#...i rest in bed all day... progressively get better...& then the next day i'm FINE

[changingplumbob]

Second Round - Day Four (R2) 1 of 3

@paracosmic-sims, @perolesims, @eljeebee, @jonquilyst, @riverofjazzsims, @matchalovertrait

Reflection on Progress:��Oh, it was definitely great. I knew Deanna would fall for my charms as soon as we spent some time together, and look at that! Second place may not be the coveted *first*, but only losing to the girl who already had the advantage of starting on the lead isn't bad at all! Nothing I can't handle on the next few rounds, rest assured. The challenges were certainly something, though. Me? Winning at *videogames?* That's certainly news to me, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it. But it was so worth it.

Hana: Honestly, while a new group is refreshing, I can't say it's not comforting to have at least one familiar face around. While we don't always see eye to eye, Hana has certainly left a decent impression on me, and I look forward to keep our art discussions going.

Isabella: Another contestant with fine taste? This round is really surprising.  She seems more level-headed than she gives herself credit for, but unfortunately didn't catch my attention much beyond her good fashion sense. Refined but not... distinctive. Like a timeless fashion article, in the sense that it can be always there, but never quite as loved as the season's trend, if it makes sense?  But that constance might be what keeps her afloat in the game, so it's worth noting, at least. I just think she'll get along better with Quetzalli than me, for example.

Isla: Style influencer and High Maintenance? Ugh, either a match made in heaven or hell. Probably hell, given she quite literaly had an outburst over a *dream*. Like... get it together girl, even *I* wouldn't demand this amount of catering over something as small as that. I'm not the most tranquil girl around, don't get me wrong, but even I could see that was diva-meltdown behaviour. And not the cute and relatable kind, either. That's the kind that gets you blacklisted on any self-respecting agencies. ...I fear the villa wouldn't still be standing at the end of the day, honestly, if most of us wake up on the wrong side of the bed. Too many clashing aspects. Who decided on this?

Nyami: Hm, the sixth place... So, second most sucessful of this group. That already makes her noteworthy. Though, I find it hard to like her from what I've seen, so she must really be putting in work to be this high still. Cringe, erratic, and still on top ten? *winces* What does Deanna see in her?

Quetzalli: Honestly, she seems to be the only one who hasn't shared a group with at least someone else before. Must feel bad to be the odd one out. She seems to enjoy a more refined style, from what I've noticed so that's always a pleasant thing to see - though her clothes... don't exactly covey that (not even quiet luxury... they seem plain?). I won't say she's not beautiful - even managed herself a fellow contestant's attention, from what I've seen? - but it's certainly way too understated.  She's probably someone who wants more, but doesn't know how to put herself out there and shine. Her behaviour in the challenges shows that too. A little too naive. But... ultimately not a problem to me, I think. Might even be a good connection to make, perhaps? Though, she seemed a bit clingy with Posy, and I'm still baffled that she opted to stay? She was offered, in her words, everything she wanted. She's low enough on the rank that her wanting to stay isn't a problem for me, but... why?

Reflection on Progress: Alright, I could’ve done better, but I’m happy for the chance to keep going and excited for the next adventures (:

Apolline: It's nice to go another round by her side. Despite our differences, she's the closest I can come to calling someone a 'friend' around here (:

Isabella: I’ve only seen them a few times, so it’s hard to have a solid opinion, but they seem like a really cool person and I think she’s beautiful, but very serious

Isla: She looks super cute! I can’t wait to actually get to know her and talk to her and all that.

Nyami: Another contestant I think is gorgeous! But she better watch out, 'cause I’m aiming for her spot in the ranking. Though, to be honest, the one I really want to knock off the podium is Lara. Nothing personal—just focused on the goal. hehe

Quetzalli: She’s so beautiful! And she seems super nice too—another contestant I think I’d really get along with (: I’m excited to get to know her even better

Reflection on Progress: It was a ride. A LOT happened, I mean a LOT, especially by the end of this round. Alaina joining the contest but she's engaged? And Berenice? Oh, I wish she never came here under pretenses. I miss her. I know I don't find her jokes funny, but right now? I really wish I could hear those jokes from her. The fight as well, I just hope nothing happens like that in the next round. I'm glad justice was served and Cassiel was removed. I hope Jerrica is okay. Anyway, I was ranked 18th! Not bad, I think. Though I'd have to work hard for my points the next round.

Apolline: Apolline is a bit of a princess, but I think we both appreciate the refined side of life. I think she and I could get along well, just talking about expensive art for hours. I'm looking forward to sharing the villa with her!

Hana: Another artist! Hana seems like a great person and I can't wait to spend more time getting to know her.

Isla: I thought we would butt heads for the whole round, but I'm so happy we got more closer. I'm so glad we're together again! I know we're supposed to be competing against each other, but still. I'd choose her to stay with.

Nyami: Gorgeous Nyami is with me again for this round. I remember losing against her during the staring contest. I felt like her eyes would swallow me and drown me with those adorable orbs! I'm just glad I'm with her this time!

Quetzalli: I saw Posy proposition her after the last elimination, and I saw Quetzalli really think about leaving with her. I like Quetzalli and I'm not saying she stayed for the screen time to help her career, but it's good we're rooming together at the villa this round. I'm looking forward to finding out if my suspicions are just jealousy, or if she really is just in this for the fame.

Reflection on Progress: I think it went pretty well! Definitely more ups than downs. I'm happy that I won a couple challenges and spent that extra time with Deanna!

Apolline: She's so pretty and I love her hair! I need to ask what shampoo she uses because her hair looks so soft and silky smooth!

Hana: I haven't heard much about her, so I don't really have an opinion of her yet. She's got interesting tattoos; tattoos aren't really my thing but they look good on her! Hopefully we'll get along.

Isabella: I am sooo thrilled that I will still be with Isabella! I think out of everyone in my first group I got along with her best. At first I wasn't sure if I'd like her or not, but now I'm confident that she is someone I'd love to stay friends with!

Nyami: I guess more cringy jokes await me! I've been learning to tolerate her but hopefully I can still escape when I want to like last round.

Quetzalli: I heard that there was some drama between her and Posy. Not sure what it was about but hopefully it won't carry over into this new group.

Reflection on Progress: I'm so proud of myself for making it through. I wasn't sure how this would play out and I am glad to have met everyone. I will miss Bernice though but i understand why she needed to go - it is a competition. I'm ready for the next round though to see how Deanna and I will continue to connect

Apolline: I'm imaging she'll see me as competition so I'm not expecting it to go well. I'd like to be friends but I'm not sure if we have much in common

Hana: She seems like a free spirit so hello! Fellow one right here! I am expecting that it won't be too hard to get to know her, if she has a good sense of humor

Isabella: So I am with Belle again? At least she'll be used to my jokes. We are different people but she's always polite

Isla: She's like me, her high maintenance is similar to my erratic nature. Sometimes we'll wake up on the right side of the bed and sometimes we don't. It'll be nice to spend time with her again

Quetzalli: So I wasn't there for the Posy drama but if Quetzalli turned her down that means she's someone that follows through. I can respect that

Reflection on Progress: I won't lie, it's a miracle I'm still in because of my unflirty nature. However, I've been having a great time. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I need to strategize more effectively if I want to stay in.

Apolline: She makes me nervous. She's in second place, has cute outfits, and acts very proper. I think I'll forget how to act around her.

Hana: For a hot-headed person, she's effortlessly cool. I'm surprised she didn't rank higher.

Isabella: Another music lover! Maybe we can be besties!

Isla: I heard her dream job as a kid was to become a professional shell collector! That's adorable. I think we'll be good friends, too.

Nyami: Nyami is such a sweetie, no wonder she's also high up in the ranking.

[pegglefan69]

Oh my God I'm improving...horrible goop head is improving so much...

[writingwithciara]

across the hall; part 5 -quinn hughes-

summary: y/n moves in across the hall from quinn and in an emergency, she leaves her five-year old daughter in his care

word count: 2.2k

pairing: quinn hughes x reader, toxic ex-boyfriend x reader

notes:

it was just after 2am when y/n finally got off of work. she had worked for over 12 hours and she was exhausted. all she wanted to do was go home, take a hot bath and put abby to bed.

but then she remembered that quinn had texted her during her break and informed her that abby wanted to stay at his place for the night. so when she got home, she would be alone.

she loved her daughter but there was not a whole lot of time she got to herself since becoming a mother. this was just one of the many reasons why she was thankful to have quinn in her life.

when she pulled into her parking spot, she spotted a familiar car a few spaces away from hers. and suddenly, she was hesitant to enter the building.

she did promise andy she would talk to him later, but in her mind, later meant the next day or maybe days from then. but he was persistent. so she headed up to her apartment.

just as she predicted, andy was sitting outside her apartment. when he saw her, he stood up and dusted off his pants.

"i was starting to get worried about you." he looked at her, seeing if there was any damage to her body. when he concluded there was not, he let out a sigh of relief. "quinn told me you would be home around midnight. so i've been waiting."

"yeah i figured." she sighed. "look, andy, i've had a really long and stressful day and i know i promised that we could talk later, but i just don't have the energy for that right now."

"that's what i thought was going to happen. but you don't have to do any talking. just listen, please?"

"3 minutes. that's all i can handle."

"can we go inside?"

"no. because if we do, i'll be too exhausted to make you leave and we both know that will not turn out well."

"i've changed, y/n. i really have." he took a hesitant step closer. "i know you may not believe me but i've been going to therapy and i've been making a ton of progress in making myself better. into a man who actually deserves someone as great as you or abby in my life." he looked at her. "i know it'll take some time but all i want is for you to give me one chance to prove it. please?"

"i'm tired, andy. can we talk more about this tomorrow?"

"can i take you out for lunch?"

"if that's what it takes to get you leave right now, then fine." she unlocked her door. "i'll meet you at the cafe that's 10 minutes from here."

"okay. thank you." he went to walk away. "can you bring abby?"

"i will not allow abby any time with you until you have proven to me that you're a changed man."

"okay fair enough. see you tomorrow." he walked away and y/n fought against her will to go inside. the logical part of her brain wanted her to go across the hall and see quinn but the tired part wanted her to just get some rest. she would see quinn tomorrow.

by the time she climbed into bed and got comfortable, the only thing on her mind was the man across the hall.

the next morning, y/n woke up earlier than she wanted. even with the 8 hours of sleep, she was still exhausted. but she had promised to meet andy for lunch so she had to get ready. she did it slowly but the end result was fine enough.

she went across the hall and knocked on quinn's door. he was rubbing his eyes when he answered but when he saw y/n, he smiled.

"good morning."

"good morning." she smiled back. "would you mind watching abby for another hour or two?"

"why? what's going on?"

"i stupidly told andy i'd meet him for lunch today to hear him out."

"oh." was all quinn said.

"yeah." y/n looked at him. "will you watch her?"

"of course." he smiled. "go hear him out. we'll be here when you get back."

"oh you're the best." she leaned up to kiss his cheek and headed towards the elevator.

that was twice in less than 24 hours that y/n had kissed his cheek and left him frozen in place. things continued to get confusing.

he shut the door and went to the kitchen to make abby some lunch. it was a good thing he was an excellent chef who was good with kids or else he wouldn't be doing this.

he chuckled when that thought crossed his mind because even if he wasn't either of those things, he would still keep an eye on abby because y/n asked him to. at this point, he would do anything she asked him to do.

-----

y/n looked at the coffee and sandwich in front of her as she mindlessly listened to andy explain how he wanted to be better for her and abby. she wanted to believe him but there was so many factors from her past that contradicted what he was saying. stuff that caused her to lose her trust in almost everyone.

"do you hate me?"

"why would you ask that?"

"you've been zoning in and out of this conversation for the last 10 minutes. either something is on your mind or you hate me."

"can't it be both?" she cracked a smile.

"i understand why you hate me, but please, don't deprive our daughter of a life without her father."

"it's not really entirely up to me, andy. i'll talk to abby and get back to you."

"if it helps, i brought presents for her for every holiday and birthday i messed up on. and i have stuff for you too."

"keep it. i don't want any of it."

"but what if abby does?"

"that's up to her." y/n sighed. "i'm taking her to the park later. if you happen to stop by, i can't stop you from seeing her, i suppose."

"so what does this mean then?"

"you're on probation, andy."

"fair enough." he stood up and paid for everything. "thank you for this chance."

"yeah yeah. it's your only one so if you screw this up, you won't be getting another one."

"understood. i'll see you later."

y/n sighed and waited another 10 minutes before heading back to the apartment. she walked into quinn's apartment without knocking and froze when she heard abby's giggling coming from the hallway. seconds later, quinn was running out with abby in his arms, guiding her around like an airplane. when he spotted y/n, he slowed down.

"we have arrived at our destination." he smiled and set her down on the floor. "go get your stuff, abby."

y/n watched her daughter run down the hall before turning to quinn. "i may have made a mistake, quinn."

"i'm guessing the talk didn't go well."

"no. it went better than expected, honestly." y/n looked at him. "i told him i was taking abby to the park later and that if he jut so happened to be there too, i couldn't stop him from seeing his daughter."

"oh."

"tell me if i made a mistake."

"i don't think you did. it's important for a girl to know her father. and it's up to you to set those boundaries." he smiled. "also, i've noticed that you've never made a mistake in the time i've known you. you always think every decision through before making one."

"thanks, quinn. i truly appreciate you and everything you do."

"i appreciate you too." quinn pulled her into a gentle hug. one that she melted into without a thought.

"can quinn come to the park with us today, mom?"

"i would love to, but i got plans with some of the guys from the team. maybe next time, sweetheart." quinn bent down to give abby a hug.

"okay, quinny." abby smiled and headed across the hall. y/n turned to quinn with a grin.

"quinny?" she giggled.

"she started calling me that last night." quinn smirked. "think she likes me."

"dude, she loves you. you're great with her and i appreciate it."

"anything for you." quinn touched her shoulder gently and left her in the hallway. y/n blinked for a few seconds before going to her apartment and grabbing abby.

an hour later, the girls sat down for a picnic when y/n saw andy approaching them. she gave him a signal to stop for a second before she turned to abby.

"hey. um, your dad wants to visit you. would you be interest in that?"

"i guess. he's gonna come around even if i say no, isn't he?"

"yeah i guess so." y/n waved her hand towards him, telling him to move slowly.

"hey. mind if i join you?" he looked at abby. she nodded and looked back at her food, not wanting to engage with him.

andy took a seat next to y/n and set his bag down. "remember the gifts i mentioned?"

"mhm." y/n looked at her phone, wanting nothing more than to text quinn.

"well i brought a couple of them with me and was hoping you girls would accept them."

"presents?" abby set her food back on the plate and turned to face andy as he pulled out 3 gifts. he placed them on the table and abby began opening them.

"i told you i wasn't going to accept any gifts from you, andy." y/n eyed him for a second and went back to her phone.

"i know. but i was hoping you would accept this one." he placed a small jewelry box in front of her, finally catching her attention.

"you really think this is going to make me forgive you, andy? it's going to take a lot more than a necklace." she opened the box and she felt her eyes begin to water. inside the box was a locket with abby's name & birthday, while inside the locket was a picture of the sonogram & a picture of abby when she was 2. y/n's favorite picture. "i'll accept this one gift. but that doesn't mean you're forgiven."

"that's okay. it's a start, right?" he smiled his trademark smile and picked a piece of cheese off y/n's plate.

he ended up being so good with abby and everything he was doing was proving he really was a changed man. y/n hated that she was starting to fall back into his orbit so easily.

later that night, y/n actually let andy into her apartment for dinner. he even joined her in tucking abby in for bed. it felt like they were a family as andy put his arm around y/n when they walked out of the room. she walked him to the door and before he left, he turned to her.

"i just want to thank you again for allowing me to have this day with you guys. i know i've been a terrible person in the past but i hope today was proof that i'm really trying to change. and not just for abby. i'm trying to be a man that deserves someone as wonderful as you."

"you're still on probation, but if i'm being honest, your behavior today has shown a lot of promise."

"i'm glad you feel that way." he slid his hand down her arm and gently grabbed her hand. "i missed you, y/n."

"goodnight, andy." against her better judgement, y/n leaned up and placed a kiss on andy's cheek before he left. just as she was about to shut the door, quinn came out of his apartment.

"hey. how was your day?"

"it was surprisingly good. i think andy may actually be a changed man."

"well, be careful with who you give your heart to. i'd hate to see you get hurt, y/n."

"i appreciate you looking out for me, quinn. but i promise not to get too invested in this, just in case."

"you know i'm only saying this because i care about you, right?"

"i know. and i appreciate it." y/n touched quinn's arm the way andy had touched hers earlier. "thank you."

"you're welcome." he smiled and looked at where her hand was placed. "are you and abby free tomorrow? i have the day off before we have to go on the road for a week and i wanted to spend the day with my favorite girls before i go."

"i'm sure abby would love that, but i won't be able to make it. i work in the morning and i don't know when i'll be home."

"oh." quinn looked at her. "i totally understand. your job is important."

"i'll let you spend the day with abby tomorrow and the first day you get back from the trip, we can spend the day together. i'll make sure to book it off. i promise."

"okay. i would really like that."

"i'll drop abby off before i go to work, alright?"

"sounds good. i'll see you in the morning."

"good night, quinn." y/n kissed his cheek and headed back to her apartment.

quinn was never going to get used to the way she could freeze him with just one simple action.

----------

tags: @alwaysclassyeagle @justagingerliving @marroonwitch

[d-romanov]

eep i’m obsessed with your stories!! if you want any inspiration, maybe soft mama nat taking care of R when she’s sick? R probably isn’t used to being cared for in that way because of her past, and is adamant at first that she’s fine. Ofc Nat provides lots of cuddles and carries weak R throughout the tower

everyone needs a sick day

[ 845 words ]

[ natasha romanoff x teen!widow!reader ]

notes: i'm so glad you like them!! i'm always a sucker for soft nat, and it was fun to write reader being so stubborn :P i hope you enjoy!!

summary: reader is sick and stubborn and natasha thinks it's funny.

cw: mentions of past abuse (the red room)

You figured that your sneezing the other day had just been allergies, and that the chills you had last night were simply the air conditioning being up too high. The unpleasant aching all over must have just been from overdoing it while you were sparring the other day, and your cough was simply a consequence of the air being so dry. It was the middle of winter in New York City, after all.

At no point did you truly consider you were sick. Avenger or not, you were still a Widow, and Widows simply didn't get sick.

Being sick meant you were vulnerable, weak. Weakness wasn't tolerated because weakness got you killed.

It took a long time for you to unlearn all the things you'd been taught, no matter how often Natasha reminds you you're safe when you wake up from a nightmare.

You'd made a lot of progress in your year at the tower, but there were some things that just didn't go away that fast.

So, out of a deeply rooted fear, only exacerbated by the low-grade fever you've had the last two days, you decided you wouldn't tell anyone.

Of course, Natasha, your mentor and mother figure, saw through it straight away when you walked into the kitchen for breakfast. She noted your especially sluggish movements and subtle shivering while you shuffled to the counter.

"How'd you sleep, y/n?" You rub your eyes to try and wake yourself up.

"Fine, you?" It comes out really scratchy and bugs your throat, but you're able to suppress the cough that threatens to bubble up. You're fine.

"I slept alright, just got a little too warm last night, did you notice that?" You're not sure if she's caught on, but you know the tower has impeccable temperature control.

"Eh, a little, wasn't that bad though." You throat feels especially dry when you swallow, and you try to suppress another cough. It doesn't work however, and the choked noise that leaves you is painful.

"Yup thought so." Natasha makes her way next to you and hold her hand to your head, to which you unconsciously lean into the cooling touch. "You're sick, hun."

"M'not sick." You grumble, not bothering to move your head away or sit up straight. You know you've been caught.

"Sweetheart, you're burning up. Let's get you back to bed and get some medicine in you."

Your sick daze impedes your rational thought, and your heart skips a beat at the mention of "medicine."

"No, no Nat 'm fine, really." You stumble when you stand too fast, but Natasha catches your arms gently.

"No, you're sick y/n." Her tone is soft but firm, she's not trying to punish your weakness, she just wants to help. "Now are you gonna listen or do I have to carry you back?" Her mouth quirks up.

You glare defiantly up at Natasha's slightly amused expression. You're not a baby, you don't need to be carried.

Your face scrunches up. "I'm fine." And you sneeze right as you say it. Wonderful.

Natasha raises an eyebrow at you. "Alright then," Next thing you know, she's scooped you up with her hands under your back and legs. "Carried it is."

"Wha-! Nat put me down!" You practically squeal as you squirm in her arms, but her hold doesn't falter once.

"Nope! You, miss, are going back to bed and resting until you're better."

"But-!"

"No buts."

You grumble and cross your arms, tucking your head into her neck, which feels cool against your hot forehead.

As Natasha carries you through the tower, you feel yourself relax. Her neck is relief from the fever and headache, the rhythmic bounce from every step is practically rocking you to sleep.

Your body is still periodically shocked by a harsh cough or chill, but Natasha kisses your forehead and shushes you, or squeezes your body a little tighter against hers.

You think you hear someone say 'hi' because Natasha stops before you're on your floor yet, but you're too content in your position to acknowledge it.

Soon enough, you're being placed gently back in your bed and being handed a glass of water and some Tylenol.

You tiredly swallow the pills and drink most of the water, which is soothingly cold as it goes down.

Natasha tucks you in warmly and swipes your hair from your face. "You'll feel better if you get some rest, малышка, and I'll make you some soup when you wake up."

You giggle tiredly. "You can't cook, мама,"

Natasha blows a raspberry at you. "Okay, I'll microwave you some canned soup. How's that?"

"s' good." You're failing at keeping your eyes open, and Nat turns the bedside lamp off and moves to leave. You grumble.

"What is it, детка?"

You reach your hand out lazily, eyes shut and brows furrowed. "Stay."

Natasha smiles and lifts the covers, scooting down and pulling you close under her chin. "Sleep, love."

After some shifting you settle against her and your breathing soon evens out, soundly asleep in your mother's arms.

[celestialsoyeon]

I would like to order a Woozi sickfic.Maybe there was a virus in the company and as he usually stays late working he got infected because of his low defenses and when he comes home he feels sick but he ignores it and the next day when he gets up he has a fever and an upset stomach but he decides to hide it during the day. But as the day progresses he feels worse and dehydrated because of how much he has vomited so he ends up asking one of the boys for help and they take care of him and take good care of him.

Hiiii! Here's the headcannon you asked for! I'm not sure whether it's good or not, but I did my best! Happy reading, I hope the person who asked this will like it! Love y'all!

Summary: Woozi always works until late at night at his studio at the company. One night, he feels sick while getting back home. He doesn't think much of it and just tries to sleep it off. The next morning, it's even worse, but he tries to hide it until he can't anymore.

word count: 1,72k

content warnings: sickness, obviously, vomiting, fever, dehydration, kinda delirious/half-conscious, needles/IV

Sickie: Woozi

Caretaker: All the other members, especially Mingyu

Jihoon had been staying late basically every single day since the beginning of this week. He had to. If he didn't who would? And he had a lot of work to do, with the upcoming album release coming up at the end of the month. He had no time to waste chilling or sleeping.

He knew he was pushing himself too hard and that he would end up collapsing, but he didn't care. Not when the group's career could be at jeopardy if he decided to be lazy. He couldn't afford to fall back on his work right now, and he kept working until his eyes were drooping.

When he noticed that, he got up and gathered his things, intending to go back home, deciding that it was enough. He raised his head, glancing at the clock. It was 3 A.M.

He was lucky that Seungcheol had fallen asleep as soon as he got back to the dorms, too tired to even keep his eyes open for five more minutes. He hadn't been sleeping a lot lately, too busy taking care of Seungkwan and his recurring nightmares. Otherwise he would've gotten scolded, as every single time Seungcheol saw him coming back so late at night.

He let out a sigh and walked back to the dorm, putting on his jacket. As he was walking back to the dorm, the only place he would be able to sleep peacefully and get some well-deserved rest, he started feeling uneasy. His stomach was hurting him a bit and he felt a bit sick.

He decided to ignore it. There was no way he'd wake up Seungcheol neither Soonyoung just because he had an upset stomach. Maybe sleeping it off would work and tomorrow would be better?

He just went to bed, careful not to wake Soonyoung up. The dancer was fast asleep and waking him up was really the last thing he wanted. Soonyoung wasn't sleeping a lot either, and although it had always been like that since predebut, Jihoon still didn't want to disturb his sleep. He'd rather throw up all night alone in the bathroom than wake up any of the asleep members.

He laid down in bed, looking at the ceiling, struggling to fall asleep. The pain in his stomach grew stronger. "I'll be fine.. I'll be just fine.. no need to worry them.." He whispered. Soonyoung was too deeply asleep to hear him. And Jihoon ended up falling asleep too. He was too exhausted to even think he'd be able to stay awake for much longer anyway. He hugged tightly the plushie Seungkwan gifted him for his birthday last year, and fell into a deep slumber.

A few hours passed before it was time to get up. When the alarm of his phone rang, Jihoon couldn't help but let out a small whimper. His head was killing him after hearing that sound first thing in the morning. And as if it wasn't enough, his stomach was feeling worse than last night, if it was even possible.

He still got up and acted fine when seeing the other members, despite feeling his stomach churning. Seokmin and Mingyu tried to get him to eat something, but Jihoon just said he wasn't hungry and got ready for work. They had vocal practice in the morning, dance practice in the afternoon, it should be fine, right? He would feel better already.

No. No he didn't feel better. If anything, it got worse.

He still tried to hide it and focus on his work throughout the day, but some of the members were already starting to understand that something was wrong with him. Seungcheol came to check on him, but Jihoon still acted as if everything was fine.

Ten minutes later, he was in the bathroom, throwing up his guts out.

He went back to the others, still acting as if everything was fine.

As they practiced the choreography Soonyoung was teaching them, Jihoon felt even worse and went to the bathroom again. He threw up again, and more than once, at that.

He felt feverish and couldn't even drink. This time, he knew he couldn't hide that anymore. He had to tell them. He had to call for someone. But when he tried to get up, he was too weak to do so. He fumbled in his pockets for a moment, looking for his phone, finding it upon seconds.

But another wave of nausea hit him as he was going to dial Seungcheol's number. He threw up again, and after five other excruciating minutes of throwing up, he could finally call for help.

Seungcheol answered at the first ring.

" 'Hoon? Where are you? Are you alright?"

Given the tone of his voice, he was obviously worried. Very worried. Jihoon answered as best as he could.

"I.. Hyung.. I think I'm sick.. I'm not feeling good.."

"Where are you? I'll get you back home okay?"

"Y..yeah.. I'm.. in the bathroom.."

"I'm coming right away, I'll be with Mingyu, we're getting you back home."

The leader addressed the other members.

"Guys, can someone get Jihoon's belongings and call a doctor to come at the dorm. Tell them we'll be there in around... maybe half an hour? If Hoon doesn't get any worse?"

There was some approving responses from everyone, but Jihoon could barely hear them. He felt more and more tired, that was most likely because of the fever, Jihoon knew it was anything but a good sign. He heard the other members' voices but couldn't understand what they were saying.

Mingyu and Seungcheol both ran to the bathroom, arriving soon at Jihoon's side. Mingyu quickly assessed the situation.

"Uh-oh.. that's not good.. We need to lower his body temperature as soon as we can before he gets delirious or even worse, starts having fever-induced seizures. Believe me, you don't want to have to deal with that shit."

Seungcheol nodded, and held Jihoon's body bridal style, getting him to the van. The motion of the car made Jihoon's sickness even worse and they had to pull over twice so he could throw up again. But after what felt like an eternity, they were back home.

Mingyu carefully laid Jihoon in his bed, and checked on him again. He looked dazed and mumbled incoherently when Mingyu was asking him questions, trying to assess how conscious he actually was.

The answer was that he was out of it. His eyes were open, but he paid no attention to what was happening around him. He didn't mind the cold and wet towels put on his neck and on his forehead. He didn't pay attention to Mingyu shaking his shoulders and call his name. He was there, but barely.

The other members were acting swiftly to take care of Jihoon, preparing soup, water, medications, pillows, plushies. Seungcheol had stayed there, sitting down at Jihoon's bedside, a bucket on the ready in case JIhoon was to throw up again.

He didn't. But he was still very feverish. And that got Seungcheol worried to death. He ended up getting up, pacing nervously in the room. Jeonghan and Seokmin even had to get him out of the room, because he was too stressed out.

They didn't want Jihoon to get anxious or anguished on top of being sick. He was already badly sick, that was enough.

The doctor soon arrived, and just as the members, he looked alarmed by Jihoon's condition.

"We really need to lower his body temperature before he ends up having a seizure. And he needs fluids too, and nutrients."

"He can't eat though", Joshua said in a worried voice. "And even the medications would not stay down."

"We'll have to insert an IV line then. If we don't that might endanger him. But you don't have to worry, we can do it here and he will for sure get better as soon as he receives medication and the appropriate care. His condition doesn't require hospitalization. However, I want that guy at full rest for at least a week. He'll need a lot of rest to recover properly. And if he doesn't get better within the next few days, I want him to get checked properly." The doctor said, looking at them with a gentle but firm stare.

Joshua nodded, reassured by the doctor's words. Seungkwan looked horrified to be told that his hyung would need a goddamn needle into his arms, but the other members reassured him that it wasn't that much of a big deal.

Jihoon would be okay. They all were sure of it. After the doctor administered the necessary care, he left, and all the members relayed at Jihoon's bedside. As the hours ticked by, Jihoon got more lucid, he wasn't that out of it anymore. And that soothed a bit Mingyu who, among the members, was by far the most worried.

He had nearly panicked when the doctor said that Jihoon needed an IV, and Wonwoo had to explain to him, just as Joshua had done for Seungkwan, that it wasn't a big deal and that Jihoon would be just fine.

The first night was the hardest one. At first, Jihoon kept throwing up. But when the medications kicked in, it stopped and soon enough, Jihoon could eat a bit of food. Nothing much, but better than nothing.

Mingyu stayed the whole night with Jihoon, refusing to leave his side, too worried. But he hadn't anything to worry about. Not anymore.

The next day, Jihoon started to get better, though he needed a lot of rest. But he didn't have anything to worry about. His friends, no, his family was by his side to help him through it.

Mingyu was cooking for him, Wonwoo and Jeonghan most of the time keeping silent vigil by his side, the BooSeokSoon trio was usually coming to help him not get bored, and he could get Seokmin's hugs as much as he wanted. He usually didn't like physical touch, but when he was sick, he was basically asking hugs from his brothers. And Seokmin was more than happy to give him.

Little by little, he got better, and as he got better, his bond with his fellow members strenghtened even more than it already was. They would be able to return soon, and in good shape, to their not-so-peaceful but happiness-filled life.

[invisibleraven]

Ack sorry I'm late, but could I get some "You got me sick" "Better you than anyone else" for Bobby/anyone pleaseee?

Bobby wonders if it's sad that one of the first things he does in the morning (after checking on lola, of course) is check the garage to see if his boyfriend spent the night there. Sure, sometimes it's because Luke lost track of time writing and just...didn't bother going home. But most times it's because he got into it with his mom again and needed an escape.

On the one hand, Bobby gets it, Luke lives and breathes music, and if Emily can't see that, then maybe it's best they have the space between them. But-for a guy who hasn't seen or heard from his parents in almost two years-he would kill for them to care about him enough to get into fights about his dreams and passions.

Yes he has lola, but she's a lola, and supports him no matter what, so it isn't quite the same.

This morning there's a chill in the air, meaning fall is well and truly here, so Bobby makes a note to turn the heat on out in the garage-they can't very well practice if they're all shivering.

"Morning Lu-Lu," Bobby said as he threw open the door, smirking as the bundle on the couch groaned and rolled over, showing him Luke's disgruntled face.

"I just got to sleep," Luke grumbled.

"Not my fault you stayed up until dawn writing the next great hit," Bobby replied. "Eggs?"

Luke stretched and nodded, following him back to the house. At this point, lola was used to Luke being there for breakfast, always making extra. Bobby wasn't sure if she knew Luke was squatting in their garage half the time or just was a really early riser. He knew she had hinted more than once that Luke was welcome to stay over, even in Bobby's room, but he had covered his ears to that suggestion.

Look, he and Luke were together but not like that. He was disgusted at the prospect, and Luke had professed he really didn't have much interest in the physical, so they were fine just sharing the odd hug and occasional kiss.

"Do you two have plans for today?" lola asked as she plated up the food.

"School," Bobby grunted.

"Booo," Luke added. "What about you Celia?"

"Knitting group at the library, then there's an open ai market this afternoon for some of the fall produce," she replied. "I'm going to see if I can get a good squash for soup."

"I have some books to return, can I leave them with you?" Bobby asked, kissing her on the cheek when she agreed. "Perfect."

The rest of the day was typical-class, goofing off with the guys at lunch, working his shift at this after school job. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Only the next morning as he entered the garage, he swore-he had forgotten to turn the heat on, and there had been a definite dip in temperature-so the place was freezing. And there was Luke, shivering away as he greeted him, teeth chattering.

"Bit chilly in here."

"Well if you weren't allergic to sleeves," Bobby quipped, tossing his own sweater over the shearling coat Luke was already shrugging on. "You know where the heat is, why didn't you turn it on?"

Luke's response was to sneeze several times in succession. "Got in late, didn't want to turn on the light, let alone grope around with the fuse box."

"Another fight?"

Luke hummed, avoiding his eyes. "She called you a bad influence."

"Moi?"

"All of you," Luke clarified. "Like you aren't all following my dream."

Bobby sighed, coming over to rub at Luke's back, letting him rest his head on his shoulder. "It's a dream for all of us. You just elected yourself fearless leader."

"Shut up," Luke said, sticking his tongue out at him.

"Would still follow you anywhere," Bobby confessed, pecking his lips a few times before pulling him up. "Come on, lola should have some tea to ward off that chill."

Only as the day progressed, Luke kept sneezing, coughing, and shivering. To the point that Bobby told him to stay home that night in his own warm bed, as even with the heat on, the garage wasn't the best place for someone who was obviously sick.

But Luke was nothing if not stubborn. And his insomnia hit him hard when he was sick. So when Bobby woke up the next morning, feeling pretty worn down and sneezy himself, he wasn't surprised to find Luke dozing on the garage couch.

He sat down heavily on the chair next to the couch, glaring at Luke who blinked up at him. "You got me sick."

"Better you than anyone else," Luke croaked, grimacing as he sat up. "You wanna pip off and hang here today? Misery loves company after all."

"I'll get lola to call-on one condition," Bobby argued.

"What's that?" Luke asked.

"We go inside, it's fucking freezing out here."

[fraugwinska]

Chapter 10 - Showstopper

Showstopper (noun) 1. a song or other performance receiving prolonged applause from the audience 2. an obstacle to further progress 3. computing: a bug that needs to be fixed before a piece of software can be used or released

Tags & Warnings: Sexual Harrassment If you see this symbol ♫ I highly recommend to listen to the song "Take a hint (Demo from Victorious)" by Meghan Kabir (https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/1TOT8O90bvTp81n2N4XjzW?si=b73d3f9d435446ea)

“Gotta give it to 'ya, sugarjugs - Your tail is damn squishy.” Angel was lazily lounging on the ground, his back settled against his bed and his pig in his arms. It took you over an hour to get him manageable and down enough from the high of the weed cookies. You had done anything you could think of – put him in a cold shower (you would never ever talk about the things you saw to anyone), made him drink water (“I don't drink 'ya stupid watah, I'm not six.” - “It's not, it's ...vodka, the expensive kind, the one that doesn't burn.” - “Uh! Gimme, gimme!”)... you even let him play catch with your tail for twenty minutes while he laid in his bathtub, eyes full of childish glee. Once he got coherent enough and the typical foggy eyes cleared up, you dragged him out of the bathroom and, frustrated with tip-toeing around, started to tidy up the floor – sans the colorful, abhorrently shaped toys. The trash was packed with empty cardboard, plastic bags and greasy wrapping papers as well as the rest of the space cookies, which you buried down deep enough for Angel not to notice. You had piled Angels clothes next to his dresser and folded away, huffing.

“You'd know better than me, I had to spray you with roomspray to let it go once you got a good grip at it.” Angel snickered, caressing Fat Nuggets back. “Ah, that's why I smell like a russian whorehouse.” He stretched, bones cracking, and yawned. “'Ya know that whatcha' doing right now is useless, right? In a day, it'll look the same again.”

You untangled a very complicated black harness...dress...bodysuit...something as you glanced back at him, ears flicking. “Fat Nuggets might be a sow, Angel, but that doesn't mean you have to live in a pigsty.” You gave up with the... whatever, and just rolled it up, shoving it in one of the drawers.

“I prefer the term 'eclectic maximalism', thank 'ya very much.” He tickled the piglets nose, it squealed happily in response. “While you're at it, that black dildo has it's own case, right over there.” “I'm not touching that.”

“Oh sure, get picky now. You folded my kinkiest BDSM-slave-harness but draw the line at a friggin' dildo.”

“Your what?”

Angel burst out laughing at your disgusted look. “Chill, Rocky. Man, you really are a vanilla girl.”

Angel stood up, picking up the toy and threw it in a bejeweled box. “But.. 'ya know, thanks for the effort. Niffty doesn't come in to clean anymore since the 'Electro-Play-Wand'-incident last month.”

“... I won't ask. And I certainly don't want an explanation. Please.”, you sighed. He butt-nudged you, winking. “Fine, I'll spare 'ya delicate sensitivities. But only if 'ya tell me if I'm right.”

“With what?”, you asked, relieved to pick up the last item of clothing – a white, fluffy sweater with pink hearts.

“Being a vanilla girl.”, he smirked and wiggled a ball gag he picked up at you. You rolled your eyes, closing the drawer. “I couldn't tell you, even if I wanted to.”

His eyes widened. “Shaddup, don't tell me 'ya a virgin. Rocky, no one with an ass like that is that prude.” “I'm not.” He continued to stare at you, eyebrow high, arms crossed and tapping his foot. “Let's just say, the men I was with were not the types to have around long enough to really find out what flavor I am.” “Really bitch, sounds like you scraped the bottoms of some barrels then.”

You looked around the room, pleased to see the floor was visible again, and while it wasn't sparkling clean it was a massive improvement. Angel came to your side, all four hands on his hips, and grinned at you. “Now what? 'Ya wanna learn a few tricks to bump you up to chocolate?”

You dramatically shuddered, giving him a strained look. “Please, I've seen enough from you for one day.” “HA! I knew 'ya were lookin, 'ya sicko!” he clapped, snickering, then, in a spur, he quickly gave you a surprisingly gentle, quick hug. As he released you, he scratched his neck, still smiling.

“Seriously tho, thanks Rocky... for 'ya know... dealin' with me. Staying.”

You stilled for a second. His smile reminded you of something, or someone, you just couldn't place a finger on it. But you felt a sentimental twang, like some kind of deja-vu, making you almost smile. Almost.

“Don't mention it. I'm just glad you're okay.” You butt-nudged him playfully like he did before. “Now, we'll have to start getting ready. Charlie has an evening out planned. Weekly teambuilding at a bar, the 'Lava Lounge... and thanks to these damn cookies we only have an hour.”

“Aw, shit, that's today?”, Angel groaned, clawing his eyes. “Fuck. Okay, okay, we can make it. Whatcha' gonna wear?”

Odd question. You move your hands, presenting your work attire with a confused frown.

Angel looked horrified. “No.”

“Yes?”, you say, still confused.

“No. Nope, Nu-uh! Over mah dead body you ain't. Bitch, it's a night out in a bar, not 'ya great-aunts church picknick, by satan's left ass cheek.” You rose your brows, a little offended. Angel scoffed, a dangerous glimmer in his eyes. Oh shit.

“Let's doll 'ya up and give these sinners some eye candy to chew on tonight, yeah? I have just the thing.”

He had settled himself on one of the plush sofas in the foyer, a little away from the bar where Husk had filled his silver flask with cheap booze ten minutes ago before he, too, had retreated to his room to prepare for the evening trip.

He hadn't seen her since he came back, just sent an eager Ozul to catch him up with what she's been doing.

On his way home he had stopped at the antique store in Cannibal Town, buying Rosie a new set of china to be delivered to her.

Alastor had summoned a book to read – he was always dressed for the occasion, unlike the silly residents of the hotel and even though he had no real interest in these weekly boondoggles of the princess, today he was more than willing to participate.

Rosie had given him a lot to think about. The walk back to the hotel had been used to contemplate whether she had been right in her statement that he was bending his own moral code too much. Truth be told, she had been right that he never used something like lust to wring something he wanted out of one of his subjects – and he could proudly say he had many subjects under his beck and call. But that was because one, he never had to, as his victims without a fail feared him and the things he could do to them too much for him to resort other means. And two, Alastor never had any interest or desire in these indulgences. He had his fair share of offers, men and women alike (the ladies in cannibal town were especially persistent), lowly sinners and powerful demons, even the poor souls he made deals with, mostly looking for an easy way out of their bounds. He faced it all with cool disinterest paired with mild disgust. He was above them all, above the whole subject matter. So why did he decide to use it on his gem? And the more urgent matter was: Why hadn't he felt the expected disinterest or disgust when he did it, riling himself up so much he even lost grip on his neatly maintained 'harmless' form instead ?

When Ozul came back to report, he had to smirk in amusement at the state of him. The shade was clearly agitated, and reported hurriedly.

“I am not putting it on, Angel.” “C'mon, you barely see the nipples in it.”

With a scoff at your defiance, the spider threw the silver washcloth with strings on it back into the drawer. “Why even have tits if you're not showing them.”

“Because I'd lose balance.” you deadpanned, crossing your arms. “No to this... thing. End of discussion.”

“Fine, but I'm all out of nun costumes. So stop being an uptight bitch and meet me halfway here, Rocky.”

Angel threw up two of his hands and ruffled through the neatly folded clothes with the other two. The vein on your forehead was dangerously pulsing. He pulled out a close-fitting burgundy red skirt, holding it up in contemplation. It was short, but not skimpy, crushed velvet, with gold buttons along the front. He held it to you with outstretched arms and a challenging look.

“Tame enough for 'ya?”

You sighed and nodded, catching it as Angel threw it at you, his head back in the drawer.

“Thank fucking god. Now for the twins...”, he bickered, all four arms now rummaging through the clothes. “You are so lucky I keep a lot of Cherri's old clothes here, you'd practically burst my outfits shoving 'ya booty in there. AHA!”, he shout out in victory. The top was almost boring compared to the silver abomination from before, just a black neckholder top with a heart cutout at the neck, but you shook your head nonetheless.

“OH COME the fuck ON! It covers your boobs, it doesn't even show cleavage. Give me one good reason why not.”

Your tail swished nervously, and you bit your lip. For a moment, you wanted to stay silent. But you decided to explain, reminding yourself of the rules. Be vague with information.

“Because I don't want people to see my scar.”, you calmly say and open your blouse, pulling it loose wide enough to show the perplexed demon the bite scar on your neck.

“Oh shit, Rocky...”, he just said, eyeing the mark, his look became instantly softer. “What did 'ya do?“

You thought for a second, “... I was bitten and eaten by an animal, that's how I died.” Not a lie, technically. You were getting good at this

Angel put the top away without another word while you closed your blouse again. The next thing he chose was a formfitting, simple black turtlenecked shirt with long sleeves. The top section was made out of black mesh, covering the chest in a sweetheart neckline, shoulders, and upper back. A compromise, and definately his way of being considerate of your revelation. You held your hand out, and he grinned as he put the shirt in it.

The thought of stepping out of your room in the outfit Angel provided took every ounce of courage you had, even though it fit you well. You had paired it with the only other pair of shoes you had, the ones Alastor had gotten you for special occasions – simple, T-strapped black leather heels, a similar style you had worn in jazz dance classes, which had you feel a little more comfortable. Still, this was... a lot to take in. You felt like you were wearing a costume, a skin you once shed and now tried to fit back into again. Too personal. Too human. The skirt felt so short, even though it barely rose above your knees, and it hugged your thighs tightly, allowing little space for your nervously flicking tail. At least the shirt was relatively modest, the mesh on top was soft and opaque enough to conceal your scar. BUT... Was this okay? Were you even allowed to dress like this? What the fuck would Alastor everyone think?

How mad would Angel be if you just changed back into your work ensemble?

You were still panicking in front of your mirror when you heard Angel knock on your door for the third time, threatening to pick the lock if you wouldn't come out on your own. To your absolute horror, another voice joined him. “Now what seems to be the problem here?”, you heard Alastor muse on the other side of the door, a slight mocking edge to his tone. “Everyone else is downstairs, waiting to depart.” “The problem is 'ya stubborn, self-conscious play doll, Smiles.” A few more bangs on the door. “Rocky, I swear to god, I didn't give 'ya a makeover for makin' sweet eyes at 'ya shower head tonight!” Two softer knocks. Him. “Come now, kitten, open up, let's see the damage.”

With your eyes on the floor and shaking hands you reached for the handle, unlocking the door and opening it in defeat. “Finally!” Angel moaned, smirking at you, his gold teeth glimmering. “I don't see the problem, dollface, 'ya look bomb. You're welcome.” He crossed his arms and gave you a triumphant giggle. Alastor took you in, his heavy-lidded eyes wandering from your open hair down over your figure to your shoes. You felt his static cracking around your ankles, like sparks on your skin. “Well, I've never thought I'd see the day where I actually have to compliment you for a job well done, my frisky friend.” Your head shot up and you stared at them both, Angels' smile almost as wide and smug as Alastors' at this compliment. All the way down to the foyer you felt his gaze fixated on you, only disturbed by the rumble of the crew ready to take the short walk through town to the bar. Charlie and Vaggie lead up front, deep in conversation, Angel prattled along, talking with Niffty and Husk shambled behind them, you and Alastor followed last. When he offered you his arm with a mischievous sounding “May I, darling?”, Husk threw an ugly look your way, taking his silver flask out to take a chug and turned his back to you quickly. You took it nonetheless, idly aware of the feeling of the fine cotton of his suit under your fingers and trying to ignore the closeness for the sake of your composure. Alastor had other plans – with a snicker, he suddenly tugged on your arm, making you stumble and almost falling into his side. He laughed, and rose a brow, smiling non-nonchalantly down at your flushed face. “Relax dear, tonight, you'll be off official duty. You certainly earned a bit of fun, don't you agree?”

You caught your step and wondered if you did.

Staying with the theme, the 'Lava Lounge's interior was draped in hues of burnt blacks and molten oranges, mimicking the fiery heartbeat of a volcano, casting a warm and oddly inviting glow. In between the carved, obsidian booths, suspended fixtures resembling actual molten lava cascaded from the ceiling, acting kind of as a divider or privacy shield, providing a soft, ambient light that flickered like glimmering ember. The air was thick and hot with the hum of the sinners around, broken in between by laughter and the occasional clinking of glasses. Other patrons had fled the booths on the whole side of the one where you went to sit in, and you found yourself nestled in between Alastor and Niffty. You eyed the bartenders and waiters curiously, each and everyone seemed to have flaming heads, or at least fiery hair. Behind the sleek, onyx bar a bulky female demon with piercing green eyes in blue flames and a LOT of tattoos was mixing cocktails that seemed to erupt with hot ash as she poured it out of the shaker. “Me and Charlie are doing drink duty first.”, Vaggie said, glaring at Alastor. You looked at him questioningly, watching him chuckle with delight. “I tend to scare the poor waitresses away, dear, that's why we take turns in getting drinks. Whiskey, no ice, if you may.” “Yeah, that's real funny, buckboy. Love that, doing their job every fucking time you decide to get jiggy with us.” Angel groaned, ordering a “Drunken Lover” from the cocktail menu. A few minutes later the two girls came back with their drinks on a tray and news of tonight's program. “They canceled the band that was supposed to play tonight.” Vaggie said with an eye roll, handing you your ordered “Persephone's Passion” (an overly-fancy name for plain pomegranate ice tea). “Apparently, the lead singer got in trouble with loan sharks. They are still searching for several limbs.” Charlie grinned cheerfully and waved a bright orange binder. “Buuuut they decided to have a spontaneous karaoke night instead! Yay!” “If 'yo going to sing 'Walking on sunshine' again, I'm leaving.” Husk growled. “Third time's not the charm.” You were torn between genuine excitement – you always loved singing your heart out at karaoke bars – and unsettling worry. You didn't want to make a spectacle of yourself again, in a packed bar, on your first time outside, in front of.... everyone. Sure, everyone... “Oh I know I'm gonna bring Britney, bitch! Yo Rocky, you up to it?”, Angel asked, playing with his swirly straw. His white face has already gotten pink around his cheeks... what the hell did they put in these drinks? ”Um, we'll see, maybe if they have the right song...”

Charlie was nagging Vaggie to sing a duet with her, and while the others were distracted Alastor leaned over to you, his voice low and teasing. “I wouldn't mind hearing you again, little gem. Just don't play too much on your heartstrings this time, yes?” You opened the binder and pathetically hid your smile in it, but you were sure he saw it, as he flicked your ear tufts and leaned back with a sneer.

“AH! That was amazing! Am I glowing? I feel like I'm glowing!” Vaggie had caved, and her and Charlies performance of 'Time of my life' had left Vaggie embarrassed, Charlie overjoyed and the whole bar befuddled. Your ears shook with inner laughter as you congratulated them both. Vaggie shot you a tortured look.

The lounge was buzzing as as the winged demon girl who moderated the songs called for a demon named Travis to sing “Tequila” with a clearly pained face, resulting in a collective groan and various boo's from the patrons. “Alright, that's the cue I needed to get another drink.”, Angel said and grabbed your hand. “We're getting the next round, on-the-rocks, come on.” You were pulled from the table in a swift motion, but you didn't miss the tightened corners of Alastor's lips as he watched you were weaved through the crowd. Angel rattled down the list of drinks, then he turned to you. “Hey, I'm just gonna powder my nose quick while hot stuff over there”, the spider shot a wink at the lean, blue-skinned bartender,”mixes our drinks, just wait here for me and make sure they don't skimp on the good stuff!”

Even if you wanted to protest, Angel was too quick, slithering through the crowd to the bathrooms. You sighed and leaned your arms against the onyx bar top. You let your gaze wander over the busy bar, trying to remember when the last time was you went out like this.

Out with friends. Having fun. Or something like that. The whole atmosphere was lighter this evening. Of course you still felt the tenseness of the past day, and you still had to deal with whatever the... experiment had let loose in you. But right now, you felt not as numb and exhausted as you usually did.

“Hello there, sweetheart.”

A slippery-smooth voice ripped you from your thoughts, and you turned to head to come face to face with... a screen? A slender, yuppie-type demon with a flatscreen for a face and a tailored electric blue suit stood beside you, an empty glass in hand and a sly smile on his... lips? You hardened your face and blinked. “Hello.”, you answered politely, but regretted that instantly when you heard his next line.

“What's a cute thing like you standing here all alone?”

The demon put his elbow near you and leaned casually into you. Too near, you shuffled yourself slightly away. He reminded you too much of the former... clientele you had to entertain for cheap money. Overly confident, overcompensating, overly touchy. A big fat walking ick with too much money. But in contrast to before, you weren't paid to deal with those kind of men now.

“I'm waiting for a friend, actually.”, you said coldly, hoping Angel would return soon.

“Well, what a friend to leave you stranded. Why not ditch them to join me and my friends?”, he nodded to a raised plateau, separated with red, thick rope on golden barrier cords and a sign “VIP”. Several other, expensively dressed demons lounged there, you saw a girl in a black pant suit snapping photo after photo on her phone. You rose a brow, and he added with a suggestive wink “Free booze and a nice warm seat all night, baby.” “Tempting,” you dripped of sarcasm. “but I have to decline.” This guy was getting on your nerves. Fucking sleazeball.

“Mh, a feisty feline. I like a little fight in a girl.”, he laughed, slowly, deeply. Fake. You scrunched your nose, but then you heard Angel calling out to you. Thank fucking god. “Hey Rocky, are the drinks... “ Angel froze, wide eyes on you and your unwanted suitor. “Wait, wait, wait.”, the demon snickered loudly. “Angel Dust is your 'friend'? Well, that makes it much easier, then. Name your price babe.” You furrowed your brows, anger pulsing in your temples. “Excuse me?” The spider next top you awoke from his paralysis and quickly scanned the VIP section before stepping in front of you protectively. “She's not a hooker, Vox.”

Oh shit.

OH SHIT ON A STICK.

“Not? Ah, my bad, but can you blame me? What are the chances?”, Vox mocked with a sneer, pushing Angel away and caging you in his frame. You cross your arms defiantly, steeling your eyes even though you're boiling inside. “Listen, Roxie - that's your name? You should really choose your friends better. Why don't we have a little private chat, get to know each other a little. Maybe I can even offer you a position under me.” he chuckled at his poorly delivered ambiguous phrase. The air around you sparked with the familiar feeling of static. Fan-fucking-tastic, now the doomsday clock was ticking. From the corners of your eye you saw your saving shade slither around your feet, like a snake ready for the bite. You took a deep breath, monitoring your venomous tone to be as steady as you could be. “I think I can decide best which company to keep, and I am fully and extraordinarily satisfied with my current employer.” As if on cue, Ozul slithered up to your shoulder and hissed, making a few bystanders jolt in surprise and fear and Vox stumble back, freeing you from his presence. Angel snorted, quickly hiding it behind a cough, and grabbed the tray full of drinks for your table while Vox's eyes darted over your shoulder. He blue screened for a second, then he burst out in bellowing laughter. “The Radio Fucker? That's rich, now I know you are both underpaid and underfucked.” His look was murderous, even with the plastered smile on that stupid monitor of his. You turned to leave but he caught your wrist, gripping it firmly in cold, metal claws. His other hand wandered into his suit and pulled out a small, digital business card. “Tell you what, sweetcheeks. Call me when you're ready for the future, or when you're choking from the dust off that fossil. Whatever happens first.” Before you could react, he shoved it in your back pocket, intently pinching your ass. For a moment, your vision turned red, but he was already gone and you heard Angel pressing a strained “Motherfucker!” through gritted teeth. You were seething as you practically shoved Angel through to your booth, letting yourself falling onto the bench with a loud thud. “Classless prick.”, you hissed. Charlie immediately hovered over you, worry in her eyes. “Are you okay? Did he do something? Oh man, (Y/n), I'm so sorry. He never came here before.” Alastor was silent, his eyes dark and his lips pressed in a tight smile. Threatening. Oh yeah. He was mad mad. “Fucking Cheese on a cracker, Rocky. 'ya got big balls for a girl.” Angel breathed, absent-mindlessly pushing back his white headfluff. “Vaggie glanced over her shoulder, glaring at the dimly-lit silhouettes on the pedestal. “I can't stand that dick... Should we go?” she looked at you, eyebrows furrowed. “But kitty didn't sing!”, Niffty pouted, completely oblivious. You scoffed. “Ha, have just the right song in mind to sing to that TV-asshole.” Then, you sighed. “But that would only cause trouble, I guess.” “Why not go for it, dear?”, Alastor said suddenly with a melodic voice, a revived glint in his eyes. All eyes turned to him. “Why should we let this... insignificant loudmouth spoil our wonderful evening? Let's dare a little, what better time than tonight?”

Vaggies mouth dropped open, Husk and Angel just looked at him like he lost his marbles. Charlie and Niffty were the only ones who seemed to eagerly agree with him. “You know what, he's right, (Y/n), it's your first day out, that sucker wont ruin this!” You looked at Alastor, for the first time today, really looked at him. There was no trace of maliciousness, it was almost... challenging. A look as if to say: Show me what you got. You stood up and felt your lips bend into a smile.

You walked up to the winged demoness as she shuffled through her laptop. She looked up, curiously eyeing you. “Hey girl, you wanna sing something? Slow crowd today... I'm Lola, by the way”, she gave you a crooked smile. “(Y/n), and oh, you bet I do. Can you do number 403?” She quickly typed on the keyboard, raised her brows and laughed happily. “Oh my god. Girl, I love that song. I'm hyping right now, get on that stage, let's see if you can burn the house down!” she giggled, grabbing her headset.

“Hey Lava Lounge, get ready for some really hot stuff. Give it up for (Y/n), cause she's got a big fat fucking message to tell 'ya.”

You stood on the stage and took the mic. The intro began, louder than any song you heard this evening, and a quick side glance to Lola giving you thumbs up while singing the background girls and bopping her head told you why. Fuck yeah.

You shook your hair back and let the music take over your body. It moved to the rhythm like you had trained it to do for so long, and it felt like a starved dog getting a steak. Your hips dipped just the right amount to stay classy, and you reveled in your anger.

♫Why am I always hit on by the boys I never like I can always see 'em coming, from the left or from the right I don't want to be a bitch, I'm just try'na be polite But it always seems to bite me in the♫

You looked straight to the VIP section, the display of the TV demon shining through the dim indirect light. He was watching, and it brought you a sense of impish glee to see the picture glitching.

♫Ask me for my number, yeah, you put me on the spot You think that we should hook up, but I think that we should not You had me at "hello", then you opened up your mouth And that is when it started going south♫

Pure energy filled you when you heard Angel shouting to you, his “Fuck yeah, Rocky” clear in your ear through the music, and you gave him a wink as your body moved like it had a mind on it's own. Charlie and Niffty hollered at you, and many other patrons started to clap to the rhythm, bopping their heads.

♫Oh!

Get your hands off my hips, 'fore I'll punch you in the lips Stop your staring at my hey! Take a hint, take a hint No you can't buy me a drink, let me tell you what I think I think you could use a mint Take a hint, take a hint ♫

If the song would've allowed it, you would've scream-laughed when you saw more and more glitches. The heels were perfect to dance in, you felt powerful and full of chaotic energy. You've always had the tendency for theatrics, and you relished in acting the next verse out, imagining yourself back at the bar, saying all the things to the flat-faced idiot who sat across the room, furious.

♫I guess you still don't get it, so let's take it from the top You asked me what my sign is, and I told you it was "stop" And if I had a dime for every name that you just dropped I'd be buying everyone a shot Oh!♫

The next chorus was filled with whistles and voices of girls from a few booths joining with the background singers. You felt something hard on your back, and remembered the stiff business card in your back pocket. And you remembered his filthy claws on your butt. The lounge was tinted in a red hue. You were already at it, why not make an unmissable statement?

♫What about "no" don't you get? So go and tell your friends I'm not really interested♫

You pulled the card out of the pocket, fanned yourself provocatively with it before you wrapped your fingers around it and crushed it into glass shards and metal wires, shrugging your shoulders as you fixed your gaze on Vox, a derisive smile on your lips. The girl in the pant suit stood next to him, holding her phone as if she filmed you while giggling, clearly knowing you were addressing Vox and highly amused by it.

♫It's about time that you're leavin' I'm gonna count to three and Open my eyes and You'll be gone♫

You stood at the edge of the stage lifting a finger. Alastor's static crept up your legs, making you shiver.

♫One Get your hands off my♫

Another finger. The prickling feeling rose to your waist, tingling over your skin like ice rain.

♫Two Or I'll punch you in the♫

The third finger went up as you were fully enveloped, feeling every inch of your body with an intensity you've never felt before.

♫Three Stop your staring at my hey! Take a hint, take a hint♫

You broke from your stance and danced with the last lines of the chorus. Every note and word was like a punch, like a release of your temper. Your ears were filled with the singing of the girls, with Angel wooing, with the bangs of each claps and the beat from the music.

♫I am not your missing link Let me tell you what I think I think you could use a mint Take a hint, take a hint Take a hint, take a hint♫

♫Get your hands off my hips, 'fore I'll punch you in the lips Stop your staring at my hey! Take a hint, take a hint T-take a hint, take a hint♫

When the music stopped, the lounge erupted in applause and more whistles, your face hot, you could only nod. You had caught sight of Alastor, head tilted with intense glowing eyes and a satisfied expression, leaning deep into the back of the booth, clapping.

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[sneezyminniejo]

Phlegm Bucket

Jeonghan catches a cold

It hadn’t initially been that bad. In fact it had taken almost the entire day before he realized he was sick. Originally he had a mild sore throat, but paired with mucus he could also feel, he attributed the sore throat to allergies or rhinitis. However, neither the sore throat nor the post nasal drip dissipated after a couple of hours.

As the day wore on, he steadily felt worse. By the time evening schedules were supposed to start, he wanted nothing more than to be in bed. He wasn't even feeling all that hungry, which given how hectic their schedules can be, is a bit surprising. As such, he wouldn't at all be surprised if he had even an inkling of a fever. He managed to get through his schedules without his members finding out that he's not feeling well. He crawled into bed with a slightly elevated temperature, hoping he'd either be obviously sick or feeling better tomorrow.

The following morning when he woke up, the first thing he did was take his temperature. Sure enough, it was reading  38. There was still a little bit of time before the rest of the group was due to wake up, so he decided to wait. If the number goes down, he'll go to work. If the number stays the same or goes up, he'll tell someone that he's too sick to go to schedules. He spent the next hour scrolling through his phone then checked his temperature again. This time it read 37.2 which meant slightly elevated temperature, but still no fever. The elevated temperature clearly meant that his body was beginning to fight something, but he felt fine. Obviously the plan for the day is to go to schedule and pretend to be feeling completely normal.

“-ake up. Jeonghan hyung. Wake up.” Soonyoung shook the elder awake. Jeonghan slowly blinked awake and quickly realized that he had fallen back asleep on the couch. He coughed a little as he made his way to the kitchen to get some water. As he drank the water, he tried not to wince, as his throat was still hurting.

Jeonghan moved to the table where Seungkwan and Jihoon were. It looks like he had slept through breakfast being made, even though he wasn’t in his room. He sat down and began eating the food he served himself.

“Hyung, why were you sleeping on the couch?” Sengkwan asked.

“I woke up a couple hours ago and moved to the couch. I guess at some point I fell back asleep “ Jeonghan shrugged as put some more food in his mouth.

Breakfast wasn't super chaotic because it was just the four of them. On days that everyone has the same starting schedule, they try to have a big group breakfast because it makes it easier to ensure everyone is accounted for. But today everyone has something different, so they're just eating with the people they live with.

The very first part of the day Jeonghan felt completely fine, aside from the sore throat. It wasn't until group dance practice that he started to once again feel bad. The post nasal drip was still pretty bad, and it was making him feel nauseous. The second oldest knew that he wasn't going to actually get sick, but it didn't change the fact that the amount of mucus draining into his stomach was upsetting the organ.

“Hyung, you don't look good. Are you feeling okay?” Chan asked Jeonghan during the first water break.

“I'm fine Di-” Jeonghan began to respond. Only to be interrupted by a very harsh cough that almost sounded like he was going to throw up.

“That doesn’t sound fine, hyung.” The maknae said. The younger man went to grab his water bottle and offered it to the older man.

“I’m fine Dino-yah. I’m just getting a cold.” The second oldest dismissed Chan’s water bottle in favor of his own. He wasn’t really in the mood to potentially pass his germs onto his members.

As the day progressed, Jeonghan’s stomach thankfully settled down. He still didn’t feel great, but he was feeling better than he was before lunch. However, he was dead on his feet by the time he and the rest of the group got back to the dorm. He barely had enough energy to shower. He also wasn’t hungry enough for dinner and went straight to sleep.

The following morning, Jeonghan woke up to a very harsh coughing fit. Whatever bug he’d managed to pick up was now fully settled into his system and it appeared to be a nasty chest cold. He drank some water from the cup on his nightstand before deciding to make himself some tea to try to soothe his throat.

It was somewhat early and Jeonghan had apparently woken up before the three men he shared an apartment with. He did his best to stifle his coughs until he could be back in his room, but it was proving fairly difficult. As soon as he finished making his tea, he went back to his room as quickly as possible. The moment he got back to his room, he grabbed a discarded sweater that was on the floor and coughed extremely harshly into it. Afterwards, he grabbed a tissue from the box he keeps on his nightstand and blew his nose, before finally taking a sip of his tea. Jeonghan crawled back into his bed and tried to go back to sleep.

Sleep was proving near impossible for the second oldest, as whatever mucus was draining down his throat kept irritating his throat. He kept bringing his blanket over his face to attempt to muffle his coughs as best as possible. Eventually he decided to lean his pillows against the wall in a vain attempt to prop himself up and hope that that would somehow help. Unfortunately shortly after he repositioned himself, his alarm began to go off. He groaned as he turned it off and got out of bed.

Jeonghan got dressed and drank his tea which was now cold. He also felt rather bad, and decided to put a mask on before leaving his room. In his opinion, his cough is next level bad, and he’d like to try not to pass his cold onto his members.

When Jeonghan entered the bathroom, Seungkwan was also there. The younger immediately noticed the fact that Jeonghan was wearing a mask. Seungkwan grabbed the infrared thermometer and scanned the older’s forehead.

“You don’t have a fever, hyung.” Seungkwan said. Jeonghan merely nodded before opening the medicine cabinet and removing the nearly empty bottle of liquid cold medicine and taking it back to his room. Once in his room, he did his best to take a swig of the cold medicine without gagging on the foul flavor. As soon as he managed to swallow the vile tasting liquid, he chugged several sips of water from his water bottle. He hoped the medicine would be of some help, but he wasn’t super optimistic based on how he currently felt.

Jeonghan almost wished he’d been running a fever. Especially when he entered the main area of the apartment and Jihoon immediately placed his hand on his forehead. “You look like shit, hyung.” The younger said. Jeonghan couldn’t help but nod in response. “I feel like shit too.”

Aside from responding to Jihoon, he remained quiet all throughout breakfast and in the car ride to the company. It was obvious to the three sharing an apartment with the sick member that he wasn’t feeling good. Soonyoung messaged Seungcheol to let him know that Jeonghan was sick and none of them were sure how present he’d be during dance or vocal practice.

Upon arriving at the company building, the leader was quick to pull Jeonghan aside to check in with him. The moment the slightly younger tried to speak, he wound up in a minute long throat tearing coughing fit. Seungcheol responded by grabbing the younger’s water bottle from his bag and offering it to him while rubbing his back. “I don’t think you should practice today. If you can’t even talk without coughing up a storm, you’re not going to accomplish anything today.” “No fever.” Jeonghan managed to say in between coughs. Seungcheol gave Jeonghan a look. “Tell me Hannie and please be honest. Did you only come in to work today because you don’t have a fever?” Jeonghan nodded as he sipped his water.

“In that case, I think you should go back to your dorm. If you’re too sick to effectively work, there’s really no point in you being here. Unless you want to sit and watch us practice of course.” Seungcheol said. Jeonghan shook his head at the mere suggestion of staying to watch. He’d much rather be in bed. The leader chuckled a little at his reaction before sending him back to the car to go home. The leader went to talk to the manager.

Jeonghan got back to the dorm and he first decided to start making some tea. He made two cups of water and put salt in one and tea in the other. While he waited for the tea to fully steep, he went to the bathroom with the salt water to do a throat gargle. The initial attempt to gargle the salt water left him a sputtering mess as his body rejected the idea of gargling anything. The second attempt went much better, but Jeonghan didn’t want to think about doing more gargles.

Jeonghan returned to the kitchen and grabbed the mug of tea before going to the living room to watch some tv. He grabbed a throw blanket and made himself comfortable on the couch. He turned on the tv to the children’s channel because it wasn’t going to be anything that he would need to pay attention to.

A few minutes after Jeonghan finished his tea, he had another fairly harsh coughing fit. He wound up coughing up some mucus, but unfortunately, there weren’t any tissues in the living area. Jeonghan didn’t feel like getting up, so he just grabbed his empty mug and spat into it. The next time Jeonghan had a productive cough, he did the same thing and spat the mucus into his mug.

Seungcheol had checked in periodically with the sick member when the group’s breaks allowed it. Every time, Jeonghan responded that he felt like shit, but otherwise he was fine.

Jeonghan migrated back to his room at some point and eventually fell asleep. Only to be woken up some time later by Soonyoung and Seungkwan returning home. Jihoon had stayed behind at the studio to get some writing done. It was less the younger members coming home, and more Seungkwan not knowing that Jeonghan was sleeping and loudly opened his door to say they had gotten home and ask him how he was doing.

“Sorry hyung, I didn’t know you were sleeping. Your li-” Seungkwan was interrupted by Jeonghan abruptly sitting up and once again coughing rather productively. When Jeonghan felt the wad of mucus hit the back of his teeth, he stumbled past the younger to get to the bathroom, where he spat it into the sink. He turned on the faucet to rinse it down the drain then leaned against the counter tiredly.

“Are you okay hyung?” Seungkwan asked from the door of the bathroom. Jeonghan nodded his head and moved past him to the living room where Soonyoung was sitting, scrolling through his phone. The sick member sat down next to Soonyoung and Seungkwan wasn’t far behind with the thermometer in hand.

“How’re you feeling now hyung?” Soonyoung asked as he pocketed his phone. Seungkwan took Jeonghan’s temperature, and just like the previous times, it came back normal.

“I feel great gu-.” Jeonghan started, but it came out barely above a whisper. Jeonghan’s eyes widened a little when he tried to speak. Because he had barely spoken all day, he hadn’t realized that he had been coughing so much to lose his voice.

“I’m going to make you some tea.” Seungkwan said before walking over to the kitchen. Meanwhile Soonyoung texted an update to Seungcheol telling him that while Jeonghan still didn’t have a fever, he lost his voice.

Jeonghan had long given up on wearing a mask in his own dorm. Even though he didn’t want his members to catch his cold, he realized that it was just a little impractical to be wearing a mask in his own living space. Unless of course he were to sequester himself to his room, which was equally impractical because his manager could demand he come into work purely because he doesn’t have a fever.

Shortly before Seungkwan finished making the tea, Jeonghan once again had a coughing fit. He did his best to keep his face rammed into his elbow, and he could feel Sooyoung patting his back. “I think you might want to consider going to the doctor hyung.” Jeonghan shook his head right before nodding. He was honestly kind of miserable and wanted something to bare minimum, alleviate the cough. The cold medicine he had taken that morning hadn’t done anything.

It wasn’t long for Seungkwan to make the tea. He carried a tray with three mugs, one for each of them. He gave one to Soonyoung and one to Jeonghan before sitting down next to the sick member. Jeonghan took a sip and then decided to hold the mug up to his face and just spend time inhaling some of the steam. The trio sat in relative silence until Soonyoung spotted something.

“Hyung, what’s in this mug?” Soonyoung asked when he looked at the contents of the mug that Jeonghan had left out earlier. At the bottom of the mug was a thin layer of some kind of green viscous liquid. “Is this some kind of remedy you tried?” He continues to ask as he goes to take a sip of whatever was in the mug.

Before Soonyoung could fully bring the mug to his lips, Jeonghan knocked the mug out of his hand onto the floor. Jeonghan had a slightly panicked look on his face when he hit the mug out of Soonyoung’s hand. The handle of the mug broke off upon impact, but none of the mug’s contents spilled out. Both Soonyoung and Seungkwan looked a little bit shocked at Jeonghan’s actions, but quickly dismissed it for Jeonghan not wanting them to be in such direct contact with his germs. The sick member had gotten up and grabbed the mug and broken handle. He threw the handle in the trash, but placed the handle-less mug on the table next to his mug of tea. The younger two were slightly curious as to why the mug wasn’t taken to the kitchen or thrown away as well, but since Jeonghan currently couldn’t talk, they didn’t ask. Soonyoung turned on a drama they all had been watching and the trio once again fell into relative silence.

Around thirty minutes later, Jeonghan felt the same tickle in the back of his throat that had been bugging him off and on all day. He didn’t want to cough again, so he tried his best to hold them back, only to break out into an intense fit a moment later. Soonyoug got up to fetch a glass of water while Seungkwan patted the older’s back. Once the sick member finished coughing, he grabbed the handle-less mug and spat into it.

“That’s gross hyung.” Seungkwan said just as Soonyoung returned with the glass of water.

“What’s gross?” Soonyoung asked. Seungkwan grabbed the mug from Jeonghan and said, “It’s a phlegm bucket. Hyung’s been spitting the phlegm he coughs up into this mug.” Soonyoung grimaced as he handed Jeonghan the water.

“Yeah, thanks for not letting me drink that hyung.” Soonyoug responded. Jeonghan smiled as he drank the water. “No problem.” Jeonghan attempted to whisper, only to start coughing again.

“I’m going to text Jihoon and tell him we’re taking you to the doctor.” Soonyoung says just as Jihoon walks into the dorm. The three that had been in the dorm for a couple hours stared at Jihoon confusedly. The 96 liner shrugged his shoulders. “I forgot that the company was replacing a bunch of equipment. I decided to save what I was currently working on and come back.” Jihoon explained.

“Hyung, we’re taking Jeonghan hyung to the doctor, he’s gotten worse.” Seungkwan says. Brief confusion and concern crosses Jihoon’s face before shrugs his coat back on. Jeonghan follows the younger out of the dorm and to the car. Thankfully, the staff member that had driven Jihoon home hadn’t left yet.

The duo arrived at the urgent care clinic and were in the waiting room waiting to be seen. Jeonghan was wearing a mask and Jihoon had become more concerned for his hyung over the course of the car ride. He had listened to the older cough rather intensely during the ride and the staff member had to give him a random restaurant napkin that was in the glove box so that the sick member could spit out the phlegm he coughed up.

Jihoon had initially been a bit shocked that Jeonghan wanted him to go with him into the room, until he actually heard the older man try and fail to talk. Johoon explained to the doctor that Jeonghan had been sick for a couple of days and that he’d been coughing so hard to lose his voice and that he was coughing phlegm as well. The urgent care visit ended with Jeonghan getting a prescription for a cough suppressant so that he’d be able to properly rest along with a note excusing from work for the next week.

When the duo returned home, they found that Soonyoung and Seungkwan had made dinner for the four of them. The four men quietly ate dinner, only talking to update Jeonghan about things that had occurred during practice. The sick member found himself feeling not very hungry, but also pretty exhausted, so he excused himself from the table and called it a night early. As he walked to his room he could hear laughter as Seungkwan and Soonyoung were trying to somehow prank Jihoon with the phlegm bucket.

[pbandjesse]

It's the last day of the year! Honestly the worst holiday but also. It is nice to reflect. To get a little excited about what comes next. This year was a lot. And next year will be even more. And I'm excited for that.

Today was chill though. I slept okay. But I had nothing I needed to do so when I woke up I just stayed in bed. I stayed in bed until 1030. When I finally pulled myself up and made the bed. I went and washed my hair. I felt a little better.

Because it was later in the morning I felt better about eating Mac and cheese as a first meal.

I decided to try doing my eyeliner different. Which did not go well at first. I only had wooden pencil eyeliner. Which hurts my waterline. Later I would go to Walgreens to get a crayon kind and it went so much better and I feel very pretty. It is fun to try a new look.

I would feel very winded today. I was very congested and my ears were all closed up. I felt fine beyond that but it was frustrating how quickly I would lose steam today.

I would get some stuff done though. I would decide I should start making progress on getting rid of some stuff. This is very tough. Which makes me annoyed because I sued to be so good at it! But everything feels tied up in emotions and memories and gifts and people. So it feels next to impossible. But I was determined to at least try.

So I pulled out my trunk that I thought had extra knickknacks stored in. Turns out it was almost all just empty cigar boxes. Well then I would start to utilize those. And started pulling small objects off the shelves and putting them away. I chose some stuff to get rid of. And was not getting rid of a ton but I was making progress and that felt good.

I would take a break and lay down and watched videos. I did a little vacuuming but it was very half hearted. Eventually I would change the kitty litter and clean up a little.

I had soup for lunch. And then decided I would start going through the kitchen. Let's go through mugs.

We have so many mug. Just an unreasonable amount of glassware. But because everything is tied up with James's things I decided that the best way to handle my emotions with this would be to just straight up take out anything in the cabinet that I use all the time. I made some hard calls. But I ended up pulling out 7 mugs and 5 cups. This is wildly extream because we have so many. But I was proud of myself. And now James can pick the ones they want to keep and we can feel okay with getting rid of the rest.

So there was no confusion I moved all my chosen vessels to the cubby shelf. Which lead to me deciding to pull out all my water bottles and travel cups. Also from storage. This was way harder to purge. I use so many of them!! Often! I got rid of so many bottles already last year. But I am keeping most of them. I ended up getting rid of 3 cups and 3 bottles. I still have so many but I don't feel as bad because I have reasons for these ones. Plus I have some I leave at camp. I have so many beverage containers it's so silly.

I would go through our reusable straws next. I don't like the metal ones as much and some are weirdly thin and others have bad mouth feeling. I was proud of myself getting rid of so much.

Once I was done I was texting with James about how we should make lucky lemon pigs for new years. I had seen them online and thought it was so cute. So I decided I would go get us some lemons and pick up the eyeliner I wanted.

And it was beautiful out. I put on some music and enjoyed my walk to the store. I was in a good mood. And after I got what I needed I headed back home. I made a stop over to look at the free stuff from yesterday. There was still some neat gardening stuff. And I was able to get a brand new in the package garlic plate grater and some plant flags. Amazing. James will enjoy those.

I would spend the rest of the afternoon just chilling. Waiting for James. And when James got home I was so happy to see them.

They said I did so good with my purging. And it was decided we would go to dinner to celebrate before we went to spend a little time at the Chang's before we had our first footing for the year.

So that is what we did. We walked to brass tap and talked and had a really chill little dinner. The Chang's would have Chinese food so James just got a pretzel. I got a sandwich and we shared fries. It is always so loud in there but the food was good. The walk there was really nice. The walk back was a little tough on me because it's slightly uphill. I got very overheated. But I enjoyed the evening sir and James company and I just love them so much.

They kept telling me how pretty I was. They liked my new eyeliner. And they liked my very sparkly dress. I am their little disco ball. I felt really good.

When we got back home after dinner we had some stuff to do before we headed out again. We had some stuff to bring over there. And I was excited to see them. But my congestion was getting worse and I felt like my head was underwater.

When we got there George gave me some decongestant and that has helped a lot. But I was mostly just excited to see everyone. Katie was upset when she realized there wasn't any real vegetarian stuff for me. But I kept telling her I just ate dinner it's okay!! I would eat two spring rolls. Which were probably vegetarian. I couldn't find any meats in there. I kept telling her it was okay! I was just happy to be there.

I would also just love talking about art with George. We have a lot of the same favorite contemporary artists and I was telling him about the stuff I saw and researched in grad school and it is always just such a gratifying and intellectually stimulating conversation.

I also spoke to Julien and David. We got to talk about the house. David and Grace just bought a house too and it was fun to hear what they are doing with their projects. And they are engaged too so I'm excited to lend a hand and help them however we can.

It was fun but I was losing steam. My ears were opening up but my allergies were starting to bother me. So we hugged everyone and went home.

James has left there phone at home by accident and that has stressed me out. So I was glad when they found it right away. We opened some little gifts we got from James's cousins that was passed along to us from the Fulwilers. And James finished up the dishes.

I was hanging out here in bed texting my mom when I remembered the pigs!! So me and James would go and make our little lucky pigs. James is cuter. I made mine's to far apart and the ears were wrong. I moved the eyes but the ears could be better. Ah well. Still super cute and I'm glad we did this. I put them in the first footing basket. I picked a larger basket this year which I think looks a little empty. But I have all the things! So hopefully we have lots of good luck for next year.

There is an hour to New Year's. I made a TikTok and fed the fish and am just thinking back to all the things we did this year. The places we went and the stuff we saw. The things I accomplished! The art I made! It was full of ups and downs and joy and heartbreak and wins and loses. The only resource you can't get back is time, and I am grateful for every day. And I hope this new year will bring more joy. A new home. More family. More art. I am starting another temperature blanket. And I have so many plans. I hope that you all have a great New Years. I love you all. Goodnight!!

[hallowvalley]

That conversation with the patient literally has me shaking so badly. He literally was ASLEEP and popped up and laughed and fully conversated with me.

Like he was talking mumbling last night and not making much sense and tonight? im trying to remember as much as I can of the conversation but I almost vomited genuienly it made me sick.

"I don't even know what I'm getting out of bed for."

I said

"that's okay did you need something like do you need to go to the bathroom or are you thirsty?."

" No. Neither of those I have a question for you..."

He asked for my role I said I was a tech here and he told me fuck I wish I remember everything he said and I don't. He asked for my name and my age and he said I was young. I can't remember the question exactly and I'm kicking myself I just remember little parts of the conversation because he was spitting out word salad yesterday. I talked with him though and that conversation is staying in my brain and heart forever.

" I feel like I'm asleep all the time. What life is that? "

I think he said something about the bed too.

"I feel like I'm going to die here. All of it happened so quickly and ended. I was fine and I'm here in this bed and I'm dying. I'm going to die here. It happened so quick" He said a lot more and I can't remember because I just stared at him and he asked me if I was still there and I said yes and I told him he didn't need to worry about that right now that he was safe here and I was here and that he should get some rest and tucked him back in but god hearing him say that? I literally paused dead in my tracks I was in front of his bed while he was sitting there and I was talking with him face to face.

Jesus Christ that's a bit spooky. I have literally been writing about that feeling for so fucking long and the world salad that came from him yesterday and the clear as day conversation I had with him when he sprang out of bed? I'm sorry what the absolute fuck. and at the end he chuckled and said I'm sorry I'm babbling away I said you're not babbling you're talking. It's okay get some sleep. It'll be okay. And he went back to sleep.

I keep saying it spooked me but I felt it in my core. I know I made an impact here as much as I could and with my next job no matter what I will do I will adapt I always have. I have confidence in myself and who I am this will be #7 job and I am so incredibly proud of myself and the progress I made into healing myself because I feel so much better I still get nervous but I can cope so much healthier. It may sound cheesy but it feels like youre being held underwater and drowned and I finally feel like I'm gasping for air. Life is not pain.

[00katrinka00]

Not A love Story Update #17 Part 2

A few days later, Levi had scheduled a time for Fiona, Ainsley, and Garreth to receive their horseback riding lessons. After explaining everything and introducing them to the horses, it was time to mount. "I'm doing it!" Ainsley heard Fiona exclaim while she pulled herself up into the saddle.

As the week had progressed, Garreth hadn't have any more alone time with Ainsley where he could tell her how he felt. They were always surrounded by their friends, and it had become irritating. Garreth tried to hide this frustration from his horse as he tentatively pulled himself up into the saddle.

"This is the best!" Fiona exclaimed. Ainsley let out an amused laugh, "We've barely even started." "Exactly! And it's so much fun already." Ainsley just smiled while Garreth gazed wearily at his horse. He'd already conquered part of his fear by getting on, now he just needed to go for a ride.

"Alright," Levi began. "We're just going to go for a quiet little ride around the stables. Nothing too crazy, just stay behind me and call out if you need anything. Remember what I said about the reigns, the horses will turn whichever way you pull them." "Let's go already!" exclaimed Fiona.

As they began to ride, Ainsley was starting to understand Garreth's reservations about horse back riding. There was something unnerving about being on an animal like this. Garreth tried his best to follow the group, his shoulders tensed. He kept bracing himself to be thrown off into the dirt.

The more they rode, the easier things became, even if Ainsley and Garreth still had their shoulders tensed waiting for something to happen. Fiona on the other hand was having the time of her life. Before they knew it their lesson was over and it was time to meet up with everyone else.

Later that night, after returning from dinner, Ainsley stopped Fiona in the foyer. "You've had a good week so far?' she asked her sister. "The best!" "Good, but we are leaving tomorrow afternoon, so I think you need to get a good night sleep. I don't want to mess up your sleep schedule too much."

"Oh come on!" Fiona complained. "I'm 15, I'll be fine." "You go back to school before I do. I need to make sure you're well rested so you can pay attention in class." "It's spring break." "Fiona," Ainsley said in that tone that told Fiona her sister meant business. "Fine," she grumbled.

After Fiona had begrudgingly went to bed, everyone else (besides Diego and Levi who had snuck off somewhere) decided to gather around the fire. "You know what I see?' Jae said. "What?" "A perfectly good hot tub we haven't used yet. I think we should all change into our suits and try it out."

With Fiona occupying her room, Ainsley and Jae took turns changing in Jae's on suit bathroom. "How do I look?" asked Ainsley. "What the hell are you wearing?" Jae asked clearly offended. "What do you mean? It's cute." "Yeah maybe for a preteen. Not for a 20 something adult. Wear something hot."

"I can't," Ainsley protested. "Why not?" "Well, Garreth's going to be there…" "Let me get this straight, you're willing to sleep with guys that you've just met and are barely interested in, but wearing a bikini in front a a guy you're actually interested in is where you draw the line?"

"Here's what's going to happen," Jae began to say. "I'm going to head downstairs and get into the hot tub, and you're going to change into that blue checkered suit I know you brought, and we're going to have a great time." "But-" Ainsley tried to protest. "See you downstairs!"

"See how much better you look," Jae teased as soon as Ainsley stepped into the hot tub. "What?" Milo asked clearly confused. "I think they're referencing a conversation neither of us were privy to," Garreth explained. "Ohhhh." "Yes, now next topic," Jae leaned back in her seat.

Everyone sat in a contended silence just basking in each other's company. After spending the last week together there was little left to talk about. "You know my legs were super sore after those horseback riding lessons," Ainsley said after a moment. "The hot water is helping."

"I think Jamal and I are going to head to bed," Delilah said with a yawn. "It's getting late" After Jamal and Delilah left, Scarlet said "You know, I saw an entire liquor cabinet inside that's completely untouched. I might just have to go remedy that." Without another word, Scarlet too headed inside

"And then there were 4," Milo joked leaning back in his seat. "Actually," Jae cut in. "I was thinking the exact same thing as Scarlet, so we should head inside too." "But I don't want to get out," Milo protested Jae subtly pinched him, "we're going inside, you and me. right now." "Ohhh, right. Yeah"

Ainsley waited for Jae and Milo to get inside then said, "I think they're trying to set us up." Garreth took a moment to process that their friends had just left him and Ainsley alone, making this the perfect opportunity to tell Ainsley how he felt. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that."

"Oh?" Ainsley asked intrigued. "Yeah," Garreth took a deep breath before continuing. "I've been thinking about us and I was wondering if you-" "GUYS!" exclaimed Diego as he came bursting out the doors, clearly drunk. "Diego no!" someone called after him. "You've gotta see what we're doing inside."

Ainsley let out an annoyed sigh, "Delilah and Jamal went to bed, so I should probably go and babysit them. Make sure they don't start too much trouble." "But-" before Garreth had time to finished what he'd been saying Ainsley had climbed out of the hot tub and was making her way inside.

Garreth remained outside for a while. "Was that really so hard?" he muttered to himself. "Hey, Ainsley I really like you and I was wondering if you'd like to go on a date sometime." Garreth splashed the water in irritation, because he knew he wouldn't get another shot before they left tomorrow.

[ofrionstage]

Irregularly Documenting My Creative Journey, Editing Phase, Part 1: Thoughts about Creating, Struggles With Editing, and Characters

7.2.2025

What do you guys think counts as working on a creative project?

Weird way to start an IDMCJ, I know, but this leads somewhere. I'm going to be saying 'writers' for the rest of this post, but I am referring to all creators of all kinds. Also, I should probably stop starting these with unrelated rambling, last time I checked I'm not Victor Hugo and I wouldn't dare steal his act.

I just thought about the question today- what counts as writing? Does it only count that a person worked on their project if they edited 3 scenes or wrote 400 words, or does it also count if that person had no time to do these things but thought about their creation and wrote down some ideas for how to make some scenes better? Does it count if the person didn't actually write anything, but stared at the google doc for half an hour? Does it count if they make inspiration boards or playlists or timelines or fanart of their own work?

The definition's a bit unclear, so I think everyone should get to define it for themselves! In my opinion, as long as you really do believe in your project, as long as you set progress goals and you actually try your best to reach them(and sometimes succeed), as long as you're kind to yourself but you also understand self-discipline, you can define what productivity means to you and you'll be just fine.

Anyways, to the actual documentation of the creative journey!

I officially started editing! It's not the best. Yeah, I need to complain a little, sorry. This is not fun. No one in here talks enough about how difficult it is, editing is HARD! One moment, it feels like I'm rummaging through a mountain of messy ideas to try and pull out the good ones, and the other moment there are so little ideas and stuff is vague, so I have no clue what to do!

I'm still stuck in the very first scene of the musical, the one with the king telling the queen about his psychopathic plan. I did add a little scene before it with the brothers and the queen talking about their new sibling but other than that it's basically the same. Past me left a lot of beginning scenes vague, but that's what editing is for. I really like some of the lines I came up with, but other lines definitely need more work, which they will get tomorrow. I want to sleep. Why am I awake?

Wow, I really got distracted here with that bit of vulnerability. Note to self, never make a Victor Hugo joke on posts. I'll just write a little more about the project and fnish. Next time, I'll write more about the project and try to keep the rambling from happening, but right now it's late and I just want to finish this and go to bed.

I'm going to be a little honest here, I'm scared that I'm not doing this right. I hope the difficulty is normal, and that it's not because I'm editing 'wrong' somehow, because I care about this project and I want to tell this story well. I think this is something all creators go through, but I don't really know. I hope I'll learn in time, one of my goals is to have experience in these things so I can give new creators the support and answers they need.

I want to start making character profiles! :D I got the idea some time ago, I think they will help me find the characters' voices better as I write, they'll hopefully help me connect to people who find the story interesting when I post them here, and they'll just be really fun to make!

Okay, it really is getting late now, I should go. I really want to thank you if you actually read all of this, it's a lot and I know it's a lot, I'll keep the next ones shorter. Still, I hope you enjoyed, and I hope everyone has a lovely day!

[ashinafl4sh]

Everything I can Never Be

Chapter 1

The curtain is about to open. 5 minutes to mentally prepare myself for this moment. I look over at my best friends, Sammy and Jackie. They nod at me. I pick up my drum sticks, Sammy grabs his microphone and Jackie grabs her electric guitar.

3...

I take a deep breath.

2...

I squeeze the sticks in my hands.

1...

The curtains open and there is a huge crowd in front of us. I'm amazed and scared at the same time.

We start playing a song. Everyone is cheering for us. They all know our names. I feel so proud.

I open my eyes and notice I'm in bed. I sigh. I wish that was really me. I could never be a famous drummer. I suck at the drums anyway. It's not really worth it, my dad says.

I get ready for school. I put on my chest binder and a shirt with the TX2 logo on it. I love that band. Evan is such an inspiration and Cam gives me gender envy. I put on some baggy jeans and grab my bag. I set it next to me as I eat fruity pebbles for breakfast.

I get on the school bus and sit in the back by myself. I turn on some music. It's a mix of TX2, Cavetown, and The Front Bottoms. People say my music taste is abnormal but I don't really care. I like all the bands that everyone hates. I think they are just misunderstood. I understand them. I like this music. It makes me feel better to know that I'm not alone.

I arrive at school and sit down in my first period ELA class. Everyone always hates me in school. I guess that's what I get for being a trans therian. Sorry for existing I guess. Kids are snickering at each other. I hate them too, it's fine.

Mrs Cahill starts the lesson. I feel like I am the only one who actually pays attention. I have a lot of respect for teachers. These people have to deal with annoying cis boys. They are so rude to the teachers. The teachers are actually awesome for everything they do for this school. Before you call me a nerd and stuff, just understand, teachers have to do boring presentations about 6 or more times a day. They are almost always standing up for it. Also the kids they have to put up with! Insane! I would go crazy teaching a class of 7th graders!

After class ends I go to the band room. I love band but I hate it at the same time. I'm a percussionist, right? So are ALL the mean cis boys. All of them. I hate them with a passion. I'm not very strong, but I want to hit them.

I go quickly so I can get to the good snare drum first. I hate running because of my chest binder. At least it's a short distance.

I pull out my drum sticks and set my folder and book up on the stand. I practice drum rolls and random drills and marching band roll offs. I'm waiting for the band to get settled in.

I look over at the drum kit in the corner. Usually for jazz band or a teacher to play. I imagine myself playing it for the whole school. I overthink it, like I always do. I feel embarrassed because what if they throw garbage at me on stage? What if they boo me in front of everyone? I can never be a professional drummer.

Band class starts and we play through our songs. I think I'm pretty good at the snare drum but I know the real boys will always be better than me.

After band I go to math. I like math. It's boring, yeah, but it's kind of easy.

I go through the rest of my classes, after school I video call my friends, Jackie and Sam.

"Hey guys!"

"Hey Oliver!" Jackie greets me.

"How are you, Ollie?" Sam asks me.

"Getting by, I guess," I chuckle.

"You guys wanna play Minecraft?" Jackie asks.

"Hell yeah!" Sam exclaims.

"Sure," I agree.

I grab my controller and turn on my PlayStation. I hang up the FaceTime and add them to a PlayStation party. We play our survival world that we always play. We have made good progress on it. We're hoping to be friends for life, and even if we split up, we will still have the world. I always doubt that people can be friends forever. We don't even live in the same area. Jackie is in Kent, England, Sam is in LA, California, and I am in Chicago, Illinois. Me and Sam are the only ones in the same country. I feel like online friends count as real friends but sometimes I doubt myself. I feel like I miss them all the time even though we can call whenever. It's weird to think we met on Roblox in 2020. I think it's nice that we found each other like that. If it weren't for the pandemic, we would have never met.

"Oliver, you okay? You're pretty quiet," Jackie says. Her British accent is quite strong.

"Yeah, just um.. spaced out," I tell her.

Later I go to bed. I have to take off my chest binder. It feels relieving for a second but then the dysphoria kicks in. I don't even want to think about it. I fall asleep quickly.

- I wrote this on a train with nothing going through my brain at all 😂 surviving off of a Monster and some Nerds Gummies

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Winter's Bite (Twilight Princess ficlet)

HAHA YOU THOUGHT I WAS INCAPABLE OF WRITING SOMETHING >:) (I'm sure literally no one thought this except me, it's fine, this is a joke)

@nancyheart11 this was far too long to be sent in an ask and I said what the heck I'll make it a ficlet, so enjoy :)

Summary: Link usually shows up at Rusl's house every day. When no one has seen or heard from him in the middle of a sleet storm, Rusl goes out in search for him.

(AO3 link)

It was a dreary day. The blissful break in winter from yesterday, filled with sunshine and gentle breezes and warmer temperatures, had been harshly shoved aside for a return of ice and bitterly cold rain. Rusl found himself wanting to lay in bed - Hana was getting better at sleeping through the night, but there were still interruptions, and between his broken up rest from the last few months and the abysmal lighting he was set to sleep all morning.

Rusl rolled onto his side, his arm reaching out for his wife, when he felt just the mattress beside him. Frowning, he opened his eyes a bit more and saw that Uli had already gotten up somehow, despite the entire world indicating that it was a good day to sleep in. Sighing, he decided he should get up too.

With a mighty yawn and a lazy stretch, the Ordonian swordsman finally rose out of bed, stumbled a little as his world spun, and then made his way to his daughter's crib. Hana was fast asleep, her little chubby face relaxed, and Rusl smiled at the sight of it. He went to his son's room next to check on Colin, who was out cold. Pulling the blanket up a little to better tuck him in, Rusl left quietly so his son could enjoy a sleepy morning.

The smell of breakfast filled his nostrils, perking him up a bit more. Uli was boiling some eggs and making biscuits - Rusl couldn't imagine a more perfect start to the day.

"Good morning," he said softly, wrapping his arms around her from behind and planting a kiss on her neck.

Uli giggled a little, leaning her head back into his chest. "Mornin'."

The couple spent the rest of the time in silence, Rusl helping with making tea while Uli finished cooking. When Hana awoke, Rusl took over in the kitchen so Uli could feed her, and Colin eventually dragged his feet into the main room of the house just in time for breakfast.

The day progressed pleasantly and lazily. Rusl worked on making some farming tools for the villagers while Colin stayed indoors and took care of Hana, giving Uli time to rest and make some clothes. Rusl gazed outside occasionally, wondering if Link would stop by - it had been a couple weeks since everything that had happened, and though Link was fully recovered and had settled back in his own little home, Rusl still worried.

Particularly since he hadn't seen him today. Usually he'd catch sight of Link on his way to the ranch in the morning, or the boy would stop by for lunch or dinner.

Lunch had passed by now, so Rusl assumed he would see his boy in the evening.

He didn't.

Worry started to settle heavily in his gut. The last time Link had disappeared for a while...

Well... actually, now that he thought about it, Rusl had never questioned why his ward had been lounging around as a wolf in front of his home all those nights ago rather than gone inside to sleep.

It still made him uneasy. It had been too recent, everything that had transpired that night. He felt anxious thinking that he hadn't seen Link at least once today.

Rusl hardly touched his dinner, and Uli picked up on his anxiety as well. When Colin took Hana to her crib, his wife used the opportunity to walk over to him and ask softly, "Have you seen Link?"

"No," he answered. "But I'm going to go look for him."

Uli nodded, glancing away worriedly. "I was outside gathering some ingredients and I overheard Fado mentioning that he hadn't seen Link today."

"What?" Rusl nearly yelped. "Why didn't you say something sooner?"

"Honey, it was right before dinner; Colin was there by the time I got back," Uli argued quietly. "You and I both know he'd go running off into the woods with nothing but a wooden sword to find him. Besides, I wasn't sure if you'd seen him."

Uli blew out a shaky breath, staring at the floor guiltily. "I didn't--he has to be okay, right?"

"I'll make sure of it," Rusl stated firmly, grabbing his sword. Uli gave him a quick concerned be careful as he headed out, hood pulled tightly over his head as the freezing rain continued to pour forth from the sky, pelting his skin with tiny scratches of winter's claws.

It didn't take long to clear the village of any sign of Link, and his house was equally empty, making Rusl worry even more. He bent down to the ground, looking for any signs of either Hylian or wolf feet, and instead saw the heavy footprints of horseshoes.

Epona.

Perhaps Link was alright if he'd taken his horse with him? Rusl had to confirm, though. Heading into the forest, he followed the footprints, which were filled with ice, indicating it might have been a while since Epona had been there. He went across the bridge and into Faron Woods before he found Link's mare close to the mouth of the cave that led further into the forest, looking agitated.

"Epona," Rusl acknowledged as he reached out to the horse. She had taken shelter under a few trees, but it was very unlike Link to leave his steed out in the elements like this. He looked over her saddle and the single bag packed. Link hadn't planned on being gone for long based on how little was being carried. "Where's Link?"

Epona whinnied, her feet shifting nervously. Rusl pat her reassuringly, glancing around. The encampment where the lantern merchant usually stayed had been abandoned in lieu of the storm, which made searching for clues...

There. Smaller footprints, first those of a Hylian and then suddenly shifting into paw prints.

Rusl trotted ahead, growing steadily more nervous.

Only one beast popped out to cause trouble, a keese, and Rusl felled it quickly. The beast squealed in protest before gurgling into silence, its last gasp covered by the sound of icicles falling from the sky.

And then Rusl heard whimpering.

Sheathing his sword with a conscious effort and haste, he rushed ahead, finding his charge.

A black wolf was curled around himself, tail and paws tucked under him, ears peeled back, fur glittering in icicles that had long since frozen to him.

"Link," Rusl gasped, falling to his knees. The wolf whined when he placed his hand on his head. "Link, what happened?"

When the only response he got was another whine, he glanced over the young one once more. No sign of injury, no bleeding... though he couldn't see his paws with the way they were tucked in. Gently, Rusl coaxed them out from under the wolf, one leg at a time, and saw no wounds, though the wolf was clearly freezing.

"Link," Rusl tried again. "Come on, son, change back. Talk to me."

Link whined more loudly, tucking himself more tightly into a ball as if he were ashamed or scared. Rusl watched him, baffled and concerned.

"All right," he muttered before pulling off his cloak and wrapping it around the wolf. "We'll do it this way, then."

With a deep breath he pulled the bundle into his arms, Link giving a soft growl and twitch, twisting in his grip a little. Rusl looked at him discerningly, gazing into the intelligent blue eyes and markings as confirmation that he hadn't stumbled onto some other wolf, but no - this was definitely his boy. Why was he acting like this?

Well, whatever the reason, they could figure it out in the warmth of his home.

Rusl headed back towards the bridge leading to the village, and Epona practically ran to him when he reached the clearing. She poked Link with her face, and the wolf whined again, though his tail unfurled a little to wag before he yelped and it curled back in.

Rusl paused. "Link, are... are you in pain?"

Link whined again, his muzzle leaning against Rusl's shoulder.

That had to be what was wrong. But he wasn't injured...?

"Does... does it hurt?"

"Not like it used to. I'm okay, Pa."

The puzzle pieces slowly snapped into place, and Rusl silently made his way back to Ordon. Epona followed along, waiting patiently at Link's home as the swordsman continued to his own house. When he got there, Uli was waiting for him in the den, and she immediately grabbed as many pillows and blankets as she could find and laid them in front of the hearth. Rusl settled Link by the fire, and he stayed very still.

"What happened?" Uli asked.

"I'm... not sure," Rusl answered. "But I think he's in pain."

"Is he hurt?"

"No. I think it's..." Rusl mulled it over. "Storms like this always bother me, my old injuries, my joints."

Uli huffed a little as she knelt beside Link, running a hand over his fur. "Well I may not have scars, but my joints are starting to get a little grouchy with this weather."

Rusl grabbed some herbs that he usually ground up into a tea for pain relief and then paused. Could Link even drink this as a wolf? "I think that's what's wrong. Would transforming back hurt too much, Link?"

Link moved his head to hide his face under a blanket. Uli hummed worriedly, leaning over and kissing the blanket where he was hiding. "Oh, honey... Rusl, what can we give him?"

Rusl stared at the herbs helplessly. "I... we might just have to wait for the storm to be over."

Uli bit her lip thoughtfully. "No medicine, but we have other methods. I'll make some hot water bottles."

As his wife rose to do so, Rusl sat on the ground beside Link, slowly peeling the blanket off his face. His boy's blue eyes watched him sadly, almost seeming ashamed. His brushed his hand over his boy's head, settling for scratching gently behind his ears. Link's tail lazily swished back and forth in acknowledgement.

Sighing a little, Rusl adjusted himself to be more comfortable as he ran his hand along Link's back in a soothing motion. His boy was trembling less, pelt cool and damp rather than frozen solid. The gentle massage helped ease the wolf's tension as well, and eventually Link settled his head on Rusl's lap.

"Don't worry, Link," Rusl whispered as Uli returned with some more items to assist. "We'll take care of you."

[blkchxrryblyss]

Do You Like It?

izuku x blk fem!reader; warnings: none

w.c - 1.6k

"I really hope this color comes out, right.", you said to yourself while setting the green dye mixture onto the bleached hair.

Right now you were styling a wig that you have been dying to do for the past month but due to your laziness, you pushed it off multiple times. You decided to do a green color because your boyfriend, Izuku, also has green hair. You just wanted to match with him for his birthday tomorrow. While the dye was setting, you hear your phone ding and see that Izuku texted you.

Izzy💚- Babe are you busy? Can I come over, I'm bored😞

You cursed under your breath because that dye was nowhere near finished, but you didn't want to say no to your sweet boyfriend since he hasn't come over in the past two days. So you hid your hair in the bathroom and put the handmade "Hair in Progress" sign on the door so he wouldn't go in. You wrapped your hair in a neat bun and straightened things around the room before laying down and texting him back.

You - Of course, Izzy, just knock before you come in.

Izzy💚- omw

Izuku was over in less than 5 minutes, meaning he was probably in Katsuki's dorm playing the game or arguing about who's the better quarterback even though neither one of them are. Shoto is, but you'll never tell them that. You heard three knocks on your room door before it opened, revealing your freckled-faced boyfriend. He was dressed down since he didn't really have classes today. Black wifebeater, black sweats, Nike slides, hair all wild, and a thick gold chain adorning his tan neck.

"How you look good without even trying, Izzy?", his cheeks turned red when you gently pulled him in by his chain, closing the door behind him, “You don’t hear me talkin’ to you, baby?”

“I do hear you, I just don’t know how you want me to answer that”, he gave you a smile, pushing you back on the bed, and proceeded to lay his head on your chest, “I just threw on some clothes. I personally think I look like shit.”

You hit him on the head, making him groan.

“You look fine as hell. And you smell good. What you got on?”, you sniffed his hair and neck making him laugh.

“I stole Mina’s Mango Shea Butter. She’ll kill me but it’s worth it”, all of sudden Izuku got from on top of you and started to rummage through your snack drawer, “Can I have your chips?”

“No, fat ass. You ate all my chips the last time you were here.”, you said as you snatched the chips out of his hand, leading to him glaring at you.

“You shouldn’t be talking to the birthday boy like that. I should get anything I want.”, he pouted.

He knew you were a sucker for his pouting. I mean there were times where you did say no, but since his birthday was getting closer, you couldn’t say no to him. You treated his birthdays like they were your own. So he asked for anything he wanted and he knew you would give it to him. No matter how small or big. Rolling your eyes with an exasperated sigh, you threw the chips in his lap.

“Take 'em, you big baby.”, he smiled at you before stuffing his face. He settled in your bed next to you, grabbing your remote to scroll through Netflix. While distracted, you just stared at him.

You really loved this boy. You loved his freckles, his green eyes, his broad body, his crooked fingers, his wild hair, his everything. This would be the 2nd birthday that you spent with him which would make it 2 years since you guys have been together. It was a lot of ups and downs, arguing, cuddling, crying, and everything else in the relationship book. But all in all you and Izuku always came back together because you both weren't the type to give up. Especially if you both know it can be fixed.

His birthday was one of your favorite days. Why? Well because you simply cherish the day he was born. He was quite literally the best boyfriend you ever had. Now your past relationships weren't all bad. You actually had some pretty decent partners, but Izuku was just different. He just gave you a different feeling than the rest of your past relationships.

"You thinking hard over there, bun?", Izuku whispered, still focusing on the t.v. screen. He couldn't find anything so he just put on Twilight since he knows that what you were gonna pick anyway.

"Izzy, you real pretty, you know that?", he laughed lightly.

"You tell me that every day, gorgeous.", you shuffled around before sitting up slightly, resting your head on your palm.

"Yeah, well I like to speak facts."

Before Izuku could reply, a loud alarm rang through the room. Your body went tense, then you realized that it was your time to rinse out your wig. You scrambled to get up and yelled to Izuku to not come in the bathroom at all, leaving your clueless boyfriend in confusion.

You really hoped your hair turned out perfect.

-

"Okay, do the layers look right? What about my part, is it crooked?"

"Shut the hell up, bitch. You look good."

"Yeah, that shit nerd might bust his pants when he sees you."

Both Mina and Bakugou were in your dorm helping you with your hair and outfit for the night. You wanted to look perfect for Izuku's day because if you didn't, you just might cry. For your hair, it was styled as a middle part ombré from black transitioning to green along with some stacked layers with bumped ends. Your hair looked absolutely perfect but your nerves made you think that something just had to be wrong. You were so worried about your hair that you didn't notice Bakugou holding an outfit up to you.

"Your hair is fucking fine, idiot. Now go get fucking dressed. Deku keeps blowing up my damn phone.", Bakugou grimaced, shoving the outfit to your chest.

It was a silk black collared button-up a size too big, a dark green sheer ribbed corset top that was sleeveless, a black miniskirt with a small slit on the side, and lastly a pair of dark green strap tie stiletto heels. Thank the higher beings that you have a friend whose parents are literal fashion gods.

"Oh my god...OH MY GOD! Bakugou this is fucking perfect. I'm so glad that we're friends. You're a fucking lifesaver.", your praises would've gone on longer if he didn't growl at you to shut up. You huffed and began to get undressed.

-

You were finally done and arrived at the high-end club with 20 minutes to spare. You made sure everything was set up correctly, from the condition of the section area to the quality of the alcohol. You saved up a lot of money in order to rent this big section for Izuku's birthday and you'll be damned if even one thing is not up to par. Your man deserved the best and you know Izuku wouldn't give you no half-assed birthday party either.

The club was jumping and all of your boyfriend's uni friends and some of your friends were falling in one by one. Now everyone was just asking where Izuku was. You knew he was coming soon. Shoto texted you that they were pulling up and Izuku was asking him so many questions. Such a curious boyfriend.

Everyone was mingling and chatted but soon averted their attention to the frosted glass door opening. In walked in Shoto followed by your shell-shocked boyfriend.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEKU!"

The whole room cheered crowding around Izuku, patting him on the back, hugging him, and roughing him up a bit. He truly felt loved and was shocked that literally, every one from his past and present showed up for his day. Well besides his past teachers and his parents, but that's beside the point. He didn't think he would be in a high-end club with a balcony view of the whole place for his birthday, but here he is and he is sure to thank the person who he knows did this.

He pushes through his friends, dapping them up and giving them quick hugs, and then, he sees you. The best present he could ask for. All decked out in black and green from the makeup to the shoes. But what really caught his eyes was your hair. The black to green ombré layered look really suited you. Seeing the color green on you really got him going because you looked so good with it.

"Do you like it?", you smirked at Izuku, who was quite literally mesmerized by your attire. He nodded dumbly before kissing you softly.

"Thank you so much, mini me. You really want to be like me, don't you?", he chuckled out.

"Boy please. I just remembered you saying something about how good I would look with green hair.", you said matter of factly while flipping your hair back dramatically. He just shook his head, playfully disappointed, squeezing your waist.

"Thank you so much, bun. This is one of the best birthdays I could ask for.", he kissed you again but it only lasted for a couple of seconds because soon you heard cameras shuttering. You both pulled back and turned to all your friends either gushing at you both or scowling at you (that would be Bakugou and Shinsou). Chuckling lightly, you picked up a bottle of Casamigos and waved it in the air like a bottle girl with Izuku still holding you tight.

"Why the hell y'all staring at us? LET'S POP SOME MUTHAFUCKIN' BOTTLES FOR THE BIRTHDAY BOOOOY!", you yelled out making everyone cheer.

Izuku had a birthday he would never forget and he couldn't thank you more for it.

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My Dearest Darling (Irnes X Fatui! Reader Part Three)

Somehow, we made it to 200+ followers! Here's the third part of the series, and I believe I'll probably need a masterpost soon for what I have planned... This part is mostly letters, for those wondering. There's a little bit at the end that isn't letters, but here's all of Irnes' major writings to you! Still SFW, Irnes is a smitten man and the mortifying ordeal of having to explain why there's a nude painting of him in the mail would probably give him a heart attack. So here you go, some letters from Irnes during your time apart!

Seventh of Winter

My darling,

I used to write all the time, when I was much younger. But since my body doesn't work as well as it used to, I've found that writing my observations and letters is much harder than it was. Regardless, I will do my best for you, as you're all alone and I can't bear to leave you that way.

Today is the seventh day of winter. You left yesterday, yet I can't stop thinking about you. It's around this time that my pain starts to act up from the cold, so I've been sequestered in my chair by Sergei so I don't hurt myself. But there's so much to do! The projects for the Doctor will not finish themselves, and I have several reports to finish! Alas, Sergei is vehemently keeping me confined, I'm only allowed to walk with his assistance (though I'm quite sure I don't need it). However, that is not of any importance, as my thoughts have been only on your lovely voice.

There's no greater force in this world than passion and love. I know this well, subjects put under extreme duress in impossible situations are invigorated by the sight of their true desire, whether it be relation or object. In this case, I am the subject, so dearly in love with you that I would do anything, survive a bludgeoning that would kill a man. Oh how I love you, my dear, it pains me to know that you're so far away, across the sea and serving Her Majesty in the name of progress.

I cannot confess it to your face, but clones do not... dream, at least, not often. It's not that we're incaptable, no, it's that we have nothing to dream about, other than our beloved creator's goal, which is rather boring to think, let alone dream about. But I've found that my dreams have been solely occupied by you, to the point that Prime would have written it off as an illness. It is not an illness, I know that much, but it really is peculiar. I've never dreamed like this before... Can you believe that?

But enough about me, how has your trip been? By the time you read this letter, I predict you will be in Sumeru, so I must ask how it went. I don't know if you get seasick or not, but I hope not, otherwise I would have made a little something to make you feel better. Do let me know, I'll send a package for next time! I forgot to inform you, but I have given Omega express orders to make sure you're well, a favor that he's been dying to pay off. If he is unkind to you, tell me and I will ensure that his return will be anything but pleasant. I will also tell Prime, because I am physically incapable of smacking him upside the head with sufficient force to get through that thick skull of his.

Anyhow, I know you don't have much time to read an essay worth of words, so I will stop here. Do take care of yourself, my love. I wait for your reply.

With love, Irnes

Eleventh of Winter

My dear,

It has been a few days since I have written last, but only because I seem to have fallen ill again. Even now, Sergei is writing this for me, as I am not allowed to leave my bed or do any strenuous tasks. Though I'm fairly sure that writing isn't a strenuous task when you have nothing to do... Do not worry about me, however, my sickness is nothing serious, just a small cold. Sergei is merely overreacting, I am perfectly fine, I believe that I am being forced to rest as a precaution, nothing more.

I miss you so much. I cannot wait to hold you in my arms again, I do believe that the saying "in absence does the heart grow fonder". I've found myself somewhat distracted from my work by thoughts of you, and Sergei is giving me a look as I say this. I should apologize to Prime, now that I think about it. No matter, I will get to it eventually. Eventually.

I've been thinking about our future recently. Being sick gives me too much time alone with my thoughts, it seems! When you return, I will speak more of it, but I think that perhaps- if you weren't opposed- we could make it somewhat official? I quite like the idea of you being mine. Perhaps it's my brain's response to theoretical death that's saying this... but I also like the idea of being yours. I like that idea better, actually. Being yours would make me truly happy.

But do tell me about your adventures in Sumeru! There are these particular creatures called Aranara that you may run across during your adventures, do send any pictures if you find them! They have little hats and usually dance around near trees. You may need a child to find them, but they are positively adorable! I have also sent some pressed flowers from my collection, one of them being a wild glaze lily. Fully intact, preserved for a few years, though the exact number of years escapes me. Consider it a bribe! Just kidding, but Sumeru really is a fascinating place. I think you will enjoy it immensely.

Anyways, my throat hurts and Sergei is glaring at me. Do take care of yourself, my love. I promise that I'll be alright, don't worry about me. Enjoy your time away, I will be here waiting for you.

Yours, Irnes

Sir, Irnes is delirious and will not be writing to you for some time. I apologize for the inconvenience, but he needs rest. He is also trying to escape, so please do write to tell him to stop running out in the cold with minimal clothing. By that I mean almost nothing. Thank you.

Sergei

Twentieth of Winter

My dearest darling,

I think it will please you to know that I have fully recovered since your last letter, in which you expressed much concern over my health. I can assure you that I am back on my feet! Prime is working me to near death, but it is the busiest season, as the deep cold keeps specimens from falling apart as easily. We also have new segments that have to be taken care of... Having naked ones running around is amusing, to say the least. They have no concept of morality or language yet, which has made for a few fires.

Anastasiy also has been discovering the concept of cookies lately, he has been hoarding them in his room. I have been pressed to make more, though Lord Pantalone is threatening to have me disbanded for getting him addicted to sugar. I can't help it though, his eyes have that little twinkle when he sees them! Oh well. I'll be sure to make you some once you return, as they are best warm.

Omega has notified me that you've been working quite hard under his jurisdiction. Don't let him pressure you into working more, my dear! He may be your superior, but I will come to Sumeru myself and knock him upside the head, just you wait. The warmth would keep my joints nice and loose, just for his ass kicking.

Do make sure that you're getting enough water and food! Sumeru can dehydrate you, especially in the humid areas! I would hate for you to get hurt or pass out because of it! Sleep is also important, especially in a land with no dreams. Without dreams as an indication of deep sleep, do try to get the advised eight hours a night (though I am fully aware that your schedule may not allow it). I have sent some herbal teas with this letter to help you sleep well, should you require them. They are a blend I procured and mixed personally, do tell me if it is not to your liking.

It's good to hear that you're doing well in Sumeru. Your stories are quite amusing, that Maksim of yours really is a mischievous man. I am glad that your comrades are taking care of you, despite getting goo all over your uniform. And do not worry about the uniform, dear. I happen to know how to get stains out of any fabric, and we can even get you a new one, should it be unsalvageable.

I wish I could hold you through a letter, but I'm afraid the universe has concrete limits. I send all my love to you, and I hope to hear from you again soon. Take care, my dear.

Yours, Irnes

Second of Spring

My star,

Snezhnaya does not have much of a spring season. It doesn't exactly have seasons, either. Though I look forward to summer, at least the cold relents ever so slightly. It's nice, on the old aches.

I have been invested in a project recently. It may be a bit forward of me, but I suppose I will simply have to show you in person. It will take some time to complete, however. Oh dear, it definitely

In your previous letter, you mentioned your family. I would very much like to meet them, that is, if you would like to be seen with someone like me. I don't know what's come over me lately, but things feel... wrong. It's nothing to do with you or any of the others, I simply feel strange in my own skin. An ache has started in my chest, the mirrors feel awfully oppressive as of late. I apologize, I know I shouldn't burden you with my thoughts like this.

I should write at another time, I suppose.

Third of Spring

My dearest,

I do not know how long you'll be gone, but it's almost been a season since you've left. I'm almost tempted to come visit you, though Sergei says it's a bad idea. Travelling in my condition... It would certainly be painful, but I would do it just to see you again. It would be worth it, every small pain. Though I know you wouldn't approve, so I will stay here and wait.

I do have some funny tidbits from my days taking care of the new clones. It's only been a few weeks, but they still insist on causing chaos, fairly standard of their base instincts. Though one of them in particular is very interested in vandalizing the holding room with... phallic objects. I've caught him in the act not once, not twice, but THREE times. I audibly sigh just thinking about it, is this what raising children is like?

Speaking of which, what are your opinions on children? Merely out of curiosity, as you seemed to have an aversion when I introduced you to Danya. Though I did see children in that family picture of yours... I must ask if you have siblings! Perhaps cousins, if not... It puzzles me, the children do look remarkably similar to you... blood relations, I'm sure. Please help me, my dear! I'm dying of curiosity!

I have inquired further with Prime about Sumeru out of my own curiosity. How wondrous! I wish I could be there with you, I hear that Sumeru City truly is a beautiful place. I also received those pictures of the Aranaras that you sent! They are quite adorable, and they have been taken from me by those ungrateful and greedy little creatures that Prime calls his image. They are currently begging me to ask you to send more, though I know you are quite busy and have little time to yourself, so do not feel pressured to comply.

In exchange for those marvelous pictures, I have included one of a rather disappointed segment in the bath and a few setting fires. I do hope you will be amused by them, it is quite embarrassing for them, but deserved after they stole my pictures. I am a man of spite, my dear, and I will not hesitate.

I love you, my dear. I hope that soon you will return to me.

Yours, Irnes

Fifteenth of Spring

My dear,

I should tell you the story of how I got these burns, hm? I have little to talk about nowadays, my time is rather mundane while serving Prime, so I suppose this may be the best way to tell you. While I would much rather say it to your face... Part of me knows that I would lose my courage in that situation, and for that I am sorry. You deserve nothing but my best, but I should tell you that I can be quite a cowardly man when it serves me. Or perhaps when it matters most.

It was many years ago. So many that it's only a vague recollection. I was in charge of a ruin guard factory, a short distance outside of Liyue Harbor. In fact, I believe it is still there, albeit abandoned. I was working in Prime's place, during one of his obsessions. I was quite proud of being promoted to a manager of such an important project, so much so that it seems foolish now, looking back on it. I was young, fresh out of the pod and eager for responsibility. It was stupid, in hindsight.

The accident itself involved that very hubris I held. At first, it was just my coat getting stuck in one of the open gears of a nearby incinerator. The next, it was my glove, then my hand. It hurt, it hurt so much. The gears crushed my skin, my bones. The fire burned through muscle, it felt like I was being torn apart. The open flame spread, until I was fully ablaze. I cried for help, but it was too late. The severe burns on my right side are what remains of that accident, as well as the crookedness of my arm. I don't remember much after catching fire. Just voices and flashes of light. I thought I was going to die.

Somehow, though, I did not. When I opened my eyes next, I was back in the cold of the motherland, the sky full of stars. That was the first time I'd ever seen the stars above my home. It was beautiful, like something out of a dream. The next time I woke up, it was with Prime holding a bone saw in front of my face. I almost wet myself, I'll tell you that much. It was terrifying. He planned to use it to cut through the skin as well! Blasphemy!

I couldn't walk and barely spoke for a few months after that. It took me a year, perhaps a bit more, to fully be able to walk again. Even then, it was embarrassingly haphazard. Still is, if I'm being honest.

I don't know what has come over me, writing this. I apologize, my dear. But know that I care for you, and that I wait for you to return.

Please keep safe.

Yours, Irnes

Forty Third of Spring

My dear,

I have not heard of you for some time. I do hope you're alright. Perhaps it is because you're busy, but I hope it's not because you're wounded. That would hurt more than you not having time...

Please take care of yourself.

Yours, Irnes

Eighth of Summer

Tsaritsa have mercy, it can't be true. Please, don't let it be true. Please. It's a lie, a clever prank by Omega.

Please.

It's summer. It's the warmest that this horrid place will ever get. I planned... I had so much planned.

Don't leave me alone. Please. My heart can't take it. It's selfish, I know. But please don't leave me.

I love you, my dear.