#i have an important meeting to head tmrw

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I have once again fought and overcome lost media! 50 GB, 38 hours, 1080p Beverly Hillbillies video is secured! YIPPEE

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Southern Baptists & in vitro fertilization

Southern Baptists gathering June 11-12 for their annual meeting look to weigh in on a slew of hot-button topics like in vitro fertilization, abortion, the Israel-Hamas war and efforts to establish a state religion in the U.S.

Monday, those issues were highlighted in the preliminary drafts of resolutions that will be considered by Southern Baptist Convention delegates at the faith group's annual meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Resolutions are seen as the denomination's way of expressing opinions or concerns about a variety of topics.

Viewpoints on abortion and women in ministry were shared by Southern Baptist delegates, called messengers through the faith group's 2023 resolutions.

WASHINGTON — Republican leaders are encouraging Congressional candidates not to shy away from discussing abortion and in vitro fertilization during the election this fall.

The guidance comes as Democrats prepare to hammer Republicans over reproductive rights in the first presidential election cycle since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

It also comes after a court ruling in Alabama threatened IVF in the state and showcased new ways the viewpoint that life begins at conception can complicate public policy and politics around family planning.

“We believe it's important for our members to engage on this issue and not stick their heads in the sand, which I think some potential candidates had done in the past,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik, chair of the House Republican Conference, at the group’s annual retreat in West Virginia this week.

Liquid nitrogen is used to keep robotic IVF and egg storage systems cold at the TMRW Life Sciences lab in Boulder, Colorado.

Democrats “are the radicals on this,” she said, arguing they want to repeal the law that bans the use of federal funds on abortion and that they support late-term abortion.

It reflects a common GOP approach to abortion messaging — polling shows that while more than 60% of Americans oppose abortion bans, only around 20% believe there shouldn’t be restrictions in the last trimester of pregnancy.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 98.9% of abortions took place before the 20th week of pregnancy.

And experts say no abortions take place “up to the moment of birth,” as Republicans often describe.

However, there is little consensus among Democrats as to whether there should be restrictions on abortion after viability.

Republican candidates encouraged to support access to IVF

Stefanik said the party has significantly boosted the number of female candidates running and those efforts have “strengthened our conference’s ability to communicate on these issues.”

Stefanik and National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., have been encouraging members to clearly state their position that they support access to IVF.

The NRCC is also providing messaging support for candidates to learn how to best communicate to voters on the issue.

The Alabama state Supreme Court ruled last month that embryos used in IVF are children and are entitled to legal protections under the state’s wrongful death law.

The decision kicked off a nationwide frenzy among fertility patients and healthcare providers over the potential implications of similar decisions in a post-Roe political landscape.

Republicans came out forcefully in favor of IVF following the ruling.

The National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee advised its candidates to actively broadcast their support.

But when asked to provide unanimous support for federal IVF protections, Republicans in the Senate said it should be left up to states to protect the procedure — a sentiment House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., echoed Thursday.

Recent polling indicates IVF is immensely popular with voters:

86% of people polled say IVF should be legal and 14% say it should be illegal, according to a CBS News and YouGov poll conducted two weeks ago.

Two-thirds of Americans support a federal law protecting abortion, including 86% of Democrats and 67% of independents, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Some 57% of Republicans oppose federal abortion protections.

A court ruled embryos are children. These Christian couples agree but still wrestle with IVF choices

When faced with infertility, Christians who believe life begins at or around conception must wrestle with weighty questions: How do you build a family in a way that conforms with your beliefs? Is IVF an ethical option, especially if it creates more embryos than a couple can use?

Key points:

The dilemma reflects the age-old friction between faith and science at the heart of the recent IVF controversies, such as in Alabama, where the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos have the legal status of children.

For many evangelicals and other Christians, IVF can be problematic, and some call for more regulation and education.

The process is “inherently unnatural,” said Jason Thacker, a Christian ethicist who directs a research institute at the Southern Baptist Convention.

“I’m both pro-family and pro-life,” he said. “But just because we can do something, it doesn’t mean we should.”

Even among Christians who see embryos as treasured lives, religious experts say there’s a wide spectrum of complicated views on IVF.

Kelly Pelsor, a mother from Indianapolis who turned to a fertility specialist after trying to have children naturally, doesn’t want to see it threatened anywhere.

Speaking of her daughter conceived via IVF, she says: “I truly believe she’s a miracle from God (…) She would not be here without IVF.”

Southern Baptists are poised to ban churches with women pastors

From its towering white steeple and red-brick facade to its Sunday services filled with rousing gospel hymns and evangelistic sermons, First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia, bears many of the classic hallmarks of a Southern Baptist church.

On a recent Sunday, its pastor for women and children, Kim Eskridge, urged members to invite friends and neighbors to an upcoming vacation Bible school — a perennial Baptist activity — to help “reach families in the community with the gospel.”

But because that pastor is a woman, First Baptist’s days in the Southern Baptist Convention may be numbered.

At the SBC’s annual meeting June 11-12 in Indianapolis, representatives will vote on whether to amend the denomination’s constitution to essentially ban churches with any women pastors — and not just in the top job.

That measure received overwhelming approval in a preliminary vote last year.

Leaders of First Baptist — which has given millions to Southern Baptist causes and has been involved with the convention since its 19th century founding — are bracing for a possible expulsion.

“We are grieved at the direction the SBC has taken,” the church said in a statement.

And it’s not alone.

By some estimates, the proposed ban could affect hundreds of congregations and have a disproportionate impact on predominantly Black churches.

The vote is partly the culmination of events set in motion two years ago.

That’s when a Virginia pastor contacted SBC officials to contend that First Baptist and four nearby churches were “out of step” with denominational doctrine that says only men can be pastors.

The SBC Credentials Committee launched a formal inquiry in April.

Southern Baptists disagree on which ministry jobs this doctrine refers to.

Some say it’s just the senior pastor, others that a pastor is anyone who preaches and exercises spiritual authority.

And in a Baptist tradition that prizes local church autonomy, critics say the convention shouldn’t enshrine a constitutional rule based on one interpretation of its non-binding doctrinal statement.

By some estimates, women are working in pastoral roles in hundreds of SBC-linked churches, a fraction of the nearly 47,000 across the denomination.

But critics say the amendment would amount to a further narrowing in numbers and mindset for the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, which has moved steadily rightward in recent decades.

They also wonder if the SBC has better things to do.

It has struggled to respond to sexual abuse cases in its churches.

A former professor at a Southern Baptist seminary in Texas was indicted in May on a charge of falsifying a record about alleged sexual abuse by a student in order to obstruct a federal investigation into sexual misconduct in the convention.

SBC membership has dipped below 13 million, nearly a half-century low.

Baptismal rates are in long-term decline.

The amendment, if passed, wouldn’t prompt an immediate purge.

But it could keep the denomination’s leaders busy for years, investigating and ousting churches.

Many predominantly Black churches have men as lead pastors but assign pastor titles to women in other areas, such as worship and children’s ministries.

“To disfellowship like-minded churches … based on a local-church governance decision dishonors the spirit of cooperation and the guiding tenets of our denomination,” wrote Pastor Gregory Perkins, president of the SBC’s National African American Fellowship, to denominational officials.

The controversy complicates the already-choppy efforts by the mostly white denomination to diversify and overcome its legacy of slavery and segregation.

Amendment proponents say the convention needs to reinforce its doctrinal statement, the Baptist Faith and Message, which says the office of pastor is “limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

“If we won’t stand on this issue and be unapologetically biblical, then we won’t stand on anything,” said amendment proponent Mike Law, pastor of Arlington Baptist Church in Virginia.

Since Baptist churches are independent, the convention can’t tell them what to do or whom to appoint as a pastor.

But the convention can decide which churches are in and which are out.

And even without a formal amendment, its Executive Committee has begun telling churches with women pastors that they’re out.

That included one of its largest, Saddleback Church of California.

When Saddleback and a small Kentucky church appealed to the annual meeting in 2023, delegates overwhelmingly refused to take them back.

The amendment would give such enforcement actions more teeth.

Some churches with women pastors quit on their own in the past year.

They range from Elevation Church, a North Carolina megachurch, to First Baptist of Richmond, Virginia, which had close SBC ties from the convention’s founding.

Law contended the issue has been a “canary in the coalmine” for liberal denominations, several of which began ordaining women and later LGBTQ+ people.

“Southern Baptists are facing a decisive moment,” he said in a video on a pro-amendment website. “Here’s the trajectory of doing nothing: Soon Southern Baptist churches will start openly supporting homosexual clergy, same-sex marriage and eventually transgenderism.”

Others point out that Pentecostal and other denominations have had women pastors for generations and remain theologically conservative.

Some SBC churches with women pastors are heavily involved with the convention, while others have minimal connections and identify more closely with historically Black or other progressive denominations.

Also, some SBC churches interpret the 2000 faith statement as only applying to senior pastors.

As long as a the church leader is male, women can serve other pastoral roles, they say.

Such churches may leave if SBC leaders interfere with congregations following “their conscience, biblical convictions, and values by recognizing women can receive a pastoral gift from God in partnership with male leadership,” said Dwight McKissic, a pastor from Arlington, Texas, on the social media platform X.

Other churches say women can be in any role, including senior pastor, and churches can agree to disagree if they embrace most of the SBC faith statement.

That category includes First Baptist of Alexandria.

Though its current senior pastor is male, it recognizes “God’s calling to ordain any qualified individual, male or female, for pastoral ministry,” the church said in a statement.

First Baptist leaders declined interview requests, but it has posted extensively about the issue on its website.

It said while it plans to send representatives to the SBC annual meeting, it was warned to expect a motion to deny them voting privileges.

“I do believe we need to be heard and represented,” Senior Pastor Robert Stephens told members in a video-recorded meeting.

The SBC’s top administrative body opposes the amendment. Investigating churches’ compliance would consume an unsustainable amount of time and energy over something that shouldn’t be a litmus test for fellowship, wrote Jeff Iorg, president of the SBC Executive Committee, in a Baptist Press commentary.

Baptist Women in Ministry, which began within the SBC in the 1980s but now works in multiple Baptist denominations, has taken note.

The Rev. Meredith Stone, its executive director, said some women pastors within the SBC have reached out for support.

The group plans to release a documentary, “Midwives of a Movement,” about 20th century trailblazers for women in Baptist ministry, on the eve of the SBC meeting.

“As they are saying women have less value to God than men in the church, we want to make sure that women know they do have equal value and that there are no limits to how they follow Christ in the work of the church,” Stone said.

AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.

Trump, Pence to speak to Southern Baptists

Former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence will both address groups gathered in Indianapolis during the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting next week.

Trump, who is seeking a second term, will virtually address attendees on Monday during a “Life and Liberty Forum” free event and luncheon presented by the conservative Danbury Institute,

according to Baptist News Global and the organization’s website. Then on Tuesday, former Vice President Mike Pence, who has often spoken about his deep faith, will speak at a lunch event sponsored by the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

Southern Baptists' convention to address women pastors, sexual abuse

Thousands will gather in Indianapolis June 11-12 for the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The meeting comes at a fraught time in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

Messengers — as voting delegates are known — will vote on whether to establish a constitutional ban on churches with women pastors.

They’ll hear a report — and get outside criticism — of their handling of sexual abuse among their clergy.

With membership in steady decline, they’ll hear a report on how an earlier effort to reverse that trend fell short.

And they’ll vote for a new president from among six candidates.

Speaking of presidential candidates, an outside group is inviting attendees to a virtual speech by former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, at an off-site event.

Proposed resolutions deal with topics ranging from Gaza to abortion and in vitro fertilization.

Here’s some of what’s facing the SBC:

What’s the latest with the sexual abuse crisis?

The convention has struggled to respond to sexual abuse in its churches since a 2019 report by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, saying that roughly 380 Southern Baptist church leaders and volunteers faced allegations of sexual misconduct in the previous two decades.

A subsequent consultant’s report said past leaders on the convention’s Executive Committee intimidated and mistreated survivors who sought help.

But survivors and advocates say the denomination’s actions don’t match its promises of reform.

An Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force recently concluded its work.

While it has provided a curriculum for training churches on preventing and responding to abuse, it has not achieved the mandate of previous annual meetings to establish a database of offenders, which could help churches avoid hiring them.

In a recent YouTube interview with a fellow pastor, the chairman of the SBC’s Executive Committee, Philip Robertson, sought to downplay reports that there was a “systemic problem” of abuse in the denomination, which he contended were “not true.”

This has been a talking point for some outside critics of SBC efforts to respond to the crisis, now voiced by at least one person in SBC leadership.

Robertson also said insurers warned they wouldn’t cover the denomination if it had the database due to liability risks.

In response, the reform task force proposed having a separate nonprofit handle the list, but that has yet to materialize.

“Robertson’s remarks provide a window onto what has always been true,” said Christa Brown, a longtime advocate for fellow survivors of abuse within Southern Baptist churches, in an email.

“SBC officials’ resistance to a database has always been about trying to minimize liability risks to the institution. … And SBC officials are trying to operate this multi-billion dollar organization without taking on the inherent responsibilities that go along with it.”

In May, federal prosecutors charged Matt Queen, a former professor and administrator at an SBC-affiliated seminary in Texas with providing federal investigators with a false document.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York asserted this document, involving an alleged case of sexual abuse by a seminary student, was provided with the intent to impede their investigation into sexual abuse within the convention.

The Executive Committee says it was told the federal investigation into its own actions has been completed.

Why would the SBC ban churches with women pastors?

In 2000, Southern Baptists amended the Baptist Faith and Message, their statement of doctrine, to say the office of pastor is limited to men, citing Bible verses such as one forbidding “a woman to teach or to have authority over a man.”

This came amid a larger rightward push in the late 20th century SBC.

The doctrinal statement is nonbinding, and the denomination can’t tell its independent churches whom to call as pastor.

Some churches with women pastors left, while others stayed but kept a low profile.

Still others later appointed women pastors or allowed women to serve under male leaders in associate pastoral roles, citing biblical examples of women in ministry.

At this year’s meeting, messengers will vote on whether to give final approval to amending their constitution to ban churches — by deeming them not in “friendly cooperation” — with women pastors in lead or associate roles.

The denomination preliminarily approved the amendment last year.

That’s when it also began expelling congregations with women pastors, such as Saddleback Church, a California megachurch, on the grounds that they don’t closely identify with the Baptist Faith and Message.

The amendment would codify an explicit ban on such churches, putting them in the same category as churches that “endorse homosexual behavior,” discriminate based on ethnicity or fail to address sexual abuse.

Why might this affect non-white churches more?

The National African American Fellowship, a caucus of predominantly Black congregations within the SBC, says an amendment barring churches with women pastors could disproportionately impact its members, many with women working in assistant pastor roles.

Chinese and Hispanic Baptist fellowship leaders also say their churches could be impacted because of language differences in how pastors are described.

Who are Southern Baptists, anyway?

The Southern Baptist Convention is the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

Members are overwhelmingly evangelical and conservative both in religion and politics, the continuation of a rightward shift that began in the 1980s.

The denomination was founded in 1845 in defense of slavery in a schism with northern Baptists.

In 1995, the mostly white denomination formally repented of its support for slavery and other racism, and it made some strides to diversify racially.

It has lost some Black churches and pastors in recent years due to alleged racial insensitivity within its overwhelmingly white leadership.

How’s it doing?

Southern Baptist membership has steadily declined since 2006 and is now below 13 million, its lowest since 1976.

There are also long-term declines in baptisms — the prime metric of spiritual vitality.

Alarmed by such trends, Southern Baptists in 2010 approved a seven-point plan to reenergize evangelistic efforts.

A task force, evaluating how that went, reported this year that only two of the goals were met, and some were quickly forgotten.

The task force reported: “Regarding the simple question of whether or not the implementation (of the 2010 plan) reversed the decline of baptisms in the SBC, the answer is a clear and decisive, No.”

The report noted “a clear erosion of ‘trust, transparency and truth’ from within our convention which has ravaged our cooperative work.”

Who wants to lead the denomination?

Six men are being nominated to succeed Bart Barber, a folksy cattle farmer and small-church pastor, as president.

The candidates include five pastors and a seminary dean.

As in recent years, the contest will be among candidates with varying degrees of conservativism.

Will there be politics?

Trump will speak virtually at a nearby event on Monday, the day before the annual meeting.

That program includes some Southern Baptist leaders.

It’s sponsored by an independent group but listed on the SBC calendar of events.

Former Vice President Mike Pence will speak Tuesday at a luncheon hosted by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, but not in the main hall, as he did in 2018.

Messengers are expected to vote on resolutions supporting Israel and blaming Hamas amid the Gaza war; recommitting to the abolition of abortion; and urging parents diagnosed with infertility to carefully consider ethical options.

SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION

Delegates boot out church that had woman as pastor

INDIANAPOLIS — Even as they prepare to vote on a formal ban on churches with women pastors, delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting voted Tuesday to expel one such church from its ranks.

Messengers, as voting representatives are known, voted 6,759 to 563 to oust First Baptist Church of Alexandria, a historic Virginia congregation that affirms women can serve in any pastoral role, including as senior pastor.

The Virginia congregation has been involved in the nation's largest Protestant denomination since its 19th century founding and has contributed millions toward denominational causes.

But it came under scrutiny after the pastor of a neighboring church reported it to denominational authorities over its having a woman as pastor for women and children.

The vote came after the denomination's credentials committee recommended earlier Tuesday that the denomination deem the church to be not in “friendly cooperation,” the formulation for expulsion, on the grounds that it conflicts with the Baptist Faith and Message.

That statement of Southern Baptist doctrine declares only men are qualified for the role of pastor.

Some interpret that only to apply to associate pastors as long as the senior pastor is male.

The Alexandria church is currently led by a man, Robert Stephens, but the church has made clear it believes women can serve as senior pastors, too.

The decision was made before the delegates had a chance to consider enshrining a ban on churches with any women pastors in the convention's constitution.

Fort Worth pastors weigh in on Southern Baptist Convention’s vote on women

Pastor Anyra Cano said she received a call from God to do ministry when she was 13 years old.

“I didn’t know what God was calling me to. I just knew God was calling me,” Cano said.

She remembers getting a clearer picture when she was around 18 years old and heard a woman preach in a Hispanic Baptist Church in El Paso for the first time.

Now, she and her husband have been pastors at Iglesia Bautista Victoria en Cristo in Fort Worth for 16 years.

Cano grew up Southern Baptist but doesn’t consider herself one anymore, she said.

She was one of thousands of faith leaders who signed a letter by Baptist Women in Ministry in opposition to an amendment being voted on this week at the 2024 Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis.

Southern Baptists across the country are expected to ban churches with women in leadership roles from one of the most influential faith groups in the county.

“We have moved along so much in the equality of women and gender, and so it’s pretty disheartening,” Cano said.

Virginia Pastor Mike Law told the Baptist Press, the official news service for the SBC, that the amendment is meant to provide clarity as to who can serve as a pastor within Southern Baptist Churches.

“At the end of the day, placing women in the pastoral office is fundamentally a rejection of biblical authority, and that’s why we want to encourage in the life of our convention, really a joyful submission to the sufficiency in the authority of the Bible,” Law told Baptist Press.

Fort Worth’s Broadway Baptist Church was formed in 1882 as a Southern Baptist Convention church but was kicked out of the SBC in 2009 for its inclusion of LGBTQ+ members and allowing women to serve in leadership roles within the church.

“This is a part of the rising tide of the patriarchy,” Ryon Price, senior pastor of the church, said of this week’s SBC vote. “And it is not separate from the broader political ramifications in the country.”

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth is one of six seminary schools operated by the Southern Baptist Convention and is one of the largest seminaries in the world.

The seminary “does not have a position on the proposal,” a school spokesperson said.

The amendment is expected to be considered during the meeting at 9 a.m. June 12, according to a spokesperson for the SBC. The

Southern Baptist Convention’s 2025 meeting is expected to take place in Dallas.

What’s happening in Indianapolis

Over 10,000 local church representatives attending the 2024 Southern Baptist Convention in Indianapolis are poised to vote whether the group should add an amendment to its constitution stating that churches who want to be affiliated with the convention can appoint “only men as any kind of pastor or elder.”

Virginia Pastor Mike Law introduced the amendment at the 2023 meeting, where it received overwhelming support during its preliminary vote.

The amendment must receive a two-thirds majority in a second vote Wednesday to be cemented in the Southern Baptist Convention constitution.

Southern Baptists are the largest evangelical Protestant group in the United States, according to Pew Research Center.

Tarrant County is home to 325 Baptist churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Baptist General Convention of Texas, according to a spokesperson with the Tarrant Baptist Association.

Religious leaders and academic experts weighed in on the issue the Baptists look to decide in the impending vote.

Because Baptist churches run independently, the Southern Baptist Convention can’t tell them who to appoint as pastor.

However, the SBC can decide which churches are affiliated — or “in friendly cooperation” — with the organization.

The reason why churches affiliate themselves with groups such as the Southern Baptist Convention or the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is to collaborate on missions or share financial resources, said Ellen Di Giosia, field coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Texas.

“It’s also how they give their money to share in missions. It’s where they get their Sunday school curriculum. It’s where they send their ministers to be trained. It’s an all encompassing kind of system,” Di Giosa said.

Depending on the vote, Di Giosa said, churches with women in leadership roles might be faced with firing the women in those roles or leaving the Southern Baptist Convention and aligning themselves with other Baptist groups.

The measure could also disproportionately impact Black churches currently affiliated with the convention.

Gender roles in the Southern Baptist Convention

The Southern Baptist Convention has historically opposed ordaining women as pastors and has been a “dividing line” between them and other Baptist groups, said Doug Weaver, chairman of Baylor University’s department of religion.

He is also the Barbara Jo Beard Diskell professor of historical studies for the school and focuses on Baptist history.

Baylor University is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

“The way they (Southern Baptists) read the Bible, women are to submit to men,” Weaver said. “And once you start allowing women to be called the same thing as a man, you have confusion of roles, confusion of identity.”

Since 1925, the Southern Baptist Convention has outlined its statement of beliefs in its Baptist Faith and Message and uses it as a guiding document for the denomination.

In 2023 the SBC added a statement to the document saying that both men and women are gifted for service in the church; however, “the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

“Up until now, they would say a woman could be anything other than the senior minister,” Weaver said. “Now, this is actually much more restrictive than that, in that they don’t want a woman to use the title of pastor in any way, shape or form.”

Women serving in leadership positions within the Christian faith has been controversial throughout history, said Ted Campbell, professor of church history at Southern Methodist University.

He referenced how the women’s rights movement in the 1970s “gave a great deal of impetus to women coming into ministry.”

Southern Baptists being the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. has an influence on American life at large, Campbell said.

SBC rejects ban on women pastors but cautions against IVF

INDIANAPOLIS — Southern Baptists narrowly rejected a proposal to enshrine a ban on churches with women pastors in the denomination’s constitution after opponents argued it was unnecessary because the denomination already has a way of ousting such churches.

The vote received support from 61% of the delegates, but it failed to get the required two-thirds supermajority.

The action reversed a preliminary vote last year in favor of the official ban.

But it still leaves the Southern Baptist Convention with its official doctrinal statement saying the office of pastor is limited to men.

Even the opponents of the ban said they favored that doctrinal statement but didn’t think it was necessary to reinforce it in the constitution.

Opponents noted that the SBC already can oust churches that assert women can serve as pastors — as it did last year and again Tuesday night.

The vote was perhaps the most highly anticipated of the annual meeting, reflecting years of debate in the United States’ largest Protestant denomination.

Southern Baptists vote to oppose IVF

Also in the final day of the SBC’s two-day annual meeting in Indianapolis, Southern Baptists have elected a new convention president and approved a nonbinding resolution, cautioning couples about using in vitro fertilization.

In the resolution, messengers urged couples to “consider the ethical implications” of reproductive technologies like IVF.

It has become a prominent issue in the wake of a IVF controversy in Alabama, which shielded IVF providers from prosecution and civil lawsuits after a state Supreme Court ruling said frozen embryos are children.

The SBC resolution agrees that embryos are children, regardless of location in or outside the womb.

The resolution expressed alarm over the fact that IVF treatment commonly produces surplus embryos that are frozen, with “most unquestionably destined for eventual destruction.”

While not outright opposing IVF, the resolution also denounces medical experimentation on frozen embryos as well as any use of “dehumanizing methods for determining suitability for life and genetic sorting.”

It expresses sympathy with couples struggling with infertility but urges them to weigh the issues.

It also encourages couples to adopt frozen embryos.

Some messengers gave impassioned defenses of the technology, saying it helped couples bring children into the world, but others said the destruction of frozen embryos outweighs any benefits from IVF.

“Right now we’re trying to open the conversation, remind Southern Baptists of our long-held beliefs of the sanctity of human life,” said Kristen Ferguson, chair of the committee on resolutions. “So in the future, we fully anticipate that you may see much stronger language … but we are not speaking to that at this time, because Southern Baptists aren’t ready to speak to that yet”

Earlier in the day, the much-watched proposed amendment, which received preliminary approval last year, would have formally exclude churches that have women in any pastoral positions, from lead pastor to associates, or even affirms them in that role.

Supporters believe it is biblically necessary, estimating hundreds of Southern Baptist churches have women in those roles.

SBC since 2000:

Only men are qualified for the role of pastor

Since 2000, the SBC’s nonbinding statement of faith has declared that only men are qualified for the role of pastor.

It’s interpreted differently across the denomination, with some believing it doesn’t apply to associate pastors so long as the senior pastor is male.

The proposed amendment, which received preliminary approval last year, would formally exclude churches that have women in any pastoral positions, from lead pastor to associates, or even affirms them in that role. Supporters believe it is biblically necessary, estimating hundreds of Southern Baptist churches have women in those roles.

The rejected amendment would have said any church deemed in “friendly cooperation” — the official term for SBC affiliation — must be one that “affirms, appoints, or employs only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.”

Opponents argued the convention already has the power to remove churches over this issue, and the amendment will have unintended consequences, including disproportionately affecting Black Southern Baptist congregations, which tend to have women on their pastoral staffs.

Ryan Fullerton, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, said the measure is “not about preventing women from exercising their gifts” in the church, in roles on church staff such as “children’s ministers.”

But he said the Bible is clear that the office of pastor is for men.

He said there is “confusion about gender” in the wider culture and cited what he called “the ravages of the LGBTQIA agenda.”

But Spence Shelton, pastor of Mercy Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, argued that it was unnecessary.

He said there is no doubt that Southern Baptists are “complementarian,” as they describe the view that men and women have equal value but different roles that complement one another.

The denomination can’t tell its independent churches what to do or whom to appoint as a pastor.

But they can say which churches are in and which are out.

Last year, Southern Baptists refused to take back Saddleback, one of the convention’s largest congregations, and a small Kentucky church over the issue.

Both churches, which had women in top pastoral positions, appealed their ouster to the 2023 annual meeting and were overwhelmingly rejected by the delegates.

A similar scenario played out in Indianapolis on Tuesday, when messengers voted overwhelmingly to kick out First Baptist Church of Alexandria in Virginia, which has a woman in an associate position and also asserted that women can hold the top job.

Supporters of the amendment say it probably won’t result in an immediate, large-scale purge, but opponents expressed concern it would burden SBC volunteers and staffs with numerous investigations of churches.

Who is the new SBC president?

Delegates also elected a North Carolina pastor and longtime denominational statesman to be the next president of their convention in a contest between six candidates that went into two run-off votes.

Clint Pressley, who is senior pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, will be the next Southern Baptist Convention president after winning 56% of votes in the final run-off race.

Messengers raise their ballots in support of a motion put up for vote during a Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting Tuesday, June 11, 2024, in Indianapolis.

The SBC president — one of the most prominent faces of the conservative evangelical network of churches — presides over the annual meeting and appoints members to the denomination’s committees.

Pressley’s nearest opponent, Tennessee pastor, Dan Spencer, received 44 percent of the votes after four other candidates were eliminated in earlier rounds.

Pressley has said he favors a measure being voted on later Wednesday to amend the SBC constitution to ban churches with women pastors.

Pressley earned a master of divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisiana, one of the SBC’s official seminaries.

He has led Hickory Grove since 2011 after pastoring churches in Alabama and Mississippi.

Pressley was first vice president of the SBC in 2014-15 and served on numerous other denominational boards.

Messengers early Wednesday rejected a proposal to abolish the SBC’s public policy agency, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

The measure reflected the views of some that the the staunchly conservative commission wasn’t conservative enough.

[velvetyshu]

it's no problem! i enjoy sending random asks to people + i know how lonely it can feel on here sometimes (which is ironic considering the fact that it's called social media). also don't feel bothered at all for sending me anything in my inbox!

if you know going to a hospital will help you with your mental health, then go for it tbh. whatever you decide to do, i'll support. <3

about the story: tbh i've been suffering with writer's block for the past few months, which is why i didn't start the story earlier 😭 but now i've come to a realization that i really want to write something, and i'll only feel more stuck if i don't write at all - so i started putting some words on a page and that was it! my writer's block was done for! i have a little sneak peak for you too!!

You walked out the room, shutting the door quietly behind you, only to meet a familiar pair of eyes at the far end of the hallway. Scaramouche... He was dressed in more casual garb than the day before, yet his wide hat still sat atop his head. Three soldiers knelt before him, the apparent victims of his anger that morning. His arms were folded across his chest menacingly, and his beautiful features were twisted into a tight frown. In the light, you could make out thin, purple strands that were nested among his deep blue hair, a detail you hadn't noticed during the inauguration ceremony.

it's not a lot, but i didn't want to spoil too much 😭 i'm thinking of just writing, and debuting the first few chapters on scara's important days! like the first chapter will be released on his character teaser, second for his demo, etc. lmk what you think about that!

OH im so glad you were lucky with childe and his weapon 😭😭 praying for both of us to have that luck with scara when he comes by! i have 128 wishes + 45 pity (it's crazy ik,,,i've been saving since the beginning of september for this man) and honestly i'm kinda hoping he comes home early so i can get his weapon! i believe his teaser/trailer is coming out this thursday? just a rough estimation,,,but i'm so excited!

also i had no idea you draw??? do you do digital or traditional art? i started digital early october and tbh it's going pretty okay 😭 do you have a side acct for art or anything?

+ i would love to give you my uid!! honestly i've been pretty bummed these past few days because i've met a couple interesting people who i wanted to play with, but they weren't on NA servers,,,but i'm so glad you are!! i'll dm you my uid tmrw, and when we both get scara, we can take lots of pictures 🙏😋

Of course! I’ll do my best to keep that in mind. I do agree though, most of the time it feels quite lonely in tumblr. I try to socialize with people once In a while but they never seem to get in touch. It’s understandable though, they have a life to live at the fullest!

But no rush when writing about the story! Take your time and even take breaks when you’re facing writers block. It’s a huge pain to deal with, I can relate to not gaining any motivation or feel like there’s a flaw in my writing. My ideas just…die out in the process of making them y’know? EITHER WAY YOUR STORY IS GOING GREAT! I’m really excited to see what’s in store for the future. Though, I can see where you’re coming from and I think it’s a good idea to release the first chapter and so on in days like those! Might make him feel special. 🤝

I’m really thankful to have Childe since he’s one of my favorite characters (comfort as well), and just having him by my side is enough. I only need to pair him up with scara as the harbinger team and hopefully I can collect more in the future! (Such as Sandrone, columbina..) I wish you luck on his banner, though I doubt I’ll get him quickly. I’m not even guaranteed and I’m so nervous about that 😞. I’ve started saving up since that Zhongli rerun, and I’m glad I had enough wishes to wait for when scaramouche finally releases! I promise to offer you all my prayers and luck to when his banner is available. 🙏

Yeah! I draw, however I only make sketches on my notebook since I don’t have enough money to purchase anything to draw digitally. More importantly I’d go insane if it were traditional art. There’s just too many hours to work on something and they get ruined by a margin. Not only that but I get art block 24/7. I used to have a side account for my art but I deleted it ever since, just felt like it wasn’t necessary or my drawings were plain and boring. But I’m glad you’re doing great drawing digitally! You should share some of your art with me sometime. <3

Aw, that’s a shame though. Many of my comrades/acquaintances either don’t play Genshin anymore, or just play in a different server. Most of the time I only co-op in bosses since I feel like it’s very interesting and fun to keep me occupied! But now that I know you’re in NA, I’m very excited. I wont let you down with those photo-shoots though, let’s give it everything we got to help each other and bring scaramouche home!

[kazewhara]

its like 12 am and i have class at 6 tmrw but can we talk abt having kazuha in you lap and just,, being with him??? like, ok reader gets all the support and comfort but what abt him

"you've been working hard."

"on the contrary," kazuha chuckles tiredly as he stares at your intertwined hands, "i don't think i've been working hard enough."

you frown while he plays with your fingers. kazuha came to your apartment a few hours ago looking ran through; his hair barely in it's usual ponytail, his glasses looked about ready to slip off his face, and he had dark circles under his eyes. kazuha's not exactly picky about his appearance, but he normally cares enough to not go out looking so disheveled. rather than entertain his attempts at conversation, you tugged him into your room and forced him to lay down. his protests stopped after three minutes.

finals week is rough -- everyone knows that. you've barely been getting by yourself what with the exams that start as early as 8 am and end as late as 8 pm almost every day. you're fortunate enough to not have any papers to write, but the projects, essays, and multiple choice are kicking you from every direction. kazuha isn't much better off than you are, especially with his courses being literature heavy; your boyfriend has to slave over paper after paper, each one with a high page minimum. you haven't been able to see him much these days because of your busy schedule. it didn't bother you at first, but seeing him so haggard made your insides twist.

kazuha has a terrible habit of forgetting that he has needs whenever he's doing something important. this isn't the first time you've seen him so worn by exams, but this is the first time it's been so bad.

after he woke up from his forced nap, he slunk into the living room and sat beside you with a muted yawn, dropping his head on your shoulder. you pulled him into your lap and he didn't argue at all, absorbing as much of your warmth as he could get. he's been idly toying with your hands for a while now, probably drifting in and out of sleep on your lap. it'd be romantic if you weren't so worried.

"kazuha, when was the last time you slept for more than six hours?" you ask, curling your fingers over his.

he hums in thought but doesn't answer.

"kazuha..."

"i'm alright," he lies. he brings the back of your hand to his lips and holds it there for a moment. "i did need that nap, though. thank you."

you glare up at him but he doesn't meet your eyes. he's hiding something from you. "you're not telling me something." you say, pulling your hand away. "you know you can talk to me, right?"

kazuha nods. his eyes look heavy. "i know." he glances at you for a second before sighing. "you know i hold myself to a high standard. it's nothing anybody forced me to do, i... can't afford to do poorly when i'm capable of doing so much better. so as long as i'm still on my feet, i--"

you cut him off with a sharp shake of your head. he's told you this once before, but that was a completely different situation; you'd found out that he was an english double major and maintained his position as the top student in both departments. it was admirable at the time, but now that you know how far he's willing to go with these thoughts, you can't let him think that all the time. you shudder to think what would become of him if he didn't have you to force him to sleep.

"and what happens when you literally can't be on your feet, kazuha?" you ask, your voice tight. you're not sure why you suddenly feel like crying on his behalf, but you swallow it back. "what then?"

kazuha doesn't answer. you continue.

"one of your most admirable qualities is your diligence." you put a hand on his face, smiling weakly when he leans into your touch. "but it's also one of your worst."

"would you elaborate for me, dove?" he asks, closing his eyes.

"kazuha, your body can only handle so much and your diligence can only take you so far. all your efforts will be for nothing if you fall apart." you brush your thumb over his cheek. "what would you have done if you crashed?"

kazuha rests his hand on top of yours and opens his eyes, his brows furrowing. "i wouldn't have. i know my limits."

"do you?" your smile drops. "then why did you come in here looking like death? if you know your limits the way you think you do, you wouldn't be like this." you flinch at your tone. you don't like scolding anybody, especially your boyfriend, but he's stubborn when he wants to be. it might take some pushing for him to see things your way. "if i hadn't made you sleep, what would you have done then? would you keep working until you passed out?"

kazuha's silence bothers you, but he does speak eventually. "it's... not an easy habit to break." he admits. you remain silent as he thinks things over. it's on him to work out a solution now that the problem has been brought to light. you never want to force kazuha in the direction you want him to go in; it's completely up to him if he wants to or not. then, finally: "would it make you happy if you monitored my studying?"

it'd be nice to keep an eye on him, but you're not responsible for him. "don't tell me what you think i want to hear." you chide gently. you tap his cheek with a finger. "what do you think you should do?"

"if you want the truth, i... don't know. if i slow down, i'll be putting my academics at risk; if i don't take my time, however, i'll be putting my health at risk, and," he almost looks sad when he meets your eyes, "i fear i'd be upsetting you even more. that won't do either."

always so selfless. kazuha's so mindful of others -- of you -- that he literally can't make any moves without considering how self-care will affect those around him. this was a new battle for him to fight in addition to the ones he's already got going on; it was going to take a lot of time for this one to come to an end.

you sigh and lean up to kiss him slowly, drinking in kazuha's murmur of appreciation. "you don't have to know." you whisper. "it's fine. just remember that your health and well-being is important. and if you can't remember, then i'll do it for you. how does that sound?"

kazuha's answer comes in the form of another kiss. "i suppose a few more texts from you wouldn't hurt." he chuckles when you swat at his arm playfully. "thank you for caring so much about me. you really are my angel, aren't you?"

your cheeks warm. "don't thank me for loving you." you mutter. "shouldn't you get some more sleep?"

at that, kazuha stands and grabs your hand. "maybe i should," he says, pulling you to your feet, "but i'd love it if you came with me."

"alright, then." you follow him into your room and hug him close when he moves into your arms. it's almost magnetic the way you two find each other every time. you brush your fingers through his hair. "you gonna sleep a little longer this time?"

kazuha squeezes your waist. "i think i'd be here for an eternity since you're here with me."

"sap."

"i always am."

[awkwardspontaneity]

Talk About An Entrance

Breath of the Wild Link x GN!Shiekah!Reader

Next Part

A/N: Part 1 of ‘Memories of You’ a BOTW miniseries I’ve been working on. I was gonna ask if people would be interested in a series of the memories between Link and the Reader but then I realised that asking gave me an opportunity to chicken out so here’s part 1 for people. I’ll probably post part 2 tmrw. 

regular= present   italic= memory

“Recover your lost memories.” Impa had made it sound like such a simple task, sending Link off to Hateno Village and back again. Of course, he had done as told without question. But he wasn’t so sure about how he was supposed to find memories that he lost when he couldn’t even remember the people he had known?

His fingers tapped against the restored Sheikah Slate at his hip as he approached Impa’s home yet again. Pausing at the steps Link wondered if perhaps there were memories here. Most of the Sheikah tribe seemed to remember him, many of the elderly giving him stares that carried a whisper of pity. Pulling out the Slate, he decided to look through the recovered pictures. Most were of rocks and trees, nothing that stood out. He swiped to the final page and there it was. A picture of the steps right in front of him.

Enlarging the picture took his breath away. Link may have mistaken the picture for recent if it weren’t for the guards faces. They were the same men only years younger, smiling softly at the young Hylian and his friend who were taking the picture.

His friend.

Remember.

Link had finally arrived at the Sheikah village. After training years with the Hylian Royal Guard, the mark had appeared on his hand. Apparently, it meant he was ready for destiny. He didn’t really understand what they meant, not that they explained anything, but he was instructed to head to Kakariko Village where he would meet his Spirit Guide and train. The last thing they did was congratulate him as if he was already some kind of hero.

And so here he was, standing in front of a large set of steps guarded by two Sheikah. Link attempted to straighten himself out and portray confidence as he approached, telling them his name and purpose for visit, but with the way they both seemed to hide smiles as they allowed him in, they were well aware.

Link took a moment to breathe at the large set of doors. He was supposed to meet the person destined to help him in whatever came next. He wondered what they would be like, likely an elder of the Sheikah if they were meant to act as a guide. Would they act all-knowing like some of the older guards? Or would they be more like him? Just a person caught within the flow of destiny.

Shaking the thoughts, Link knocked on the door. He was called in quickly, they had likely heard him and were waiting. He almost felt bad, but he had needed the moment to clear his thoughts before going in. When Link entered, he found an open room that almost reminded him of a throne room. At the center sat a tall woman. She had the standard looks of the Sheikah, red eyes and white hair, as well as markings on her face and arms to signify her standings as a leader and fighter.

“Welcome, Hero of Time.” Her voice commanded attention. Whatever she had to say would be important, no idle chatter. “I am Impa. You are here to learn about your destiny as the hero that will save Hyrule from evil.”

His breath seemed to catch in his throat. Whether Impa noticed or even cared was unknown as she plowed on in the story of his numerous reincarnations. She went on to spin the tale of how the Hero of Time had fought alongside his guide and the spirit maiden to save Hyrule time and time again.

Link hadn’t realized he had stepped back towards the door until it was hitting him in the back. And then it flew open sending him tumbling to the ground.

“Impa you’ll never guess what happened!” Link managed to roll haphazardly to the side of the person who had flung the door open. They spoke animatedly about winning some fight, white hair falling messily around their face, all while Impa watched as though this was a regular occurrence. “Oh! I heard that the Hero had arrived. That must be you right?”

So, they had seen him? Grinning the teen offered him a hand, pulling him up with surprising strength, especially once he stood and found himself looking down. They grasped his hand in both of their own, meeting his gaze with a spark of mirth dancing in red eyes, and he knew they were fully aware of what had happened. “I’m Y/n, your spirit guide.”

[subtlereferencetomyinterests]

I Taste Honey but I Haven’t Seen the Hive - Chapter Seven

Ao3,   Masterpost,  C.1   C.2   C.3   C.4   C.5   C.6

Relationships: eventual queer-platonic intruality, platonic dlampr.

okay. so. last time we heard anything out of me was *New Years*, Literally, and maybe i should’ve mentioned that I was taking a little hiatus, but oh well. i’m back now and i’m gonna post the last three chapters of this fanfiction as soon as I possibly can (so probably like all of them will be up by tmrw at the latest!!) to make up for my absence. but jokes on you, cuz I did actually finish this thing!!! >:P 

(oh yeah, and there are no italics, thanks to tumblr’s copy/paste bulls//t. i continue to be lazy :3 if anything sounds stilted just imagine that theres an italicized word there and yeah.)

Warnings: cursing, sexual innuendo, discussions of sexuality, misunderstandings, Emotional Conversations, sharing a bed, mild body horror (remus’ existence lol), stress, h/c. 

Word count: 7,967

The hallway was cold, and dark. It had been long-since abandoned of any life, with every door shut and each light dimmed- even Virgil’s. That day- the day of the meeting- had exhausted everyone enough to send them right to sleep mode. 

Everyone except Remus and Patton.

Their heart-to-heart in the kitchen had dragged on a little longer than either had expected, letting night descend fully over the Mindpalace. Patton was the one to notice the time eventually, and drag his less-than-restful friend up the stairs with him- he could tell that the other was dead tired, though. His stubborn determination not to end the conversation didn’t sit well, but Patton couldn’t think what to make of it, and they really did need some sleep. 

They reached Patton’s door first. He stopped in front of it, when Remus tugged his hand back insistently. He turned to him, letting out a confused hum, and was met with a scowl and a sigh.

Remus was looking even more resigned than he had when they first started talking that night. Patton waited, worried. 

“This isn’t, um,” Remus exhaled, ragged around the edges. “This isn’t a pick-up line, okay, and I know that it’ll sound that way and I know that it’s me but. I really don’t wanna be alone tonight.”

Oh. 

Patton’s heart ached- and his heart was big, it took up most of him. He felt the pain spread out from his center and into his fingertips and toes, hot and empathetic. Because how could he hear something like that, and not want to spend the rest of the night doting on the creature in front of him until that voice never sounded so small again, till he was as big and confident as he was meant to be?

“I don’t think I want to be alone, either,” Patton said.

Remus stared, his big scarlet eyes casting a faint glow in the dark. They were wide, cautiously hopeful.

“Yeah?” He muttered.

“Yeah.”

Patton opened the door, and led them both inside.

Remus shuffled around on the other side of the bed, but Patton was still, however much he wanted to squirm.

“Um.”

The movement stopped, and he flushed at the feeling of being watched in the dark. There really was no un-awkward way to say it, was there?

“Remus, since you’re staying, do you- um, do you mind doing me a favor?” 

Remus, little more than a silhouette, propped himself up on his elbow, a tilt to his head. “A favor? Of course, anything for you, Pat,” his words were a purr, and Patton could envision the suggestive smirk on his face in perfect clarity. Patton felt another well of discomfort bubble in his stomach.

“Could you at least wear some clothes, please?” 

There was a beat. Remus laughed, short and good-natured. 

“Yeah, I sorta figured I would. It’s no problem.”

“Thank you,” Patton sighed, relieved. 

“Don’t worry about it,” he paused, and that really would’ve been the end of it, but Patton had learned by then when Remus was about to make a joke. He took a little breath while the words were still clicking together in his head, and a grin crept into his voice. “There’s always tomorrow night to try this clothesless, eh?”

“I’m asexual,” Patton blurted, and he could feel the heat radiating from his face, though he didn’t even know why he was so uncomfortable. It was a joke, Remus was just joking. They were friends and Patton should’ve been used to it- but he’d already gotten so sensitive that night, and jokes like that always hit just a little different than the violent ones or the curses. It must have been a breaking point, or something. 

Remus shifted again, laying on his back. Patton wondered if he’d made things awkward. 

“Oh,” Remus said, “Oh wow, that makes so much sense!”

“It- It does?” Patton sat up, staring at the other with a mix of surprise and relief. Remus blinked up at him, nodding. 

“Well, yeah, that explains why you get so squirmy whenever anybody even implies something to do with sex. I always thought you were just, like, a prude.”

Patton ran his hands over the comforter that pooled around his legs, shrugging. He wasn’t nervous, so much as he was fidgety. “Well, maybe it was some of that, too,” he joked. 

Remus snorted, rolling onto his side and catching one of Patton’s hands in his own. He held it, playing with Patton’s fingers like he was trying to focus. 

“Hey,” he sighed, heavy, “Sorry.”

“Huh? What for?”

“C’mon, you know,” Remus gestured around with his free hand, “All the jokes, and all the times I hit on you, like, graphically. I was kidding, obviously, it was just that you always had the best reactions. If I’d known why, I mean. I don’t know if I’d have actually stopped, but whatever. Different time, different me. I’m stopping now, kay?”

Patton’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t- He wasn’t trying to make Remus stop, that wasn’t fair. He knew how important staying true to himself was to Remus, and if he’d actually managed to guilt-trip any of that away, he didn’t think he’d forgive himself.

“Oh, it’s really okay, I mean- I know you like talking about stuff like that, who am I to say you shouldn’t?”

“You never said that, actually.”

Patton nodded, even if Remus couldn’t see him, and even if he was pretty sure they were on different pages. “Exactly. You shouldn’t go changing just to make me comfortable, I’ll get used to the jokes! I guess I just wanted to know that they were, which, obviously yeah, but… um, I’m bad with knowing what tone is which, sometimes, so-”

“Ugh, Patton,” Remus was laughing, leaning up and grasping tighter around Patton’s hand, with a tone that said plainly: please shut up. Patton did, biting the inside of his cheek. “Look,” Remus huffed, “I know what you’re trying to say, and it’s real sweet that you’re so worried about this, but it’s not exactly like I’m telling you that I’m reinventing myself. I’ll definitely keep saying plenty of horny shit, trust me, I can just drop it with the comments about ya. It wouldn’t even be funny anymore; fucking with people is cool, right, but making someone I actually like feel ‘icky’, or whatever, isn’t really the same thing. It’s no big sacrifice trying to make you feel safer with me, got it?”

Remus’ eyes were on his, glowing with concern. Patton felt his face flush for an entirely new reason, nothing to do with embarrassment.

“You want to make me feel safe?” Patton grinned, just this side of giddy. “That’s a new one.”

Remus made a vague grumbly sound; it shouldn’t have been as cute as it was. “Yeah, okay, so what if I do?”

“It’s okay if you do. It’s sweet.”

“Maybe it is. Besides, you aren’t the only aspec side around,” he shrugged, “I’m not too big on the dating side of things, myself.”

Patton’s smile widened. “Thank you. I mean, for understanding, and… getting me out of my own head about all this.”

“I gotcha,” a claw traced over Patton’s knuckles, idly, “No need for thanks.”

“I’ll give it anyway, you know that.”

Remus snorted. “Mhmmm.”

With the remains of embarrassment finally fading away, Patton yawned, and remembered just how tired he was. He laid himself down finally, relaxing as his back hit the mattress. No sooner after he’d done so, Remus was letting go of his hand in favor of curling around him and setting his head on Patton’s chest. 

Patton would be lying if he said it wasn’t a relief, feeling the other unhesitant to curl up against him still. He looped his own arms around the smaller figure, practically on top of him, and traced patterns against Remus’ back. 

In hindsight, Patton couldn’t remember ever falling asleep so easily. 

The morning after, there was a crisis. A Thomas-crisis, and an emotional one, which set Patton up for a busy, busy day (or morning-through-afternoon, but it was well more than enough work for one day). The one upside to the whole mess was that he didn’t have to deal with it alone, because emotional distress fell neatly into Virgil’s area of expertise as well as his own.

At some point, you’d think they’d get numb to the endless dilemmas every other day, but with each new outing it got clearer and clearer that panic was just a part of life. Most weeks had at least one incident; there would be a mistake at the post office that needed to be worked out in person (which Patton didn’t mind, really, but Virgil hated, and Roman thought was a waste of time), there was an event for a friend of a friend that for some reason they were socially obligated to go to (which no one liked but Roman, who always thought they were one person away from being ‘discovered’), or- the present situation- there were pre-established plans that all the sides had somehow forgotten about until they were shoved into it at the last second.

Patton jolted awake with a gasp, the urgency of his human throwing him out of sleep. It was a full two hours later than he usually woke up, something he would’ve loved to appreciate on any other day. His bed was already empty- the warmth of another person still there, the covers still scrunched, but empty- which did serve to make his morning routine quicker. He dressed with a fervor that he couldn’t even place, manic exhaustion already soaking into him and making plans to stay there all day. It was going to be a rough one, being around people. 

But, Patton knew it wouldn’t be hard to ignore all that, for a little bit at least. There was still a bright side, and that side was Virgil! Who he got to spend all day with! Working, sure, but still- work done with a loved one is never work at all.

“Yeah, I don’t know if that rings true, Pat,” was Virgil’s response to the sentiment, when Patton told him.

“You’re smiling,” Patton said, because he was.

“What?” Virgil covered his mouth, “No, I’m not- shut up.” 

“You believe me, I know you do. You looove me.”

“Says you,” his mouth may have been covered, but the crows feet under his eyes creased more. His shoulders were just a little less tense, too, enough to tell Patton he was right. 

That morning wasn’t great, but, they made it better.

Remus had woken up in a lot of places that were decisively not his bed. The floor? Sure. The imagination? Oh, absolutely. Underneath furniture, on top of furniture, and on counters- anywhere lie-down-able, been there and done that. Just for the fun of it, really, and a nice shock to whoever found him curled up in the sink or beneath cabinets. He was used to a crick in the neck or a splotch of red, rough carpet print on the side of the face. 

So he didn’t really know why, waking up in someone else’s bed, he jolted out of it so quick, he looked like he’d been electrocuted. Or why, after scrambling out of Patton’s arms with whatever carefulness he could manage, he bolted from the scene entirely.

Remus began the slow process of piecing it together after he all but slammed the door behind him, trembling and cursing his way down the hall. He dragged away from Patton’s room and let his back hit the wall, sliding to the floor with a kind of hysteria he could only describe as itchy-vomity-terrifying-amazing. 

He did itch at his skin, he was feeling a bit sick, a bit scared, but he thought he might’ve been grinning anyway, so the description fit well enough. Except, nothing was fitting actually well, right then.

The closeness. The attention. The fact that he’d spent eight hours of sleep getting a full dosage of both those things. The fact that it had been more of both of them than he could remember getting, ever. Of course he’d scrambled away- how else could he react!?

Remus didn’t get overwhelmed. Except, apparently he did! What another fun surprise!

A door creaked open down the hall (thank God not Patton’s). Remus felt the eyes on him, and looked up- manically, he looked well and truly manic.

Logan blinked at him. He looked a lot like an owl in the mornings, Remus noted. One of those smart ones, obviously, not one of the ones that fucks around counting licks on a lollipop. 

Logan cleared his throat. 

“Remus? Is everything alright?” 

Remus shrugged, grinning. “Maybe! Who knows, though, right? It’s a lot, you know?”

Logan did not know, and said as much. Remus only laughed, letting his head hit back against the wall in the process.

He still felt warm, inside and out, after all that cuddling. It was weird, good-weird, but still so new. And, like he said, a lot. He’d felt that kind of warmth before, but definitely not as much- and he knew he needed to distract himself before he went crazy. Or, before his rattrap of a brain ruined the maybe-possibly good feelings for him. 

“Hey, any chance you’re busy today?”

Logan hovered in his doorway for a minute before ultimately deciding to step out, probably determining the interaction as a prolonged one. He didn’t look too put-off about it, though.

“A very high chance,” he said, “But for now I am not. Is there something you need?”

“A distraction.”

“Ah.”

“So, you up for it?” Remus pulled himself up from the floor, popping a few joints. “At least for the morning, yeah, Geek?” 

“Of course,” he smirked, “Provided you can call me by actual name at least once in this conversation.” 

Remus grinned, probably coming off more relieved than he intended. “Eh, we’ll see about that one, Dweeb.”

Logan met him halfway down the hall, not looking at all surprised by the response. He looked, if anything, amused. Remus found himself remembering very abruptly that the two of them got along, were probably friends, and somehow that fact was still novel to him. Or maybe it was the mood. Probably both.

“Well, it was worth a try,” Logan reasoned.

“Oh, sure.”

“What were you thinking we should do, anyway?”

Remus raised his eyebrows suggestively.

“I’m afraid that’s off the table,” Logan told him.

“Aw, fine. Surprise me, then.”

“That will be hard.”

Remus laughed, unsteady and shrill.

“C’mon, I know you’ve got it in ya.” 

Logan smiled, just-nearly-almost mischievous. “Well. I’ll see what I can do.” 

And for just a second, some of the panic slipped away, leaving behind that strange warmth. 

Patton didn’t exactly let Janus know he was coming by. It had been a long day- or, a long five hour period between ten in the morning and three in the afternoon, but still, the idea that there was any day left at all made Patton want to melt into the nearest soft object and never get up. 

When Patton needed to melt, he went to Janus’. Maybe it was the big armchairs; maybe it was the comforting, gooey little white-lies that soaked the atmosphere of his room; maybe it was the fact that his voice was so very easy to fall asleep to. Most likely, at least part of it was because he always seemed to enjoy taking care of people, anyway. 

It was a nice combination, and exactly what was needed. Patton could apologize for not knocking later, ideally when he wasn’t falling asleep where he stood. 

“Janusss,” he groaned, by way of greeting, and promptly collapsed onto the nearest soft surface while the door swung shut behind him. 

Janus blinked at him from across the room, surprise lasting for approximately three seconds. He turned around, and sighed.

“Well, hello to you, too.”

Patton hummed, drearily.

“You look cheery,” Janus quipped, “Anything you’d like to talk about?” 

The question was spoken lightly, but not insincere. Patton lifted his head enough to smile tiredly at the snake. He shrugged, for the room was working it's magic already, as was the easy company to be found there. Stress was easing away, in small bits, evaporating into warm shimmers under his skin. He had no doubt that Janus was doing some of it on purpose, as soon as he’d noticed the mood Patton was in, giving him a blanket of speckled reassurances (which were, as Janus insisted to him time and time again, just a tiny, harmless breed of pleasant lies) in an almost-literal way. 

Most things about the sides’ rooms were like that. Almost-literal; concepts that crept their way into the physical world, if only slightly. Janus was the best at those kinds of things, though. 

“’S just been a tiring day, y’know?” 

Janus sat beside him, toying with some spare yellow strings, weaving and unweaving them almost carelessly. “I do.”

“A tiring night, too,” Patton added, an afterthought, but he found as he said so that it was true. Long in a good way. An impactful way. It felt like something important had happened, something that changed, but he didn't quite know what. It was still just as draining, though.

Janus raised an eyebrow, but he did not pry (even if he most likely wanted to).“So, you’ve come here.”

“Do you mind if I just rest in here for a bit?” He said, as he’d already gotten quite comfortable.

“Why don’t I do you one better?”

Patton hummed confusedly, but Janus had already begun urging him to sit up. The snake waved a hand, filling the room with light, swirling piano music. At once the air seemed to grow fuzzy, spicks and specks of what looked like golden glitter floating around- not unlike from the distortion Patton’s own room gave him when he was happy. Janus smiled down at him, summoning a neat little tea set on a tray and fixing them each a cup of the swirling, caramel-colored liquid. 

Patton sighed happily, taking the teacup he was proffered and thanking the lord for whatever he’d done to deserve a friend like Janus. 

Janus sat beside him, balancing the tea tray on an end table, and let their shoulders bump. He wasn’t a touchy person, exactly, but he allowed for a conservative amount of casual intimacy. Occasionally, and in an unspoken way, but still.

The atmosphere had exactly the intended effect. Patton felt paradisiacal. 

“Gosh, what would any of us do without you?” 

Janus hummed. “You’d most certainly perish.”

Patton laughed, his chest lighter already. 

Remus felt good for about ten seconds after leaving Logan’s room and letting the guy get to work, fresh off the good morning he’d had. Then, very promptly, the weight that the remaining hours of daylight carried dropped onto his shoulders, and he would’ve been perfectly willing to claw his brain out to get a moment of reprieve from the whole barrage of irrational terror worming around in it.

Remus didn’t know why it was so bad that day (well- he had a guess, but thinking about it obviously made it suck worse, so). What he did know was that he needed someone to keep fucking distracting him, and that someone could under no circumstances be Patton.

Luckily, avoiding him wasn’t hard- he was still busy, and Remus had a feeling he’d need a rest once Thomas’ crisis was over, anyway- but that didn’t do much to solve the other half of Remus’ problem.

He needed something big, loud, and most importantly, not solo. He needed someone that could take up a whole room just as easily as himself, with endless energy to bounce back and forth, back and forth, until neither of them would ever worry about anything other than the moment and whatever it was they would do together… 

Oh, god fucking dammit. 

Remus sunk out to the Imagination. No, not his. The opposite half.

He rose up into more than a blank canvas, but less than a finished work; a vibrant world with gaps and white spots. He might’ve taken the time to look around, but- unsurprisingly- his brother was in front of him, accosting him, immediately. Seriously, it was like he’d teleported. 

“What are you doing here?” Roman snapped, his hands, still splattered with ink, landing on his hips. 

“Aw, so now I’m not even allowed to visit my own flesh and blood, and other various parts?” 

Roman scrunched his nose up. “No, you aren’t allowed. This is my room!”

Remus- as he always did when someone said he couldn’t do something- cackled. 

“I’m serious!” Roman whined, “I’m busy!”

Now, he said that, but Remus knew from personal experience that if Roman wanted him gone, he could’ve forced him out without too much issue- or worse yet, attacked him outright. He didn’t seem to be about to spring, though, not looking any worse than annoyed, so Remus happily decided that this interaction fell into the normal-and-healthy-sibling-bickering category instead of the unfortunately familiar would-genuinely-commit-fratricide-if-possible category. 

He grinned. “Yeah, and I’m bored!”

“Not my problem, and you’re still in my room.” 

“What, worried I’ll gunk up all your magic ponies and Yellow Brick Roads, or whatever it is you like to play with around here?”

“Yes, I am!” Roman scowled, but it looked a lot like he was straining his jaw not to laugh. “And you know I don’t make those, you fiend, I made a unicorn once and that was only because Logan wanted one.”

“You’re shitting me if you say that you weren’t the kid who always wanted a pony, Ro.”

“Well, how’s a pony any better than a thestral, which I seem to remember someone getting all excited about when we first read the-books-that-shall-not-be-named?”

“Ooh! Good idea, we should abso-fucking-lutely make those!” Remus wandered past his brother, looking around at the half-finished scene that he’d walked in on. It was sunny, pleasant- all around very vanilla, but there was at least a sense of adventure thrumming under it that gave the place a kick. With some work, it could actually be, like, fun! “Ever see somebody die? Don’t worry, I can help with that.”

Roman turned to him, looking hilariously incredulous with what was happening.

“Um? Excuse me? This is my domain,” he blinked, and a smug smirk crossed his lips. “Which means that you don’t have the power to make anything here! So, ha!”

Oh, right. That made a lot of sense, actually. How had he forgotten that? It wasn’t like this was the first time he’d tried to make something with his brother, right? 

…Wow. That had no business hurting as much as it did.

“Uh- Remus?” 

His head snapped up, a smile with too-many teeth already strained across his face. Remus’ head was scattered enough, coming here wasn’t supposed to make it worse.

“Sure, okay- there’s gotta be some way for us to build stuff together!” 

Roman stared appraisingly at his sibling, apparently thinking before he argued for the one and only time in his life. He tilted his head in confusion, perhaps worry. 

“I- well-” Roman glanced at what he’d been making, and down at his hands. “I’m sure I could, perhaps, let you have power here. Just this once.” He huffed. “It’s my room, right? So there’s no reason why I couldn’t do that, if I wanted.”

“Do you?” 

“Ugh.” Roman rolled his eyes, perfunctorily. “Fine. I don’t know what’s up with you, but I’d rather you be your normal weird-self than… whatever this is,” Roman stuck his hand out, his chin raised like it was a challenge. “Good?”

Remus grabbed his hand (and did not buzzer him, or slime him, even though it would have been so easy- because they were having A Moment and even he could appreciate the sanctity of something like that). 

“Yeah,” he said. “We’re good.”

Roman, as it turned out, was able to tolerate Remus for a whopping six hours, right up until five p.m., and only shooed him away in order to finish the project that he’d more-or-less happily dropped when Remus stopped by. So Roman wasn’t the worst brother in the world, Remus acknowledged. He then resolved to never, under any circumstances, say that to Roman’s face. 

The door to the Imagination shut with a click. The sound matched almost perfectly with another, sharper one down the hall, what Remus recognized as Janus’ door closing. He glanced up with a grin, wondering if he could maybe get Snakey to distract him for a while- only to lock eyes with precisely what he needed distracting from.

Patton smiled at him. He looked tired, relaxed, and raised a hand in some semblance of a wave. It would probably be a great opportunity to unwind together, talk stuff out, and definitely curl into each other on the couch.

Remus wasn’t going to take that opportunity, though.

Remus stared back at Patton for all of three seconds, the grin sliding off his face, before barging through the nearest door and slamming it behind himself. 

Shit. Fuck. What the hell did he do that for? It was just Patton, Remus knew Patton; there was no reason to be jittery enough to bolt from him twice. There was no way Patton wouldn’t think he was mad- which he wasn’t, even if he barely understood why he was losing it, he knew it wasn’t anger. But Patton wouldn’t know that, and he’d cry, probably, and Remus wasn’t sure if he was good enough at comforting people to fix it after. Christ, maybe he couldn’t fix it, maybe he’d still be too keyed up to talk to Pat, even if he started bawling! 

“Hey? What the fuck?”

Remus spun around, and yeah, he could’ve guessed whose room he ended up in without the gravelly voice to give it away, given that little spiral. A surprised-looking Virgil stared up at him, sitting cross-legged on a spiderweb bedspread. 

Remus ignored the thin layer of anxiety still rolling under his skin (now that he could place it), and shrugged, sliding until he sat on the floor.

“Oh, hi,” he said.

“Yeah, hi to you too, but my question still stands:” Virgil clapped his hands together, “What. The fuck?” 

Remus considered a few possible snarky responses, but found that most of them were pretty pathetic. Besides, evading vulnerable situations was more of Janus’ thing, and Remus didn’t want to steal his bit. 

“I’m hiding like a little bitch, so don’t kick me out, or I’ll maul you.”

Virgil’s eyebrows went up, but the surprise in his face was being replaced, slowly, by confused resignation. “Okay, cool. Why here, and why me?”

“First door.”

“Yeah, that’s about my luck,” he blew his bangs out of his face, “So like, you’re not gonna go anywhere else?”

Remus thought about it, but it was an easy choice. If he was gonna whine to anybody about something like this, he decided, it’d probably be Virgil. Virgil was good with fear, he was good with Patton, and he was good at making fun of shit if a conversation got too serious. 

“Nah. Sorry, Emo Boy, but I’ve already annoyed Logan and my dipshit brother today. Looks like it’s your turn!”

“What about Janus?”

“Eh, he’s a live-in therapist for the rest of you already. I think I’ll give him the day off.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, sighing with all the exasperation of a teenage burnout and not a thirty-year-old metaphysical humanoid.

“Okay, okay- and why’s Patton off the table? He, like, actually enjoys helping people,” Virgil glanced down, scuffing the carpet with the side of his foot. “He’s good at it, too.”

“Yeahhhh,” Remus locked his teeth together, inhaled through them, “About that.”

“What, aren’t you two all close now?” Virgil frowned, “I fuckin’ saw you guys at the meeting yesterday, you were so on top of each other, I feel like I forgot that you were two separate sides,” to anybody who didn’t know him, the way he talked about it would sound harsh. Remus, however, knew exactly how soft Virgil really was- the fucking poser- and that that shit? That was pure encouragement, raw as a bloody, bloody steak. 

Which, of course, only made Remus wince again.

He flopped sideways onto the floor, groaning. “Yeah, we’re close. That’s- I think that might be the problem?” That sounded right, almost, but just wrong enough to feel icky and annoying. “Ugh, I don’t know. So I just ran!”

There was a beat.

“Wait a second,” Virgil’s voice was tight- oh that bitch, he was laughing! “You’re hiding from Patton?”

Remus huffed. Okay, so maybe it was a little funny, he could appreciate that- but! He was still upset about it!!

“I mean, what has he done to scare you off?” Virgil pressed, “Too many compliments? Did he hug you too hard? I know the dude can be a lot sometimes, but-”

“Okay, ok-ay,” Remus couldn’t help it, he managed a laugh at it, too. “It’s ridiculous! It’s fucking ridiculous and he’s not even the problem!”

“Then what is the problem?” Virgil was snickering, “And don’t say that it’s you, dude. At least one of us around here has to not hate himself to hell and back, and you’ve defended that title for too long to lose it,” he cleared his throat right after he said it, sitting up straighter and trying to look like he hadn’t just been laughing like a huge dork. “Not that I’m, like, worried about you or anything.”

“Aw, you so are,” Remus stared up at the ceiling, grinning despite the ache in his chest. “But no, it’s not that. He thinks I’m awesome and he’s right, so don’t worry.”

Virgil leaned over him, staring upside-down at Remus. He squinted.

“Hey, this a serious problem?”

“I guess so. You can joke about it, though.”

“Cool. Um,” Virgil pulled away. Remus sat up, watching the trait cross one leg over the other, flip them, then tap his knee one-two-three-etc. times. He chewed on his lip. The whole nine yards of a classic Focused-Virgil Face. “Okay. You can tell me about it, seriously. I’ll try to help, or whatever.”

Remus blinked at him.

“Don’t- Jesus- don’t make a big deal out of it, dude-”

“Oh, I am.”

“I don’t even have a choice, okay, you’re the one who-”

“You’re so sweet, Virgey!”

“Remus, I swear to God, repeat that to anyone and I…” 

Virgil trailed off. Remus pouted at him, dramatically, his eyes practically glowing with mischief. “C’mon, aren’t you going to threaten me?”

“I was, and then I remembered that you’re like, actually into that kinda stuff, so. No. Nope, I’m good.”

“Fine,” he shrugged, “Looks like you’re resigned to just hearing about my feelings, instead!”

Virgil rolled his eyes again- of course he did- but there was no hiding the way he went quiet, patient, you could even call it attentive.

It was an offering, one that Remus didn’t hesitate to take. 

Patton left Janus’ room in a good mood.

He was in a considerably less good mood when, as soon as he’d left, Remus saw him and scrambled away like Patton was about to attack him where he stood- wide-eyed with fear and everything.

Patton swayed in the hallway for seconds after, uncertain about a lot of things suddenly. 

The room Remus had run into had definitely been Virgil’s, not his own, and for a moment Patton entertained the idea of just going up to knock. He dropped that thought quick, realizing that if he really wasn’t wanted, then he definitely didn’t want to confirm that he wasn’t wanted.

He might have gone back to Janus- Janus was smart, Janus knew how to explain things and solve problems and comfort people- but that was scrapped, too. He’d taken up plenty of the snake’s time already, firstly, and secondly… No, yeah, Patton already knew just who he needed to see for something like this. 

Logan set aside his laptop as soon as Patton walked into the common room, a surprisingly perceptive gesture for someone who claimed to be bad with feelings. Or maybe Patton had just gotten rusty at hiding them.

“Hi,” he greeted, wobbly.

“Hello,” Logan said, “You look upset.”

Patton stared at the wall just above his friend’s head, and nodded.

“Can I help?”

He paused. It was a bad habit- one of many!- but feeling unwanted by one side made him wonder if, maybe, he was unwanted by everyone. The thought formed a lump in his throat and had guilt pooling in his gut, but this was Logan. His best friend, the person he had gone to because he always knew just where he stood with him. If Logan didn’t want to help- no, because he always wanted to- if he couldn’t handle helping, then he would tell Patton that. He always did.

“I think Remus is upset with me,” Patton blurted it out quickly, just so he didn’t have to hear them. Logan vanished his laptop at once, gesturing to the spot beside him on the sofa. Patton sat with him, smiling feebly.

“Has he said anything of the sort?”

“No,” Patton picked at the sleeve of his sweater, “He didn’t really have to. He kind of… ran away from me?”

Logan’s eyes widened behind his frames, almost imperceptibly. “I see.”

“I don’t even know what I did,” Patton flushed with the admission, because of just how true it was. He had no idea what he did, and still he felt blame settling over him like a well worn blanket, and all that he could do was hope it wasn’t as bad as the last time. “I feel like I should know this stuff by now, shouldn’t I?”

There was a pause, as Logan processed the words carefully, seemed to turn them over in his head. 

“Be careful not to jump to conclusions, Patton. He typically freely expresses how he is feeling at any given time, so even if his actions seem to say otherwise, it’s entirely possible that he’s not upset with you,” Logan smiled reassuringly. “I find that most of his actions are meaningless. He’s a very weird creature.”

Patton managed to laugh at that. Logan leaned their shoulders together, a little pride flashing in his eyes, as he continued. “He did seem to be ‘out of it’, in a manner of speaking, when we spoke earlier today. It would make sense if that had worsened over the past few hours, and now he’s just particularly flighty. All in all, I wouldn’t read too much into it, if I were you.”

Patton nodded, resolutely not mentioning that they’d spent the night together, however relevant that was. He knew it would sound paranoid to imply that their intimacy had backfired, or come too quick- because Patton was paranoid, and certainly a little neurotic, and the less he voiced it the better. 

Instead, he followed the advice he didn’t believe, and let himself rest against his friend. Logan had laced their fingers together; it wasn’t as comforting as it usually was. 

Logan was only so touchy when it was for the sake of others, and almost always that ‘other’ was Patton. A fact that made the needy trait feel amazingly special most of the time, but on nights like that… More than anything, he felt greedy.

“I’ll ask him about it,” Patton promised, because he knew that was what Logan would suggest (even if the idea made him more than a little dreadfilled). “Maybe I overwhelmed him. He’s been cuddly, so I thought…” Patton shook his head, bile hitting the back of his throat as the realization collapsed upon him. “That’s probably it. I must have took it too far.”

Logan didn’t pry, but Patton could feel his concern mount just as well as he could see the frown on his face.

“Talking to him will be the best course of action,” he said plainly. “For the time being, though,” he released Patton’s hand, wrapping his arm loosely around Patton’s waist and leaving it there. “It might be beneficial for you to receive more reassurance. Is this alright?”

“Yes,” Patton ducked his head, knowing full well how obviously relieved he sounded, “Thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me, I’m happy to help,” Logan told him, and he had no doubt that it was true. Still, it always surprised him anyway- and that at least was a good thing about a friend who was so reserved. The pleasant surprises.

Patton sat up enough to rest his head on top of Logan’s, a position that was almost but not quite cuddling.

“I sincerely hope,” Logan muttered, “That everything will be alright for you.”

Whether he was speaking only about the Remus situation or not was unclear.

“Me too.”

“If it’s any consolation, it’s very difficult to stay upset with you, if he truly is so. In my experience, at least.”

Patton sighed. “Thanks, buddy.”

“Of course. Your happiness is-... you, are very important to me, and I can only hope that you’ve made a friend that values you as much as I do.”

Patton knew what he meant by it. Both he and Logan were acutely aware of how different they were, and how little they matched with each other. Patton couldn’t understand him- not wanting to be showered in love, enjoying silence and a little bit of alone time, needing space. He knew that Logan didn’t get him, either- didn’t know why he cried all the time, or why nothing ever seemed to fix him for good, or why he said so many things that went without saying. They still struggled with each other’s languages, sometimes, but they’d gotten miles and miles better with it over the years. Sometimes Patton thought that the only way they’d become so close was sheer willpower, pushing past each misunderstanding and argument just because they liked the challenge of it. Determination was always a common thread between them, whatever differences they had.

They had to have boundaries, then. Logan might not hold Patton on his worst days, but he’d give him notes and gifts and bring him water, food, things that he neglected for himself. Patton didn’t have any of the right words to talk Logan down when things got bad, but he was always there to cheer him back up when he was ready again. Neither of them understood each other, and maybe they never would, but they cared. Even if they couldn’t be what the other needed, they cared, and that was all they had to do. 

So even if Logan couldn’t fix things, Patton thought, he still did a hell of a good job patching them up. 

“Hey. Hey!”

Patton turned around with a jolt, his fingers going tight in the blanket about his shoulders. How long he’d been downstairs, he didn’t know- but he knew that he was really, very tired, and now was left blinking and confused at the person accosting him with so much energy. 

“Um, hi,” Patton tried.

Remus had run up to him at once, and was just as suddenly seizing both of his hands. Patton might have taken a moment to appreciate the touch, but with just one sentence that positivity crumbled:

“I need to talk to you.”

Patton shoved a plastic smile onto his face. He always felt a little icky to be faking it, but with Remus, the shame was especially thick. Still, it was only instinct. 

“Okay.”

Patton opened the door; the Duke marched in without waiting for invitation, and he followed. 

Dread dripped down his spine like melting ice cubes. This is fine, Patton told himself firmly, once they were both sitting feet apart on the bed. He refused to think too hard about what the distance meant- if it meant anything at all, or if he was only being ridiculous.

“Sorry about today,” Remus began, “Really. I was freaking out for the stupidest fucking reason. You’ll laugh when I tell you!”

Patton didn’t laugh, but he smiled a little more wholly. If Remus was upset with him, the apology must’ve meant at least some of that had faded away. Probably.

“It’s okay, Mess,” the nickname rolled off his tongue easily. Remus grinned at him, but it was somehow more manic than usual.

“I probably got you all worried over nothing, bolting on you before you could wake up- and then again earlier, right?”

There was a pause, as Patton tried to decide if the question was rhetoric or not. When the silence stretched on uncomfortably, he found himself nodding. 

Remus huffed out a breath, rocking back and staring up at the ceiling. “Yeah, I- I’m still working at the whole self-improvement thing, ya know? That probably doesn’t make it better, but- I’ve never really had a reason to try and be, uh, considerate. Janus never really cared if I was a bitch, and nobody else ever mattered, and that- yeah, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk about.” 

His voice was raspy, low and thick in a way that it almost never was. Patton tipped his head to the side, confused. Remus looked- and sounded- awkward, an expression that was not at home on his face. 

“Wait, um- so it wasn’t anything I did? You’re not upset with me?”

Remus looked at him like he was crazy (ironic, that).

“Upset with you?” He crowed, “Why the fuck would I be upset with you?”

Patton flushed; he laughed embarrassedly, or maybe in relief; he toyed with the sleeves of his sweater.

“I didn’t really- I don’t know, but I was worried that I’d, um, overstepped some boundaries last night, and maybe made you uncomfortable.”

He was only kind of looking at his friend, from out the corners of his eyes. It was still easy to see the way Remus went from confused to amused, and then burst into cackles.

“You- You- Me? Morey, please, it takes a lot to make me uncomfortable- if that’s even possible, actually- and you sure as shit haven’t figured out how to pull it off yet. Sugar, I asked to stay with you!”

The relief flooded Patton all in a rush, and he felt himself finally relax. With Remus laughing and joking and being his usual (sweet, impressively sweet, surprisingly so) self again, it all started seeming a little silly. Remus must’ve seen him coming untense, folding down the same way accordion-pressed paper sprawled out when it was released from a bored student’s hand, because his gaze went warm, like something had finally clicked into place in his head. A problem solved, and what a wonderful solution it had come to- that’s what the look said. 

Patton met the smile just as brightly when the Duke shifted over some of the distance between them, taking up both of Morality’s hands in his own yet again. 

“Well, since it wasn’t something I did,” Patton said, “Then what was the actual problem?”

Remus didn’t look too upset at the question, but he was glancing down, up, sideways- his pupils flitted around the room without really touching on anything for too long; it wasn’t often that he was so obviously thinking something through. His fingers flexed, face a little pink, and he hesitated before answering:

“Okay, it’s like I said, right? I don’t- I’ve never needed to try to be anything for anybody before. I mean that I never wanted to do things in a conform-y way, obviously, but, I never wanted to be considerate, either,” he smirked down at their tangled hands, shrugging. “I don’t think I’m doing too bad for a first try, to be honest- but that’s not the point, the point is- this is… new.”

Patton opened his mouth, reassurances rushing to the tip of his tongue before he was hastily shushed.

“No, look, there’s a difference between being a pushover and just being fucking nice to the people you care about. That’s the problem- or I thought it was a problem, in my dipshit lizard-panic brain this morning- right? I’ve never wanted to do anything for people, because I didn’t need them anyway. I figured I didn’t, I guess, cuz I could survive without ‘em- it wasn’t like I had a choice, but I got on fine. Not to be too… I don’t know, pathetic? Who cares, but- I never knew anything different.”

Patton’s eyes went wide and watery, like the blue of his irises were soaking into everything else and leaking, leaking, leaking. He was squeezing Remus’ hands a little too tight, certainly, and he just wanted to hug him so bad- but despite his words, Remus didn’t even seem to need it. He looked back at Patton, huffed a sigh, looking just plain amused.

“So this hit me when I was talking to Virgil, about ten minutes ago,” he started, “That I woke up today, with you, and I had this thought like… Fuck, I don’t ever wanna move again. I could starve and then start to decompose and probably rot into bloody mush, but I’d probably still be perfectly happy- which is weird, because starvation is easily one of the boringest ways to die, I could go out so much cooler- but, it was more the fact that I was with you, and uh. So, so I thought that- which is so dumb and sappy- and it surprised me so bad that I just ran. And after I had, I was so freaked out, I didn’t even remember why for!”

He took a deep breath, something that he hadn’t done for that entire ramble. Patton got the sense he still wasn’t finished though, and waited patiently.

“I never needed anybody caring about me for me to be okay- the screaming and the fleeing and all that was fine, it was still a reaction. But I think I just realized that I couldn’t go back to that, now.

“Because of you. I knew I liked you, but it never clicked that things would probably suck without you by this point. More than that, I guess- it hit me that just because I can take care of myself, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t fucking blow. That I don’t- I don’t want to be so independent again, okay? That I don’t wanna be alone anymore.”

And he couldn’t help it at all; Patton did hug him, then. He pulled him against his chest as soon as he noticed the words going choppy, choked, and halting. He let go of Remus’ hands, in favor of tangling his fingers in the Duke’s hair and carding through it.

Remus met the embrace with just as much fervor, curling up into the bigger trait. Yet somehow, he wasn’t crying yet.

“Hey, hey, I’m alright,” he murmured, “I mean, don’t let go, obviously- but I’m okay. I had all day to panic! Which I definitely did, by the way, because my whole worldview got screwed over. Finally know how you feel, I guess,” He was joking, Patton could hear his smile. He laughed. “But I got it out of my system, and ya know what I realized after that?”

Patton hummed attentively, letting Remus pull back just enough to see his face.

“I said, ‘okay, I’m processing that, and it doesn’t matter.’ It doesn’t matter because I only realized that maybe I need people once I already had them, and- no offense- but you don’t really seem like the abandoning type. The opposite, that’s what you are.”

Patton beamed. 

“Of course not,” he swore, pressing the words out as though intensity alone could make them more true, more pure. “Never, not ever.”

“Good,” Remus said, “Cuz I’m hanging on to ya, Pat. As long as I can.”

Chapter Eight

Taglist: @shrimp-crockpot @glitter-skeleton-uwu @donnieluvsthings @intruxiety @thefivecalls @did-he-just-hiss-at-me @gayformlessblob 

[art-by-rozzai]

band au headcannons? more likely than u think

tbh i just love found family tropes and band tropes and platonic lamp is the shit

SO

HERE WE GO FOLKS

it’s the schools fault really. it starts as some stupid music theory project where virgil is forced to make friends once again, and do all of the work yet get none of the credit. the requirements seem simple enough-find three-four different instruments and write a song about something you all have felt before

when patton hart, the one of the only kids who’s ever made an attempt to talk to him, asks virgil to join his group of three, virgil decides he’s got nothing to lose and agrees.

virgil plays keyboard/piano and sings. his voice is really good, sounds a lot like tyler joseph from twenty øne piløts. (remember that lmao) his keyboard is his life-the only thing that’s able to help him through his anxiety is music. it’s a lifeline for him. virgil’s keyboard is plain black when the band starts, but when they start to become more mainstream, logan and roman buy virgil a purple piano and paint on a lightning theme. he loves it.

patton plays drums. he started playing because of his fidgeting-he was always tapping his fingers on something and decide to make the best of it!! his drums are a light blue set. (later, clouds are painted on them by roman and virge). playing music is one of his favorite things, but he wishes he had people to play with. his solo group is missing something-so, he starts by asking logan croft, straight a student, validictorian and the band’s best bassist. lo says he might as well, and types his number into patton’s phone before offering a small smile and heading to his next class. then, he talks to roman prince-an incredible gutairist and singer, the lead in almost ever school musical.

logan plays bass. (and cello, but that’s not as important for the story lmao) he likes bass because while it doesn’t stand out the most, it’s crucial to carrying the melody of the song. his bass is decorated completely in a space theme-stars and galaxies line up the sides and the strings have been replaced from black to white. roman and patton worked together to create it and gave it to him for his 15th birthday present. it’s the only gift he’s cried over receiving

roman plays gutair/uke. he also sings a lot, but doesn’t like it as much unless it’s for the school play, where he isn’t worrying about playing an instrument at the same time. the double tasking can screw up his playing a lot. he learned uke first, after obsessing over dodie clark videos. he plays a tenor uke that he decorated with disney stickers, usually on covers because it’s sounds really good with his voice. he plays acoustic and electric gutair, but he seriously prefers acoustic. he decorated his light wood gutair with hand drawn roses in different shades of red. it’s his prized possession.

so now these three friends and one acquaintance are partners! (yay!!) patton sends them all a text to meet at his house on friday, and bring instruments and a smile. virgil shows up ten minutes late (not enough to be rude but enough to not seem too excited) and carries in his keyboard. he takes a seat next to logan, who is sprawled across the couch scribbling into a notebook.

after a few games of never have i ever to get to know one and other more (patton insisted) the four began to work. they discuss topics to write about and suddenly find themselves having a really deep conversation about life and death and feeling meaningless

and they relaize that maybe they have more in common then they thought.

so they start writing. and playing. and writing. and playing. it takes three sessions before they write their first song-it’s called taxi cab. (listen to the tøp song bcuz it’s that but add in bass and a bit of uke)

when the project is turned in, they get an a, and virgil is surprisingly upset he won’t see these friends again. until patton starts inviting him to hang out with them more. and suddenly he feels like he didn’t have a life before patton, logan and roman. everything is going great-he gets to bake and laugh with patton, read and stargaze with logan and watch movies and complain about drama with roman. life is perfect.

until roman suggests they put the song on his yt channel and things start to get crazy. after much arguing, virgil agrees on one condition-they’re faces must be blocked out. romans cool with it, deciding to create a cool thumbnail and simply play the audio. they decide to name the band “sander’s sides” after their highschool, sanders high and the fact they’re all different sides that all come together in the end. the video goes viral overnight.

virgil is panicking. this was just supposed to be some easy project that was over immdiatly and now he’s on the trending page??? this is insane roman i swear to god-

virgil’s not the only one freaking out-logan is terrified. people have never seen him in this way-vunerable and showing a side of himself he doesn’t like that much. if anyone finds out one of the members is him-logan doesn’t know what he’d do. still, the comments are flooded with love for all four members. people are obsessed with this group.

so after some convincing from patton, the group starts writing together more often. they post frequently on youtube, constantly creating more and hanging out together. then they drop their first album, simply called “sander’s sides”, which the fans nickname “self titled”

the album gets insanely popular very quickly. part of the hype is the mystery of who the band mates were-only the friend’s family members and the schools band teacher know. it’s the middle of lunch when lo gets the call from his mother to turn on the radio and he nearly faints. they’re on the radio!!! people everywhere are listening to them!!!

everyone is talking about who the sides could be. fans have started to call themselves the “fanders”

patton lovesssss fan interaction-so he suggests they start responding to fanart/mail! they each are allowed to run one account-patt starts a band snapchat, logan takes twitter, roman creates a band insta and virgil sets up the tumblr account. they all enjoy responding to fan work, especially answering questions that the fans have.

most noteably-w h a t a r e u r n a m e s ?

but logan and virgil insist they dont tell anyone-what if people they know in real life find out that they’re in the secret famous band

that’s when fans decide to use nicknames-

whoever is running the tumblr account constantly makes self deprecating jokes and complains about mental health? anxiety!

the insta runner is very proud of his aesthetic and ability to create stunning pictures of each member without revealing their identity? creativity!

the snapchat runner is the biggest sweetheart ever and constantly send fans inspiring messages and reminders to drink water? morality! (most of the fanders end up just calling him dad tho.)

the twitter runner is the most responsible, is always up to date on politics and sends helpful advice to fanders who need help being adults? logic!!

i’m gonna finish this tmrw but enjoy for now lmao lmao

(check out that kinda similar band idea that idk the name of but can b found when u search “sanders sides lamp headcannons”)

[keanu-fics]

Friends to Lovers; part 3

WARNINGS: SMUT

Keanu finds you masturbating and you’re not even officially dating yet.

Part 1 here   Part 2 here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The previous evening ended pretty abruptly. Neither you nor Keanu wanted to stop kissing, but he played the 'you're drunk, go home' card. He drove you home on his motorbike, gave you a very short goodnight kiss and refused to come upstairs.

"It's probably best I go home, given," he started talking before being interrupted.

"Are you saying you're afraid of taking advantage of me?" you teased.

He leaned so close to you that you thought he was going in for another kiss. You grew weak in knees and felt your head spinning, but that was probably the alcohol. "I will pick you up tomorrow after work." he said and winked at you. He then pulled away again, smiling to himself.

"Shit!" you mumbled as you remembered you had work in the morning. There was no important work meeting, like you told your friends to get out of the club, but you were risking making your boss angry nonetheless if you showed up hungover. Again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When you were finally back in your bed, having about four hours of sleep ahead of you, you texted Keanu.

Y/N: Cant believe you kissed me and then disappeared like that

K: Can't believe you thought I was seeing someone else.

You smiled to yourself as your phone pinged again.

K: Go to sleep.

Y/N: Dont start till 10 tmrw

K: Goodnight.

Y/N: Tease

Keanu did not reply after that, but you knew he was smiling just as much as you were. You did not get a lot of sleep that night. You kept imagining Keanu was lying next to you. His large hands were holding you tight and you blissfully fell asleep together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day at work was a disaster and not only because you were exhausted and had a pounding headache. People can be a nightmare to work with.  You decided you were going to squeeze in a couple of hours of sleep between work and your date with Keanu.

You made it home and jumped into your bed right away. Just as you were absolutely exhausted at work all day, once you made it home you felt energetic again. You were thinking of texting Keanu that you were home from work, but then you got distracted by your own imagination running wild. You imagined what it would be like if you were not drunk yesterday and Keanu followed you upstairs. He would be a gentlemen of course, but then he could not stand not kissing you any longer and he would slowly end up lying on top of you on the couch. You would run your fingers through his hair as you were kissing desperately, not needing air. Once he bit your lip, you would pull on his hair playfully and he would move lower, kissing your neck, trying to give you a hickey like a teenager. You would let out soft whimpers as you would run your hands through his back, exploring and needing to touch every inch of him.

Imagining the evening that could have been, your eyes closed, you slipped your hand down your pants. You were moaning softly, picking up the volume as your fingers were starting to move faster and rub harder. In your head Keanu was switching from eating you out, to pulling down his trousers and getting ready to plough you mercilessly until you were screaming his name and leaving red scratch marks on his back.

In your arousal you never heard Keanu unlocking the front door with the key you gave him a long time ago and he never even used. He was looking for you and thought he heard you watching the TV in the bedroom. You only felt something was off once he was in the bedroom, looking at you moaning and squirming on your bed while pleasuring yourself. You opened your eyes as you felt being watched and immediately jumped to your feet. Keanu looked just as embarrassed as you.

"Keanu!" you screamed. "Oh my god! What are you doing here?!" your voice was still raised at him, but you were out of breath from going so vigorously. Keanu was looking anywhere but at you.

"I did not think you were home yet, I was just going to wait for you." he stammered out. You saw his face was turning bright red, but you felt all colour has left yours. In that moment you wished the earth would have swallowed you whole. Nothing about this situation was sexy. You and Keanu have not even gone past kissing yet and he just caught you masturbating to him. Wait, were you moaning his name out loud or just in your head? You were trying to remember, but the embarrassment was clouding your judgement.

"I am so sorry, Y/N," Keanu turned around, towards the bedroom doors, like that would make the situation less awkward. "maybe we should reschedule." he cleared his throat.

You thought about it, not sure how you were ever going to face him again after this. "No!" you blurted out. "If we don't deal with it now, it's never going to be not awkward."

He turned around again. "You're right. I" he hesitated. "I will just be in the living room, give you some privacy." Then he was gone just as fast as he appeared.

You were mortified, but you quickly composed yourself, deciding to just go out there and pretend this has never happened. You looked at yourself in the mirror. Your hair was a mess, your lips red from the nearing orgasm you almost had and your work trousers unbuttoned all the way. You changed into more casual clothes, brushed your hair and walked out of the bedroom.

Keanu was sitting on your couch, flipping through one of the magazines you sometimes buy. You shuffled to the opposite side of the couch and carefully sat down. "Sooo..." you spoke quietly. "what did you want to do today?"

Keanu was acting so casual you figured he must be going with the same plan as you - ignore what had just happened. You sighed with relief as he gave you a nonchalant look.

"Who were you thinking about?" he asked casually.

You groaned and fell back into the couch, realizing he was only waiting for the perfect time to start teasing you about it. Keanu closed the magazine and put it back inside the coffee table.

"Who was it? Was it me? I bet it was me." he was gloating. You still could not remember whether you had screamed his name out loud earlier or not.

"None of your business." you mumbled, annoyed.

"Don't worry, next time I won't barge in until after you've finished." he just kept grinning at you.

"I hate you." you proclaimed and refused to talk about it any further.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading! In the future I will write a one-shot where this ends way sexier.

[the-love-birds]

Word count: 1.9k

Pairing: Imane Bakhellal/Sofiane Alaoui

Dedicated to the lovely @zahraako

“Imane nibbles on her bottom lip, her eyes glued to the ground. It's a habit she'd developed over the years in extremely nervous situations. And, fuck, if she isn't nervous right now.”

Friday 22:45

The smile hasn’t left Imane's face since she left the MJC a few minutes ago. She is smiling so hard her face almost hurts. But can you blame her? How else is she supposed to act when she just spent the best night of her life. She can still hear Sofiane's soft laugh, and when she closes her eyes, she can vividly see the neon stars he showed her. Imane lets out a chuckle and shakes her head softly, remembering how Sofiane almost tripped over a table. What a dork.

She forces herself to stop smiling when she gets closer to her house. Imane sighs trying not to think of what would have happened if her mom hadn’t texted her asking her to come home. They would have spent more time together enjoying each other’s company and laughing like there is no tomorrow.

Imane walks into the house and frowns at the complete darkness. She makes her way to the kitchen and turns on the light. Her heart jumps, and she loudly squeals when she sees her mom sitting at the dining table, staring at her. She looks up at Imane and smiles at the horrified look on her face. Was she sitting in the dark waiting for her?

“You’re finally back.”

Imane lets out a breath to calm herself and takes a seat next to her.

“What are were doing in the dark by yourself?”

“Waiting for you. I wanted to make sure you got home safely.” She yawns her words, and Imane feels terrible for making her stay up late.

“You should have gone to sleep. You didn't have have to wait for me.” She brings her hand to gently rub her mom’s back “I am a big girl now.”

Imane’s mom snorts, “Yeah, right...Where were you anyway?”

Imane’s cheeks grow hotter, and she ducks her head down in embarrassment.

“It’s nowhere important.”

Her mom gives her a face that tells Imane that she does not believe her. What’s the harm in telling her? She will find out one way or another

“So there's this guy that I like…” she starts.

Imane expects the worst, and braces herself for whatever scolding her mom would throw at her. She simply hums and Imane internally sighs in relief.

“Is he Muslim?” Imane nods in answer.

She doesn't know for sure, but she’s pretty sure Sofiane is.

“Is he in your school?”

“No he graduated a while ago.”

“Oh so he’s older than you. By how much?”

Imane avoids the question by burying half of her face into the hood of her jacket.

“Where is he from?”

“Morocco,” Imane replies warily.

Imane’s mom frowns, and Imane rolls her eyes.

“Mom, please we are past that right?”

“I didn’t say anything!” she defends. “It’s just...you know how Arabs can sometimes be.”

“Please, mom, don't go there,” she groans. “Plus he’s not like the others. He’s different,” she adds with a small smile.

Imane’s mom smiles back at her and gently rubs her cheeks.

“That’s good as long as you are happy. Just be careful ok? Guys can be painful to deal with, no matter their race, ethnicity, or religion.”

“Got it, mom. Now go to sleep; you look like you are about to pass out.”

She nods and gets up.

“Make sure to turn the lights off before you go to sleep.”

“Ok.”

Imane watches as her mother leaves and pulls out her phone when she hears her parents’ bedroom door close.

Imane: I told mom about you

Sofiane: Really? What did she say?

Imane: She didn't like when I said you’re Arab

Imane: Sorry

Sofiane: Lol, don’t worry about it. It’s fine...kind of expected it

Imane: Thankfully you’re Muslim :)

Sofiane: Yeah lol

Imane watches the typing bubble go on and off and gets extremely anxious wondering about what Sofiane was trying to say. It goes on for about five minutes before she receives a series of texts.

Sofiane: Are you free tomorrow?

Sofiane: If you are we could go to the lake we use to go to when we were kid

Sofiane: Or someplace else

Sofiane: Whatever you want

Sofiane: If you’re not, it’s completely fine!

Sofiane: We could go another day…

Sofiane: Or not...it’s up to you!

Imane: Are you asking me out on a date?

Sofiane: Yes

Sofiane: No?

Imane: lol, why are you so nervous?

Imane: Wasn’t tonight kind of a date?

Imane: Or did I read the situation wrong?

Sofiane: No you didn’t it was

Imane: Good :)

Imane: And yes I would love to go out with you tmrw!

Sofiane: Great!

Sofiane: I’ll pick you up at 14:30

Imane: Goodnight

Imane: See you tmrw

Sofiane: Good night

Sofiane: Looking forward to it

Imane sends a heart and locks her phone. She squeals and pulls the hood of her jacket over her entire face. She lets out a giggle and internally screams. After she’s calmed down, she gets up and turns off the lights before going to sleep.

Saturday 14:25

Imane nibbles on her bottom lip, her eyes glued to the ground. It's a habit she'd developed over the years in extremely nervous situations. And, fuck, if she isn't nervous right now. She spent the day getting ready for the date. She must have been acting weird because her parents kept asking her if she was all right. Idriss however, kept throwing her knowing glances which made her even more embarrassed. Why do her brother and her crush have to be best friends?

A low cough snaps her out of her thoughts, and she looks up to meets Sofiane's gentle eyes. Imane let's out a small breath at his appearance. He has on a pair of light ripped jeans that perfectly hugs his legs paired with a maroon hoodie. His black hair is curlier than usual, and a silver necklace gently sits on his chest.

"Are you ready?"

Imane wants to tell him that she’s been ready since the day they danced together in the backyard of her house. She doesn't even remember how it happened, but she remembers the way it felt to dance with him. It felt safe as if she'd found home in the comfort of his arms. She settles for a simple nod, and the two make their way to the lake.

They discovered the lake when they were kids running through the small forest at the outskirts of the city. No one knows apart from them knows of its existence, so Imane, Sofiane, and Idriss use to play a lot by the clear water surrounded by the clam and beauty of nature. They carefully pass through the woodland, reminiscing their childhood as they walk the familiar trail.

It takes them a few minutes to arrive at the lake. They sit immediately against the big tree right by the water. They spend their time talking about everything and nothing surrounded by the calm of nature. At one point they get into a dance competition that starts seriously but ends up being them just goofing around.

“Do you remember when you used to run around here thinking you were a princess and bossing Idriss and me around?” They are sitting criss crossed facing each other, trying to cool down from the dancing.

Imane groans and harshly plucks out a blade of grass. “That was so embarrassing don't make me remember.

“No, it was so cute; you thought you ruled over the whole world,” he says with a laugh.

“I was naive back then.” Imane chuckles and twists the blade around her fingers. “Wouldn’t it be nice to back to when we thought the world was all rainbows and sunshine.”

Sofiane nods and tugs on a flower. “Yeah the more we grow up, the more we realize how fucked up people are.”

“The other day, I was on the bus putting my hijab on, and this old white lady was giving me the nastiest look.”

Sofiane rolls his eyes and sighs deeply. “If I were you, I would’ve have flipped her off.”  

Imane breaks into a fit of laughter and laughs so hard that she doesn't see the tender look in Sofiane’ eyes as he looks at her.

“It’s not that easy,” she responds wiping a tear at the corner of her left eye.

“It is. I do it all the time when random people call me offensive terms like ‘women oppressor.’” 

Imane’s frown deepens as she listens to Sofiane.

“What’s that even supposed to mean? Is it because you’re Muslim?”“I have no idea.” He shrugs and looks in Imane’s eyes with a small smile. “I don’t really care. What matters is that the people I care about know the kind of person I am.”

Imane returns the grin, and they fall into a comfortable silence after that. She closes her eyes, enjoying the cooling breeze on her skin and listening to the soothing bubbling of the water.

She is slowly drifting into sleep when she feels someone gently shake her. She blinks open her eyes and comes face to face with Sofiane’s beaming face.

“The sun is setting,” he says, and Imane gets it. They slowly get up, shaking the grass off them before walking out of the forest. When they enter the city, they make their way to the mosque for prayer.

Saturday 20:34

The walk back to Imane’s house mostly consists of shy smiles and stolen glances. They walk painfully slow to prolong the time they spend together. But all good things must come to an end, and Imane sadly sighs when they arrive at her house. They stop by the gate, and Imane turns to look at Sofiane only to find his eyes already on her.

“I guess this where we say goodbye.”

Sofiane hums and shoots her a wide grin.

“It was really fun. We should do that again.”

“Anytime.” she says with a small nod.

Imane turns to open the gate, but a hand grabs her wrists and stops her.

She looks up at Sofiane’s nervous face and instantly grows anxious too. He walks closer to her until they were only a few inches apart.

“Can I?” Imane has no idea what he is asking permission for, but she nods because she trusts him.

Her breath hitches as he gets closer and presses a gentle kiss on her forehead. He stays there for a few seconds before leaning back. He beams down at her, and she shyly ducks her head down a small smile blooming on her face.

Sofiane lets go of her wrist and walks a couple of steps back.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” She responds and quickly opens the gate making her way inside. She turns around when she gets to the porch and sees Sofiane still looking at her smile permanently glued to his face.

Imane offers him a small wave and walks inside closing the door behind her. She slides down to the ground and buries her face in her hands.

“Imane, is that you? Come here and help me prepare dinner.” she hears her mother’s voice from the kitchen.

She slowly gets up from the floor and walks towards it.

“You can start setting th-” her mom stops mid-sentence when she looks up at her from the pot on the stove. “Why are you smiling so hard?”

Imane shakes her head and heads to the living room with the table utensils.

“Nothing.”

“Is it because of that boy?” her mom yells.

Imane heads back to the kitchen and looks at her mom shyly.

“Yeah.”

“He does make you happy huh?”

She has no idea.

“He really does.”

[mlovesstories]

Their Four (HDF Part 9)

Their Four (HDF Part 9)

Summary- Addy pushes limits.

AN- A whole lotta strong Danneel in this.

mtg- meeting

tmrw- tomorrow

Word Count: Too long. Not sorry.

Whole Ackles Fam and Clif

January, 2017

“Sit,”  Clif told Addy.  She planted herself on the couch in the living room. “Tell her what happened,”  he had never drawn a line with her like this.  Clif was her buddy.  Not tonight. 

“Hold on.  Clif, what are you still doing here?  Jensen is in LA,”  Danneel rubbed her temples.  “And again, I ask, what are you doing out at 1:30am, Addy?”

Clif answered first,  “I am flying out tomorrow, or today, I mean.  Jensen and Jared got an earlier flight.”  He gave her a reassuring look.

“Your turn, Addy.  Why did Clif bring you home from somewhere in the middle of the night?”  Danneel turned to her daughter who sat nervously on the couch.

“Umm.  I was hanging out with friends.”

“You reek of alcohol.  I can smell it from here, Addy.  You went against what your dad and I told you.  Now Clif’s night is ruined, and I will be getting zero sleep.”  The mom couldn’t react without getting angry with her daughter.  “Go to bed.  We will talk about this when I can think straight.”

“It’s still all about other people.  Clif, you, the babies.  What about me?  I am here too.  In case you forgot about your first kid.  Am I important anymore?”  Addy was getting loud.  

“Addy, of course you are a part of this family too.  We have had to adjust to new schedules with the babies, I realize that, but that does not excuse what you did. This was not the way to get our attention appropriately.  Get your ass up to bed before I call Dad right now and interrupt his sleep too.  Go.”  

Well, this sucks.

Addy gave no response as she exited and ascended the stairs to her room. 

At 9:00am, Addy’s phone screamed at her.

“Hello?” 

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?”

“Hi to you too, Dad.  I went out with friends, no big deal,” she gave a snarky response. “Aren’t you happy that I’m alive, at least? And I used my resources well. Cliffy is awesome.”  

“Knock off the attitude and realize the magnitude of what you did.  Your mom told me she has it handled.  I believe her.  I’d be more scared of her than me.  I just wanted to call and let you know that you are on thin ice with both of us.  See you when I get home, Addison.”  He hung up.

“Good morning, Addy.” Danneel was eerily calm.

“Hi, Mom.”  

“After breakfast we are going to talk.  Your food is on the table.  Fifteen minutes.”

She walked off to go take care of the babies with Addy’s grandma.  

“Get over here.  Now.”  Danneel was commanding but not loud.  

Addy walked from the sink back to the breakfast area.  Danneel motioned for her daughter to sit in the chair that she had just left.  

“I don’t need to remind you how irresponsible your actions were last night, do I?”

“I was just having fun, Mom!  It was New Year’s!  I wanted to hang with friends!  What’s wrong with that?”  Addy was so tired of being the good kid.  Now was the time to start the teenage rebellion.

“Well, one, we explicitly told you no drinking just a few weeks ago because you are FOURTEEN.  Two, you snuck out and went to a party that you knew we wouldn’t approve of.  Three, you put yourself and Clif in danger on the ride home because many people drink and drive on New Year’s.  

“But-”  Addy tried to get her view in.

“No.  You were irresponsible and do not seem to understand that you could have been hurt or hurt someone else because you were compromised. What you do has an impact on others.  You’re lucky your actions didn’t ruin anyone else’s night. Now, you will see what an impact you CAN have.  For the rest of your Christmas break, your time will be spent at home.”  Addy opened her mouth to protest, but Danneel didn’t give her the chance.  “You will help me with JJ and the babies, and your chores will be increased.”

“MOM!”

“Be quiet!”  Danneel was angry.  “I love you, but this is the dumbest thing you have ever done.  Your dad also asked me to have you write an essay on how you  will think the next time you are tempted to try this again.  He will let you know what he wants specifically.”

“This isn’t fair! He said he would let you handle it!”  Addy sassed.  She was threw her hands up in the air.  

“What’s not fair is Clif having to make sure that you get home safely after you made a not-so-safe decision. His job is to worry about your dad’s safety, not to be on-call for you.  What’s not fair is you making others worry about your future choices because of this one that we are dealing with right now.  What’s not fair is not being able to trust you anymore.  You have a choice.  You can either be quiet and do what I say with respect, or you can be obnoxious and make it worse for yourself.  Which one do you want?”  

“Ugh, fine.  I’ll do it,”  she huffed.  

“Here is your to-do list for today.  You better get started.  We have a lot of stuff to get done.”

Danneel’s list for Addy was long.  Addy didn’t get to sit down all day.  She helped her mom and did chores that she didn’t even know existed.  Addy couldn’t wait to go to bed.  She soon realized that wasn’t possible yet.  Addy forgot she had to write the stupid essay.  She had received a text from her dad earlier that day.   

Dad: 

5 paragraphs, 4 sentences per paragraph, typed, double-spaced.  On my desk at 9am.

Addy:

Fine.

Addy knew she was being rude, but she really didn’t care.  Other than the fact that she didn’t want to extend her newfound prison-like life, she couldn’t care less about a lot of things.  

Text from Jensen:

we need to chat with Addy-  she was completely out of line with me this morning.  I land at 1 tmrw.  family mtg after?

Danneel:

sounds good. get back soon. the teenager might listen to you better than me.

Jensen: 

I’m sure you are doing just fine, but we can both talk to her later.  time for press stuff, gotta go.  love you. 

Danneel knew it would only get harder before Addy understood their reasoning for her consequences.  The family as a whole needed to change their approach with her continuing to be selfish and bad-mannered.  

Addy finished her essay that evening before she went to bed.  She was careful about making sure that it seemed like she had changed, but her anger grew.  Her essay was put on Jensen’s desk, and she went to sleep.  She assumed she would be able to sleep in the next day, but that was not the case.  Addy was woken up by JJ who needed a sippy cup.

Her little sister jumped on top of her. “Go away, JJ!  Go get Mom.”  

Addy was not happy.

“Momma told me to ask you.  She said time to get up.  She busy wif Zeppy.”

“Ugh. Get off me.  I’ll be down in a minute.”

“No!  Now!  I firsty!  I waited for Momma, now I wait for you.  No.  I need water.”  JJ was getting frustrated.

“Get her water.  Now, please.” Danneel stuck her head in the door frame.  Addy plastered on a very obvious fake smile and walked with JJ downstairs.  

“Here you go,” Addy said as she handed JJ a sippy cup with water.  

“No!  I want Olaf cup!”  JJ did not want the one Addy tried to give her.

“Will you stop being a brat?!”  As soon as she said it, she wished she could take it back.  JJ’s eyes filled with tears, and she ran off.

Dang it.  Sorry, Mom.  

“Mom!  Addy is a meanie butthead!”  JJ ran down the hallway.

Danneel picked up her middle daughter and walked into the kitchen.

“All she needed was water, and you couldn’t even do that without an attitude.  You will be on JJ Duty today instead of your chores I was going to give you.  If you continue your behavior, you will be in your room until your dad gets home.  And don’t forget that she is young. Teach her how to ask nicely instead of getting mad. Got it?”  Danneel put JJ down and handed her the Olaf sippy cup that Addy had filled, per JJ’s request.  

“Okay.”  Addy was furious even though she gave in.  

I have to watch the toddler?  This will not end well.  

“I will be with the babies.  Unless JJ is dying, you are in charge of her.  I’ll write down her schedule. You need to learn that you can have a positive or negative effect on people.  Your choices influence others, bad, such as drinking, or good, like playing with your sister.  Go have a positive impact on JJ today.”

Not the reverse psychology crap.

“Come on, JJ.  Let’s get you dressed for the day.”

The two older siblings did many activities.  Both were worn out by lunch. JJ was put down for a nap, and Addy cleaned up the mess they had made during Barbie time. She was about to explode. Honestly, she didn’t know why she was acting the way she was, but she embraced this new version of herself. Addy was tired of the responsibility of being the example, perfect student, perfect child.

Jensen arrived home while JJ and the twins were sleeping. Addy was less than happy about his homecoming. He put his luggage away and then called a family meeting.

“Addy,” Jensen walked into the kitchen, “family room.”

She looked up at him and then put the dishes down. Addy dried her hands and walked out after him.

Not him too.

They all sat quietly with an awkward silence while everyone took their places.

“Addy, we have not seen an improvement of your attitude,” Danneel said.

“You were completely out of line with your texts and the way you have been interacting with others,” Jensen supported his wife.

“My attitude?! Mine?! What about you? Mom, you don’t spend time with me anymore. And Dad, you completely ignored me once you got home for hiatus! What happened to our father-daughter stuff? We didn’t go pick a tree, or watch movies, or even swap gag gifts this year!” Addy was seething. She stood up in anger.

“Addy! Sit. Down.” Danneel commanded.

“No. I’m done being perfect. I’m done with being the one everyone looks to. I saw an opportunity to have fun over break, so I took it.”

“Who in the hell says you have to be perfect? We don’t! You’re a kid, you make mistakes. So do we.”

“Have you been on the internet lately? I’m the daughter of the hottest couple. I live the dream life, apparently,” she sarcastically quoted social media.

“Oh, Addy. Please don’t read that stuff,” Jensen was starting to understand. “We know that it’s been hard on you. But I also told you we would figure it out, right?”

“Look how good that worked out,” Addy said with a huff under her breath.

Danneel responded with, “Baby, you gotta tell us. Use your sass for good and speak up. We know it’s been a crazy few weeks, but it will get better, I promise.”

“I miss you,” Addy almost broke into tears, referencing both her parents. She wanted to be acknowledged without them asking her to do something. Addy finally told them this. With only one tear shed, she shared that she just wanted to be validated.

“We’re sorry you felt ignored. That wasn’t fair,” Jensen reassured Addy.

“What you did was still not ok. You understand that, right?” Danneel restated her question from the previous few days.

“I know. I’m sorry,” stated Addy. She was excused to finish the dishes while her mom and dad talked.

The issues had been voiced. They still had to take care of something though.

“Your restrictions stand for the rest of today and tomorrow. The last few days of your vacation are yours though. Your dad may even spoil you a little,” Danneel winked at Addy.

“Really?” Addy was so surprised. “What about you, Mom? Can we get someone to watch the younger ones so I can have you too?”

“I’m sure we can figure something out, princess,” Jensen stood up from the couch and hugged his oldest. Danneel wasn’t far behind.

@luci-in-trenchcoats  @katymacsupernatural  @unicornblood4ever  @ellie-andthemachine @fangirl-moment-x  @empirialwolf @winchesters-favorite-girl  @super100012  @dancingalone21 @waywardnewcomer  @percywinchester27  @waywardsuns  @supernatural-jackles  @mcallmestiles @mandyreese @sdavid09  @kingandrear  @bellero  @rosiewinchester  .@iliketowrite02

[seungcheolsthighsss]

Park Chanyeol Police Officer AU

Yall dirty minded chanyeol stans this ones for youuuuu, get ya holy water ready boys and girls and join me on this rollercoaster of emotions ;) { the imagine is long  soooo if yall are just here for the smut part you can skip the flashback but if yall want to find out how you and officer park meet i suggest reading the flashback;) }

Member/Group : EXO’s Park Chanyeol Genre: smut Warnings: BDSM

* FLASHBACK *

 You were just about to leave work and close up the shop when you had heard a very important message on the news. The message was stating that their was a man around his 40s, brown hair , dark eyes, was roaming around on the streets and he was no in his right mind. Of course you were immediately scared and did not want to walk home, You also did not wanna walk home because you knew you would be walking home alone and with some guy roaming around in the streets you did not want to even move from the shop. You knew that you had no choice but to walk home so you grabbed everything that you had at work and began to lock up the shop.  You started to walk home with an uneasy feeling in your stomach almost like their were butterflies in your stomach, but not the good kind of butterflies.  Halfway through your walk home when you had felt that you made it through the night with out witnessing or finding the creepy guy the news had warned people about you remembered you had to walk by an alley way soon on your route home. You stomach dropped when you remembered this, of course this was not a problem before or even when it is daylight out but because of the news, you were terrified to walk by the alley. However you kept telling yourself that you would be okay, it worked for a bit before you had realized that someone was talking in the alley way and as stupid as it was you looked down. Your stomach had probably dropped for the hundredth time that night. You saw that the guy the news had warned you about was holding a knife to the others guys face. You immediately called the police knowing that the victim would not be able to even move a muscle “ hello yes hi there is an emergency on 24th street and i’m pretty sure it is the guy the news was looking for, No sir i am not in danger myself but a man that i assume was passing by is” after they had told you everything would be okay and they were on their way you calmed down a little and was no longer scared to walk home after. You looked down the alley way and you saw that the victim was now alone, this freaked you out because what would u tell the police officers. Would you say he had ran off?, Say that he had left the guy alone and went about his night?. Your thoughts were interrupted by someone holding your wrist “ so Missy you like to be a snitch don’t you, calling those dumb police officers to come save you and your little friend”.

You wanted to tell him off and push him off you, but who were you kidding you were to weak and scared to do anything. All you could do was pray and hope that the police showed up soon that way this psycho man would not be able to hurt you. “maybe ill just have to show you a lesson to not fuck with a man like me” you saw him pull out his pocket knife once again and press the cold metal against your neck. At this point you were in tears to scared of what he would do to you. “please just let.. let me go please i didn’t do anything to you “, “oh but you did , you called those dumbass cops and now i’m gonna go back to that fucking jail” with every word he was pressing the knife slightly harder against your neck. You felt the little cut developing further and further. Suddenly the pain and pressure stopped “SIR STAY ON THE GROUND AND DO NOT MOVE” you opened your eyes and were relieved to see the cops handling the situation and you no longer in danger. There was 3 officers two male and one lady. The ladys name was “ji su” from what you could read from her name tag and the officer helping her was named “ Kim Jong In “ the other male officer was the one who was coming up to you “hello miss i am officer Park are you hurt in any way “ you were both still in shock of what happened but also in shock because the officer was extremely good looking. You knew you should not have been thinking things like this during a serious time but you could not help but notice and take in how good this man looked in his uniform. “um just a little cut but I am pretty sure it is nothing to stress about”. However Officer park had seen that there was a good amount of blood dripping down your neck “ oh my god your bleeding “ he said swiping the blood of your neck with his thumb. “maybe you should come back to the station we can fix up that lil cut up plus we will have to ask you questions anyways” he said. You don’t know why but you got flustered maybe it was from his touch or because he was just so god dam attractive. “um okay” he gave you a small smile. Officer ji su and Jong In were in one car with the victim and you were in the other with officer park. There was a weird silence but he broke it “so before i start to go all officer on you in the station why don’t we get to know each-other” you couldn’t help but smile “sounds good to me” “well to start off i am Chanyeol, Park Chanyeol” he said as you were stopped at a red light “ i am (Y/N), (Y/N) Y/L/N)” you smiled at him. You noticed that he kept stealing quick glances at you. and you felt yourself blushing. “your a very cute girl (Y/N) its a shame that the crazy man hurt you” in that moment you felt your face go completely red. Chanyeol looked away but you saw the smirk plastered across his face.

END OF FLASHBACK

and that’s how you now arrived to the police station and you both climbed out of the cruiser and walked into the police station. You sat in Officer Parks office and waited for him to grab all the paper work he needed in order to write down the questions he needed to ask. You had to admit seeing him sitting in front of you in that police uniform, you almost thought that god had finally blessed you with a hot man in your life because you did a good dead and you were nottttt mad at allll. “so (Y/N) im just going to ask a few questions and just answer according to yourself and what happened at the crime scene “ you nodded your head stealing a few glances at his body , he was pretty tall, nice legs, a nice butt too he was legit a whole package “i know you like what you see but lets get through the questions first alright” he smirked at you and you nodded your head “okay so first off why did the criminal attack you?”. You told him that it was because he heard you call the cops after all the serious questions of where you were the whole day, the type of connection you had with the victim and things like that. But then his questions got a little more personal “Are you currently seeing anyone?” “no officer “. Once you said that you swear you swear you saw his eyes light up. “would you like to be seeing someone?” he asked while biting his lip. In that moment you were instantly turned on “why don’t we finish this interview tmrw” you nodded your head he put the papers he was holding down and walked to the door and locked it “just in case” he said and you knew what would come next and you were not going to stop it. Chanyeol had walked to you and put his built arms on each side of the chair his body now hovering over yours. He smirked before placing his plump lips on your neck leaving little marks. You couldn’t let out a little moan half because of his lips but also because you had found him so hot from the beginning and now with him hovering over you, you couldn’t help but be turned on. he pulled away crashing his lips onto yours. His lips were hunger for you to kiss back but you being the tease you are you didn’t kiss back right away which only caused him to place a hand on one of your breast applying pressure eager to get you to both kiss back and to hear your moan again. His kisses became a lot harder and more aggressive but you were not complaining. “officer park I don’t think this is very professional” you said with a smirk, as you now pushed Chanyeol in to the chair and you were now the one hovering over top of him and you pulled his handcuffs out of his back pocket and twirled them around your fingers “maybe i will have to punish you” you saw his eyes light up as if he got an idea “i am the officer here so i think it is my job to put these on you. Chanyeol started to rip your shirt off you and the slowly pulled your pants and panties off you he then handcuffed your arms behind your back “ah what to do with someone so beautiful and sexy” he bite hip lips, his lips now on your chest working his ways down all the way to your hips to your inner thigh stopping inches away from just where you wanted him but when you thought that he was gonna eat you out you were immediately wrong when he inserted him self into you without a warning and thrusting fast and hard without giving you time to adjust but you did not even care having Chanyeol thrust into hard was giving you so many good feelings and he was for sure hitting all your good spots making you moan more and more with each trust “what a tight girl” Chanyeol was grabbing your hips holding you up as he thrust more and more into you, his big hands holding your hands with a tight grip leaving slight scratch marks. Chanyeol started to kiss you roughly as he thrusted into you just turning you on more and more, his hands now moving from your hips to your ass grabbing it tightly. Your hands chained up was now making you beg Chanyeol to let them free so you could use them to pull chanyeols hair and give him pleasure to he saw this and smirked knowing that you were turned on and frustrated. Just as you were going to hit your climax chanyeol pulled out smirking at you and freeing your hands from the handcuffs “what a shame “ he said walking away but before Chanyeol  could leave you all turned on you pushed him into the chair now taking the handcuffs into your hands “I don’t think so officer maybe you should learn how to do your job for now I will show” you handcuffed Chanyeols arms to the chair you kissed him eager to make him moan and make him say your name. you unbuttoned his uniform shirt and placed kisses all over his chest and made your way down to waist band “hmmm what to do what to do” you said as you brushed your hand against bulge and you heard him take a sharp intake of breath. You began to take off his pants and boxers and you just smirked you spread his legs open and took his cock into your mouth running your tongue over the tip making him moan “dam (Y/N) oh my oh” he stopped halfway as you started to take all of him into your mouth bobbing your head up and down making him now moan way more and more you looked up at him and say him throwing his head back and closing his eyes tight “im going to cum “ he said you just smirked and bobbed your head faster as your hands worked moving up and down and finally he had cummed. you smirked up at him wiping your mouth “and that’s how it’s done officer Park” you un cuffed his hands and once again his lips were on yours biting you lip and swiping his tongue across your lips asking for entrance which you gladly gave he slipped two fingers into you “im not the only one who should cum today” he said with a wink you closed your eyes his fingers working fast and once again hitting all the right spots it didn’t take you long to cum due to all the stimulation you had before. Once you cummed chanyeol licked his fingers you both got dressed again and he looked you up and down and handed you his number “we should definitely go out again” and with that he slapped your ass as you walked out you could not stop smiling at what had just happened. I guess you could say that night was farrrrr from boring and by the looks of it the rest of your nights would not be boring either

 welp this took me at least two days to write i wanted to make sure that all yall chanyeol fans would be satisfied and i hope you guys are feel free to send in requests because my inbox is dryyyyyyyy love all of you <3<3

[shinwnn]

just friends au jimin

summary: basically you and jimin are the cutest best friends ever and youd be a perfect couple and he sees that and you kinda see that but you don’t wanna be in a relationship rn (why?? i dunno what r u thinking)

you’ve been studying all night for your finals tmrw and at 3 am you finally decide to go to bed 

you check your phone before going to sleep and see a message jimin sent you 4 hours earlier 

“power through!! this test is going to be a piece of cake for you”

with whatever energy you had left, you tried to type out a message

 but your eyes were already half way closed at this point so it came out like

“thsnkd jimn ilovek u good mnigjt“

and as soon as the text goes out you cringe a little bc jimin has been your best friend for years and yes, you love him, but a few weeks ago when he asked if you guys could be more than friends you rejected him

so this sleepy “ilovek u” felt like you were taunting him 

when you get a text back though, you let out a breath you didnt know you were holding bc jimin doesn’t seem to notice at all

“don’t stay up so late next time okay? you need to take care of yourself. good luck on the test! :~) ily2” 

you smiled to yourself and cuddled up against a stuffed polar bear he won you at the carnival a few months ago before you fell asleep with the warmest feeling in the world

(one that you’ve noticed that only your best friend can bring you for some reason)

what you don’t know is how hard it was for jimin to type out that last text

he was in the practice room working on his piece for his big national dance competition and was beating himself up over not being able to do a small part as good as he wanted to

but all the anger, stress & frustration he was building up faded away when he saw you had texted him

and when he saw your poor attempt at an “i love you” his heart fluttered but immediately dropped

last week, while you guys were at your favorite cafe doing homework (which you guys always did at least twice a week), jimin looked up from his essay to see you staring so intently at a math problem and he couldn’t help but just smile and be overwhelmed with love

he is just SO fond of u and he shows you that everyday with how much he cares about you but it hurts him that he hasn’t been able to tell you that he loves u as so much more

and he had known that he liked you as more than a friend right when you started hanging out

but something about that moment with you sitting across from him, ur messy hair, tired eyes and all, he just wants to tell u that it doesn’t matter how many dancing competitions he doesn’t place at, or how many sleepless nights he spends practicing bc you make everything good. you’re comfortable for him and you’re home to him and he loves you

and while this is all going through his head he’s just looking at you

when u look up from your work and meet his gaze you raise your eyebrows at him and look at him expectantly bc he seems like he REALLY wants to say something right now

you: what?

jimin: what?

you: you look like you have something really important to say

jimin: i just can’t stop thinking about the fact that alaska has more caribou than people. it’s just so ......fascinating

and you roll your eyes but you can’t help but laugh bc jimin’s face is lit up and seeing you laugh just makes him smile even more and you can’t help but wonder if this is the world’s brightest smile

but still, you know your best friend well and you know that jimin’s joking to cover up what’s really on his mind, so you keep pushing him to tell you

and he doesn’t want to, mostly because he’s really afraid of what happens next

you turn your attention back to your work, knowing that he’ll break eventually

but what you don’t expect is how quickly he does

bc hearing your laugh and watching you wrinkle your nose in the cutest way he’s ever seen gave him a sudden boost of confidence 

so he leans forward across the table and quietly says

“hey... i like you.. a lot”

you look up again, wide eyed, and see how hopeful he looks and you just... freeze

bc ofc you’ve thought about this. 

ofc everytime jimin walked you home or stayed up late to listen to you rant or brought you lunch when he knew you weren’t eating enough you’ve thought about what an amazing boyfriend he’d be

and everytime you guys can tell what the other is thinking through just a look, or laugh for hours at a joke no one though was funny, you’ve thought about the fact that maybe you’ll never find anyone as perfect for you as jimin

but you’ve also thought about that fact that you didn’t feel like either of you were in a good place for a relationship

you were both busy with school, jimin was always overwhelmed with dance practices and competition training,  and you’ve been trying to balance your current job with interview after interview for a better one

mostly, you knew how important dancing was to jimin as a part of his future and you wanted him to focus on that.

 you came to terms with the fact that you’d only be a distraction, and that no matter how much it might hurt whenever you pulled out of a hug before it got too long, or broke eye contact when you saw how much love there was in his eyes, you knew that in the long run, this was what would be best for him

right?

in that moment, with him looking at you so warmly you wanted so much to intertwine your fingers with his and tell him that yes!! you liked him too!! so much!! 

but instead you said

“yeah jimin, i know. i like you too, that’s why we’re friends.”

you tried to keep a light, casual tone in your voice and smiled weakly at him before throwing yourself back into your work

jimin’s smile faded and he paused a little from shock of what happened before shaking his head and tugging on  your sweater so you’d look back up at him

“no, no, not like that. i mean- yes like that. i do like you as a friend. but also more than that. you know? like i like you a lot more than that. as like, a girlf-”

he was nervously rambling and he still hadn’t let go of your sweater

you cut him off “right, friends. you’re a really good friend jimin. my best friend. you know i really appreciate that right?”

and in the way that you guys have always been able to read each other, jimin knew that this was your way of saying no

he slowly let go of your sweater and leaned back into his chair

you refused to look up from your assignment, but if you did you would’ve seen a heartbroken boy going over and over in his head about what he possible could’ve done wrong

by the time you guys left the cafe to get dinner together, you were both talking like normal again, there was an unspoken agreement to pretend like nothing had happened

but it was impossible

and that’s why when jimin reads your text, he rereads it 20 times and types out “i love you too” before deleting it and retyping it 20 times 

and he finally settles on a simple ily2, but still his finger hovers over the send button before he finally presses it

back to the morning of your test, you wake up at 7 and check your phone, smiling to see a text from jimin.

“morning! i’ll be over at in 15 with breakfast.”

you sigh and close your eyes, thinking what you did to deserve this boy as your friend

after rolling out of bed and starting to get ready, your doorbell rings and you open the door to see jimin (somehow looking amazing this early in the morning) holding two bags of food and smiling in a way that even his eyes are smiling with him

he comes in and starts to set up the food in your kitchen and he knows where everything is because he’s over practically all the time

and you’re just watching him thinking “god I’m an idiot why wouldn’t I want to date him? he’s literally perfect??”

sleepily, you walk over and ruffle his hair and look at him lovingly (but like friend lovingly (you swear)) 

and he stops arranging the plates to look back at you and was about to tell you off for messing his hair up but you’ve never looked at him like that before 

like he’s seen you look at him thankfully or with pure joy or fondly

but this is different

and when he told jin abt you and how you had rejected him, jin told him to use a pick up line when the time is right

but he doesn’t throw out a cheesy line in fear of ruining the moment so instead he says “why are you looking at me like that?”

“don’t get any ideas jimin, i’m just thankful for the food.” (nice save)

“of course! what are friends for?” he says winking at you

because right, you’re friends.

 just friends.

[poisonouskunoichi-blog]

Field Trip || Cheren&Janine

“Are you fucking kidding me.”

The purple kunoichi stood in stark contrast to the flow of people moving around her on the streets of Virbank City. A growing complex of production and innovation, Janine almost seemed like a sideshow performer as she shifted her weight, toes of her tabi boots curling in frustration. She didn’t even seem to notice how out of place she looked, too busy staring at her phone. The light of the phone glared back at her until suddenly new messages popped up.

roxie: [sorry, babe]

roxie: [it was a last minute gig. cant say no to nicky’s ppl]

roxie: [just hang out for the day and we’ll chill tmrw k?]

roxie: [sorry 💀]

Janine scoffed, sucking on the back of her teeth. Yeah, she’d just “hang” in this city on the other side of the world in a region she didn’t know very well. It wasn’t like this was her first time to Unova, or Virbank City for that matter, but she was always here with someone else--usually Roxie. Who coincidentally just ditched her for some show, which she wasn’t even invited to! She fiddled with the phone before sighing deeply and typing back.

janine: [😑😑😑]

janine: [fine. u o me big time tmrw tho]

roxie: [yes! i will rock ur world 🤘]

She didn’t even bother responding to that, just shoving the phone into her pocket angrily. Great. Now what was she supposed to do? She looked up and for the first time seemed to realize how much she stood out. Normally she would never care but normally, she had someone by her side as if to say, ‘See? This person hangs out with me, so maybe you’re the weird looking one for walking by yourself and staring at people. Yeah, that’s right, keep moving.’

But well, now she was the weirdo alone staring at people who she presumed were staring at her. So she just had to keep moving. She shoved her hands in her pocket and turned on a heel, starting to head back towards the hotel that she was staying at for the weekend. Yeah, here she’d given up her whole weekend to travel to a different continent and already the first day was wasted. Why did she bother even gracing these people with her presence? She’d cancelled visiting her Dad for this!

The more she mulled on it, the tenser she became, her shoulders hunching together. Now what was she supposed to do, just waste the day away channel surfing between crappy Unovan soap operas and shitty Poffin informercials? 

Fuck that! As she reached the hotel, she veered away from the main entrance and spun around. With a huff, she moodily shoved her shoulder blades against the nearest wall and propped up a leg up there as well. Fishing through the endless fabric of her pants, she finally pulled out her phone again and opened her contacts to peruse her options.

‘Yeah, Roxie, turns out you’re not the only friend I have here in Unova,’ she thought to herself bitterly, as if the girl might be listening to her mind. However, to be fair, as she was going down her list, she realized most of the people she could contact weren’t actually friends she’d made here--they were colleagues. Other Gym Leaders she’d met at the various conferences held over the years, people introduced to her by her father, but no one she’d want to hang out with. Like who was she going to call? Brycen? Burgh? Her stomach churned just imagining it.

Then a name caught her eye. Oh shit, she’d nearly forgotten all about him! Which, how could she, really? Besides Roxie, he was pretty much the one she clung to whenever she came to this Arceus-forsaken land. She didn’t know what had originally drawn her to him--maybe it’s because they were the same age in a convention of old farts, maybe she just knew he’d be fun to tease, or maybe they just had some energy that drew themselves together. Somehow or another, they always ended up in each other’s presence, and he ended up being the first person she’d contact in a crisis like this. She opened up the messenger app.

janine: [cheren]

janine: [how fast can u get to virbank city?]

She paused, letting just enough time pass to make the text seem pretty alarming. But just as it was getting on the verge of a real emergency, she made her true intentions clear.

janine: [roxie ditched. stuck in city alone. dying of boredom 💀]

janine: [save me prince of pups ur my only hope]

janine: [srsly tho its a saturday dont even tell me ur busy]

janine: [if i die here and the police are looking at my phone let it be known this is cherens fault]

janine: [he let this happen]

janine: [and now my dad is coming to avenge me and go all ninja on ur ass]

janine: [why didnt u just come hang w/ me? i even offered to come meet u at the subway station and pay 4 ur fare]

janine: [i was nothing but a good friend and now i am dead. and ur about to be ninja’d on]

janine: [if only we could have prevented this]

janine: [goodbye cruel world 😩😩😩]

In all likelihood, three dots have been dancing this entire time, letting her know that Cheren was typing a response. But she did not stop the onslaught of messages. Out of all the skills best honed by a lifetime of hand-eye coordination training, fast texting was definitely the most important out of all of them.

@theidealofstrength

[superrichlads]

about Niall: the solo era

HITS DAILY DOUBLE, SEPTEMBER 2016: ″Niall Horan is indeed inking with Steve Barnett's Capitol following another fierce signing derby… The word from people who’ve heard Niall’s record is that it’s outstanding.”

HITS DAILY DOUBLE, SEPTEMBER 2016: “Coming just after UMG’s A&R meetings in Hampshire, UK, Horan’s release is the first offering from a very important worldwide signing for the company and one of the top records of the meetings, according to many of the attendees.”

AMY WADGE, NOVEMBER 2016: “Niall’s a cracking writer, he’s got a great voice, he’s kind of got a Paul Simon thing going on, so I think there’ll be elements of country within [his album], because that’s what he likes, but at the moment he’s recording, and he’s smashing it, he’s doing so well.”

DON WAS, BLUE NOTE PRESIDENT & RECORD PRODUCER, DECEMBER 2016: "He showed up with a bunch of really great songs he wrote, he sings really well… He was thoroughly professional, humble and sweet. He spent time talking with all the musicians, hung out -- everybody loved him… He's the real deal, man. I'm so impressed with this guy."

CHRIS MARTIN, (COLDPLAY), DECEMBER 2016: “I really honestly feel that everything is a touchstone. Whether it’s Chopin or Niall from One Direction, if it’s good I’ll listen to it, and I’ll love it.”

JOE RAINEY, CAPITOL RECORDS VP PROMOTION, MARCH 2017: “I’m excited for what he’s gonna be creating, because in the few times I’ve met with him, that’s a remarkably talented man.”

GARY TRUST, BILLBOARD CO-DIRECTOR OF CHARTS, MARCH 2017: “Even if This Town is not a number one record at Top 40, it sound like to me, because it’s so intimate, I have a feeling that it’s a lot of people’s favourite song… it seems like it could really hit people on a really deep level.”

GOLF DIGEST, MARCH 2017: “One of the music industry's biggest stars—the first artist to debut at No. 1 on Billboard's Social 50 Chart with his single This Town late last year.”

LINE OF BEST FIT, MAY 2017:  “Niall Horan's new track ‘Slow Hands’ wipes the floor with all the other solo sounds that have emerged since the demise of One Direction. It's one of the year's first proper Song Of The Summer contenders and sees Horan ditch balladeering for slinky riffs and proper raunch. He's shed his squeaky clean onesie and donned a crooner coat, giving us one of the coolest, catchiest choruses of 2017 in the process.”

BILLBOARD, MAY 2017: “Slow Hands doesn’t just put his voice in a bit of a new light, the grittier, funkier tune also presents Horan’s versatility as a solo artist."

ELVIS DURAN, Z100 MORNING SHOW, MAY 2017: “When we saw you, way back at - was it Jingle Ball, in New York City? And of all the people I talked to that night and interviewed, you were the nicest, you were the nicest guy. And I just wanted - I’ve been waiting all these months to say thank you.”

RYAN SEACREST, MAY 2017: “Niall, when he comes in, to me he has the most charisma of all of them… he’s got that, he’s super-nice, and super-normal for being in One Direction and having the solo thing.”

DON HENLEY, MAY 2017: “Niall is a solid guy whose focus is right where it ought to be: on songwriting. He’s got the Irish charm and a healthy, self-effacing sense of humor, which is an essential ­survival tool in this business. I think that Niall will evolve into a resonant, thoughtful voice for his generation.”

DON WAS, MAY 2017: “Niall’s got the stuff… He drove himself to the studio, carried his own guitar, stepped up to the microphone and was great every take. If they do the Desert Trip festival in 50 years, he’ll be headlining.”

STEVE BARNETT, CAPITOL RECORDS CHAIRMAN & CEO, MAY 2017: “The absolute top in terms of professionalism, thoughtfulness, work ethic and appreciating what he’s got. You’d be proud if he was your son.”

SHAWN MENDES, MAY 2017: “I’m pretty nervous in front of other celebrities still, but he’s so calm and chill… We just started jamming out, and it didn’t feel like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to be good in front of him.’ It was complete fun, no ego, like the reason you play music in the first place.”

ELVIS DURAN, MAY 2017: “I’ll never forget this moment, when This Town - when you first released This Town… this was the first time I’d seen you perform solo, and you came out on stage - Madison Square Garden, not a bad room… you came out on stage by yourself, you and your guitar, it was just you, your guitar, and one little light shining on you, in this huge, huge arena, and you sang that song, and I was thinking: this is probably the most pure, wonderful performance we’re going to hear in a long time. I still, I still - look, I get goosebumps. When you sung the song earlier today, it took me back to that performance… you came out and sang that song and I was thinking: this guy is it, that was it, and that was the perfect song to launch with… that song, it speaks volumes about you, because it’s such a gentle, wonderful song.”

ELVIS DURAN, MAY 2017: “You sound so fantastic that no one believes that it’s live, they think we’re playing a track.”

CLARA AMFO, BBC RADIO 1, JUNE 2017: “I’ve been saying to the listeners, I do appreciate the approach you’ve taken with your solo stuff. No shade to the other guys, but you didn’t really make a big fuss, there wasn’t like these big teasers, you just kind of slyly did it, just casual, you were just chilled with it, I rate that.”

TMRW, JUNE 2017: “For a man so adored and so blindingly good at what he does, he’s modest as anything. Except for golf, he knows he’s good at golf.”

TANYA KIM, ENTERTAINMENT NOW, JUNE 2017: “This Town is one of my favourite songs of all time. Ever. In the existence of music. I have to say it’s so beautiful.”

NOTION, JUNE 2017: “Having travelled around Asia and relocated to LA, Niall is more than ready to re-enter the world of pop, and he’s doing it with surprising finesse. When he released his second single, ‘Slow Hands’, at the beginning of May, the world was taken aback. It wasn’t some radical departure from his work in 1D, it was a more mature, nuanced version of that same guitar music meets pop sound they’d come to specialise in, and more importantly it was great.”

SHANIA TWAIN, JULY 2017: “He's really wonderful. He's very organic and natural... He's a sweetheart and we get along really well. We need to write together. I think that would be a really successful, creative time.”

JULIA MICHAELS, JULY 2017:  “He actually told me he was going to cover [Issues] when we did a show together in Minneapolis and I was so flattered, and then when I heard his kind of organic approach to it I was like: oh, this is so magical. Plus, his voice is everything.”

STEVE BRAUNIAS, SPINOFF, JULY 2017: “Is Niall the best solo artist to come out of One Direction? Yes, yes he is... Life after 1D has seen Harry playing Jesus to the lepers in his head, walking on water in that endless video to his endless ballad, looking all profound and troubled and beautiful. ZZZZZZZZZZ! But good old Niall packed up his 1D bag containing a bottle of peroxide remover and got on with the business of making simple, awesome pop. ‘This Town’ was Niall as the sensitive singer-songwriter picking on his guitar. Follow-up ‘Slow Hands’ is Niall laying down a sexy falsetto to a sexy lyric, although it does include the weird line, “like sweat dripping down our dirty laundry”. There’s a raunchy version on Ellen featuring a cat on wah-wah guitar, and the one on One Love Manchester is even better – it shows Niall in his element, a  relaxed cat in a hat, in total control of his art. If it wasn’t for ‘Bad Liar’, this would have been the best song of 2017 so far.”

RAISA BRUNER, TIME MAGAZINE, SEPTEMBER 2017: “For a small country, Ireland is on a roll lately bringing out talented, moody male solo artists. First there was Hozier. Then there was the grown-up Niall Horan.”

DAVE FAWBERT, SHORTLIST, OCTOBER 2017:  “Niall, all round top lad who, in every single interview that I’ve read, has never failed to come across as anything other than a nice bloke. Having somewhat been in the shadow of Harry and Zayn in the band, his solo career has seen him move from unfancied outsider to the man most likely to be the biggest of all of them. ‘This Town’? Delicate, beautiful track. ‘Slow Hands’? Legit brilliant song. And the rest of Flicker, his debut album? Genuinely really really good.”

ZOE GILLESPIE, CAPITOL RECORDS SENIOR MANAGER, DIGITAL MARKETING, OCTOBER 2017: “talent hard work integrity respect patience hard work talent.”

CHARLES KELLEY, (LADY ANTEBELLUM), NOVEMBER 2017: “I think I may have to head up the Niall Horan fan club after tonight! Killed it at the Ryman... One of the best concerts I’ve seen in a long time, Niall Horan. Thank god for good musicians in this world.”

DAVE FAWBERT, SHORTLIST, DECEMBER 2017: “[Slow Hands] is an absolutely bloody brilliant song. Great groove, great chorus, an absolute giant earworm and no mistaking. And the rest of the album’s great too.”

KATIE LOUISE SMITH, POPBUZZ, DECEMBER 2017: [Flicker] is fucking brilliant and dare I say it, the BEST One Direction solo album so far... it was a bold move to dive head first into this ‘not-quite-pop, not-quite-rock, little-bit-country, little-bit-folk’ genre and many wondered if his fans would follow along with him. (Spoiler alert: They did. In their millions.) While you can clearly hear the influences on the album, it doesn’t sound like a who’s who of Niall paying tribute to his favourite bands… it sounds like a Niall Horan album. He’s not trying too hard. It’s cohesive. It feels genuine. It feels authentic. And you know what, it just feels right. ‘Slow Hands’ is without a doubt one of the best songs the year, he puts Ed Sheeran’s penchant for an Irish folk bop to shame on ‘On My Own’. Even his foray into country music with Maren Morris on ‘Seeing Blind’ had the entire population of Nashville inviting the Irish Prince round for Thanksgiving.”

CHRISTOPHER BUSCHER, ARTMAG, DECEMBER 2017: “[Niall] doesn’t waste time trying to be so edgy and so raunchy and just concentrates on making properly good folk-pop music.”

ANDY CUSH, SPIN, DECEMBER 2017:  “No one expected the blonde and boyish Niall Horan to emerge as the breakout artist after the breakup of One Direction last year, not from a band that also included two ridiculously good-looking born stars in Zayn Malik and Harry Styles... but neither has released anything quite as good as “Slow Hands,” Horan’s sexy and soulful second single. He brings convincing grit to a track that bends the industry’s current fetish for the sounds of the ‘70s a little further from Studio 54 and closer to Muscle Shoals, with a simple but swaggering rhythm section and infectious blues guitar line.”

DAN JACKSON, THRILLIST, DECEMBER 2017:  “Who will be the biggest star to emerge from One Direction? It's still too early to say -- post-break-up careers are a marathon, not a race -- but Niall Horan makes a convincing play for the grownup John Mayer zone on "Slow Hands," an acoustic guitar-driven R&B track about his skills as a lover.”

TAYLOR WEATHERBY, BILLBOARD, DECEMBER 2017:  “Bringing out his sexy side with daring lyrics, sultry vocals and a thumping, bluesy guitar hook was definitely worth the risk, as [Slow Hands] landed Horan his first No. 1 Pop Songs hit as a solo artist, and set the scene for his debut LP Flicker to arrive atop the Billboard 200 in October.”

STEVE BARNETT, CAPITOL RECORDS CHAIRMAN & CEO, JANUARY 2018: “We had the support of [Niall’s manager] Richard Griffiths in buying into the idea that we’re going to be three singles deep before we release the album, and he’s going to go around the world three times and try to touch those fans. Niall is really a unique young man, who’s developed a great relationship with the whole company. He’s beloved at this label. There’s a vulnerability and an authenticity about [Niall’s music]. The band’s fans could relate to that. Those transitions [from boy band to solo star] aren’t easy.”

JOHN BIRD, FEBRUARY 2018: “[One Direction] was obviously an incredible experience for him, he got to see the world… I think he really embraced it, you know, his personality allowed him to enjoy it, and yeah, he just seems very, very happy that it all happened. I don’t feel any negativity towards it at all, and like I said, we’re just lucky to get a little part of that experience, you know.”

RON HART, BILLBOARD, APRIL 2018:  "There’s no denying the Knopfler-isms of ‘On the Loose’, perhaps the strongest single off Niall Horan’s thoroughly impressive and organic solo debut Flicker."

LEWIS CAPALDI, JULY 2018:  "I say this in a few interviews, but Niall Horan is the nicest guy I’ve met in music, just the way that he carries himself is ridiculous. He’s just so nice."

JOSEPH BRYANT, OUT & ABOUT NASHVILLE, JULY 2018: “Heartfelt and honest, Horan shows a soft, sentimental side. His maturity as a musician really comes through [on So Long]. Reminiscent of those best parts of John Mayer, Horan is making his mark as the smooth charmer the soft rock/pop genre this generation is lacking. He has a fantastic career ahead of him.”

GERRY MORGAN, 180 DRUMS PODCAST, SEPTEMBER 2018: “The first time I heard one of his tracks I was driving – a car, believe it or not, and it came on the radio – it was called This Town, and I pulled over on the side of the road and I remember listening to it and I went – that is a beautiful song. And I kept on listening and at the end the DJ went, in usual DJ fashion, ‘and that was a little song by Niall Horan’, and I just texted him and said, ’This Town, I didn’t realise that was you, that’s a beautiful song and singing’. And yeah, it was a very innocent – not innocent, that’s the wrong word, there was a very pure and authentic style of writing there that I really loved from a songwriter that kind of really ticked all of the boxes for me. So yeah, I met him, we did a lot of stuff just the two of us, went out and did a lot of shows, a lot of promo runs and such, some studio stuff, and we had a really great time I’d jump at doing [anything with him again…] I was just really super-excited to represent him – I was excited because he was coming from such a pop background, like boy band vocal group pop to becoming a legit singer-songwriter, standing up there fronting his own band, with a guitar and a great voice, and he’s Irish as well, and I was just really proud and excited for people to hear what he was going to come out with – because I knew what he was going to come out with, and it was legit, and I just thought that people – other musicians and friends of mine were dubious because of maybe where he had come from, but I was like – nah, wait until you hear this. And the record has done so well, and I’m super proud of him.”

MUST MUSIC, DECEMBER 2018:  “At the start of this year, Irish singer Niall Horan scored another success with Too Much To Ask, third single from his album Flicker. A remix of this ballad topped the dance club chart, and Niall also charted on Pop & AC radio. Many doubted Niall as a solo artist, but in the end he has proven to be the strongest – commercially speaking – of the members of boy band One Direction.”

RUTHANNE CUNNINGHAM, DEEP DIVING WITH EOGHAN MCDERMOTT PODCAST, MAY 2019:  “I remember when they played me what they had started [Slow Hands], I was like: this is different from the rest of the record, not too far away. I knew it was something good, but I don't think any of us thought it would be number 1 on American radio or anything like that. But Julian was smart, he was like: OK, we have all these songs, but we need that one. And a lot of people have asked me about the production, about the way the vocals sound, and the way the instruments sound, and I really feel like Niall nailed it in the way of just taking that risk, knowing that it was a great sound for him, and not being afraid of that edgier sound, because he had done a lot of more acoustic-folksy stuff for the album. For me, whenever now I see it live and everyone's singing it, I'm like: oh, that's his song. And it's so hard, when you've been in One Direction, you know, you're like, are the fans going to be wanting to hear Best Song Ever or Story of My Life, but they're not, they want to hear Slow Hands. That's what you aim to do when you work with an artist, is to have that moment.”

JULIA MICHAELS, AMERICAN EXPRESS 5 DAY WEEKEND SHOWCASE, MAY 2019:  “This next song [What A Time] I did with an incredibly talented human being from Ireland. He's the most amazing dreamboat of a person and I love him to death."

RUTHANNE CUNNINGHAM, MAY 2019: “I wrote with Niall in February, can I just say the new music is sounding amazing, I got to hear what he’s been doing with Julian and Tobias and stuff, it sounds amazing, and I think we wrote two really great songs... I love the songs that we did.”

THOMAS RHETT, IHEARTRADIO, MAY 2019: “We’ve written a couple of songs together, I wrote with him about a month ago when he was in Nashville. Niall is such a sweet dude. I met Niall through my producer, Julian, I got to meet Niall through him, and it’s such a cool friendship.” 

MAREN MORRIS, ET, JUNE 2019: “Niall and I became such great friends. Our bands became friends on the road last year. I would love to write with him and do something in the future. He's such a great guy. He's a badass."

RUTHANNE CUNNINGHAM, SONGWRITER UNIVERSE, JUNE 2019:  "Niall had such a vision for his album—he knew what he wanted the album to sound like, and he had this book of ideas. So as a writer, it was a dream collaboration because it was so easy for me to fill in the blanks for him. And we’ve been writing together for his next album.”

JULIA MICHAELS, UMUSIC, JUNE 2019: "The first time I heard Niall sing 'we didn't end it like we were supposed to' I remember just breaking down in the studio and he coming out and giving me a hug, the minute he sung it I knew he was perfect for [What A Time] and it had to be him."

CARA CROKE, THE WHISP, JULY 2019:  “We appreciate Niall Horan for more reasons than one. He was the dark horse of One Direction, his solo album was a banger, he’s Irish (duh), and he’s absolutely hilarious on Twitter. Niall isn’t afraid to speak his mind online."

RUTHANNE CUNNINGHAM, JULY 2019: “Niall is one of my faves to write with because he’s very involved; he knows who he is as an artist – and he’s Irish, so we always have a laugh as well. It never feels like work when I’m writing with him."

JULIA MICHAELS, LADY GANG PODCAST, JULY 2019: “Niall's one of my best friends... we have such similar personalities, we're super stupid and goofy. If I had to be stranded on a desert island with someone, I'd want it to be someone I could be super silly with.”

BEATA MURPHY (KIIS FM ASSISTANT PROGRAMMING DIRECTOR & MUISCDIRECTOR) & CONNOR HATCHEY (IHEARTRADIO LA DIGITAL PRODUCER), ADD THIS PODCAST, JULY 2019: “'You know who might be in the studio that we'll hear stuff from soon? Niall.' 'Really? Oh, awesome! He was the 1D member that I— it wasn't that I didn't think he was going to put out music, but he seemed perfectly fine golfing & just chillin after they split. But then he ended up putting out This Town which was an amazing song and following it up with Flicker —and he's been like the most successful— ahaha yes! out of all of them. It's not that no one expected it— it's just that everyone put all their eggs into the Harry basket.’”