#they were actually so fun to make i wish i had the motivation (and storage) to make more

[autistic-katara]

should i post the edits i made back when i like actually made edits on here? (i only posted them on tiktok)

#my tiktok username is different from my tumblr username btw incase i do post it and ur confused as to why the watermark says a different nam #it’s transnicodiangelo if ur wondering #(tho i haven’t used tiktok since like april so) #anyways i think i made like 5 in total #2 were owl house #1 was gravity falls #1 was infinity train #and the other was bungo stray dogs #they were actually so fun to make i wish i had the motivation (and storage) to make more #like it takes at least 5 hours and exhausts u #but listening to snippets of a song u like while making smthn abt ur blorbos is>>> #also afterwards it feels so good to have made smthn like that and to be able to show everyone #anyways if u want me to post them and/or make more tell me and i probably will #ryan shut the fuck up #edits

[etherealcheol-mp3]

White Carnations, Red Roses (and other perfumed words I hide behind) [TEASER]

Pairing: Seungcheol x reader (ft other svt members)

Genre/warnings: fluff, humor, sorta enemies to lovers, misunderstandings, flower shop owner!Y/N, landord!Seungcheol, tags will be updated later on when the actual fic is completed

Word count: TBD

Summary: You were just starting to foolishly believe that your move to a new city wasn't as bad as people had told you it would be. You had your best friend as your roommate, your new flower shop was running relatively smoothly after the grand opening, and everyone you had met so far had been nothing but kind to you. And then you met Choi Seungcheol.

A/N: i hate writing summaries oh god i promise this fic won't be as bad at the summary makes it sound...anyway !! hi ! new fic on this blog that i haven't really touched in a l o n g time. hopefully, i don't give up on this fic and get back to writing like before but these are just simply baby steps for me so we'll see how this goes. please let me know what you think and if you'd be interested in reading this fic because i could use the motivation lmao. other than that, thank you for reading this and cheers to new beginnings !!

Perfumed Words (floriography) - "Once a form of clandestine communication, the language of flowers was a silent dialogue — an unspoken way to converse with friends, lovers..."

Flowers are said to represent many different things. On a basic level, they can express love, happiness, gratitude, condolences, congratulations, well wishes, and more. To those who look a little deeper, each flower has its own unique meaning and representation. It’s these more intricate meanings that make owning a flower shop so fun to Y/N. People will come in every day searching for flowers to fit a multitude of occasions and only deem the ‘prettiest’ ones worthy of their money, not at all aware that the bouquet they just purchased for an anniversary is full of flowers that represent rejection, foolishness, and ill-nature. Of course, there are the people that want to hear all about flower meanings and how to best express their desired message, but after moving to a bigger, more urban city in order to expand the once small flower shop owned in your hometown, the amount of patience customers seemed to have to hear about the symbolism of the flowers they picked had greatly lessened.

You grunted softly, dropping the large bag of potting soil on the ground. The new shop had only been open for about two weeks but there was still a desperate need for organization in the back areas, hidden from the view of customers. “That was all of them right?” Chan asks as he pants lightly, leaning his side against the wall of the storage room. Chan was one of your only part-timers and a lifelong best friend. Growing up next door to one another in a neighborhood full of teenagers and newborns almost guaranteed a solid friendship as you were the only two kids around the same age who also went to the same school. Chan had helped you learn to ride a bike and you had cried while playing hide and seek one time since it had been close to an hour and you hadn’t found him. As you got older, you stayed close and Chan was one of the biggest supporters in your life when you decided you wanted to open your own flower shop. 

You laughed breathily at the boy next to you who was now dramatically trying to check his pulse. You push his shoulder gently as you move to walk back out to the front of the store. “I bet you regret saying you would go to university in the city now, huh?” Chan snorts at that, wrapping his arms tightly around you from behind to trap you in a bone-crushing hug, rubbing the side of his face against yours for good measure. You try to escape but he only holds you tighter, earning a loud groan from you, “Why would I regret moving with my bestest friend in the world? School has nothing to do with my undying loyalty to you,” You can’t help but laugh at that, finally freeing yourself from his arms and turning to face him. “Cut the shit, Lee Chan, we both know you’re only here because I have an extra bedroom in my apartment and could give you a job.” His shit-eating grin doesn’t falter as he extends his arms out for another hug, “Exactly what I said! Undying loyalty!”

You roll your eyes but can’t hide the smile on your face. “Yeah, yeah. Why don’t you show me that undying loyalty of yours by watering the plants in the greenhouse for me,” You smile sweetly while pushing a water spritzer into his chest. The way the smile on his face drops at your words makes you laugh lightly. He grumbles a bit but grabs the tools he needed and heads to the back door, raising his middle finger without turning back as you call out a sweet ‘Thank you!’. Chan was younger than you by a few years and the time for him to start university just so happened to overlay the time you decided to move the location of your shop for a much-needed expansion. You were lucky the area you settled on wasn’t too far from where you currently lived and Chan was even luckier that his dream school wasn’t far either. The small commercial strip you found with a space for rent seemed too good to be true at first. The area was popular and well developed with a large variety of stores surrounding yours. So far all the owners you had met were friendly and welcoming too. 

You were almost immediately invited to game night by the owner of the coin karaoke, Soonyoung, who was two shops down from yours, and the manager of his place, Seokmin, looked as if he would cry if you declined the offer. When you agreed and met up with them later that night you met the co-owners of the souvenir shop across the street, Jeonghan, and Joshua, and Chan hit it off with the part-timer of the record shop who everyone called Vernon. The two found out they were both attending the same university in the upcoming semester starting in just a few weeks and you felt relief that Chan wouldn’t be completely on his own. 

Everyone seemed to get along with one another and you were excited to slowly start joining the group for future get-togethers. The one person you couldn’t seem to get a clear read on was the landlord and property owner of the shops. You had met briefly twice: when you expressed interest in the vacant lot and when you signed your lease. Seungcheol was his name, and he always seemed to be in a rush whenever you met him, always leaving as quickly as possible with a tight smile and tired eyes. He was around the same age as you and the other shop owners and you assumed for a guy in charge of so many tenants he was just understandably busy. 

You were mindlessly sweeping behind the check-out counter in the front of your store when the small chime of the bell above the front door drew your attention. You called out over your shoulder without fully turning to face the person, “Hi, I’m sorry but we’re closed for the day,” resting the broom against the wall, you brushed your hands off on your green apron and turned around to give the person your full attention. “I can’t even come in to see how you’re settling in?” The question catches you off guard, as does the presence of Seungcheol lightly stroking the petal of one of the white carnations on display. He looks up at you after a bit, cocking his brow slightly with a warm smile. He looks relaxed today, not as rushed and fidgety as your prior encounters, and the tan short-sleeved shirt he’s wearing hugs his previously hidden biceps wonderfully. 

You blink once, then twice before you let out a soft, “Oh.” Seungcheol moves his hand from the delicate petals and crosses his arms over his chest while turning to face you fully. “I didn’t know you’d uh, didn’t know you would stop by…today,” You don’t know why you feel so nervous under the man's gaze but the light chuckle that leaves him makes you feel weak in the knees. He begins to walk up to the counter you’re still standing behind and you feel your eyes widen slightly. “I like to surprise my tenants every once in a while. Make sure they’re getting their money’s worth from their rent.” You nod slightly at that, looking down at the counter between the two of you to avoid his gaze. “Oh, yeah. That makes sense, I mean you-” he cuts you off with a gentle yet firm tone. “I also make sure they’re following the rules. They’re very strict here.”

Your head snaps up to meet his. His face looks serious and you can’t help but furrow your brows at his words. “Rules?’ You question quietly. He nods and his face holds the same serious expression as before. “This is a strictly business-only zone during operating hours. We can all be friends and whatever else when stores are closed but outside of that it’s rivalry and competition only.” You tilt your head in utter confusion and let out a “What?” that ends up being the loudest and most stable word you’ve spoken to him so far. The corner of his lips twitches just slightly upwards at that before he continues. “Every month rent is due, this isn’t news,” You narrow your eyes as he speaks, unsure if you’re going to like where this goes, “However, the shop with the highest sales for the month gets a benefit.” You raise an eyebrow at his vague explanation and cross your arms over your chest. “What does that have to do with rent, or being friendly with one another during business hours?”

Seungcheol sighs with a shake of his head, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans before meeting your eyes with a look of amusement. “Let’s just say the benefit is good enough that some good old-fashioned business rivalry and...sabotage, I guess you could say, is perfectly normal. If you don’t want to see your little flowers cut up or your water supply blocked then I would suggest you stick to the rules.” You let out a scoff of disbelief as he finishes. “I find it really hard to believe any of the people I’ve met so far would do anything like that, and I also find it insane that you would even allow it if it ever did.” 

Seungcheol smiles at your words, enjoying the anger he can see beginning to grow. He leans over the counter slightly to get even closer to you before he speaks lowly, “You don’t know me or anyone else here like you might think you do. I really hope you’ll be able to last long enough to do that, but from what I see, you and your little flowers won’t make it to Christmas. It’s not like your sales would help you anyway.” You glare at him and clench your jaw at his words. You’re stuck in a trance of anger and disbelief and don’t even realize he’s walked away and out the front door until you hear the light chime from the bell once again. You’re unable to move as you replay the scene again and again in your head, only being brought back by Chan dramatically exclaiming his relief at once again being in a building with air conditioning. He sees your rigid stance and feels his eyes widen at the expression on your face. 

“Y/N…are you good?” He asks hesitantly, unsure of what he missed while he was out. “I’m good,” you let out a deep breath as you meet his eyes, “I just need to go pick up a few things.” Chan looks confused as you walk past him to the back office space and grab your things, ready to leave. “What things?” He asks, following behind you and quickly ridding himself of his matching green apron as you quickly walk to the front door, flipping the open sign to display ‘Closed’. “Just some things to help me prove an asshole wrong,” You speak casually with a smile that Chan recognizes all too well. “Shaving cream or duct tape?” He asks in slight fear of the answer, letting out a sigh of disdain at the answer. “Lemons.” 

“Oh fuck.”

#csc.mp3 #toro writes #seventeen #svt fluff #seventeen x reader #seventeen fluff #scoups fluff #seungcheol fluff #seungcheol x reader #scoups x reader #svt x reader #svt imagines #seventeen imagines #scoups #seungcheol

[thebluestbluewords]

HEIST HEIST HEIST

I saw this post today and got inspired, SO here is Descendants Could Have Been A Heist Movie, thebluestbluewords take :

(this is very much an outline and not a full fic yet, but I might yet write this someday)

Taking this whole heist movie idea very seriously, this would be (and might yet be if I have the time for it) a fic about how the first Descendants movie would have gone if it had been a heist movie, rather than a fairytale.

The main plot of the movie is no longer about learning to choose good and seeing that kids don’t have to follow in the footsteps of their parents- it’s now a high school political intrigue about stealing a wand.

(don’t worry about the larger themes there- the wand might be stolen for many self-serving reasons that go beyond 'doing what their parents say'. Maybe they’re stealing it to make a larger statement about opening the isle. Or about how treating villains as villains is wrong and they deserve trust because it makes things so much more fun for them in the long run)

(can you tell I haven’t decided on the overall tone of this AU yet lmao)

The story starts when the VKs are being told to get the wand, hand it over, it’ll be easy.

Sure, they say.

Sounds great, they say.

Give us your spellbook and magic mirror and whatever else you’ve got to give, and we absolutely won’t use them to betray you and open the isle on our own terms, they don’t say.

(this story ends before we get to that point, but the implication is there)

The kids arrive in Auradon, as in canon.

Unlike canon, they don’t immediately go for a break-and-enter approach to the museum, because if they’re going to heist this, they’re going to do it right. A good heist takes planning, and patience, and research.

What they do is wait until the weekend, and then inform the school admin that they want to get to know the culture of Auradon.

The museum seems like a great place to start, Evie says earnestly.

We didn’t have anything like it back on the Isle, adds Mal. It would be such a good learning opportunity for us.

And we could see the town. And the candy store. Say the boys.

The school admin caves, because it would be wrong to deny these kids a chance to get to know this history of goodness! They’re just teenagers, and they’ve been doing so well with their first week, and of course they can go into town, do they want a school car to drop them off?

They do not.

The museum is kind of a bust. They spend some time scoping out the security, but they’ve had a whole week to magically-google everything they can about this place, and it’s not much of a surprise that there’s a functionally unbreakable magical alarm system set up around all of the objects.

Time to reassess the plan.

(this is where the political intrigue comes in)

Ben is still a Fundamentally Decent (if slightly boring) guy in this.

Of course, he’s also the one on the line if this whole villainy exchange program goes wrong. It shouldn’t be a surprise that he would come to check up on his flagship students after they have a day out exploring the town.

Oho, Mal thinks. Here’s something they can work with.

Ben is sweet. He’s not terribly interesting, at least at first, but he seems like a guy who genuinely cares about the idea of bringing villain kids over, and can probably be manipulated to their purposes without too much effort.

So the VKs think over their potential plans to get the wand, and decide that yeah, if they can get an in with the future king of Auradon, that’s probably a pretty solid place to start.

Unfortunately, they decide to start this attempt by blatantly flirting.

Audrey is very much a political presence in this fic. She’s not evil by any means, but she is goal oriented and doesn’t necessarily love the idea of VKs coming in and altering her five year plan for herself and her boyfriend.

(I think Aurdey is an interesting character, and I wish she’d been given some better motivations in the first movie beyond ‘mean girl in a high school movie’. So in this fic, where they do still crown the incoming royalty at sixteen, they also believe in setting up children for advantageous marriages. Audrey and Ben have been pushed at each other since they were kids, and yeah, maybe there’s not a lot of actual love between them, but they’re friends and it’s way easier to just date each other and make their parents happy than refuse and risk losing the sway they get with their parents by being the good little obedient golden children who are happy to be put together if it’s what’s best for the future of the realm.)

The point of this is, the VKs send Mal in with her very best flirting, taught to her by Evie in a truly hopeless training montage, and it just-

Fails. Completely.

And now Audrey sort of hates them.

Great.

The other unfortunate piece of this heist is that the relationships between the co-conspirators, the core four, are….somewhat intense. Charged, if you will, with a certain kind of tension.

I’m not saying that Malvie hook up in their pink princess dorm room on the first night and then don’t talk about it for the rest of the story despite blatantly flirting with each other all the time, but yeah actually that might be what I’m saying.

This is the middle of the fic now, and there’s some kind of political drama that leads to the VKs finding out about the coronation.

Maybe it’s teammate bonding, because I think it’s tragically underutilized that Ben and Jay are canonically both sports bros and I want more of that sweet high school sports team drama content.

The point is, they find out about the coronation, and that the wand will be out and about during that day.

Oho, they say. An opportunity.

Building on the sports bros theme, Lonnie gets to be in this story! She’s a cool character and I have a couple of unfinished ideas for her kicking around my fic drive, so she’s going to be here too.

Lonnie finds the VKs in a somewhat compromising state of planning.

Uh, what the fuck is this, she says.

What do you THINK, says Mal, who is not known for keeping her mouth shut.

Looks like...some kind of statement that you’re going to make during the coronation, says Lonnie, who is a nice person and also didn’t hear/see all that much of the planning before she was noticed. (as I’m typing this up I am also remembering the School of Secrets shorts?? Lonnie is absolutely going in this fic as someone who spies on her new friends. It’s almost like canon. She’s the daughter of Mulan. She can sneak when she wants to)

Yes. Exactly. A peaceful political statement, says Evie, who is often a quicker thinker than the others. We are going to… sit at the front in protest. Of how we have been treated. As villains. We deserve the same respect as other students, regardless of who our parents are.

Lonnie is surprisingly on board with this, because honestly, based on some of her costume choices in d1, magical disney utopias seem to be overwhelmingly white for the most part and do not know how to support their international students very well.

(am I still mad about the awful dress she was wearing during the family day scene?? yes.)

So now they have Lonnie on board with their made-up protest plan, and they’ve got Ben and Jay being… actually bros, weirdly enough, and somehow there’s got to be high school political intrigue that I haven’t thought through yet (maybe a group who doesn’t approve of the villainy exchange program is trying to get Ben declared unfit?? Idk. Maybe it’s just different mini kingdoms angling for a good position, and it matters Very Deeply who sits where at the coronation and it’s a whole deal. That one probably works a bit better.) and it’s altogether getting Pretty Far Into Things.

Family day isn’t a big conflict in this AU, because the VKs don’t really care about the whole family gathering and party business without Mal being involved with Ben. They decide to have a chill time hanging out and plotting their heist instead. The wand is going to be taken out before the coronation, but rather than try and grab it in the middle of things, it’s got to be easier to grab it right before or after, while it’s in transport.

They have multiple people who can pick locks. People who can charm guards into letting their guard down for a bit. Ways of getting around even electronic lock systems, given some time.

They hang around the classroom a bit longer after their parent phone call, and get to talking with Fairy Godmother about how maybe, possibly, they could get a real place up at the front during the coronation. It’s a good distraction, and hearing more about the logistics of how things are going to go on the day itself is a perfect segue into asking more about the objects that are used during the coronation. It’s important to understand their new home! No other reason they’d want to know about the history and powers of her wand.

No other reason at all.

They learn that the wand is going into secure storage in Fairy Godmother’s office for the day before the ceremony. Of course, it’s going to be safe enough there. The magical wards at the museum are mostly there in case of emergency, and they’re really more about making sure none of the objects get damaged than they are about theft.

There are no more villains in Auradon, after all.

All things considered, it’s shockingly easy to break into Fairy Godmother’s office the night before the coronation. The wand is in a safe with some magic barriers around it, but Mal has her mother’s spellbook, and Evie has a magic mirror that can look up the answer to pretty much anything they ask, so it’s short work for a pair of magic users who have been practicing their spellwork since they day they left the isle to break the temporary barriers down.

There’s a regular human lock as well, and they give that one to Jay. He’s their lockpicking expert, after all.

And there it is.

Mal grabs the wand. There’s a surge of magical energy up through her hand, burning everywhere she’s touching the silvery metal, but in a way that feels like strength.

And all hell breaks loose.

#my fic #descendants fic #disney descendants #this got long very fast and I might need to write at least part of it now #core four #mal bertha #evie grimhilde #jay son of jafar #carlos de vil #i realize that I did not go very far into what these kids are actually DOING beyond the plotting and the answer is Simply Vibing #making friends and influencing people #stirring up drama just because they can #Audrey might actually need to be a major character in this #she's not necessarily the antagonist but she's not an ally either #she and Ben don't break up in this AU but she does let Ben get away with plausible deniability when it comes to flirting with other guys #partially because she doesn't really care if he's into men so long as he's going to marry her #and he does care about her #they've been friends since childhood and it's a weird political landscape when children are coming of age at sixteen #and expected to start participating in governance #also there's a whole lot of tiny kigdoms that basically have their own ruling systems in place #they just also have a larger king who keeps them together for a couple things #like kicking out villains #and having unified borders in times of outside conflict #so that the smaller kingdoms don't get wiped off the map #but that's not the POINT the POINT is the HEIST #steal the wand in a way that is meticulously planned for the whole story leading up to the moment of actual theft #a thruline that's not romance #this is loosely canon pairings as of the beginning of d1 #so like #no actual ships

[averykedavra]

If you’re feeling up for it could you please do 3. “You’re not hurting me, you’re not heavy. I’ve got you, love.” With Roman and Janus. Thank you!!

(Wow, you all really like roceit, huh? This is my sole prompt for today as I caught up on homework instead, but I’ll be back tomorrow, if canon doesn’t break me)

Words: 3981

“Okay,” Janus said. “What’s wrong?”

“What?” Roman flinched and pulled at his apron. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Hold on a second,” Janus told the customer in front of him, who opened their mouth to ask a question. Janus made a zip it gesture before pushing off the counter and dragging Roman into the storage closet. The door automatically closed, and Janus kicked the wedge into the gap before it slammed.

Hidden among racks of coffee beans, Roman seemed to relax. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned forward to kiss Janus quickly on the lips.

“You okay?” Roman asked when he pulled away. “You look stressed.”

“Of course I am, I’m on barista duty.” Janus glanced at the door. He could hear the customers babbling, but if this was an emergency, they would survive without a dead-eyed barista to hand them coffee. “What’s wrong?”

“What, do I need an excuse to see my boyfriend?” Roman placed a hand on his chest in mock hurt. “I love you!”

“Flattery will get you nowhere,” Janus said, though he allowed himself to preen at the affection. “You’re harried and there’s coffee all over your apron. And you’re supposed to be lifting boxes. What happened?”

Roman sighed and deflated like an old balloon. “The shadow demons are holding the place hostage again.”

“Again?” Janus groaned. “What is that, three times this month?”

“Yep.” Roman popped the p.

Janus sighed and glanced at his feet. “What do they want this time?”

“Dunno, but I can assume the usual.” Roman waved a hand. “Annihilation and destruction and blood to drench the floors, et cetera et cetera.”

“Great. This shift was too quiet.” Janus untied his ponytail and retied it, pulling all the strands taut. “Any casualties so far?”

“The coffee machine stopped working again.”

“Those bastards.”

“I’ve been telling you to get an exorcist,” Roman said. “Honey, this is just going to keep happening.”

“Am I in charge? No! Ask Patton, whenever he actually shows up.” Janus rolled his eyes. “Besides, exorcists are scam artists and religious nuts.”

“We have demons,” Roman pointed out. “You can believe in shadow demons, but not in exorcists?”

Janus rolled his eyes again. “That’d be a large chunk of the budget. If it matters to you so much, ask Patton.”

Roman huffed. “I’d much rather talk to you! Because I like you!”

“Sap.” Janus glanced at the door again. “We’d better hurry. What’s the details of this one?”

“Runes on the basement wall. Can’t decipher them. Virgil’s guarding the door to make sure nothing escapes.”

“Runes. Should be easy.” Janus wiped his hands on his apron and wished he’d made himself a shot of espresso. Saving the coffee shop was always easier while buzzed on caffeine. “Lead the way, darling.”

“Gladly!” Roman grabbed his hand, kissed it, and pulled Janus out of the storage room. They passed a clamoring crowd of customers, and Janus soaked in the final glimpse of sunlight. It was a busy day. All the more reason to solve this problem before it threatened any customers--they didn’t need another one-star Yelp review.

Of course, they could just move. Or, probably more reasonably, burn the cursed place to the ground and stab the ashes. No good could come from a shop so deeply filled with shadow demons. But Patton insisted--through email, the few times he actually responded--that the place had value to the community. Janus doubted that, but he wasn’t paid enough to object.

Capitalism. The only reason he took this job. It had seemed too good to be true that they were hiring without any previous experience. And, as Janus feared, it was.

Still, perhaps it would be good for his resume. Worked as manager-by-default at Spirit Cafe. Practiced at taking orders from no one, fighting shadow spirits, bartering for the life of an unlucky intern, and making espresso.

“Capitalism,” Janus complained as Roman led him downstairs.

“Yes, love, I know.”

The basement was two levels--the first was called the ‘chocolate factory,’ and the second, ‘spider hell.’ Roman had named the first in a burst of whimsy after rereading the Willy Wonka book. The second was self-explanatory. The second was also home to most of the demons.

When Janus passed the few employees around, they gave him a do we have to evacuate look. He responded with a don’t think so, keep toiling for the man look. Roman gave them all a perky thumbs up.

The second set of stairs were too greasy to make out their color. It was old legend that the posters and artwork grew older the farther you went--the cafe on the top floor was fresh and bright, and the chocolate factory was decorated with motivational posters that were splattered with coffee. Spider hell was devoid of intact decorations. Just old photos with faded edges, a few outdated certificates of health, and torn motivational posters.

For example, the poster on the door to spider hell. It had a kitten image, and was probably supposed to say Hang in there! The bottom was torn off. It just said Hang.

Roman opened the door and bowed dramatically. Janus sighed, kissed Roman’s cheek, and entered spider hell.

The hallway itself was clean, if a bit too reminiscent of fluorescent middle school halls. Most of the doors didn’t open. Janus kicked one as he passed, and the narrow window glinted back at him. Door, door, old bathroom with moths around the lights, door, mysterious graffiti--

Virgil, who breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the door to the boiler room. His apron was tied around his waist like a sweater. Behind him were several wooden rods, a few floorboards, and balled-up motivational posters, all jammed against the door to keep it locked.

“You’ve been busy,” Roman said. “Is that a folding chair?”

“I had to be careful!” Virgil pressed closer to the door. “I’m too young to die! I was gonna steal some metal from the pipes, but Janus would have been mad.”

“Correct,” Janus agreed. “We’re going to deal with this situation, alright? You can go cover for me upstairs--we need another barista.”

“I can leave?” Virgil whooped. “Oh, thank fuck, I’m gonna get the hell out of here. Have fun.”

“We will!” Roman said.

Virgil saluted them, then raced down the hallway. “Gonna expect a pay raise for all this!”

“Take it up with Patton,” Janus yelled.

“Don’t blame things on your imaginary friend!”

“He’s not--”

The door slammed behind Virgil. Janus turned to Roman petulantly. “He’s not imaginary. I’ve seen him. Once.”

“Sure,” Roman said.

“Ugh.” Janus rolled his eyes. “Why do I keep you two around?”

“Well, Virgil’s the coffee machine whisperer! And I’m devilishly handsome.” Roman winked at him. “You can’t resist, dearest.”

“Don’t flatter yourself.” Janus turned to the door. “In we go?”

“Into the breach, dear boyfriend.”

It took several minutes to pull the obstacles off the door. Virgil had managed to pound nails into the doorframe, probably in sheer panic, and Roman kept pausing to nurse splinters. Janus pried the folding chair from the door, tore off the posters, and kissed Roman’s hand when he asked. Finally, the door was clear enough for Janus to force it open.

An unwritten rule at the coffee shop was to keep flashlights everywhere. Behind every door, on every table, and in every pocket. Janus pulled his own out of his apron. Roman did the same.

At first, the boiler room looked normal. The huffing pipes, tossing steam into the corners, and the grimy concrete floor. Then Janus’ flashlight skidded onto the wall, and the beam illuminated a series of runes burned into the plaster. Each letter was about the size of Janus’ head, and the edges were rough, like they’d been clawed there.

“No blood,” Janus noticed. “They’re losing their touch.”

“I’m assuming that’s a message.” Roman walked forward and squinted at it. “Can you make anything out?”

Janus tried to put the squiggles into some kind of order. It looked like a few dozen letters, but he couldn’t be sure, because they blended into each other and made his head hurt. “I have no idea what that says.”

“Darn.” Roman folded his arms and flickered his flashlight on the runes like a strobe light. They did not magically coalesce into something coherent. “Logan’s not here, right?”

“He’s off-shift.” Janus thought for a second before pulling out his phone. “I’ll text him.”

“What if he’s busy?”

“The customer is always right, and always comes first,” Janus said while unlocking his phone. “Customers don’t want to die. He can spare a moment for us. And I’m his manager-by-default, so he has to do what I say.”

“Fair,” Roman said, giving Janus the you’re very cute when you’re in charge smile.

Janus would have teased him about that, if they had time. Instead, he just shot Logan a text. Can you decode something?

Half a minute passed.

This is important, Janus texted.

Ten more seconds with no response.

I will fire you, Janus texted. We’re all going to die, Janus texted. This is an emergency, Janus texted. Our deaths will be on your conscience if you keep ignoring me, Janus texted.

“Maybe he just hasn’t seen the texts,” Roman pointed out, leaning over Janus’ shoulder.

Answer me or I swear I’ll fucking find you, Janus texted.

“Dearest,” Roman said.

“What?”

Before Roman could say something endearingly naive about ‘compassion’ or whatever, Janus’ phone buzzed.

What do you need? Logan had texted back.

Janus held up his phone and took a picture of the runes. Fortunately, they showed up on camera. The picture still mysteriously corrupted mid-message, but when Janus re-sent it, Logan sent back a thumbs up.

What does it say? Janus asked.

Logan typed for several seconds. Finally, Janus received a small wall of text. He skimmed it, closed his eyes, and opened his eyes again.

“That’s not English,” Roman said hesitantly. “I’m not losing it. That’s not English, right?”

“I think it’s Catalan.” Janus sighed and thumbed out a response. That wasn’t English, try again.

Apologies, Logan responded. I’ll try again.

Janus waited impatiently, watching the small white dots as Logan texted. Roman dropped a kiss to his forehead for no apparent reason. Janus did his best not to blush.

Finally, Logan sent a small paragraph, followed by English?

Yes, good job. Thank you.

No problem. Stop texting me more than once or I will block you.

How dare you, I am your manager.

No response. Janus resolved to discreetly spill coffee on Logan’s shirt on their next shared shift.

“What’d he say?” Roman asked, impatiently jumping from foot to foot.

Janus skimmed the paragraph. “It looks like a riddle. ‘What walks on two legs--’”

“Human,” Roman interrupted. “Oh, that’s an easy one!”

Janus shook his head. “‘What walks on two legs in the air, eight legs on the ground, and more legs the longer you look?’”

For a second, they were both quiet.

“That’s not a human,” Roman finally said, a bit weakly.

“Humans don’t tend to gain limbs, you’re correct.” Janus let out a breath. “Analogy or not, human is not the answer.”

“Then what is it?” Roman turned to the wall again. The letters dripped like burns down the wall. “We--I’m assuming they want us to solve the riddle.”

“Yeah.”

“Why a riddle?”

“Sometimes you get bored,” Janus said. “I get it.”

Roman looked incredulously at him.

“The bigger question is what happens if we don’t guess it,” Janus continued, tapping his fingers on his phone. “Definitely something good.”

“And how much time do we have?”

As if by agreement, they both looked back at the door. It had slammed shut. The only light were their flashlights, illuminating the hulking boiler and the dustiest corners of spider hell. No spiders yet, but it was only a matter of time. Janus could almost hear them rustling.

“That’s not going to open,” Roman said, his voice pitched up. “Is it?”

“Only one way to make sure.” Janus strode over to the door and tugged on the handle. It was like tugging on a concrete wall. “Congratulations, you win a prize.”

“Wonderful,” Roman exclaimed. “Fabulous! We’re trapped here!”

Janus stepped back and rammed his shoulder into the door. The only thing he achieved was shoulder pain.

“I’m gonna call someone.” Roman pulled out his phone. The blue light trembled over his face. “Get us out of here.”

“We haven’t solved the riddle yet!” Janus protested, giving up on the locked door. “Solve it, and we leave, and the shop won’t be in danger.”

“I’d rather be alive, thanks!”

“Coward,” Janus murmured, scanning the room for immediate threats, and finding nothing but shadows and cobwebs. That didn’t mean nothing was there. It just meant they still had time. “We have to keep the shop from burning down, it’s the bare minimum of our jobs.”

Roman ran a hand through his hair. “And what’s it to us? I hate this job, and so do you.”

“Patton would fire me if I didn’t--”

“So get fired!” Roman burst out in frustration. “Let this place go up in smoke, I don’t care!”

“There are people in here! We need their money!” Janus waved his hands around. “Capitalism!”

That made Roman snicker, which made the tension settle, which made Janus smile back.

“You can leave if you’d like,” Janus allowed after a moment. “If you can find a way out. I can try to solve the riddle on my own.”

“What? No! We’re in this together.” Roman grinned at him. “If my boyfriend is stubborn enough to face down shadow demons like an idiot, I’m going to be an idiot with him.”

“Charming,” Janus said sarcastically, to avoid saying something extremely sappy. “You truly know how to treat a man.”

“I do!” Roman smiled wider and gestured at the runes. “A very smart man who will definitely solve this riddle!”

Janus nodded and turned back to the wall of runes.

Two legs in the air, and eight legs on the ground. It must be an analogy, like the original riddle, but what could air and ground represent? Imagination and reality? Or perhaps the legs were the metaphorical parts--

“Go Janus!” Roman cheered quietly from behind him.

“What?”

“I’m encouraging you!” Roman made jazz hands. “Solve it! You can do it, dear!”

Janus snickered and rolled his eyes.

“Go Janus,” Roman whispered.

Janus tried to focus on the riddle again.

Maybe he should research it. Logan clearly didn’t have an answer, or he probably would have included it with his text, but Logan was still a good problem-solver. Janus should have asked what language it was in. Janus should have confirmed the translation. Janus should have given Virgil a backup plan.

There was no use psyching himself out, though. This was another routine afternoon. He’d come out victorious a dozen times before, and there was no reason he wouldn’t keep up the streak.

Two legs in the air, eight legs on the ground, and more legs the longer he looked.

Janus looked harder.

And he saw legs. And hands, and claws scratching at the cement.

Oh, yay, just what he’d wanted! It must be his birthday.

“Roman,” Janus said slowly. “Do you see that too?”

“What?”

“Look very closely.”

A long pause. Then a loud “Fuck!”

“You see it?”

“Hard to miss now,” Roman said, wide-eyed. “What is that?”

Slowly, and steadily, the runes were crumbling. The burns were melting deeper into the wall. And from the holes, shadows climbed out--or maybe it was just the holes themselves, deepening and tearing, turning the world inside out.

“Fun,” Janus said, wishing he’d taken his chance to get the hell out of here while he still could. “This is very, very fun.”

“We should probably solve that riddle,” Roman said.

“Oh, really?” Janus clutched his flashlight tighter. The beam glanced off the shadows like light on oil. “I would have never guessed.”

Two legs in air, eight legs on the ground, more legs and hands and eyes glistening with oil--

The next few seconds were a blur. Something lunged, Janus’ flashlight winked out, and Roman’s clattered to the ground. A cold rope-hand-something curled around his ankle, and Roman’s hand grabbed his.

“Where’s my--” Roman’s voice was panicked. “Shit, okay, the flashlight’s by the boiler--”

“Okay,” Janus said quietly, trying to kick away the cold cloud-hand-whatever it was. “I can’t see the runes anymore.”

“They’re basically falling apart as we speak. You remember the riddle, right?”

“Two, eight, far too many.” Janus swallowed and tried to think. The cold around his ankle was growing warm, too, like frostbite so icy it burned. “Two, eight--”

His ankle was wrenched in a direction it wasn’t supposed to.

Janus heard a wet snap.

And oh, he knew that feeling. Too sudden and complete to hurt. Too much hurt to even comprehend, as if he could feel the pain coming, but not enough time to brace himself. Not nearly enough time.

Red-hot pain, jolting up his bones, from his broken fucking ankle.

He might have screamed. His knees buckled, and someone--Roman--caught him halfway to the floor. Everything was dark. Something red flashed in his vision. Janus could barely breathe without pain tearing at his lungs, but he tried, breathe in and out and wait for the world to stop spinning.

“Hey, whoa, okay, okay,” Roman was murmuring. “What happened? What--”

Janus opened his mouth to explain. All that escaped was a small whimper. If Janus was in less pain, he would have been embarrassed.

“Okay, okay, love, it’s okay.” A hand brushed Janus’ hair out of his face. “Keep breathing. Calm down. It’s okay.”

“Ankle,” Janus forced out. His limbs felt like jelly. “Fucking ankle, gonna fucking--”

“Yes, yes, you’ll get your revenge.” Roman’s voice was achingly soft, and it made Janus relax a bit. “I can lower you to the ground so you don’t have to put weight on it--”

“No,” Janus complained, rather enjoying the feeling of Roman’s arms around him. “Pretty sure we wanna be able to run--”

“You can’t run anyway.”

“Capitalism,” Janus mumbled. “Hate it.”

“Me too, love.”

Something scraped at Janus’ shoulder, something that felt uncomfortably like teeth. He stifled a yelp.

“Oh, that was something.” Roman’s harried tone told Janus he’d felt it, too. “Where is my flashlight--I can’t see anything--”

“Riddle,” Janus reminded him.

“Right,” Roman said. “Right, right, you know what? I’m gonna call someone! I’m gonna call someone.”

“Mm.”

A pause and several rustles. The pain was dulling to a manageable low roar. Janus felt something brush his hand and he swatted at it. Maybe they’d break his other ankle next. Maybe they’d work through him limb by limb, like a game of Hangman.

“Fuck off,” Janus told the darkness.

“Phone’s not--” Roman swore. “Phone’s not working. Of course.”

“Riddle.”

“Right.”

“Riddle,” Janus repeated. Two legs, eight legs, lots of legs. Maybe it didn’t have an answer and they were just messing with him. Maybe he’d answer it and die anyway. That would be a shame, dying with his boyfriend, especially because letting everyone in the building perish was definitely a health code violation.

Roman whacked at something. “Away, foul fiends!”

Janus tested his ankle. He couldn’t even bring himself to move it.

Wonderful. He couldn’t solve a three-line riddle, and he was going to die like a fool in the shadows of spider hell--

Wait.

“Two legs,” Janus said. His voice rasped. “Two legs in the air, when it’s falling on a thread--oh, I hate you.”

“What?” Roman asked.

“And eight legs on the ground, and more legs the longer you look.” Janus laughed. “That’s fair enough.”

Something brushed against his back, feeling like scales.

“Spiders,” Janus said. “That’s the answer! Are you happy now? It’s spiders, leave us alone!”

For one horrifying second, one throb of his ankle, nothing happened.

And then the flashlight at Janus’ feet turned on.

Spider hell looked the same as it always did. Empty walls, a boiler choking on steam, and Roman’s flashlight rolling in the dust. Roman grabbed Janus’, leaned over, and grabbed his own.

“What--” Roman looked around. “Did you--solve it?”

“I think--” Janus slipped a bit in Roman’s arms.

“You did it!” Roman laughed in relief. “You did it, you absolute genius--”

Janus looked up at his boyfriend. Even through the haze of pain, he looked exceedingly adorable. Janus leaned forward and kissed him quickly on the lips. “Don’t flatter me.”

“But darling, it’s so easy!” Roman adjusted Janus in his arms. “Does your ankle hurt?”

“Take a guess.”

“We’ll have to find you a doctor,” Roman said, pulling him forward. “Out of the basement first, though, before another villainous creature decides to use as afternoon entertainment.”

“Or the spiders find us,” Janus agreed. He tried to shift his weight onto his good foot, but he could barely move without his head spinning. “Ow.”

“Just stay put! I’ll carry you!”

“No.”

“I’ll assist you,” Roman amended. “Lean on me, and I’ll walk you upstairs, okay?”

Janus shifted in Roman’s arms. “Am I hurting you? I’m heavy.”

“You’re not hurting me, you’re not heavy.” Roman pressed a kiss to Janus’ head and led him to the door. He kicked it, and it opened. “I’ve got you, love. I’m escorting the brave savior of the coffee shop!”

“I’m manager by default,” Janus said, wrapping an arm around Roman’s waist. Just to hold himself up, of course. No other reason. “It’s my job.”

“You do a great job of it!”

“Someone has to.” Janus clung to Roman’s side as he led them up the stairs. The poster told him to Hang. Janus filled in the other two words, and hung in there.

“I think it’s broken,” Janus said as Roman half-carried him up the stairs. “This is humiliating. Also, expensive.”

“We’ll figure it out, people get hurt, it happens.” Roman paused on one landing. “I’m just happy it wasn’t anything worse.”

“Still the worst injury so far,” Janus said ruefully. “Give me employee of the month.”

Roman smiled and pulled him up the final stairs. “I’ll ask Patton.”

When they burst dramatically through the doors into the cafe, Virgil breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re not dead!”

“Not for lack of trying, no.” Janus eased himself onto a chair and took a deep breath. The cafe was bursting with people and lights, all the customers completely unaware that they’d just escaped their demise. Janus envied them. “The situation is taken care of, you can relax.”

“Thanks,” Virgil said. “Uh--you okay?”

“He’s taking the rest of the day off,” Roman said before Janus could explain. “Broken ankle. I’m going to rest with him at home, then he’ll take a trip to the clinic.”

“I’ll what?” Janus repeated. “I have a shift--”

“You’re the manager,” Roman pointed out. “Give yourself a free day.”

“The cafe’s busy! I’d leave us short-staffed!”

“You can’t walk.”

“Capitalism!”

“Self-care!” Roman folded his arms. “Virgil, can you cover for Janus as he goes home?”

“Uh--” Virgil looked between them. Janus expected him to say no. “‘Course! I bet I can grab Logan for an emergency shift, too.”

“No, you can’t,” Janus said mockingly as Virgil pulled out his phone. “He’s a bastard and won’t--”

Virgil’s phone buzzed. “He’ll be here in five.”

“Wh--” Janus blinked. “How did you--”

“He just doesn’t like you.” Virgil smirked at him. “Go rest, Jan, we’ll cover your ass.”

“You heard him!” Roman held out a hand. “Come on, love, let’s have a break. The coffee shop won’t burn down while you’re gone, and if it does, Patton can handle it.”

Janus wasn’t sure about that one. Maybe he would return to a burned shell of a building. Or several dead bodies.

But Virgil and Logan knew what to do. And an afternoon with his boyfriend didn’t sound too bad.

“Fine,” Janus said. “I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

Give me a prompt, and I’ll write a short drabble!

#roceit #roman sanders #janus sanders #sanders sides #logan sanders #virgil sanders #patton sanders #averywrites #asks and answers #anon #yes i had way too much fun with this au why do u ask #yes this is too long why do u ask #yes i need sleep why do u ask #crap forgot warnings #tw injury #tw death mention #tw spiders #coffee shop au #supernatural au

[tabooneko]

Diabolik Lovers Chaos Lineage - Sakamaki Laito - Story 01

Hi there~ I’ve finally had some time to check out Chaos Lineage and I must say that I really like it so far! Laito’s route was great (compared to LE...) and since I enjoyed it so much, I decided to try translating it~

PLEASE DON’T REPOST!

Enjoy~

Laito: You choose me to be your guard? You want to be with me so much? Yui: Ee... Laito: It seems so. I'm going to cherish you a lot, so look forward to it ♪ Yui: (I didn't even say anything, he just answered himself... Did I make a   right decision choosing him...?)

----------------------------------------------

Monologue:

When the guard has been decided, they left the jail probably to discuss future.

When I was left alone, I got overwhelmed by hopelessness.

I'm Eve. Those vampires are going to steal me from each other and fight for the title   of supreme ruler.

They probably won't let me go, until those fights are over.

When I thought about it, my heart became heavy.

----------------------------------------------

Yui: Eh... Yui: (First I was taken from the church and now I'm imprisoned... Why did it   end up like this?) Yui: (Even if I tried to run away, those iron bars look pretty sturdy. And I   don't have any place to go anyway...) ???: Oh my? Why are you sighing like this? Yui: Ah... Laito-san. Laito: Come on, you can call me Laito-kun. Laito: I thought you may get hungry soon, so I brought you some food. Yui: (Food... Ah, it smells nice!) Yui: *growling stomach* Ah...! Laito: Fufu, what a loud belly growl. You should have just called me, I'd bring   something sooner. Laito: Since you're our important guest. Yui: (What is he saying... no one would hear me from this prison.) Yui: (And even if they were able to hear me, I wouldn't feel comfortable   enough to call them anyway.) Laito: ...Oh, but you probably didn't feel comfortable enough to call us, huh.   Yui: ...! Laito: You were suddenly brought to such a place, no wonder you're on your   guard. Yui: (H-He is reading my mind...?!) Laito: You just thought that I'm reading your mind, didn't you? Yui: How do you know... Laito: Fufufu... I'm not reading your mind. It just all shows on your face. Laito: You don't have to worry. I'm a gentle man, not like that bully Carla. Laito: If you have any request, just say it. I'll grant your every w-i-sh. Yui: T-Thank you very much. Yui: (I still can't let my guard down, but... He looks like a friendly and   easy to talk person.) Laito: You should eat before it gets cold. Pardon my intrusion. Yui: (Ah... He entered my cell.) Laito: Okay, open your mouth. I'll fe-ed-you. Yui: What?! Yui: (He is holding a spoon... does he really plan to feed me?!) Yui: It's okay! I can eat myself. Laito: You don't need to hold back. I just want to see your eating face up   close. Yui: You want to see...? Laito: Here you are, say "aah" ♪ Yui: Ugh?! Yui: (He put the spoon into my mouth?! It hurts...) Yui: Nnn... Ngg... Laito: Haa... you're struggling in pain and yet your cheeks are flushed... Do   you enjoy such things? Laito: You have great kinks. I'm sure we will get along. Yui: (Y-You're wrong... It's because you're forcing me like this, Laito-san!) Yui: Nnnn... Laito: I can't hear what you're saying. Ah, is it hard to breath? Or maybe   your throat hurts? Laito: Don't worry. I understand everything. Your eyes are getting wet. It   means you want more, right? Yui: Ah... N-No... Laito: If you like it so much, I'll do it how many times you wish... Come on,   say "aah" Yui: Uh... nn... Yui: (H-He did it again... Even though I said no...! It hurts...) Laito: You're so arousing... Your reluctant face is the best. Yui: (I-I'm not happy with it!) Yui: (I thought he may be a nice person, but I was completely wrong. Now I'd   say he is rather outrageous...) Yui: (Why did I choose Laito-san...?!) Yui: Nn... Ah... --------------------------------------------- Laito: What do you think? It was tasty, right? Yui: (There is no way I could notice the taste in this situation... But I'm   afraid of disobeying him.) Yui: ...Y-Yes, it was delicious. Laito: Huh? You're pretty obedient. Does it mean that the legendary Eve is   already well trained? Laito: I totally imagined you would behave like some saint. Yui: Eh? Why did you think I'd be a saint...? Laito: Because the legend says that Eve was sleeping in the church for a   looong time. And only a kiss could wake her up. Yui: A kiss? It sounds like a fairy tale. Laito: How romantic, right? So, who did you do it with? Yui: ...Excuse me? Laito: Since you're awake now, it means you were kissed by someone. Laito: At that time in the church was... Reiji from the Scarlet? Yui: I-I didn't kiss anyone! I was alone when I woke up. Laito: Oh my, you don't need to pretend to be so innocent. Laito: Since you're a little devil snatched away by vampires. Yui: T-That's... Yui: (He is telling the truth, so I can't deny it...) Laito: You're a bad girl who is seducing men. With your adorable face, you're   just like a bitch. Laito: Don't you think that Bitch-chan is a perfect nickname for you? I'll   call you that from now on. Yui: Such a name... Yui: (I don't like it... I've never heard about such a nickname.) Yui: (...? I've never heard... or so I thought, but it's a little familiar...) Laito: ...Hey, Bitch-chan. Laito: Maybe you didn't notice it yourself, but... You're making a really   lustful face. Yui: ...! Yui: (Laito-san's fingers are touching my cheek...) Yui: I-I'm not making a lustful face! Laito: No need to be embarrassed. I want to have fun with you... what kind of   play do you like? Laito: By-the-way. I can go with every play, so don't hesitate and tell me   everything. ♪ Yui: (H-He is still talking about it...) Yui: (This man is going to be my guard, huh. I'm worried what will happen with   me...) Laito: Hmm, let's see. Nfu. I have a great idea. Laito: Hey, this empty place is boring, right? Laito: That-is-why... *Laito unlocks the cell* Laito: I'll take you out of here. Yui: ...What? Laito: Stop spacing out. Hurry up and come out. Yui: But... Is it okay to let me out? Laito: You probably don't want to stay in this depressing place forever,   right? Yui: Well, yeah, but... Yui: (...Is it really okay? If Carla-san finds out, we will be in trouble.) Yui: (But it's true that I don't want to stay here any longer...)

---------------------------------------------

Place: Violet Mansion - Corridor

Yui: (In the end, I did like Laito-san said and left the cell.) Yui: (I must say...) Yui: This mansion is pretty big. Laito: Yeah. It's just too big, so there is a lot of free rooms. Laito: There is also a storage full of luggage, so it's a perfect place to do   something in secret. Yui: N-No, I'll pass, thank you. Laito: Really? Then where should we go first~ ???: Laito. Yui: ...! Yui: (T-That voice...) Laito: Oh my, what a shame. Looks like we have been caught. Carla: Why did you let Eve out of the prison? Yui: Carla-san... Yui: (He is mad. What to do...) Laito: Just according to keikaku the plan. I've been waiting for this moment. Yui: (What... Laito-san?) Carla: Laito. Answer. Laito: Guess what? She begged me to let her out of the cell~ Yui: What?! Laito: I stopped her of course, but then she even tried to seduce me. She is   such a bitch, you know~ Yui: W-What are you saying...! Yui: (That's not true! Why is he lying?) Laito: She was so miserable and pitiful when she was begging, so I let her out   for a while. Carla: Hmph. Did you think this kind of excuse will work? Carla: You're supposed to be her guard. Such act requires a punishment. Laito: Oh my, is it really necessary? Carla: Of course. What's more... Yui: ...Hii... Carla: Since you plan to escape, prison is not enough to stop you anymore. Shall  I have you bound with chain? Yui: No, please! I didn't plan to run away! Carla: Are you trying to talk back to me? Yui: ...! Yui: (I-I'm so scared... He is only glaring at me and yet, my body is,   shaking...) Yui: (Why is he angry at me? Why...) Laito: Fufu... Even your terrified face is adorable. I got to see something   nice. Yui: (Laito-san! No way, is that why you lied to Carla-san?) Yui: (At this rate, they will really bind me with chain and throw into prison...   I don't want this...!) Carla: Come. Looks like you need to be disciplined. Yui: N-No...! Laito: Hm, I'd like to see more, but it's about time. Laito: Carla, I think it's better to let this girl out of the prison. Yui: (What...?) Carla: ..What do you mean? Laito: If we keep her imprisoned, she may break. Humans are so fragile after   all. Laito: She actually begged me to let her out. She may be at her limit. Laito: So I think it'd be better to let her walk freely around the mansion. Yui: (Laito-san... is helping me?) Carla: Eve is being targeted by other families and you want to let her roam   around the mansion? Laito: But look, I'm her guard after all. I want you to trust me. Laito: Well, if you think we can watch over her only in prison, then so be it. Yui: (H-He is totally provoking him!) Carla: ...You are testing me. Know your place. Carla: Although, I'm not so narrow-minded. I'll give her more freedom. Yui: Eh? Yui: What? Are you sure?! Carla: There is no point if you break. Just mind your position. Carla: Laito. Don't let her leave the mansion... I won't show mercy next time. Laito: Okay~ Laito: He's gone. His last warning was unnecessary though. Yui: (I was really worried for a moment, but I don't need to go back to the   prison after all...) Yui: I-I'm so glad... I thought I'd get killed... Laito: Are you okay? Carla is really too domineering with girls. Yui: (It's all Laito-san's fault in the first place...!) Yui: (But he helped me in the end and I got out of the prison...) Yui: (He played a mischievous trick on me, but I wonder if he meant to let me   go from the start?) Laito: Now you can walk freely around the mansion. Are you happy? Yui: Ah... Yes. Thank you very much, Laito-san. Laito: You're welcome. I told you before that I'd grant your every wish. Laito: If it's for you, it's worth the trouble. Yui: Laito-san... Laito: ...Just kidding. Yui: What? Laito: The truth is I have an ulterior motive for letting you out. Yui: Ulterior motive?! Laito: Inside the prison is pretty immoral, so it's good. But it's always   better to have more options. Laito: I'm your guard after all. It's only natural to have a lot of fun   together. Yui: H-Have fun...? What do you mean...? Laito: Don't pretend you don't know. You're waiting for it too, Bitch-chan. Yui: Kya! Laito: I'll answer your expectations. So don't hold your voice. Laito: I want to hear your sweet voice, you know? Yui: (He pushed me against the wall...?!)

---------------------------------------------

Selection: - Give up. - Struggle.

Choice: Struggle

Yui: Please, stop! Laito: It's no use struggling like that. Laito: What's more... your "please, stop" sounds really arousing. Laito: Ah, maybe you're doing it on purpose? You're really bitchy. Yui: ...No! Laito: ...Don't rush, I'll give you lots of love. Laito: Nn... look... You were so afraid of Carla that your blood has a   stronger scent now. Laito: It's such a sweet scent, I can't bear it... Nnn... *sucking* Yui: Ah...! Yui: (Those things on my neck... Are those fangs...? A vampire... is drinking   my blood...?!) Yui: (No way... It's just...!) Laito: Haa... so that's Eve's blood... I've never drunk such sweet and   delicious blood before... Laito: And your body is gradually getting hotter and hotter... It means you   also feel good, right? Yui: Y-You're wrong... Laito: Nice, it's unbearable when you're so displeased. And when you flush   your cheeks in embarrassment... Laito: Hey... Do you see this thick vein? It's aching asking me to suck   more... Yui: N-No... If you bite there... Laito: What a nice face. Even I got excited by it... Nn... *sucking* Yui: No... Nn... Yui: (What will happen if a vampire drinks my blood...?) Yui: (I'm losing consciousness... I'll probably just die...) Yui: Uu... Yui: (...What... is this... My heart is... aching... so much... and my   head...) ----------------------Yui has a vision-------------------------- Yui: (What... is this...) Yui: (...Something is... overflowing... in my head...) Yui: (This... place... is...) ----------------------End of the vision------------------------- Yui: Ah... Nn... Laito: You're letting out such a sweet voice... Do you feel good? Laito: Then I'll drink some more... Nn... Yui: Ah... Yui: (That place... right, it was...) Yui: Uh... Aaaaaaa! Yui: Haa, haa, haa... Yui: (My dizziness is gone... It's like mist in my head just disappeared.) Yui: (Why couldn't I remember?) Yui: Laito...kun... Laito: ...What? We were just getting to the good part. Can you not spoil the whole fun? Yui: Laito-kun, what's happened?! Laito: What do you mean? Yui: Do you not recognize me?! Laito: Of course I do. You're Eve from the legend. Yui: No, that's not what I mean...! Yui: (It's true that I'm Eve. I started living in the Sakamaki house and met   Laito-kun.) Yui: (There was a lot of hard and sad moments, but...) Yui: (We overcome them and my feelings reached Laito-kun.) Laito: What's wrong? What's with that face? Yui: (Why does Laito-kun not remember me?) Yui: (Not only Laito-kun. Carla-san and others are behaving strangely too. And where are we even?) Laito: Ah, maybe the taste of my fangs was so good you got confused? It was   your first time after all. Yui: It wasn't my first time! You drank my blood many times before! Yui: I mean, we are... Yui: (Lovers, after all...) Laito: We are, what? Yui: It's... Laito: Hmm, you can't say? Laito: I drank delicious blood so I felt uplifted, but now you killed my   enthusiasm. Laito: I thought we were going to do even more pleasant things. Laito: ...So, you have to take the responsibility, right? Nn... fu...   *sucking* Yui: Wait... please, listen... Yui: (It's bad... I'm losing consciousness... I'm losing... all strength...) Yui: (I can't... stand anymore... Laito-kun...)

#diabolik lovers #diabolik lovers chaos lineage #chaos lineage #sakamaki laito #laito sakamaki #komori yui #tsukinami carla #diabolik lovers translation #chaos lineage translation #translation #game translation #rejet #otome

[fangsmyth]

> lanque: set up your friend’s gift.

@underteika​

you’ve regretted a lot of things in the past, and if you really had the time to cry a small puddle for every time you’ve fucked up you’d cry an entire ocean assuming you didn’t die from dehydration first. but you spent good money on this thing, and you don’t really feel like you’ve exhausted anda enough. you’re only ever done with people when they’re done with you, and the fact that they even bothered to send your flask back is enough for you to know that they’ll get over it.

what’s the big deal? you just faked a deadly reaction for a few moments. if you were to actually die, you’d just come back good as new. you’d rather come back shining bright and properly needing blood to live, and... really death is something you’ve either fantasized or felt complete ambivalence towards. it’s so commonplace where you’re from, you can’t ever completely wrap your head around why it’s considered so important to humans. people die every day, it should be considered a miracle if it wasn’t out of getting culled or poisoned or a fight going a little too far.

nonetheless, anda needs time to recharge. you need a gesture to show that you value them, as unsure as you are of whether or not that’s really true. it’s morning, keeping you in the arts and crafts mood as you don your flower crown and make your way onto the subway with a basket of various christmas decorations and rolls of paper in tow.

the storage unit is in exactly the same place it was left in as before. empty with the exception of the massive grand piano and carpet underneath to ensure its feet don’t end up getting damaged in transport. you ponder for a minute that it might be too much for a simple hobby, but you quickly remember that was the entire point. it’s supposed to serve as a motivation to work harder at it. have them feel obligated to make it into something they’ll love and pour their heart into so it doesn’t get overwhelmed by all the other bullshit they have to deal with.

now it represents more insidious intentions, so lanque needs to make absolutely sure he knocks this out of the park. he takes the occasional swig of egg nog as he gets to work painting a winter scene. each individual brick laboriously given enough texture to appear like the inside of a comfortable winter cottage. you cut carefully to make sure the papers perfectly match the walls of the locker. the image of a roaring fireplace and windows showing snow falling at night are just as impeccable. paintings of bookcases with some of his favorite literary classics written in there, as well as the few he remembers being on anda’s absolutely boring case.

it’s intended to have a homey and handmade feel, but still have the brush strokes of a trained professional. they have to feel absolutely terrible about never being able to match the quality of this gift. there’s still a loving, comely feeling that radiates onto the paper. the act of painting is so much fun lanque completely forgets the sour message this is supposed to convey. this is simply meant to be a stunning gallery piece.

the door stays open to prevent being overwhelmed by the scent of acrylics, ensuring the paintings have enough air to dry in. ( along with the fake paintings on the walls of said paintings. ) lanque hides the piano underneath a tarp, locking the door with a chain and a padlock to ensure that air stays flowing in the locker when he comes back from work.

as exhausted as he is when he comes back, the sound of christmas songs chiming through his phone keep him going when stringing up the various christmas lights and garland around the locker. not so sneakily tying a sprig of mistletoe above the seat of the piano before getting to work on pulling out the cotton to create the illusion of snow. it doesn’t make any sense, it’s indoors with a roaring fire! but he doesn’t fucking care! lanque spends a good two hours creating an impressive snowman out of these bells and whistles, really going crazy taping the individually cut snowflakes to the ceiling after spending way too much time designing every one to be absolutely perfect.

lanque gets lost in the art of the craft rather than any sort of vengeance or means of milking guilt, and when he’s finally done tying a velvet bow, leaving the electric tea lights in front of the book of sheet music tucked carefully above the keys... he almost forgets to leave a sign that it was him. a handwritten letter with stunning calligraphy in a blank, red envelope is where he carefully places his message.

I understand that I’m a lot to handle sometimes, but I kneW it’d kill me if I didn’t repay all the things you’Ve done for me one Way or another.

I remember you saying that you play, or you used to play, or you Were thinking about picking it up, and I Was hoping to take this step With you.

But you probably hate me at this point, don’t you?

I Wouldn’t blame you if you neVer Want to see me again. I just hope I didn’t mess up as horribly With you as I haVe With eVeryone else.

- Lanque

he allows his tears to shed for the sake of selling this message. not all of them drip on the page, but there is enough to stain it with mascara-tinted drops. the troll finds himself lingering here for a little too long, wishing he could hear them play or at the very least see if anda would actually appreciate what he did for them... he’ll be able to gauge their reaction at some point. the motion sensitive christmas lights go off with the door closing, and lanque locks the door to the storage locker.

there’s one last envelope to make, pristine white and simply keeping “Anda” written on the front. lanque writes the address to the storage space along with the number of the locker in plain, boring print. dropping in the only set of keys and sealing the envelope with his tongue. it’s a long and annoying journey leaving the envelope in their mailbox in the middle of the night, but the sentiment can’t be lost just because something is hard and he’s half freezing to death.

he makes his way back home, taking a long drink of egg nog as he finds the latex ribbon he needs to tie himself in. lanque saved the actual night of christmas for the highest bidder, and he really needs a good performance to make him forget the rest of the day.

#underteika #monster with a bfa ( drabble ) ;; #THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE SIMPLE!!!! #IT WAS JUST GONNA BE LANQUE BRINGING THE PIANO TO THEIR HOUSE LIKE HEY BITCH WHERE DO YOU WANT IT BUT THIS FUCKING #DICK CLOWN HAD TO FUCK EVERYTHING UP #anyways never ask me to write anything ever again #i have a few set up for a couple of other people but tbh he's definitely just gonna #leave their presents on the front porch in really nicely wrapped boxes and the good ol fashioned ding dong ditch

[gascon-en-exil]

So Who’s the Queen?: A Chess of Blades Review (Part 2)

Part 1

With the general overview out of the way it’s time to jump into a critique of the real substance of this game: the four men who can fall in love with Rivian and turn him into the champion bottom he was always destined to be. As with last time I’ll be avoiding major plot spoilers but will spare no detail when I turn my discriminating eye toward the game’s scenes of sweet, tender lovemaking...or raw, kinky fucking, whatever floats your boat. Some of them could go either way.

Fun fact: my silly subtitle for the sex scenes comes from a Japanese expression jokingly proposed as an alternative source for the word yaoi. I thought it only appropriate given what I’m judging here.

Arden

It took some effort for me to ignore that this guy shares his name with the least fuckable bachelor of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, but eventually I managed. It helps that the two have nothing else in common, up to and including preference of sexual partners.

Arden is the best friend romance of CoB, the only one with whom Rivian has an established history. Thinking back to the similarly positioned Ian in Coming Out on Top, this is a visual novel character type that presents a unique challenge for the writer(s) in that there has to a be an explanation for why the two of them don’t shack up until the events of the game. I rather like CoB’s reasoning for this, as it’s one that plays into both Arden and Rivian’s insecurities and explains why Rivian is so prickly to a supposed close friend during the shared prologue. Arden is clingy and overly expectant, and the game allows this to feel off-putting even partway through his route (which is shared with the “secret” fourth love interest, in a scenario where Rivian decides that he and Arden have grown into such different people that reconciliation is impossible). This is an unusual but not unwelcome way to lead into what is undoubtedly the fluffiest of the romances, in which Arden has to be open about his self-conscious reservations and Rivian has to be willing to forgive. Arden’s protectiveness of Rivian also becomes less grating as the route goes on and the two start to face genuine danger, and as Rivian points out that kind of dedication is actually quite sweet when it’s wanted. The only really awkward thing about the construction of Arden’s route is that, because most of their relationship drama comes from the fallout of their youthful infatuation, it has very little to do with the main plot of a kidnapped little girl. It is at least the most morally straightforward of the routes, one that brings out both Arden’s loyalty to Rivian and to his kingdom (even though he is a bit dense about it, in the tradition of most lawful good paladin-esque type characters) and Rivian’s buried affection for his family. Like I said, it’s pretty fluffy on the whole.

The “Ow, my ass!” rating: Mild. As might be expected Arden’s sex scene is the most vanilla in the game, which is fitting because 1) it matches the more innocent passion of a childhood romance gone horizontal(ish), and because 2) Arden is also a virgin somehow, despite having spent several years in a military environment in a setting where no one cares if guys hook up with each other. There’s no lube, but I can excuse it because Arden both fingers and rims Rivian beforehand. More significantly, Rivian rides Arden’s cock which is not only the most active he ever is in a sex scene but also a great position for the inexperienced to get accustomed to the feeling of taking a dick. Don’t get the impression that this means that Rivian is taking a dominant role, however; the term “power bottom” is more about attitude than positioning, and Rivian is still very much lacking in that department. Also, they have sex on a chair and I have no idea why, since there’s a perfectly serviceable bed in the same room. I like to be able to hold onto my partner’s shoulders when I’m riding him to help keep my balance, but I don’t think that’s worth having to angle myself around the arms. Kind of a toss-up there.

Franz

According to the developer notes in the artbook Franz was the first of the love interests to be designed, and they had a specific exotic flavor in mind that in practice feels very much like how I think Anglos see Continentals collectively. German first name and French family name aside, I get a more Iberian feeling from him personally. Maybe it’s the thing about his country being known for chocolates, or maybe the (very late in coming) self-flagellation...not literal, mind you.

Even leaving aside his real world cultural inspirations, Franz is very much the aggressive rogue type of love interest, the “perverted foreigner” as Rivian describes him more than once who introduces himself by grabbing Rivian on his balcony and practically dry humping him while dropping some foreshadowing regarding the plot. The above image is a comparatively benign moment early on in Franz’s route proper, but it goes to show just how casually grabby the guy is and how Rivian is essentially forced to get used to it. That may be unsettling for some players, but I happen to like a man assertive enough to go for what he wants - although the fact that Franz is vastly hotter and wealthier than many of the men who’ve groped me certainly plays a role there too. In any case the plot of his route - that of the murder of an ambassador in which Franz is curiously interested -  plays into the idea of him as a man of mystery gradually revealed to be driven by something other than sensual indulgence, and getting his good ending requires that Rivian learn to trust and care about Franz even as he’s not at all forthcoming about his identity or motivations up until the very end. Franz’s route is unique in that his sex scene appears before the determination of whether or not you’ll get his good ending and even before certain major revelations are made regarding his character. This suits his roguish appeal just fine, even though the scene itself is kind of...well, see below. Honestly Franz is probably my favorite of the love interests by a narrow margin; he’s rich, hot, aggressive, and shown to be very open-minded about kinks while also capable of genuinely affectionate moments. That’s a rare combination and prime wish fulfillment fodder.

The “Ow, my ass!” rating: Uncomfortably high, sad to say. Props to the guy for being suave enough to lead Rivian through a masquerade ball one minute and then drag him into a storage closet to fuck his brains out the next, but it’s a massive understatement when he assures Rivian that he won’t be gentle. Franz fucks Rivian’s mouth on a cold stone floor and then only takes the time to briefly finger him with spit before impaling the boy. You really have to be into the controlling top persona to enjoy his scene, particularly as there’s little to no (onscreen) aftercare. I was also left feeling disappointed at how conventional Franz’s sex scene felt, after he’d previously teased Rivian about wanting to collar him - he calls him “kitten” throughout their interactions - and enjoying the sight of a cross-dressing Rivian. I definitely enjoy the idea that Franz is into both pet play and feminization, but it turns out to be a case of telling and not showing. At least Franz retains most of his Dom demeanor up through his epilogue, as I would have really rolled my eyes if his kinky tendencies mysteriously vanished after he and Rivian made their big romantic confessions.

Linnaeus

I’m still not sure how I feel about Linnaeus. Part of this is that I’m missing out on the reference; developer notes make it clear that his appearance and personality were modeled after those of characters in the Ace Attorney series, which I’ve never played. I can at least acknowledge the allusion found in his narrative, which reaches its (non-sexual) climax not with a violent confrontation in a mysterious setting as in the other routes but with a courtroom trial. The Steam achievement for winning the trial is even called “Rivian Wright,” at that.

More than that however Linnaeus is a man whose appeal as a love interest exists (in my opinion) on a less visceral or emotional level than the others’. Archetypically speaking he’s the defrosting tsundere who initially seems to not like Rivian very much at all and only gradually comes to enjoy his company after they’ve been thrown together by apparent coincidence in the case of a foreign duchess’s stolen diamonds. Linnaeus is a haughty intellectual and very much a sadist both in and out of bed, but later explorations of his character add depth to his talents as the king’s inquisitor and zeal for bringing criminals - especially the members of the anarchistic Disciples of Ignatius - to justice. Throw in some friction with an estranged cousin who also wants to woo Rivian and might want Linnaeus’s job as well as some earnestly romantic gestures masked by smart-assery and in one case a literal mask and there’s definitely material here for a satisfying romance. There’s some hiccups - the trial is not difficult at all to win, and there’s an optional tarot card reading scene that adds nothing to the route but unneeded foreshadowing and feels out of place besides - but it’s by no means a bad story. Maybe Linnaeus just likes to screw with Rivian too much for my taste, or maybe I’m just not into tsundere types.

The “Ow, my ass!” rating: Of a reasonable threshold, but that doesn’t mean I really care for it. Linnaeus’s sex scene involves edging, begging, and light bondage, three things that I tend to find more annoying than sexy in my own encounters. I do like that he’s a kinky guy and that the game is more willing to show that than it is with Franz, and I also like that Linnaeus comes prepared not just with rope but with lube (finally!). This is more my personal taste than anything, as objectively there’s nothing illogical or inaccurate about their encounter. No doubt their future liaisons become even more maddening, as in the epilogue Linnaeus remarks that he has “instruments” he enjoys using on Rivian. That’s just...not my preferred type of Dom, I suppose? Additionally, for whatever it’s worth Linnaeus’s naughty bits are not visible in either of his erotic CGs due to angling and his fondness for humiliation, which is kind of a letdown.

And no, Rivian never gets to yell “Objection!” during this route. Another missed opportunity, Chess of Blades.

Sabre

Sabre is the guy on the left. The one on the right is Kieran - keep him in mind for later.

This is the secret love interest. His route branches off from Arden’s and cannot be accessed until you’ve completed Arden’s route once. There’s a good narrative reason for this, and on the surface Sabre seems like a great option for a bonus romance. He’s got tons of raw sex appeal, a unique role in the story, and a social status that separates him from Rivian and the other love interests, such that while the other three are each likened to a chess piece protecting Rivian as the king Sabre’s route is more akin to upending the board entirely. Rivian falls in love with a common brawler, ultimately opting to leave the treacherous games of the court behind him. There are two very large problems with this route though:

1) Sabre has the worst voice acting of any of the characters without question. He’s got the accent problem I brought up last time, in his case doubly so because he affects a thick Scottish brogue for his fighting persona which contrasts against his uncharacteristically refined normal voice, but whether due to the VA or the audio recording equipment his volume modulation is also highly erratic. Most of his lines are either screamed so loudly I was tempted to remove my headphones or are so quiet that they’re barely audible, especially at the end of some lines where he just trails off into near-silence. There is very little middle ground, and the combined effect is extremely distracting. It doesn’t help either that Sabre is lumped in with the supporting cast in the volume settings unlike Rivian and the other love interests whose voices can be adjusted individually, so muting him will mute everyone else.

2) Then there’s Kieran, who represents a more complicated issue with Sabre’s route. The two are introduced as close friends and sparring partners who share a healthy rivalry, and even though the romantic focus of the route remains on the developing relationship between Rivian and Sabre Kieran gets in some flirty banter of his own with Rivian and makes it clear that he wouldn’t turn down the nobleman’s admiration. Somewhat shockingly, this actually does culminate in a threesome, even though it’s staged more like the way some straight guys talk about M/M/F threesomes wherein the two men (tops in this case) have their way with the woman while having minimal interaction with each other. As someone who’s engaged in my fair share of threeways with two tops I don’t necessarily object to this arrangement, and in fact I like that it continues to play up the sense of rivalry between Sabre and Kieran. What I don’t like is that after they’ve had sex and Rivian has bid farewell to both of them the epilogue drops Kieran entirely. He’s not mentioned or referenced at all, and everything comes back to Rivian and Sabre rekindling their relationship a year later under noticeably more conventional circumstances. Perhaps a true poly relationship is beyond the capabilities of a visual novel with romance routes like this, but it would have been a welcome addition to the ending if it was mentioned that the two of them get visits from Kieran from time to time and that they’re all working it out. As it stands Kieran just feels like eye candy and a tool for Sabre’s development, which is a real shame since he’s an affable character in his own right (and more competently voiced, that’s for sure - funnily enough by Franz’s VA, using what sounds more like his natural voice).

Combined these two problems really limit how well this route lives up to its potential, but I found that I could grit my teeth through Sabre’s performance and use some creative license in the ending to get around its shortcomings. It definitely feels less well constructed than the three main routes, but as an alternative to Arden’s storyline it adds a fair bit. But then....

The “Ow, my ass!” rating: Off the charts - Rivian should be dead after this sex scene. True, they use lube and Kieran eats him out first, and spit roasting is a common and reasonable practice in a two tops/one bottom arrangement, but then there’s the double penetration. Allow me to remind you that Rivian is a virgin and has apparently never stretched his hole before this encounter, and yet somehow he’s able to take two well-endowed men simultaneously. I’m not buying it, and even worse the position he’s in - sandwiched between two hulking men twice his size as they drill into him from above and below - makes me wonder that he’s more likely to die of suffocation than rectal hemorrhaging. There’s a moment during the narrative climax where Kieran bear hugs a man almost to unconsciousness, so the writers clearly must have known it was a possibility - but nope, the delicate noble boy somehow survives taking two dicks at once while being smashed between two mountains of muscle. Oh, and did I mention that said mountains of muscle have no refractory periods? They both cum from the spit roasting, and then immediately Sabre is hard again and raring to shove his way into Rivian’s poor overtaxed hole alongside Kieran. Rivian’s inner monologue lampshades this downright inhuman stamina, but that doesn’t excuse it when you take everything else that’s off about this scene. I fully understand that this is a wildly hot fantasy for anyone into beefy guys, but more than anything else in CoB this sex scene is decidedly not something to try at home. 

In conclusion...

Arden is sweet, Franz is hot and surprisingly romantic, Sabre comes with issues (and Kieran) but is undoubtedly sexy, and Linnaeus is...something. Good selection on the whole but too bad about Rivian’s hole.

#Chess of Blades #M/M visual novel #BL novel

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Yume Twins Sept 18

It’s been about 3 months since my last Yume Twins review.... it feels so weird! But to be fair that wouldn’t have happened if Tumblr didn’t act weird for a month, it really put me behind.

Although I did hesitate a little now and then, and video games, new manga, anime...

Anyway! Here we are :3 Let’s go!

This months theme: Staycation!

Have you ever suddenly decided that you wanted to go on a vacation, but couldn’t find the time to go out of the country or even far from your own town? In Japan, this happens quite a lot so we thought, “Hey, Let’s curate a box hat can help out others who ave this issue too!”  Inspired by this, we decided to make September’s Staycation box! In this box you can find a variety of items that will help you when you go out on a trip, whether it is just a weekend or a week away! We hope that with this month’s box you can feel motivated to go on your own staycation and enjoy a nice, kawaii weekend away somewhere, even if it is close by your home!

Content

For this month subscribers were asked to take a photo using the included eco bag. First place not only won the big pikachu bag, but a fold-able umbrella and free 3 month subscription. Runners-up received a Pokemon mug and free 1 month subscription.

Yume Prize

This month the prize included the recently ended Pretty Cure series, Cardcaptor, and Little Twin Star. 

I really really really really REALLY wish I would have gotten this one, I love Pretty Cure; especially the irresistibly precious Cure Yell plush~♥

Besides these, the book also featured a page on Pikachu, the Hello Kitty made-over Shinkansen/bullet train (a promotional event only lasting 3 months), and the art corner featured some cute bento.

With that let’s get on with the review!

Onsen Bird Plushy

An onsen is a natural Japanese hot spring, and a popular spot to visit during vacations or holiday break to stay overnight, or even just for a day to unwind after a busy school or work week.

These cute little birdies are preparing for their own onsen visit by the lovely sakura trees. There is six in total, and we’ve seen these little birdies before. This time I got the cockatail? Or maybe it’s a parakeet?

Anyway it’s different than last time. I still really want the cute pink birdie though~

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

It’s a nice quality plush, it has a “bean bag butt“ and the rest is super soft stuffing. The outside fabric feels nice, but I noticed mine has a lot of loose glue strands where the felt pieces (flower, feet) were applied. I also found some random loose strings sticking out of it in various places. Mine also has a permanently re-positioned beak (I don’t remember how it came though, so...).

But I will say that the detailing on it is nice regardless of that, especially the clean onsen symbol on its butt. I can clearly tell it’s a bird, and I like the little additional features.

Sanrio Eco Bag

Next up is a fun, re-usable item. An Eco Bag is perfect for those last-second shopping trips, or you could even use them for your Staycation plans!

Not only that, but the material means they can easily be cleaned up if you were to spill something on them, and they would be perfectly fine to use in bad weather and can hold a good amount of weight.

There are six available in 2 different styles of either My Melody or Little Twin Stars, in 3 alternate colors. They all come in small bags to carry them around in for easier storage, making them great to put in the car or purse.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I really like using these types of bags due to how useful they are. I have a couple already, which comes in handy because like other bags, they can only hold so much- but they’re all really cute and fun too! They add a touch of cuteness to shopping.

I especially like this pastel series with vibrant accents we got in this box because it stands out greatly against my other ones and it’s perfect for spring- in fact I used this one today and it really stood out against the cloudy weather, and the car. If you’ve never tried one out before I would recommend buying one sometime.

Tsum Tsum Tumbler

Next up is a tumbler, a good item to have on hand during a long trip for storing a drink you can travel with. There were 3 available designs, all featuring a colorful cast of adorable tsum tsum~

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I adore Tsum Tsum/Disney, especially when I can find my favorite characters on them, and watching them swim around in the drink is equally cute. My only issue (and this is me nitpicking a feature, there’s nothing wrong with the tumbler) is that there isn’t a built mouth piece. I don’t know if it’s just me or what, but I end up spilling my drink/missing my mouth when it has such a hide mouth like these do <3<”

Character Toothbrush Kit

Our next item is essential for travel and overnight trips, a toothbrush! Not only that, but it comes in it’s own handy rinse cup!

These were available in 2 styles, including this yellow-chartreuse one (that matches the totoro cup I got months back), and a dark mauve hello kitty one.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I’ve already gotten 2 types of these before, but this is the first one I got in this shape. I love it! It looks like an actual cup, and it looks so smooth. I also like the hole of the toothbrush, although I don’t entirely know what it or the little notches are for...

Oh, oh! And the base/clear part even has a flattened bottom so it stands! My other two didn’t have that. The only thing is, this one doesn’t provide a toothpaste- which the other two did. So it’s sort of like a trade off. But if you have your own toothpaste I would recommend this type over the other style.

Marumofubiyori Sticky Notes

Next is this cute stationery item perfect for every day occasion, not just a trip. Although you could use them to mark and organize your things. Besides the 8 different styles seen here, each sticky note includes about 14-15 sheets! So these will go a long way.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

These appear pretty frequently in my boxes, but I think this set might be my favorite on cuteness factor alone. Otherwise they’re just like any other ones I got.

Cute Zipper Bags

This is our final item, a 4 set of kawaii zipper bags themed after jars featuring a variety of characters ranging from Sanrio, to Pokemon, Doraemon, and a cute bear character I’m not familiar with...

Anyway, the bags are very cute. Not only would they make for great snack bags you can carry around with you, but they could also be used as little gift bags or just to hold some little items and decorate with.

I got the My Melody one, and you’re wondering what it says, it reads:

New places give me the jitters but I must go. Such a wonderful world awaits!

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I think the set I got is really cute, and I love the quote on it. I think it fits me really well as a person too, because I tend to get anxious and stressed out when I’m out in public, and new places make me feel nervous. But I love getting to go out and exploring, and enjoy things outdoors~

I also like how sturdy the bags feel, and they’re sealed really well.

♡ Cutie Ranking ♡

Content - 4 out of 5. I liked the items well enough, but for me they were essentially very repetitive because of how many boxes I order/how long I’ve been a subscriber. I loved almost everything, but there wasn’t much of a surprise factor for me because the one unique item (the bags) were spoiled through email.

Quality - 4.5 out of 5. Everything was fine, although my birdy had some tiny issues that kind of caused me a little concern. Very tiny though.

Price - 2.5/3 out of 5. Honestly I’m not sure this was worth the price we pay. I mean yeah sure character goods- they get you on that. The items themselves are good quality and all, but like... I can’t see the 4-pack bags, plush, and toothbrush being more than 10 dollars together. I could see paying decently for the bag but... it’s very confusing to determine in my case because I don’t have any online websites to find the items and refer to like I do Kawaii Box.

Theme: 5 out of 5. Everything fits the theme, there’s no denying that : P

Total Rank: 15.5/16(?) out of 20 Cuties. I really liked the items we got this month, and the theme is a great one. I wish we had more like it.

♡ Cutie Scale ♡

1. Eco Bag - I love how bright and clean looking it is! The twins are so cute and vibrant too, it really works well for this time of year~

2. Zipper Bag Set -  It’s very sweet, if I could find the whole collection in store I’d be tempted to purchase them~

3. Toothbrush Cup - I love the translucent lid and piece for the brush. I’m not a big yellow person, but it’s more of a chartreuse and I kind of like it. I also like how it matches the cup I got from several boxes back.

4. Sticky Notes -  I love the different little images and the pastel color options, They’re so sweet.

5. Tsum Tsum Tumbler - Besides the large mouth opening, the design itself on it is very generic. The other two options were more unique. But it’s still plenty cute I rest assure. 

6. Bird Plushie - It’s cute in it’s own kind of way, but... I don’t know, I’m not a huge fan of it.

Okay, so that will be doing it for this review~ I hope you found it enjoyable and thanks for taking the time to read it. I really appreciate it.

Next up we’ll be getting back into the beauty supplies so if you enjoy those be sure to stay tuned! Until next time, stay cute!

#yumetwins #yume twins #sanrio #tsumtsum #marumofubiyori

[goodnightkisseu]

Park Jihoon - Roommate

Genre: Fluff

“When We Met” Series: [Minhyun][Jihoon][Jaehwan][Guanlin][Daehwi][Jinyoung][Jisung][Woojin][Seongwu][Sungwoon][Daniel]

Note: Hi everyone! I’m back with another series and this time, it’s a particularly special one because it’s a series that will be counting down to Wanna One’s 1st Anniversary! I’m calling it “When We Met” because it’ll be a series of scenarios, using Wanna One’s individual debut teasers as starting points for how you meet!

This is also a series in collaboration with @nothingwithoutwannaone​! She will be writing her own versions of how you meet and I will link them in each post ^^

Today is Jihoon’s version! This one was pretty fun to write. Got to write some really fun banter so I was really excited about that. X3 Hope that everyone enjoys~~

nothingwithoutwannaone​‘s version —> [x]

- goodnightkisseu’s admin <3

“Ya, why does your new place have so many stairs, Woojin? This is so excessive,” you said, taking a moment to catch your breath before you continued up the stairs that led you around the building, and to the door on the side of the house.

Woojin, who had been your best friend since high school, had finally decided to move out to his own place. Okay, it wasn’t exactly his own place as he was sharing I t with a few other guys, but it was away from home and closer to campus. This was honestly his main motivation to move. His classes were always at odd hours so commuting to campus was proving difficult. It was easier to use the money he got from working part time to get a place that was closer, and with roommates, it was far more affordable. So, in his quest to finish all of his moving this weekend, he enlisted you to help him. Now, why he couldn’t just ask his friends, and new roommates, to help out, you were unsure. Yet, here you were, on your weekend, making your first trip up the stairs form his car, getting the first of a number of boxes up to his room.

“Oh, come on, it’s really not that bad. I think you just need to exercise more,” your best friend stated, earning him a glare from you. Woojin knew he could get away with that type of statement no, only because your hands were wrapped around a giant box and there was no way that you could kiss his ass like that.

“You’re going to owe me for this…” you mumbled, knowing that your revenge would have to wait until later.

“Owe you?” he asked, stopping momentarily just outside of the house to turn and look at you. “Do you remember who had to spend all of his free time tutoring you for your Calculus course?��� he shot back.

Of course he would bring that up. Both of you had to take that course for your majors, and Woojin grasped the topics far quicker than you did. So, being your best friend and actually a pretty decent guy, he spent a lot of his free time thoroughly going through the concepts with you, which actually led you to understanding it quite well. Honestly without Woojin, you probably would have failed your first quarter of university, but still… he was guilt-tripping you hard.

“You’re the worst for bringing that up again. Also, I’m pretty sure I’ve made up for it by now. Please remind me who has been cooking for you, almost daily, because you never have time for breakfast before work?” you asked, firing your shots right back at him. “Plus, you could just ask nicely if I’d be willing to help you move, you know, like normal friends do.”

“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?” he retorted. “And even if I asked the normal way, you never would have helped me move. You’re already complaining about the stairs and we just got here,” he pointed out.

Well, he got you there. If you had a choice, you probably would have weaseled your way out of it. But still, he could have tried instead of going the guilt route. “Fine, fine. So where’s your room?” you asked, slipping off your shoes and doing your best to peek over the box and follow your best friend as he made his way down the hallway.

Though he had told you to just help him move and you could roam around later, as you made your way through the home, you couldn’t help but let your eyes wander. The place was actually pretty nice. It was definitely a little older, but the owners did a good job on the upkeep in between each group of tenants. There was nice flooring the form of wood-like laminate in all areas of home, sans the bedrooms, which had carpet in them. The walls were painted nicely, and given such a close proximity to campus, the prices were reasonable! You wanted to move out too, but currently didn’t have the funds to do so. Guess you would just have to visit Woojin every chance you got…

Granted, no matter how nice the house was, it was currently a complete mess. With five guys all moving in at once, all of their things were haphazardly thrown around, looking like a poorly packed storage unit. It was so disorganized that Woojin has to warn you of upcoming obstacles. You had overheard some of the boys talking as you were walking through that they still had more things coming. At this point their plan seemed to be to get everything inside, put together the necessary furniture, and then sort through the remaining boxes. It was going to be an eventful week or two for this house.

As you were passing by one of the open bedrooms, you couldn’t help but peer in momentarily. Much like the rest of the house, this room was also a mess. Clothes, particularly shoes, and other objects were all strewn across the room. Boxes were half unpacked and other boxes weren’t even touched yet. You heard a familiar clicking, that you recognized was the sound of a game controller and deduced that he must have been playing some video games, not being able to see him over the box in your arms. He could do with his time what he wished, but you couldn’t help but think that he should have been cleaning up… and if not that, helping you and Woojin with all these damn boxes. What kind of guy –

“Hey, I told you that you would have time to look around later. We still have so many boxes to move,” Woojin said, his tone exasperated when he realized that you had fallen behind due to your curiosity. Rolling your eyes at your best friend, you quickly ran up to him, knowing that he would keep complaining if you didn’t hurry along. Upon arriving in his room, you both placed down your boxes before going right back outside to continue the process…

========

Almost ten trips later and the two of you were finally almost done. There were three boxes left, but Woojin had to leave with a couple of his roommates to pick up his new desk and bed frame. You told him that you could take care of the rest of it, but you also made him promise you that he wouldn’t bring up Calculus to guilt-trip you again.

With the remaining boxes, you decided that it would be best to get the biggest and the heaviest out of the way first, even if it was a little too large for you. Still, you went for it anyway, letting muscle memory take over and as you headed up the familiar steps to the side of the house. Muscle memory was doing you wonders at this point, avoiding the table by the front door that you had run into twice earlier, eliciting a louder than necessary laugh from your best friend. However, when you avoided it this time, you found yourself running into something else, though it wasn’t nearly as hard or sharp as that table.

The sudden contact had more force to it than you had anticipated, and you found yourself unsteady on your feet. This was literally the worst place you could have lost your balance. With so many things in the area that you could hit your head on and this box being unusually heavy. You were sure that you were about to meet your end. It was going to be death by Woojin’s gaming consoles and other hobby things. This was it, and you were going to haunt the hell out of Woojin after your untimely demise.

Thing was, you never fell backwards. You actually never hit anything. You stayed relatively upright. It took you a bit to realize that your fall had been thwarted by hands that had reached around the box to grab your arms to prevent you from hitting the floor.

“Are you alright?” the mysterious individual asked. Woojin’s ridiculous box was so big you couldn’t see over it to see who you had unceremoniously run into. “Sorry about that. I should have paid more attention to where I was going…”

“It’s not your fault,” you told the male, piping up when you realize that he was blaming himself for the incident. “I should have made it known that I was coming through with a giant box, or maybe I should have asked one of the other guys to borrow that cart I saw them using…” you said, trailing off slightly, realizing that you really should have grabbed that cart. Seriously, this would have been so much easier with that cart.

“Do you need help with that? This one seems pretty heavy,” he stated. Before you could tell him that you were fine, the male had already effortlessly lifted the box from your hands. Why did he have to make it look so easy? Was that box not as heavy as you thought?

In the process of him taking the box form you however, your field of vision was finally cleared so that you could see the mystery man behind the box. That red and white striped shirt. The light brown mop of hair. It was the guy that had been playing video games in his mess of a room! Wait… but was he always this good looking? You thought you had caught a glance of him earlier, but this looked nothing like that guy. Did you not see his face? You must not have because how could you forget someone that looked like this. You knew that Woojin had some really good looking friends, but this one… this one was really something.

He gave you a smile when he finally caught a glimpse of your face and he nodded towards the hallway, indicating that you should go first to both lead the way and to make sure that his path was clear so that he didn’t run into anything. “I’m Jihoon by the way,” he said as he looked at you over the tall box, his eyes watching the way that you moved from side to side, avoiding all of the hazards up and down the hallway. He followed your movements, moving from side to side when you did, and he couldn’t help but think that you looked kind of cute just bobbing along. “You must be Woojin’s best friend?”

You turned back momentarily, meeting Jihoon’s eyes that were just peeking at you over the box. You nodded before introducing yourself. Your eyes lingered for a bit too long, which was probably why your leg hit one of the boxes sitting in the hallway. You cursed under your breath, and gently bit your lip, trying to get through the pain. Jihoon asked if you were alright, the concern was very evident in his voice, but you quickly told him you were fine, not wanting to worry him. Well that was smooth.

Within minutes the two of you arrived at Woojin’s room and you led the way in, letting Jihoon place the box amongst all of the others. He finally gave you a proper smile now that they two of you could see the entirety of each other. “You know, Woojin never told me his best friend was so cute though…”

His words caught you off guard, but you were quick to throw them right back at him. “And Woojin never told me that he had such a good looking roommate. So Jihoon, do you want to help Woojin’s cute best friend move the last of his boxes?” you teased.  You didn’t think he would actually agree to it. He probably had his own things to do.

But you were wrong.

“Only two more boxes, right?” he asked with a small smile. “I don’t mind… as long as I can ask you to help me sort through some of my things? I’m really bad at this type of stuff…”

“You got yourself a deal,” you said with a giant grin. You could feel the slight heat in your cheeks as you made your way back outside with Jihoon, grabbing the last of Woojin’s boxes and bringing them to his room. The two of you then headed to Jihoon’s room to sort through his things. Yeah, their roommates would definitely be seeing more of you…

#wanna one #park jihoon #wanna one imagines #wanna one scenarios #kpop scenarios #whenwemetseries

[bombshellsandbluebells]

For your spacekru prompts how about spacekru and anything to do with their 80 acres. Building it, excitedly planning it, I’ll take anything :)

Thanks so much for the prompt! This was a lot of fun. It kind of spiraled into a long Bellamy-focused fic (10 PAGES!! HOW?!), but it’s very much about his relationships with Spacekru. And of course it’s got Becho, Memori, Marper, and Zaven in there. Hope you enjoy!

read on ao3

Build Your Home Up From the Earth

They’ve been living in the valley for about two weeks when Bellamy starts thinking about building a house.

“Why?” Murphy asks when he tells him, Monty, and Raven sometime later. “Tent’s not good enough for you?”

The tent they’re in is identical to the other three they’ve been given – gifts from his sister, who had used the very last of her influence over Wonkru to give them to him. It’s an apology, he thinks. It’s not a very good one. He didn’t thank her when she handed them over; he couldn’t find the words. Weeks later, he’s still not sure there are any still in him, and he thinks that Octavia knows it too – he hasn’t seen her since. Her absence is a relief and an ache all at once.

They’re sturdy tents – better than they’d had from the Dropship all those years ago, certainly, and they’re an upgrade from the cold, artificially-lit rooms on the Ring. All things considered, they aren’t a bad gift. They aren’t a bad home. The seven – well, eight of them now, with Shaw, who just followed Raven until he stuck – have made it work: Echo and him in one, Monty and Harper in another, Emori and Raven in the third, and Murphy and Shaw as unenthusiastic roommates in the fourth. (He’d been meaning to ask Shaw how that was going, actually. From what he’s gathered – poorly.)

It’s not ideal, but it works, and surrounded by their 80 acres of Eden and far removed from the others, it’s not a bad set-up.

Maybe it’s because they remind him of his sister that he doesn’t want to keep living in them. Maybe it’s just how impermanent they seem.

It feels wrong to have something so easily torn down here. Bellamy’s lost and found so many homes since the first time he came to the ground, and living in a tent only makes him wonder when he’ll lose this one, too. If this place really is meant to be their last home, he wants to build something long-lasting – something sturdy to root in and grow, like the garden Monty’s already begun planting.

He wants to construct a home that’s completely of the Earth, built from the trees around them and laid upon the ground beneath them, cut completely from the Ark and the bunker and Wonkru and his sister in every way. The tent reminds him of his past. He wants to build his future.

Bellamy doesn’t think he can explain that to Murphy. The other man would probably just laugh.

Instead he shrugs and says, “We shouldn’t have to live in tents forever. It’d be nice to have a real house.”

“I’m in,” Raven says. “I’m sick of waking up wet when it rains. A house would be nice.”

“It could be nice,” Monty says. “I don’t know. I’ve never been in one.” Bellamy doesn’t point out that none of them really have. Their rooms in Arkadia didn’t count.

“I have,” Murphy says as he lays down on the floor, crossing his arms behind his head and stretching his legs out. He takes up nearly half the floor and the others have to scoot aside to accommodate him, but he doesn’t seem to care. “They’re nice.”

“Becca’s place wasn’t a house,” Raven argues, pushing his legs away from her. “It was a mansion. We’re not going to make anything that fancy. Don’t expect indoor plumbing and running water.”

“What’s even the point, then? Sounds like a lot of hard work for nothing,” Murphy says dryly. Bellamy considers pointing out that he wasn’t asking for his opinion in the first place – he’d only asked Raven and Monty here for their expertise; Murphy just tagged along. Bellamy would ask why he was even here if he didn’t already know the answer. Emori is sparring with the others in the clearing – since Murphy’s still avoiding her, his options were here or solitude.

“You could stop rooming with Shaw if we build enough of them,” Raven tells him.

Murphy sits up quickly. “Alright, I’m in. What do I need to do?”

Raven rolls her eyes and mutters something under her breath Bellamy doesn’t catch.

“Okay, but how do we do this?” Monty asks, bringing them all back to reality before they get too excited. “I’m a mechanical engineer. I don’t know how to build anything with wood.”

“Come on, Monty,” Raven says, patting him on the shoulder. “With the two of us working on it, we’ll figure it out. No problem.”

The three of them spend about a week arguing over the plans while Murphy provides his unwanted comments. Raven thinks bigger is better. She has a million ideas for the design and tries to include all of them. Monty thinks that because it’s the first house they’ve ever built, they should play it safe – why would Echo and Bellamy need more than one room anyways?

Bellamy just wants something functional. He wants four sturdy walls and a roof that keeps out rain. He wants a place to sleep at night to call his own, built by his own two hands.

Nobody really cares about Murphy’s opinions, of which he has many. They all know he’s only there because he’s bored. But every once in a while, he’ll offer real solutions that actually help. It’s something Bellamy noticed on the Ring – when he tries, he has good ideas.

Eventually, they start building. It’s harder work than Bellamy expected, but he enjoys it. There’s something incredibly satisfying about doing work that makes his muscles burn, and the rhythmic movements of chopping down a tree or sawing through a log give his mind time to rest, which he needs desperately after the past few weeks. The tight burn in his chest when he breathes reminds him every time that he’s still alive. They made it through the war, and all of them are still alive and safe in the Garden of Eden. He can rest.

His fight is finally over – just not the way he often thought it would end, and for that, he’s glad.

Monty, Raven – and even Murphy – are great help, and Bellamy appreciates it, but he insists on building most of the house himself. He’s the one to lay the foundations in place and to mark a space in the valley where he will construct the rest of his life. With every log he lays, he adds another detail to the picture of the future growing in his mind. He imagines children – siblings, brothers and sisters raised in a community that loves them and never once hidden from the world – free to live and grow and roam. On the doorframe here, he can mark their heights. Off to the side there, he can place their beds.

He imagines Echo at his side as their hair turns grey, her beautiful face cut through not with battle scars, but the marks of passing time. He pictures her sword hanging above their bed and books stolen from the bunker on shelves along the wall. He imagines filling their house with little things they love – the way you were never allowed to aboard the Ark. He pictures a future where he can own things, collect and keep and store things, and place them in the nooks and crannies of his house.

The picture of a future and a family the way he’s never quite known it grows in his mind, and a desperate want forms within him as the house takes shape.

The others make their own plans. Monty plans a house next to the garden he’s planting, and Harper finds berries through the valley to use as paint. She tells Bellamy she wants to make her house as colorful as the valley around them.

“Earth is so colorful,” she says reverently, staring at the wildflowers in the distance, little bursts of color along the horizon. “The ark was always so grey.”

Raven wants to fill her house with a table and a bench to work on, and she’s more excited about that than she is of the building. Emori doesn’t seem very inclined to leave her tent, perfectly content with the level of shelter and comfort it provides. Bellamy supposes it is already a step above cave floors and desert sand. Still, he plans to help her build one after he’s done with his own.

He doesn’t know what Murphy and Shaw are planning, though it’s clear they have no desire to remain roommates. Shaw is a great help to Raven, though. He helps carry out the necessary manual labor while she orders him around, and the look in his eyes makes Bellamy think he wouldn’t be happier doing anything else. It’s obvious he’s completely smitten with her, and, though Raven has never been good at expressing how she feels, it’s clear she’s just as smitten with him. One day, Shaw might just share the house they’re building with her.

Murphy doesn’t appear to have much motivation to do anything for himself, but he does as much as he can to help the others with their projects. It’s a welcome change from who he’d been on the Ring, and every time Bellamy sees him struggling under the weight of a log or wiping sweat off his brow from the effort, he feels a sense of relief. Gone is the lackluster shadow who slunk around hallways and pulled himself away from his family – now, he’s a constant part of the building effort, helping in any way he can.

He’s still avoiding Emori – and she’s doing the same to him – but the first time Bellamy sees Murphy and Monty laughing together freely in a carefree way they haven’t managed in nearly a year, he has to stop and expel a sigh of pure relief.

His family is safe. His family is whole again. And it’s healing.

Their little patch of Eden grows slowly, but surely. Every day they develop more plans: after the houses, a smokehouse for meats and a storage shed beside it. A place for meals, a place to gather. Bellamy lets himself settle into the promise of peace and prosperity and happiness, finally his for the taking.

He wishes, suddenly, that his mother could have lived to see it. Aurora would have liked it, he thinks. She would have been proud of who he’s become.

On a whim, Bellamy decides to try his hand at carving. Most of the base of the house has been completed, and he likes the idea of setting images into the wood that will make up the walls. A million different ideas come to mind. At first, he considers carving the story of the Iliad because it’s always been his favorite, but he’s had enough of war and doesn’t want it to touch his house. Perhaps the Odyssey, then – a story of a traveler trying to find his home again, facing monster after monster to make it back to his family.

Unfortunately, he overestimates his artistic ability. The characters come out unrecognizable and the story is lost. Undeterred, he switches to simple vines and leaves and flowers. It still isn’t anything remarkable, but it’s a fun project nonetheless. His hands miss with this kind of detailed, steady work. If he closes his eyes and focuses only on the movement, he’s back in his room on the Ark, mending old, tattered clothing beside his mother and his sister.

He’s immersed in this work when a voice he doesn’t expect speaks up behind him. “You’re building a house?”

When he whips around, it isn’t his imagination like he half-expected. Clarke really is standing there, looking no different from the last time he saw her after the war – just a little more tired, maybe, her hair a little more tangled.

Her eyes move from studying the foundations in front of him to his face, and she offers him a half-smile he can’t bring himself to return. All he can think about was the last time they spoke, the horrifying certainty that filled him when he realized she had left him to die, and the news over the radio that she had sided with McCreary and left his family to their fate.

When he doesn’t speak, Clarke’s smile falls. She glances out towards the space around them. “You could have taken a house that was already built.”

“No,” he says, finding his voice. “Diyoza’s men and Wonkru are probably fighting over them.”

“It’s not Wonkru anymore,” Clarke says, and he can’t identify the emotion her voice catches on. Six years later, she’s so different he feels like he can’t read her at all. Maybe she feels the same way about him. “It’s Bluma Kliron Kru.”

“Flower Valley people,” Bellamy translates. “That’s pretty.”

“It is,” Clarke says with a nod.

“Why didn’t Madi just keep the name Louwada Kliron?” he can’t help but ask.

“She said Louwada Kliron Kru was gone.” Clarke’s eyes are caught on something in the distance, but he doesn’t think she’s actually seeing it. “They had to be something new.”

“I think that’s true of all of us,” he says before he realizes what he’s saying. Clarke turns to meet his eyes. Her own are less blue than he’d remembered. He’d gotten the shade wrong in his memories. “We can’t live here and be who we were in other places. We have to be something new.”

Her mouth twists as she takes that in. He wonders what she’s getting from it – he’s not even really sure what he’s saying. “Is that why you’re building a house? The tents aren’t good enough anymore?”

Bellamy almost laughs. He wonders if she would too if she knew how much she sounded like Murphy just then. “Yeah, I guess so. I don’t want this to be like our old camp. I’m so much older now.” That almost makes him laugh too; he never thought he’d get to a point where he could complain about aging. It’s kind of nice. “I want different things. I’m different.”

“You are,” she agrees. “I am too, I guess.” He doesn’t say anything, but she must see his answer in his face, because she does that little half-grin again. Bellamy wishes he could read it better. He doesn’t know what it’s saying.

Clarke considers the house. “You know, now that I look back, our camp seems so silly, doesn’t it? A bunch of tents and a wall.” She laughs. It’s not quite a happy sound. It’s not quite an unhappy sound either. “I guess none of us really knew how to build a village.”

“I don’t know – if we’d asked Monty and Raven to, they probably could have figured it out.”

She laughs under her breath. “I get it, though. I lived in one of the houses here. It was the first time it really felt…. permanent, I guess. It felt like I had finally found a home on Earth.”

How strange, that they can still click in weird ways like this. He doesn’t know her anymore, and she doesn’t know him, and the relationship they once had is long dead and buried beside the people they used to be, but somehow, she understands this. It’s the first time he feels like they’ve been on the same page since he found out she was still alive.

“Yeah,” he says. It’s all he can say. His words for her withered alongside his words for Octavia. What can he say to these off-kilter ghosts in the form of people he once knew – these strangers with familiar faces?

Clarke must feel the same way. They hover on the moment together, shaky and unbalanced, the air stiff and stifling.

She’s the one to break the silence finally, because discomfort has never frightened her the way it frightens him. Like always, she forges ahead resolute – in the past that once impressed him. In the week leading up to the war for the valley, it only disturbed him.

“Good luck with your house,” she says sincerely, then turns to leave.

“Wait! Clarke,” he calls. She turns back to face him. “Are you living in your house again?”

Something cracks in her expression. “Madi is.”

“But you’re not?”

She doesn’t move at all, but her entire image transforms before his eyes. No longer does she look resolute and determined and severe like he’s always known her – she just looks lost. Lost and lonely and sad. “Too many people in the village now for my taste,” she says wryly with a shrug. “But it’s fine. I lived in the rover for months before I found Showada Kliron – it doesn’t bother me.”

Bellamy doesn’t call her on her lie. In his silence, she nods one more goodbye and turns to leave. He watches her as she walks away, growing further and further away, until she steps into the tree line and disappears all together.  

He wonders if it’s possible to spend so much time without people you forget how to exist amongst them.

How did he end up the most well-adjusted of the two of them?

A shout from the direction of the garden grabs his attention. Curious, he makes his way there, and as he grows closer he takes in the scene. Harper is laughing, wiping at the tears in her eyes with a purple hand that leaves streaks across her skin. In front of her, Raven’s face and her right shoulder are covered in the same purple; she looks startled, mouth still hanging open as Bellamy approaches.

All of them are here. Monty and Emori must have been tending to the garden before whatever happened to Raven made them pause. Both of them are covered in dirt. Emori has a streak across her eyebrow, and Monty looks like he’s somehow gotten it in his hair. To the side, Echo and Shaw are seated beside each other. In their hands are some of the bowls the group has managed to barter from the Eligius crew, and inside them are bursts of bright colors. Shaw’s hands are coated in a bright blue, and Echo’s in yellow. Even Murphy is here with the others, a bowl of red berries sitting in front of him.

It’s the paint Harper wanted to make, Bellamy realizes. While they’d left him to his carving, she must have roped the others into helping her mix up the pigments – then thrown some at Raven when she wasn’t paying attention.

“That’s a good look for you,” Shaw says, and Raven turns on him.

“Yeah?” she says, wiping the paint away from her eyes. “You know, I think yellow is probably your color.” She steps closer to him. Echo smirks and holds out her bowl for Raven to grab without prompting.

Shaw’s eyes widen. “Oh, no,” he says as he tries to scoot backwards to escape her. He’s not fast enough; Raven reaches him easily and dumps the bowl over his head.

The group bursts into a new round of laughter, while Raven smiles triumphantly at Shaw. “That’s a good look for you,” she tells him.

Bellamy stands there, taking all of them in. His cheeks ache with how wide his smile is. He chest feels like a dam overflowing. Echo turns and catches his eyes; her face melts like snow on a warm day. He feels his heart throb with wanting at the sight of it.

Oh, he thinks, looking at the seven of them. This is how.

As the winter chill settles in and the days grow shorter, the eight of them work harder to finish building before winter fully arrives. It’s clear they’re fighting a losing war. They started much too late in the season, and Bellamy resigns himself to spending the next few chilly months in their tents. Still, the houses are coming along nicely. Every time Bellamy stops to look around at what they’ve already accomplished, he feels a surge of pride.

At least the smokehouse is finished. It had been their first priority with winter fast approaching. Echo and Emori make an incredible hunting team. With Echo using her bow and Emori skilled at building traps, they manage to catch everything from deer to squirrels, and they end up with plenty of food to smoke and store for winter. Emori and Echo teach Harper and Murphy to butcher the meat and prepare it; Echo identifies the plants she recognizes as edible, and Murphy makes it his mission to experiment with them until he finds the best combinations, expressing more than once that he’s “so fucking glad they don’t have to eat flavorless plant mush anymore.”

Monty’s garden gives way to the first of the winter frost, so he dives headfirst into helping with the building efforts.

Raven keeps working on her table. She’s struggling alongside Bellamy learning how to carve, but eventually she manages to put together something with four legs and a flat top that doesn’t wobble when she places things on top of it. It’s the ugliest table Bellamy’s ever seen, but it’s functional and Raven beams the entire day after she finishes it, clearly proud of herself.

Almost a month after Bellamy first proposed building a house, Murphy goes to Raven with construction plans of his own for the first time. Bellamy watches from a distance as he shares them, clearly anxious, bouncing from one foot to the other and tapping his fists against his upper thighs as Raven surveys them. Her face cracks with a grin, then blossoms into a full smile, and she says something to him that makes his own face light with a hesitant smile.

Bellamy’s curious, but getting Murphy to open up when he doesn’t want to is often like pulling teeth, so he lets it go. It takes months to see the results. By that time, the three houses they’ve been working on are nearly complete, the process slowed slightly by the heavy snow they’d gotten at the harshest point of the winter season.

It’s a workshop.

It only has three walls and a ceiling and is far smaller than any of other buildings – only enough room for one or two people to work comfortably - but it has a long table only slightly less ugly than the one Raven built for herself and shelves set into the walls to store things on.

Bellamy watches with his breath caught somewhere in his throat as Murphy leads Emori to it and presents it to her. Even from a distance, it’s obvious she isn’t sure how to react. She freezes first, then hesitantly takes a step forward and studies the shelves. She runs a hand along the table and pushes against it to test if it will hold. Murphy stands off to the side. His hands can’t seem to still; they cycle from messing with his jacket zipper to tapping against his thighs to running through his hair. It’s standing straight on end by the time Emori finally turns to him.

And very suddenly Bellamy feels like an intruder on a moment not meant for him.

He goes to find Echo instead, suddenly desperate to hold her and tell her he loves her, while a kernel of hope blossoms in his chest.

Just because Murphy seems to be relearning how to fit back into the group, it doesn’t mean he and Shaw get along any better than they used to. Bellamy’s starting to think forcing them to share a tent ruined any short of friendship they could have formed, because they clearly despise each other as roommates.

Luckily, Bellamy’s house is nearly finished, which will leave an open tent that one of them can move into. It seems like it’s happening just in time, too. When he steps out of his own tent that morning, he catches the tail end of argument. Murphy’s half-inside the tent and half-out, shouting at Shaw about something he can’t make out. Bellamy hears Shaw shout something back before Murphy straightens and storms off to wherever he goes when he feels like he can’t exist around people anymore – it still happens more often that Bellamy would like, but it’s been happening less and less the longer they stay here, which is a relief. He can’t help but think of Clarke.

Bellamy goes to grab some meat for the smokehouse for breakfast and is just settling down on one of the logs positioned in a circle in front of the tents when Shaw finally emerges. His expression is tight with irritation. Bellamy thinks he might be muttering something under his breath.

“Hey!” he calls. When Shaw turns to look at him, he holds up some of the extra jerky. “Want some breakfast?”

Shaw takes a seat on the log across from and takes the jerky he offers eagerly with a quiet, “Thanks.” A lot about Shaw is quiet, Bellamy’s learned. He doesn’t seem to take up more space than he thinks he’s been given.

“So, Murphy,” he can’t help but ask. The other man’s face drops immediately back into anger. “You two not getting along?”

Shaw hesitates. Bellamy can almost see him trying to shape a passable lie in his head that isn’t an insult, before he just gives up. “Guy’s a dick,” he says.

Bellamy laughs. “He is,” he says, and then stops himself before he keeps talking, because the phrase that had almost spilled out was but you can’t choose your family.

It was something his mom used to say when he complained about Octavia or Octavia about him. When he was young, he once begged his mother to take her back – couldn’t he get a new sister who didn’t tear up his books or tug on his hair? He hadn’t yet realized the weight the word “sister” carried. “No, you can’t,” his mother had told him sternly. “You can’t choose your family, Bellamy. But you love them anyways.”

He doesn’t know if she was right or not.

He didn’t choose the six people he got stuck in space with. He didn’t choose the people who didn’t come with him, either. They got thrown together only by circumstance.

But they aren’t his blood, and he seems to hate his actual sister as much as he loves her these days, and choosing these six people over her in the end had come almost as naturally as breathing.

What Bellamy does know is that it doesn’t matter.

He is building his home in a village of people he loves. He chooses them now.

#THIS REALLY SPIRALED #IT'S 10 PAGES #bellamy blake #bellamy blake fic #becho #becho fic #spacekru #the 100 #the 100 fic #echo kom spacekru #emori #emori kom spacekru #memori #zaven #john murphy #raven reyes #monty green #harper mcintyre #marper #miles ezekiel shaw #my stories

[lovinglearningliving18-blog]

11/8/2018

Well dad. Here we are again. 

My tumblr got deleted for no reason, and I tried retrieving it with absolutely no luck. And I know I should have saved those posts, at least the very first one when my memories were fresh because now, six years later, the memories are a blur. Or maybe I am just pushing them off to a corner of my brain, a little storage compartment where I don’t need to bother with it unless 11/18 comes around. I’m kicking myself for not having records of those posts, I even remember a gut instinct telling me to go ahead and do it. But why did I push it off? Really bit me in the butt, didn’t it. 

So I’m gonna do my best to try and remember what happened. God help me remember all the details. 

It was Sunday. Woke up to go to the special Thanksgiving service at church and our bible study group had a body worship routine we were going to perform. You were too sick to go to church with us. You were left on the couch and I don’t think I responded when you said bye to me as we were heading out. It was something I did often. Ignore you. 

I think service started at 10:30. We were running late because mom and I got in a fight on our way to church, I forget what it was about. I wonder if it was mentioned in my old tumblr blog. The fight got physical and I hit her. This is when I have a hunch that you died, when I hit her. Is that when you took your last breath? When you were headed down stairs? I will never know. But I remember mom wanted to turn the car around and head home, and I refused because we were a part of the body worship routine- you can’t just bail like that. But boy. I wish we bailed and turned the car around. Why didn’t i just listen to my mom and let her take us home? Could we have saved you? Yes, it was only 20 minutes or so since we left the house, the drive isn’t that long. We definitely could have saved you. And for that, I’ll never let that go and I’ll never forgive myself. 

I remember the night before I went to Tori Dakich’s bar mitzvah. I had a fun time, instagrammed a pic with Ella Tobias’ cousin Connor because I thought he was a cute little twerp. 

I think we were wearing white and khakis? For the body worship I’m pretty sure everyone wore a white top. As I’m writing this, why didn’t I let mom turn the car around? It’s a pang of guilt I will never overcome. It eats away at my heart. 

During the service I sat next to the little boy in my bible study group. When service was over I got a starbucks frappuccino (probably double chocolatey chip) and I tweeted at 2:31pm something like, they forgot the whipped cream EW how could they? I was so naive and arrogant and annoying. A carefree, rich life. I’d give anything to live that life of a spoiled bitch again. 

And now comes the heavy part. Reliving this is so hard. I wish I had my old tumblr to just breeze through the memories. But maybe God wanted me to relive this and show me something new. Who knows. 

I go upstairs. I think I take a shit or something, don’t even remember if I flushed because I hear a piercing (and I mean piercing) scream calling out my name from mom. Something I’ve never heard before, especially not coming from her, and to be honest I can’t recall it because my mind probably blocked it out. Shit hit the fan and I didn’t expect a single thing that came next. 

I run downstairs and see dad lying on the ground and he is clearly dead. I had a caramel apple pop in my mouth and I think I threw it off to the side to call 911. All of this is a blur and I’m trying my best to remember. My 911 call was tough. They told me to do CPR and that was my first time doing it ever. His body was lifeless as I compressed and felt his hollow chest and ribs. His face looked peaceful. The oxygen tank very close by but for some reason he just had to take a break and lie down on the ground. That’s why I think God really just wanted him home, it was just his time to go. God plucked him and neatly picked him from the pool of people on earth and said, hey, come home now. And he did go. He left us. 

I had a screenshot of the 911 phone record and I’m sure I could find it somewhere. I don’t know when this was. I think my mom would’ve called my grandparents next or maybe our bible study group friends like the Cho family because a flood of people came and did the paramedics. If I remember correctly, our whole street was flooded with cars and I’m sure my neighbors were so confused as to what happened in a matter of a few hours. When we finally came upstairs there were so many people in my house and I was crying and went next to the TV in the living room and was kinda dramatically saying stuff like, he’ll never be with me at my wedding or prom or graduation or anything. Looking back that was a little dramatic and kinda scripted. I don’t know what audience I was performing to. 

Ugh. I missed 11:11. I know this superstitious stuff is stupid but it really affects me. Does this means I just jinxed my whole year? On the day you died? Which happens to be on a Sunday, the same day you passed six years ago? I don’t know. Ugh. Another reason I’m kicking myself, in addition to getting my tumblr deleted. Nothing is going right clearly. 

I think a few hours passed like that, me and my mom crying next to the tv and people trying but failing to comfort us. That’s pretty much all I remember this day. The next morning I overheard people and my mom saying stuff, but then they shooed me to my room and mom was like don’t worry, go inside type of deal. I didn’t go to school the next few days (Mon-Wed) and the rest of the week was Thanksgiving break and the funeral was on Friday. There was a lot of bickering with your side of the family because they wanted you cremated but I didn’t, but looking back I’m so glad we did because being buried in the ground and rotting is awful. I still have an alarm (at 8am) set for the funeral, we got there early to take a look at the body and say our personal goodbyes and our friend in our bible study sang songs, pastor gave a sermon, I gave a speech. I don’t wanna recall the speech too much because it was basically me saying we’ll be okay but really we’re not anymore. 

I can’t believe we blew thru 200k of your life insurance. We have no money left, and there’s a big impending cloud over me and I’m sure mom and the rest of mom’s side (because I could care less about your shitty side) just stressing over money. You wanted me to be a successful pharmacist, but the more I try to recall memories I have with you, the more I forget or maybe we just didn’t have any. I despised you as a dad and I kinda hate you for dying on us. I fight with mom a lot and honestly I think she is really fucking incompetent. Grandpa got fired, but then rehired by the stupid church and had back surgery but still works as a driver for the morning services. We are struggling to make ends meet and I hate my life. It’s just a waiting game for me to get out of school, start making money and becoming successful. I carry and will carry this family on my back, because you couldn’t. Because you had to fucking die on us. 

I hate my life and I hate my school. I came to Butler because you wanted me to. I’m a pharmacy major because you wanted me to be a pharmacy major. My fate was basically written out by you, for you. It’s not fair. I wish I could pick another life without all the shit God gave me, all the hardships that my classmates, peers, and sorority sisters will never have to face in their lives. Their lives are a piece of cake and I’m here wanting to kill myself (quite frequently actually). But somehow life still moves on, I’m still a piece of shit getting shit grades, stressing about the future and trying to get a good internship to make me competitive and stand out when I’m trying to get a real, big girl job. It’s a lot of weight on my shoulders that no other person my age really has to face, and it’s just unfair.

I think about my carefree life before you fucking died and it’s hard. It’s hard to remember and pick up the pieces and try to put them together. I think it’s that thing that PTSD survivors do- they block bad memories out because it’s their trauma that won’t let them remember any of it. 

School’s hard. I have no social life and I have some shitty ass fucking friends. I need some better people in my life, and every day at 11:11 am and pm I wish for the same damn thing. To be happy. It encompasses a lot, but if I’m able to achieve that, then I’m golden. All these hardships won’t feel as heavy anymore and I’ll be able to breathe. Not sure when or if I’ll even be happy but I can still dream. 

I wish you were here dad, and surprisingly I’m not crying as I write this, like every other year. Maybe because I’m pissed, maybe because my heart is turning to black, stone cold. When grandparents say oh remember this or that, he reminds me so much of you Jane, etc. I sit there and think- who is this man? Because honestly I don’t remember you. Grandma asked what is your favorite memory of your dad? I sat there blank because honestly I couldn’t tell you. 

An update that is worth sharing is I have the motivation to learn Korean to study vitamin C and carry out your foundation. I think that’s what made me want to go to Korea in the end and work at some pharmaceutical stuff there. I watched your video on vitamin C on youtube, found some quote that you said this vitamin C product is the best on some manufacturer’s website, I’ve done a lot of digging to find out who you were this way. I even proposed a vitamin c research group but that flopped. Couldn’t tell you why God did that but. Isn’t it sad that 16 years of being my dad, I can’t even tell people who you really were because quite frankly I don’t know myself? 

I could go on but deep down I know I miss either you or the life you provided as a doctor. Time’s running out dad, I’m doing my best to stay afloat and not to sound like an ultimatum or anything, but I need some good news to turn around this sinking ship. Because I don’t know how much is left of me to keep this family on my back. 

Hope you’re belting all the hymns and worship songs with that awful voice of yours. Hope I’m making you remotely proud (even though I know I suck and probably am not). I miss my old life, but maybe just maybe God has something in store. Mom burst out crying when we were singing hymn #470 today. Maybe it reminded her of you, to be honest I don’t remember what you sounded like singing just that it was awful. But there must be a lot of weight on her shoulders because of me and I have you to blame. Whatever though. 

Keep watching over us please. This is the first year I’m going to bed before midnight on your heavenly day, I don’t feel the need or the urge to stay up and watch the clock strike midnight. I’m starting to resent you I think and I’m worried I’ll forget you completely. Not sure what there is to even do though to fix this. 

I love you and don’t forget about me and I hope I won’t forget about you. Keep watching over us and keep praying over us. My guardian angel. 

[sabythfayfreelance]

How Men’s Work Made Me A Better Woman

I’m a fairly petite woman. I come in at just around 5 ½ feet tall with boots on and have never weighed more than 115 lbs soaking wet. I went to college for writing and communication studies, so you can imagine how pale and frail I was coming out of there with my degree in hand (that certificate sure was heavy for me!).

And then, right after graduation, I took up a training program to work on tall ships. If you have no idea what that is, think of the big sailing ships from Pirates of the Caribbean (the boat I trained on was actually in the first of those films). Over two weeks, I learned how to handle ropes, furl sails, and sand any and all types of salt-worn wood you could imagine being out at sea. I learned about maritime history and trade while corralling kids to teach them the same things I had been taught just hours earlier.

The crew of that first ship hated me. To them, I was an irredeemable city girl with an attitude and less muscle than a towel. Behind my back, just a week in, one of the crew members teaching me called me a burden, making sure to be just loud enough so I could hear him. It shattered me. I spent the last few days of my training hiding in storage cubbies, crying and wishing I could rewind time so I was back home writing essays.

But after my two weeks was up and I was free to go back home, something felt…different. I had this spark, and I couldn’t stand the thought of being back in my bedroom letting my leathery callused hands become soft and pink and fragile again. I called up the other ship in the company’s little two-boat fleet and jumped on board, this time determined to prove to these people that I wasn’t some weak city girl, and definitely not a burden. Long story short, the man who called me "burden” saw what I had become a few months later, working with me out at sea, and he promptly apologized. Now we’re good friends, and he regularly messages me from his newest job out at sea to tell me how proud he is of my hard work in life. After three years of working on and off of the boats, whenever one of them is in town, the current captain will ask me personally to come work alongside their crew.

I ended up getting a bit sick and eventually became friends with a veteran-turned-electrician while at the hospital. He offered me experience as his assistant, and from there we worked on various projects while running around homeless. He told me about an organization called Team Rubicon, a veteran (and civilian) disaster relief organization that he felt I would fit perfectly in. Again, my fear of being too fragile and small crept up, but I signed up for TR anyway. They sent me out to Texas after Hurricane Harvey where I did house demolition with a crew that loved my company so much, they were devastated when I got sick while out there and kept asking for my return every chance they got.

It’s been well over a year since all of this now, and I’ve settled back to my life in the city, working at a beer garden by day and writing articles by night (ok, flip that, I’m actually a closer at the beer garden, but you get the idea). My hands are soft and pink and fragile again; my heart is anything but.

Work aboard tall ships and fishing vessels has, until very recently, been strictly a man’s line of work. Historically, women on board a boat were seen as seriously bad luck, and some captains still think that to this day. Veterans and other military personnel are nearly 85% male across the board, although Team Rubicon boasts a higher percentage of women than that. I’ve also done grounds keeping and electrical work, and both of those groups would have been 100% men if I hadn’t have been there.

You may think it was rough, possibly even lonely out there for a little woman like me. And sure, maybe in the moment I sometimes found myself thinking that being one of only a few women seems disconnected from the modern push for feminism and anti-patriarchal takeover. But that seems a little too cynical, a bit like throwing down an anchor of pessimism on something that made me better because few women were doing it too.

Time working in a man’s field taught me a lot about hard work, but even more about building character and introspection. On the ship, you take care of the crew and they take care of you. You become a cog in a machine that desperately needs you to run smoothly, regardless of your gender or background. There were things I thought I couldn’t do simply because of my lack of muscle that, with proper training and practice, I learned was all a matter of technique. Those things I feared doing became something I was good at. Now when things seem tough, I imagine not the muscle or the determination I lack, but the finesse and technique that can turn me into a master of the task.

Late nights standing in the misty, salty cold of the sea, overlooking the horizon for any midnight dangers to the vessel, gave me a drastic change of view on patience. You stand freezing and exhausted for four hours in pitch darkness with two or three others all silently wishing to be asleep. But the time passes, and as you crawl back into bed damp to the core, too tired to take off your boots, you are proud to have passed those hours by in that silent reverence of the beauty all around you and the time spent in your own head. You get to know yourself on the sea, and often that patience is rewarded with something amazing; whales breaching, waves glowing electric blue along their edges, shooting stars cutting along the freckled sky. It’s only in that patience that you get to experience these things. When I find long hours at work in the city dragging painfully slow, I remember the ocean and the hours of nothingness, and I remind myself that it’s just time, that it passes, that all things pass.

Many times when out at sea I thought I would never pull through, never be good enough, and never go back to that lifestyle. I wonder if staying inside writing would be the best lifestyle for me. But it’s looking back on those times with pride that help me get through the rough days at my desk. But in some ways, the dark and frothy ocean was easier than facing a week of writer’s block.

And when you’re faced with a challenge that you seriously can’t do alone, your moral support of those around you may be the best piece to the machine that is your crew. By bringing stories and laughter to my teammates in post-Harvey Texas, the group worked in higher spirits and became the most effective (and fun!) crew in the operation during our time there. In tough moments, I channeled my city girl charm to help the machine run smoothly. In those moments when I thought I wasn’t helping nearly as much as I should have been able to, I realized I was doing the best thing I could for my team by keeping them motivated.

I kept pace with the best of men I ever met, and they gave me my due respect for it.

You can read all the self-help and character-building articles you want, but it’s experience and hardship that really shows your true character, and allows you a better window to see what you might need to change about yourself. Don’t take challenges, obstacles, or suffering as a sign to give up; use it as a way to become stronger inside and build a better version of yourself. It’s not always about muscle; sometimes it’s about finesse. And sometimes, when things are really rough, you just need a woman’s touch to get the job done right.

#life #style #lifestyle #personal #growth #development #personal growth #personal development #women #feminism #masculinity #work #self

[sepiadice]

Tales of Genius Ch. 1: Mystery in North Fort

(8/5/2018)

Thus I return to the Game Master’s screen, bearing a shirt that labels me of such![1]

Which is good, because there’s going to be no further updates with the Fallen Island D&D campaign. It’s, in theory, still running, but I found myself waiting for an excuse to get out, so I decided it’s healthier to just silently leave.[2]

As previously mentioned, I ran a short GURPS session with the Dungeon Fantasy Box set (and its I smell a Rat module), after which the group and I had a nice long talk and it was decided it was best not to return. Still have nostalgia looking through the revised third edition rule book, but it’s not a good fit for me or my players.[3] Too granular.

Which brings us to Genesys, a system I discovered relatively recently. It’s a generic system, has a narrative focus, and was used by a podcast I like and trust![4] Also, it’s not Powered by the Apocalypse or Fate, neither of which I’ve played but I’m just tired of hearing about them.

So, sit down and prepare yourself for the first episode of a SepiaDice Campaign (yet to be named).

CAST:

Eli Roberts: (Played by Lyons) Child of Clio. Doctor, travelling to write an medical text akin to Gray’s Anatomy

Olivia Grayson: (Played by Maddie) Child of Thalia. Apprentice to Eli.

Fromthe: (Played by Jose) Child of Calliope. Military veteran and current mercenary.

(These references to greek muses shall be explained another time)

DATE: WINTER 1911

SETTING: NORTH FORT

The northernmost town of Astree, sitting in The Tines, the mountain range that separates Astree from its northern neighbor Hervarar. North Fort was once a military fortress standing stalwart against the once consistent wars Harvarar inflicted upon Astree. However, a treaty was forged several generations ago putting an end to such conflict. Soldiers were still stationed in North Fort, just in case. Gradually, however, merchants travelled there more, families came to stay, and the fortress grew into a proper town.

It’s during a harsh winter that our story opens.

For there’s been an avalanche, cutting North Fort off from the rest of Astree. The town has been forced to start using their emergency supplies. However, this has revealed a problem.

North Fort’s mayor[5] has summoned three adventurers who happen to be in town for their own reasons.

The mayor lays out the situation: supplies have been going missing, which could spell doom for the town if the rationing keeps being undermined. No one can be above suspicion, which is why the mayor decided to go outside the City Watch. The party arrived after the thefts started (but before the avalanche), hence why the Mayor is choosing to trust them.

Eli accepts while the youthful Olivia and Fromthe distract themselves, possibly with yo-yos.

To help with the investigation, The Mayor supplies the Duty Roster of the guards stationed outside the emergency supply storage (a converted pantry filled with hard tack, potatoes, and probably barrels of water) and agreed to having a town guard meet them at the same location.

The party then immediately ignored this appointment to suspect the general high class and went to question the proprietress of the general goods store, Isabel. Fromthe, who is currently a merchant of undisclosed goods, tried to glean some information, but didn’t get anything new because Fromthe just annoyed Isabel.

The trio reconvene outside, talked in circles for a bit, then decided to ask a traveling merchant at the local tavern, The Public House.[6]

There, Fromthe once again learned it’s a small town without much of an upper class outside The Mayor and the one member of the clergy, both of whom have more social capital than financial wealth.

Finally, Eli takes his subordinates to the store house, where they meet Officier Morty.[7] They investigate the storehouse, and find a logbook with terrible handwriting, which noted Intellect Eli cannot decipher. Olivia could, however.

The logbook showed that initially the vanishing supplies were minor enough to be marked up as a counting error, before gradually becoming more brazen. The only visitors of note were The Mayor, Debra, the local priest, and a few guards.

Next stop: The local church of Polyhymnia!

Once a small, utilitarian chapel for a military base, it’s been renovated and expanded to a full, proper church.

Eli heads in while Olivia decides to scale the side of the building. And falling off. Fromthe catches her, but sprains his ankles, which Olivia fails to heal.  Inside, Eli discovers a detail I forgot to introduce earlier (but I managed to get away with!): townspeople are getting sick, and are coming to Father Brown for advice.

Eli questions the priest, who is quiet and unassuming, and agrees to see a few patients in a side room.  A skilled examination uncovers an unfortunate truth: it’s a mass poisoning with baneroot.[8] Oh no.  Olivia comes in and Eli fixes Fromthe’s ankles, and then sends them out to investigate where the baneroot may have originated.

Olivia, noted druidic sort, walks the streets, but finds nothing in the public places.

Fromthe again goes to The Public House, and finds a travelling plants peddler, who is drunk. The peddler reveals that, yes, he’s sold some baneroot (it’s got a pretty enough flower), but not to whom.

Then the plant seller passes out drunk, and Fromthe and Olivia grab his ledger and jot down notes.  While it does reveal a list of customers, the peddler has segregated the stock count from who bought what. However, a certain priest is included.

Meanwhile, Eli continues to question the sick. Seems that those regularly attending church haven’t gotten sick, and those who started attending after getting sick started getting better.[9]

After the party meets back up and compares notes, they go to the Mayor with their suspicions in regards to the poisoning.

The Mayor isn’t very excited, since he doesn’t really want to accuse such a prominent community member without firm evidence. Also, he hired the adventurers to find out who’s stealing supplies. Also, maybe tell the Guard Captain about crimes?

Now reminded of their job,[10] the party goes to question Debra to see if she knows if The Mayor might be the thief. Specifically, Fromthe is pushed to question her.

Since The Mayor hired them and Debra is likewise innocent, I handed the secretary to Lyons to role-play.[11] It gets awkward and I needed to feed the lack of information, but it was a pretty good exercise.

If your players are up for it, GMs should give them NPCs to play. It’s a good way to keep them engaged in scenes without their characters, and Genesys in particular handles it well since motivation can easily be determined by the social skill rolls, and information is easy enough to feed.

Now having progressed a little on the thefts, the party returns to the poisonings, choosing to just confront Father Brown themselves.  Not wanting to cause a scene, the party discreetly takes Father Brown into the side room to accuse him.  Father Brown attacks with magic. Eli and Fromthe take point while Olivia flees to do other things.

Because it was getting pretty late, I went ahead and ran combat until all three players got to use the combat mechanics (since the main goal was to test the system).

Olivia’s turn was breaking into Father Brown’s room and finding the poison and antidote plants growing, as well as the stolen supplies. It all comes together!

Now shot a little and seeing he’s outmatched, Father Brown is arrested and confesses. He’s a clergyman in a faraway town, and thus has little chance at promotion, so he had hoped to fake a miracle to increase his standing.

Mystery solved! Our heroes are awarded double rations, and all is well.

Except, the only way to the rest of Astree is still blocked by avalanche wreckage, and supplies are running low and are lightly poisoned.

But that’s a problem for another time.

In the end, the players claim to have had fun, and I didn’t feel like I was in a panic attack the whole time, so it was successful. Plus, the system was well regarded (even if we still need to get used to advantages and threats). I’m not ready to move onto the podcast phase myself, and I’m hoping to getting a little more character depth from the PCs, so I’ll just have to keep Game Mastering.

Until next time, may the dice make things interesting!

[1] Actual shirt I have now. It’s neat! [2] Basically, the DM officially lost all my good faith due to external matters, and I no longer wish to humor him. [3] Plus I’ve become disenchanted with Steve Jackson Games. Too much reliance on the Munchkin cash cow, too little support for GURPS and other games, and their use of Kickstarter needs to be discouraged. [4] Well, Campaign uses the Star Wars RPG system, but Genesys is that broadened. [5] Who I don’t think got named. The party named his secretary Debra, though. [6] North Fort are not noted for their inventive naming conventions. Practical people. [7] Named such because Lyons and I inexplicably opened the conversation with spineless voices. He switched when I named the guard. [8] Which I’m hoping is a fictitious plant, for my purposes. [9] This is something I should’ve been more on the ball with, and I should’ve done a better job intertwining the illness into the narrative earlier. [10] To be fair, it’s the same conspiracy, but they failed to connect them yet. [11] He likes playing flirty women.

#SepiaDiceGMs #genesys #Tales of Genius