#i am so excited to go back. but first i need to print more prints
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It's June! It's Pride! It's (my) Birthday!
The Introduction Spiel:
Hi, I'm Reyah! (any pronouns! no really, go for it!) On June 21st, I'm turning 32, an exciting and mysterious age to be!! (So I've heard)
Warning: This is a post asking for financial help, and if there's one thing I would ask is that if you read the whole thing: please reblog.
I'm a multiply-disabled queer person of color, a writer, artist, and photographer. I live with three of my best-good-pal-friends, (@renthony, @kryptidkhaos, and @natalieironside) and our collective army of pets.
We all know it's damned hard to be all these things at the same time under the capitalistic hellscape we're living under, and we/I am always in need of a lot of help with the existing.
I ended the month of May with some smaller bills left still to pay, but am thankful to say that June already had fewer bills than usual due, and the amount I need to start the summer off right is actually less than I was afraid it would be! Woohoo!
What I Make
I mentioned my artistic endeavors, let me show you them!!
Writing
I write less often than I'd like, but I share poetry and shorts, when I have them, on my Patreon!
You must be over 18 to pledge, as I have, can, and will again share Adult Content occasionally. Patrons pledging at least $1/month get access to all content. But most posts becomes free to access eventually. :)
When I do longer form content, I primarily write fantasy with a focus on queer brown characters with disabilities, mental illnesses, and disordered attachments. Because therapy is expensive, and writing is free.
Photography
I do wildlife and landscape photography, primarily, but you can also check out my portrait and event work on my website! You can purchase PRINTS HERE.
And because it's my birthday, I'm offering a 32% discount code for all my prints! The code is good from June 1st to July 1st!
A Note, if you purchase a print:
first off: thank you. (please feel free to send a photo of wherever you display it!!!)
secondly: this will not go towards the received totals on my financial need because Pixels doesn't pay out until nearly 2 months after the purchase. Funds made from sales will go towards future needs.
CODE: PDHHTR
Artwork
I've been exploring art, both analog and digital, a lot more lately, and have shared both process photos and final drafts on Patreon! Here are just a few examples:
I admittedly don't post on patreon as much as I wish I had the energy to, but I try to make at least one thing a month, provided I have the spoons and time.
Creativity is, like, a level 5 spell slot when you're disabled and impoverished, and I appear to have exactly One (1) of those available at any given time.
The Needs:
The Bills: $1,100
Yeah, we had to get here eventually. Since this post is already pretty long, I'm putting the rest under a cut.
More than half of this, as always, is just for the car payment and insurance that keeps the regular day-job-haver getting to said job, and all our medical appointments, errands, etc.
I still owe around $13,000 total on Johnny Car, but I think we all know that's just not a real number.
The rest of the funds would go toward paying the small subscriptions, for my various medications, and the regular attempts to whittle away slowly at the $4,300 worth of other debt.
($2,200 of back taxes, and $2,100 of credit card debt, and gods, do I mean slowly. Interest piles up so much faster than I can seem to whittle.)
If you're able and willing to help with paying the bills, direct donations can be made here:
PayPal | (link)
Venmo | (dovesndecay)
Cashapp | ($dovesndecay)
If you can, and only if you can.
The It Would Be Cools:
Since every dime that comes in goes primarily towards food and bills, there's little left afterward to be put towards other life necessities like clothes, toiletries, let alone things I just think would be nice/neat/nifty to have.
I have a High Priority wishlist. It's mostly art supplies, bulk toiletries, etc.
I'm woefully low on clothes, being short, fat, and trans, so very little of what I own actually feels good to wear so much as it simply covers my body. I have a wishlist of clothes that would be nice to have.
For everything that firmly lands under the "I just want it" category, I have an Enrichment list. It's mostly stuffies, but also games, room decor, hobby supplies, books, and stim toys.
Our household keeps a big wishlist for things we need, want, groceries, accessibility products, and everything in-between.
Okay, now what?
Well, now, I'm gonna ask that if you got to this point, and if you can't/don't want to do any of the things listed above, then please reblog this post.
The more people that reblog it, the more likely I'm able to pay my bills for one more month this year.
But if you don't, it's not like anyone's gonna know. I'm not omniscient, I swear.
Anyway, I don't expect anyone to do anything if you can't or even if you just don't wanna, but if you can and you're willing to, it means the world.
I didn't think this is where I'd be at 32. But I never really expected to get here at all in the end, and it's a lot nicer than I thought it would be. Mostly because I am surrounded by amazing people who have the capacity to be so much kinder than I will ever have the words to describe.
Thank you, and to all, a happy pride!
🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤
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they invented a new kind of tired you only feel after doing an artist alley
#anime central#acen#artist alley#not art#i have never been so happy to be tired before actually. oh my god. that was so much fun#and i've still got two more days#someone even said they found me From Tumblr On The Tags so there you go. HI PERSON WHO SAW ME FROM TUMBLR#YIPPIEEE#it was so fun to meet people and it was so fun when people went HEY *I KNOW YOU.*#i made fucking BANK today dude AND VASH EVEN GOT DONUT MONEY !!!!!!!!! MY WAIFU#i am so excited to go back. but first i need to print more prints#ONCE AGAIN i am at Anime Central in Rosemont Illinois at Booth H29 In the Artist Alley and i'll be here all weekend#NICE TO SEE EVERYONE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3 <3 <3#best first con and best first artist alley 8 years later. i love u ACEN. mwah mwah mwah
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Band-aids of death
Masterlist
Luke Castellan x Hades! reader (implied, fem)
Percy Jackson x Hades! reader (platonic)
Summary: Percy meets the bandaid dealer who has his friend so smitten
Warning: Absolutely non, teeth rotting stuff really, no use of y/n
author note: English is not my first language so I am sorry for any mistakes beforehand. I read the books long ago and I'm currently in the process of re-reading them, so some lore might be wrong. Also using what I remember from the show! Proofread by me and me only :(
word count: 1347
Percy has been at this camp stuff for a week now and he was just not loving it. From the overcrowded cabin 11 to Clarisse's relentless bugging, he just wanted to go home. This was his home now, yes, but that does not mean he can't yearn for better. And on top of all that, it seemed like he was good at absolutely nothing. If there was a competition at being bad at everything he would still somehow end up in second place.
Today was no better. Luke, Counselor of the Hermes cabin, has decided that maybe Percy could take on a sword fight. He couldn't. Not like he could go against the best swordsman in the last 300 years anyway.
After what felt like hours, Luke finally gave the boy a break and Percy finally felt like he could breathe. Only for a second that is, because his friend decided to take him to a new area of the camp.
Walking to a small building only lightly connected to the infirmary was rather ominous. While everywhere in the camp where people, this shack could be abandoned and he would not be surprised. His friend. However, walked faster than normally, seemingly excited to show him what's inside.
They stopped by the open door and Percy could finally see that it was not abandoned and the little two-story house was, indeed, occupied. Looking at his friend with suspicion, who now sports a wide grin on his face, Percy could not help but think there was more to it than Luke said.
Walking in, Luke chimes the bell that sits on the top of the door frame. The girl who, until now, was checking out the shelves of what seems to be medicine and chemicals turns around with a confused look. She wore the same ‘ camp uniform ‘ as everyone else, confirming to Percy that she was one of them as well. Although her shirt seemed to have switched color schemes and was black with an orange print of the camp name.
“ Hello Sweetheart, how's the inventory going?” Luke asks and pushes Percy slightly in front of him, not something he appreciates. The girl, unamused, does not answer his question. Instead, she answers him with her own.
“ What brings you here, Castellan? Last time I checked you did not need allergy medication.” Chuckle could be heard from his friend. Percy, not interested in their bickering, looks around the room. Small table by the door with a stack of paper, a black mysterious jar, and what Percy recognizes as an old land-line phone. One wall of the room was just a shelf with what he now knows for sure is medicine with a door at the end. By the window, there was an old medical bed, and next to it, stood, by Percy's standards, an unstable chair.
A hand on his shoulder snaps him out and he turns his head back to the girl. “ So what's wrong with you?” She asks and motions him to sit on what seems to be a more sturdy version of the same chair he just saw.
“ Other than that I suck at everything and my father not bothering to claim me? Nothing much really.” Laugher was heard from the two older campers.
“ No, I meant like, why are you here guys? If you were training with Lu here, you might have some scratches.” She points to Luke, who seems to be proud just of the fact that she acknowledges him. Before he can answer she continues,
“Although if you're seriously hurt, maybe you should visit the Apollo kids, I ain’t no nurse, really.”
“ No need for that, we just need some band-aids.” Luke proclaims and pats his chest where his heart is.
“ You have bandaids in your cabin, and I know for sure, I saw your siblings steal some. “ she snapped back softly at his friend.’ It's in their nature’ Luke says under his nose and takes a few steps to the girl putting his arm around her shoulders.
“ Sweetheart here is a terrible nurse-”
“Hey! I am an excellent necromancer!”
“Too bad that your patient is still alive, Sweets,” Luke argues back at the girl. She just shakes her head and walks behind her desk. Luke follows closely behind her like a magnet was pulling him over. Percy watches as she opens a drawer and pulls out the biggest box of band-aids he has ever seen.
“ What kind do you want, em…” She looks at him kinda awkwardly.
“Percy.” “ Right, Percy, do you want Spiderman band-aid? It's a big hit with the younger campers.” She smiles and pulls out an impressive collection of Spiderman band-aids.
“ Ah, no, normal ones are fine.” I watch as a pout appears on her face as she puts them back and starts to look through the box as if looking for something.
“I want the Spiderman one.” Chimes in Luke who is now leaning over this girl.
“ You can get the boring ones, Castellan, I don't care.” It was now Luke's turn to pout. “ What cabin are you from?” Percy asks, wanting to learn some more about the girl that has his friend so smitten. Her eyes look up at him before going back to her box.
“ I don't have a cabin, I sleep on the second floor. There is a staircase in the back.” She says as it is the most normal thing ever. Which it was, just not in camp half-blood. That confuses Percy, from what he learned at the camp so far, everyone that has been claimed either has a cabin or just sleeps in Hermeses one. So that is exactly why he asks.
“ Why don't you sleep in Hermes cabin?” The girl straightens her posture, seeming in thought. His friend hugged her from behind around her shoulders. They remind him of an old married couple.
“Well, there are cabins for the twelve Olympians. My dad has no throne on Olympus. He kinda does his own thing down under.”
“ Australia?”
“No Percy, the underworld.” She says though giggles and wiggles herself from the hug. She makes her way forward to Percy and stands in front of him carefully peeling parts of the band-aid.
“ Your dad is Hades?” Hum leaves her as an answer. Focusing on placing the band-aid right above his eyebrow where he scratched himself earlier during training with Luke. When she's done, she turns to a black jar on her table and opens it. To Percy's surprise, she pulls out a lollipop and gives it to him.
“You're good to go fighter, Don't stay here longer than you need to!” She sings and ushers the boy out of the chair and to the door. Percy turns to his friend,
“ Luke, are you not coming?” he asks waiting for him to answer. Luke gives him a look of fake thought, Percy knows it's fake because he, himself used it many times back at the academy. Luke shakes his head and smiles.
“No, I haven't been treated by my nurse yet.” The girl groans and snaps her head to the sky. Percy just shrugs and walks out of the building. As he opens his lollipop, he turns his head back to look at his friends.
He can see Luke being peppered with kisses on his face. When the girl moves he can see a band-aid with hearts that now decorates the scar on his face. Percy just chuckles and moves on, determined to find Grover or Annabeth to tell them what he witnessed. He failed to notice his bright blue bandaid with bubbles on it.
#luke castellan x y/n#luke castellan x you#luke castellan fluff#luke castellan imagine#luke castellan x fem!reader#luke castellan x reader#percy jackson x fem!reader#percy jackson and the olympians x reader#percy jackson imagine#percy jackson fic#percy jackson x reader#percy jackon and the olympians#luke castellan#percy jackson#percy pjo#percy series
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hello aly! 🤎 i saw that you were receiving requests and it's okay if i ask for something about hotch? 🥺 perhaps him falling in love with jack's art teacher, i'm in the mood for something really fluffy because i need comfort haha take care pretty soul!
this is such a sweet ask. and yes that's more than okay, you never have to ask xx it's kind of short, i hope it's still okay, i focused mainly on their first meeting, but i am open to writing more works for this universe.
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"Good morning, bud!" you don't have to fake excitement or enthusiasm as Jack Hotchner bounds into your classroom. You crouch, kneeling so that you're face to face with him, as he practically glows. His smile is so bright you fear you may have to squint as he's quick to jump into your arms, chubby little hands looping around your neck. You tried your best to make every single student that walked through your door feel welcome, but they all weren’t as agreeable as Jack Hotchner was.
The hug is comforting, sweet, and it reminds you why you got up every morning to work for less than you were worth. The joy you instilled in your kids made everything worthwhile. Jack pulls back after a moment, exclaiming that you were squeezing too tight. It makes you chuckle slightly as you brush a bit of stray lint off his shoulders. “Sorry, kiddo! You’re just too stinking cute.” You hum, and you enjoy this part of the job. You adored all of your students.
Hellos at the beginning of the day, and goodbyes as they poured out into the hallways to head to their next class. Specials at your school, which consisted of Art, Music, and Gym, happened on rotation. You had Jack’s class first period, four times out the week. His entire class though, had been angels. Through the year you'd only had about two incidents, and both included students fighting over who's turn it was on paint day. You finally let Jack go with one more squeeze.
He giggles, which is a tell that your hugs weren't all that bad. You're a bit startled when an unfamiliar man steps through the door behind him. He's wearing a collared button up, with jeans, and a matching belt. "Um, excuse me, Sir." you hold a hand up, quickly moving to usher Jack, and the other entering students away from the door. "You can't come in here." you affirm, and you look around to see if there was anything in your direct vicinity that could be used to attack.
You settle on a foam brush, clutching it by it's bristles, as you hold it out towards the man. "Stay back, or I'll-" you look down at the paint brush, and then back at the mystery assailant. "I'll use this, and you won't like it." you assert, and your students are giggling, seemingly amused by the situation. You don't see the humour in it. You'd met every single parent and guardian of your students, and this man had never been there. Which made him a flight risk, a danger.
"I think you've got the wrong idea." the man speaks, and his voice stands out. It's very stern, but not hostile. He has a commanding presence, and he seems to appraise you diligently. You take a look at your hand-print dress, and suddenly feel very childish. You loved your job, mostly because you could dress without much judgement. It wasn't like the kids were going to tell you that you looked childish.
"You can never be too careful." you retort sharply, and you readjust your grip on your paint brush. You hoped you looked a bit intimidating, but you wouldn't count on it. "And I don't see a visitor's badge." you add a second after. "Jack, come this way." you prompt, and he seems to stall. He looks from you to the man and back again. He was conflicted, for starters he had his father, his hero standing on one side. And you, his favorite teacher of all time on the other.
"Bye-bye, Daddy." and his choice is made, the small child waving his hand boldly before he's rushing off to his desk, and you're stuck. Aaron, is surprised. Eyes trailing after his son with that feeling every parent has when they realize their child is growing up. It forces a puff of air to escape him, as his eyes quickly flit back to you. His eyebrows raise, dark eyes swimming as realization sets in. Usually Jack was dropped off by his Aunt Jessica Brooks, she was a lovely lady.
She'd mentioned Jack's parental situation. How his mother had passed a few years back, and how his father had a demanding job. You'd given up on ever laying eyes on the man. "You're Mr..." you trail off as your voice cracks obnoxiously. "You're Jack's dad?" you ask, and he lets out a quiet laugh, one that's more a nose exhale than anything else. It's a fitting sort of laugh, you hardly expected the man to be the type to guffaw or even chuckle in an ugly sort of way.
"Not that you can tell by the way he took off." he retorts, and there's still an amusement that rests in his tone. "Aaron," he finally introduces. "Hotchner." he finishes, hand shooting out. It must have been habitual. You didn't know much about the FBI, but you did know that they were sticklers, stone serious. You'd done a project on greatest heroes, and Jack had managed a piece that consisted of a JJ, Prentiss, Garcia, Morgan, Rossi, and Reid. They'd been paired up with a piece that was solely his dad, his superhero. His favorite.
"I'm Jack's teacher." you introduce, as if that didn't go without saying. You reach forward with your free hand, allowing his palm to press against yours. His shake is firm, but you're surprised at how nice his hands feel. There's this spark, a feeling of lightning zigzagging from him to you, and it makes you leap back, paint brush clattering to the ground. The class seems to get lost in the mishap, watching with bated breath for what would possibly come next.
Aaron doesn't bat an eye as he bends down, crouching to pluck the brush up from the ground. He looks bemused, standing back to his full height as he holds your weapon of choice out towards you. "You should be more careful. It's a pretty dangerous weapon in the right hands." and he's making a joke. You find yourself gobsmacked, it was too much for him to be charismatic, and attractive. No, he had to pick one or the other. Still, you grab the brush, despite your fear of sparking again.
"You just got lucky you were vetted by the right kid." you offer your own sort of joke, and his smile makes you proud on the inside.
"I'm sorry for the late appearance." he changes the subject, but it doesn't feel forced or charged. "I meant to get here sooner so that I could lay eyes on Jack's favorite teacher..." you feel proud at the compliment. "You're all he talks about when his day is done." he adds, and you're turning to look at Jack. The kids were separated at their tables, multicolored smocks already on their bodies. They were more than ready for the day. "But as I'm sure you're aware, my job can sometimes keep that from happening." he says and you nod.
"Jess did mention you had a hectic schedule with your job, I understand." your hand waves tiredly, brushing off his apologies. You didn't need them, not when it was so clear that Jack adored his father. And it was more than clear that Jack was Aaron's world. "I'm just glad you finally got here." and you try not to sound as breathless as you feel. "It's important for teachers and parents to be on the same page." you prompt, and Aaron's head nods. You don't know if he really believes you or if it's all politics in a way.
"I couldn't have said it better myself." and he looks so sincere. He's staring at your face intently, and you feel self conscious, blinking too much to be normal. "You've got a little..." and he's motioning towards you. Mortification is the only thing you feel as you run through your morning routine. You'd scrubbed your tongue and teeth thrice before leaving the house. You'd cleaned out any evidence of sleep from your eyes, so what exactly could be out of order.
You swipe frantically at your face and nose, hoping it wasn't something that would make you look like a dunce or a fool in front of Aaron. He chuckles a bit as he extends a hand. "Uh, may I?" he asks, and you're nodding before you should be. It's almost instantaneous the way he's cupping your chin, tilting you head, and dragging his thumb over your cheek. He removes his hand a second later, you could almost pretend it didn't happen. That is, until he's swiping paint on his jeans. Damn, you were such an idiot.
You'd been prepping paint stations for your lesson on symbolism. You must have forgotten to clean up your face before the first bell rang signaling the day's beginning. "That's so embarrassing." you exclaim, and another student is entering the classroom, quickly hugging your side, as you offer an awkward wave to another parent. You squeeze the girl a bit, before she's bounding off to her seat.
"You know, I think it builds character." Aaron promises, and you snort. "Besides, it was kinda intimidating." he's lying, and you know it. He's trying to make you feel less shameful about it. "Anyone looking to mess with your class is in for it." and you're certain your face is visible exposing your humiliation, and subsequent embarrassment at the hands of one of your student's parent.
"Enough, enough." you plead, and here's where you get a full laugh. It's handsome just like everything else about him. "Your sarcasm's far from helpful." you huff, and you're dragging your hand over the same place he'd touched. It tingles as you drag your hands down, and you hope for your sanity Jess is back tomorrow. Garnering a foolish infatuation for your student was the last thing you wanted to happen.
"I'll do my best to keep that in mind for next time." he replies. The bell chirps overhead, a signal that class needed to begin. "Don't work too hard." he prompts, and your heart stutters in your chest. You feel like a fool, he was just being nice, a gentleman like his job required him to be.
"I'll try my best." you promise, and he smiles at you like he's pleased.
"I'll see you later, bud!" and he's addressing Jack, who ignores protocol. He bounds across the room to offer his dad a big hug, he squeezes him tight, Aaron hugging him back maybe tighter. It's sweet, but you feel like you're intruding.
"Say bye-bye to daddy, Miss L/N." Jack pleads, and you blink.
Bye daddy. And you scold your horrid mind. Jack's waiting expectantly, and it seems his father is as well.
"Goodbye, Mr. Hotchner." you huff out, and he's smirking.
"Goodbye, Miss L/N." he matches your exasperated tone. And then he's leaving, and you're heaving a sigh of relief. Jack's going back to his seat, face just as smug as it could be for someone his age. It takes you a second to float back to Earth, staring at the doorway like he'd come back, but he doesn't. You inhale sharply, good riddance. You shuffle slowly to the door, shutting it as you soon address your class.
"We're gonna talk about Symbolism today." you announce, and the kids who were far from listening finally take you in. "Does anyone want to take a guess as to what Symbolism is?" you question, and a flurry of hands shoot up in the air. There's one girl, little Mary, who looks like she's doing the pee pee dance as she tries to get you to choose her. So you do, "Go ahead and give it a shot, Mary."
"Miss L/N, are you gonna marry Jack's dad?"
Maybe today was the wrong day for paint and symbolism.
#aaron hotchner#criminal minds#aaron hotch imagine#aaron hotchner smut#aaron hotchner imagine#ssa aaron hotchner#aaron hotch x reader#aaron hotch hotchner#aaron hotch fanfiction#hotchner imagine#hotch smut#hotch x reader#aaron hotch x you#hotch x y/n#hotch x you#hotch fluff#hotch imagine#aaron hotchenr fluff#aaron hotch fluff#criminal minds x reader#criminal minds fanfic#criminal minds fluff
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Hi Neil. You've been my favorite author since I was a child, and last year I got to see you in Eugene, Oregon. Though, I nearly didn't have the chance to go.
The fall before, just a few days before my birthday, I attempted suicide but couldn't go through with it at the last minute. I had been in the store to get what I needed and I saw this truly awful hoodie. Lavender with full body tigers printed all over in black ink. It made me think of my childhood friend who I was still close with. It was ugly but, she would've loved it. I went back to the helium tanks and just stood there almost like I had suddenly forgotten why I was there. I just thought about that hoodie. I ended up buying it with the money I had planned to use for the tools I was going to use to end my life. I got to my car, looked at this thing in my lap, and remembered what I had been there for. I cried and called the hotline, because now I had to live so I could send it to my friend. In that moment, I just wanted to give my friend something that would make her smile more than I wanted to die. And, at that time, it was enough. My 29th birthday a few days later carried this weight of knowing I nearly didn't see it. Last year, I survived to 30 and couldn't help laughing at what felt like absurdity.
When I saw you were coming to Eugene last year, I was so excited. I went alone since I didn't have anyone who was as interested in going. I'm not one for celebrity or anything like that. I had admired you for so long for all the things you created that it felt surreal. You're not just a writer, you're a storyteller. You've created stories using all sorts of different types of media and I've always thought that was amazing. Like a magician. Whether they use a coin or hat or card, they make magic. To me: whether it was a book or a comic or a movie, you made magic.
This is probably a bit long-winded so I apologize for babbling but all of this is for me to tell you something I've wanted to tell you since that day in Eugene. I took so long to say this because I wanted to find a way to tell you how much weight this carried for me. I drove home that night, thinking to myself, "I'm glad I'm still alive." That was the very first time since the attempt and, frankly, in my life that I had ever thought that. I had always lived for other people and their happiness. I survived in part for the same reason. That night, it dawned on me that it was okay to live for my happiness too. Even if it was small. I felt like I had the sun in my chest and it was everything. I wanted you to know what that meant for me. So, thank you. Truly, thank you
Oh, thank you. I'm so glad you bought the hoodie, am so glad you came to see me in Eugene, and am really happy you are here and that you got to be happy. Stick around.
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You’re my best view (part 2) | Eddie Munson x Reader
Summary: You fulfill your promise and take polaroids for your boyfriend
Word count: 1.6k
Warning: nudity?
A/N: This ended up being so much longer than planned and I’m not even sorry. It’s also the type of girlfriend I am, but that’s bc I’m an artsy bitch
Part one
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It’s been three weeks since you mentioned it and it’s been three weeks of Eddie asking you when you’d do that damn polaroid you promised him.
The day had finally come.
On Thursdays, Eddie's uncle had an earlier shift at the factory, meaning the trailer was empty at an earlier time. You took advantage of that knowledge and planned accordingly.
That meant convincing Eddie to move his Hellfire club meeting.
''Why did you ask me to cancel my 'Satanic worshiping' tonight?'' he asked as you got out of the van and headed inside the trailer, quoting a news magazine about Dungeon & Dragons.
''I did not ask you to cancel it, I asked you to move it to tomorrow. That's different,'' you corrected, sliding your backpack off your shoulder and down on the table.
‘’Same thing,’’ he waved off, closing the door behind you. ‘’So, are you finally going to tell me why? You were being very secretive and promised me I would not be regretting it. It better not be a catch to get me to help you study for Biology class or something because, unless it’s body anatomy, I’m not going to be a great help.’’
You chuckled at the ground. ‘’That’s not it.’’
‘’Thank you, Jesus.’’
‘’Check in my bag, I got a surprise for you.’’
Eddie cocked an eyebrow, curious.
A surprise could mean a lot of things. It could be a movie you rented and a bag of popcorn, sexy lingerie - although that would already be on you and not in the bag -, a tupperware of cookies you had baked, the latest record of one of his favorite bands, or, in tonight's case your polaroid camera.
You watched as he unzipped your backpack, trying to hold back a smile, impatient to see his reaction. His doe eyes rounded up like saucers at the sight of the polaroid camera, and his lips twisted into a Cheshire cat smile, immediately putting two and two together.
A film camera would’ve been more practical to use, but you didn’t trust anyone to develop them. It’s too easy to print one more and keep it in your pocket for personal use. The idea of a stranger having a sexy picture of you on their nightstand and wanking every night to it made you sick to your stomach and very uncomfortable.
Eddie flickered his eyes to you, seeing a bounce in his bones, unable to contain his excitement. ‘’Where is it? Is it in there?’’ He motioned to your backpack.
You shook your head. ‘’No. I need someone to take them for me.’’
‘’Them? As in…more than one?’’
You nodded slowly. There were five polaroids left to take in this camera.
You took a few steps toward the tall young man, tying your arms behind his neck as you made eye contact with him. ‘’Eddie Munson, will you do me the honor of being my personal photographer tonight?’’
As if possible, his smile widened even more. He grabbed your face and kissed you. ‘’Fuck yes.’’
Although the creative concept was quite simple, the ‘make it happen’ part was not.
While Eddie tidied the bed and cleaned a little - an empty bag of chips and a condom wrapper were not good background decor accessories -, you stood before his closet and picked out the shirt you’ll be wearing for the pictures. It was messy and some shirts were very creased from having fallen off their hanger and down the bottom. You were tempted by this Black Sabbath one, but, out of the corner of your eye, you recognized the shirt he gave you the first night you slept over.
It was the one.
‘’Found something to your liking, sweetheart? There’s some a few the dryer too.’’
You said nothing.
In silence, you removed your sweater and jeans and slipped the black and white raglan shirt over your head. It reached about your mid thigh and it smelled woody and spicy, topped with a tinge of weed.
‘’How do I look?’’
Eddie turned around, his jaw almost dropping at the sight. He looked at you with admiration in his eyes and swiped his tongue over his plump lips, feeling his body react instantly. ‘’Are you trying to kill me? You know I can’t control myself when you wear that? It’s my weakness. I swear you woke up today and thought ‘ah today is a beautiful day to kill my boyfriend’.’’
You threw your head back laughing at his antics. His sarcasm and sense of humor were one of the things that seduced you first.
You sat on the bed and Eddie had to fight the envy to pull you on his lap and make out.
Instead he asked, ‘’What’s the plan? I’m no photographer, so you gotta guide me here.’’
‘’I’m gonna do pretty much all of the work. All you gotta do is check in the viewfinder, make sure I’m in frame, and push the button to take the picture.’’
He rolled his eyes. ‘’I know how to use a polaroid camera. I meant, how do I get the right shot? We only got five and I don’t want to mess up.’’
It was cute that he cared this much about the project. That he wanted all the pictures to look beautiful and sexy and not just…dirty - something to jerk off to. If he wanted pictures of that genre, he could just open one of his Playboy magazines under his bed.
The first picture was simple. Just you, sitting on the bed with Eddie's precious red electric guitar. Eddie's Hellfire club shirt was relaxed on your body and exposing most of your thighs as you sat cross-legged. Your hands and fingers were positioned as taught, making it seem like you were playing for real.
For the second one, you laid on your back against the pillows, still holding the guitar. The angle was changed, now exposing your underwear - and the hickey on your right inner thigh - to the camera while Eddie sat on the end of the bed, watching with hungry eyes. He felt his dick stiffening at the sight before him, causing his jeans to become tight and uncomfortable.
He reached for his belt to release some of the pressure down there, but you stopped him.
‘’Nuh-uh.’’ You shook your head. ‘’You take nothing off.’’
‘’Wha- That’s unfair! That was not part of the plan,’’ he began to protest. ‘’How can I sit there and watch you undress and do these sexy pictures if I don’t get to - at least - take my pants off? You know how you make my dick feel. One small peak of your tits and my pants are about to burst.’’
With a mischievous smile on your lips, you grabbed the bottom of your shirt and lifted it to flash him.
Eddie groaned painfully. ‘’You little devil.’’ The corner of his lips twitched and he grabbed your ankles. ‘’Get over here,’’ he said, pulling you down and closer to him, making you squeal and giggle.
Your shirt had ridden up due to the movement, exposing your under-boobs.
You didn’t bother fixing it.
Hesitantly, Eddie grabbed the camera. He searched your eyes for consent and pushed the button after getting a nod. This one was a little more on the dirty side, but a little glimpse was nothing too scandalous, right?
You heard the soft click and the polaroid was released. Eddie put it on the table to develop and sent the camera down again. He leaned over you, connecting your lips and slipping his tongue in. Your hands went to his hair, feeling his soft curls and pulling a little as the kiss deepened, while his snaked up your body and to your chest, the coldness of his silver rings making goosebumps raise on your skin. One of his thumbs brushed over the bud of your nipple, making you gasp softly into the kiss and arch your back.
You wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling yourself closer and grinding down. His jeans were rough against your soft skin, but you did it again.
Eddie moaned at the feeling, breaking the kiss. ‘’If you do that again, we’ll never finish this shooting,'' he warned against your lips.
A part of you wanted to say 'fuck the shooting', your body craving his in all the possible ways, but another part wanted to continue playing model.
You captured his bottom lip between your teeth and pulled, teasing a little more before breaking away and taking the shirt off completely, leaving you topless.
Between your collarbones, there was a dainty silver chain with a small pendant of your lover's initial, matching Eddie's. Unlike your school's basketball players who lended their jersey or team jackets to their girlfriend to mark them as theirs, this jewelry represented that you were the only one who really knew the other.
He was about to kiss you again, thinking the shooting was over, but you grabbed the camera. ''Let's do the last two.''
‘’Are you sure?’’ Eddie asked with a puzzled look on his face, his eyes shifting from the camera to yours.
Although you had said no nudes - which Eddie was totally fine with and respected -, you wanted to take a topless picture. You felt confident enough and safe enough to take one. You trusted the hands in who it would be in.
‘’Yes.’’
Later into the night, after a shower and fixing something to eat, you took a look at the now developed pictures and smiled pleasantly at the result. They could’ve been better. The lighting was weird on two of them and you could see perfectly the handcuffs by Eddie’s bed - which you once used in bed -, but you made them together and that’s what made them special.
You took the one where you were clothed the most and handed it to Eddie, who was confused. ‘’That one you can keep in your van. You know, in case you need to show off your hot girlfriend.’’
He shook his head and grabbed the rest from your hands. ‘’Hell the fuck no. No one's going to see any of these. All mine.’’
-
Taglist: @broadway-or-noway @violetsleftfist @thelaststraw3 @cursedandromedablack @Slashersimpfor @savagejane1 @wh0reforbucknasty @eddiemunson-slut @slvdsjjk @hehehehannahthings @dreamdancers-world @grace-loux
Eddie Munson taglist: @nighttwingg @yourfavoriteakutagawakinnie @heizenka @eddiemvunsongf @Eddie_munsons_girlfriend
#eddie munson#eddie munson x reader#eddie munson x you#eddie munson imagine#eddie munson x y/n#joseph quinn#stranger things#stranger things imagine#stranger things s4#eddie stranger things#eddie munson smut
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Ditch Etsy for Good: A Disabled Etsy Seller's Experience
i started my Etsy store in August of 2022. I was in desperate need of income at the time, as I am disabled, and waiting for my full disability payments to come through. I currently make $245/month off of a general assistance program that's meant to "help" while you're waiting for those payments.
I needed, at the time, $900/month for my studio apartment, because I was on a month-to-month lease, and could not re-new it, as I was the secondary renter, and my abusive ex whom I could not contact was the primary renter. They needed his signature to renew the lease, or else I was on month-to-month status, which meant they could increase my rent to whatever price they saw fit at any point.
I was struggling to stay alive. I had a bunch of kandi supplies I had gathered over the years, pony beads, string, all that kind of stuff. So i accrued some extra supplies to make other types of necklaces and chokers. Keep in mind my level of poverty, and the level of inflation in 2022. I was having to accrue supplies secondhand, from thrift stores. Everything I bought and sold was upcycled, save for the few times I could afford things to fill in the gaps from craft stores.
After I gathered supplies, I went to work. I spent countless hours making all types of jewelry. Not really sleeping. Just countless hours of stringing beads, if I woke up in the middle of the night from a bad dream or stress about homelessness, I would go back to work. I've been homeless before. Several times. Never lived on the street or in a shelter, but I have lived in hotels, cars, crashed on couches and have run from getting kicked out for making little money endless times.
I drank a lot of coffee and ate very little. Eating consumed time, time that I didn't have. Once I was done making things, it was time to photograph every. single. item., then edit them, and upload them to Etsy. I had to create listings for each individual item, all of which cost $0.20 to create, and again to renew when it ran out in 3 months if not purchased. There was already a start-up cost.
Shipping made my life a nightmare. Etsy charged me for each and every single label. I tried free shipping at first, as it's a huge draw for customers, but labels were around $3.69 from my state to the mainland United States at the time, creeping ever closer to $4. For anywhere else it would easily come to $10 or more, international shipping was easily $20 - $40. Even if the customer paid for shipping I still had to go through the process of purchasing a label.
This didn't account for the fact that I had to purchase printer, ink and paper at some point to keep printing these labels. Ink is wildly expensive and your cartridges run out faster than they should. They are rigged to flag as empty when they're not. This also does not account for ink and paper lost when the printer does something in error, which is often. The office at my apartment complex was willing to print labels and packing slips for me for a while, but they cut me off after a few months.
The biggest kick in the teeth was the processing time for my payments. Because I shipped my first few orders without tracking labels. Etsy put a hold on my money for the next 3 months. They would take a random amount of time to process each payment. I could never figure out the schedule. My money would sometimes take days or weeks to arrive when I set Etsy to a "daily" payment schedule. It was torture. I was sweating over not having money constantly, and missing payment deadlines left and right.
I was getting orders at every hour of the day. I didn't "clock out" of this job. I had to change the notification sound of the Etsy Seller app on my phone because when I heard it, I would panic. I wasn't excited, I was filled with dread. It was never ending, and I was constantly stressed about getting orders out on time. I never had time to rest. I didn't get days off. I was on the job 24/7. Unless you completely uninstall the Etsy app and refuse to check it fora while, you can't really clock out of this job.
This isn't even touching the fact that Etsy also takes a cut out of every single sale you make, meaning you have to jack up your prices wildly either to make free shipping reasonable so you're not losing money on each sale, or you have to play a dance of figuring out what the best balance between shipping and item costs are, which is time consuming. It's a lot of math and comparing against your niche's market.
Etsy has an ads feature, which you must again pay for, where they will run ads for your products in random banner ads and whatnot. You are charged if one customer clicks the ad, not purchases something, meaning this is a complete fucking scam. The minimum is $1/day and you are forced to subscribe monthly. You can cancel at any point, but sometimes it takes a full day for this to cancellation to go through. The Etsy Ads feature sucks ass. I received exactly 2 orders through their service and kept it on for a few weeks here and there. It's horrid. You do not receive a significant enough boost in traffic to make the investment worth it. Also consider how many people use adblockers these days. This isn't hard to see.
The amount of time you have to spend promoting and boosting your own shop, buying supplies, creating and photographic products, uploading them to the website, and everything else in between is not worth the amount of money you make. You do not turn a profit unless you are selling very high end products like fine jewelry and antiques. Anyone else in the bottom rungs loses money through one avenue or another, Etsy finds ways to make the entire process draining and expensive for the seller.
The also will not provide you a 1099 document to file your taxes for your earned income unless you have made over $25,000 in one year on Etsy, which is literally impossible unless you make, as I said, fine jewelry. The average Etsy seller does not make this much in one year. We do not make a liveable wage, yet Etsy pretends like we do.
I didn't realize how draining it was to run this store until I put it in vacation mode. I'm shutting it down as soon as I'm able to. I could not handle the pressure of orders coming in in the middle of the night. I could not handle the pressure of not being able to remember which bracelets I could wear, and which ones were up on the store. Or which ones I could give to friends freely without having to issue someone a refund because I made a mistake. The worry of sending the wrong customer the wrong product was constantly on my mind. Every review that came in made me scared I had fucked up or provided an inferior product. I was distraught, broken and scared.
Now I'm much more free. The piddly jackshit amount of income I made was not worth it at all. I don't think I made back the cost of supplies and I definitely was never compensated for the sheer amount of labor I put into my products and orders. Etsy just kept kicking me while I was down and now that they have made it so that you are unable to file a class action lawsuit against them, they are only becoming more tyrannical.
Etsy does not care about their small sellers. They only care about the big cash cows who bring in big views and line Etsy's pockets with the Etsy Ads program. If you're too poor too keep up they'll chew you up and spit you out. Fuck Etsy. Fuck the lack of respect for their sellers. Fuck them for holding my money randomly for 3 months because I didn't know tracking labels were REQUIRED in their eyes. Fuck Etsy for never letting me know when I was getting paid, and for paying me on such an irregular schedule. Fuck Etsy for the fucked up fees and expensive shipping labels.
Fuck Etsy for everything. Let them go. Cut the cord. Navigate to Ko-Fi or somewhere else. Let this horrid site fucking die.
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Patts Was Going to Blow Tai. Tai Wanted It. Why That Matters.
Greetings, fellow clowns. I am here once again to gush about La Pluie. This time, I’m here to talk about how they’re pacing the sex in this show, and why I hope this is going to become the new norm in genre.
(gifs in this post borrowed from @wanderlust-in-my-soul, used with permission)
At the end of episode four, the end of episode five, and the beginning of episode 6, this show has shown us that Patts physically desires Saengtai. Their first kiss when Tai was drunk lacked any nervousness or uncertainty.
He checked him out four times when he accidentally walked into his room.
He kisses this man with a relief that only someone pining for a long time can feel.
I highly suspect that Tai is a virgin, but he is not embarrassed our shy about that. Tai is a romantic who literally reads Nora Roberts novels to calm down when he gets too excited (@syrena-del-mar). We know Tai is a romantic who has recoiled inward from the disappointment about his parents. We know that connecting with Patts has reawakened much of this desire in him. What has been a quiet part of this show is how much the show is quietly affirming that Tai is a man. This is significant for me because of all the ways BL/yaoi often creates an uke for the women in the readership to project onto.
In episode four, at the end of the scene where Tai reads Patts’ letter, he jumps backwards onto the bed, and the show lets Title’s bulge bounce briefly. In episode six, we see what appears to be an intentional fold in his boxers to represent his dick print. Then, after he takes his shower, Tai is still thinking about their intimacy on the floor and the show uses sound effects to indicate that he’s still aroused from the moment. This show wants us to remember that these are two guys, and as such they’re approaching m/m intimacy a bit differently than we normally see from the genre.
After they begin kissing a bit, Tai leans into the moment, signified by an effective use of a prop. As a glasses wearer myself, I might have been more careful with my glasses, but I’m not a horny virgin caught up in the moment!
Patts was clearly fine with Tai being on top of him, and only turns them because he’s intending to do something else for him. See @wen-kexing-apologist‘s post for a more extensive examination of the hands.
I can’t find the posts where we spoke about this before on Tumblr, but I don’t know a lot of folks in my life who are going to go a dinner with spicy foods and then immediately go back home and have anal sex (often with no lube in BL, though we’ve been seeing condoms more lately). There are so many things guys can do with each other long before that particular act, and this felt like the natural progression of their intimacy for the level they’re at.
We’ve also seen repeatedly how much regard Patts has for Saengtai. When he took him to dinner, he explicitly stated that he wants to know the things that Saengtai likes. He wants to take care of him. He wants things to be nice for him. There’s an asymmetry to giving and receiving head that I don’t think we see covered enough in BL. Patts wanted to do something to make Tai feel good.
Tai was clearly into it.
However, because they were caught up in the heat of the moment, and Patts has a good read on Tai, he stops it.
I am so glad this show was willing to show that Patts had to summon his restraint and allowed him to display a bit of frustration about slowing down. It makes him feel real. He’s waited seven years to be with his soulmate, and it turns out they’re compatible! However, there’s no turning off their telepathic connection. Patts wants to do this right. It’s important to do things right.
I need someone who’s more versed in the yaoi framing around seme and uke to look at the couch scene again, because it felt significant that Patts moved himself to the right side of the frame when he wanted to be closer to Saengtai (something he also did in the restaurant with the dad). I think Patts is showing us and Tai that he is willing to adjust himself to any role he needs for Tai’s comfort, which is his primary goal. It also felt significant that he softened more than he has up to this point to reassure Tai that he can want big romantic moments for himself.
I also loved how intentionally Patts removed his hands from Tai when it was clear Tai wanted him to stop touching.
I have a lot I love about this show. I love how it’s subverting the soulmate trope by having Tai and Patts take their time with each other to figure out what kind of relationship they want to have. I like how they’re doing that even as their friends and families are all-but-rushing them into bed with each other.
This show is special, and I cannot state how relieved I was by how this show has avoided faking us out about sexual desire and tension. I like that this show released the tension built up from the last season in a way that also let us learn more about the characters, and let them learn about each other. I’m going to need this to be the year more BL characters blow each other for the plot.
Thank you for coming to my post.
Special shoutouts to @lurkingshan and @ginnymoonbeam as well for talking through all the ways La Pluie has been playing with and using romance genre expectations.
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Imagine mc giving birth to their baby. You know, Cove is probably panicking, Baxter pretending he's okay but at some point faints and our brave Derek letting mc crush his hand with theirs lol
And also I've seen a clip of a dude who just witnessed his wife deliver their baby and, with a face full of horror, he told her, "I am SO sorry, I won't do that again. " 🤣😭
I'm just imagining one of the boys saying something like that, in my head it's so funny
omg i almost missed this!!! im so glad you brought this up bc i love thinking abt how the boys are during delivery, especially cove omg (im sorry this is such a ramble... but also not sorry bc my brain worms are dancing in happiness at these thoughts)
cove:
even though you've had months to prepare for this and cliff n kyra has given cove lots of advice, paired with a lot of "don't freak out!" (sometimes followed by something freaky that happens during pregnancy or labor...)
he's prepared for this though. as prepared as an anxious first time dad can be.
i mightta said this before, but whether you have him in the room the whole time or just to come cut the cord and hold the baby, is up to you.
if you have him in the room he'll let you hold his hand and he'll be holding yours back (he doesn't notice the pain of your grip for the longest...)
he definitely does what you mentioned and apologizes for putting you thru this LOL
after you give birth, he will do everything... he'll change diapers, put them down for naps, burp, wash, everything... because after that he needs to even the balance (if it was up to him, you'd never lift a finger after that, especially if you have multiple kids via birth)
HE'S ALSO OVERLY PREPARED
delivery bag? more like BAGS. mans has double of everything, he's PETRIFIED
also he runs to any place you want and buys you food while you're in labor if it's really long
and he stays with you up until its go time, then if you want him to wait outside he will
also he faints... or at least gets weak
if you have a c-section he's alrdy freaked out bc... omg they're taking a knife to you thats scary shit
but just natural birth? he's doubly freaked out because your body can do THAT??? you're literally pushing out a whole baby and he is awed but losing his shit honestly
would be babbling praises and encouragements (both for you and himself) n you can tell him to shut up its okay bc he's gonna laugh in the end anyway, but he'll probably end up going quiet bc he's trying not to be distracting and he probably saw something he wasn't prepared for 😬
probably starts crying the closer your baby gets to being out the womb, n after they're fully out and here he's bawling and just realized it but also he's trying to comfort n check on you first so you end up laughing bc he's fretting over you as if he isnt flooding the room
baxter:
mans is NOT CALM
tries to look calm, but he just looks constipated and he looks tired honestly
he's been losing sleep this whole pregnancy bc he's afraid of being a bad father, but he's so excited and ends up staying up at night talking to your belly so he just can't win
surprisingly dropped the collared shirts and slacks
mans is stuck in t-shirts and sweatpants or jeans
his hair is a mess too
omg he's napping when you go into labor
he jumps up, mismatched socks (either he's wearing an ankle cat print sock and a knee high sock, or he's wearing one sock. its bad n i think him wearing one sock is better (worse for him but hes fineeee))
the nurses love him bc he's running in and out bringing you food and runs back to get anything he or you forgot or might need
another over packer
honestly they're all over packers who are we kidding
this is where is wedding planner job comes in handy
has backups and plan b's for everything
and even though everything is right he brings extra just to feel better
won't be in the room if you want that ofc, but he psychs himself up to be in there
he's really scared n nervous, more-so than cove actually. but he wants to support you and if you want him in there, he's there. even if you reassure him he doesn't have to be there, he wants to be
he has to sit down while he's there, his leg is shaking and he's torn between watching whatevers going on over there and watching your face for any signs which.. doesnt really make sense since labor isnt like going to the waterpark but he has a kind heart <33
spends so much time looking at the baby... cove does too but baxter spends double that time
watches the nurses and doctors like a hawk whenever they mess w the baby
will curl up next to your bed and thanks you so much for giving him such a beautiful life, this is all stuff he never thought he'd have and he's so happy
derek:
he's actually the calmest one
he has 2 siblings and even though he was young when they were born, he has lots of experience with babies and he prepared
isn't that bad of an over packer actually, just extra baby stuff and some of the best snacks
but he'll still surprise you with your favorite food or takeout
he will do anything for you during labor, remind him to just sit down and hold your hand n stfu, thats what nurses n doctors are for n he really can't help much atp, its all up to you and the nurses+doc
holds your hand even though you might be hurting him. will just wince thru it or convince you to switch hands
will keep giving encouragement and either times it perfectly so he doesn't get on your nerves or you have to kindly ask him to shut up bc you're not playing ball, it isnt helping!!!!
also pulls a cove and does a lot of the work around the house and with the baby bc that was tough work, labor and carrying the baby? you deserve it!!!
ends up talking n holding the baby a lot, is probably a little scared since theyre so little and just holds their hand or looks at them
you sometimes wake up to him mumbling stuff to the baby, abt how happy he is, how he's going to take care of you both, how much he loves them...
carries everything outta the hospital by himself (by everything he means your hand and the baby, his family is probably dragging your stuff to the car bc they're here to help n make your life a million times easier and its literally a sleepover with nico around)
anyway. i need more dad!derek hc's now, specifically uncle nico and jorge, bc that is such a big brain thought
now this applies to all the boys honestly, i didnt even think abt it until now
but he helps you walk to the bathroom and put on all the pads n underwear n stuff if you need it
i remember seeing a youtube short where the woman said her fiance or husband helped her walk to the bathroom, spray her coochie w the water spray bottle, and with the underwear stuff
so don't worry about how you look or if it's icky because you're all sore and/or stitched up or anything like that because he's not paying attention, he just wants to help you in any way possible
#olba#cove holden#baxter ward#derek suarez#cove holden x reader#derek suarez x reader#baxter ward x reader
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Bootleg Hojan Merch
I know Nace shared part of the story in an interview a couple days ago, but I was planning on doing a write-up before I knew that, so here you go 😂 Also contains the continuation of the saga in Finland :D
Putting this under a cut because it's gonna be a bit of a read (plus a few more pictures). Yeah, I hope no one here is surprised that I suck at keeping things short 😂
So I have done a fair bit of clownery this year, and the most recent bit (before the shirt project) was attending two of the Polish gigs, Wrocław and Poznań.
I was wearing my Cha Cha Cha shirt to the Poznań gig, and when taking pictures with Bojan and Nace after the show, I opened my jacket so the shirt was visible. When stepping back after the pic, Nace spied the shirt and was kinda excited about seeing Käärijä merch – though he prefers the Häärijä merch, as he told us, because he's a "big fan" (his words, not mine).
So back at the hotel, I told @braveheart1418, "God, I'm so tempted to try to procure an actual Häärijä shirt. Tell me that's a stupid idea." Of course she did no such thing and so we looked into how much it would cost (too much) and how long it would take (too long), and so I was like, "bummer. And I'm not comfortable making bootleg official merch. Although, omg – it would be hilarious of we did Hojan merch!"
And the longer I thought about it, the more I fell in love with the idea. Again, I told friends, "tell me that would be a stupid idea," and again, they were filthy enablers, and so I started looking into the matter semi-seriously once I was back home (that was Wednesday the 22nd, so almost exactly a week before I left on a business trip leading into a stay at my parents' place leading into the gig).
The first thought was to get a big HOJAN in the Häärijä lettering on foil to iron onto a black shirt, though @braveheart1418 had commented that the design with a picture Häärijä on is much more memorable. That was a very valid point, except that there were no Hojan pics in suitable resolution that were in the right pose.
Thus, things I needed to solve:
get a plotter to cut out "Hojan" for the chest
-> my mom said my cousin had a friend with a plotter. Contact was established
get a picture similar to the official merch of Hojan
-> I reached out to Dean, who was absolutely lovely and set me up with a picture I could use
clip Hojan from the picture
-> I had @submariini as well as another dear friend help me there because they are both much better at photoshop than me and were kind enough to offer their help, and decided to add the yellow border because the best picture Dean had sent me was black & white
get transfer paper
-> easy: amazon (loathe as I am to use it)
find a copy shop to print Hojan for me
-> tricky bc I got Inkjet-Printer transfer paper and most copy shops have laserjets, if they allow using your own paper at all
-> I got laserjet transfer paper and once again had my cousin come to the rescue and helped me print it :D
find t-shirts in the right sizes
-> I solved this by eyeballing and taking pics of my dad in the various sizes to check with @submariini. While nerve-wrecking, I am astonished just how well the sizing worked out in the end!
Despite the limited time (limited further by me getting sick Monday/Tuesday before my business trip), it all came together beautifully: I did a test-print Friday evening and picked up the foil cuts, went shirt shopping with my parents on Saturday (shout out to them for letting their adult kid drag them through three different clothes stores and especially to my dad for gamely trying on half a dozen shirts and waiting while I yelled at ed about which to take 😂), finished the test shirt (mine) that evening and adjusted the colours on the outline to be closer to the foil, printed three more copies of Hojan Sunday morning, and got them ready just in time for leaving for the gig!
Which was yet again nerve-wrecking because of the unprecedented amounts of snow happening in Bavaria, but it stood no chance against our determination!
Unfortunately, the snow situation meant that JO couldn't come out after the show, so I passed the shirt to Nace during it and received a pick in return, which made me bluescreen as I hadn't expected an exchange 😂 He put the shirt down without having looked at it, which was a bit unfortunate because I would have loved to have seen his reaction, but it was still a pretty cool moment.
They did get a lot of gifts this close to St. Nikolaus (which is also celebrated in Germany, or at least was in my youth), most of which they left on the stage for the crew to gather up, so I bluescreened even worse when Nace bee-lined over to me as they came back on stage for the SSOL-encore to thank me again for the shirt – others told me later he'd taken it backstage after Carpe Diem with him, which I'd missed 😅
After the show, I met @mogoce-nocoj and ended up talking to her for quite a while outside the venue because neither of us wanted to split off into different directions, and so it wasn't until we were on our way back to @braveheart1418's hotel room (finally accepting that we wouldn't manage to say goodbye quite so soon and might as well talk somewhere warm 😅) that I saw that Bojan had posted the story to his Instagram 😂. Let me just say that it was very fortunate we were still out-doors and not near normal flats, because I don't think I was quiet when I saw 😂
I actually ended up making four shirts including my trial one – one for Nace, one for Häärijä himself because it felt fitting, and one for @submariini because he's such a Häärijä fan :D
The latter two, I took with me to Rovaniemi (which was ed's fault, because (and I quote), "come to Rollo! It'll be fun!"), where a bunch of friends and I met up for a birthday party slash Käärijä gig (over 20 clowns in one place, it was amazing, 10/10 would do again (genuinely)). The weather and means of transport tried to keep us apart (train strikes and ice rains on my end, though I still had better luck than Joker Out), but we actually all made it and by now all made it back again, too :D
As I mentioned in a different post, I actually managed to hand over the shirt to Häärijä before the gig, and he told me he would wear it on stage, which he did! I also got a picture with him, ed, and me all in our shirts, which was also pretty great :D
So, yeah! The Process™ of project 1.
Thank you so so much to everyone who helped and encouraged me along the way -- my parents and my cousin, the gift to our fandom that is Dean Grainger (none of whom will hopefully ever read this specific post), @braveheart1418, @submariini, @alephai, my dearest friend K who's been an enabler for so so many shenanigans, and xia!bf for bearing with my insanity (both where the shirts are concerned and the general Käärijä/JO brainrot) and helping me make this project a reality 💛
#käärijä#häärijä#hojan#hojan merch#project 1#bojan cvjetićanin#bojan cvjeticanin#nace jordan#joker out#joker out nordic tour#jo nordic tour#jo nordic tour 2023#fucking Rovaniemi
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Twins | Part 2
Here is my second part of my Twins fic, hope you like it!
Part 1
Word Count: 733
Trigger warnings: Mentions pregnancy throughout
The last 12 weeks were awful, your first trimester was horrible.
All you felt like you did was sleep, throw up and cry. There was way too many emotions in your body for you to handle.
You were exhausted all the time and the hormones were crazy, Kylian never admitted that they were too much but you just knew that's what he was thinking.
The sickness was horrendous too, nothing you could do was stopping it.
All you could do was lay in bed, Kylian was absolutely perfect the whole time.
With his games and media commitments he was away quite often, but he was so caring and you knew he would make the greatest father.
"I have some water for you, try and have some crackers or something. I am so sorry that you're feeling like this, I wish I could do something for you or just to take it away" Kylian cooed at you as he softly ran his hands through your messy hair.
"It's ok. I will be fine, you best go. I don't want you to be late or get fined" you told him as he nodded and placed a small kiss on your forehead as you tried to snuggle down in the bed whilst he went to training.
-
As 12 weeks were over, you were told that you would start to feel better. That wasn't happening.
The tiredness had slowly disappeared and were starting to feel a little bit better in that way but still had a tired feeling about you.
"Hi" you smiled as you were up already and making breakfast.
"You seem very happy this morning?" you grinned.
"Well we get to see baby Mbappe and I am very excited. I am pretty hungry too" you smiled as you embraced him in a cuddle.
"I love you, I am glad you are starting to feel a little better. I know the last few weeks have been seriously tough on you. But seeing you smile and feel yourself again is amazing. Carrying our baby is so special and feels crazy to see" you felt the tears fill up as you stopped yourself from crying.
"Oh KyKy, that was emotional. I love you, are you ready for our scan tomorrow?" you asked him as his face lit up.
"Of course, I can't wait" he kissed your lips gently as you carried on making the breakfast for the both of you.
-
Scan day was here, you felt so nervous.
"Are you ready?" Kylian smiled as he pulled up to the hospital as you were ready for your 12 week scan as you made your way in.
"Hello" you smiled as your midwife ushered you in as you laid on the bed.
"How have you been feeling?" the midwife asked as you got ready to scan your stomach.
"I'm okay now, feeling tons better. Tiredness was awful too" she nodded as she squeezed the cold gel on your stomach as she scanned your stomach.
Kylian looked at the screen with eagle eyes.
The midwife put the doppler down as she moved the screen further towards you.
"Is everything okay?" You asked as you looked with scared eyes as you could see the screen more clearly now.
"Yes, everything is fine. You are having not one baby, two. Twins" the midwife replied with the biggest smile on her face.
"TWO?" Kylian remarked as you stared straight at the screen.
"Yes sir, twins. Congratulations, I will print some scans out for you" the midwife smiled as she printed lots of scans off for you both.
She cleaned her stomach as she handed you the scans as you headed back to the car.
"Ky, we are having twins. Two of them" you nervously laughed as you felt like reality was setting in knowing how daunting it was that you were having not one but two babies.
"We really are, this is insane. I cannot believe it at all, my mind is going crazy" Kylian laughed as you got in the car.
"We need to tell people now" you nodded as you put your hand on your belly.
"Two baby Mbappe's are in there" he laughed.
"I need a rest after all that news if I'm honest" you laughed as you yawned.
"Of course darling, anything you want" he smiled as you headed home before deciding how you were planning to announce the baby.
#kylian mbappe imagine#kylian mbappe x reader#football imagines#football imagine#football x reader#football one shot#football one shots#futbol imagines#futbol imagine#football x you#kylian mbappe x you
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An (embarrassingly long) post of my gushing about good omens:
I’m 16, but I’m writing from when I was 12/13 So it’s almost the end of summer, 2019, I remember this moment as clearly as anything. As clear as tasting my favourite food for the first time ever.
I’m layed on the patch of fake grass on the patio, with a couch cushion to rest my chin on. I’m scrolling some good old 2019 TikTok, I see this random cosplay of a demon and an angel. This is where it all began. This was the birth of it all 😂. I didn’t know I was autistic at the time but it was and still probably stands as 1000% my biggest special interest. I just loved this show, the characters, the actors, the writing, and all the crew I researched and I especially grew this strong bond towards the two main characters .
Crowley and Aziraphale were like real people to me for a long time, their story got me through a lot, took me right through 2020 when I had no friends ; when I was stuck in most of the year, It was a perfect distraction.
I am so grateful for Neil, Michael, David and everyone in the fandom. The community wasn’t just about the show and the book, ( and the radio production lol ), it was so much more about how we all felt during this weird weird year, and how we looked forward to whatever new content Neil had for us as it helped us stay grounded in reality whilst also helping us escape into numerous worlds of fantasy. I bought the book, then the DVD, which came with these exclusive prints, that I cherished like a little weirdo and I stuck them on a piece of paper and made it into a poster, I remember tagging Neil on Twitter in which he reposted my stupid little poster and I went straight to tell my aunt who probably couldn’t care less. She did actually really support me in this obsession, she was invested as much as I was in the lives of the actors and booked tickets for me to go to a sort of comic con in Wales to see Michael in person. Me and my best friend at the time, had costumes all set up as Aziraphale and Crowley. It made me feel so special and really I’ve never had that same feeling about any other franchise. I don’t even feel that strongly about dinosaurs, but the feeling is similar. Like I happened to stumble on this perfect thing, perfect to me in a way that I still don’t understand. It just made me so happy, and that’s what I’m grateful for. I can’t believe looking back now we couldn’t see I was autistic because the way I knew every single little fact and tidbit about the show, the production, the references, the costumes etc, it was honestly something that should be written in history books.
So, back to Neil, I read about four More of his books and in doing so, fell back in love with reading for a while, Ocean at the End of the Lane was special to me, I liked how Neil did and still does blend magic with the mundane. It appealed to me. I also became interested in religious history in a way, not so much, but I liked to research the angels and demons that were represented in the show. This isn’t supposed to be an analysis of the show, although that would also be something I’d enjoy a lot. I just want to get all these words out of my head about this chunk of my life that shaped who I was because I was only around thirteen. Everything was changing in my life, I needed this one form of escapism. Thank you Neil, for good omens, it won’t be so special to everyone as it is to me, but I will always love it and I am unbelievably excited for this new season. Roll on that 2019-2021 obsession, She’s back for round two. 🫶😇😈
@neil-gaiman Thankyou :)
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post mortem | part five
Description: Six thieves gather hostages and lock themselves in the Royal Mint of Spain - a criminal mastermind by the alias of the Dragon manipulates the police to buy them enough time to print money. (money heist au)
Pairing: Daemon Targaryen x Reader, Aegon Targaryen x Reader, and Aemond Targaryen x Reader.
Rating: Mature 18+
series masterlist | part four
(BEL-AIR, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. COLE ESTATE.)
Alicent Hightower knew the price of fortune - all of the material things she had in this life was because of her hard work. She was born in a small village; Bohoniki. It was engraved in her mind that the only way that she'd escape poverty was to study hard.
- and study, she did.
Studied so hard that her eyes were strained after a few years - and when the exam results came out - she was thrown away, casted aside for some hot-shot heiress that would probably waste the opportunity of going to college. That was the day that she vowed to work - to step on whoever's corpse it took to have what she wanted.
But she was a woman.
She always had to be a victim against other people's actions. She worked hard to get accepted into a new university, but she ends up falling in love with her Economics Professor. He was beautiful - with silver hair that went past his shoulders. She was enthralled with the way that the words spewed out of his mouth. She had three beautiful children with him - same in temperament, same in looks.
You could take a girl out of the cold, but not the cold out of the girl.
Sooner or later, she'd become the abuser too. She left her family for a businessman - a man that could provide the life that she desired - was it her fault? Partly, but now it's come to bite her.
"Aegon has always been a mischievous child. I don't know why - we always provided him everything that he wanted. Maybe, that was the reason - he had everything and nothing in this world made him happy. But stealing made him happy - he says that it excites him." Alicent cleared her throat, stirring her tea clockwise.
"- it's not the first time that the cops have knocked on my door." she chuckled bitterly, assuming that what had happened was a minor thing - a small shoplifting incident that would be fixed with a few hundred dollars.
"What Mr. Aegon Targaryen has done - is of a different level, Congresswoman. We'll need your help to get him back." Corlys smiled. The government airlifted him to USA the moment they found out about Aegon's identity. What they were doing needed to be stop - before it could become a precedence for other terrorists.
"Get him back? Is he lost?" Alicent joked again. Corlys' demeanor shifted, and he leaned back on the sofa. "He is a terrorist," he said bluntly, and the atmosphere slowly turned dull. "Is this about the PETA Organization again? He's a soft hearted boy," she reasoned and the man shook his head, placing a yellow file on the coffee table.
She quickly placed the teacup beside her - hands shaking as she reached for the file. "The Royal Mint of Spain: Currently Occupied by Terrorists." the headline read out, a picture of her son in the bubble beside the drawing. Her lips shudder, fingers touching the picture.
How long has it been since she's last seen a photograph of her son? Those chubby cheeks still remained, but his eyes were down-set and his eye-bags were more prominent. "This is not real, whatever game you're playing Inspector Corlys - it's not funny. Especially now that election season is moving closer." her voice turned stoic.
"I am afraid that it is not a game - The Government of Spain is losing money in their attempts to quell this act of terrorism. One of the accused is your son, and you will help us if you want to win the reelection." he threatened, placing the deal more bluntly - aware of how politicians could turn and twist narratives. "I can just deny his existence, there are no records that the boy is mine." Alicent's face suddenly turned cold.
Corlys resisted the urge to roll his eyes - the Congresswoman's poker face was as stupid as her platforms. "You and I both know that you're not going to do that. Parents love their children more than anything, even when they are the shackles that bind us." he stated, taking a nonchalant sip of his chamomile tea. Alicent breathes a sigh of relief, partly afraid of what they'd ask her to do next.
"How am I going to help you? In Aegon's eyes, I'm good as dead." she scoffed, unable to entertain the notion that her children still loved her. She didn't deserve their love, neither their time. "What year did you leave Spain, congresswoman?" Corlys inquired and her teeth burrowed into her lower lip. "Twenty-one years ago," she answered.
"Your son was 2-3?"
"4 or 6. I'm not sure," she replied - in a tone that told her that she still loved her children. "A little too young, but still old enough to realize that you abandoned him." he further explains, taking something out of a separate folder. He places it on the coffee table. In all bold letters, she could barely make out the outline of her son's name.
MY MOTHER, MY HERO
By Aegon Matthew Targaryen
Her eyes trailed up - until she was staring deep inside of the Old Snake's eyes. She'll do everything it takes to save her son, even risk her political career.
(EIGHT HOURS INTO THE HEIST.)
"Is he going to be alright?" Rhaenyra couldn't help but inquire. She's only been around her brother as much as there were fingers in her hands, but she's grown to love him. She loves him the same way that a woman loves her son. The thought of him possibly dying - it didn't sit well with her. "There's a bit of bleeding, but Mysaria had it fixed." Daemon responded, and his niece raised an eyebrow.
"I thought we weren't allowed to use real names?" she placed a hand on his collar, straightening his zipper with rehearsed ease. "Force of habit," he shrugged while freeing himself from her grasps. It was impossible to stay sated around his niece - around a beautiful girl. When she came into his life - he rebuked her. He couldn't understand why his older brother would adopt his ex-wife's daughter.
Aemma cheated on him with a barber - now after she's died of Cancer. Viserys still loves her. Loves her more than he loves Daemon. He couldn't stand the girl, that's why he left for college - he'd rather live in another country than watch his brother play house.
"Does the Professor know that his son is bleeding?" Rhaenyra asked, staring into the camera - knowing that her father was watching from behind it. "He doesn't need to know, worst comes to worst, we'll need better medical care." Daemon took a sip of his cappuccino. "Does that mean that he's stopped bleeding?" she frowned and he shook his head. "Stop babying him, it's a fucking scratch." he placed the mug loudly on the ceramic table - carefully retreating into the halls before anything else happened between them.
Daemon prepared another cup of instant coffee, surprised to see Aemond cleaning his bandaged wound. "What are you doing?" his nephew sanitized the skin around the gash, Daemon takes a mammoth stride towards the window - watching the police prepare their camp around the Royal Mint. "Just because we're on the clock, doesn't mean that there isn't time for slacking off." he responded.
Turning to look at his nephew - whose attention was plastered back into that bleeding piece of skin. "I hope you don't mind, but I haven't told Volantis about this little injury yet." he pointed at the young boy and Aemond frowned. "Why would she need to know?" he acted oblivious, adding more fuel to Daemon's anger.
"You're clearly together," he gritted his teeth - voice full of envy. It was unfair! He fucked the girl first, but his nephew was reaping late game rewards. "We're not." Aemond responded bluntly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the entire world. "Explain to me why there's always a moaning contest in her room, then?" Daemon scoffed. "Is she always stretching? Watching a horror movie perhaps?" Daemon antagonized, watching his nephew throw a piece of cloth angrily.
"I don't care if she's learning pilates or watching fucking Annabelle. I just want to get my money and get out of here." Aemond could feel his patience running thin. "You wouldn't mind then, if I made her my wife?" Daemon smiled mischievously. Aemond was just about to reply, but Aegon suddenly barges inside the room.
"You have to look at what's happening outside. It's urgent!" the boy's panicked voice caught their attention. "What is it?" Aemond groaned - aware that he was unable to walk due to his injury. "Mother." Aegon whispered, and the room's atmosphere dulled.
(TWENTY-TWO YEARS BEFORE D-DAY.)
Alicent couldn't stand staring at her children. They'd cry all the time - and she couldn't stand their constant need for her attention. "Aemond please stop crying, I don't know what to do." she cried, holding her son close to her chest.
It was going to be four hours before her husband returned, and by then, he was going to be too tired to take care of children. It was unfortunate because he was the only one who knew what to do. Viserys was the only one responsible enough to maintain a home.
"He's probably hungry," Aegon peeked through the dark living-room. Alicent could feel more tears flow out of her irises. Her son needed milk, and she was too stupid to even think about that. "Yeah, yeah. Uhh Aegon can you please call Peepaw for me. I-I need help." she stuttered - ashamed of her stupidity.
---
"You shouldn't have called me at this time, I had a sermon today." Otto scolded his daughter, removing his coat and placing it on the rack beside the door. "I didn't know what to do - the kids haven't stopped crying since their father left." she sobbed.
"I always told you that having children this young was a mistake. Imagine, you're only eighteen and you already have two-children? It is an abomination, Alicent." her father scolded, and she could only bow her head in the face of his criticism. She severely needed his help.
He reached for Aemond who was fussing in Alicent's arms. "I didn't have a choice, you told me that I'd go to hell if I didn't marry Viserys." she grimaced, and his dark glare returns. "Premarital Sex, Alicent. I couldn't allow you to sin." he gritted his teeth. His face softened, seeing the familiar figure of his favorite grandchild. "Aegon," he smiled before turning to his daughter.
"Go and rest, I will handle everything."
@fan-goddess @marvelescvpe @theshatteredideal @acollectionofcells1 @mxacegrey @bellstwd @nyctophilic0vitnir @icarusgloom @pearlstiare @themotherofblood @immyowndefender @ammo23 @ladywin17
#daemon targaryen x reader#daemon targaryen#daemon targaryen x oc#house of the dragon#daemon x reader#daemon targaryen imagine#aemond x reader#daemon targaryen fanfic#aegon targaryen ii x reader#aemond targaryen x reader#aegon ii x reader
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Heyyyyy Vodikaaaaa!
I saw those first kiss prompts, and because I'm such a sap, I thought I'd mosey on over here and send in a request.
Can I have “worth the wait” with Fives?
You can take it wherever you want to (just no smut, please), or you could choose to ignore it. I will be happy with anything or nothing 😌
Please and thank you 💚
@the-bad-batch-baroness
Worth the Wait
Summary: You are eagerly waiting for your first date with Fives.
Pairing: ARC Trooper Fives x Reader
Word Count: 1356
Warnings: None~
A/N: You know me, I love me some Fives fluff! Thank you for the request~
divider by saradika
You absently tap your marker on your kitchen counter as you scan the calendar that’s spread out in front of you. Each day is carefully crossed off with a red X as you count down the days until you can finally meet Fives face to face.
A smile crosses your face as you open your marker and cross off one more day. And then you move the marker to tap on the paper right next to the neatly printed words that marked today.
Resolute lands at 10 am,
And directly underneath it.
Date with Fives at Martha’s Tavern at 6 PM.
You feel a surge of excitement. You’ve been preparing for this date for weeks now. You have the perfect outfit, the perfect shoes, the perfect hairstyle-
You may have obsessed over this date. Just a little.
It’s fine. Probably.
You recap your marker and drop it in the cup on the counter, and then pick up the calendar and hang it back on the wall. You grab your comm, and open your reminders, absently scanning down the list for the day, making sure that all of the alarms are properly set, so you aren’t late.
You can’t be late. Not to this.
You and Fives have been friends for almost a year now. Though, admittedly, your friendship only started because you both regularly visit the same chat room.
It started out with a couple of conversations about whatever topic was the topic of the day for the forum. He quickly proved himself to be smarter, and more clever, than many of the other people in the forum, and you found yourself sending him private messages about things that you read in the forum that sat wrong with you.
And in return, he did the same. Sending you messages at random times, linking to a comment or a forum, with a quip or a snarky comment.
And before you knew it, you were sending him your comm code, and he was sending you his, and you were getting messages throughout the day about random little things.
Honestly, you didn’t even know that he was a clone, or even his name, until five months after you started talking with each other.
He’d had a bad day. A really bad day. And you got a message at one am-
I know you’re probably asleep, but I could really use a friend right now-
And you, who had intentionally set the notifications from Fives to be loud enough to wake you, immediately commed him. If he needed a friend, then you would be that friend.
You spent all night talking…and you talked well into the morning.
It changed something in your relationship, though you didn’t realize it until much later.
Fives took to comming you on a daily basis, usually early in the morning for you, or late at night, and while he always apologized for waking you, or preventing you from sleeping, you always made the same joke, “sleep it for the weak.”
Somehow, though, in spite of the fact that he regularly returns to Coruscant, your schedules never quite manage to sync up. Either you’re working or visiting family on the other side of the planet, or he’s working or deployed.
It is, in a word, infuriating.
Three months ago, Fives sent you a message before the Resolute entered hyperspace. Girlfriend?
It was, easily, the most unromantic way to be asked to be someone’s girlfriend, but-
Well.
How could you say no? It’s Fives.
You learned, real quick, that you have an innate inability to say no to Fives. Which would normally concern you, but he’s so kind and sweet, and all he really asks for are pictures and videos of you going about your daily life.
He admitted, only once, that the pictures and videos help him feel like he’s there with you, helping you go through your life.
If you’re going to be honest with yourself, and you always are, you can admit that you’ve fallen, and fallen hard, for Fives. And you haven’t even been on a single date with him.
Which is why, when he sent a message telling you when the Resolute will finally be docking, you immediately replied with an offer for a proper date at one of your favorite restaurants.
And Fives…well, Fives teased you about being so eager, but was just as eager when he agreed.
You stare at the chrono on the wall, it’s almost time for you to head out the door, and you’ve been dressed and primped and ready for over an hour. You ended up getting ready early just to work out some of the excited/nervous energy.
Plus, time was moving so slowly, that you were beginning to fear that it was going to run backwards.
You tap your nails, impatiently, on the arm of your couch, your gaze locked on the chrono, and you heave out a sigh as the minute seems to last an hour.
It’s worse than being in school, honestly.
You heave out another deep sigh as the time finally changes, making in a minute later, and you jump to your feet. You’re done. You can go and wait out by the restaurant. It’s fine. It’s a pretty day.
And if you have to sit here and watch the chrono for another second you’re going to scream.
You’re going to be early. By, like, a lot. But that isn’t a bad thing.
One fifteen minute taxi ride later, you find yourself outside the tavern. You settle yourself on a bench, and prepare yourself for the hour-long wait.
However, less than ten minutes later, someone sits next to you on the bench, “You’re really early, cyare.” You turn to look at the man who joined you, a smile crossing your face when you see Fives grinning at you.
“So are you,” You tease lightly.
“Yes, but if I had to spend one more minute listening to Echo tease me about this date, I was going to throw him off a rooftop.” Fives replies with a laugh, “Speaking of which…we’re being followed.” He drapes his arm over your shoulder and points to a small group of men on the opposite side of the street.
“Ah. Which brothers are they?” You ask, amusement coloring your voice.
“Echo, Jesse, Hardcase,” Fives points out each brother to you, “Oh, and Rex and Cody are just over there.”
“Aww, they love you!” You coo at him.
He laughs, “You really don’t mind?”
You wave at his brothers, and Hardcase and Jesse wave back, “I think it’s cute.”
“Oh, they’re going to love that.” Fives says with a grin.
You turn to look up at him, the nervous energy fading into something warm and comfortable now that you’re in his presence, “Anyway, our reservation isn’t for another hour-”
“Because you’re ridiculously early.”
You bump him with your elbow, “You’re here too!” You say defensively, and he just winks at you, “Anyway,” You continue with a small pout, “We can either just sit here and hang out, or you can introduce me to your brothers-”
“I have a better idea!” Fives interrupts.
“Okay, what is it?” You ask.
And then his lips are against yours. His lips are warm and soft and his hand moves to rest against the back of your neck, holding you against him.
It was a much better kiss than you could have imagined…and you did imagine it. A lot.
He breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against yours, his eyes sparkling with mischief, and affection, “I’ve been wanting to do that for months, cyare.” He admits.
You press one of your hands against his chest, while allowing the fingers of your other hand to trail against his jaw, “And?” You ask, sounding slightly breathless, “How was it?”
He chuckles lowly, and tilts your head so his lips can hover just over yours, “Worth the wait, cyare.” And then his lips are against yours again, as if he can’t get enough of you.
And, as you lean into his touch, you find yourself completely agreeing with him, this is definitely worth the wait.
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Moving forward into 2024!
I haven’t really had a proper chance to say Happy New Years, so this will have to suffice, with a little breakdown of what’s been going on and what’s to come!
WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO
I’ve been spending the better part of the last year working on new projects and endeavors. Both with Time Gate and outside of it. From vendoring at markets and working expo’s for the first time to working on art pieces completely outside of Time Gate, 2023 was a hell of a year and it makes me all the more hyped for 2024. That said, I’ve been carrying a weight with me through 2023 that’s made it difficult to enjoy it to the fullest - the weight of knowing that [AFTERBIRTH] is still on hiatus.
This isn’t the longest hiatus that I’ve been on, but it’s certainly starting to approach the record and I wanna get it back on track. Like getting back in shape after spending an entire winter hibernating and eating nothing but junk food, getting back into drawing [AFTERBIRTH] on a schedule is gonna be a process of rebuilding good habits and learning what I can do better to keep those habits alive and well.
The fortunate side to taking hiatuses is that it always does give me a new sense of perspective. In this case, I learned that I put myself through a lot at the start of [AFTERBIRTH]’s production. Like, way more than I realized. At the time I thought I was super capable - and I am! - but now in hindsight I can recognize it wasn’t healthy or sustainable for me to manage that sort of output all on my own. I’m still grinding away at comics like I always do with those other projects I’ve mentioned, but it’s still nothing near the amount of work I put myself through just to meet my own deadlines with [AFTERBIRTH]. I also have this thing called help now in the form of a background artist who’s been working with me on those other projects, which has been an amazing and enriching experience.
Having that time away from [AFTERBIRTH] not only gave me the breathing room I needed to recuperate from the burnout I got myself into, but also got me out of the routines I had stuck myself into, which has given me some new tricks and skills that I’m really hyped to bring back into Time Gate with me.
This does, in a way, mean that I’ve had to really reflect on Time Gate, a lot. It’s a project I’ve been writing since I was a kid, and drawing as a webcomic since I was around 18-19. It’s changed a lot in that time, but I’m finding while a lot of those changes have been reflected in the comic as it is, there are still so many more I want to make - because like the comic, I’ve changed a lot, too, both as an artist and as a person, and considering Time Gate’s always been a sort of personal extension of myself, I no longer resonate with a lot of parts of it that I’ve since outgrown. It’s not so much that I want to hide or take for granted those parts of it that are ‘uglier’, but I want the writing and art to be expressed in the best way it can be because at the end of the day, I’m trying to tell a coherent story that’s enjoyable to read and experience. I’m also the sort of person who learns best by just getting their hands dirty and learning what not to do, and boy, have I spent a lot of years doing just that through Time Gate.
GOING FORWARD
So, going forward, I’ve adjusted my schedule with my other projects to accommodate the time I need to both get back into Time Gate: [AFTERBIRTH] as well as prepare for the upcoming convention season. I’ve got a bunch of plans for this year’s markets with new ideas for prints and stickers and other goodies that I’m really excited to make! And I just, overall, want to pull myself out of the burnout funk. You can’t force recovery to happen on your own time but there does come a point where you gotta start taking steps otherwise you get stagnant, and I feel like that’s where I’ve been the last few months.
AFTERBIRTH FORMAT CHANGE
[AFTERBIRTH]’s format will be changing back to page format in its second season. Vertical format works for some projects and stories, but not for Time Gate. It’s been fun, but part of learning what I’m best at is learning what I’m not best at and the vertical format is too limiting for what I want to do with Time Gate in the future. Color will still be remaining!
REAPER RECOMPILED
I will also be working on the Recompiled editions of Reaper. These will predominantly be the first few volumes redrawn and rewritten to accommodate a tighter story down the road. I know, I know, “don’t get trapped redrawing/rewriting stuff”, but I feel the changes that I wanna make are so necessary that they’re part of what’s holding me back from continuing with [AFTERBIRTH] into Thread of Fate and beyond. There are a lot of really silly and otherwise unnecessary writing decisions I made back during Reaper that I currently feel aren’t working for what I’m trying to accomplish in its sequels, and let’s face it, I wrote it almost ten years ago when I was still very much learning, so it’s due for an upgrade. It'll be the last time too, because it'll be putting us on Loop 9999 and remember what Matty said about surpassing 9999-
This will be something I’ll be picking at slowly but surely. When it’s ready I’ll basically be replacing the old pages and updating any new mirror sites with only the new version (I’m currently planning on trying out NamiComi and Lemoon and of course I'll be continuing to post on ComicFury and GlobalComix).
THE BIG GREEN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM-
All of that will basically be working towards my biggest step - getting the flying fuck off Webtoons. Because let me tell you, I've basically spent the last two years like this:
Y’all know that I’m not really one to roll over and take shit from massive platforms, and Webtoons is no exception. I’ve been posting to it since 2016 and I’m very very much done with it; just like with Tapas it’s no longer the site it used to be and there’s fresh competition entering the market that I’d rather put my focus on. At the very least, I want my independence back, if I’m gonna be stuck having to market and network my own work anyways I’d much rather be doing it for my own site or platforms that aren’t constantly undercutting its creators by removing core features and not implementing necessary ones. I as well as many others have been doing our own investigating into Webtoons and we’re basically feeling like canaries in the mineshaft right now, picking up on some massive warning signs that we want to get ahead of. The worst that can happen is that I pull the same stats I pull on Webtoons somewhere else, what a tragedy that would be LMAO
LIVESTREAMING
And then of course there are my livestreams. Like learning the hard way that I shouldn’t have been drawing [AFTERBIRTH] on such a strict schedule, I’ve learned that streaming on the schedule I used to be streaming on just ain’t for me. Call it the ADHD but I’d much rather stream when I have something to legitimately talk about or showcase rather than force myself to stream even on days when I’m really not feeling up to talking. And I’d like to get back into doing actual video editing content, whether it’s speedpaints or gaming videos or commentary stuff, whatever have you. Now that I have a proper PC rig that’s actually built to do heavy duty stuff, the possibilities of what I can create are a LOT more vast and I wanna take full advantage of them!
That said, if you wanna see an example of what the streams will look like when we return, check out this lil’ time lapse demo:
Definitely couldn't do that on my old setup! It might not be regular streaming like before, but it’ll damn well be higher quality and more fun to watch haha
WELL THAT WAS A BIG WALL OF TEXT WASN'T IT
So yeah! That was a lot of words but I hope it clears up everything that's been happening on my end. Thanks for following along with my work all these years, whether it’s Time Gate or my lil’ secret projects or my streams, through all the ups and the downs. Long-term projects like these may take their toll but there’s so much joy in seeing them change and grow over time, and I want to fully embrace and reflect that growth as best as I can through what I bring you guys.
Thank you all so much, let’s make 2024 a good year <3
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"All it took was one impulsive kiss. But that's another story."
@haiseiscute333 @sunshines-child
“Wait. Is this serious?” Nico asked, those beautiful brown eyes looking up at Aeon with a hopeful and excited expression.
“It’s not for their local show though. It’s for their performance in Melbourne, Australia. If you’re fine with that, I already have flight tickets and a hotel booked. I also checked with your manager to make sure that it doesn’t have any conflict with your schedule,” Aeon explained, passing to him printed documents of all that he booked.
As if it were possible, Nico’s eyes widened further in shock as he looked through them. VIP tickets to the concert, first class seats on the plane and an executive suite? Holy-! Nico didn’t need to see any receipts to know how much all of these cost.
“I’ll pay you back,” Nico said.
Aeon shook his head, reaching forward to gently push Nico’s hair back. “This is my gift to you. The concert is happening on your birthday week.”
It was? Nico looked down at the concert ticket details. It was! And… Aeon wanted to celebrate it with him.
“Breathe, sweetheart,” Aeon murmured, genuinely concerned as Nico suddenly stopped breathing, looking overwhelmed suddenly.
Nico wasn’t sure what came over him, his body moving before his mind could process his actions. By the time his rationality caught up with him, he had already leaned over, his lips firmly pressed against Aeon’s. His hands that were cupping Aeon’s cheeks at that moment could feel the man trembling slightly in his arms, prompting Nico to let him go with a flustered look.
“You… You didn’t have to do that,” Aeon said slowly, one of his arms slipping around Nico’s waist, preventing him from completely pulling away. “I wasn’t expecting anything when I gifted these to you. I just wanted to make you happy.”
“And I am,” Nico said.
With a shuddered breath, he pressed himself closer to the older male, Aeon’s arm reflexively tightening around him. He looked directly into those gorgeous emerald green eyes, and shuddered at what he saw. They had always been filled with affection and adoration when they looked at him, but at that moment, there was hunger in their depths. Raw desire. Warmth pooled in his stomach as he saw his own desire being reflected in them.
“I just wanted to kiss you too,” Nico admitted, ripping out a guttural moan from Aeon’s throat at the admission. “I still want to. Real bad. Can-”
Soft lips captured Nico’s lips in a searing kiss before he could finish his statement. For the record, Nico was by no means a virgin. He had been intimate with his partners in the past, so he knew what to do with his mouth. Or so he thought. For a virgin, Aeon didn’t kiss like one. He devoured Nico’s lips like he was on a mission to mark it as his. He took away Nico’s breath, as if it was his own. As if he was a dying man and the breath from Nico’s lips were his only salvation. He kissed… with the raw desire of a man who was finally being granted to act on his innermost desire.
“I’ve wanted this for years,” Aeon breathed raggedly against his lips, out of breath. Nico was surprised to find out that he was too. “Wanted you for years.”
Nico gulped. “Then why did you stop?” He asked.
Before Aeon could reply, he connected their lips once more, matching the other’s earlier passion. One of his hands slipped to the back of his partner’s head, clutching onto a fistful of hair while his free hand cupped the back of Aeon’s neck, pulling him closer. His lips parted open, his tongue slipping out to tentatively caress Aeon’s plush lips, coaxing them to part for him. He didn’t even register Aeon pulling him close, or himself straddling Aeon on the couch, his attention entirely on the movement of their lips, of the tentative caresses of their tongues that was becoming bolder by the second. Nico didn’t think he had ever wanted anyone so much as he wanted the man before him right now. He wanted Aeon. Entirely.
“Stop pulling away,” Nico complained when Aeon pulled back a second time. He chased after him, lightly biting down on his lower lip.
“We have to stop.” Nico shuddered at the tone of Aeon’s voice. “You’re… provoking me.”
Nico blinked, opening his eyes that he didn’t even realize he closed at some point. The desire in Aeon’s eyes were much prominent now, his hands gripping Nico’s thin waist to the point of bruising. Nico flushed slightly as he realized what Aeon meant as, when he leaned back, he felt something against his thighs.
With a playful smile, he shifted slightly in his lap, pressing their bodies closer together.
“I’m doing it with that intention in mind,” Nico whispered, brushing his lips gently against Aeon’s. “Please. Can I have you? Will you have me?”
“You don’t know what you’re asking, Nico,” Aeon replied, taking his lower lip between his teeth, tugging lightly. “Once I have you, I have no intention to let you go.”
“Then don’t.” Nico himself was tired of letting go. He wanted to keep. He wanted to be kept. “Have me.”
A low growl was his only response before Aeon swept him into his arms, carrying him towards the man’s - their shared - bedroom.
#ceo! aeon x celebrity! nico#yeah let's go with that for now#aeon (pjo)#nico di angelo#pjo#percy jackson
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