#was working on a bigger piece but was stressed out so turning to these comfort movies to draw was very fun

[bethanyeliseart]

the karate kid movies warm my heart so much 🥹

#the karate kid #daniel larusso #mr miyagi #johnny lawrence #kumiko #the karate kid 1984 #tkk #cobra kai #fanart #was working on a bigger piece but was stressed out so turning to these comfort movies to draw was very fun #bethanyeliseart

[tip-top-cloud-surfer]

The Danger Zone (Part 11) - Hangman

Pairing: Hangman / Fem!Bradshaw!Reader | OC

Word Count: 4.0k

This work, all my works, and my entire blog are 18+ ONLY

Warnings: Unplanned Pregnancy; Background Relationships; Medical Appointments; Suggestive Comments; Discussion of Mental Health (Depression, Anxiety, Post-Partum); Discussions of Goose and Carole; Use of "You," No Use of Y/N, No Set Physical Description

Summary: You and Jake move in together and attend your twenty-week appointment.

Series Master List

Master List

A week and a half later, you were moving into Jake’s apartment officially. The two of you, with some help from Phoenix and Coyote, had already moved all of the smaller items out of your apartment. Bradley and Mav also stopped by—when Jake wasn’t there—to take some of the more sentimental items to hold onto for you in their bigger homes. 

So, all that was left were a few pieces of furniture. You sold some of your furniture but decided to either keep or store or give away the other pieces. And that meant that someone had to drag it down the stairs and shove it into the back of Jake’s truck or the trailer that Maverick brought. 

“Don’t even think about it,” Jake stated, watching as you rearranged the chairs around the table. 

“What?”

“You’re not carrying anything. It’s all heavy and we’re not risking you hurting yourself,” Jake insisted, walking over to you. “Just relax.”

“I think I can drag a chair a few inches,” you stated, shooting Jake a playful look. “But I won’t carry anything heavy. Promise.”

“Thank you,” Jake replied softly. “How’re they today?”

“I think I’m feeling flutters, but I don’t really know. I only seem to feel them when I’m trying to sleep, so I don’t know if I’m imaging them.”

Your twenty-week appointment was about a week away and both of you were a bit anxious about it. Of course, every first-time parent worried about the worst case-scenario at that appointment. That they were going to get some kind of news that would change the little fairytale that they built up in their mind. 

“Only when you’re trying to sleep?”

“Yeah, I think so. Why?” 

“It’s like they’re teasing you. Or trying to stress you out more.” 

“They’re stubborn, that’s all.”

“They get it from both sides,” Jake replied, brushing his fingers down your bump. 

“Hopefully, they’re not too stubborn coming out,” you stated, glancing down at your bump as Jake took a step closer to you. Smiling up at him, you let out a chuckle. “What?”

“I’m just thinking about all the gas I’ll save when I don’t have to drive over here anymore," he explained, causing you to raise an eyebrow.

“The gas, of course,” you hummed. 

You let out a louder giggle as Jake leaned in and pressed a kiss to your cheek and then down your neck. The two of you, since your kiss in the kitchen, had gotten a lot more comfortable and handsy with each other over the next few days. You hadn’t taken it all the way yet, both of you were still cautious about pushing too hard too fast, but you seemed to be moving in that direction. It was starting to remind you of how the two of you were before you found out that you were pregnant. 

Jake pressed a lingering kiss to your lips as his strong arms pulled you closer. And as you tangled your hand in his hair, returning the kiss, you heard the door to your apartment open. You turned your head and reflexively pushed Jake off of you when you saw Maverick standing there. 

“Hey, Mav,” you greeted awkwardly, running a hand through your hair. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course. Though you looked as if you weren’t expecting company,” Maverick quipped, working on his key ring. 

“I can explain,” Jake stated, causing Maverick to shake his head. 

“You already got her pregnant, Jake. There’s not much left to explain beyond that.”

“Mav,” you sighed, feeling like a teenager again. 

“Trailer’s parked out front. I didn’t know how you wanted to divide things up. Penny said that she would bring lunch over to your new apartment. And Bradley told me that he was leaving a couple minutes ago.”

“Great,” Jake replied dryly. 

“There's not too much left at least,” you stated, trying to perk Jake up. “But I have to give the key back to my landlord, Mav.”

Maverick pulled your spare key off of his chain and handed it over to you before turning to Jake. The two of them started to carry stuff downstairs to the trailer or Jake’s truck while you started to sweep up and do your final round of cleaning so that your landlord didn’t charge you extra. 

Jake and Maverick were out by the trailer, sliding your dresser into the back when Rooster walked over with his keys in hand. Leaning on the trailer wall, Rooster and Jake shared a glare before Bradley turned to Maverick. 

“Emma’s going to meet us there with Penny. I’ll text her when we’re finished up here.”

“We’ve still got a few trips left before that,” Maverick reported, walking over to Bradley. “We’re going to do the couch next.”

Bradley nodded and turned to head inside with Mav, leaving Jake to walk by himself. Jake wasn’t too perturbed. He was expecting the treatment from Bradley and the fact that Maverick hadn’t pushed him down the stairs after seeing the two of you together felt like a small victory. 

You were wiping down the counters when they returned to your apartment. You moved to greet your brother before the three of them walked over to your couch. You stood a bit nervously by the door, holding it open for them. 

“Please don’t hurt yourselves,” you told them as they started to carry it out. 

“We’ll be fine,” Jake assured you as he passed by. 

You watched them go before shutting the door. Moving over to the window, you sat down and watched for them. It was only three floors, but you knew that you wouldn’t be able to focus until the three of them emerged together. You weren’t so worried that the couch would be too heavy or anything like that. You were more concerned that they would use it to hurt each other. 

Jake and Bradley carried the ends of the couch while Maverick stood in the middle. Bradley stood on the lower set of stairs, simply because Jake wasn’t stupid and refused to step down first. Otherwise, he wasn’t confident that he would make it down to the bottom of the stairs. Not without a crack in the back of his head. Again, he wasn’t stupid. 

“Lift it up more,” Bradley grunted as they tried to turn one of the last corners. 

“I am,” Jake huffed back at him. 

“I wouldn’t have asked if you just did it,” Bradley snapped at Jake.

“Just lift, both of you,” Maverick stated firmly, shooting them both a look. 

They managed to walk around the corner with the couch and down the last set of stairs before setting the couch down on the floor to catch their breath and relieve their muscles. Bradley leaned on the couch, glaring over at Jake as Jake stretched his arms casually. Maverick was silent, but he was clearly watching them. 

“So, why are we moving my sister into your tiny apartment again, Hangman?” 

“Her lease is up and we’re having a baby together,” Hangman stated, like Rooster was as dumb as a brick. 

“And you couldn’t even get an apartment with enough room for a crib in it?” 

“Bradley,” Maverick stated, shooting him a look.  

“There’s enough room for a crib,” Jake snapped back at Bradley. “We already mapped it out. We wrote down the exact dimensions that we need. And even if we didn’t, it’s none of your fucking business, Rooster.” 

“Jake,” Maverick sighed, turning to the annoyed aviator. 

“It is my business when it involves my sister and my niece or nephew.” Bradley straightened up, staring Jake down. “She told me that you were looking at houses, but yet she said that she hasn’t been to any house showings. Why is that?” 

“None of your fucking business, Rooster.” 

“It’s not? Because it sounds like you’re selling a fantasy to my sister that you’re never actually going to deliver.” 

“That’s enough,” Maverick replied to both of them. 

“You would want your sister to just move into the first house that we found and could close on?” Jake stated, staring Bradley down. “We’re looking. But there’s other things that are more pressing that we have to deal with. But again, it’s none of your fucking business.” 

“And does she know that? Have you told her that?” 

“Alright, pick up your ends, let’s get it put into the trailer,” Maverick snapped, effectively ending the argument. 

You watched from above as Jake, Bradley, and Maverick walked out to the trailer with the couch. Letting out a breath of relief, you got up and turned to clean once again. There was just the tables, chairs, and another small dresser left, which Jake, Bradley, and Maverick carried down in three more trips. 

When it was all cleaned up, you took a moment to walk through the empty rooms, reminiscing about the memories that the place brought you. It was a sanctuary for you for a time. An escape, really. But it was an apartment for a version of you that was quickly disappearing and in a few short months would be gone completely.

You had grown out of it. And it was time to move on. 

“You alright?” Jake asked softly, standing at the threshold of the apartment.

“Yeah,” you replied, turning to him with a small smile. “I’m okay.” 

Picking up the keys, you walked over to Jake, pressed a kiss to his lips, and headed out. And into the new phase of your life. 

~~~~~

You and Jake arrived at your shared apartment first, since Maverick and Bradley were dropping off some stuff at their respective houses first. Penny was waiting for you in the parking lot and Jake assured you that he would be fine carrying everything himself. 

“So, how’d moving out go?” Penny asked you as you walked up the stairs. Your now shared apartment was on the third floor, so it was one less set of stairs than your previous apartment. “Pete gave me a brief overview.” 

“He probably knows better than me. He was the one who was dealing with them,” you sighed, pulling out your new set of keys. “I just want them to be able to coexist. They don’t have to like each other. Hell, they don’t even need to speak to each other. I just need them to be able to sit in the same room and not try to kill each other.” 

“They’re both stubborn and set in their ways,” Penny replied, shaking her head. “Have you talked to Emma about Bradley?” 

“Yeah, but there’s only so much she can do. Ever since Mom died, he’s always felt the need to be so protective over me. And I appreciated it sometimes but now I don’t need it now. I just want him to be happy for me. For us, me and Jake.” 

“He will. Maybe he just needs to see Jake supporting you—not that he isn’t already—for that to start to happen.” 

“He better get over it by the time I have this baby or I swear,” you muttered, moving to unlock your front door. You turned to Penny with less annoyance in your features. “You know, I really want to make Bradley and Emma the baby’s godparents. And the baby’s guardians if something were to happen to the both of us and—” 

“—Don’t talk like that,” Penny interrupted you, grabbing your shoulders. 

“Penny,” you sighed as the door shut behind her, “I’m not living in some delusion where I don’t think that bad things can happen. And I want it all written down and signed and everything before I give birth or just in case Jake gets dragged away.” Placing a hand on your bump, you looked down. “I want to be prepared.” 

“Hey, today is a happy occasion. You can focus on that stuff at another time. Right now, just enjoy the fact that everyone is healthy and that you’re moving forward in your relationship with Jake, okay?” You nodded slowly and Penny pulled you in for a tight motherly hug. “And that’s why I got you a gift.” 

“You didn’t have to get me anything, Penny.” 

“I know, but I saw it and just thought of you,” Penny replied, pulling away and reaching into the bag that she brought. 

“And you definitely didn’t need to wrap it,” you mused, taking the box from her hand. 

Gently tearing at the wrapping paper, you glanced up when the door opened and Jake walked in, carrying your nightstand and dragging a suitcase behind him. You shot him a smile as he glanced curiously down at the gift in your hands. 

“What’s that?” 

“Just a small gift,” Penny insisted, smiling kindly. 

You tore away the rest of the wrapping paper and pulled out a rectangular plaque. You were a bit confused when you noted the three raised squares, but when you read the painted letters above them, it all clicked.

The message of ‘Daddy’ + ‘Mommy’ = ‘Baby’ was so simple, yet so emotionally overwhelming.  

“You’re supposed to put your handprints here,” Penny explained, pointing at the squares. “Jake can put his handprint here and then you can put yours there and then when your baby comes, you can put their handprint there. They recommended red and white for your hands if it’s a girl, so that her handprint is pink. Or white and a darker blue if it’s a boy, so that his handprint would be a baby blue. And you can paint the baby’s name below the square too, right there.” 

“I love it,” you croaked out, emotions quickly bursting to the surface. “Thank you, Penny. I love it, I love it so much.” 

You pulled Penny back in for a tight hug, tears starting to stream down your cheeks. Jake looked on, concerned, but Penny gave him a reassuring smile and mouthed that it was alright. And when Jake continued to look concerned, Penny whispered ‘hormones’ to him. Jake nodded slowly and gently took the plaque from your hands. 

“I don’t even know why I’m crying,” you breathed out, wiping them away hastily. “It just hit me all of a sudden.” 

“It’s been a long day. You’re making big steps. It’s a lot to take in all at once.” 

“Yeah,” you breathed out, trying to get a reign on your emotions again. Turning back to Jake, who was still staring at you with a measure of concern. “Where do you think we should put it up, once it’s complete?” 

“Somewhere everyone can see it,” Jake suggested, causing you to smile and nod in agreement. 

~~~~~

Since most of your stuff was already at Jake’s apartment, it didn’t take too much longer to fully make it your shared space. And you already made space in the living room for baby stuff. It was still early, you knew, but the alternative was researching about what horrible things you could find out at your twenty-week appointment, so you kept on decorating. 

But today was the day, so you supposed that you couldn’t push it off anymore. 

Waiting a bit anxiously in your car, you let out a breath when you spotted Jake’s truck pull into the lot. You grabbed your purse and slipped out of your car, walking over to where Jake parked. He got out of his truck, dressed in his day uniform, and quickly moved to your side. Pulling you in for a gentle hug, he pressed a kiss to your forehead. 

“Are you alright?” he asked you, causing you to nod against his chest. “Everything’s going to be fine. Whatever we find out, it’s going to be fine, okay?” 

Jake locked up his truck before the two of you headed inside the office. You checked in and sat down, filling out some paperwork while Jake rested his arm behind your back. And when your name was called, the two of you silently walked back to the exam room. Laying back on the exam table, you stared at the ceiling as Jake rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb. 

A knock at the door made you sit up and move to the edge of the examination table. Your obstetrician walked inside the room with a kind smile. It started off as any regular doctor’s appointment would. You went over your symptoms, your pains, your bloodwork, and everything else before moving onto the ultrasound. 

You immediately reached for Jake as the wand touched your belly and he gave your hand a reassuring squeeze. She moved it around, typing away at her computer, taking a few images and measurements, before turning to you with a reassuring smile. 

“Your baby’s growing normally and as they should. Everything is measuring normal. They’re a little smaller than average, but nothing to be concerned about. They’re still a perfectly healthy and normal size.” She typed something else before turning back to you and Jake. “Do you still want to wait to know the baby’s sex?” 

“Yes, please,” you answered quickly.

“Alright, well, I’m just going to turn the screen briefly,” your obstetrician replied, hiding the information from you and Jake. 

“You can tell?” you asked quietly.

“Yes, but all the files are marked to keep that information completely private. Unless you change your mind, of course.” 

You nodded and shared a look with Jake, who pressed a kiss to the back of your hand. Your obstetrician typed away again before moving the screen back to your view. And as she continued to tell you that everything was normal and healthy, you sunk in and started to relax and enjoy the moment. 

“Your baby seems to be a bit stubborn,” your obstetrician noted, trying to move the wand around your belly again to take some more measurements. “They start to cooperate and then seem to decide not to about three seconds later.”

“That’s not shocking,” you mused, watching the movement of your child on the screen. “Stubbornness is probably genetic for them.” 

After a few more pictures, your belly was wiped off and you sat up once again. Your obstetrician smiled kindly as she sat down on her stool in front of you. Jake sat beside you, more relaxed than when he walked in, but still alert, as your obstetrician turned to you.

“Alright, there’s just a few more screening questions and then we’re all set.” 

“Of course,” you agreed, nodding slowly.

“Mr. Seresin,” your obstetrician stated, causing Jake to turn to her. “Did you want to go and grab the ultrasound photos? A tech can bring you back there. And you can ask them any questions of your own about the process.” 

Jake hesitated for a moment but agreed and got up from his seat. You squeezed his hand in goodbye before he exited the room with one of the techs. Your obstetrician waited until he was gone before turning to you.

“At the twenty week appointment, we usually perform a screening of your mental health.” After you nodded, she began. “Have you ever had a history of mental illness? Anxiety? Depression? Eating disorders? Anything like that?”

“Yes,” you answered softly. “Depression and anxiety.” 

“When?” she asked, poised to type down the information.

“My mother passed away when I was twelve. And after that, I was diagnosed with depression and put in talk therapy for a time. But I stopped that when I was eighteen. And they put me on anti-anxiety medication when I was sixteen.” 

“Are you still on that medication?”

“No, I stopped it about a year afterwards. I was just going through a lot at the time and talk therapy wasn’t working completely. It was just to get me through that time and then I didn’t need it anymore.” 

“Have you had any flare ups since then?” 

“A few times,” you answered honestly. 

“You didn’t go back to talk therapy or medication or anything?”

“No, I just . . . waited for it to get better, I suppose. Probably wasn't the best decision, but I survived.” 

“Can I ask why you didn’t return to therapy or medication?” 

“Honestly, the only reason I went to therapy or went on medication when I was a teenager was because I had people in my family push me in that direction. But when I was an adult, I just . . . I wanted to just handle it quietly.” 

“Well, please document if you feel any depression or anxiety during your pregnancy and your postpartum period. It’s an overwhelming time for anyone and there’s no shame in asking for help of any kind.” Your obstetrician paused before asking softly, “Do you trust your partner to help you if you feel depressed or anxious?” 

“Yeah,” you answered honestly, nodding along. 

“And are you two living together?”

“Yes, we are.” 

“And you feel safe in that living situation? Do you feel safe and confident about bringing your baby into that environment?” 

“Yes, completely.” 

“Alright, well, please just document if you feel anxious or depressed.” She stood up and grabbed a pamphlet and handed it to you. “You can always call our office or there’s a helpline that you can call at any time. And there’s no shame in any of it.” 

“Thank you,” you replied, thumbing through the pamphlet. 

~~~~~

That night, you and Jake laid in bed, looking at the photos from your ultrasound together. You were curled up on his chest, resting most of your weight on him as Jake wrapped his arm around your waist, cupping your continuously growing bump with his hand. 

“Were you a small baby?” you asked Jake softly, staring at the ultrasound picture of your baby. 

“What?” he questioned, turning to you with some confusion.

“Were you a small baby when you were born?” you repeated for him. “She said that the baby was smaller than average.” 

“I never asked,” Jake replied, a bit elusively. 

“I was normal weight, according to my mom,” you stated, still staring at the photo. “Bradley was a large baby with a big fat head, but I was normal weight and size. Mav said that after I was born, my mom told my dad that she wished that I was born first. It would have been an easier delivery, she told him.” 

“You think that they’ll stay smaller?” 

“I hope so,” you mused with a smile. “I’d prefer a six pound baby to a ten pound baby, thank you very much.” You turned to Jake with a soft look in your eye, resting your head on his shoulder. “Your mom never complained to you about how big your head was or how you were overactive in her belly or anything like that?” 

“No,” Jake replied shortly. 

Your smile slipped a bit and you turned back to the ultrasound photo. Jake rubbed his hand slowly up and down your bump, soothing you in one way but making another part of you wander from his side. 

“Can I take this one?” Jake asked, causing you to turn back to him.

“What?”

“Can I take this one with me?” Jake asked you again, pointing at one photo from the roll. “I was thinking about putting a photo from the ultrasound in my cockpit. If that’s alright with you.” 

“Yeah, of course,” you agreed, nodding to him and offering him a smile. “I think that’s sweet.” 

Jake nodded in return and pressed a kiss to your forehead. The two of you turned in for the night shortly afterwards. Rolling onto your side, you rested your head on your hand, staring out at the window. Jake gave your bump one last loving squeeze before moving away to fall asleep. And although you were exhausted and needed sleep, your mind kept you awake.

Staring at the window again, you paused when you felt that little flutter again. You smiled to yourself and glanced down at your bump.

“Right as I’m trying to go to sleep? Again?” you teased quietly. 

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#top gun fanfiction #top gun maverick #top gun: maverick #top gun #tgm #tgm fanfiction #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin fic #jake seresin fanfiction #jake seresin #jake hangman seresin x you #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake hangman x you #jake hangman x reader #jake hangman fic #jake hangman seresin #hangman fic #hangman x reader #hangman series #hangman #hangman seresin #jake seresin x you #the danger zone

[tarjapearce]

Grandma's Visit.

Warnings: Drama, mild angst, Strained Relationships. Comfort towards the end. No proofread

Summary: Conchata wants to meet Benji.

A/N: There might not be updates, but have this little piece as an offer :')

Hey

Gabriel's leg bounced as the main door was closed, a bit of a slam on it. His hands immediately fetched his phone.

Migue

Busy right now.

Drop that shit and listen

?? ¿Qué pasó?  (What's wrong?)

Mamá va para allá, cabrón.

The fuck you mean she's on her way? Did you tell her where do I live?

Miguel, it's mom we're talking about.

The eldest O'Hara sighed and raked a hand over his hair. He was definitely not prepared for what laid ahead.

She wants to meet Benjamin.

Miguel's body tensed as his muscles flexed so tightly, one would think he'd break. And it wasn't far from the truth.

Conchata. Or Connie for her friends, was the ever annoying stone on his shoes. Miguel had refused to have her in his wedding. Not out of spite, rather for the  notion he had of his beloved progenitor. He knew that trouble followed her everywhere and if it wasn't following her like an overly attached stalker, is cause she was the problem itself.

Conchata was anything but easy to be around. And things had gone even more acrid after the wedding. Miguel never told you about the fourty five minute call she made him just to say how much of a bad son he was for not inviting her over.

But Miguel knew better, if he'd had her, she'd either complain about everything, ruining the mood for everyone. Or she'd start making snide comments on you and he'd get pissed, some drama would ensue causing an even bigger and jagged rift between them and his wedding would be ruined.

"Hey"

Your gentle and soft touch grounded him, anchored his mind back to his body, as his attention snapped back at you.

"You ok?"

His eyes felt tired and heavy. Unable to meet your gaze completely.

"I'll be."

You cradled him in your arms and kissed the top of his forehead. The touch alone melted him. His own arms embracing your shorter form, that somehow did the perfect work of comforting him and ease his thoughts. But when it came to his mother, little good things came out from it.

"My... eh-" He cleared his throat, "My mother is coming for a visit"

Oh...

"What she could possibly want after so many years?"

"Meet Benjamin."

Even though his words seemed simple, the clenching of his fists until his knuckles turned white, only dictated it was far from being that. Miguel didn't fear his mother, but feared and hated the words that could possibly escape her mouth when things weren't her way.

His wellbeing would be the sacrifice for the visit, cause he'd do anything possible to avoid you or his children get hurt.

"I swear, if she says or does something stupid-"

"Mi reina, let me handle her, ok?"

Your lips pursed and your brows deepened in a soft furrow.

"I won't hesitate-"

"I know. But please. Just, let me, ok?"

Both of you knew that things weren't going to be easy, his distress was obvious, he knew you'd step in if necessary, but he had to face her, it was more like a closure for him than anything. His baby boy wouldn't suffer the dooming and cursing words she gave him so many years ago. Words he learned to loathe as he grew up.

"Alright."

----

Maybe Gabriel's heads up was a false alarm, because nearly a week had gone by. A week of pent up stress and anxiety from both sides. And you could tell from Miguel's demeanor changing.

Even though being loving and a great father remained on the top list, you knew better than that. He'd been found asleep in his office after dinner, or would shut out himself for some little minutes. You'd give him space, and when he needed you, he'd always know where to find you.

He didn't even required to say 'I need you' cause you knew. His body language over the years had been a great subject of study, specially when it came to anxiety and other negatives that always switched on whenever his mother popped up in a conversation, or when something didn't sit right in his gut.

He'd pace, pick at the skin around his nails hard enough to draw blood, chew at the insides of his cheek, drink alot of more coffee to keep himself awake, grumpier than usual, irritated, short replies for everything outside his beloved family.

With you he'd be clingier than usual, he'd spoil Gabi over to avoid thinking too much. He'd pour himself into being that amazing and loving parent he never had, but at night, he'd just hold you until he fell asleep. He'd clutch onto you so tightly that sometimes you'd have little bruises, barely visible ones, in the places he'd hold.

Your comfort skills poured into his preferred love language. Physical touch. You'd play with his hair until he fell asleep, a little purr coming from him before giving into sleep, you'd caress his back in soothing circles, letting the steady beating of your heart lull him to calm.

You'd kiss his face, showering him in affection, as if with every kiss a bit of his worries would go away.

The knock on the main door however interrupted his train of thoughts. You had gone to the supermarket to get some stuff you had forgotten for dinner. Relief washing over him as you now we're home, or so he innocently had thought. All air was caught in his throat upon seeing none other than Conchata on the front door.

Even for her age, Conchata had some beauty reserved. Her skin tone same as Miguel's, soft curls that lingered above her shoulders, deep brown eyes that if one looked close enough, would see the deep red in them. Tall and seizing him with a look he also learned to master.

A scowl disguised as a smile.

"Miguel. "

"Mamá."

A too common and long pleasantries shared between the both.

She hasn't aged much.

Miguel's mind chanted.

"You're gonna let me in to meet my grandson, or what?"

A bushy brow of his quirked, blasé and bored, but he stepped aside. His whole frame had curbed her for long enough.

Here we go

Her scrutinizing gaze was unstoppable against the nakedness of his home. Her eyes raked in every little detail out of place, loading her verbal ammo with it.

"Where is the baby?"

"Asleep."

Monotone and monosyllabic answers that matched his expression was all she could pry from him. It was ridiculous the amount of pictures you seemed to have about Gabriella. She saw her when she was two, then six. Staying in Miguel’s life wasn't something she actually liked to partake on. Too busy with her own demons and new boyfriends to care.

Why would she? He was already a grown ass man.

A man that refused to have her at his own wedding. A past resentment that has lasted over the years and her own mind had been feeding the fester inside her heart. It didn't help you had one of the wedding pictures scattered around the living room.

The few proofs she  needed to see, to know she wasn't welcome, but knowing her son had his own now, was another excuse to see what kind of man and father Miguel had turned out to be.

His arms crossed on his chest as she sat down in one of the seats in the couch.

"Come."

"I'm fine here, thanks."

"I'm trying to be civil. The least you can do is obey your mother for once."

"Why you came?"

"I told you. I need to see my grandson."

"Whatever for?"

Her eyes hardened at his words, but a sigh escaped her lips.

"God, you're so like your father. Always mistrusting people."

"You need to leave."

Hearing her say such curse, made his heart beat even faster. Hands clenched tightly at his sides. Eyes away from her, like if the mere sight of her brought back so many unpleasantness he had fought hard to work them through.

"I won't leave until your... woman shows up and throws me away."

"She will."

"Of course she will. You're not man enough. Just look at this place. A mess."

"And?"

Miguel knew that paying and baiting into her games, would only hinder so. many years of progress he had done on his own. But would also mean to give her the attention she desperately seeked, even if it meant to do it the wrong way.

"What do you mean, and?! What does she does around all day?" Conchata huffed, " In my times the wife was the one that kept everything in check. I've seen nothing but a mess so far."

"Sorry for that."

Your tired and irked voice echoed from the kitchen's door. Miguel gave you a little smirk.

"Have been busy being a real mother this whole time. Miguel, mi amor can you defrost some vegetables, please?"

"Sure do. Found everything?"

You both were purposely ignoring her. A silent yet powerful statement.

You have no power here.

Conchata's eyes set like stone into you. How dared a tiny flea like yourself to speak to her in such way?. And even worse, how could his son be lenient in allowing you to be disrespectful towards her?

You had entered quietly, the heavy and draining aura could be felt even from outside. You had told Gabi to wait outside and rearrange the groceries in the meantime.

" Oh, I didn't know you had returned."

Your name rolling off her tongue felt wrong.

" It's my house too."

"Ah, of course. You didn't do a pre-nup. Te va a dejar en la calle, Miguel." (She'll leave you bare)

Conchata's gaze never left you, it only turned even more intense as her pupils followed you every step.

"I came here to meet my grandson. Where is Gabriella? "

Said precious child helped you to get the bags from your car, while Conchata opened her arms for Gabi to cuddle her. But everything that came out was her hiding behind you, while looking between you and her, as if asking permission.

"Do you want to greet grandma, baby?"

Gabi only recoiled back, hiding further from you.

"Guess not."

You shrugged and instructed Gabi to go to her room, your eldest baby ignored her grandma.

"Muy chistosa tu mujer, enseñándole a mis nietos a irrespetarme ." (Your woman is so funny by teaching my grandkids to disrespect me.)

Miguel had to roll his eyes and stare at her boringly as he pulled out the vegetables and put them to thaw while you clenched your jaw by the sudden resented babbling that came from your mother in law.

"Where is Benjamin? I came here to see him. And I'm sure you'd love to have me here again."

"He'll be up in a minute. Would you like a a glass of water?"

Miguel offered but Conchata was already set in making you as uncomfortable as possible. And when Benjamin was brought in, rubbing his sleepy and baby face, looking for you, Conchata stood and took Benji from Miguel's arms. Holding him with such disingenuous affection it made Benji to reach for Miguel instantly.

You tensed, and so did Benjamin as Conchata admired him. If it wasn't for the skin tone matching Miguel’s, one would think that Benjamin wasn't his. Benjamin had your curls. And not Miguel's soft waves. Benjamin was the splitting image of you with a bit of Miguel's DNA painted in a few selected places. Like his eyes and height.

"I'm actually surprised you managed to pop out his children. Miguel is... big. Got it from his father."

"Didn't care much about that, ma'am."

"No se parece en nada a ti, Miguel. ¿Estás seguro que es tu hijo?" (He doesn't look like you. Are you sure he's your son?)

You didn't know what infuriated you more. The fact that she hinted that Benjamin wasn't his, a shallow and not so subtle hint at Miguel's past, or the pleased smirk her mouth turned into after spilling out the venom and seeing Miguel's discomfit grow.

Some people couldn't be helped. And Conchata truly couldn't help but love hurting her son. But you weren't having it. Not when Miguel's eyes turned away from her, not in hurt but in such anger that even you knew things wouldn't end up good for neither. And still, he regarded her with uninterested eyes.

His lack of engagement at her taunts, made her even more lashing. Like a little child that refused to have her whims met.

Even worse when Benjamin started to fuss and reach for him with a nervous cry. Even he felt odd and icky around her. You took Benjamin from her, cooing and soothing him, but he wanted Miguel. Who gladly took his precious baby, away from Connie. Inspecting him for any damage to finally kiss the top of his forehead, reassuringly.

You're safe.

"Si ya terminó de incomodarnos, creo que se puede ir, señora." (If you're done making us uncomfortable, you may go, ma'am.)

Her eyes widened at your spanish. It was clear that you had understood everything she had said, but were wise enough to not lose your temper, yet you fought back.

"Remind me to never visit you again, please."

"As if you ever do that. And no, it's not an invitation."

"Escúchame bien, chamaco ingrato-" (Listen to me you ungrateful brat)

"Ma'am."

You weren't one for yelling, but your voice was firm enough to have three pair of eyes set on you, Benjamin's fussing stopped. Conchata's lips turned into a scowl at your words.

"Thanks for your visit."

"You know, you could've settled for something better-"

"Así estoy bien, gracias. Now, if you excuse us, We've got dinner to make. The door is right there." (Im just fine. Thanks)

She left with a slam that had Benjamin cry out of the jumpscare.

Miguel hushed and rubbed his baby's back in little circles to keep him calm before giving his pacifier.

" You ok? "

Your hand squeezed Miguel's for a moment while he kissed your temple gratefully.

" Yeah. She's gone. That's why exactly I didn't invite her to the wedding or meeting you."

"It's alright. God... she's-"

"Annoying. I know. Sorry you had to hear all that."

"Nah. I'm glad you taught me cause, damn... Her face upon hearing me speaking it, was priceless. And just for you to know, I was about to explain how we almost made Benji on the car."

Miguel snorted and nodded, knowing you would. You had each other's back and that wasn't up for discussion.

" Te amo."

You mumbled in his ear before stealing a kiss from his lips.

" También te amo."

#miguel o'hara #t writes✨ #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara x you #atsv miguel #soccer family ⚽🕷️ #gabi o'hara #miguel o'hara fluff #miguel o'hara angst #conchata o'hara #benjamin o'hara #mama o'hara #miguel x y/n #miguel x you #x reader #astv fanfic

[backwzzds]

ೃ⁀➷ touch me feel me, renji abarai (nsfw)

renji helps you relax after a long day at the nursing home.

for @roronoaswifey 🫶🏾🫶🏾

you huff out a deep breath as you finally open the door to your apartment. with a close of your eyes, you begin to feel yourself swaying back and forth in near collapse, but almost jump when you feel a familiar large set of hands support you.

“renjiii, don’t touch me, i have old people piss & shit over me,” you whined, shrugging your husband off of you. “i’m sweating, i stink, i feel disgusting.

renji frowned before embracing you again. “i missed you.”

you turn your head and peck his lips before leaving your dirty shoes by the front door and begin walking barefoot to your bathroom. “i know baby, but i need to shower first. that 16 hour double really fucked my back up.”

renji nearly winces at the sound of your back cracking for comfortability. but still, he ignored your previous protests and continues to place small kisses at the nape of your neck as you undressed out your scrubs. he’d lick you in dirt if you’d let him. some sweat didn’t bother him.

“i’ll run you a bath. then lemme give you a massage afterward, mama.” his voice is so convincing. all you wanted to do was collapse and fall asleep, but it would be a cold day in hell before you sat on any piece of your furniture in your contaminated work clothes. renji picks up your scrubs and places them in your work hamper set to wash in the morning.

finally, you give in with a bare nod as renji makes his way over to the tall white tub. running piping hot water just the way he knew you liked, you’re in the bath in two minutes. you sink to your bottom and tiredly rest your cheek against the base of your knee. renji notices how you’re so exhausted, you forgot to put your braids up so they wouldn’t get wet. grabbing pieces of your hair, he ties it up in a makeshift bun atop your head, to which you thank him with a mutter.

“bad day mama?” he asks as he began soaping your back with your washcloth. you let out a deep breath for the millionth time. you were just so happy to be home with him now. from the quietness of your response, he already knows your answer. “what happened baby?”

“so much shit. this shift was more traumatizing than the last. some old bitchy aide reported me to the nurse for a small mistake of leaving a trash bag in a room and i just kept making a bunch of mistakes today. i’m already an outcast because of how new i am to this shit, so this just makes it all much more embarrassing,” you admit it. “i don’t really wanna talk too much on it, ‘fore i get pissed off. that okay?”

renji looks at you as you turn to him with sad eyes. he gives you an adoring smile as he kisses your ear. “you just worked 16 hours. wouldn’t be expecting no different shit from you,” he teased with a small laugh from you. “just remember, everyone starts from somewhere. at the end of the day, you have a bigger goal to reach after school and most of that shit just stems from jealousy. a lot of older people don’t like seeing younger ones win or get bread. it’s fucking crazy.”

you giggle at his words, slowly feeling the stress leave your body. leaning against renji’s arm on the side of the tub, you run your pruny fingers across the terrain of his multiple tattoos. with soft eyes, you turn your head to face him once more.

“still wanna give me that massage?”

and that was how you ended up with your back to the mattress, getting between your legs ate out like no tomorrow. you always knew renji ate pussy. it was one of the reasons you got and stayed with him. but to say he was average at doing so—would be one of the biggest lies ever told.

“oh,” your voice is barely audible as your each up to stare down at the scene before you. a full head of red hair is busy obstructing your view as you can only see the side of renji’s face while he eats you out. “right there.”

you don’t have it in you to scream, you don’t have it in you to do too much. all you could do was cry and whine. your entire body is moisturized and glistening with cocnout oil with exception to your pretty pussy that’s being devoured by your husband.

“renji,” you let out, mind too confuzzled from the intense pleasure from your lower half to form any proper words. “t-that feels s-so—fuck daddy,” you bite your lip so hard, you swear you feel blood drawing from the pricked skin.

“feels good baby?” renji’s deep voice sends vibrations between your thighs as you nearly suffocate him from squeezing so tight around his head. he couldn’t blame you, you were a head squeezer as much as he was a head pusher.

“so good, ‘m gonna cum soon,” you cried, watching the euphoric scene unfold beneath you. renji licked long stripes up the base of his cunt before spreading your fat lips open to get a better view of your soaked clit already beginning to coat itself in white. to make matters better worse, renji slipped in a long and slender middle finger into your entrance, slowly pumping in and iut of you.

you begin to feel his digits curl in and out of you as he continues working around your creamy clit. it’s inevitable for your hands to immediately fly to his maroon red hair, wavy strands damp from helping you out in the bath.

your knees are folded so far back behind your head, the dangling jewelry of your belly piercing is digging deep into your skin as you threaten to collapse your legs along renji’s own back. “can’t—can’t hold it,” you’re breathing heavily, unsure on whether or not you can contain your orgasm.

renji hums at the sweet spot between your legs and continues at his slow pace. he was gonna take his time with you tonight. he knew how hard you worked, and only wanted nothing but the best treatment he could give you for the night. the pleasure wasn’t his, but instead yours.

within seconds, the devious redhead is kissing your clit, still working wonders on you. 11:59 by elijah blake is now playing lowly through your shared room as you grip the bedsheets beside you. renji uses his free hand to slowly slide up your body, making sure to touch every aspect of your curvaceous terrain.

without the use of his eyes, his hands immediately find home to one of your breasts, and he grabs the fat flesh in his hand, squeezing it contently. he removes his touch from you to spread your lips open once more, deciding to turn the heat up just a bit.

“renji!” you’re gasping when you feel his tongue poke your open hole. that was enough to send you creaming all over his face, milky white arousal coating his long tongue diving in and out of you. “please please, right there, i’m cumming, i’m cumm—“ your boyfriend ignores your exasperated cries as your legs tremble around him.

an hour later, he’s still going and by now you’re on your fourth orgasm. renji never joked around when he said he ate pussy for his pleasure. and not just any pussy—your pussy. the man could eat you out for hours on end then fall asleep like a baby without ever expecting anything back from you in return. he proved himself right every time he got between your plush thighs and ate you out like your pussy was his last meal on death row.

renji comes up from between your legs for the first time in a while. “c’mon ma, you can cum one more time for me. make a mess on my face baby, you deserve it.” a taunting smirk is rested upon his face as he admires the reaction he managed to have on you.

your entire body felt like it was going through shock. how could him eating your pussy soft and slow make you feel like a thousand volts of electricity where running through your bloodstream? you can’t even remember the trouble you went through earlier that day at work by the time you’re finally squirting along his face, completely done and overstimulated.

your mouth is held wide open in an o position as your breath gets caught in your throat. you can’t find the breath to speak as you continue releasing yourself all over renji, who, in turn is basking in your arousal like a child at a waterpark. tears flow from your dolly eyes as you finally feel all energy suck out of you like a vacuum.

by now, renji is doing his last rounds and licking you up completely clean. he always managed to get you so fucked out whether it was with his dick or with his fingers and tongue alone. by the time you’re pretty much wiped up clean, your man presses kisses along the brown terrain of your body. your braids are long gone out your bonnet by now, and you’re sure that your sheets were next in line to wash.

renji’s voice is sensual and low as he comes back up to you and looks down in your eyes with love and lust clouding his pupils. running his large hand down your breasts and giving it a comforting rub, he asks you, “you finally forgot about all that shit that got you worked up at your job earlier?”

the nod on your head isn’t enough to hide your smile as you throw your leg over him and finally knock out for the night.

#lora’s fics! ೄྀ࿐ #renji abarai x black reader #renji x black reader #renji x black girl #renji abarai #renji abarai x reader #renji x reader #renji smut #renji abarai smut #bleach x black reader #bleach smut #bleach x reader #bleach headcanons #bleach renji

[dresshistorynerd]

How to see through the greenwashing propaganda of the fashion industry - 1

In the light of the Shein brand trip nonsense, I was thinking about how literally every clothing company now engages in greenwashing, even when it's such obvious lie like with Shein. And while most people are not fooled in such blatant cases like that, most cases are not as blatant. To see through the less obvious propaganda often needs a lot of knowledge of the clothing industry, which the average person doesn't have, yet the average person still needs clothing. So instead of trying to expose every company for their bad practices, I thought it might be more helpful to make a post on how to detect greenwashing. I'm going to use four examples, all in the different levels of honesty and responsibility, Shein, H&M, Burberry and Tentree. First I will go into frankly unnecessary amount of detail on Shein, because I fell into a horrifyingly fascinating research rabbit hole and I think it's excellent example on how companies can get away with blatant crimes (allegedly of course). In this first part we will just look into Shien, it's propaganda and reality behind it.

But before I go deeper into this, I want to stress one thing: this is not to say that you can never buy from any brand engaging in dishonest greenwashing, because then you couldn't buy almost any clothing, and you do need clothing. Though I will say, please don't buy from Shein if you in any way can afford not to. There is levels of how bad business practices can be, and they can't be much worse than Shein's, and even beside that, even when super cheep, it's not worth your money. There are other cheep options too. Though I won't hold it against anyone if they buy individual pieces from Shein from time to time, but I would implore at least to considerate, if they really need it and if it might be possible to get something similar from somewhere else. But my point in this is not necessarily to help you make better consumer decisions, because consumption will not save us, but to see through the corporate propaganda and not become complaisant after hearing comforting lies. The corporations are doing everything they can to make you believe they are already fixing the problems within the industry and there's no need for government intervention pinky promise, just keep consuming. But that's all bullshit and government intervention is exactly what is needed.

Before taking a look at our cases, I'll outline the key things I think are good to look for, when presented with sustainability PR.

TRANSPARENCY - Companies are not required to publish much of the information about their practices, but as it has become clear to everyone that the whole fashion industry is a massive problem, opacity has become rightly seen as suspicious. It has become also a sort of marketing method to disclose any evidence of good practices, so when a company is not doing that, and missing out on well working marketing, it raises the question, what are they hiding. Companies may try to give the appearance of transparency, without actually disclosing information. They might write in an easily accessible page about all their lofty goals, promises and achievements in a very vague language, they might talk about being transparent and publishing their data, but that data might be buried somewhere, where it's not easily accessible. Good sign on the other hand would be for example providing supply chain information for a product in the product description.

RELIABLE INFORMATION - Usually it's safer for a company to be vague or silent than to lie, because that might lead to legal consequences, but by cherry-picking and subtly twisting data, it can be turned to be flattering for them. Small companies might provide raw evidence of their facilities and supply chain, like photos, locations, contractor names etc. to give proof for their word. For bigger companies this is not of course possible as their supply chains might be massive and they might have thousands of facilities. However, there are many different independent and governmental organizations that give different kinds of certifications. The certifications are meant to give some reassurance of quality and/or accurate information. However not all certifications are made equal. Most reliable certifications don't have ties to the industry (aka are actually independent, not just in name), have governmental oversight and are given access to the data, from which they do the research themselves.

SUPPLY CHAIN - Giving the origin country of the final product is nowadays standard information to give, as it's required by law for example in EU. It's a red flag, if it's produced in a country, that has lacking environmental or labour laws, poor oversight and/or little protections for people. However, this does not mean that all production in those countries is unethical or questionable, but the risk for that is higher and the need for evidence of the working conditions is also higher. This is however just one part of the production. Before clothing can be sewn, the raw material for fiber must be made/acquired, that material must be turned into fiber, which must be turned into yarn and then the yarn must be woven into fabric. All of these steps in the process need workers, who deserve good working conditions. And depending on what fabric is in question, there's potential for major environmental issues in the different processes. This is why it's important to know more than just the country where the clothing was sewn. There could be certification for ethical sourcing of the fabric for example. With supply chain it's also better if the materials are sourced as locally as possible, to avoid a lot of extra carbon emissions from transportation. Best case scenario would be if the company manages the supply chain themselves locally, so they can know for sure where their materials come from and also avoid middlemen.

BUSINESS MODEL - The reason why it's often so hard to get information on the supply chain is that many companies, especially the large ones, outsource as much as possible. This might seem unintuitive, as the middlemen make production less efficient and costly as everyone takes a cut. However, they do it to outsource risks and responsibility. They don't have to invest into factories or raw material production and they have plausible deniability, if and when there's issues in their supply chain. The complexity of the supply chain provides opacity that is impossible and unreasonable to monitor, which allows the company to buy materials that are unreasonably cheep, while feigning ignorance of worker exploitation. How much the clothing cost can also give some idea on their business model. If it's super cheep, the only way for it to be that cheep is if workers are not payed enough and everything is poorly made. Cheep is always a red flag, though, if it's fairly cheep and I mean basic clothing is not much more than 100 eur (little more in USDs) but not much less than 50 eur, it can be okay or even good quality and with proper pay for workers, if the company doesn't take massive margins and don't have a ton of middlemen in their supply chain. However, expensive is not insurance of quality or good pay for workers. Many expensive brands take massive margins while their production has little difference to fast fashion and their products are poor quality.

CASE STUDY 1: SHEIN

Let's start with the propaganda. In Shein's About Us page, they say:

"SHEIN is a global fashion and lifestyle e-retailer committed to making the beauty of fashion accessible to all."

You see, their goal is to make fashion accessible to everyone, not just privileged few. They back this up by informing how they work in 150 countries, have very wide variety of clothing, are one of the most popular shopping apps, connect with the customers on where they are - social media - and, of course, have ridiculously low prices. Their team of nearly 10,000 employees (of which 58% are women for your information) loves to serve their many many customers, who are most important for Shein. They use "cutting-edge technology" and digitized agile supply chain to track sales and demand and adjust their manufacturing in real time. When they notice a new trend, they immediately put something trendy on sale, make prototypes and order small batches from factories. This is how they keep their inventory waste low and get products quickly to their customers. In their own words:

"By developing proprietary logistics and ecommerce technology, we are disrupting the fashion space and improving outcomes for manufacturers, suppliers and consumers."

We will see, if the "outcomes" are really "improved".

Shein group's website has very extensive information about their sustainability goals and efforts, giving the impression of transparency. It's pretty clear this is in an effort to combat all the allegations towards them. To make their business sustainable in addition to their reduced inventory waste they are "accelerating their transition" to use recycled polyester, promoting their "peer-to-peer resale platform" for Shein products, "eshtablishing" a recycling program for end-of-life products, tracing the material supply chain through their own material tracking platform and conserving forests by replacing viscose with "next generation fibers".

Most of the information they provide is fully meaningless corporate speak and should be taken with the biggest bucket of salt, so let's ask some questions.

DO THEY PROVIDE SPECIFIC DATA ABOUT THEIR PRODUCTION? Surprisingly Shein is much more transparent than I expected. (Though of course the info is in different website than where the average consumer would go.) Shein hasn't taken the standard route, which is to provide as little information as possible, and keeping it vague too, se they could just keep feigning ignorance. As I said, I think it's pretty clear they are providing this much information because their reputation is so bad. Their lack of transparency has been taken as an admission of guilt, so it's not working anymore, and they have taken a new approach into maintaining their plausible deniability. In their website, they provide a sustainability report from years 2021 and 2022. I took a look at the latest one. In it there's a lot of fluff, but they show actual numbers of how many code of conduct violations have been found in audits to supplier facilities, the carbon emissions of their supply chain and the amounts of different fabrics they have used during 2022. That's not nothing, so we have a relatively good start here.

WHO DID THE RESEARCH? The research is not at all independent, but done in-house. They have all the financial incentives to cherry-pick and frame their research in a way that shows them in the best possible light, even if we assumed they would not tamper with their own evidence, which I don't think we can fully assume either. There's an attempt though to convince us to believe the data they are showing:

"We have reported with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 2021 standard for certain sections of this report. Selected information in this report was assured, to the limited assurance standard, by an external independent assurer as per ISAE 3000."

Emphasis by me. So even if they did the research themselves, they did get it independently audited to get an assurance that they did follow the GRI standards in their reporting and that it doesn't contain lies. However, the "certain sections" and "selected information" with "limited assurance" does not give me much assurance, in fact, my assurance is very limited. To understand what does this actually mean, I did a bit of googling and delved into the annex of the report.

ISAE 3000 is a standard for auditing financial information issued by International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, which an independent body that has governmental oversight. Financial information can get either reasonable assurance or limited assurance. Reasonable assurance is the most assurance this standard allows. Limited assurance is given, if the information provided to the assurer, time or extent of the procedure is lacking, but from those limited resources the assurer doesn't find anything that suggests "the subject matter information is materially misstated" aka that the company is lying. GRI is the most used reporting standard for sustainability for businesses and other organizations. I'm a bit suspicious of how effective their standards are, if they are most widely used, since most companies are absolutely terrible about sustainability yet they all claim they are great with it. So I decided to check who is in the board. Unsurprisingly it's mostly representatives of massive corporations, including Coca Cola and DuPond, a professor of accounting, national research director of Australia's Mining and Energy Union and one (1) environmental scientist.

The annex revealed quite interesting details. The only information that was AssuredTM (in a limited manner) for accurate information was the data on Shein's emissions and that of code of conduct violations. Only the report on emissions was AssuredTM (in a limited manner) to follow GRI standards. Shein got to select and prepare the relevant data for the audition, which was according to it, lacking. Crucially the audition report states that they didn't verify the results of supply audits or any potential violations of labor law found in them, rather they just checked that the math on the grading of the audits matched with Shein's stated criteria and that they actually did the audits. So if you really think about it, the (limited) assurance is that they graded themselves like they promised they would, not that their reporting of the amounts of violated labor laws or even just their own code of conduct was accurate. Additionally assurance of the accuracy of the emissions was only of Shein's own facilities, which do not produce any of their products, but not of their supply chain. 99,7% of their emissions come from their supply chain. So keep all this in mind when we look at the data itself.

WHAT ARE THEIR CARBON EMISSIONS AND HOW ARE THEY CALCULATED? Shein's emissions were 9,17 million tonnes of CO2, or 9,22 million tonnes if we don't count them purchasing Renewable Energy Credits. To put it into perspective that would be around 7-0,3% of the estimation of the annual emissions of the whole textile industry. Now that would be pretty low. In fact, suspiciously low. The fact that they got their own emissions auditioned, but not the emissions of their supply chain, suggests to me that perhaps, their numbers don't hold up to scrutiny. They also don't disclose their methodology for the numbers of the supply chain, like they do with their own facilities. Of course their response would be to say it's so much easier for them to calculate their own emissions than their suppliers. But I say that's not a bug, that's a feature.

Though looking at the methodology of the emissions from their own operating sites, which includes warehouses and offices, they don't take into account at all any emissions from building anything. They grew massively between 2021 and 2022 and I find it hard to believe they didn't built any of the new offices or warehouses they gained. Certainly they would have bought a lot of new equipment even if they moved to existing buildings. But none of this is taken into account in their calculations. And I must assume, it's not taken into account in their supply chain calculations either.

Even if we took them at their word, by their own admission, their carbon emissions have grown from 2021 to 2022 52%, which is alarming. (Interestingly they use the 2021 numbers in their actual website, which I think is so misleading that it's basically a lie.) They write it off as just side effect of their massive growth in production volume, which had 57% increase during the same time frame.

"We are at the beginning of our mitigation journey and began implementing decarbonization programs at the end of fiscal year 2022."

So they first scale their business as fast as they can, having absolutely no care of the environmental effect, so that when they have massive market share, and they reduce their massive emissions slightly, they can be like "oh look we did something!" They can then moan and wail how hard and time consuming it is to reduce the emissions of an existing supply chain, when they were the ones who decided to not take that into account from the start. Their "science based goal" (which they repeatedly stress in their website) is to reduce their emissions 25% by 2023. It's nothing. Less than nothing. They scaled without care their production in a time, when our ecology is collapsing, and then they claim that it's just science we possibly can't do anything about it. Apparently it's a natural law that they just have to make more and more money, like gravity.

WHAT MATERIALS DO THEY USE? Last year 64% of Shein's clothing (measured in weight) was polyester. Production of polyester is estimated to count for 40% of all carbon emissions of the textile industry. It's also a plastic made out of oil, so we have to take into account the fracking and refinement of oil and the eventual release of the CO2 from the oil that would have been secured in the ground otherwise. This most certainly is not counted into the supply chain emissions. Shein loves to pay lip service to the idea of circular economy, but they don't actually think about it. Because if they did, they would have taken into account the microplastics polyester fabric sheds when it's washed. When microplastics get into the soil and freshwater, they get into the organs of animals, including us, and they don't easily come off. Already it has been shown that they have led to the decrease of small soil fauna, which are very important for the fertility of the soil. Over time microplastics also break down further into nanoplastics. There's already evidence of nanoplastics being small enough to pass through veins into the brain, and that causing behavioral changes in fish. We don't know the long term consequences off this micro and nano plastic pollution yet, and we're just seeing the effects they have on small animals, but as they built up over years and decades inside our organs, we well likely see much larger effects.

Important for the lifecycle thinking is not just focusing on how much burden the production puts on the environment, but also how long it lasts and how can it be reused and eventually the impact of the end of it's lifecycle. If you remember from the beginning, Shein claims to take all this into account by having a resale program, somewhere in the future establishing a recycling program for unusable old clothes and increasing their share of recycled polyester. This is nothing. Again it's less than nothing. Polyester is not only bad fabric because of the things I've already said, but it's also just as a material for clothing very weak. It's not warm or breathable, which makes it at the same time sweaty and cold. It has no anti-bacterial qualities at all (which basically all natural fabrics have at least to small extent), so when you get easily sweaty in it, it starts also smelling very easily, and so needs washing very often. On top of washing releasing microplastics, it also weakens the fabric, because polyester gets weaker when wet (unlike plant fibers, like cotton and linen, which get stronger when wet). Polyester is also very hard to dye effectively and has bad color retaining properties, so it needs chemical treatments and strong industrial dyes, all of which adds to it's carbon footprint. Bad color retaining properties though also mean it looses it's color quite easily when washed. All of this makes it's life span significantly shorter than natural fabrics. I mean with some natural fabrics like wool and silk we are talking about multiple decades, with polyester it's easily in the low one digit years. These are inherent issues with polyester, but Shein clothes have repeatedly got complaints of their poor quality in general. This makes the resale program frankly meaningless.

On the surface the recycling program for polyester sounds good, right? You don't have to use more oil and use as much energy in making of it (according to Shein themselves, which again not a trustworthy source, it saves up to 70% emissions). Shein has promised to increase their share of recycled polyester to 31% of their polyester usage by 2030. Currently less than 1% of their production is recycled polyester. This is however a terrible solution. It still sheds microplastics and it's even worse as a fabric than virgin polyester. It is weaker and stiffer, making it impossible to use on it's own in fabric but when mixed with other fibers in a fabric significantly shortens it's life span. When we take into account the lifecycle of a clothing, the length of it and it's lifetime emissions become much more important than the production emissions. If you have to produce from scratch new clothing three times, in the time you could be using another clothing, it doesn't really matter if the emissions during the production were somewhat lower. (There's little reliable and comparable data available on production emissions of different fabrics, so I don't know how exactly recycled polyester compares to different natural fabrics.) Especially when we take into account the consumer use emissions, which in the case of polyester are 30% of it's lifetime emissions. And wast majority of it comes from washing, which you have to do more with polyester (how much more depends on what fabric you compere it to). Any responsible disposal of polyester at the end of it's lifecycle, especially any attempts at recycling it, cause additional emissions, unlike with natural fibers, which naturally degrade.

WHERE ARE THE SUPPLIERS? Shein boasts having fully integrated digital supply chain and with it they can track the whole supply chain of individual product. However they don't reveal any of that information publicly. Or rather only thing we know is that their factories making the end products are in China. But the question is, where does their fabrics come from? There's no countries listed in their report in any capacity and none of their products have any information of their origins nor the origins of the fabrics. This is very suspicious in my opinion. We can get no indication on how fibers might have been produced and made into fabric from the labor and environmental laws and practices of different countries. However, there is an interesting bit in the report about cotton:

"For cotton products, to further enhance our compliance with US laws, we request that our manufacturing suppliers only source cotton from Australia, Brazil, India, the United States and other approved regions."

This sentence is there pretty obviously because they have been caught selling clothing with cotton grown in Xinjiang in US markets, which US has banned. This is because Xinjiang, the Autonomous Uighur region, where 90% of China's raw cotton is grown, has been accused of genocidal oppression of the Uighur population, including having massive forced labour camps for Uighurs. Because of the police state nature of Xinjiang, there's no reliable numbers on how much of the cotton is produced with forced labour, but presumably most of it. Moreover, China limits the imports of cotton, which is why only 20% of cotton used by the textile industry in China is imported. Shein claims they know exactly where their fabrics come from, but the wording of the sentence above makes it clear they don't even plan on enforcing any policy to use imported cotton by their suppliers. Cotton is just 10% of fabric they used last year, but given their massive production volume, it's still a lot. This gets us to our next question.

IS THERE PROOF OF GOOD WORKING CONDITIONS? Shein reports doing in total 2 812 audits into 1 941 of their 5 400 contract manufacturers. According to them it accounted for 84% of their Shein branded products (so not their other 10 brands). This information, if you remember, was given limited assurance, by the audition into their numbers. However, we are to trust Shein alone that their the reports of their auditions are accurate. I'm not really willing to trust them, but let's sustain our disbelief for a moment to look at their findings. From their report:

"A: 90 points and above: minor flaws. Continued improvement is advised. B: 75 to 90 points: some general risks. Continued improvement is advised. C: 60 to 75 points: 1-3 major risks. Corrective action is required. D: below 60 points: >3 major risks. Corrective action is required. ZTV: Zero Tolerance Violation detetected. Immediate corrective action is required."

Even without knowing what do these things mean in practice, I don't think this paints a pretty picture. Only 4% of their manufacturing facilities had minor flaws and 82% of their facilities have major risks or worse? Does that mean none of their manufacturers fully comply with their Code of Conduct? They try to make it sound like it looks this bad because they have tightened their criteria and still the numbers are better than last year, but even with all of that, this is imo unacceptable. But it gets worse.

The report shows the amount of each ZTV found in the audits. This was explicitly not assured in any way by an independent party, so considering this information is given despite the lack of oversight and the interests of Shein, it's grim. Most of the 11% of ZTVs were gross safety violations. For example 4,2% of the audits, which means 118 facilities, found lacking emergency exits. However, they also found child labour in 6 facilities and forced labour in 3 facilities. So according to their own reporting, their manufacturers have used child labour and forced labour. And just to remind you, this is covering just 36% of their contract manufacturers. What I found interesting (read disturbing), was that violence or sexual misconduct against workers were not among Zero Tolerance Violations. I know it's not a situation, where they don't consider it violation of Code of Conduct, but rather just calls the police and let them handle it, because the violations counted here are based on their CoC, in which there's an item 7 named "No harassment or abuse of employees", which explicitly forbids physical, sexual, mental and verbal abuse. They don't however reveal other definitions of violations, than ZTVs, nor do their reveal how are they graded, so there's really no way to know what the 71% of their manufacturers have done to warrant their low (C or D) grading.

Would you at this point be surprised, if I told you it gets worse? Yeah, their so called Zero Tolerance Violations are not very zero tolerance after all. You might think zero tolerance means, that if manufacturers are caught doing it, their contract is immediately terminated and they are reported to authorities? Well, let's look what is the "immediate corrective action" outlined in their Responsible Sourcing Policy. Among the ZTVs they define even more zero tolerance violations, let's say negative tolerance violations. These are 1. forging documents, bribery or refusing to get assessed 2. child labour and 3. forced labour. Surely these lead to immediate contract termination and reporting to authorities?

So if Shein encounters slavery or probable coverup of it in their facilities, they stop placing new orders until the enslaved people and children are taken somewhere else or otherwise their contracts are fixed (at least for now), so there's no more slavery in sight, when someone comes back to assess them again and decides it's all good to continue business as usual. They have 30 days to make everything look like there's no issues, which sounds pretty easy task, and after that they can grab the kids and the slaves back there like nothing happened. Also notice how they didn't say they demand stopping the work entirely in the facility, just that they'll stop placing orders? Yeah, they don't stop production even if they find literal children or enslaved people producing them. Gotta get those dresses to the customer.

If they find any other ZTV, they come back in 30 days, and if the violation continues, they give a warning, come back again in 30 days, and if still the issue is there, then they stop placing orders. After that it continues like with child or forced labour violations. If after another 30 days it's not fixed, the contract is terminated. If a supplier gets two ZTVs within two years, they go straight to the even less than zero tolerance model straight away. If they get three ZTVs in two years, then their contract is immediately terminated. Nothing different happens though, if you get caught doing child or forced labour two times in two years, so you can just get caught once a year as long as you always pretend to stop doing it. But even if you do get caught third time in two years, or fail to pretend you fixed it, it's fine, you'll just have to do other stuff for the next year, and then you can apply again to work with Shien. Also the policy does not at any point require reporting these alleged crimes to authorities. If they at some point stop placing orders for a supplier (for example because of child or forced labour), they have to just sent all the files and documents of the goods that are produced by that supplier during the time they aren't giving them new orders to the relevant tax and customs authorities.

To answer the question I started this section with, sounds like Shein provides more evidence of bad working conditions in their suppliers' facilities, than they provide evidence of good working conditions. They even give evidence that their monitoring of those conditions is just a joke, and they have no mechanisms to actually get rid of suppliers who have inhumane working conditions. Elsewhere they try to give very weak evidence of good working conditions. The influencer brand trip to their facility in China was a PR stunt like that. However, it's easily dismissable, as the facility was not at one of the factories, where their clothing is made, all of which are third parties, but Shien's own facility they call Innovation Center. There they innovate new technologies, train their suppliers to use their new technologies and consult their suppliers on how to make new factories, which I assume means they have factory templates to give to their suppliers.

However, independent sources give much more reliable evidence of terrible working conditions in their factories. Like when undercover operation into one of their factories found employees working 18 hours a day earning 2 cents per item. When asked for comment, they answered: "Any non-compliance with this code is dealt with swiftly, and we will terminate partnerships that do not meet our standards." This is not severe ZTV, so what they mean by "dealt with swiftly" is "told to stop breaking labour laws, given some time, given warning, given more time, stopped giving new orders, given even more time and if after three months they have not stop then they gotta go". Because yes, they do terminate those who don't meet their standards. Their standards are just in the gutter.

HOW IS THE COMPANY STRUCTURED? While falling down this rabbit hole I came to the realization that Shein is the Uber of fashion. It's just the gig economy all over again. Let me explain. Unlike traditional fashion companies, Shein has outsourced even the sewing of the clothing. Shein itself is an app company, like Uber, though they technically do design their own clothes. I say technically because they have been repeatedly accused of copyright infringement to the point where they are now sued for racketeering. Allegation from the lawsuit:

"Shein has grown rich by committing individual infringements over and over again, as part of a long and continuous pattern of racketeering, which shows no sign of abating."

It relates to the other reason why I say their only technically design too, because a huge amount of their designs are also outsourced. In their sustainability report, they boast about how their SHEIN X program is meant to "empower" young designers to get their business off the ground, by taking their designs and using them for their clothing productions. This sounds a lot like SHEIN X designers are gig workers. They are basically just designers for Shein, but oh no they are not workers, labour laws won't apply! Shein specifically targets young designers, even students, so it's clear that they really just want impressionable people desperate for money and work experience. Obviously they won't get much money for their designs, since there's such a massive flood of products and designers, Shein says they have 3 000 designers in SHEIN X, and the products are so, so cheep. It's the exact same thing as with Uber and the like, they put their "workers" into competition with each other. To tie it back to the lawsuit, they use these third party designers as fodder against accusations of copyright infringement. They did not steal the design from the independent artist, they are just the platform provider.

This is also exactly how they operate with their factories. When their massive production is spread across all the 5 400 small separate suppliers, they are forced to compete for scraps. They can't organize together to demand better pay or better working conditions, and Shein can act like they have no part in them. Moreover, due to their extremely low prices, Shein has to offer only really low rates for the production of their clothing. On top of that because of the contractor structure, the actual fanctory owners taken an extra cut from those low rates, leaving extremely little for the actual workers. The prices are so low, they demand inhumane working conditions. It's impossible to sell clothing in the prices Shein does and pay well for the workers, especially with their business structure. All the talk about technological innovation is also bullshit, because this gig economy competition model ensures that most of the gig workers (in this case factories) will stay poor, so they can hardly invest in the new technologies.

This model is also what Shein holds as their most significant sustainability claim, because it allows them to cut most inventory waste. Traditional fashion companies always have a significant overhead, because their supply must always be higher than demand, otherwise, they would loose customers to their competitors. Because Shein orders small batches from large amount of factories, they can change their production in real time, adjusting to the demand much quicker than any competitor. Yes, it means they have minimal inventory loss, but it's not actually efficient. Or rather not efficient in any other way than for maximizing profits. There is a massive amount of overlap of facilities, machinery, organization structures and bureaucracy, if we look at Shein's whole production, because the small factories are all producing same things, but because Shein drives them to compete with each other, they don't have to pay for that overlap. More than that, it's extremely inefficient way to maximize people getting clothed while minimizing materials. And I don't mean producing as much clothes as possible while minimizing materials, because that is what they are doing, but the goal shouldn't be as much clothes as possible, but maximizing everyone having enough clothing, which is much less that what we produce today. And if clothing was made to last instead of making as many of them as possible, even less could be made and still everyone would have enough clothes.

Shein's extremely quick rise to the top of fashion markets was due to how effectively they managed to use the pandemic for their advantage. During the lock-downs around the world, people spend increasingly more time on their phones and social media, which Shein managed turn into their profit. They utilize social media and influencers effectively for marketing. Their platform also uses many of the same psychological tricks social media uses to keep customers scrolling and consuming. This is on itself is not at all new, but because of their business model, they turned attention into sales and sales into more attention. All that combined with their ability to response in real time to new trends and scale production extremely quickly, turned any new trend in social media into hype and micro-fashion cycles, which they would burn through increasingly fast. Their competitors wouldn't even have the time to get into that trend before it would be replaced with a new trend. Then all they needed to do was to contract new small factories, they didn't even have to spend time and money to built them, and they could take over the fast fashion market.

Shein's effect won't stop there though. Their competitors will and are already starting to adapt their methods. It means quality of clothing will keep getting worse, the whole industry will keep increasing their carbon emissions and the working conditions from cotton farmers to designers will get worse as gig economy spreads in the industry. I'll talk more about this in the conclusions of the second part, but to fix this, there needs to be government intervention. It's good that there's a lawsuit over their wider practices, not just a singular act, but it won't be enough. If they don't face significant consequences, every other company will take note that they can profit off of (allegedly) systematic crimes.

IN CONCLUSION Shein as a company is a glorified optimization algorithm which only real function is to drive up consumption and in exchange take all the profits from everyone else's labour. They use the modern classic Uber model to take the neoliberal principle of outsourcing risks and responsibilities to it's logical conclusion. Their extremely exploitative business model only works if their designers and factories and other gig workers break laws. They do the absolute bare minimum to comply with law and (allegedly) not even that when they believe they can get away with it by blaming others, which is fucking bad indictment of those laws, since my god they are terrible. Their greenwashing propaganda is honestly laughable, it's a joke and they must know it. It feels more like gaslighting than propaganda.

#this is not exactly what i usually write about but one of the reasons i care about historical fashion is because i care about sustainability #fashion #sustainable fashion #environment #climate crisis #shein #fashion industry #shein clothes #fast fashion #slavery mentioned #genocide mentioned

[skyeslittlecorner]

Hi!! I love your work too much and it's the first time asking for a request but I need more baby leviathan 😭 I just can't, he's so cute and breaks my heart so much 🥺 I just want to hug him and comfort him. Could I have a little more? 👉👈

(Sorry for the bad English, I'm still learning since it's not my native language 😔)

Hi dear! Don't worry, your English is good! Sorry it took me so long, life got to me. But, it's finally time to write this lovely request. I made it a little longer than I planed, and I hope it will make up for the wait🧡

Words: ~700

Perfect from every point of view | Leviathan

Have you ever had a dream that you didn't want to repeat? A nightmare that has plagued you all your life? A trauma that you didn't want to forget, only to honor the memory of those who passed away? 

If not, imagine the cold. The Arctic cold goes through your entire body, as if you jumped into an ice hole in the middle of winter, drowned in icy water with a thick layer of ice above the head. These were the feelings Leviathan had when he looked at his baby hands.

Turned into a child. What for? Why him? An injustice he couldn't understand. Especially with his childish mind. It's not fair. It shouldn't be like this, he's the king, he can't be like this! No one can see him like that.

Although he was used to spending time in his office, today it seemed unusually empty. Somehow greater and dreadfully quiet. The furniture was a bit bigger, the footsteps were a bit louder. He even kicked Foras out so he wouldn't come any closer. Levi supposedly knew that his subjects wouldn't do anything to him, he could always hang them, but...  was afraid, and didn't want to admit it to himself. So when the door creaked, he raised his hand, ready to hang the unaware poor guy, but nothing happened.

“It’s just me.” 

A voice, unusually gentle, cut through the silence. Only after a while the boy carefully lowered his hand and turned around, still not coming out from behind the coffin. But he saw. It was you. Stood in the open door, smiling casually. 

Something made him want to trust you. That's good? Bad? Rather bad, after all you can't trust anyone.

“Can I come in? I have something that kids on Earth love. Do you want to try it?” You didn't get an answer, but you thought about it too. “No one in hell has ever tried this.”

With this promise, you managed to tickle his uniqueness.

“Nobody?”

“No, and certainly not made by me.”

Finally, a small, horned head popped out from behind the coffin and looked at you. Enemy? Friend? You were deemed the latter and invited in.

Of course, chocolate-covered bananas weren't the height of culinary genius, but you didn't have time to think or do anything else. Fortunately, the child didn't ask. He just tried thickly covered with cocoa pieces of fruit, and occasionally flinched at a sound you couldn't even hear. The innocent look reminded you of a scared deer, and the sharp facial expressions of a starved, tortured dog. 

You wondered if he would eat this little treat as an adult, or would he despise it? Although currently he looked like he was just eating stress. Or like he actually remembered starving when he was in the cage. You brushed shiny strands of hair from the fair forehead. He let you. Seeing so much terror and pain in those crystal yet dull eyes, you wanted to wrap your arms around him and protect him from the world. Yes, the adult was an asshole, but... You'll think about it when he'll be an adult again. You hoped that you would both just forget about this episode like it never happened and continue to lovehate each other. 

“I’ll spend time with you, okay? You will let me?”

Another moment of consideration passed before he nodded. A lazy afternoon together awaited you, just for you to fall asleep in a coffin together.

꧁:･ ✡ ･:꧂

When Levi opened his eyes in the middle of the night, everything was back to normal. You were finally in his arms and not the other way around. Smaller, more fragile, more delicate. Almost everything... from the one percent threat you had been before, you were now none at all in his eyes. Human, a creature full of doubts and capable of lies, chose to live honestly, full of care and warmth. Truly devilish. 

He hugged you tighter and kissed you tenderly on your forehead and then on your nose. As he fell back to sleep, his tired brain recalling a vision that he fortunately had no memory of when he woke up the next morning. Jealousy would consume him. But now? Now in his perfect arms lay the most perfect being.

#whb #what in hell is bad #whb leviathan #skye's little talk

[tomorrcwz]

only direction; ødegaard

pairing: martin ødegaard x fem!reader

warning: angst w a slightly cute ending (also first time writing an angst and not proofread !!)

rina's masterlist

it shouldn't go the way it did, it wasn't even supposed to happen — it was supposed to be a happy ending for the pair of you, like orpheus being desperately devoted to his beautiful eurydice or marie curie keeping on working on her husbands and her own science researches even after his death.

you already had suffered, yet the world couldn't stop the misery, presenting you with an apocalyptic kind of shit.

martin and you had given each other everything since day one, always supporting one another, fighting together but nothing good lasts forever.

Your grandma once said to you that you're only kids, the first love's always going to be a shadow following you around, you'd have to look over your shoulder to spot it, — a reminder if you will say so —, however the heartbreak wasn't something she thought worth of mentioning.

oh the heartbreak. the norwegian and you weren't a romance people fantasized about though you had been content and in love. As you grew within age, the problem started to announce themselves — when you fought, you fought like lions, clashing and making up afterwards.

Holding on the idea of love — desire, together being stronger, almost like winners, and comfort —, neither of you understood how love could get lost in years of being partners. How would someone realise the feeling after seven years? Would you even step forward and admit it? Would you even find another partner, fall in love?

So many questions and you won't get answers if not committing to the true feelings.

You both had been talking about the near future; a wedding, a bigger house, even kids were on the list. Adult things, a list society had written out to all the "traditional" couples. In a sense the blonde footballer and y/n were the subject; wearing the pink glasses, you had definitely talked about it.

But then again life happens. You started to see each other less, neither of you taking the time for the other which resulted in screaming battels. Those also took place when for example Martin put a clothing article of yours away or not talking about little things like buying small trinkets and weekly meal planning.

The more you stressed about talking about the next stage of your relationship, the more toxic it got, so one day you decided to break. You knew Martin would never step up, not having the heart to say those words. But someone had to before you'd grow old and miserable.

Thats the starting point; Wednesday evening in the middle of mai. With the back to you the norwegian watched the london traffic, staying silent and waiting for you to speak. Both of you felt the tension in the air, holding on the last minutes of the delusional thing that you called a loving relationship.

Taking a deep breath, you starred at his back. The words burned on the tip of your tongue.

"Martin, you know that we're not the same anymore", you spoke. Nervously, you smooth out the fabric of you shirt, clearly in search of a reaction but the man didn't do anything which in return frustrated you. Weren't you worth a reaction, a word or a gesture?

"I do love you though, but this is hard. This", you pointed between the pair of you, despite him not looking at you, "this is breaking us."

Finally turning around you could see tears shining in the blonde's eyes — a sight you hated to witness. It didn't matter how often you saw him silently crying, it broke a piece in you. Before you feel in love with him, he had been your best friend, your day one, your ride or die.

"Say it y/n, say words", he requested in a exhausted tone.

Tears started to escape your eyes, rolling down your cheeks.

"I fell out off love", you cried, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to, it simply happened." Repeating the apology whilst breaking completely down you didn't notice how Martin made his way up to you. Gently, he pulled you in his strong arms, caressing your back, letting you cool down.

After a while your tears dried up but you stayed in his arms, enjoying the feeling of your head resting against his chest. His heart beat like crazy; he'd announce the final words, that you were sure about.

"I fell out off love, too, y/n", he confirmed, "I'd like to make a promise, if that's alright with you?"

You only nodded, not finding your voice.

"If we're going to decide to start a relationship again, we'll not stress about what others think is the best for us, okay? We fought and fought, and still we lost", kissing the top of your head Martin continued," I'd like us to be at least civil, staying in contact — remember when you promised, you'd always be my friend first? Hold onto it, I can't lose you."

"I promise, skatten min."

#football imagine #football x reader #football blurb #footballer one shot #martin ødegaard imagine #martin ødegaard x reader #Martin ødegaard blurb #martin odegaard fic #arsenal imagine

[visceravalentines]

I hit 100 followers this week, which is WILD.  To celebrate, we interrupt the deluge of House of Wax nonsense for the softest, fluffiest Michael Myers fic ever penned.  Inspired directly by this art by the talented @stabbyhandsmcmike.

Spa Night

How tense do you think those big murdery shoulders are?  I bet you could help with that.  

Rating:  Explicit/NSFW, minors DNI

Length:  1.5k

CW:  brief smut, oral, just enough blood

GN!Reader POV

Although it cannot be said that Michael Myers has a particularly healthy outlet for negative feelings, he is generally good at communicating to you when he has emotional needs that cannot be filled by a knife in someone’s chest. While his definition of self-care is patching up bullet wounds with duct tape, he seems to have comfortably adjusted to the idea that he can come to you for healthier outlets like movie nights, art supplies, blow jobs.  

However, you notice that he has been sleeping even less than usual lately. He goes out every night and comes back blood-soaked.  You get the sense he is taking on bigger and bigger targets – groups, maybe, or even someone close to his own size.  He doesn’t often sustain injuries, but he comes home one night with two broken fingers, the next with a broken nose and a split lip.  You inquire; true to form, he does not answer.  He shrugs off your worries like they are small and irritating insects. But you can tell he is troubled. Whatever instinct drives him into the night has been restless and relentless.  

So on Friday night, when he barges through the door dripping so much blood he leaves footprints on the kitchen floor, you are prepared.  

“Welcome home,” you beam despite the mess.  He looms over you, pulls off his gore-flecked mask, takes your chin in a sticky red hand and kisses you hungrily.  “I have a surprise for you.”  

Michael backs off, immediately wary.  He does not like surprises.  He prefers to be the surprise.  

“It’s okay,” you say, wiping the blood off your face with your sleeve. “It’s nothing too new.  I just know you’ve been stressed lately.  I want to help you relax.”  

He cocks one eyebrow and tucks his fingers into the waistband of your pants, tugging you closer.  

“No, not that, not yet,” you laugh.  “Let me show you.” ��

He furrows his brow and follows you up the stairs to the bathroom.  You turn to watch him take it all in:  the steaming bathtub still filling, the candles perched on ledges around the room, the dish of assorted Halloween candy.  Michael looks at you blankly.  

“I know you don’t like a lot of fuss, but I just want you to try it.  I think it might help.  Hey – no candy unless you get in the tub.”  

He scoffs and continues reaching past you, snagging a marshmallow circus peanut and stuffing it in his mouth.  

“Come on, baby.”  You take hold of his zipper and pull it down his chest.  “I’ll get in with you.”  He’s still working that marshmallow over but seems invested.  He shrugs out of the jumpsuit and strips off his shirt, both of which you take immediately to the washer.  You’ve learned that blood comes out best when washed quickly.  

When you return, he has lowered himself into the bath and is picking candy corn out of the bowl.  Ribbons of red spiral through the water and turn it the color of grapefruit.  He watches you undress with that steady, covetous stare that still makes you tingle.  Before you get in, you queue up a playlist on your phone:  death metal, but it comes through your Bluetooth speaker at an agreeable volume.  

He does not like it when you step into the tub behind him, until you slide your legs along either side of his hips and gently pull him back against your chest, which he likes very much.  He settles in comfortably and you know you lucked out having a bathtub just barely large enough to accommodate his nearly seven-foot frame.  

“I’m gonna add some bubbles if that’s okay with you.”  

He pops a piece of licorice in his mouth and runs his hand up your leg, which you take as an affirmative.  

The water churns up the bubbles until you ask him to turn it off, which he does with his foot.  He runs his fingers through the foam and you are pleased that he seems to have relaxed a bit already.  The man is a sucker for trash candy and physical contact.  You cup water in your hand and let it dribble out over his chest, rinsing off the blood in runnels.  

“What do you think?” you ask, cupping his pecs in both hands.  

He squeezes your calf.  

“Not so bad, huh?”  

He flicks water off his hand and sweeps his index finger through the flame of a nearby candle.  You roll your eyes and reach for the candy.  He slaps your hand away.  

“Hey now.  Can I have a candy corn?”  

He shakes his head and hands you a piece of Dubble Bubble.  When you bite into it, it feels like it’s a million years old.  Why does it always feel like it’s a million years old?  He takes one too and quickly blows a bubble.  

“Wow, I didn’t know you knew how to do that.”  

He snaps the gum indignantly.  

With great care, you trickle a little water onto his head.  “Will you let me wash your hair?”  

He cranes his neck back to look up at you and closes his eyes.  You set about thoroughly wetting his hair and then massaging shampoo through his scalp.  When he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, you smile.  You take your time rinsing out the suds, combing in conditioner with your fingers, rubbing circles into his temples.  He snaps his gum one more time before taking it out and sticking it to the side of the tub.  

“Michael,” you scold, “you know you can swallow your gum.  It’s not going to stay in your stomach for seven years or whatever.”  

He gives you a look that reassures you, you are a fool, then closes his eyes again to let you rinse out the conditioner.  

When the water begins to cool, you urge him up and drain the tub.  Under a warm shower you wash off all traces of blood properly from both of you.  He boxes you in between his arms and kisses you, wet ringlets hanging around his face. He tastes like so much sugar.  His hand wanders between your legs and he strokes you until your thighs shake and you buck against the wall.  

“This night is not about me,” you tell him without conviction.  

He sucks at your neck, unconvinced.  Of course it’s about you, because he is about you.  

“Come with me to the bedroom, I have a few more things planned.”  You do not need to tell him twice.  

He reclines on the bed and lets you take him with your mouth and hands.  When he’s close he grips the back of your head, his abdomen clenching, sheets balled in his fist.  After he finishes, he gazes at you through half-lidded eyes with his head tossed back on the pillow.  

“Beautiful boy,” you murmur as you crawl up and sit against the headboard beside him.  “Will you let me massage your back?”  

He looks at you with lazy curiosity.  

“You just have to roll over,” you tell him.  

Michael obliges, bunching his pillow up beneath his chin.  

“This might be a little bit painful.  I’m sure you have a lot of knots.  But it’ll feel good, I promise.”  

You begin to work him over, starting at the small of his back, knowing his shoulders are going to be a minefield of tension and deciding it would be best to build up to those.  You rub a lotion into his skin that smells like bergamot and citrus.  Some of his scars are raised beneath your fingers, others are so old they have melted flat into his flesh.  He is still and quiet until you reach his upper back, and then he grunts and rolls his shoulders as you tackle knots that have been there so long, they have become features of his anatomy.  

You keep waiting for him to get fed up and push you off of him, but he doesn’t, merely clenches the pillow and groans.  There are so many ways he’s never been touched, so many things you get to do first for him.  

You conclude by very tenderly pushing your thumbs along either side of the vertebrae in his neck.  He never lets you touch his neck, but tonight the growl he releases into the pillow is almost a purr.  

“How do we feel?” you ask.  He turns his head to look at you out of the corner of one eye.  You have never seen such naked adoration in his gaze.  You’ve also never seen him look so relaxed, so comfortable.  You smile and brush his curls off his forehead.  “Ready for bed, I think.”  

He shifts just enough to let you scoot underneath him, settling into his favorite position, sprawled on his stomach between your legs with his head nestled in your chest.  You comb your fingers through his hair until his breathing deepens and your serial killer, eased of his demons at least for the time being, sleeps at last.  

#my writing #michael myers x reader #michael myers x you #michael myers fanfic #halloween fanfic #slasher fucker #slasher fanfic #michael myers fluff #minors dni

[hertzwritings]

All is fair in books and war

A/N: It’s the end of monday, which marks the end of one-shot weekend - and what better way to do it than with a request? This is from @one-sweet-gubler who’s literally the best for requesting and wanting my writing! Hope it pleases you! Request: You always know what I want! So I’m back! Can I get a fluffy Henry. Like uber duper fluffy. Life has been kicking my butt and I just need all the fluff and comfort.

You can buy me a coffee here, and I’ll write you a personalized drabble, one-shot or multichapter fic – whatever you want, you get!

Remember, feedback feeds the soul and my requests – and askbox – are always open – there’s no limits, because I am me and I have none! Love y’all so much, thank you for being part of this crazy ride.

MASTERLIST

ASK ME ANYTHING/REQUESTS

Pairing: Henry Cavill x female reader

Contains: language, fluff, Henry being a straight up puppy dog

W.C.: 1.550

 All is fair in books and war

 Persuasion

He couldn’t stop looking at you as you walked around set, greeting every, single new person – cater, PA, runner, actor – everybody got a hug and that smile, that graced your lips in the same way, as the sun would light up a day, when it peeked out from behind clouds. Your eyes twinkled and you were talking like you weren’t bathed in fake blood and a thin shirt in minus degrees.

He couldn’t stop the smile on his lips, when he watched you like that. Every scene with you made him feel just a little tight around the chest, every time your character had to touch him, his breath hitched, and your eyes found him in a way, that made him long for you. Your conversations between scenes flowed effortlessly, as if you had known each other forever, simply catching up, and he looked forward to every conversation, you had, however brief. At some point, your hand found his shoulder, bicep, hand and squeezed gently whenever you talked to him. He found yours as well. You talked into the early hours of the morning, hushed whispers on the phone as you both laid in different beds. Press was becoming more and more a fight about who could flirt the most to make the other one blush, and you both sat in the green rooms and laughed lightly at the many edits about “Henry and Y/N being lovesick idiots for 5 minutes straight” that poured out from fans – he enjoyed looking at the tiny screen with you, because your laughter was like a breath of spring, while you were sitting so close, you were almost in his lap.

At one point, an interviewer had asked about the edits and how much truth there was to them, and you had giggled, and he had turned slightly to you. “You know, maybe they have something right.” He had said with his heart in his throat. You had looked surprised. “Oh, really?” He nodded, the interviewer following the conversation with wide eyes. “Why aren’t we something?” “That’s a really good question. Want to be my lovesick idiot?” You had asked. “Always.” He replied with a smile, that rivalled the sun.

North and South

It was funny, how love worked. He fell in love more and more each day, every day proved something new he could love; at first, it was the bigger things. Like how you always made sure he was okay during press and stressful days. The way you hugged him like you wanted to crack his back, because he had told you once, that the squeezing grounded him. The way your pinky always wrapped around his when you were out. Then it became the way your smile was different when you woke up versus your smile at the end of the day. The way your eyes would light up like you were seeing a wonder of the world, whenever you caught his eyes. You learned chess for him. He read out loud to you. You had endless discussions about nothing and everything because you kept him on his toes – you were north and south but fit perfectly together like pieces of a puzzle. He loved waking up with you in his arms. No matter how you fell asleep, you always woke up, curled into him, face boring into his chest and your arms around him – you told him it was because it made you feel safe. He enjoyed your weird coffee-orders, that changed just as often as one would change socks. You loved wearing his button-downs, calling them shirtdresses. He laughed at that, because they weren’t and you were swimming in them, the fabric simply swallowing you.

He asked you to move in with him on a rainy Saturday night, the rain rushing down in droves outside of your little bubble. You were huddled against his side, Pride and Prejudice opened on your lap, snuggled under a blanket.

You had smiled at him in that way, the one where the corners of your eyes crinkled and your nose scrunched up, the right side of your lips curling before the left and he – in that very moment – realized how blessed he was because he met you and you chose him. He felt the insurmountable weight of the words of love resting on his soul, chaining him to this place, this couch, this very moment, and he’d have it no other way. You had said yes.

A room with a view

Yes, Henry considered himself lucky. He had a good life, a good job, and now, he had you. You, standing in front of him wearing a white dress that you had bought from the internet and flats, a bunch of garden flowers in your hands and your smile, that everlasting part of perfection, etched on your face. You had decided to marry in your backyard. He had agreed, just wanting to call you by his last name. He didn’t care how or when, but simply wanted you to be completely his. So, here you were, surrounded by a ragtag group of friends and family, as you both laughed and danced and sang and drank, joy beaming from every cell in his very being. It was the easiest yes, he’d ever given, and whenever he looked down at your intertwined fingers and saw the silver band rest on your finger, a sense of pride and belonging filled him; you were his as he was yours, a forever that couldn’t start soon enough and would end all too soon, even if you’d both live to become 200 years old. Life was simply too short to see and love every facet of you and soak in the reality of your warmth and love, simply too short to experience all of you. Eternity wouldn’t last for long enough, he thought, gazing out on the darkened garden covering in string lights and candles. Eternity seemed like too small a word, like the infinite universe seemed to little, when he compared it to you; for him, you carried universes bathed in endless stars and moons and suns, shining so brightly, he sometimes felt blinded. You were as vast as an endless sea, the depth of you too deep to fully grasp, and he would fall forever, if it meant he was falling into you.

Yes, whatever souls were made of, yours and his were made of the same.

The age of innocence

It didn’t matter how many years would come to pass, nor would it matter much that gray had begun seeping into the brown locks of his hair. He was still laughing and loving like a teenager with you. The endless array of edits, videos and tweets about him being a fool in love made both of you laugh, and later, it would prove to be a piece of your life together, you both used to show your children how you fell in love. Henry cared little about life outside of the family, they had created together; your daughter, who was a spitting image of him and your son, who looked like your grandfather, Kal and you and Henry had made up this perfect constellation of stars, that was meant to shine brighter, when they were lined up next to each other. it was mostly chaos confined in a house, all contained carefully by mother’s love and father’s eyes – the two children were truly, a perfect match of the two of you and it made for a dangerous game, when they put their heads together.

You were always gentle, and he rather loved seeing how the lines of your face became clearer with the years, how your stomach swelled with each child you bore, how your chest puffed with pride whenever the kids did something, you were proud of. He was still in love with you, never falling into the pace of just loving, no, he – even after all these years – was still falling. Every time he thought he knew you as well as he knew his own face, you did something new; it was in the smallest of ways, but it was enough for him to see you in a new way yet again. He never realized just how much the word love meant until he met you. The universes aligned, planets stopped and stars collided in your eyes, his heart fully and willingly in your hands, and he didn’t quite understand how anybody would ever think love was a word, that was enough for the all-encompassing feeling that settled in his very soul, every time he looked at you and the children. No, love seemed too small, too gentle for the way his body would move with yours in perfect synchronicity; nothing would ever be enough to accurately describe the way he felt for you.

The children were running around in the same yard, you’d been wed in, and you sat on his lap, a blanket covering the both of you, leaning against his chest, when he kissed your cheek and watched the kids run rampant with Kal.

Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but looking outward together in the same direction, he mused, remembering your recently favorite author – another favorite, that would change at the speed of the wind.

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

TAGLIST:  @acaceta @a-skov @angelmather1 @cooldreamlandsandwich @doubletriplepowerbomb @est1887 @enchantedbytomandhenry​ @fionnthebandersnacc @herroyalbubbliness @keiva1000 @kebabgirl67​ @luclittlepond @mis-lil-red​ @multifanficdom @one-sweet-gubler​ @pandaxnienke​ @perfunctory-username69 @sleutherclaw​ @sofiebstar​ @summersong69​ @spookyboogyuniverse​ @stardusted26​ @thereisa8ella​ @timetraveller4​ @thatonechickhere​ @themanfromu​ @thelastpyle​ @tragicphoenix13 @yourlocalhoney​ @wheretheriversrunintothesea​     

#henry cavill #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill reader insert #henry cavill fluff #henry cavill female reader #henry cavill x female reader #henry cavill x you #henry cavill x y/n #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill x you fanfiction #henry cavill x y/n fanfic #henry cavill x reader fanfiction #henry cavill rpf #henry cavill rpff #henry cavill reader insert fluff

[oh-for-fic-sake]

Okay but what happens if August is taking an interest in your crochet hobbie?

🤩🤩🤩🤩 omg omg yes! I may have gotten a little carried away with this 😅

When he first saw you crocheting he didnt know what to think. You looked like you were tying knots with a stick, but he didnt want to interfere youd show him what you were up to eventually.

What ever you were doing kept you quiet and happy. Plus it was cute watching you poke your tongue out when you were concentrating.

A few hour later you were infront of him bouncing excitedly and popped a tiny ball on his desk.

It wasnt untill he really looked he saw it had a little face on it, with a tash

You called it a stress ball and were over the moon with your creation. It was a little messy clearly the work of a beginner but he was touched. And it instantly became a fixture on his desk.

After watching you slowly make more and more tiny projects he decided he liked this little hobby of yours. It was both creative and usefull. Especially when you made your little wrist warmer.

Within a week he was an expert. He knew the difference between a boye hook or susan bates. He also knew the types of handles, swing hoom, comfort grip, long shaft everyrhing!

He had scared the hell out of the lady in the shop for even daring to suggest some $3.49 beginners metal hooks for his baby girl. He'd been so mad that he dropped all the things hexd picked out on the floor infront of her and walked out before he started cussing her out.

That shop had shut down now, tax evasion apparently.

Insead he'd gone online and ordered you the top of the line custom cherry wood, turned hooks with your name engraved on them, he also splashed out getting an insane amount of yarns and little wool crafting supplies.

He even spent a good few hours of reserach on the difference between chenille sharp needles and darning neesdles. In the end he got both

He would buy super expensive yarns for you to use, and began building you a little craft room.

He also bought up every cute stuffy pattern book he could find. And insisted you use the exact matching yarns and colours.

He would 100% help you when you have to rewind a skien of yarn because you got it in knots.... and then got you a wool winder.

9/10 he will have you next to him when he is home. Every single room has a big basket of yarn, a set of hooks scissors and stitch markers for you to make something.

The day you found chenille yarn was an expensive day for august. But he didnt care you were over the moon. He'd never realised how much some fluffy yarn could mean to you.

He was proud of you when you began making the bigger toys and overcome issues with the safety eyes. Youd gotten a mini pink gluegun and stuck the pieces together.

And the chenille didnt blister your fingers like the other coarse yarn! So you could crochet all day every day if you wanted to!

He quickly began his own collection of mini stuffies in his office and is constantly stealing more from your completed projects. Just because he likes having a timeline of your progress.

He adors the fact you have a hobby away from technology. Something about his babydoll reviving an old craft made him proud.

He even let you try to teach him a few stitches but for the life of him he couldn't get the hang of it. And dont even mention the whole pattern thing. Just no.

He makes requests, new gloves, a pair of slippers, hat scarf. Anything he can think of that you could make for him. He loves how excited you get when your making something he wants.

I think he'd start instilling no tech days. Twice a week there woudl be no screens or phones. Just him reading out loud as you crochet next to him.

When you finally ran out of room for your dolls he'd suggest you sell them online.

You werent sure at first but after the first two sell your over the moon. Youd never know he had been promoting your stuff to some of the women in the office.

Before you know it your his little business baby. Running a tiny stuffie empire making your cute toys and selling them online. Youd even gone into the rattle business~

Yes he had gotten you one of those big leather 'boss chairs' in pink for your craft room. And no he didnt regret it you looked adorable in it.

August absolutly adores your hobby, and is completely supportive of his tiny baby dolls shop.

Others might frown on him encouraging in your yarn hording but he didnt care. He'd much rather you be addicted to fluffly skiens of yarn, then alchol.

#ask lexi #perfect ask is perfect #here is a headcannon #fluffy headcanon #august walker #august walker x reader

[hongjoongscafe]

Stay with me

Bonus 2 {serieslist}

|In the sunset|

Pairing: hamsterhybrid!hongjoong×reader

Genre: fluff, angst, smut.

Summary: she couldn't help but adopt the sweet and shy but stressed hybrid. Will he be able to open up?

Word count: 2.4k+

Note: this is the gift I was gonna post on the 4th or 5th but I couldn't wait🤭 this baby turned one on the 24th of August but I was busy with drabble week. I wanted to write something about beach related in the original story but it didn't fit anywhere so here it is. The pringles idea was by @cheline 😆. I'm probably never gonna stop updating this baby. I love it too much to not think about this. So yeah. If you are interested in bonus parts as well, lemme know I'll add you to the taglist.

Masterpost

ATEEZ masterlist

*Do NOT repost, plz*

"Joongie?" You looked for him at the beach where your mat was filled with snacks and some alcohol-free drinks. "Ah, I just left him for a minute, and he is already lost."

Huffing, you started collecting the finished wrappers from the mat that you both fest on right after getting there. As you picked the Pringles can, it felt a bit heavy. You shook it and a thumping sound came from it. Looking inside, you found Hongjoong in his hamster form in it. He was looking up at you with his wide hamster eyes. His tiny body was covered in crumbles. 

"Joongie! Why are you in this!? I almost threw you with the garbage!" You tossed him out in your hand and cleaned his tiny frame and set him under the towel so he could transform back and wear his clothes without flashing the little kids around. 

Hongjoong wore his swimming trunks and sat up straight on the mat. "I was trying to get to the last bits of the chips," he mumbled with a cute pout. 

You sighed and giggled, "you could have flipped it around on the paper plate and gotten to those."

Hongjoong's mouth gaped at the realization. "Oh." 

You laughed at his cuteness. Well, at least you got to see him in hamster form. Although it has been two years since he finally returned and got the job. He was more than comfortable being in his hamster form around people. He cared less and thought about himself and you more. Anybody could see the visible changes in him. 

Physically he was great. His muscles built up well along with his health. There was a natural glow on his face and the dark circles that once existed were nowhere to be found. He talked more and participated in activities. He even started practicing boxing with the help of Jungkook who was more than happy to help him out. Namjoon helped him in studies that he enrolled in after five months of getting a job. Hongjoong wanted to have a degree and do bigger things. He was enthusiastic about being successful after the drastic chapter of his life closed.

Mentally… He was recovering well but still had some issues to discuss with his therapist. He always had bad anxiety and nightmares all the time. It freaked you out and made you wonder how even is he working with all of that on his plate. So you talked about therapy to him. Although he was uncertain, he went to a couple of them, and then he felt like his pressure was being removed. As tired as he got after one of those, he felt like he was organizing his trauma and folding it. He kept those pieces with him deep inside his mind and placed the love and acceptance he now got above them. There were still times when you woke up in the middle of the night listening to him heaving for the air or sobbing or crying for help in his nightmares. There were years and years worth of trauma he was carrying; it doesn't go away in just a couple of years.  

"Anyway, shall we go, or do you wanna stay here for a while?" You asked as you finally collected all the garbage. 

"I think we should go for now. We will come back to watch the sunset," Hongjoong got up and helped you with the basket and the mat. It was nice and breezy. Seonghwa and Wooyoung selected a perfect place to get married. 

Yes, they both were getting married here at the beach. Wooyoung always loved going to the beach. They had many memories of the beach hanging on their walls back home. Well, their previous home. They bought a new house, much closer to yours. 

Both of them tried to look in the city for a new house but it never worked out. The peacefulness and love of the village were missing there. Hongjoong and you were there too. In the end, who would leave a loving family behind? 

"I still can't believe he asked me to be his best man," Wooyoung asked Hongjoong to be his best man right after they got engaged a year ago. Hongjoong was still thinking that he was joking. 

"Mm, well he loves you and thinks that you are his best friend. I don't see why he wouldn't. I think it's gonna be great!" You held his hand. 

Hongjoong chuckled, "remember Yunho's wedding?" He looked at you. "I fell in love with you that day."

You could never forget that day because that was the day when you realized that you were in love with him. And the author hopes you remember what happened in that part because that was the beginning of the new relationship. 

"How do I look, Joongie?" You shyly asked.

He took a moment. His cheeks turned into the deepest shade of red blush. He bit his lower lip.

"... Pretty, really, really pretty," he whispered while taking a step closer to her. He felt more comfortable after last night. Cuddling you made him more confident and more easy around you. That was another step of progress.

You were even more proud of him!

Hongjoong's compliment was all you needed. It made your heart flutter. Now, it was your turn to turn into the deepest shade of red blush.

Isn't this just wonderful? How it all started with a fearful hamster hybrid. Who couldn't even look at you in the eyes at first. But now... Oof. So perfect. Maybe the dreams you dreamt of are not so unapproachable. Just some patience and there is your happy hybrid.

"But look at you! So handsome! You should be illegal to roam around with that cute face of yours," you were practically drooling over him.

Hongjoong chuckled and said a little 'thank you'. He was so happy. Something he never thought he would never know how it feels. But now when he feels it, it's the best thing ever! There is nothing more exciting than having a family. A family who wants him appreciates him... Protects him. 'Whatever happened in the past was worth it. At least, I know the true value of a family and small happiness. At least I'm not like those other ungrateful kids who degrade their parents because they said no to buying the game they already have,' he thought. These thoughts brought tears to his eyes. He was happy…

"Hey, are you alright?" His visible teary eyes worried you.

Instead of answering, he smiled widely and hugged you tightly in his embrace. You were shocked at first but almost immediately melted in his warmth. The atmosphere around you two turned all pink. Many realizations hit at once. The main and the biggest one was that you are…

In love with your Joongie.

"Hug. Your hug that day made me realize that I am in love with you… The warmth, the belongingness, the scent, it all calmed me down. It was all I needed to know that I was in love with my Hamster Joong," you stopped and tip-toed to kiss him on the lips. His lips lingered for a few seconds there. 

"It was a perfect day," he whispered. The events of that day were vulnerable and hearty. 

"Indeed."

…

Seonghwa was standing at the altar, with teary eyes. His heart was beating fast and furiously. The amount of sweat his palms were creating might fill a pool for sure. You recalled his late-night rant about how he was feeling to get married in just a few hours now. 

"Y/n!!! I don't know how I am feeling!" The panic in Seonghwa's voice was quite prominent. 

"Seonghwa," your raspy voice from the other end reached his ears. You were sleeping peacefully in Hongjoong's arms when the God-forsaken ringtone rang, "it is going to be okay. Just go to sleep."

"How can I go to sleep!?" You removed the phone from your ear to save it from his shrill voice. 

"Like, I don't know? Close your eyes and yeah, that's all you need to sleep," you mumbled. 

"Y/n!" He exclaimed. 

"What?" You whined. 

"What if he changes his mind? What if my love is not enough?" The vulnerability in his voice made you worried. Even Hongjoong was wide awake and listening to the conversation. 

"Hey," you said while sitting up, "don't think like that. You guys are together for so long, even before you both met me. If this was to happen, he would have left long ago… I know it must be overwhelming but trust me, the moment you gonna see him, it will all fall in place."

Seonghwa's tears escaped as Wooyoung walked his way with a huge smile and teary eyes of his. They both looked into each other's eyes. Their drunken gaze didn't bother anyone. His rabbit ears were flapping happily on his head and you could see his bun of a tail wiggling in his slacks. 

The ceremony began and it was sealed with a heartwarming kiss. Your eyes were watery. It was emotional to watch two of your only best friends getting married to each other. They went through enough and this was the result of the love they grew along the way.

Everything fell in place, indeed. 

"Why is uncle Hammy crying?" Oh, did I forget to mention that Seonghwa and Wooyoung adopted two pretty bun babies? Well, yes they did. They were rescued two years ago. They found them in the worst condition by the street and they took them to the hybrid doctor who sent them to that same center where Wooyoung and Hongjoong were. The pair fell in love with little kids. A cute pair of a girl and a boy were looking too cute with the big ears that they were having trouble handling. They were four at that time and now they were six and adopted by the most deserving people. They officially became part of your family a year ago. 

"What?" You asked. 

"Why is Uncle Hammy crying?" Seori, the baby bun girl, asked. 

You looked at Hongjoong whose eyes were red and nose was dripping. You chuckled and wiped your tears, "it is because he is happy that your parents are finally together for life."

"Oh. But his nose is running. Nasty," she scrunched her cute nose. You silently laughed and poked her nose. 

Yechan, the baby bun boy, was looking at his parents with wide eyes as he tugged at his ears from giddiness. You took a few pictures of both of them. They were too cute. And you wonder how your kids will look—

Your eyes widened when you realized where your brain was headed. You looked at Hongjoong who was wiping his eyes. You weren't sure if he was ready for such a commitment. It is better if you hold your thoughts. 

…But little babies with cute ears and almost non-existent tails would be nice. Oky no! 

…

The after happenings went incredible. Everybody danced and sang. It was all nice and pretty. The sun started to set when Hongjoong pulled you out of the crowd and brought you to the beach. 

"Never want to miss this sunset," he sheepishly said. 

"Joongie! No. We can't be here. The reception is still going on," you reminded him.

"I know," he held your shoulders and looked deep into your eyes. "It won't bite if we are away for a minute. Just shh and be here with me both mentally and physically. Okay?" You nodded and stood there looking into his deep eyes.

Hongjoong stood beside you and looked at the setting sky. His features looked defined under the orange sunset. His silky blonde hair was ruffling from the ocean breeze. You could live like this forever. 

"I love how this feels," Hongjoong began. "Here being at the beach under the sunset with the person I love and trust the most," the sleeves of his dress shirt were rolled when he stretched them. "You know, I never even dared to think about a life where I was happy and had someone on whom I could lean. I was way too lonely back then. I think," he took a deep breath, "I was only exposed to the wrong people that I never thought about good people ever in my life…" he looked at you with exposure in his eyes, "until I met you." He chuckled and shook his head, "I felt like it all was a drama and you were one of them too. I have said that many times already. I was scared to accept what I felt and refused my instincts," the tears rolled down his cheeks that made you teary. His shaky voice began again, "I was a fool to not enjoy those times when I ran away from you and hid away. I wanna go back and embrace all the moments we spent together. I can't though but I do embrace those today and will do tomorrow and until my last breath…"

You wiped his tears as he wiped yours. "Why are you saying this?" You whispered. 

"Because I want you to know that you matter more than anything in my life. I'm insecure when you are not with me. But I'm safe when your hands are in mine. I feel empty every day when I go to work. But then I feel complete when we get together in the evening and spend the nights cuddled up under the sheets. I feel like suffocating when I don't get to touch you. But my heart feels content when you are pressed against me… Your scent keeps me sane and pulls me back. And you, you make me fall more for you. I wake up surprised every morning when I realize that I love you more than yesterday… y/n," he moved in front of you and pulled a tiny box from his slacks and kneeled, "I wanna feel safe, complete, content, and fall more in love every day with you. I can't wait anymore and I wanna make you mine forever… y/n… will you be mine forever?"

You violently sobbed and fell on your knees and hugged him. His face nuzzled in your neck as he left sloppy kisses on your neck. You both were trembling in each other's arms. 

"Say something, please. You are making me nervous," he faced you. 

"Yes!" Your voice came out high-pitched. "Yes! Joongie, yes! Wanna be yours!" You gave your hand to him as he swiftly decorated your ring finger with an Emerald stone ring. "I love you so much, Joongie! Thank you for trusting me," you hugged him again tightly. 

Hongjoong held you tight and pecked your lips before tucking your face back in his neck, "I love you for life and beyond…"

.....

Sanaa's note:

Well, I hope you liked your gift💓 I am gonna update this whenever I have time. None of my other works makes me as happy as this makes me. I always appreciate your feedback!

The behavior of all the characters is visualized.

Taglist:

@veneziamadness @cheline @jhmylove @sansmilkbread @sungiesangel @untitled76543 @bbc-minji-oc @tenelkadjowrites @hongjoongtrasher @paralumanniluna @shiningstar-byulxx

@ryo-84 @yunhosleftpinky @damselindistressanu @khjcoo @bikiniholic @playboygeniusphilanthropist @hippohippo @hwachu @solarswonderland @gayliljoong

@giulianacelestino @yeosangsbiceps @lose-lose07 @nymeriaaa @yoonjikim

*lemme know if you wanna be added to the permanent or specific taglist*

*original pictures are not mine, I just edited them*

Have a nice day/night💓

#ateez #ateez fluff #ateez angst #ateez smut #ateez hongjoong #ateez fanfic #kim hongjoong #ateez hongjoong angst #ateez hongjoong imagines #ateez hongjoong fluff #ateez hongjoong smut #ateez hybrid #ateez imagines #ateez au #ateez kim hongjoong #hongjoong #hongjoong fic #hongjoong x reader #kim hongjoong angst #kim hongjoong smut #kim hongjoong fluff #ateez fic

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Solar Opposites in Ultra Opposites Scene from “New Ultra Opposites Pt. 1”: Meet Master Smasher! (For @avaveevo)

Suddenly, Janice walks in upon as Terry and Randall gasp while Terry’s fake mustache falls of his face.

Janice: H’no hello Terry, I haven’t seen you y’know

Randall: Hi-I-I gets awestruck upon seeing Janice

Terry: Uh, Randall? Are you okay?

Randall: Oh uh clears his throat ahem. Nice to meet you uh-

Janice: Janice.

Cue the song “Dreamweaver”:

Randall: Whoa blushes

Terry: Dude. Don't tell me you're in love with her.

Randall: But she seem so nice

Terry: Well, she was my co-worker.

Randall: Wait? She is?

Janice: H'no, he's not wrong, y'know.

Randall: Wait? You used to work here Terry? What happened?

Terry sighs sadly and explains everything.

Terry: The Pupa had a huge meltdown!

Randall: He did?

Terry: Yeah. It turns out he wanted attention and we were forced give up sci-fi for our lives, which made our lives fucked up miserable! Our boss Mr. Sarner was even a dick!

Janice: H'no, I'm so sorry you had to go throught that, y'know.

Terry: It’s okay Janice. And the worst of all, Sarner is now now dead. I become the boss. But it went badly because it led to me and Korvo having a big fight. But we made up and we decided to give up our jobs because the Pupa doesn’t need all that.

Randall: I think you did the right thing.

Terry: Thanks. But, you don’t wanna how Sarner died

Randall: What happened to Sarner?

Terry starts crying.

Terry: tearfully A ping pong accident!

Randall gasps.

Randall: Oh my god! How?

Terry wipes away his tears.

Terry: Korvo and I wanted a ping pong table to make work less boring. So, we got people to sign a petition to have it under the boiler room and then, Sarner died playing ping pong!

Randall: If you don't mind me asking, how does someone die from playing ping pong?

Terry: Oh. You don’t wanna fucking know man! notices his fingers turning black Oh no! Not again! starts growing bigger and muscular and his skin starts turning black as his clothes rip into pieces

Randall: Terry?!

Then, Randall realizes that Terry is turning into his Mundane form because he got emotional and stress and backs away with Janice. Terry’s eyes starts glowing orange as he turns into his Mundane form and roars while banging his chest.

Janice: H'no, Terry, what happened to you, y'know?!

Mundane Terry breaths in and out while Korvo, comes in with a disguise of his own with Cherie, Nova and Montez and sees his husband transformed.

Korvo: Terry!

Korvo comes up and hugs his overwhelmed Mundane husband as he began to calm down.

Mundane Terry: Korvy...

Korvo: Oh I think this work place has brought up terrible memories of us working here huh?

Mundane Terry whimpers. Then, he breaks down crying while Korvo comforts him by soothing his face and gets out a tissue to dry his tears away.

Korvo: There there. It's gonna be okay, Terry.

Janice: H’no I had no idea Terry could do that y’know.

Korvo sighs.

Korvo: Actually he is half mundane. It runs in Terry’s family for years and as for my side of the family, we turn into monsters too.

Korvo turns into his super Shlorpian form and roars as he rips apart his robe.

Super Shlorpian Korvo: Ah...that's better.

Janice gasp.

Janice: What the fuck? points to Montez, Nova and Cherie Wait a minute are these three people?

Cherie: Oh, we’re friends of Korvo and Terry.

Nova laughs nervously.

Janice: What is going on and-

Janice suddenly sees a white board falling and suddenly lifts it up. The others gaps in horror.

Montez: Oh no. The peach n cream orb piece. It chose Janice!

Janiz: coming in What?!

Super Shlorpian Korvo: What are you doing here?!

Janiz: I was sensing the orb piece! Why?

Super Shlorpian Korvo: Just asking.

The orb piece fuses with Janice

Janice: Huh? There was a crystal under my outfit?

Then Janice starts glowing and she gets her own super suit with a superhero mask on her.

Janice/???: H’no what happened to me Y’know?

Janice then notices that she has her hair down for her super suit

Randall: blushes Whoa.

Mundane Terry and Super Shlorpian Korvo look at each other nervously, realizing it’s time to tell Janice the truth.

Mundane Terry: Holy shit. Did she just-

Super Shlorpian Korvo: sigh Yes. We have to tell her

Korvo and Terry turns back into their Shlorpian forms and transform into their superhero forms. Janice, or whoever she is now, flies in and gasp.

Janice/???: What? You’re Solar Flare and Legendary Super Shlorpian?

Solar Flare chuckles nervously.

Korvo/Legendary Super Shlorpian: Yes and the truth we didn’t move. We had to turn into humans to establish civilian identities so no one can find out it’s us.

Janice suddenly hugs Legendary Super Shlorpian.

Janice/???: It’s okay. I know you were trying to protect yourselves, but what do you mean by human forms?

Solar Flare and Legendary Super Shlorpian turns back into their normal selves and turn into their human forms. Janice gasp.

Human Terry: Okay. So now we need a plan.

Janice/???: What do you mean?

Janiz turns into her human form which made Janice gasp.

Human Janiz: Hey, Janice.

Janice/???: Wait? You’re an alien too?

Human Korvo: Yes. She is also my older sister.

Janice/???: H’no, I think I’m gonna faint, y’know.

Randall however turns into Ultra Man and catches Janice as she wakes up and grows shock. Janice and Ultra Man blush.

Janice/???: Oh you too?

Randall/Ultra Man: Yeah. points to Montez, Cherie and Nova So are these three.

Cherie, Montez, and Nova turn into their superhero forms.

Janice/???: Wait? So I’ll one of you now? Oh dear I need to think about this

Nova/Lady Roseus: Take time Janice. Right now, we have to find the other orb pieces before the Princess and her people gets hurt! Come on!

#solar opposites #solar opposites au #the ultra opposites #tervo #jandall #janice/master smasher #randall/ultra man #mundane terry #super shlorpian korvo #korvo/legendary super shlorpian #terry/solar flare #nova/lady roseus #cherie/agent red #montez/the master #dreamweaver #janiz solar opposites #janiz/lady super shlorpian #love at first sight #Spotify #ultra opposites

[silverloreley]

Happy holidays 🎄 I hope you're having a good time!

Anyway, let's begin.

For a long time now, I've been struggling with lack of motivation to write while I have inspiration in my head and because of this I got frustrated and ended up having a writer's block (also due to other factors like stress from family distress among other things) and not writing for a long time and now I'm currently beating up myself for it.

Another thing I had trouble is reading. I just read stories anymore, not even my favorite stories. I don't know what to do. Do you have any tips?

Lastly, I'm having trouble coming up with my writing style. So these are the styles that I liked the most:

I'm trying to incorporate these writing styles in my writing but I ......can't.

Okay, there is more than one issue here.

The first thing is that your personal style doesn't come out from imitation, it grows on its own. The more you write, the more you find your own voice, develop ways and phrases of your own, and so on. Imitation isn't a good way to go.

Studying other people's writing shouldn't aim to emulate them, but to figure out how is their voice and find yours in turn. It means you start to see patterns and learn how to build your own, or to recognize the ones you already have and improve them in a way you like.

It seems like you're trying to reach something outside your abilities, or that you perceive as such. The thing is, writing isn't linear for everyone. You have to pull out the ideas from your inspiration, put down in the way you can at the moment and fix them later. For many people, the bigger part of writing is not putting stuff down but expanding and fixing what you have. You are allowed to write a flat dialogue or a simple description at first and add the emotions of the character plus expand the descriptions of actions and places later on, and also enrich the dialogue itself as you go. Not everyone, if anyone, comes up with a perfect final product in just one sitting.

The problem with reading can be for so many things! Because you have too much to think about, or you changed tastes while growing, or you have new needs to explore, or you are simply too tired and need a rest. Until you figure out the reason, I'd say you either re-read something you used to like, or try something new altogether. If nothing works, you give yourself a pause, and then try again. There is nothing wrong with a break, stillness is important too.

I mean, I've been on hiatus for nearly 6 months from my most popular fic, and I have no time and motivation to go on with that right now, so I won't. I can lose readers, sure, and I know the fandom may die out a bit in the meantime, but I need that time off and I took it. No shame whatsoever, it's better to wait until I can work well on it than produce subpar work I will hate and will make me frustrated and hate a story that would feel like a chore. I feel sorry to make people wait, but I’d feel worse giving them a bad piece of writing.

With that I mean that your guilt is wrong. Not only it stresses you out more, but it’s wrong to beat youself over taking what you needed. Real life issues are always more immediate to us, it’s normal. Make peace with that and you’ll find back a bit of your drive and comfort.

#question answered

[wiesemyers58]

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[osiiinikeboy]

Sports bras: What Role Do They Play In Your Workouts?

Anyway, what is accepted and accepted by people is can sports bras be used as binders.

A lot of people think of sports bras as something only women use. But that’s not entirely true, as sports bras are an essential piece of gear for men, too. In fact, they can help you achieve better workouts and reduce the risk of injury. So what are the benefits of using sports bras? Here are four reasons you should start wearing one every time you work out: 1. They Can Reduce Swelling and Pain When you’re working out, your body goes through a lot of changes. Muscles get bigger, blood flow increases, and your body temperature rises. This all leads to increased pain and swelling in areas like the chest and shoulders. A sports bra can help reduce these symptoms by supporting your breasts and reducing the amount of pressure on your chest. This reduces the amount of pain and swelling you experience, ultimately making your workouts more comfortable. 2. They Can Help You Recover Faster The increased blood flow during a workout can cause some damage to muscles and joints. A sports bra can help protect these areas while you’re recovering by providing support and compression. This helps speed up the healing process and reduces the chance of future injury. 3. They Can Help

Benefits of Using a Sports Bra

When it comes to working out, many people think of wearing a T-shirt and sneakers. However, adding a sports bra can help support your breasts during vigorous activity, and can improve your posture. A study published in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" found that women who wear a sports bra during exercise have lower rates of breast pain than those who do not wear a bra. According to the study, this is likely because the sports bra creates greater pressure on the muscles surrounding the breasts, which in turn helps to reduce stress on the mammary glands. In addition to reducing pain, wearing a sports bra can also help keep your breasts more firmly attached to your chest while you are exercising. This will help to prevent them from bouncing around during movement, which can lead to discomfort and decreased attractiveness. Some other benefits of using a sports bra include: -It can increase endurance capacity -It can reduce chest compression during vigorous exercise -It can promote better posture

When Should You Use a Sports Bra?

When it comes to working out, you might think that wearing a sports bra is only for women. However, men can benefit from using one as well! A sports bra not only helps support your breasts during exercise, but it can also help reduce bounce and ease pain in the shoulder area. Additionally, wearing a sports bra during workouts can help reduce the risk of injury by minimizing movement in the wrong areas. So when should you use a sports bra? Here are four times when wearing a sports bra may be beneficial: 1. When lifting weights: A weighted workout is a great way to tone your entire body and wear a sports bra can help support your breasts while you lift. 2. When running: Running not only tones your legs and butt, but it also strengthens your chest muscles. Wearing a supportive sports bra while racing can help keep those muscles healthy and strong! 3. When doing cardio: Cardio is an important part of any fitness regime, but if done incorrectly it can lead to injuries like rotator cuff tears or bicep tendonitis. Wearing a supportive sports bra while doing cardio may help protect these injured areas and ensure that the session is safe for you. 4. When participating in strenuous activities: If you participate in strenuous activities like hiking or biking, wearing a sports bra can help reduce bounce and provide extra support for your breasts throughout the workout. Not only will this make the activity

Conclusion

Sports bras are an important part of any exercise routine, whether you’re working out to maintain your weight or trying to build muscle. They help distribute the pressure that is applied to the breasts during vigorous activity, so you don’t end up with pain and discomfort in those sensitive areas. Not only do sports bras help with your workouts, but they can also help improve your posture and support your bust while you’re sitting at work or watching TV.