure to be the most insufferable person in every room. Once called John Gaius “the best man I who ever lived” to his smug face and not even blowing him up later makes up for that.

Ianthe: 7/10. Looks like a wet rat. Hopelessly dramatic but she pulls it off. Declares her love for Harrow at every turn in the most transparent possible way then pretends she’s just being snarky. Some cool points for actually getting shit done

Coronabeth: 7/10. Terrible taste in love interests. Her freedom fighter era was hot but she thinks pompadour hair is a good look? Also, the way she spent her whole life lying about necromancy speaks of extreme conflict avoidance. Cringe move.

Judith: 7/10. She deserved to suffer and has suffered more than she deserves. It’s cringe how she clings to her imperialist brainwashing but she gets a point for rightfully understanding she should be wary of Corona, something Ianthe still can’t even grasp.

Ortus: 7/10. Yes he quotes his own epic poetry WIP at people but he also had to grow up on the Ninth with nothing better to do. Genuinely a very nice guy.

Cytherea: 8/10. Her unhinged vibes are very hot but she killed a couple of nerds and two teenagers instead of anyone who was actually dangerous. Cringe of her!

Silas: 8/10. Smarmy cloud-looking motherfucker. He is a child Pope and I guess he can’t help the inherent cringe of the Eight. But that’s still no excuse for bringing a portrait of John all the way to Canaan House just to hang it in your bedroom, dude.

Gideon: 8/10. Babygirl is a horny virgin with the vocabulary of a nerd. Harrow is bones over tit in love with her and she fails to notice after living in Harrow’s brain for eight months. Gets points for managing to maintain impressive biceps on a diet with no protein.

Augustine: 9/10. Extremely cringe because of how hard he tries to pretend he’s not cringe. Cigarettes on a space station and effectively performing swag don’t make up for how much he clearly wants to suck John’s dick. Which he did at least twice.

Harrow: 10/10. Spent most of her life being mean to Gideon because she was too hot to deal with and lobotomized a coffee shop AU into existence. Thinks Ianthe Tridentarius is beautiful. Once built a bone cocoon to sleep in after not drinking water for two days. Should’ve told God months ago that she just didn’t want to eat his fucking biscuits and stop offering.

John: 10/10. Unfortunately, this scale only goes up to 10 but we all know it’s not enough. Deeply cringe in a myriad of ways, chiefly among them the way he inflicts his barely veiled incest kink on all his friends. That one dad joke was gold, though.

This was getting too long but for the record: Aiglamene is cool and so is Abigail Pent. Magnus is not cool but he’s a fun time. The Terrible Teens are exempt from judgement on account of being 14.

#i wrote this on my phone on the metro spelling what's spelling #will this finally be the post I send to L. to convince her to read the books?#tlt memes #the locked tomb #tlt

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itsroxie · 2 years

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So your parents suck?

Okay, so you’re starting from scratch, you can’t cook, you don’t know what career you’re interested in, you lack skills that your parents should have taught you, and your finances aren’t in order. Worst of all, you don’t know where to begin 👀. Well, I got a list of books for you.

( most of the books listed have visuals)

These are 10 must-have books that’ll help you maneuver through life!

1. “The Self Care prescription” by Robyn L. Gobin, Ph.D ⭐️ MUST HAVE ⭐️ (Amazon)

Self-care is important. If you don’t know where to start this book was made for you. It will clear up any confusion you may have about self-care, and how it looks. It also addresses mental health and teaches you skills on how to deal with real-life issues. The author also has a journal you can purchase alongside this book. (Amazon link)

2. “Infographic guide to Personal Finance” by Elisabeth Lariviere and Michele Cavan, CPA (Amazon)

All the financial advice you need in one book. It has a range of topics from debt to investing, buying property, and budgeting. This book is easy to understand and has lovely graphics.

3. “How to be a person” by Catherine Newman (Amazon)

All the skills you need to be a functioning human being are in this book. I recommend this book for people who didn’t have a lot of guidance growing up. “How to be a person” will fill you in on the basics. It tells you how to tip people, do laundry, send mail, and make your bed. It also has some easy recipes and a lot more. It’s a great starter book for those who genuinely don’t know where to begin!

4. “Atomic Habits” by James Clear (Amazon)

If you are looking to break a habit or start a new one this book is a bestseller and highly recommended. It can also be helpful for those who struggle with motivation, making changes, etc. Before reading this book, I had difficulty getting back on track after a break. Since reading Atomic Habits, I've been able to stay consistent with my goals and overcome moments of doubt. Once you’ve read Atomic Habits I would suggest purchasing @2pretty 12-month dream girl guide. It can help you keep track of the habits you want to master and the steps you plan on taking to accomplish your goal. It’s also a cute journal 🥰.

5. “Budgeting 101” by Michele Cavan, CPA (Amazon)

A very detailed book explaining everything you need to know about budgeting, saving, and investing. It also has a couple of tips.

6. “Home EC for everyone” by Sharon & David Bowers (Amazon)

All the life skills you need are in this book. It covers cooking, laundry, sewing, and other domestic skills. Home EC has recipes, a list of supplies, and how-to’s on cleaning, setting tables &, etc. This book is amazing. It’s been my favorite purchase this year. It starts with the easy stuff like boiling water 😭 and cracking an egg, but it gets into other info like getting gum out of carpet, how to hem a skirt, reading laundry symbols, making beef stew, and brining meat, just to mention a few.

7. “Getting from college to career” by Lindsey Pollak (Amazon)

If you need advice on preparing for interviews, working on your resume, getting real-world experiences, and finding job opportunities. I couldn’t suggest a better book. It has other topics and is great for anyone who needs advice while they're looking for a job, but it is catered to college graduates.

8. “Adulting made easy” by Amanda Morin (Amazon)

Budgeting, insurance, getting a job, KEEPING a job, safe social media usage, living situations, and a few other life skills are all mentioned in “adulting made easy”. I love this book and started including it in my gift package for friends and family members going to college or moving out, it’s such a great resource.

9. “The driving book” by Karen Gravelle (Amazon)

This book is geared towards new drivers, but I believe it has some great information for everyone. It tells you what to keep in your car, how to take care of it, and how to drive in different areas. Such as the freeway, the countryside, etc.

10. “Careers the ultimate guide to planning your future” (Amazon)

This book has a range of careers, some requiring just trade school or associates, others needing a doctorate. With such a range, you’ll be sure to get an idea of what career you might be interested in. It also has a rank on the salary you’ll be making from each opportunity listed.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

Now I am all for reading and gathering information but please be sure to put the tips you learn to use.

I’ll try to make a version of this that has online readings or links. I know some people don’t like books or don’t have space for books so if I find any articles I’ll make a post 🤍

♡ xoxo Mrs.Degree ❣️

p.s just cuz you didn’t learn these skills as a kid doesn’t mean your parents suck I just picked that as a header.

#mrs.degree resources #hypergamy #feminine black women #black women in luxury #high maintenance #college #spoiled girlfriend #black women #education #adulthood #adult adhd #2pretty #atomic habits #self care #self love #apartment

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blinkilite · 2 months

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I had the amazing privilege of seeing Michael Sheen in Nye a few nights ago at the National Theatre.

The play:

Nye was amazing. Michael was brilliant and in command of the stage the whole time. I am not a big theater-goer. So this was a big deal for me. But seeing him perform on stage was just wonderful. I truly appreciate his skills on a whole new level now. The rest of the cast was brilliant too. They each played multiple roles throughout the timeline of the play. I highly recommend going to see it if you can. He sings! He dances! I cried! I laughed! I’m trying my best to give you a spoiler free review! But I promise you won’t be disappointed. 😊 it’s really really good. 👍 Go! Support Michael and the arts!

My personal experience:

I had a mix of excitement and anxiety all day but it really amped up when I got to the theater. Like omg this is really happening. I took a pic by the poster and it’s obvious I am an excited weirdo. 😆

Now that I was here, the next step was going to the national theatre gift shop. They had a lot of cute things and a really cool display for Nye.

I purchased my program and the cashier was very friendly. She complimented my Good Omens pin and said they usually come out stage door so make sure to go around back after, and enjoy the show. 😊 (internally squeeing) I thanked her and we went and got some food and a cider.

We made our way to the doors and were led to our seats. Then I started getting the omg we’re here this is actually happening mentality. We were pretty close. An omg he will be right there! Soon! 😬

We had 8th row seats 😳 it seemed very close and I was freaking out.

I read some reviews and saw the newly released press photos of the play. So I knew a little what to expect of the show too, but honestly it was sooo good. I don’t want to give away any spoilers because the play is AMAZING. Michael and the rest of the cast did so well. Michael is very active and moved all over the stage. I am so impressed by his abilities as an actor. He fucking sings! And it’s wonderful! And our seats were close enough to see all the micro expressions on his face. 😃 If you have the means to go and see this either in London or later in Wales - GO! You will not regret it.

At the end I took a pic of the actors (though I didn’t get everyone) and I got the very end when Nye can see the impact of his accomplishments.

Now for the fangirling part of my night. I was trying my best not to be a complete dork. I knew from other fans previously posting that he typically comes out at the stage door after the show. So I had an idea what to expect. He came out pretty soon after the show ended. I’m guessing there were maybe 50-60ppl there. He just started talking to people, signing things, taking photos like this is no big deal. And they would leave and it would be the next person’s turn. Everyone was very considerate of each other and Michael’s time. And he was kind and generous and spoke genuinely to each person and made so many people happy that night. just by being himself and taking some extra time before he went home. He really is an angel. ❤️

Eventually it was my turn. Somehow I didn’t mumble or giggle like an idiot. where did I find the ability to speak? - I really have no idea 🤷‍♀️ I told him the show was amazing. He thanked me. And while signing my program I told him we came over from America for my birthday to see him. He wished us luck in the rest of our trip. I got a selfie with him and internally died. He wished me happy birthday (died again). I thanked him and then it was the next person’s turn. I walked about 50ft away and jumped up and down like an idiot. Hopefully he didn’t see.

But holy shit. 😃

I met Michael Sheen!!!! 😃❤️😃

And he was the nicest person ever. 😃😃😃

#michael sheen #nye #national theatre #did this actually happen?#I met Michael Sheen #holy shit #best birthday ever

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dotster001 · 5 months

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Okay, I binged "My next life as a villainess" and I gotta defend my girl Catarina

Incoming spoilers for seasons one and two

So Crunchyroll has a comments system, at least on mobile. There were so many comments complaining about Catarina, saying she's so dense and so dumb, and some were like, her being the heroine ruins the show.

And I just want to say....people like her exist! That's literally me! Not even joking, most of her reactions to her romantic prospects are the same exact ones I would make!

Like, some of us aren't good at societal cues. If you want me to know you're in love with me, you have to verbally say, "I'm in love with you, romantically."

Some of us have short term memory. Geordo, as much as I don't trust him, he had the right idea, reminding Caterina a lot about his feelings, giving her romantic gifts, verbally telling her he loved her, not as a friend. I had a lot of respect for that.

Caterina feels very aro-ace coded, which is not to say she's always aro, but sometimes being aro means some days you're aromantic, some days you're not, and sometimes you like a good romance novel, but in real life you can't comprehend how it works.

And an aro ace who was kissed once (looking at you Keith) and then the person who kissed them never brings it up again, never talks about it, goes completely back to normal in terms of interraction, someone with a short memory/attention span, who only knows romance from a literature perspective, who obviously doesn't understand romance from a real life perspective, is gonna assume that it was a) a joke b) a mistake/accident c) the person who kissed them regrets it d) all of the above, or something else.

There's also the level of trauma and stuff that Catarina has gone through, so she may just not have the state of mind to be like, "ah, the guy who engaged himself to me out of guilt, when I was eight, isn't cancelling the engagement because he genuinely loves me." No! Your main focus is survival!

Anyways, people being mean to a heroine who I found myself intimately relating to in a way I haven't before was kind of a bummer, and I felt like someone should stand up for her. Also, I learned I need someone like Geordo, who when I slip into the aro space will remind me how he feels/how I feel. So that was kind of nice 😁

I also highly recommend it, it was super cute, and the characters all had that "chaos reigns" vibe that the twst boys have. Might end up writing for it, cause I'm having a hard time finding fics for it.

#my next life as a villainess #just some thoughts

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bleghxy · 1 month

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GL Manga Recs:

Summary: Mizuno, the daughter of a mayoral candidate, is desperate to escape the suffocating pressure and scrutiny of smalltown life. Chayama, the heiress of the tea company Chayama-en, is adamantly walking down the path laid out for her, despite being forced to atone for her family’s apparent misdeeds. Yet in the bubble of the school’s third floor guidance counseling room-away from rumors, watchful eyes, and their feuding families-they’re simply Mizuno and Chayama, two teenagers who find comfort and hope in each other. But when the outside world tries to tear them apart, the two must find a way to protect their relationship and, more importantly, themselves…

Review: This was such a good read!!! They live in a hell hole and basically find solace in each other and it's just so good. I recommend this a lot! Do look up the trigger warnings for this.

Status: Completed

Yuki and the Authoress by Yuu Nagori

Summary: Young cafe worker Yuki dreams of romance and a life far more wonderful than her own, but has no way to do anything but hope for the future – but a chance encounter with the beautiful, mysterious authoress Azuma Beniko, a woman who seems to know love like the back of her hand, might change the very way she looks at the world…

Review: They're so cutee!!! I genuinely wish it didn't get rushed near the end but I still liked it a lot.

Status: Completed

This Monster Wants to Eat Me by Naekawa Sai

Summary: “I’ve come to eat you.” So softly utters the mermaid Shiori as she emerges from the sea and takes high school girl Hinako by the hand. Hinako lives alone in a town by the sea and possesses an unusually delicious body that is irresistible to nearby monsters. To ensure that she matures to the best condition, Shiori seeks to protect Hinako—all so that someday, she can devour every piece of her. What will become of Hinako’s feelings as this looming unjust death closes in on her…?

Review: I have so many thoughts about this manga! It's doomed yuri and has horror elements! The characters are also very well written! I highly recommend this! However I do recommend looking up the trigger warnings before reading this.

Status: Ongoing

If We Leave on the Dot by Ayu Inui

Summary: Yukawa comes into the office and always hangs up her coat on the rack; most others just sling it over their chairs. That may be because Yukawa is proper, but maybe because she loves receiving handwritten notes from her coworker Mizuki. Until recently, Yukawa only knew Mizuki and her sweet vanilla scent from afar, but one day she was able to befriend her after a mix up with their coats. Since then, Mizuki communicates with Yukawa and asks her to go out after work via pen, paper, and coat. They never make plans ahead of time, nor do they even know each other's phone numbers. As Yukawa navigates her feelings and learns more about Mizuki, will their relationship blossom into more than whatever it is right now?

Review: This was soo adorable! It's an office GL. It's very wholesome. They communicate a whole lot and they start dating very early on so there's lots of dating content!

Status: Completed

Kurai Mori, Shiroi Michi by Chiyu Yoshida

Summary: In a small, lonely country town, a depressed young woman has a bittersweet encounter with a blind girl.

Review: This felt very incomplete. I wish it had more of a better epilogue but it was still a good read.

Status: Completed

Mizuiro Cinema by Hiyori Otsu

Status: Completed

Summary: Aqua Blue Cinema is about an actress and a girl she meets through unusual circumstances.

Review: A very cute read!

If you want more GL recs:

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gabessquishytum · 6 months

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Pregnant Omega Hob; Alpha Doctor Dream -- Hob was left by the Alpha who knocked him. It's not a great situation, but Hob can't wait to meet his sprog.

Hob has, at least, changed towns to be closer to his support system, what with the peanut on the way (and if only to keep Joanna from bugging him) he's also looking for a new doctor.

Doctor Endless came highly recommended, some local bot made good who came home to his small town. Hob wasn't expecting Dr. Endless <<Please, call me Dream>> to be attractive.

It's "challenging" to flirt with a hot Alpha with pregnancy hormones going wild and pregnant by some one else. Joanna is going to give him so much sh*t.

Alskdjgjgjdkd this is a very Hob situation to get into??? I love it when he’s a bit of a disaster omega, but absolutely doing his best and about to be the best daddy this world has ever seen.

He’s already had a 10 week scan and he’s about 14 weeks when he shows up at Dream’s surgery looking to introduce himself and get a quick checkup. The move has been tough on him and he’s a little worried that it’ll impact on the kiddo, and Dream is happy to do the usual checkups. He ultimately advises Hob to rest as much as possible and call if he needs absolutely anything. Dream has a reputation around town for being frosty, and he’s looking to change that… helping out a single, pregnant omega seems like the ideal kind of good deed.

Hob, meanwhile, is crushing hard on the kind alpha doctor. His hormones are crazy and he has to reign in need to ask Dream to move in with him or something crazy. He leaves the doctor’s office flushed and growling at himself to calm down. There’s no way that he’s going to pull a hot, smart doctor alpha when he’s waddling around with someone else’s kid inside him.

But the more they run into each other around the small town, the more Dream’s begrudging kindness turns into genuinely pleasant feelings about Hob. They meet in the library by chance and talk about books, Dream suggests Shakespearean baby names and Hob is like "actually ever since I got pregnant Shakespeare makes me sick." Dream starts to think that he's actually rather funny and charming.

...and hot. Every time he sees Hob, a little bigger, a little more pregnant, starting to support his belly with his hands... Dream feels this little nudge of arousal. Fortunately Hob doesn't come into his surgery for any more pregnancy stuff because Dream thinks he might spontaneously combust if he saw Hob without his cute maternity clothes on. He's still trying to be Hob’s friend though, which means he can gaze at the omega as much as he likes (in a non professional setting).

Hob thought his chances with Dream would decrease as the pregnancy progressed, but now he can see it's the opposite. Dream definitely has the hots for him. It's a good thing too because by the third trimester, Hob is horny as FUCK and he needs an alpha to fuck him. Dream did say to call if he needed any help, right?

When Dream rushes over to Hob’s place after a call, he isn't expecting to find his friend in lingerie that he grew out of 3 months ago, begging to be knotted. But of course Dream hurries to help him out - it would be cruel not to! And Dream couldn't resist even if he tried.

Much later Dream’s family are like "when we said you should be nicer, we didn't mean MARRY AN OMEGA WHO'S BEEN KNOCKED UP BY SOMEONE ELSE". But Dream just smiles. However many babies Hob has, they'll all be Dream’s. No matter what.

#the sandman #dreamling #nsft #cw omegaverse #cw pregnancy

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thebroccolination · 1 month

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KRIST CAN’T LIE AND IS RIDICULOUS ABOUT SENPAI: VOLUME #39,573

In 2019, Singto starred in He’s Coming to Me opposite Ohm Pawat. It’s really underappreciated, and I highly recommend it. Singto is the cutest ghost in the whole afterlife.

Now, for additional context:

In early 2019, Singto was twenty-four, Krist was twenty-three, and the World of BL was Different. Branded pairs were a thing, but not like they are now.

SOTUS in 2016 saved GMMTV from bankruptcy and changed the industry. As I understand it from interviews with Krist and Singto as well as accounts from fans who were there at the time, although KristSingto were staggeringly popular, GMMTV saw SOTUS, Krist, and Singto as individual cash cows. BL wasn’t a money-printing hashtag-focused influencer lifestyle yet, so GMMTV seemed to hedge their bets. They made a thousand SOTUS events, pressed Krist into Leading Lakorn Man where the stable, dependable money was at the time, and kind of let Singto do whatever. Plus, Krist and Singto had different managers (Yui for Krist and Jane for Singto) and different interests and goals as far as their careers: Krist loves music, Singto loves photography, Krist wanted to be a musician, Singto wanted to be a director, Krist wanted to branch out into new areas of entertainment, and Singto wanted to study directing in California. They were able to be KristSingto: Kings of Couples, while exploring their talents and aspirations outside the growing expectations of a branded pair.

In an interview with Attitude in 2018 to promote their episode of Our Skyy as Kongphob and Arthit from SOTUS, Krist and Singto said they’d follow GMMTV’s direction as far as their series went from then on.

But Krist didn’t have to be happy about some of those directions.

One of the first things I learned about Krist as a person is that he was very, very vocally possessive of Singto when he was younger.

Go search “KristSingto jealous” on YouTube and enjoy the feast. They were both possessive, but where Krist utilized pouting and looking generally miserable, Singto would just calmly and physically remove people from Krist’s vicinity.

When Friendzone aired in 2018, Krist famously told interviewers with a maybe, possibly, half-joking sulking smile that he didn’t want to watch the series because he didn’t want to see Singto with other men.

(And then interfans disingenuously edited and recontextualized the clip so it would seem like he said he didn’t want to watch men kissing men…y’know, the thing he’s famous for. And proud of. And won’t stop telling people about. For years. Mr. “Please Let Me Play the Top” Mr. “Please Tell GMMTV You Want to See KristSingto in Another Series Together” Mr. “This Man’s Lap Is My Pillow and So Is This Man’s and This Man’s” Mr. “Please Ship Me and Gun” Mr. “I Asked Off for Permission to Sexy-Dance with His Husband”—mmmm.)

Now, before I show this clip, I just want to say that this was years ago and Krist has always loved Ohm—he’s just ridiculous about Singto. You thought I was exaggerating the “sulking and looking generally miserable” thing, didn’t you?

Seriously, go watch some things on YouTube. With popcorn.

[And before you think this was just a Krist issue, Singto one thousand percent encouraged it by openly thinking it was cute.]

[Prachaya, stop tormenting the turtle.]

Like, this isn’t a shipping thing, and he’s (mostly) grown out of it now. Krist is just very, very affectionate with his friends and seems to be sincerely afraid of being left behind. Famously, to make himself cry for the scene between Kongphob and Arthit in the Our Skyy episode, Krist imagined how he’d feel when Singto inevitably left Thailand to study abroad. (He ended up crying early and way harder than the script called for, and Kongphob’s surprise is at least a little bit Singto’s genuine reaction.)

Plus, y’know, Krist is and always has been a fiery babygirl of impulse, Singto is Senpai, and just. Even though their relationship is platonic, there’s a reason everyone thought they were dating in 2017, and there’s a reason that even as recent as 2021, Singto and Krist were both complaining that no one took them seriously as dating prospects because everyone still thought they were dating. In fairness, they’ve both been single since SOTUS, and they’re both ridiculous about each other, so there you go. Blame the victims. Wheeeee~ #SelectiveVictimBlaming2024

Anyway! In 2018, at what I think was GMMTV’s showcase for their 2019 lineup, Krist and Singto were together onstage, unmic’d, just standing there representing their respective, separate series.

For some reason (probably) lost to time, Krist turned to Singto and said, “I hate Qingming,” the shortened title for He’s Coming to Me.

Smiling, Singto said, “Not now. We’re working.”

Krist doubled down and said, “I don’t like it.”

In the longer clip, Krist kept sulking and Singto smiled at him with open amusement. Like I said: he fully thought it was cute and did the bare minimum to discourage it, because he’s ridiculous too.

Later, at the fan greeting, Krist was doing the typical, “Please support me and P’Sing in our projects this year,” and a giddy fan called out, “BUT YOU HATE QINGMING THOUGH HUH.”

This is where someone more adept at lying would say, “Of course not, kind fan, for I am always supportive of Senpai’s other series. I am a mature paragon of self-esteem and in no way extremely possessive of My Senpai Who Is Mine.”

Instead, this happened:

“HOW DID YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT.”

WKDLSJDKSJ

K R I S T

So yes, Krist can’t lie. He’s never been able to lie. He’s pure honesty and deep sincerity and high emotion all the time.

Now, once again, he was twenty-three, he was just being a brat for brat’s sake, and he never had an issue with Ohm. He was probably just afraid he wouldn’t get to work with Singto anymore since Singto was always very open about his intentions to study abroad and then transition to behind-the-scenes work as a director, so the longer GMMTV went without giving KristSingto a series, I imagine the less likely it probably seemed to Krist, who really wanted to act with Singto again and did not shut up about it for years.

This has been Krist Can’t Lie and Is Ridiculous About Senpai: Volume #39,573.

[This is a whole other story. Have a great day.]

#krist perawat #singto prachaya #kristsingto #there are so many stories about them #i barely know a quarter of them #probably even less than that #there’s a reason they’re industry icons #and why that front right pillar in front of gmmtv belongs to them

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cats-inthe-cradle · 2 months

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@accidental-spice @kanerallels (and anyone else who happens to like the rookie and/or psych)

I have a show recommendation for yall if ya haven't already heard of it:

The Mentalist

The main character is deeply traumatized, has a very personal vendetta/grudge against a serial killer, is great with kids, has a skill set similar to Shawn Spencer, and like Shawn Spencer cares very little about keeping with any kind of social expectations.

He works as a consultant with his found family murder investigation team (seriously this team is all he's got in life it's kinda sad but also sweet). His superiors are constantly fed up with him but keep him around because he closes cases.

Him and the team's boss (Lisbon) act like the most married couple ever (they're besties, they won't stop arguing, they trust eachother with their lives, she's so fed up with him, she would follow him anywhere).

Rigsby and Vanpelt have had a thing for each other since day one, but aren't allowed to date due to protocol. Literally everyone knows about them (he can't stop looking at her Like That it's so hecking obvious). They're very cute.

Cho is the most unfazed person ever. He's awesome. He's the 5th wheel they can't live without. He's got their backs always. Most likely to go along with Jane's crazy plans and we love him for it.

Oh yeah and the main character's name is Jane (Patrick Jane).

Anyways yeah, the found family vibes are strong. Lots of murder investigations where's its genuinely tricky to tell who's guilty (seriously at this point I've come to accept that if they're not a member of the team then they're a likely suspect). Lots of Jane not doing what he's told (and doing a lot of what he's told not to, including casually hypnotizing people). Also some good angst so far (with lots more on the way, according to my friend). There's 7 seasons (of which I'm only on the 2nd), long seasons with long episodes, so that's nice.

So, yeah. Would highly recommend if yall are interested :D lmk if you decide to watch it (or if you've already watched it by chance 👀)

#cradle stuff #cradle talks

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goddess-aelin · 12 days

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Blossoms and Begonias

Part 2 of Peonies and Poplars

Masterlist

Words: 600

Warnings: Language, talk of smut

I used the prompt "Blossom" from @throneofglassmicrofics as a follow up to Peonies and Poplars, which I would highly recommend reading before this one. It's just a cute little addition that absolutely will have another part to it. I won't leave you guys hanging here...

It was two months to the day since the event Aelin had taken to calling the incident. If she was giving a longer description of the incident, she would have dubbed it the “very embarrassing and terribly mortifying time she met her favorite author and didn’t realize it was him and therefore fought over a copy of his newest book with the aforementioned author and made a complete fool of herself” incident. Yeah, she thought. Not her finest moment.

Of course, Peonies and Poplars was just as good, if not better than the author’s first two books. Aelin adored R.J. White’s writing, even if he was a giant ass. He was, wasn’t he? What kind of author would fight with a reader about a copy of their book, embarrassing them with their superior knowledge of said book since they created the damn thing, and proceeded to taunt her further by just giving her that same copy of the book, freshly autographed. Not to mention the number he had inked on the front page before giving it to her. What was this guy’s game plan?

Aelin still wondered at that question while sitting in a coffee shop down the street from the bookstore where it all went down. She had never ended up texting the number he had given, too nervous that it was some sick ruse. She’d been burned in the past and didn’t really feel like making even more of a fool of herself in an already embarrassing situation. There was, however, a little voice that always lingered in the back of her mind, asking her what if he was being sincere? Would he want to talk about the book? Did he give her his number out of pity or was he genuinely interested in her? Did he want friendship or something else?

These questions would never get answered, of course, because she had no plans to text that number. Nothing could change the fact that she fought with R.J. White over a book, his book. That was enough to deter her from ever wanting to reach out.

The coffee shop was bustling as Aelin sat at her table, drinking her caramel latte (with extra sugar, of course). She had gotten to the quaint little shop just in time to avoid the morning rush and had snagged a table and settled in with her book. And no, that book was not Peonies and Poplars, even if she had read that particular title thrice already. No, this one was a romance. Not fantasy, not historical, but straight-up, smutty, romantic goodness. Aelin, it turned out, was a master of reading smut in public. She could keep a straight face when there was dirty talk, casually swallow her drink when something kinky happened, and continue eating her bagel as if she wasn’t reading about the main character getting dicked-down within an inch of her life.

And because of those things, she didn’t think twice when someone sat down at her table, knowing it was a busy morning and the person probably had nowhere else to sit. Yet when she glanced a look to her side, there were at least two empty tables to her left. Furrowing her brow, she moved her eyes from the empty tables to the dark brown coat of the person invading her space. And once her eyes met the green of the person who held the pair across from her, she couldn’t help but think “shit.” Because R.J. White himself was sitting across from her with a devilish smirk on his too-beautiful face. Shit, her mind repeated. She was in such deep, unending shit.

Tagging: @cretaceous-therapod @morganofthewildfire @tomtenadia @live-the-fangirl-life @charlizeed @violet-mermaid7 @euphoric-melancholyy @kritical24 @rubyriveraqueen @dealfea @wellofnothing @ayaashryver @moonknight-spector @leiawritesstories @whoever-you-choose-to-love @holdthefrickup @heirofflowers @thecrispypotatochip @shanias-world @rowanaelinn @bruiseonthefaceofhumanity @hanging-from-a-cliff @fantacysoup @swankii-art-teacher @thegreyj @fromthelibraryofemilyj @westofmoon @lovely-dove-zee @books4eva04 @cookiemonsterwholovesbooks @backtobl4ck @dreamer-133 @elentiyawhitethorn @writtenonreceipts @shyvioletcat @aelinchocolatelover @captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship @athena127 @tothestarsandwhateverend @highqueenofelfhame

#rowaelin #rowaelin fanfiction #rowaelin fanfic #rowaelin fic #throne of glass #throne of glass fanfiction #rowan x aelin #rowan whitethorn #aelin galathynius #my fic #peonies and poplars

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uris-stanley · 2 years

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steddie fic recs pls!

YES YES THANK YOU get ready i have a LOT

chelsea by randomascas is a popular one, but for good reason. ft background ronance, tragic eddie backstory and steve being on the brink of death yet again. canon compliant excluding volume 2 (which i suggest we do <3)

the backseat lovers by froggieyama doesnt have a plot, but god does it describe their love in such a beautiful, lovely way

whole lotta love by @stereobone is such a quintessential steddie fic. steve and eddie are dating. steve does not realise they're dating. i love my bi himbo king. (this one is explicit, but honestly i don't think the sex is all that graphic and it is just one part, so read at your own discretion)

you got me running like a hurricane by @anniebibananie is the ultimate fix it, in which eddie doesn't actually 100% die in the upside down and instead finds his soul tethered to steve. basically. this one's very sweet, whilst also having a tiny bit of angst to make you go "ouch"

keep me in your glow by birthdaycandles ( @steveharrington ) is very nice. eddie helps take care of steve post volume 1, which apparently includes doing steve's skincare because of course it does. they're so cute

we're just kids in the dark by fagurfiskur ( @perlukafarinn ) is the fruity four sleepover fic of my dreams. nancy brings tequila, eddie brings pot, steve gets his hair braided and everyone has a fun gay time. also shotgunning!!

L is for linoleum (and nothing else) by localman ( @locallmann ) is a heavy one, i'll admit, but i cannot recommend it enough. there is an unfortunate lack of trans eddie in fanfics currently, and i feel this one does a really good job of realistically representing both his and the others' struggles as queer teens in the 80s. see individual chapter notes + the fic tags for tws, but i seriously implore you to read this if you're comfortable

sir stephen strider find his suzie by @lesbianrobin is VERY very cute. steve fills in for lucas during hellfire, and dustin witnesses steve and eddie flirting like crazy during the campaign. honestly, this one made me giggle a lot, and i left it feeling all warm and nice. the way the author writes steve and dustin's relationship just DOES IT for me because it feels so natural and so them. also dustin's little spiral about maybe being homophobic has been on my mind since i read this. god i love it.

another one by lesbianrobin - my hands are tied may be my favourite steddie fic to date. there's a Lot of steddie handcuff sex stuff on ao3 and whilst i DO love it unashamedly, this fic is just. so good and so realistic because YEAH duh steve would probably associate bondage with his trauma and have a panic attack why is nobody else thinking of this. i really really Really love this fic (JUST TO CLARIFY THIS IS RATED TEEN!! no sex dw)

you are going to die in your best friend's arms. (but he won't let you leave like that) by oaseas is so so SO SO good. it follows dustin as he becomes unstuck in time on the day that eddie died and tries over and over to save him and break the loop. it has some absolutely wonderful bonding moments between dustin and both steve & eddie, and whilst the steddie is not the Primary focus we do see dustin slowly realise just how deeply the two care about each other as he goes through each loop. i absolutely adored this fic, and genuinely felt emotional at times. highly highly recommend

last but not least, a sign of the morning by @toedenandbackagain . this is a LONG fic (86.8k!!! love), and just such a good slow burn friends to lovers. i love when fics include steddie having history pre vecna, but often find it cheesy or unrealistic. this, however, i felt was completely believable and very well written. i was reading this as each update dropped and let me tell you the way my heart sunk at the end of chapter 11?? i was going absolutely insane i was so upset and so affected, and really i think that's telling of how well written this fic is. cannot recommend it enough

i could probably keep going, but i think 11 recs is good for now lmao. please please check all these out and support the authors!! steddie writers on ao3 are the backbone to society atm they're doing some incredible work

#i wrote all this already but tumblr decided to crash so ;-;#thank you for asking !! i've been waiting to give my recs bc i fucking love the ao3 steddie tag #st #stranger things #st4 #steddie #steveddie #stranger things season 4 #stranger things 4 #eddie munson #steve harrington #fic recs

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mousydentist · 4 months

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my favorite fics that i wrote and why

So, first I'll explain. I'm gonna being reccing my own fics which I'm not super sure how to do cause I mostly just yeet shit on ao3 and let the fates decide, and I'm never sure what's like, too much? Like I see other people rec their own fics and I'm like (O O) how do i do that. Like idk why I have this resistance to like, telling people that I like my own fics? So today I said fuck that, everyone's gonna know now.

And I've just been doing not so hot recently for a number of reason and I figured like, I've been obsessing over so much, why don't I get to be excited about the good things? So anyway, these are my favorite fics that I've written, not just the ones that have done the best or whatever, just my personal favorites, so without further ado...

(quick fyi, all of these are locked so you need to be logged into ao3 to view)

First up is sorry that i can't believe anybody really starts to fall in love with me , don't ask why the name is so long I just like the song lmao. This one's special to me cause it was my first KPTS fic. Is it the best? No. Does it have a super deep meaning? Nope. But it's cute and it's mine so I love it. Next!

the imperfect art of making it. Very self indulgent. I wrote this for the endorphins fic fest which gave me the motivation to write, but really I just loving transing my characters, and soft KimChay deserves lots of love.

Next up, do you look up to the sky? My first whumptober fic and the first one I wrote bc as soon as I looked at the prompts I was like "oh Kim's getting locked in the fucking basement for sure" and then he did! Success. Also KimChay are a pstd4ptsd couple, I won't be taking questions at this time.

This is getting longer than I thought it was gonna be but fuck it, I told myself I was doing this to remind myself why I like writing and that I do actually enjoy it so the longer the better tbh bc it means I really do love it. It's not a bad thing if all of my fics have a special place in my heart, right?

Ok last of the non dead dove ones is i should have kissed you. I don't exactly have a reason, I just think it's a good fic.

The next ones are dead dove cause I have two modes which are cute fluff and illegal <3

chay and kinn and chay. This thing is my baby. I love him with my whole heart. I wrote him in discord messages on my walk to and from classes. This is one fic that I would not be ashamed to say I've read several times over. This is the fic that I think of when people say "write the fics you want to read." This was also a spite fic which makes all of that even funnier lmao

Willow Dancin' On Air. This one's not dead dove but it is KimVegas so eh. But this is another fic I wrote purely for myself. I just wanted some fluffy lil somethin somethin and now every time I listen to this song I think of this fic

Ok last one, Why minors shouldn’t gamble. This one also started on discord and was written in my notes app at like. 9 am while I was still in bed lmao. Because that's where inspiration peaks. And it's hot idk. omegaverse will never not be be a special interest of mine, hopefully one day we can find out what happens when Kim joins the party, I'm genuinely curious.

OK! So. That was something. Tbh I feel a lot better lmao. My therapist would be so proud of me if I ever told her I write fanfiction pff. Normalize reading your own fics over and over. I'm saying that directly to myself cause I see all these like motivational things about writing and then I don't believe them, what's that about?? Doing this reminded me that I actually like the things I create, highly recommend. Now I'm gonna get myself a glass of water cause for the next maybe 12 hours I'm changing my life!! I'm doing self care!!! Woo hoo!!!!! Now to post this before I remember that other people can see it :) Ok bye ✌️

#ao3 #fanfic #my fic #kimchay #kinnporche the series #still havent learned how to tag on tumblr #good enough

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blysse-and-blunder · 2 months

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in lieu of a reading week

11pm, tuesday, feb 20, 2024

hello beloveds. just wrote two increasingly passionate paragraphs about what social media and my use of it over the years has done to benefit my life, and got so genuinely moved that i had to come talk to you about it.

reading really wild mix of reading material of late. surprisingly high amount of YA, because people keep recommending me things and i keep going 'sure, let's try it!' so i'll use that as an organizing principle and save discussing some of the others for a future post. in order of completion:

firekeeper's daughter, angeline boulley, read by isabella lablanc. finished in a rush, very engaged in the last three-four hours. i was never prepared for the next thing this plot threw at me, though in retrospect saw how it all made sense. i didn't know a thing about it going in, which i think actually enriched the experience a lot, but for a novel set in michigan's UP and sugar island, it resonated with a lot of things i associate with ontario after living here for five+ years. the hockey, the ojibwe /anishinaabe names and cultural connections, the murdered and missing indigenous women. but it also mixes in elements reminiscent of, like, braiding sweetgrass (and tangentially mexican gothic) and various fan fiction tropes i recognized in their shape if not their execution. highly recommend the audiobook-- they cast the audiobook's narrator very carefully, and she does a superb job juggling the mix of scientific jargon, teen narrator unreliable/dramatic narrator (loving), and Anishinaabemowin.

castle in the clouds, kerstin gier, translated by romy fursland. maybe 33% through. it's giving grand budapest hotel and somehow also the princess diaries? it's also reminding me somehow of, like, the kind of novel i wanted to write as a second or third grader, which means eva ibbotson, and a particular flavor of plucky, intelligent heroine. i was hooked by the first page+ but have yet to see a ton more of the same high action and suspense, and have let this one slip a little further onto the back burner. it's cute escapism at the moment, though that may change.

fourth wing, by rebecca yarros, read by rebecca soler (and apparently also teddy hamilton, although i haven't gotten to him yet?) about 25% through. trying desperately to give us a gritty, hardcore, new and dangerous and fun take on dragons and their human riders, while also trying to be idk divergent? the hunger games? there's a love triangle, the protagonist has naturally ombre hair, the premise of the novel is brutal training where young adults are all dying in improbable droves due to how cutthroat and brutal it is. a testament to the narrator that i am, despite myself, having a great time. there are a few too many supporting characters who want our main girl straight up dead for me to really find the threats believable, but i'm intrigued by the prospect of alternate versions of this world's history than what she has learned and a potential for discovering how their kingdom has? manipulated them? could be asking too much.

fairest, gail carson levine. finished in a long saturday morning spent reading in bed. i was such an intense and dedicated fan of the original ella enchanted novel that i couldn't read most of levine's other books (exceptions for her short stories made grudgingly) because they weren't sequels and weren't the same and wouldn't be as good. in fairness, reading this now as a much-older-than-the-intended audience, perhaps i was too harsh-- but i think little-me was right to be a little suspicious. it's a snow white retelling, and again i think largely successful in building a more detailed plot in which the elements of the retold fairy tale are embedded, but where the focus in ella was on language and obedience and free will, here we're trying to articulate things about beauty and body image, and it's harder to say that it really succeeds? i like that we gave the Wicked Queen more nuance, positive and negative qualities, moments of sympathy, a name and a precarious political position. i was not nearly as charmed by the romance (fine, fine, it's not ella and char but it couldn't be, it's fine). i still love the use of unfamiliar / fairy-tale languages and how levine puts them on the page in such fun spellings. probably aimed at the youngest audience, of the four titles here, but treats its reader as almost more intelligent than fourth wing, possibly? YA from ~twenty years ago was a different world.

listening graded like twenty quizzes today with just a mess of random panic at the disco bumping in my headphones. it's a hell of a feeling, etc. i'm halfway through this particular round of grading, and they're doing so well, so it's mainly a quick check to make sure they got the basics right and i can jam while doing so.

watching spent a very pleasant ~2 hours yesterday watching as much as we could of the film amadeus with @hematiterings, @pep-squad-lizzie, and @dimir-charmer. love a film that isn't afraid to lean into all its sensory indulgences, and to be a little heavy-handed with its symbolism (the chocolate is about repression!) and to, just generally, spend money on costumes, locations, hiring lots of extras, and so many wigs. there's a live event performance of this film with orchestra + choir being advertised all over our subway right now, so it does very much feel like we're being followed by this guy:

...but what's sticking in my head right now is the costumes.

playing 41+ hours into hollow knight. i have opened half of my stag stations! i have the dream nail, surprisingly early i think! i have saved bretta! i have somehow missed the mantis lords, i think, but have made it to the city, the resting grounds, and have now been throwing myself fruitlessly against the crystal guardian and a soul warrior in alternation. i am...not good at combat. current plan is to grind to get quick focus, and i'm close! also, @spoonierbard stepped in and gave me a much needed morale boost by winning me the final mask shard necessary to get increased lives, which has helped tremendously, and the grubs rewarded me with the grub song charm which has helped tremendously.

making many potential projects, none executed (or even really attempted). soon, hopefully. fallow section for now. does music count? music counts, right? i joined a second choir! enticed by the chance to perform mozart's requiem in full with an orchestra, and finally fulfill the broken promise of 2020. that's my hobby right now. oh i also just cleaned out a ton of storage in my phone + icloud, which felt generative in its own way. besides backing things up better than i have in a while.

working on submitted the travel money application i've been thinking and dithering about since...this time last year? no real expectation of getting it, but it did actually help me consider some next steps in the diss, so that's nice. now prepping to take my class on two fun on-campus field trips next week, one to the manuscript library and one to the medieval collection in our little hidden art museum! i need to write some notes up for the TAs and docents to use, and finish organizing my list of desired manuscripts, like, yesterday. midterm grades posted today, a little late but hopefully not too bad, still well before the drop date. the aforementioned quizzes (i have like 28 more to grade, but they're reasonably painless). plus i was going to work on my fucking dissertation this week, and prep to teach the next few lectures in advance so i'm not scrambling monday nights, plus send a bunch of emails, design a CFP poster, put in some RAship hours so i can speak intelligently in my meeting tomorrow, and....prep for the guest lecture i'm giving on the 28th! it's a reskin of the conference paper i gave this summer, freshly edited, but i need to expand the intro bits to include a useful overview, since these students aren't a conference of celticists.

weirdly at peace with how my work-life balance is balancing right now, though. it's the extra sleep and the increased sunshine, and the little cat who is being so so whiny right now. i must conclude these lines and feed Herself.

#in lieu of a commonplace book #ilcb #going to cave and admit the truth and tag this:#monthly roundup #click for gratuitous cat pic featuring: housemate blurred for anonymity #Spotify

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