#i will eventually update the rest of my navigation posts. hopefully soon. but i should do my homework first

[fridayth13]

hi yes im still semi alive please excuse me i have lots of schoolwork. i am still taking requests by the way <3 and ive been playing a lot of genshin so if anyone wants to request that too i am so down for that

[project-pnf-404]

Checkpoint and important updates 2!!: Electric boogaloo!!

Heyo guys!! Long time no talk. So, I’ve got some cool update stuff to show you guys. I’ve been doing a lot of blog “housekeeping” since the end of the last event. (don’t worry it hopefully won’t be boring update stuff lmao as it includes some new supplementary content). So, first and foremost, thanks to the inspiration from @koppais-smallest-nerd I’d like to let you guys know that I am now adding screen reader access to all future posts!!! This one included. At the bottom of each post under the, “read more”, image descriptions for all images will be added! Screen reader accessibility will also be added to all previous asks on the blog. However, getting through all of them will take a tiny bit. As, of this update, the first 4 asks have had image descriptions added. As well as all the supplementary content in between where applicable.

I’d also like to show you guys some supplementary content for the blog. Between these dashed lines are in character day 1 log entries written by the rest of the crew. 

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I originally wasn’t sure if I wanted to put these extra day 1 logs on the main blog or not. But, I’ve decided that all supplementary content that may be story related will remain on the main blog for the foreseeable future, while BTS content will end up on PNF-404-Plus.

That being said since the end of the 1st event and my time away from the blog a lot has been going on when it comes to the blog.

For one the entire desktop version of the blog has had a large overhaul. A new theme has been added to the main page.

But, not only that but new side pages with supplementary content have been added!! This includes an event list, a bio page for the crew members of the S.S Drake, a Piklopedia page for the new Piklopedia, and a music page to top it all off!!

The Event List will show each new event as they are added! You can click on the current known events to go directly to all posts tagged with that event tag. Speaking of which all Event 01 posts have now had their tags updated with the Event 01 tag making it much easier to navigate.

The new Crew Members page has bios for all the members currently on the mission or known in the story so far! These Bios are pretty in line with cannon with some fanon, and light headcanon added  in for good measure. I recommend taking a look as it does have some interesting info in there. Also quick note: all of these bios are written as if it is prior to the beginning of the blog.

Then there’s the Piklopedia!! Here you can read each of their findings as they explore PNF-404! Currently the findings will be on each area they explore (not each creature they find) as they haven’t found any new creatures yet. There is also a map of places they’ve discovered and more!

Lastly, a new music page has been added. On this page, I’ve created event-inspired music playlists. Some of the songs have been mentioned in the past. But, here you can listen to them all in one place and see which songs are for which part of the events. As well there’s a secret songs playlist. This playlist has nothing to do with the blog directly but is filled with music given to me by people I’ve met from this community while I’ve been here!! Currently, there are 5 songs there, however, there will be more added in the future! What makes it secret is that you won’t know who gave me the song XD. (well unless you’re the one who gave me the song lmao) who knows if you’ve ever shared music with me before you may find your song there!! (There is also one song I’m sharing with you guys in there too so have fun figuring that out lmao. )

As well the table of contents has been once again updated with a lot of this new stuff as well as some other new information!! As for mobile users as of now, all of this is on separate Tumblr pages. However, in the near future, I will be uploading much of this stuff , such as the Piklopedia entries and Crew Bio’s, as individual posts! However, in the meantime, if you feel like you can always check out these pages on your phone browser instead if you’re a mobile-exclusive user. (Though some pages don’t look as good on phone)

Welp, I think that’s it as far as updates go!! I should be back with brand new ask posts soon (likely within the next week or so!) so keep a look out!! I’ll see ya guys again soon and thanks for reading!!!

{{ Screen reader image description is under “read more”}}

In the first image,  Alph’s Day 1 Log entry is shown. His log says, “To think I thought the first day would go well. Then again I didn’t think I would get sucked out of the ship either so maybe I should stop being so surprised. At the very least Louie and I were able to find our way back despite some obstacles and I was able to fix the ship in time. Though if it weren’t for Chunks we would have never found the pikmin we did. That little guy sure saved the day. 

However, Then there's what happened to Brittany… To see her in a situation like that... I can’t even bear to think about it. Tomorrow I will be checking over the entirety of the Drake to make sure a crash like that doesn't happen again. I can't help but think that the crash was due to me overlooking something during maintenance... However, The only thing I can do now is to make sure something like this never happens again for all our sake, especially Brittanys’. “ It is then sighed by Alph

In the second Image Charlies Day 1 Log entry can be read it says, “I should have been on top of things. As this crew’s captain, everything that went wrong was under my watch and things should have gone much smoother. That being said I am very glad that all of my crew have made it out alive. Though I am still worried about Brittany. If only I was able to keep her safe…

 But, at this point, we all must press forward. We have a task to complete and after seeing how devastated some areas are, we must get to the bottom of what’s wrong with PNF-404. Nothing will get in my way, not with my steely fists that is!!” It is then signed by  Charlie

In the third image Louies’ day 1 log entry can be seen it says, 

“

Going back to the pikmin planet wasn’t at the top of my list of things I thought I’d be doing anytime soon. Yet somehow I find myself back here and stranded again…. At least I wasn’t fully alone this time…

Alph and I eventually found a pikmin that we later named Chunks. He sure acts differently in comparison to any other Pikmin I’ve seen before. But, even still, if it weren’t for Chunks, we wouldn’t have been able to help Brittany or find any other pikmin for that matter. So, we should thank him for that.” It is then signed by Louie

In the fourth image the updated version of the Project: PNF-404 Tumblr is shown. It now has a bright cyan futuristic aesthetic to it. In the fifth image a picture of the new events page, listing all the past and future events planned so far is shown. It has 1 known event Titled Event 01. The other 3 are titled Event unknown. In the sixth image, the new crew members’ character page is shown. A picture of Olimar is shown along with a description of his traits and a biography. It reads as follows, 

CAPTAIN OLIMAR

AGE 38

ALIAS(ES)Olimar

SPECIES Hocotatian

GENDER Male

TITLE(S) Employee of Hocotate Freight, Xenobiologist

AFFILIATION Hocotate Freight, Planet Hocotate Government

Fatherly, well-meaning, and resourceful, for an almost 40 year old Hocotatian he has a lot of bravery and guts. Olimar first and foremost loves his family and cares deeply for others around him. A Hardworking employee of Hocotate Freight and family man, Olimar tends to try and stay level-headed while looking out for others.

Having been one of the first to visit the Pikmin planet Olimar has extensive knowledge of the planet's life. Lucky for him he just so happens to have gone to college for xenobiology. Many of his findings can be found within his many log entries known as the Piklopedia.

But, for as much as Olimar tends to be on top of things, his trips to the pikmin planet have had him face many dangers and life-threatening events. Though these issues are not something he brings up…

In the seventh image, The new Piklopidea page is shown, In one section it displays a map of PNF-404 with 2 marked locations. The first of which is highlighted in blue is named the “Silent Stream” the second, is highlighted in orange, Its title is “Glacial Gardens”. To the right of that is a description introduction for the Piklopedia. It says” To help ensure the progress and success of this mission all crew members must write down their findings in this log. Overview: 

CAPTAIN Olimar: Writes In-depth biological analysis of fauna and how the ecosystem affects said fauna.

LOUIE: Writes about Recipes and ingredients that can be found in each area. ALPH: Looks at the area with the eyes of an engineer. He uses this insight to discuss the benefits and flaws of what he’s analyzing. BRITTANY: Uses her botanist skills to look into the flora of the area along with talking about the aesthetics of things and adding in her own general opinions.

CAPTAIN CHARLIE: Writes about combat strategy and how one can use the environment in an area for a tactical advantage.

To the left is a map showing the current locations discovered by the crew. The one highlighted in orange has yet to be explored.

The final image shows the new music page! 6 playlists can be selected on the left each having 5 songs. To the right is an image of the event 01 cover art. With (from left to right), Brittnay, Charlie, Olimar, Louie, and Alph all looking up with a distressed expression on their faces. 

END ID

[luciddreamer326]

Update on writing: I’ve got seven (yes, seven!) mapped out and in progress concepts so far. Thought I’d update everyone on the statuses of each:

1) Working title: Coming Out for @lilbexi- the title is shite and won’t stick but your prompt is probably 90% written and should go up by the weekend. I’m taking a gamble with it and playing with style and POV, so it’s got some heat and laughter and everything I would want out of a decent Grace/Frankie narrative.

Preview line: Only it isn’t that easy, the weightiness of it a burden to carry. It’s soul consuming and aches to hold on to. Now? I understand Robert. I understand Sol. I am regretful where they are concerned, but thankful too. They both ransacked our lives and flung Frankie and I together. That makes it worth everything. That makes it harder to share with the world.

2) Working title: Rip Out My Heart-Another shite title that won’t stick, this one is about the spoiler photos and my wanting to play with a storyline I feel we will be looking at to end next season. I wanted to make it mine before they tear it all apart.

Preview line: When Grace leans over late into the night, and rests her head against Frankie’s shoulder, she fights not to weep openly. She finds Grace’s hand under the table and wills it not to shake in pain. She wishes she could be happy, but it’s hard when half of her heart is sitting in another chest.

3) No title prompt fic for @negativeoedipus: I’m still blank on a title but I’d say this is 75% written. The premise is that the ladies go on a retreat only to find out it wasn’t what they expected. Confusion and hilarity ensue, with the events of their trip changing them both. Sorry it’s taken so long to write but the little mini ficlet I intended to write kept unraveling and now sits at 14k word count and 35 pages. 

Preview lines: I want to do something,” she spits out one night over a Pinot Grigio and a piece baked chicken, vision blurring a little at the mundaneness of it all. Frankie looks up from her own meal and squints, confused. “You mean, like a Say Yes night?” Grace can already feel her head start moving, shaking it. “By my standards four years ago, our Say Yes night was fairly bizarre. I’d never danced on a bar before.” She can’t but smile at the memory of it all, but that is soon erased by other thoughts bombarding. “No, I want something crazy, out there. I want to grab life and make the most of it.”

4) Navigating Limbo: the idea isn’t originally mine and I owe that to another in this wonderful fandom. I took the concept and ran with it though. It’s set post season 4 and picks up right where the series left off. I’m leaving the specific parameters for this one out (for now) since they’re pretty risqué. I’ve managed to bang out 6k on this one so far and am very dedicated to its finish, but it’s just not at the top of my list. 

Preview lines: “So, you’re the alcoholic drug addict my sister has been living with the last four years that I’ve heard so much about,” Teddie snottily says, grasping Grace’s hand. Yeah, Frankie can totally understand Grace’s protestations at this option. She watches as shock flits across her face and then is masked by the oh-so-perfect facade that Grace always goes to in social situations where she is on the defense.

5) The Agreement: I’ve got two chapters left and mostly written. While the whole piece has been rather…wild, I want to end on a more toned down/heartfelt note. The preview is from chapter 9 and I’ll probably have it uploaded sometime next week. Preview lines:

Grace’s insecurities start to run rampant and she finds it harder to breathe, like her lungs are collapsing on her. She’s never really sat and pondered how important all of this has become to her and suddenly, the prospect of losing it seems life altering in the worst kind of way. Worse than losing Robert. Worse than losing the house. Worse than anything she can possibly imagine. Frankie must sense her uneasiness because she stops their walk along the beach and turns to face Grace squarely. She makes a move for both of Grace’s hands and all Grace can think is this is it. Tears start to form and she wants to run away, to not be here for this even though it’s directly involving her.

6) Working title: Elements- I usually name my writing before I really flesh it out, which could be a bad thing but I don’t know. It seems to give it a life I otherwise might not assign it were I to brainstorm, write, then name. Doing that aspect first helps it become a priority to me. Anyway, it’s going to be a short piece, hopefully between the 1k-3k mark. It’s based on the elements (obviously) and will focus on that particular substance within the context of the show. 

Really rough preview: With the changing of seasons, if one could say Southern California weather deviates much, comes the flames. Things scorch and burn and they watch as it unfolds on the screen. El Cajon smolders and if they walk out and gaze to the east, they can smell the soot mixing with the salty sea air.

7) Tumblr dialogue prompts fic: I saved a post and picked out some of the lines I felt I could create a story with. It’s another take on how a relationship could develop through uncertainty and loss. I tend to go back to that theme a lot because while I about die when I read fic with any angst, it really does create a poignant tale most of the time. That being said, there are so many variations of it to play with, so I try. Preview lines:

The summer starts and she’s still waking up, staring out across the small man-made river that has a row of condo-like living spaces that mirror their own on the other side. Her sleep is restless, a mixture of nothingness and a reel that constantly repeats various versions of looking at the sign by the beach house that reads “sold.”

In addition, I’ve got some choppy sentences I really like but haven’t formed into bulk yet that I’d like to eventually see go somewhere. I find that when I’m working on one concept, something else might come to me that doesn’t fit within the confines of what I’m working on that second, but might find a home elsewhere. Hence the 7 WIP’s. I also have what I’m calling a B-side scene I wrote for The Agreement, and I had to cut it for flow reasons. It will probably get shared as an additional “collection” piece some day. I don’t know. We will see. If you’ve read this far, bless. I am so grateful to each of you who have read, commented, and taken to the time to give me a little love. You make it worthwhile and I love writing for this fandom. 

[sevenpabosandabunchoffans]

The Meaning of Family | From Friends to Spouses {Part 5}

Characters: Min Yoongi, Original Characters, Kim Seokjin, Kim Namjoon, Jung Hoseok, Jeon Jungkook, Kim Taehyung, Park Jimin, Jennie Kim

Words: 2589

Genre: College Student!Yoongi, Parents!Namjin

Warnings: fluffy Jimin and Jennie, mentions of premature labor and birth

Summary: “Do Yoongi and Sophia get married?”; Yoongi and Sophia take the next step in their relationship, but not without a few bumps along the way; Time Period - the end of Yoongi and Sophia’s first year of college, third trimester of the pregnancy (ranging from 30-34 weeks specifically); Ages: Jin - 36, Namjoon - 35, Yoongi - 19, Sophia - 19, Hoseok - 18, Jimin - 16, Taehyung - 16, Jennie - 15, Jungkook - 14, Sammie - not even a day old

A/N: Sorry I’ve been MIA! I’m not sure how many people saw the post, but my sister went into premature labor Monday morning (she’s only 35 weeks), so I spent two days at the hospital, and then she came home yesterday morning after they slowed down the labor enough that her contractions were practically nonexistent. Although she called earlier while Sammie and I were hanging out trying to get a hold of my mom because her contractions had started up again and she was going back to the hospital. I’m still waiting on an update from that. But I will definitely be on for a long time now with the comeback approaching! Please send me any and all asks so we can fangirl together!!

Previous Part

Yoongi walked into his parents’ house after getting off work. Since finals week had just finished for him, he worked nearly all day at the music store, getting off just in time for pizza night with his family. As he entered the residence, he saw one of his younger brothers pouting on the couch. “What’s with you?” He asked Jimin.

Jimin just grumbled in response, Yoongi only catching ‘doesn’t love me’ and ‘cuddles’. As he entered the kitchen and saw Jennie helping Sophia put together some gift bags while Jin decorated cupcakes, he understood what Jimin was pouting over. “Hey, Yoongi~” Jin greeted without looking up from the task at hand. “Your dad should be home with the pizza soon.”

Yoongi nodded in response before making his way to Sophia, pressing his lips to hers. “How’s it coming?” They were currently preparing for the baby shower that would be taking place the next day. Sophia’s favorite animal was a giraffe and her favorite color was purple, so that was what she decided on as the theme for both the shower and nursery. Jin decided to take over completely once the theme was decided, working alongside Sophia’s mother to plan out the shower, only he was going to the extremes trying to make it perfect for his unborn granddaughter.

“I don’t know what’s more stressful, this shower or finals week next week.” Sophia answered honestly, and Yoongi rubbed her back.

“Well, don’t get too stressed.”

“Aww, you two are so cute!” Jennie squealed before yelling towards her boyfriend. “Why can’t you be like that?!”

“You’re the one who’s refusing cuddles!” Jimin’s voice replied, and the 15-year-old girl rolled her eyes.

“Do you think this looks like a giraffe?” Jin asked, holding up the cupcake that he had been working on for the past 10 minutes alone so the younger people in the room could see it.

“Oh my gosh, it’s amazing!” Sophia gushed over the dessert. “I love it, it looks great!”

“It looks delicious too.” Yoongi said, subtly licking his lips as he looked at the sweet.

“Don’t even think about it, Yoongi~” Jin told his oldest son. “These are for tomorrow.” Jin set the cupcake down and started decorating the rest of them, Jennie soon abandoning them to give in to Jimin’s whines.

The baby shower went smoothly, much to both Sophia and Jin’s relief, and Sophia navigated her finals week with minor stress. It was when she started working full time at the preschool that things began to get rough. Having to work the majority of the day around a bunch of hyper, screaming young children would be stressful for anyone, but it was especially hard on Sophia as she was approaching her 34th week of pregnancy. She was feeling sleep deprived, sore, and overall just ready for the pregnancy to be over with. Yoongi was also beginning to feel exhausted over having to walk on eggshells around Sophia, which seemed moot because they ended up having small arguments almost every night after they each got home from work. Thankfully those were all solved very quickly, and they would still end the night cuddling in bed as they fell asleep.

It was early June at the preschool when Jin noticed something off about Sophia. She was pouring water into cups for when the kids would wake up for snack time while Jin was distributing banana slices along paper towels at each of the children’s seats when she suddenly groaned quietly and grabbed her stomach. “You okay?” Jin was immediately worried for his soon to be daughter in law.

Sophia nodded as she grimaced. “Yeah, I’m just pregnant.” Jin mentally commended her for keeping things lighthearted, but his concern didn’t drop any as he went back to setting out the snacks. Especially when she would do the same thing every so often for the rest of the afternoon.

It was after all the kids had left for the day and the two of them were going through the lock up routine that the concern peaked. Sophia cried out as Jin was logging out of the computer in the office, making him immediately run into the main room where Sophia had lowered herself into a chair and was clutching her stomach. He rushed over to her and crouched in front of her, taking her hand. “I think we need to get you to the hospital.”

Sophia looked at him wide eyed, the pain she was feeling evident in her gaze. “But Yoongi-“

“I’ll call Yoongi on the way, don’t worry.” He helped her out of the chair and led her out to his car.

Yoongi was taking his 15-minute break in the employee breakroom when his phone began to ring. He answered as soon as he saw it was his dad but was unable to get a greeting out before his heart was dropping. “I think Sophia might be in labor so we’re on our way to the hospital.”

Yoongi silently panicked for a few seconds before saying the most prominent thought in his head. “But she’s only 34 weeks.”

“I know,” Jin sighed. “Hopefully she’s not in labor. We’re almost at the hospital, I’ll text you what room she gets put in.”

“Okay, I’m on my way.” Yoongi quickly went to his boss’ office and convinced him to let him leave early so he could rush to the hospital.

Over at the Kim house, Jimin and Jennie were sitting on the couch, her sitting in his lap as they shared small kisses and quiet giggles, thanks to being kicked out of his and Taehyung’s bedroom after Taehyung claimed their “sickening coupleyness” was distracting him from his homework. They both looked up as the front door opened, Namjoon entering the house with a concerned look on his face. “Hey, dad, what movie are we watching tonight?”

“None~” Jimin’s eyes furrowed as Namjoon went to the hallway to tell the other three teenagers in the house to get ready to go. Jimin was left confused until Namjoon came back into the living room and finally explained what was going on. “They think Sophia went into preterm labor so we’re all going to the hospital.

It was just Yoongi and Sophia in the hospital room, as her mother hadn’t arrived yet and Jin went to the waiting room to be able to update everyone on what was going on when they finally arrived. “So, she’s really in labor?” Yoongi asked, internally panicking as he was worrying over the safety of his fiancée and their baby.

The doctor nodded. “If she had come in just an hour earlier, we probably would have had enough time to put a stop to it, but she’s already dilated too much that we’ll need to proceed with it.”

A nurse came up, filling a syringe with some sort of drug as Sophia turned to look at Yoongi. “We don’t even have a name picked out yet.”

Yoongi squeezed her hand, which he had not let go of since arriving at the hospital and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “We’ll have one by the time she gets here.”

“Okay,” they both looked at the doctor, “we’re about to inject you with some magnesium sulfate to slow your labor down and a steroid to help your baby develop a little quicker to help her when she does come out. Our hope is that your water will stay intact for another 24 hours so we can give you another dose.” Sophia nodded and closed her eyes while tightening her grip on Yoongi as they gave her the shots, she had never been a big fan of needles. “Now, we’re going to transport you to UAMS in Little Rock.”

Eventually the two families were outside, coordinating who was going to ride in which car, including Yoongi who hadn’t been allowed to ride in the ambulance to Little Rock with Sophia. “It’ll be okay, Yoongi.” Namjoon assured his oldest son. “You can ride with Sophia’s family, they’ll probably get to the hospital first. I’ll take the twins with me and we’ll get pizza for everyone to have a late dinner when we get there.”

“And I’ll go by y’all’s apartment with Hoseok and Jungkook to get whatever you guys need from there.” Jin offered, and Yoongi didn’t hesitate in giving his dad a key to their place. “We’ll see you there!” Jin called out as Yoongi ran off to Sophia’s mother’s car, which pulled out of the hospital parking lot only a few minutes later.

“I’m guessing we’ll need a couple of more pizzas than normal.” Namjoon commented as the Kim family separated into their two cars.

“Would you mind taking me home before you leave?” Jennie asked. “I would love to stay with you guys, but I’m sure my foster parents want me back.” Namjoon told her that of course they would take her home as he climbed into the driver’s seat.

The rest of Friday night and all through Saturday was spent with everyone in that hospital feeling restless. Sophia’s mother stayed in the room with her and Yoongi while everyone else settled down in the waiting room. There was a family room specifically for sleeping one floor up from where they were, so they all took turns sleeping in there, making sure there was always a few people in the waiting room in case Sophia’s mother came out with updates. Yoongi refused to leave Sophia’s side the entire time. If someone looked at them, they probably would have thought their hands were glued together. If she needed help to adjust to a more comfortable position, he was immediately up on his feet helping her. Whenever she wanted some of the ice chips she was permitted to consume, he was there with the spoon to her mouth before she could even ask. Every time a nurse came in to check on her, the first thing out of his mouth would be asking how things looked and if their daughter was still okay. At one point, a contraction hit Sophia while he was in the bathroom, and after that Sophia’s mother had to practically force him to go to the bathroom when he needed to because he was too scared to leave Sophia’s side for even a single second.

It was around lunch time on Saturday when Sophia and Yoongi finally began to discuss baby names. After nearly an hour of discussion and no name, they decided to enlist the help of their family. Sophia’s mother went out to the waiting room to retrieve the lunches for her and Yoongi that Jin and Namjoon had purchased, and at that point she asked Jungkook if she could borrow his hat. “Yoongi and Sophia have decided to ask us for our suggestions for the baby’s name,” she explained as she wrote down something on a slip of paper and placed it in the cap, “so all of you write down a name you like, both first and middle, and place it in here for them to look over.”

It was nearing the 24-hour mark after her shots when Hoseok sat down next to Namjoon. “I have my advising appointment to schedule my classes at UACCM Monday, do you think I’ll still be able to make it, or should I go ahead and reschedule it?”

Namjoon was quick to shake his head. “You can still go to your appointment.” Namjoon assured him as Jin’s phone buzzed. “Even if she’s still in labor then, we’re not gonna force you to stay here if you have to go somewhere.”

Jin jumped up and yelled out to get everyone’s attention. “Her water just broke~” The nurse had been preparing to give her the second dose of magnesium sulfate and the steroid when her water broke, meaning her labor would begin to progress much more quickly. “They’re just waiting for her to dilate to a 10 so she can start pushing.”

From that moment on, no one in the waiting room dared to speak or leave for any reason, waiting for the text to come that said the little girl had been born. A couple of hours after her water broke, Sophia was screaming as she tried to bring a new life into the world. Yoongi was holding her hand, not caring that it felt like she was crushing his bones as he whispered praises to her and continuously splayed kisses on her face. It was just past midnight when a small cry was heard in the room, and the nurses immediately rushed the baby out of the birthing room and into the NICU unit to stabilize her. “Is my baby okay?” were the first words out of Sophia’s mouth when a nurse came back into the room.

“The doctors are getting her in an incubator now.” The nurse told the couple before attempting to help Sophia out of the bed. “Let’s get you into the shower and cleaned up.”

Sophia shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere until I’ve seen my baby.”

“We need to get you cleaned up.” The nurse insisted.

“It’s okay, Soph,” Yoongi comforted her, rubbing her back and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Just take a shower and they’ll bring her in here.”

It was about 45 minutes after Jin received the text that the baby had been born when Sophia’s mother came to the waiting room. Everyone immediately stood up, ready to ask questions, but she was already speaking before anyone could open their mouths. “4 pounds and 15 oz, 12 inches long.” She shared the baby’s size first. “And she’s fine. The doctors said she’s already breathing well on her own, but that she’ll need to stay in an incubator in the NICU for a few weeks before she can come home, but she’s still completely fine.” Everyone felt relief rush through them as soon as it was confirmed that the newest addition to the family was okay.

“When can we see her?” Taehyung was quick to ask, having been the most excited to be an uncle due to how much he loved kids.

“Right now, they just want the grandparents to meet her, and then you guys can come in pairs.” Sophia’s mom answered. “They don’t want to overcrowd the room.”

Taehyung pouted, but understood and stepped back as Jin and Namjoon followed her back into the room. They entered it to see Sophia sitting on the edge of the bed, hair still damp from her shower, with Yoongi behind her, wiping tears away as he looked down at the small baby in the incubator in front of them. A nurse had opened one of the panels on the side so that Sophia could slip her hand in and the 19-year-old mother was lightly stroking her newborn’s hand as she smiled down at him.

“She’s so tiny~” Jin whispered breathlessly, feeling his own tears forming as his eyes fell on his granddaughter for the first time.

“Isn’t she beautiful, Dads?” Yoongi asked without removing his gaze from the infant in the room.

“Just like her mother~” Namjoon replied, and Sophia was too mesmerized by her daughter to even feign embarrassment at the compliment. “Did you finally decide on a name?”

The couple shared a look and smiled at each other before Sophia looked up. “Samantha Rose~”

“That’s beautiful.” Jin complimented the name choice, wondering which of the family had suggested it as he moved closer to the incubator and looked down at Samantha. “Hi there, Sammie~”

Next Part

[philsdrill]

Chapter 32: Navigating Problems

Fic Summary: “Everyone had a link with their soulmates, some could hear some of their partners thoughts, some had a tattoo that would appear with their partners name; for me, I knew when they got sick.” For a while Phil has thought that his soulmate might have an eating disorder and doesn’t expect to meet him in the restaurant where he works.

Genre: a lot of fluff, recovery, really fucking domestic, waiter!Phil

Warnings: eating disorders, anorexia, bulimia, hospitals, panic attacks, references to past abuse, mentions of suicide, mentions of self-harm, a lot of awkwardness, small amounts of smut. This is potentially triggering so for your own sake, please think twice about reading if anything this might affect you.

Disclaimer: I don’t have personal experience with eating disorders, but have done some research. If I have anything about them wrong, feel free to send me an ask and I’ll sort it out.

Word Count (for this part): 9.3k

[Uploads will be hopefully every couple of weeks! (follow @philsdrill-updates to hear when I post)]

A/N: This is the last update before Christmas and the last update of the year so Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays / I hope you have a good couple weeks if you don’t celebrate anything! Little festive treat here with a long chapter. I get that the holiday season is difficult for some people, so if that’s you, then I believe in you. I know it’s not much, but we can have hope that things’ll get better someday.

MASTERPOST

<= Previous Chapter

Dan’s POV:

Phil had managed to get a few days off work for our trip down south, so that made things considerably easier. The original plan was that he’d be doing most of the driving, but after yesterday, it was clear that I’d be driving us down at, least. Phil’s eyes were still a bit puffy from his allergic reaction, so it probably wasn’t the best idea for him to be driving. Today was definitely a glasses day for Phil; he didn’t even attempt to get his contact lenses in. His red eyes made him look a bit sad and sleepy and his glasses only magnified this. Phil took more allergy medicine after breakfast, deciding that if it at least helped a little bit, then it would be worthwhile.

We all got ourselves ready to leave, and took down the last of our luggage. We were short on space, so Phil and I had one holdall between us to do us the few days. In the end, we had to toss Ethan’s duvet and pillow into the back seat to make room for our bag and Adam’s, but I don’t think either of them were complaining about the added comfort.

Phil spent the first chunk of the journey sleeping, the medication having made him drowsy. Adam and Ethan were both fairly quiet in the back, and from a glance in the mirror, I could see that they weren’t asleep, but were just quietly cuddled up together, probably communicating with their minds. I had tried to get them to take a side each, but even the width of the middle seat was apparently too much space between them, so Adam had taken the middle and snuggled into Ethan’s side. I wasn’t complaining though, at least everyone was quiet and giving me peace to concentrate on the road.

We’d been on the road just over two hours when we hit a problem. Our side of the motorway had turned into a few lanes of slow moving traffic which was just creeping along. Seeing that Phil was still half asleep, I asked Adam and Ethan if one of them could do me a favour and look online at the travel news. It turned out that part of the motorway ahead had been shut because of an accident. There was a slip road not far ahead of us, but at the rate the traffic was snailing along, it would be a while before we got there.

The talking between Adam, Ethan and I seemed to awaken Phil, which was handy as soon I’d be needing him to look at the map. This was an area of the country that neither of us knew particularly well, so we’d need a bit of help to navigate our way through the countryside and back onto the motorway somewhere further down.

In the time it took for us to get off the motorway, Phil had pretty much figured out a route. At first, we were still in slow moving queues of traffic, but eventually, Phil’s navigation took us away from that. It was once we turned off the A-road and started making our way along some smaller roads that things started to get a little bumpy and narrow. Having been brought up in a more rural area than Phil, this didn’t bother me too much, but it was slowly getting to Phil. We were on a stretch of single track road, with minimal passing passing places, when Phil informed me that he was feeling a bit travelsick.

“I’m not really meant to stop on this road,” I told him, “But let me know if you’re about to throw up and I will.”

“Thanks,” Phil nodded, sounding a little weak.

“Are we far from rejoining a bigger road?” I asked, “If you can stomach glancing at the map again?”

“Looks like you keep going along here for a few more miles, then there’s a right turn just after a bridge, that should take us back onto a bigger road,” Phil explained.

“Okay,” I nodded, glancing over at Phil and taking in his rather green complexion, “Take a break from looking at the map, maybe open the window or something.”

Phil nodded, looking up from the map that was spread across his knee and looking out the front window. He opened his side window a little to get some airflow and sat back in his seat a little. I kept driving, sparing Phil the odd concerned glance, particularly as we went over some larger hills.

“Hey, we’re at the bridge,” I said, making this known to Phil, in case he hadn’t noticed, “Not far now!”

I turned right after the bridge, which got us back onto a main road. There were signs for the motorway, so I was able to spare Phil any further map reading and follow them. I did ask him if he wanted to stop before we got back onto the motorway, but he insisted he would be fine now that we were off the bumpy road.

We rejoined the motorway, and soon enough we were driving along at seventy, making good progress once again. I couldn’t spare Phil as many glances now that we were going faster, but hopefully he was doing a bit better. I was just thinking about asking him how he was feeling, when he spoke up.

“Dan, can we stop at this coming service station? I really don't feel good,” Phil said, his voice a little wobbly.

“Okay, yes,” I said indicating into the left lane as soon as I could and taking the turning when it came.

I drove into the service station car park and stopped in one of the first spaces I came to. It was quite far from the building, but if Phil was about to throw up, he’d want to be out the car as quickly as possible.

As soon as I’d stopped, Phil was out of the car and standing among the bushes at the edge of the car park. I quickly put the handbrake on, wanting to get out to join him, but realising I should speak to Adam and Ethan first.

“You guys go in, go to the toilet if you want, buy a drink or a snack or something if you want,” I said to them, handing Adam and twenty pound note.

“Thanks,” Adam said, pocketing the note, “Do you or Phil need anything?”

At the mention of his name, I glanced out at Phil. He hadn’t thrown up yet, but he was still looking quite pale and green.

“Could you get two bottles of water?” I asked, “Phil’s on mine now because he finished his.”

“Sure,” Adam nodded, following Ethan out of the car.

I got out too and joined Phil over by the bushes. I put my arms around his waist from behind, but keeping him in a loose hold so he could get away to throw up if he needed to. As I held Phil, I could feel that he was shaking, and seeing him up close made his pale, slightly green complexion look even worse.

“D’you think you’re going to throw up?” I asked him, gently settling a hand on his stomach.

“Yeah,” Phil nodded.

“You’re fine when you’re driving, so how does this happen when you’re not?” I asked.

“Don’t know,” Phil mumbled half-heartedly.

Rubbing his back gently with my other hand, I wondered if there was anything I could do to help, “D’you want my water out the car?”

Phil shook his head in response and I understood that he was probably just feeling too nauseous to put anything in his stomach. For the next five, maybe even ten minutes, we stood there. Phil didn’t seem any better, but neither had he thrown up yet.

“You feeling any better?” I asked softly.

“Not at all,” he said, his voice trembling a little.

“Just we’ve been out here a while and you haven’t…” I started.

“I know, I can feel it’s going to happen though,” Phil cut me off.

“Okay,” I nodded, resting my chin on his shoulder for a moment, “I’m here for you when it does.”

Adam and Ethan arrived back, Adam carrying a plastic bag. Adam pulled out two bottles of water and held them out to me, “D’you want these now or should I put them in the car?”

“Just put them on my seat,” I instructed him.

“Okay, how’s Phil doing?” Adam asked.

“He’s not thrown up yet, but he still thinks he’s going to,” I explained, continuing to comfort Phil a little by rubbing his back.

Ethan stuck his head out of the car, “Could he not provoke it, like eat something or stick his fingers down his throat or something?”

At Ethan’s words I instantly froze, my body trying to decide whether it wanted to panic about what he’d just brought up.

It seemed that Phil, despite feeling on the verge of spewing everywhere, still had his protective instincts, “Ethan, you of all people should know about triggers. You do not say that sort of thing in front of Dan.”

It must’ve been the effort of speaking that triggered it; Phil quickly spun around and bent over, a stream of vomit coming out of his mouth. I didn’t really have the time to register what Ethan had said, because I was suddenly doing my best to help Phil, holding onto him and rubbing his back, there not really being much else I could do.

When Phil had finished emptying out the contents of his stomach, I helped him back up. He was quite unsteady on his feet, so after confirming that he felt he was done, I helped him back over to the car. I opened his passenger door wide and got him to sit down with his legs hanging out. I crouched down in front of him to get on his level, then opened up the glove box to find some tissues.

“Let’s get you cleaned up a bit,” I said softly, taking one of the tissues and wiping his chin and around his mouth.

I then grabbed what had been my water from Phil’s door pocket and poured a little onto a tissue. I wiped around his mouth again, this time doing a better job. I wrapped the two tissues in a third and put them on the floor out of the way, passing Phil his water to let him take a drink.

After a few minutes of Phil slowly sipping on his water and gradually gaining a little colour back, I asked him if he wanted to go into the service station, “Do you want to go to the bathroom or anything while we’re stopped?”

“Yeah,” Phil nodded, allowing me to help him up.

I put my arm around Phil and we walked across the car park like this. Phil was still rather shaky on his feet, and although his colour was returning, he still didn’t look great. We went straight for the bathrooms, where I headed for a urinal, but Phil disappeared into a stall. Once I’d finished my business and washed my hands, I waited outside, giving Phil a little privacy because he might be pooping.

After waiting over five minutes, I felt the need to check that Phil was okay. I could have texted him, but I didn’t know if he had his phone on him or had left it out in the car. Instead, it would be easiest just to go back in there and see.

The bathroom door opened silently, not announcing my presence at all. I was instantly met with the sound of small Phil-like sobs from the stall.

“Phil,” I said, lightly knocking one finger on the door, “Are you okay?”

“I… I…” Phil choked.

“Can I come in?” I asked tentatively.

I heard a click from the lock and the door slowly started swinging open. I made my way into the cubicle and shut it over behind me, in case anyone else were to come into the bathroom.

Phil was sitting on the toilet, his jeans around his knees, tears rolling down his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, reaching out a hand to brush away some of his tears.

“Just I don’t feel well and I just threw up in some bushes and I feel so undignified and I can’t stop shaking. I just want to go to bed, but we need to keep driving and I really don’t feel like it,” Phil blurted, breaking down into more sobbing.

I reached out and put my hands on Phil’s shoulders, speaking to him softly, “Hey, look at me. It’s okay to throw up in bushes. I’ve been there before. I know it doesn’t look the best, but if it has to be done, it has to be done. I know you’re really not feeling well at the moment, but you’re going to be okay. Once we’re back at the car, I’ll find you a blanket out of the boot. I can’t put a time on it, but we’re not too far now. We shouldn’t be on any roads that bad again.”

Phil nodded, but continued to cry. Seeing the state he was in, I was starting to contemplate phoning my mum to come and get the boys, and checking myself and Phil into the travel lodge next to the service station. On the other hand though, I knew Phil would feel more at home at my parents house and he probably needed that comfort at the moment. It was probably best just to get all the driving over with.

I got my phone out and texted Adam to let him know that we’d be at least five more minutes as Phil was having a little cry.

“The roads should all be smooth from here,” I told Phil, “I know you’re not feeling well, but you’ve thrown up now, so it’s not going to happen again… and I can stop again if you’d like.”

Phil nodded and looked a little calmer, but he still remained teary-eyed and miserable.

“D’you think you’re ready to face the world again?” I asked him, “D’you need to wipe? I can go back outside.”

“No, I just needed a seat, didn’t have the energy to stand and pee,” Phil explained, getting up from the toilet, pulling his boxers up and adjusting himself to make things comfortable.

Phil flushed the toilet, I opened the door and the two of us headed to the sinks to wash our hands. Phil also decided to wash his face, taking his glasses off to put cold water on his eyes. They’d still been a bit puffy from yesterday, but now he had the redness from crying on top of that.

We stopped in the shop, where I bought a bottle of Lucozade with Phil in mind. He was weak from throwing up and didn’t have much energy and although he maybe wouldn’t stomach it right now, it might help him out later.

We returned to the car, where I found Phil a blanket we’d packed in our holdall. I asked Adam for the plastic bag he’d got from the service station, wanting to have something on hand for Phil, just in case. Adam emptied out their snacks onto the spare seat and passed it over, understandingly.

After looking at Google Maps to find out exactly where we were, I texted my mum with an update:

We’re in Wycombe - took a bit of a detour earlier because of an accident on the motorway and just had to stop for Phil to throw up as he got carsick.

I waited for my mum to reply, giving Phil a little more time to get settled before we set off again. It was a couple of minutes before her response came in, a message with some sympathy for Phil and her asking if there was anything we wanted ready for when we arrived.

Oh dear - I hope he’s doing alright now. We’ll see you in just over half an hour. Is there anything you want me to get ready for your arrival?

“Hey, my mum says it’s just over half an hour,” I told Phil, before typing out a response.

Have you got the bed made up because I think Phil’s going to want to lie down? Adam and Ethan are doing fine, but they’re probably going to want to eat all your food.

Bed is halfway done, but I’ll get it finished up. I’ll let you be on your way now.

I left our conversation at that, putting my phone back in my pocket and putting the keys in the ignition.

“We good to go?” I asked, as a general question to everyone.

I received enthusiastic responses from both Adam and Ethan, but Phil just mumbled a sad sounding ‘okay’.

--

Phil continued feeling quite unwell for the rest of the journey. He was nauseous, that was understandable, but I did have to pull into a carpark at one point when he complained of feeling a bit lightheaded. I got him to sit with his head between his knees for a minute or two, then handed him the bottle of Lucozade I’d bought him earlier. After a drink and a little fresh air, Phil insisted I was good to go again. He continued to sip on his drink, curled up in his blanket for the rest of the journey.

I pulled into my parents driveway, slowed to a stop, put the handbrake on and slipped the gear stick back into neutral. I lifted my feet away from the clutch and the brake and let out a sigh.

“We’re here,” I said, happy to have reached the end of our journey.

Adam and Ethan headed in first and made a start on unloading the boot. Phil and I took it a bit more slowly, remaining in our seats for five minutes. I reached out to Phil and put my hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s go inside and get you to bed,” I said to him, “Is that still what you fancy?”

“Yeah,” Phil nodded, “I think I’ll feel better if I sleep for a while.”

“Okay,” I said, taking the keys out the ignition and opening my door, “Wait there, I’ll come round and give you a hand.”

I took myself around to Phil’s side of the car, opened his door and made sure he got out okay and had something to hold onto if he needed to. Adam and Ethan had very kindly taken our bag in, so all that was left was me, Phil and his blanket.

My mum was waiting at the door for us, and immediately enveloped me in a hug. She was about to do the same to Phil, when he protested, “No, no, I’m gross. I probably have sick on my shirt, don’t hug me.”

“Okay,” she said, moving away, “I’ll get you when you’re cleaned up and feeling better. Your room is all set up and ready if you want to go for a lie down or anything.”

“Thanks,” Phil said to her, “I might do that.”

Phil turned to me, “Will you come up with me? I’m feeling a little dizzy at the moment.”

“Sure,” I said, moving so my hand was snugly around his waist for support, “C’mon.”

I got Phil up to my old room, and managed to get his belt off him, before he flopped on the bed, too exhausted to get comfortable properly.

“Are you really going to sleep in jeans?” I asked him.

“Too tired to take them off,” he mumbled.

“Let me?” I asked, wanting to give him a hand, but needing his permission first.

“Yeah sure,” Phil said sleepily.

I reached under Phil, undid his button and zipper, then gently started to wiggle his jeans down his hips. I had to stop for a second to fix his boxers and stop them from coming too, but soon enough, I had his jeans down to his knees, then it was all easier from there. Once I’d tossed his jeans to the side, I picked up the blanket he’d been wearing in the car and spread this over him, particularly his legs, to keep him warm.

“C’n you stay with me ‘til I’m ‘sleep,” Phil mumbled into the pillow.

“Of course,” I said, hopping up onto the bed next to him and letting him snuggle up against me.

“You get some sleep,” I mumbled to him, “I’ll wake you up for dinner and we’ll see how you’re feeling then.”

“Mmm,” Phil mumbled, clearly too far on his way to being asleep to give a coherent answer.

I stayed with him until he was sound asleep, his gentle snores being muffled by the pillow. It took quite a bit of willpower for me to leave him, but I knew there were things I could help with elsewhere.

I brought mine and Phil’s bag up from downstairs and changed into something a bit more comfortable. I wasn’t sure where all Phil’s sick had gotten, so clean clothes sounded like a plan. I left what I’d been wearing on the floor, my plan to get Phil’s top off him later and stick everything in the wash.

I then went to find Adam and Ethan, to see if I could give them a hand with moving any of Ethan’s stuff in. They were both in Adam’s room, Adam reorganising his wardrobe and starting to put some of Ethan’s clothes in, and Ethan sitting on the bed, his own duvet around his shoulders, unpacking a bag.

“How are you guys doing?” I asked, looking from Adam to Ethan and back again.

“Good,” Adam said, “We’re working on getting some of Ethan’s things away. I’m needing to do a bit of reorganising to get us both enough space, but I think we can do it.”

I was watching Adam as he spoke, so I noticed when his eyes wandered over to Ethan, with a slight look of concern, “Ethan, can you give that to Dan.”

I looked to Ethan, who was holding his razor, looking a bit lost in thought. I reached a hand out for him, but it took him a while to realised and hand it to me.

“I’ll take this downstairs and get Dad to look after this,” I said, decisively, “Adam, when you find your razor bring it down too and have a think about what else is in your room.”

“Yeah,” Adam nodded, “Good plan, I’ll do that.”

I took Ethan’s razor down to my dad and explained the situation, “Dan, is it okay if you can take custody of some sharp things? Ethan’s at risk of harming himself, so we don’t want to leave anything sharp where he can easily get to it. This is Ethan’s razor, but Adam’ll bring some more things down. We’ve been letting him shave with supervision, that seems to be the best solution.”

“Okay,” my Dad nodded, “I’ve got a lockable drawer in my office, which I don’t really use, so I’ll put the stuff in there.”

“Okay great,” I said, “Now, this one’s going to be a bit more of a nuisance, but think what you can do about the knives in the kitchen and any cupboards with medicine or cleaning stuff in them.”

“I’ve already installed a lock on one of the kitchen cupboards and one of the cupboards in the upstairs bathroom,” he explained, “We realised there might be issues so thought just to be on the safe side.”

“Fantastic,” I said, “I’m so glad you’ve been thinking ahead. I’ll let Adam know that too, it’ll ease his mind a little.”

“Okay, now, the bathroom cupboard has a combination lock. The code is six-four-one, in case you need anything out of there,” he told me, “You can let Phil and Adam know too, well if Adam can block Ethan from finding it in his head.”

“I don’t think they can transfer any information that specific, but I’ll check with him first,” I said, “Now while I remember, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this, but Ethan’s recently started antidepressants, which so far, seem to be improving how he’s feeling. He’s not necessarily going to be stable yet; he might need his dose up, but just to let you know about that.”

“Yes, your mum mentioned something about antidepressants, that you’d mentioned them to her when you were sorting out Ethan’s old school,” my dad nodded.

“Yes,” I nodded, “We were talking what I’m on for anxiety, then naturally we got onto what Ethan was taking.”

“What are you taking for anxiety?” my Dad asked me, sounding rather confused.

“Antidepressants and beta-blockers,” I told him simply, “Antidepressants are used to treat anxiety too… and like Ethan, I take them every day. The beta blockers I just take if I have a panic attack, to help slow my heart rate down.”

“Right,” my dad nodded, trying to look like he understood, but I could tell that he didn’t.

I realised that my dad would probably never understand the extent of my anxiety, so I didn’t feel it worthwhile to explain further. I would turn the conversation back to Ethan, as that’s the information he needed at the moment.

“Anyway, back to Ethan,” I said, “He’s doing better at the moment; I think mum’s going to get him transferred to a doctor down here asap and hopefully all of his information will be passed on. He needs to get organised with a therapist too, but maybe the doctor will be able to refer him to someone.”

“Okay,” my dad nodded, “Is there anything we can do in the meantime?”

“I don’t think he will just yet, because you’ve only just met, but let him know he can talk to you and do your best to listen and be understanding if he does,” I explained, “But generally, just make sure to encourage him to eat and drink. Don’t force him, but even if he’s not feeling up to it, take him a glass of water.”

“Does he have any food allergies or anything we should know of?” he asked me.

“I would double check with him just to be sure, but as far as I know, just nothing spicy,” I explained, “I think he's been finding he's had a rather sensitive stomach since getting it pumped. He doesn't always have the best judgement of what's going to disagree with him, but if he doesn't feel like eating something, don't make him, just suggest toast or something instead.”

“Okay, I think we can manage that,” my dad nodded.

After answering a few more questions about Ethan, I headed back upstairs to help out. Adam had looked out a few more things for me to take downstairs, so for the remainder of the afternoon, I continued to help them out with getting their stuff sorted out and Ethan settled.

I knew it was approaching dinner time, as I could hear my parents bustling about in the kitchen. I went to wake up Phil, knowing he would appreciate a little time to awaken properly before seeing my parents again. I sat down beside him on the bed, and gently nudged him awake, talking to him to hopefully grasp his attention. When Phil was finally coherent, I got onto asking him how he was feeling.

“How are you feeling?” I asked softly, rubbing my hand up and down his blanket covered thigh.

“Better,” Phil said shortly, “But still a little wobbly.”

With Phil now sitting up a little, it was easy for me to get on his level. I leant back against the headboard and invited him into my arms, “C’mere.”

Phil shuffled over and I put my arms around him. Having still not quite woken up properly, he was very relaxed and melted into my embrace, yawning and snuggling into me. I didn’t always appreciate it when I was half asleep myself, but Phil in this state was adorable. With the sudden urge to kiss him, I went for his forehead and upper cheeks, knowing that he hadn’t brushed his teeth or anything since he’d thrown up.

“I think dinner will be soon,” I told him, “D’you feel up to eating a little?”

“Mmm, yeah, maybe,” he mumbled, “What is for dinner?”

“I don’t actually know,” I realised, “Do you want to get yourself up and I’ll go and check?”

“Okay,” Phil nodded, wriggling in my embrace and stretching, making a tired groan.

Before I headed downstairs to check, I looked out Phil something clean and comfortable to wear. I told him just to put his current clothes in the pile on the floor and I would sort them out. I suggested that he brushed his teeth too, knowing that would help him feel a bit fresher.

I found both my parents in the kitchen. There was a big pot of pasta on the stove and another pot which I couldn’t quite see.

“What’s for dinner?” I asked, wanting a more specific answer than just pasta, “Phil’s up and he thinks he’s probably feeling okay to eat a little bit.”

“Cheesy pasta,” my mum said with a smile.

“Umm,” I said, hesitating as I tried to remember if I had ever told my mum about Phil being lactose intolerant, “I just realised that I don’t think I ever told you Phil’s lactose intolerant, like he can’t have dairy.”

“No, you haven’t,” my mum confirmed, “Is this a recent development? He was fine at new year?”

“I don’t know quite how long it’s been bothering him, but it became obvious something off in the week before we moved,” I explained, “He got diagnosed at the end of January.”

“How bad is it? Like can he have a small amount of milk?” my mum asked.

“No, not unless its a microscopic amount in bread or cake or something,” I explained, “If you put milk in his coffee, he’ll spend hours on the loo. I’ll pop out later and buy some of his lactose free milk.”

“Okay, well I’m glad you told us before it was too late,” my mum nodded, understandingly, “Now, what are we going to do about dinner? We probably have a jar of tomatoey sauce in the cupboard?”

“Do you have like chicken noodle soup or something?” I asked, “He’s probably not up to eating much anyway.”

“Yeah, we should do, take a look in the cupboard,” my mum nodded.

Knowing which cupboard she was referring to, having lived here most of my life, I knelt down in front of it to see what flavours of soup my parents had in stock. In the end, I selected vegetable, knowing Phil had a hatred for the rubbery lumps of chicken that came in tins of soup.

“This’ll do,” I said, standing up and laying the tin down on the worktop. “If you just heat up half, that’ll probably do him.”

“Okay, the pasta will be ready in just a few minutes, so I’ll get it on,” my mum said, taking the tin of soup and pouring about half of it into a pot.

“Right, I’ll be down with Phil in a few then,” I nodded, making my way back upstairs to see how he was doing.

Phil wasn’t in our room, but I found him in the bathroom, brushing his teeth. He was now dressed in the clothes I’d left out for him and he looked quite a bit better already.

“So, what’s for dinner?” Phil asked me, as he noticed me hovering in the doorway.

“You’re having vegetable soup,” I told him, “I may have forgotten to tell my parents about you and milk… so they made cheesy pasta.”

“Eww,” Phil said, scrunching up his nose at the mention of cheese, “I’m glad I have an excuse not to eat cheese anymore.”

Laughing at Phil’s optimism at the situation, I continued, “Anyway, I’ll pop out and get you some of your lactose free stuff after dinner.”

“Thanks Dan,” Phil said, flashing me a shiny white grin with his freshly brushed teeth.

Phil and I stopped in our room to grab the pile of dirty clothes and then headed downstairs. I shoved our stuff in the washing machine quickly before heading through to the kitchen.

“Just to let you know, I’ve put a wash on with our clothes from earlier,” I told my mum as we arrived in the kitchen.

“Okay,” she nodded smiling, probably ecstatic about me knowing how to use a washing machine myself now.

“How are you feeling, Phil?” she asked, “Better after a lie down?”

“Yes, thank you,” Phil nodded, “I’m not feeling one hundred percent, but a lot better than earlier.”

“That’s good,” my mum said, deciding that now was an appropriate time to give Phil the hug he had missed out on on arrival, “And good to have you here, Phil.”

My dad was busy serving up five plates of pasta. My mum, once she was done hugging Phil, moved onto serving his soup.

“Take a seat boys,” my mum said, gesturing towards the table, “In fact, Dan, could you get the other two down?”

“Sure,” I nodded, leaving Phil at the table and jogging back up the stairs.

I knocked on Adam’s door and waited for an answer. It was a few moments before Adam told me to ‘come in’. I opened the door to find Adam sat on his bed, with Ethan nestled in his arms.

“Dinner’s ready,” I told them, “Is Ethan okay?”

“Yeah,” Adam nodded, Ethan turning his head to look at me, “This is all just a bit strange for him and there’s something about being close that helps him feel a bit more calm about it all.”

“I get that,” I nodded, experiencing that to some extent with Phil, “Well if you can disentangle yourselves enough to get downstairs and eat dinner, that would be good. It’s pasta in cheese sauce.”

I watched as Ethan extracted himself from Adam’s arms, then the two of them followed me down the stairs. We all got settled at the dining table and then my parents brought over the food. I could see that Phil was itching to help, so I placed my hand on his shoulder to calm him a little. Phil’s soup arrived in front of him, and a piece of bread appeared on a side plate.

“Hope that’s all okay for you,” my mum said, “Sorry, we would’ve been more organised if I’d known…”

“It’s okay,” Phil said, “And even if I could eat it, I’d prefer soup to cheese pasta.”

“He hates cheese,” I added with a laugh.

Everyone tucked into their dinner, some with more enthusiasm than others. My parents, Adam and Ethan seemed to have no problem with it, however, Phil and I were taking things a bit more slowly. I knew Phil still wasn’t feeling well, so he had his excuse. Me, on the other hand, I was just feeling a bit anxious about eating in front of everyone. I was okay with it, with them being family, but there was always some anxious niggle at the back of my mind.

I abandoned my food before Phil did, apologising to my parents for the waste, as my appetite wasn’t quite up to the portion size. Phil continued to slurp his way through his soup for a while longer, but he too eventually admitted defeat, unable to eat anymore.

As we ate, my mum commented on, ‘How lovely it is to finally have the whole family together.’

Everyone agreed with her, particularly Adam, who’d had the biggest struggle with being away from Ethan. Ethan looked a little sad at this comment; this Adam reacted to before the emotion had even reached his face, putting an arm around him and pulling him a little closer. Adam gave her a worried smile after that, as if to say, ‘be careful, he’s a little sensitive.’

I took the conversation in a slightly different direction after that. As we were on the subject of family, Phil and I had an announcement to make. Okay, we’d sent them a text, but we should really talk about it in person. Beneath the table, I caught Phil’s left hand with my right; we both had our rings on our non-dominant hands.

“So…” I started, lifting our joined hands up onto the table, at an angle that the rings would be very visible, “You saw our little announcement text; we’re finally making it one-hundred percent official…”

It took a moment for anyone to react, but unsurprisingly, it was my mum who burst out in congratulations first, “Yes, congratulations, my sons. Who proposed? When exactly? How did it happen? We’ve been waiting to hear the details in person.”

“The day after Adam’s birthday,” I said, after thinking about it for a moment, “Phil proposed. It wasn’t anything fancy; we were have a umm… cuddle and a chat before we went to sleep. I was happy I was feeling a bit better about my body image and Phil was being all supportive and a bit sentimental, telling me how far I’d come… and just slipped it in there at the end. I didn’t want anything overplanned or extravagant, so that was just perfect.”

I felt myself blushing a little as I told the story, Phil squeezing my hand as I stumbled over the words a little.

“Sounds lovely,” my mum said, a big supportive smile on her face, “Have you started planning yet? Have you figured out a date?”

“No not yet,” Phil chirped in, “I told Dan that we should just ‘enjoy being engaged for a little while first’... and we’ve got a few things to think about. I’m putting in an application for cooking school, so hopefully I’ll be doing that after the summer. Dan’s thinking about getting a job, with his anxiety being a lot more manageable now. This summer might be too soon to get it all planned out, but we should get thinking about that, because next summer seems too far away.”

“I think you could do it,” my mum said, “We’re only just into March and cooking school won’t start until September, right? If you go for August, you’ve got five months to get everything sorted.”

I looked to Phil to see his reaction to this. He made eye contact with me and nodded slowly, “I think we could do it.”

“Okay, maybe August then,” I said to my mum, with a laugh, “We’ll work it out when we’re back home.”

Phil ate a reasonable amount of his soup and bread, but didn’t finish it. He was feeling a bit better, but not entirely, so he didn’t want to push it. When everyone moved through to the living room for the evening, I made sure Phil was comfortable and that he was okay with me leaving him for half an hour. I drove to tesco to buy Phil his lactose-free milk and some butter-like spread that he put on toast. Although he didn’t have much appetite at the moment, I knew morning Phil would appreciate being able to have a bowl of cereal or a slice of toast and a mug of coffee.

I was back within thirty minutes and after putting the shopping away in the fridge, I joined Phil on the sofa. My parents were drinking coffee and watching the news. Adam and Ethan were half watching it, but most of their focus was on each other. Phil was joining in with the little bits of conversation, but had looked a bit lonely on the sofa by himself.

As I sat down, I put my arm around his waist and almost instinctively, pulled him a little closer. He reacted in the way that he always did when he was sick or tired, gently snuggling into my side and resting his head on my shoulder.

“How’re you feeling?” I asked him, in a quiet mumble.

“Alright, like I still feel a little unsettled, but I think dinner’s staying down okay,” Phil told me, keeping it quiet so my family didn’t have to hear all the details.

“Great,” I said, happy he was feeling okay to some extent, “Let me know if you need anything, but I’m thinking we should have an early night.”

“Mmm,” Phil nodded, “I know I slept a lot already, but I think getting to bed early sounds like a good plan and I’ll feel better in the morning.”

“Yeah,” I nodded, “Plus, I’m kinda tired from all that driving.”

My parents, after getting everyone’s input, decided we would have a little family evening, watching a film together. Adam got the popcorn out, but it was only him and Adam who ended up eating it. Phil looked over at it wistfully, but we both knew he wasn’t feeling up to eating any.

When the film was over, we all sat and chatted for a while, nobody quite sure whether everyone else was up to watching something else. Around ten o’clock, it became clear that Adam and Ethan would be the first to turn in for the night. Ethan had pretty much given up on the conversation and he was starting to fall asleep on Adam, who was idly playing with his hair.

In a lull of conversation, Adam piped up, “Think Ethan and I are gonna head to bed.”

I watched my mum’s shocked expression as Adam helped his sleepy soulmate to his feet, “You going to bed at ten pm. My, well I never thought…”

“He needs a lot of sleep at the moment,” Adam explained, “I might not sleep for a bit yet, but I’ll go and put my pjs on and stay with him.”

“I’ll come up and make sure everything is sorted out for you,” my mum explained, getting to her feet to follow them up the stairs.

After a little nod from my mum, I went too. I’d been dealing with things for the last few weeks and I was guessing she wanted me there because I knew Ethan better than she did. Adam’s room was still a mess of bags and boxes, Ethan’s stuff half put away, but not completely yet. It would take them a while to integrate all of their things; it had taken a while for me to get fully moved into Phil’s flat - I’m sure it was easier for those who moved into a new space together.

My mum helped my moving the stuff that was scattered on the bed over to the other side of the room. In all the mess, Ethan wasn’t able to find any of his own pyjamas, but he had no problem in accepting the pair that Adam threw at him from a drawer across the room. They headed to the bathroom to change and brush their teeth, meanwhile my mum and I sorted out a few more things that were lying around, just to speed the process along.

When they arrived back from the bathroom, they had almost become one, Ethan already cuddled into Adam as if he wanted to fall asleep right there. Adam pulled back the duvet for Ethan to climb into bed. My mum and I were by the door, ready to leave, when my mum asked them if they needed anything.

“I don’t think so,” Adam said, as he got into bed too, “I’m not going to sleep just yet, so I can get up again if I need to.”

“Okay,” my mum nodded, watching with wide eyes as Adam proceeded to wrap himself around Ethan, “Goodnight guys.”

I joined in with saying goodnight, then my mum and I left them alone, closing the door behind us as we stepped out into the corridor.

“I can’t help but find it adorable how Adam is taking so much care of him,” she commented, as we headed down the stairs, “Like this has really brought out a side in him which I haven’t seen much before.”

“Yeah, Ethan’s been needing a lot of support and he’s the only person who can really give it to him,” I explained, “Like Phil and I have been doing what we can, but obviously, it’s Adam who he’s close to. It’s nice seeing Adam being this caring, but it’s not easy on him either, so just keep an eye out for him and make sure he’s got someone he can talk to if he needs it.”

“Yeah,” my mum nodded, “Your Dad and I will do our best to be there for him, but I’m a bit worried he won’t open up to us as it took you to get the soulmate stuff out of him in the first place.”

“Well me and Phil are happy to talk to either or both of them if that helps,” I told her, “Like if he’s seeming closed off to you, suggest he can talk to me as that gives him another option.”

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind,” my mum nodded, “Now, something you were talking to them about… sex. You were going to take Adam condom shopping, right? Do you know if they have… y’know?”

I hesitated, thinking for a moment about how I was going to answer that, “They have, yes, but try not to bother them about it. I know it’s probably a bit weird for you as a parent, but they’re both completely legal and with them being soulmates, it’s completely natural…”

“Yes, I know,” my mum cut me off, “But like are we going to have to worry about hearing them? Will they wait until we go out?”

“I wouldn’t say they’re that loud, like Phil and I never heard much. We went out to give them some extra privacy for their first time, but they’ll keep to themselves if you’re in.” I told her, “I would make sure Adam knows how to use the washing machine though. I let them know that keeping their sheets clean was going to be their responsibility now and they seem to be keeping on top of that okay. I saw them using our washing machine a couple of times, so I don’t think you’ll have much to worry about.”

“Do they do it often?” she asked, “Not trying to be nosy; I’d just like some idea.”

“I don’t know for sure, but things can change anyway. Ethan doesn’t generally have the energy to do much, but he is improving with his medication,” I explained.

“Okay,” she nodded, “I’ll do my best not to interfere with anything private.”

“Good,” I concluded, nodding and slowly turning towards the living room.

My mum and I re-joined my Dad and Phil, who seemed to be having an in-depth conversation about cooking some kind of sauce or gravy. I came into the conversation halfway through, so I never completely got a grasp of what they were talking about.

When the conversation moved onto my parents updating me on things that had been going on locally, it was clear to me that Phil had lost interest in the conversation. He was nodding along and letting my parents think he was interested, but I could see that his thoughts were elsewhere.

It was nearing eleven when Phil’s yawns reminded me that he could probably do with more sleep. In an appropriate gap, I asked Phil if he was wanting to head up to bed yet.

“Phil, are you wanting to go to bed soon?” I asked him, adjusting how we were sitting as his tiredness seemed to be weighing him down.

“Yeah, but I could maybe do with a shower first, I’m feeling pretty gross,” Phil explained.

“Okay, shall we maybe head upstairs and get you organised then?” I suggested.

“Mmm,” Phil nodded, slowly disentangling himself from me to get to his feet.

“Could we maybe get some towels, mum?” I asked her, “Or have you put them in our room already?”

“Ahh sorry, I don’t think I quite got around to it earlier,” my mum said, hurriedly getting to her feet, “You guys head upstairs and get whatever else you need and I’ll bring them up.”

Phil and I slowly made our way up the stairs, while my mum was digging around in the linen cupboard. Phil pulled our bag up onto the bed and started to pull out two pairs of pyjamas and both our washbags.

“You wanting me to shower with you?” I asked, presuming this was the case from what he was bringing out.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” Phil nodded, “I’m tired and I just wanna get clean and get to bed and knowing me I’ll get a bit lost in there by myself.”

“Yeah, of course then,” I nodded, “Gets us both clean in half the time too.”

As we’d left the door wide open, my mum walked straight in with the towels, laying the bundle down on the bed next to our pyjamas.

“Are you just planning to shower and then go straight to bed?” she asked, “Or are you going to come back down to say goodnight?”

“Probably just go straight to bed,” I told her, “... Actually, what types of tea have you got at the moment?”

“Normal tea, earl grey, lady grey, cranberry, peppermint, Sri Lankan tea, lemon and ginger…” she said, trailing off as she tried to recall any more.

“Peppermint,” I said, stopping her from saying any more, then turning to Phil, “Phil, can I interest you in that? Might help your stomach settle a bit more.”

“Yeah, okay,” Phil said, stifling a yawn.

“Okay, great,” I said, turning back to my mum, “Could you perhaps bring a cup of it upstairs once we’re out the shower?”

“Just one cup?” she asked.

“Yeah, just for Phil,” I confirmed.

Once my mum left, Phil and I grabbed our stuff and headed for the bathroom. We both got undressed and into the shower, quickly, before we got too cold. Phil was shivering a little so I made sure he got under the water first. For the most part, we both cleaned ourselves, but I decided to lend Phil a hand with cleaning his back. When I felt Phil’s tenseness relaxing under my fingertips, I realised that I could do more for him than just wash his back. I brought my hands around his sides to his chest and gently rubbed up and down.

“How’s your chest feeling?” I asked him, “You’ve been sounding a bit better today.”

“Yeah, alright,” Phil nodded, “I don’t really feel wheezy or whatever but it just aches a bit now.”

Continuing to gently rub his chest, I nuzzled my face into the crook of Phil’s neck and left a few kisses there. He backed up against me, relaxing into my touch and letting out a tired sigh.

“How about we get out of here and we can continue the cuddling in bed once we can relax properly?” I suggested in a mumble.

“Yeah, good plan,” Phil nodded, stepping away from me and running his hands through his hair once more before shutting off the water.

We quickly got dried off and brushed our teeth, not taking any longer than the two minutes required. When we had our pyjamas on and the bathroom tidy, we left, Phil heading to our room and me off downstairs to check if the tea was underway. It was, and my mum shooed be back upstairs, insisting that she would bring it up in a minute or two.

After discussing with Phil, we decided there would be no harm in rubbing some peppermint oil on his chest again. He had brought it with him, and after the wonders it had done yesterday in easing his breathing, it was worth doing again if it let him sleep easier. I got him to lay down and retrieved the oil and some moisturiser from his toiletries.

With the peppermint oil being so concentrated, the moisturiser allowed me to spread it around more and leave him feeling more like he was nicely moisturised, rather than just oily. I applied the tiniest bit of pressure to rub it in, enough to be soothing but not make him ache more.

Phil had just got his shirt back on when my mum arrived with the tea. After I told her to come in, the door opened and she slowly walked in, focusing on keeping the steaming cup steady.

“Ooft it already smells like peppermint in here; what's going on?” she asked, sounding amused.

“Its peppermint oil,” I explained, “Phil had an allergic reaction yesterday and it helps clear up his respiratory system a bit.”

“What are you allergic to?” my mum asked, laying the tea down at Phil’s bedside, “I can’t think either of you have said, well other than the milk, so I don’t want to give you it by accident.”

“That might be difficult,” Phil chuckled, “Cats.”

“Ahhh,” my mum said, now picking up on Phil’s amusement, “Yes, that might be difficult to give you cats by accident. What happened then?”

“Ethan’s parents have a cat,” I explained, “We didn’t think to ask and we despite Phil’s sneezing, we didn’t actually realise until the cat walked into the room.”

“Yeah, I just thought I was coming down with a cold or something at first,” Phil explained.

“How allergic to them are you?” my mum enquired, “Like did you need to go to hospital or anything?”

“I sneeze a lot, my breathing goes a bit funny and my eyes go puffy,” Phil explained, “But no I didn’t need to go to hospital; I just took some Piriton and it started to clear up.”

“I considered taking him a couple of times,” I added, “Like Phil, you were struggling to breathe a bit too much and then last night when I woke you up, I was in two minds whether to listen to you or just get you down to the car and go.”

“Mmm, sorry I worried you,” Phil mumbled, “But thanks for helping me out; you did great… and I think you were on the right lines with saying you would take me if I got any worse.”

“Yeah, so Phil’s still recovering a little from that,” I concluded, looking back at my mum, “I think we’re just about there.”

“And does the tea help with that too?” she asked, referring to the now cooling cup which was sitting on Phil’s bedside table.

“It might actually,” I said thoughtfully, “But, no, I just thought it would be good for his stomach as he's been feeling a bit unsettled since the car journey.”

“Okay,” she nodded, “Well I’ll give you some peace. I hope the tea helps and that you both get a good night’s sleep.”

“Thanks mum,” I said, smiling.

Phil and I both wished her goodnight as she left the room and shut the door behind her. Phil picked up his mug and slowly leant into my side, taking small sips of his tea. I put an arm around him and talked to him a little as he drank. I knew that he was tired and I wanted to distract him long enough to get plenty of the soothing warm tea into his system before he fell asleep.

Phil did put the mug aside before it was finished, but I understood that he wouldn’t want too much liquid floating around his stomach while he was trying to sleep. I kept him up a little longer so that gravity didn’t interfere with the tea’s natural course to his stomach. Eventually, when Phil was starting to fall asleep against me, the two of us slipped under the covers and let sleep take its hold.

Next Chapter =>

[dandelliongirl]

It’s April tomorrow

and spring has sprung!

The season is changing slowly but surely... Too slowly for my current liking though.

Ha - I did manage a March blog post (it’s the 31st today). Overall the entire month of March dragged on for a needlessly long time with nothing too exciting going on so I didn’t particularly feel like blogging. My guy and I have been to two dance rehearsals for my graduation ball in May so far and it has been a lot of fun. I’ve loved being silly and goofing around with him. He did the dances a total of 3 times in high school (his friends’, his own and mine) and mine was only 7-ish years ago so both of us know the steps pretty well from memory. I don’t know if dance rehearsal is as much fun for him as it is for me but I’ve been loving spending time with him. My outfit for the ball is almost finished. My top for the evening needs to be sewn together and the hemline of the skirt cut and finished to be the right length. I just got shoes last week and ordered my graduation ring so everything should be in order.

I did my gig judging the dance competition in February and it was an interesting experience. I liked seeing all the choreographies but the juding process was needlessly complicated with a long form that all of us 3 judges had to fill in for each competing group. In addition we only had from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes between each performance so I felt like I couldn’t really give any actual constructive criticism. Also we had to decide on the winners in less than 10 minutes, which was pretty stressful. In the end we all agreed but it was really difficult and my hand hurt for many days after from writing so much and so fast.

My guy’s friend from Japan visited us for a week at the end of February. The boys spent a lot of time together and I spent time with mum. We went and got facials together, and I celebrated a friend’s birthday making brownies with her. Mum had her second big surgery on the 27th but it went better this time around and dad was on his spring break so he could pick her up and bring her home early.

March was a very busy month at work. The good kind of busy though. The kind that makes me feel important and doesn’t give me time to question being hired to do nothing. We’ve been training faculty coordinators and helping them create timetables for the upcoming academic year. I’ve been in charge of these trainings and I really love it. I love helping people and coming up with solutions to their problems. Whenever the coordinators apologise for the inconvenience of their stupid questions and their constant complaining regarding the new data systems I like to tell them that as long as they have questions and complaints I have a job. Their bitching is paying my mortgage and I know it’s directed at the system not at me, so I really don’t mind. It’s completely understandable and most issues these people have are issues I’ve discovered myself and agree with completely. So all in all I’m really grateful to be in the job I’m in for two more years. I’m still looking forward to summer break though and all the exciting springtime events like Easter break, dance recitals and the big official conferment of degrees. I have felt like everything’s at a standstill so I’m hoping spring will pick up it’s pace.

My friend is currently on her first 3 week trip to Japan. I’m super happy for her but it does make me miss Japan terribly. Last year at this time I was over there enjoying the warmth and the beauty of the cherry blossoms. I’m already planning to go back, hopefully next spring. I’m obsessively updating my friend’s instagram feed to see when she’ll be posting pictures from her trip. I gave her a list (and a reference picture) of some Sanrio products I want her to try and get me from there and I’m really hoping she can find at least some of it.

Ballet is still a struggle. Now that my friend (the one who’s in Japan right now) only goes once a week and I have no other real friends there I have no motivation and literally have to force myself to go. Not that I don’t enjoy ballet itself but it’s frustrating because I feel like we’re not making any progress and we’re stuck repeating the same things over and over. Also we’re still stuck in the stupid regular gym hall with those few crappy portable mirrors and either the wall bars/ladders or portable bars. I want to see what I’m doing, I want friends and I want new challenges. I’m glad we only have two months until summer.

I’ve started working on a bit of a book project. It’s more like a collection of essays regarding various topics that are relevant to me and my life than a book but I’ve wanted to collect my thoughts for a while now and since I’ll be turning 25 in a few weeks I thought it’d be cool to write down a collection of thoughts to celebrate a quarter of a century. I’ve been loving reading and writing now that I don’t have to do it for school/uni. I’ve already planned a somewhat of a structure for it and written down some ideas and topics. Today I’m planning to start with the first essay, which will be about me and who I am as a 25 year old. The project will span my entire 25th year so I’m definitely not trying to finish by my birthday.

My guy has spent this weekend visiting his parents. His dad is working hard on his electoral campaign for the parliament so my guy wanted to go see how it’s going. My guy is going to be working as an election officer on the actual election day.

With my guy being gone I’ve also spent the weekend with my parents. Yesterday we went to the grocery store and visited the cottage for a campfire and roasted sausages. Dad and I went  on a 40-ish minute snowshoe walk and it was a lot of fun. I got to explore parts of the forest I would otherwise never go to because during the summer it’s filled with mosquitoes, snakes and scratchy shrubbery. This was a whole new realm for me and I haven’t been on snowshoes since I was probably like 9 years old or younger. Nature really has a calming effect and I could feel the stress I didn’t even know I was holding onto melt away as I navigated between the branches and fallen trees. My new sleeping cottage is supposed to be finished by Easter and I absolutely can’t wait to get to take in the furniture, start decorating the place and plant flowers. It seems like such a far away future in which it’ll be summer and I’ll be reading books, playing Animal Crossing and taking naps in my new cottage.. It’s been over a year now since the project started and I cannot wait to have it finished...

Dad bought me my 6th Maileg bunny from the flea market this Saturday. His name is Basil and he’s my birthday present. Dad got all 5 of my Mailegs from Sweden whenever he went on his annual fishing trip but it’s been more than ten years since my collection grew. I brought my old clothes that grandmum made my original bunny (the one called Rose whom my little sleeping cottage was named after) and I can’t wait to get them in some fresh outfits.

Today dad and I went for what was probably our last ski trip this season. It was a nice and warm day and we spent almost an hour out on skis but it was really messy from all the pine needles and twigs and the snow was much more like slush with occasional ice fields than snow. In any case I got some fresh air and exercise and that felt nice. I woke up really early today to vacuum the house and put up Easter decorations before going skiing with dad and so today feels really productive. I love weekends like this that feel both relaxing and productive. And I’m proud for getting up early despite daylight savings!

We still have no news on Animal Crossing Switch.. The fandom seems to be holding out hopes for an April direct before Reggie retires as president of Nintendo of America, and because Nintendo doesn’t usually go without a direct before E3, but I’m not holding my breath. The only thing I’m hoping for regarding the new game, is that local multiplayer, visiting dream towns and having at least one person visit you over the internet would be possible without the switch online service bullshit. I’m sure local wireless will be possible. As for the rest I’m not too hopeful.. I’d be fine with having to pay to access 8 people online multiplayer as long as I could keep trading turnips with one person and not pay 40€ a year for it... I also don’t want Animal Crossing to change too drastically. I just want a better New Leaf with more customisation, new items, bigger towns and better villager interactions... I also want to be rewarded for my ACPC grind in some way.. Anyway, in the meantime I’ve been enjoying some Sims 4. For the first time since I was a child I’ve been playing through an actual story. It’s the story of a young adult called Theodore (Theo), who moved away from home to start working as a bartender and gain money to win custody of her teenage sister Journey. She adopted Journey and they lived together in a very crappy starter home for a while, but I just moved them into a two bedroom house in Willow Creek, and renovated Journey’s bedroom into the cute teenager room she deserves. Journey works hard as an A student and a fast food employee. She just got a boyfriend and she’s a hopeless romantic (and loves cats). Theo also got a boyfriend and I think he’s going to be moving in as soon as we get some more money to renovate the house a bit and build Theo a greenhouse. Eventually the girls are also going to adopt a cat for Journey and Theo is going to have a child. I’m thinking I might buy City Living next summer so that Journey and her boyfriend can move out and start their own life in San Myshuno. I’m excited to have a rags-to-riches type story that I’m playing without cheats and with characters I’m invested in. I’ve been so bad at coming up with actual storylines and have stuck with build/buy for years this feels like a whole new game for me.

Wow that was a long bit about Sims there. I’ve been writing for almost an hour now. It’s time to go meal prep and make myself a pasta salad for next week. Then I’ll start my essay collection and then I’ll play some more Sims. My guy isn’t coming back until late this evening so I get some more time off. Happy April! ♥