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letshavedeernnertogether · 2 months

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We'll meet again

the plot is: (Y/n) summoms a demon, Alastor, to save herself from awful men and they make a deal. We'll see what comes next in subsequent chapters :>

I used she/her because it seems to me that the heroine has her own character and I thought it won't be right if I write you/your and than the heroine will make something out of your, reader, character, but I still used Y/n because I wanted to make you feel closer to this story and Alastor

english is not my mother-tounge, so I'm very-very sorry about the mistakes I must have made :'<

Part one, the summoning

Away! Farther from this place, as far as possible! It was just incredible to stay here for any longer. Although she couldn't leave this place she still could disappear for some time.

(Y/n) was running through the forest. Cold october wind rustled in her ears and scratched her cheeks, stained with tears. She breathed hard, suffocating with sob and run, but didn't want to stop to recover her wind.

She turned from the path and ran deep into the woods. She could barely see, where she was running, blinded by tears. The mist embraced her shoulders and waist, as if it asked her for a dance. Trees were bare and grey, the grass scratched her ankles. She often stumbled over the roots and stones, almost fell several times, but didn't stopped.

(Y/n) thought how marvelously would it be, if the Death would find her there right now. If she fell and bled until William, riding on the horseback, would find her, to took her to the cold and dirty marriage bed.

She was running until she ran out into a forest border, circled by high pines. There she fell exhausted.

She hated her existence that moment. She wanted to disappear. How awfully, how disgustingly, how abominably she felt! That dirty pig who dared to call himself their family's friend and who almost...

She wanted to kill him, she almost did it, when he grabbed her roughly and tried to press her lips against his. Only a memory made her shudder in disgust. But fortunately, a maid entered the room that moment, and (Y/n) ran away taking an occasion.

Now she cried her heart out.

If only she had the power... The power to take revenge. To do anything. To be anything.

She read about such power. In the books that (Y/n) called classics just because they were old, and that her mother called worthless, as they "don't teach how to live". (Y/n) always replied that these books taught her how to feel.

These books brought her up, even if their authors lived centuries ago. They told her about love, only one immortal love, and what a person could lose to get it.

The influence of these books was stronger due to the fact, that the house, where she lived, was located in the middle of nowhere, and throughout her life she communicated only with her parents, their few friends and servants.

Shaking with sobbing, she was lying on the ground. She knew that everything she read was just a fiction. There never existed any fausts, nor mephistos, nor witches nor evil forces. But she wished it weren't so.

So maybe she could try..?

She remembered a book, she found in the attick. Black leather binding, old yellow pages, blackletter.

"Circle, animals' bones and special words," she muttered.

After a while everything was done. All she had to do is to cast a spell.

Alasor was in his radio studio and he was going to start a brodcast. He made himself a cup of coffee, tuned the radio in and only just sat in his chair when something started to happen.

Everything around him flicked and rattled; the air was filled with red and black shadows.

"What is it?" he said.

Invisible force seized him and he felt the smell of rotten leaves.

Not even three seconds had passed, when the radio studio was empty.

Alastor found himself sitting on the ground in the middle of circle somewhere in a forest border. He saw a beautiful and frightened young woman in front of him. The hem of her long light dress was stained with mud. Hair was messy and her eyes were red of tears. She looked at him with her eyes wide opened, stilly moving her lips.

A human.

Alastor understood that he was still sitting on the ground and quickly stood up.

He noticed how small was this woman. He was tall enough even among the demons; and now standing opposite her he realized how small people were.

"Oh, god," she said and covered her mouth with her palm, "I can't believe. Am I insane?"

The man dusted his suit.

"If you summon a demon and then calling the god for help, then..." he almost closed his index finger and thumb, "maybe slightly mad?"

His voice sounded like coming out of a radio. His wide smile full of sharp yellow teeth gave (Y/n) the shivers. She was amazed at how classically devilish he looked. Could it be because of the colour of his clothes? He had a red pinstriped suit, a red shirt with two intersecting stripes forming something like a cross on his chest, a bowtie, black trousers and shoes with red toes. In his hand he held a strange cane that looked more like a microphone. His eyes were red, and she felt how hypnotical was his gaze. His hair was also red but with black tips. On the top of his head she saw ears and small antlers. "A deer demon?" she thought.

"Well," he said, "are you still going to remain silent and stare at me?"

He throwned but was still smiling.

"Sorry, it's just not every day you summon a demon haha" she began to stroke her hair.

"So is it your first time, hmm?"

She looked at him with her cheeks red, "Summoning? Yeah, exactly..."

(Y/n) thought that his voice was anodyne despite who he was. She couldn't deny that she found him all attractive.

"Well, dear," said the man, "tell the truth it's my first time either! Alastor, pleasure to be meeting you, quite a pleasure!" His speech became faster and he held out his hand (Y/n).

He was still in the circle and (Y/n) was out. She tipped her head and asked, "You can't cross this circle, can you?"

He was still holding his hand out her.

"I'm quite sure that you can," he said, gazing at her with a sharp smile.

"But I'm not actually sure if it's safe for me," (Y/n) replied.

He tilted his head sharply, and she heard something like a radio was crackling.

"What a bold girl," he thought.

He smiled wider and put his hands behind his back.

"Ha! Very well, dear! Now if you don't mind, explain me, why have you summoned me?"

Her face became severe; in her eyes he saw something very similar to the thirst for a revenge.

"I want the power."

He looked up at her.

"A demon like you can give me the power, right?" She looked at him with hope.

"What kind of power do you mean, darling?"

She hardly breathed, gazing at him.

"I want to be the one who can't be harmed or even touched by men. I want them to regret they meeting me."

He was surprised indeed, "Why such a unique request?"

She hugged herself by her shoulders, "Just make it," she said.

Alastor noticed how subdued and frightened she was.

Some people say if a person seeks for a devil's help this person is weak, desperate and lost their heart. But in actual fact, not every person dares to do it. Only a fearless, confident in their strength and knowledge and slightly mad, will make a deal. Of course, a lot is contingent. Nobody will ever say that Ambrosio was a strong and brave man. But the inner strength and spirit of Faust, his desire for knowledge and willingness to do anything to achieve his dream, can be envied by many. And Alastor was pretty sure about the strength of this girl. He was actually interested in her soul.

"Let's make a deal," he said holding his hand out again.

(Y/n) looked up at him. She was thinking. What would happen if she did it? Would she end up in hell? But wasn't her own existence hell already? But it was worth it, right? To sell her soul to save her body. Madness, some would say. Maybe she wasn't actually sane that moment, but she did want to revenge.

She came closer and erased a line between her and Alastor. She took his hand and a green light filled the forest. (Y/n) saw how his antlers grew much bigger, the smile stretched from ear to ear, his eyes glowed. She felt like something had changed inside of her.

And then silence.

"Well, dear, here is the contract. You must sign it." He gave her a parchment covered with dark red ink.

She took the paper and read it.

No matter how hard she tried to find something ambiguous in the document, she couldn't. "I guess a demon gets your soul not with a trap in papers but with the formulation of your wish," (Y/n) thought.

And as the formulation of her own wish in papers seemed strange, she asked the demon, "I don't remember that I said something about the demons," she wanted to show Alastor the strange line in the contact, but he was already behind her shoulder.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She responded with all-knowing tone, "I said, that I don't wanna be able to be harmed by any man, but you wrote here, that I don't wanna be harmed by any demons too."

"Why not, dear?" Alastor looked in her face. (Y/n) could see her reflection in his crimson eyes.

"My dear, I don't fill in the contact, you do." He drew himself up to his full height, "My job is to fulfil your wish in any way, that I think fit. You're the only one who formulates your desire, which is written here in the form you thought about it. So I believe it was you, and you only, who thought that you should be protected by demons too."

All of this he said smiling, accompanying his speech with graceful gestures.

"Evidently, you faced the demon," he put his hand on his chest, "me, and decided to save yourself from such a dangerous fellow." Alastor laughed and she couldn't hide her smile. His laugh was very infectious.

"Honestly, I find you better that most men I know," and before Alastor could realized what she said, (Y/n) asked, "But what about this part?"

(Y/n) pointed at red letters, where was said that neither men nor demons couldn't even touch her, unless she allow them to do it herself, with all her heart, completely trusting them.

"I'm sure, I couldn't think it. This point makes me defenceless. Also, I don't allow those I even trust to touch me. I don't like touch." She was serious as a heart attack.

Alastor leaned over her again to read red cursive. She mentioned that he smelled like fur and wood, and she also noticed a slight smell of coffee. "Can't believe a demon smells so nice," she thought.

"My dear, I must confess that I maybe thought this when we shook hands. Incredibly, how different the contracts between demons are from the contracts between a human and a demon!"

She frowned in cofusioun.

"I mean, my dear," he continued, "it would be quite difficult for you to never be interacted with anyone, there should be at least several men that you trust, aren't there?"

"No."

"Then don't worry!" He placed his hand on her shoulder and their cheeks touched, "this point doesn't mean anything for a reserved woman like you!"

He stood straight again.

"But how could be your thoughts written here?" she exclaimed. "Didn't you tell me several minutes ago, that I'm the only one who fills in the contract?"

"It's written in description of my protection of you," his voice became lower, "And as I mentioned before only I decide how to do it," and than backed to normal.

"All right," she sighed. She suspected that it was a trap, something that she would regret later; but she didn't want to worry about it too much. She was sure in her distrust of people.

(Y/n) continued on reading. It was a part of what Alastor would do to protect her.

"As you see, darling," Alastor looked at his nails, "I will always be by your side." He smiled wider at her.

"I give you my shadow," He hastened to add, "well, only a part of it, otherwise you would have my shape of shadow hahaha!"

She glanced at his shadow. Yeah, it would be difficult to explain why did a girl had a shadow of a tall, slim, deer like man.

She looked at the contact again. She sighed and signed it without hesitation. Before she had time to finish the last letter, the contact disappeared in green light.

Alastor stood in the bright green light holding out his hand. His antlers grew larger, reminding the branches of a dead wood. His smile was stitched, and on his forehead (Y/n) saw "X".

They shook hands and all of this had disappeared.

"Well, dear," Alastor adjusted his jacket, "now I'd like to warn you that this shadow has quite a cruel character!" He grined.

(Y/n) looked at her shadow under her feet. It had the same shape as usual, but it was much darker now. And then she saw how the shadow changed its shape in the place of the head. A long sharp arc appeared there. It looked like a smile. (Y/n) felt a shiver run down her spine. The smile disappeared.

"It'll get rid of your evildoers." The demon came closer. "But you need to remember, my dear, that it won't help you, if you let them harm you." He made her look at him, raising her chin. "You're invulnerable now, but you still can be harmed by any woman or anyone who you trust. So choose wisely."

She didn't move. She felt hypnotized, and his touching gave her a little tremble. "What did you say about touching just a moment ago?" said an annoying voice in her head.

"Funny, I told you to chose wisely who to trust, but still I can touch you." Alastor was smiling at her and ran his thumb down her chin. She still didn't move. He drew himself up straight and let her go. She blinked as if coming out of a trance. He put his palm on his chest saying, "I'm very flattered."

It seemed to (Y/n) that she saw some kind of softness and his eyes. But a sardonic grin appeared at his face again.

"Well, my dearest, with this I say goodbye to you." Alastor stepped in the drew circle. He looked around him and sayid to (Y/n), "Interesting, dear, but it seems to me, that I can't leave you until you command."

She looked at him. She understood that she didn't want him to leave. His face, his voice, his manner of speaking... She already missed it.

Did he saw a regret in her eyes?

"It was a real pleasure to get acquainted with you," Alastor said.

"Shall we meet again?" She asked and made a tiny step forward.

"I'm sure we'll do."

She gazed at him, pressing her hands to the chest. They would meet. He gave her power. She was saved. They would meet.

She took a stick and completed the erased circle.

"Goodbye, Alastor."

(Y/n) was left alone.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel fanfiction #alastor #alastor x reader #hazbin hotel x y/n

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ukiyowi · 9 months

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Mini PAC III

Notes: Please check out the Masterlist for more! Reblogging and paid readings help a lot! Pls DM me if you want one!

Messages from your higher self (repost)

Pile 1

"Whenever you make a decision, you know how it will end don't you? You have all the conclusions already laid out about every situation you've ever been in, has that ever helped? Things come to an end but would you want things to go another way? I hope not, because otherwise you wouldn't be who you are today"

Pile 1, I feel like you're regretting something, the end of a chapter maybe one that was very important, maybe you're going to college next year or you're starting a new job, or maybe you're moving houses, either way your higher self-assures you that whatever you do, don't move forward with regret in your heart.

For some of you there may have been a romantic relationship that ended and the weight of that break-up is still heavy on your mind, manifesting itself physically, draining your energy, exhausting you. Your higher self is telling you to cherish the times andmemories you had with that person, people change and so do circumstances but thosememories won't.

Pile 2

"Playing the devil's advocate won't get you, his throne. You need to be more mindful of what you say. Have you been getting frequent headaches lately? Clear your surroundings and meditate it should help, also please drink water. You shine so bright then why do you fear the dark? It won't harm you if you accept it."

Have you been feeling simultaneously distressed yet exceedingly happy lately pile 2? It happens, your higher self is telling you that you're being pulled in two directions so choose the one that makes you exceedingly happy and unsuccess will follow. You already have everything you need, you *are* everything you need.

All the good things that you dream about and run after are right there all you need to do is open your eyes and look. Your higher self is encouraging you to be more comfortable in your own company, you don't need people around you constantly to validate you, you don't lneed external validation.

Pile 3

"The world isn't yours to hold nor is it yours to heal. Start asking for more and you shall receive it, especially when it comes to clarity. You can't be everyone's number 1 and that's okay, everyone has their own match, just because you're not first doesn't make you any less valuable as a person, don't let it affect your self-worth. Pretending to love someone won't make you love them, fake it till you make it doesn't apply here."

Oof pile 3 so many messages coming through here. I also got a song for you, "Beautiful Feeling" by Day6. I'm getting a lot of love messages for this pile, your higher self similarly to pile 2 encourages you to focus more on yourself, whilst focusing on platonic relationships around you. Nothing will ever satisfy you if you look through a lens of despair at everything. Even if 3 of your cups have fallen, you still have two left. Your higher self is telling you to completely feel your feelings, negative ones too but not to wallow because that won't have a positive impact.

Don't try to copy other people because everyone's unique, you're your own person and people appreciate and adore you for that. Your higher self also gives a message regarding blue butterflies and how if or when you see them, you should remember that they are right by your side. October may be an important month for you as well.

#pick a card reading #pac #pick a pile #tarot daily #intuition #pac reading #daily tarot #tarot readings #🩵 PAC 🩵

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 6 months

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WIBTA for blocking my suicidal friend?

TW for suicidal ideation, mental health.I know this sounds bad but hear me out.

I (25F/NB) met F(26M) in January 2017, a few months after I started university through a mutual friend, and we quickly hit it off. We started dating a few months later. We split near the end of 2021, but aside from a few awkward months right after the split, we've stayed friends. We've both seriously dated other people: F had a girlfriend, A(mid-20s F), for a little under a year, and I've been dating my boyfriend, H (30M), for about 9 months.

Throughout the time we were dating, F and I had a few problems. Money was a big one: he would borrow money a lot and not always pay it back (either when he said he would or at all). He currently owes me about £8000 that he borrowed for uni. For most of the time since he borrowed it he hasn't been in work, so I haven't been pushing the matter. One of the last straws for our relationship was when he bought a brand new PS5 and lied to me about it when he had recently borrowed money from me.

The other big one was his mental health. F has been dealing with poor mental health for about as long as I've known him, but he refuses to do anything about it. He often talks about how much he hates his life and how he should just kill himself. He often punched himself in the head or punched walls when he was upset, but he refused to admit that this behaviour was unhealthy. He wouldn't go see a therapist or doctor, or speak to anyone except me. Once, when I was visiting family, he became upset about something and I was worried he would hurt himself, so I asked a mutual friend to check on him. He refused to let the friend in, and got very angry with me.I wanted to break up with him sooner but he'd often tell me I was the only good thing in his life, and I was scared he'd kill himself if I left him. We eventually broke up near the end of 2021. Fast forward to this summer. In August, A broke up with F and F had to move back in with his abusive parents. He initially asked to stay with me but I said no (I live in a tiny flat, I can't afford to financially support another person and to be honest I'm just not comfortable with it). I later changed my mind and offered him my sofa when I realised how bad the abuse was, but he declined.

Also in August, I found out my grandmother was dying. I went to see her with my sister and brother-in-law, and the same day received a message from F venting about his life. I replied with: "Hey I'm kind of dealing with something right now can you talk to someone else? I don't really have the emotional bandwidth rn"When he asked what was up, I told him my grandmother was dying. He expressed his sympathies, and told me that his stuff could wait. He sent me the following message four hours later: "I think I'm going to kill myself""I've totally ruined my life, I've got nothing except daily torture from my parents". Again, this is four hours after I'd explicitly told him I don't have the capacity for it. I spoke to my sister and brother-in-law (28F and 30M) about it and they both said I should block him.

In September I started a new job (I recently qualified as a teacher) which has been very challenging, exhausting and intense. My grandmother died at the end of September, so the past few months have been hard for me. He knows all this, but he keeps sending me all these messages about how much he hates his life and how he should just kill himself.

Early October, I was added to a group chat between A, F's ex, and a mutual friend Z. A told us that F had sent her an email that was essentially a suicide note. I called F and made sure he was okay, and passed that along to the group chat. F was angry that, as he perceived it, we'd been talking about him behind his back. He didn't speak to me for a day or so but quickly went back to normal.

At the end of October, the day before my grandmother's funeral, I woke up to a message that was essentially a suicide note. This was not the first time this had happened. I had a panic attack, though I'm not sure whether that was due to the message or imminent funeral. I send him some messages saying that I didn't want to receive these kind of messages unless it was actually something I could help with, that he wasn't respecting my boundaries and that the friendship had become entirely one sided. I told him that I didn't want to block him but I would. He seemed to accept that, but this morning I woke up to another suicide note message. After verifying that he was still alive (he is), I started writing this ask. I feel bad, but I'm so tired of doing all the emotional labour. I have my own shit to deal with and i'm not his therapist. WIBTA if I blocked him?

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole #self harm cw #suicide cw

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kanmom51 · 7 months

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JK Live 4 October 2023

21:01 or 9:01 pm KST

cr./To all the creators of the media used in this post.

I was waiting for this, and kind of expecting this to happen, lol.

He said he'd be live at 9 pm. And yes, you can say, it's unintentional, a coincidence, but I say NO.

Both JK and JM have shown us over the years their attention to the numbers, the dates.

Starting the live at 9:01 was intentional.

9/1 or 1/9, however you look at it!!

Let's talk about the live, why don't we?

It was definitley an interesting one.

In a gist, JK shut down (well tried to) the whole Mingyu shipping shit. He most definitley shut down TKKs. I actually kinda, maybe (not really), felt sorry for them.

He listened to all the members songs, with certain degrees of favouritism and certain degrees of, well, not...

He drank. Like a lot. I think maybe someone needs to fill him in on the secret that alcohol does have calories. Yes, whiskey might not be as bad as beer on that front, but drinking as much and then not eating cause he's dieting... well, not the healthiest choice. And this is not, god forbid, me mothering or smothering him. His health is important for his performance (he says that himself), not to mention, man is constantly hungry. Eat more, is what I'm saying.

He once again demonstrated his neuro-divergency (that whole clean up session he had in the kitchen, lol).

He showed us, again that's it's all about choices.

He got pensive and serious at a point and said some very important things, which I will, of course, discuss here in my post.

He is super tired, but really struggling to sleep.

He is fighting so hard to drop the cute image, but man, it's just imbedded in him. He is so cute!!!

And he is so genuine.

He is genuine.

Let us begin our journey into JK's almost 1.5 hour live (yep, we are back to those, lol).

He starts out telling us he just got home from the company, and that he hasn't even prepared his glass (of drink) - kind of solidifies my belief that the 9:01 pm starting time was meaningful and intentional, because then he goes and prepares his glass and drink.

He invited us to have drinks with him, so as he's preparing his own drink he tells us to fill up our glasses as well, lol. Throughout the live he has 3 highballs, and by the end of the live admits he's kind of drunk. Which is not that surprising given he is drinking on an empty stomach (as high as his tolerance to alcohol may be).

He explains he came on Weverse on the 4th and not earlier because of his solo album announcement. Golden. Makes a toast with us to celebrate it. And he talks a little about it as well.

He tells us how Golden represented him after debut. We know him as the Golden maknae, he mentions I think GC (which for some reason they translate as golden chest and not golden closet, maybe because whoever is translating isn't aware of golden closet, who knows...), how he wrote a poem called Golden (the one JM went all gushy about, if you recall), And also "this moment is like a golden period for me." - Golden hour perhaps? Kind of fits with his choice of lighting for the live as well. Just saying.

And there you have it!!!

And after seeing this, go back and take another look at his concept photo...

The album includes 3D and the clean and explicit versions of Seven. 11 songs on it, which means we will get to hear 8 new songs!!!

He also explains how he thought he would release an ep and somehow it became a full album.

He didn't give too much info (well, he couldn't of course), but told us the title track has a performance and he's practicing, like A LOT. He wants to do well and is giving it his best. He also lets us know that the title song is a hard one and will be awesome!! I do hope this one is not a collab though (just my own wishes here). He is confident we will like it, and says we can look forward to it. I know I am.

He's complaining about how his body isn't the same, he's exhausted. Well JK my man, you wanted to be a adult, and us adults, we grow old too, lol...

He says "there is nothing that is making me stressed out, I am just tired." Now, that could be meant about the album being released, or the performance he's preparing for. But it could also be more...

He says he's keeping his voice down and wanted to be calm and have "older bro vibe", lol.

He wants to go with older bro vibe. Appear to be more mature? Since his full album is coming out?

Ok, so I'm going to say this here. The translation is somewhat off and wacky. I felt this with JM's live on 1st September with some of it, and I feel the same here as well. The whole golden chest thing, the "I'm keeping the weight down" when he's talking about the older bro vibe, and more... It feels like a. whoever is doing this doesn't know JK too much (the golden chest is a big clue), and b. are they just translating literally and not the actual sentence meaning?

JK shares with us how tired he is, how he's still having trouble sleeping, that he practiced real hard today and that his upcoming schedule is hellish. I can only imagine. He's really worried, "will I be good at this?"

Now, let's stop here for a second shall we? Didn't he just minutes before tell us he's not stressed out? So, perhaps that wasn't about the album and promotions at all? Perhaps that was more about the white noise shitshow that was going on in the background? Telling us that isn't bothering him, all while now sharing with us that what he is worried about is if he'll be good enough, do well enough with his performances?

He shows us he got an IV today, needs to replenish himself, yet he hasn't eaten. "I have to take care of my body too". Yes he does. But at the same time he says he has to lose weight. It kind of frustrates me, but then again, this is their reality, as idols. I just wish there would be less pressure on them in that aspect.

He reads a comment telling him to do well, says he will.

And then this:

Ok, so thing is, please raise your hand if you actually do believe the commenter was asking JK if he loves Taehyun of TXT.

No show of hands I see.

Lmao.

Nah, when this happened I didn't have the comments on and in any case wouldn't have been able to read them, not knowing Korean. But I kind of felt like maybe whoever wrote it wasn't Karmy and misspelled it perhaps? And then I saw this.

So here's the thing. If this was a misspell, makes sense that JK was maybe blissfully unaware of the intent of the comment.

But if this was indeed spelled out correctly, I kind of have my doubts he didn't read it right, especially given he says it twice before answering. And he's off telling us about TXT Taehyun. Whom he spoke with on the phone that day. He's so well mannered and cute, while being an old soul. Ok, here we go with another Taekook ship, lol. JK spoke to someone - must be something going on there. No wonder the man is so damn tired... Seven days a week seven sets of sheets... (eww... NOOOOOOO). No, but seriously, did we know that Taehyun was a good friend of JK's? No we didn't. Now we do.

Not seeing it doesn't mean it's not there!!!

It's funny how JK runs himself down constantly. Like the man is so intelligent. Perhaps not book smart (which is why he keeps saying he's not smart), but not everything about life is learnt from a book, and his emotional intelligence and artistic intelligence are next level. But he keeps running himself down, and I kind of feel that sometimes fans only hear or see that of him, instead of seeing his art and listen to what actually comes out of his mouth when he starts speaking about the deeper things.

Again, the "I'm Jungkook's girlfriend" comments. Ugh yuck. Like shut the fuck up already. But he just brushes it off. Reads it, asks what they are doing at this hour and snickers.

Comment "I really love you a lot". JK "I think I love you more". This is once again JK cementing just how great his love for army is. He will talk about it more later too.

Look, man loves army. We can't even start to understand the connection he has with army, given his whole career, starting out at such an early age and going through all the struggles that they went through to get where they are right now, feeling that it's because this sense of loyalty and love that army have for them. So yes, he loves army.

And another idiot in the comments asking JK to take off his shirt. Of course these people are flooding his comments. Funny how his reaction is:

Yes he giggles, but he's uncomfortable. And asks why they even said that. "It's embarrassing".

Happy that he called them out. As if it will help though.

JK shows us his Vogue magazine, the hip hop concept, which he says he liked the most.

Ok, so this was maybe intentional (I kinda feel it was), maybe not, but cute none the less.

He talks about how the comments are lagging, slow, and says:

and then he thinks for a second, eyes looking to the side (mind working), and goes:

Kind of random, don't you think?

Coming up with the 13 seconds lagging.

And happening to end up with 10-13. 🤣🤣

So, he started the live at 9-1 and now we have 10-13!!!

I'd say, either this was intentional (him stopping to think might just hint to that) or the man has 13 etched on his brain. 13 and 10, which is kind of coming up very soon...

Next JK talks about the TikTok he deleted.

Now here's the thing. On Stationhead JK said he saw the trend and wanted to do it. Not a word about doing the opposite of the trend. Going "the other way". JK isn't saying he didn't want us to see the clip he uploaded (which kind of might have been what was understood from what he said in Stationhead, and maybe that's why he's clarifying here). He says he wanted his TikTok to be for dancing and that's why he deleted. He also seems to be happy that army had seen it and spread it around regardless of him deleting. So, he wanted us to see it, but better it not be on his TikTok. And the thing is that he posted it to start with. He knew that army will catch it and spread it. He knew!!! And he wanted us to. I don't know how to articulate this properly to make my point clearly, but the whole thing screams Queer coding to me. I talked about it in a previous post, and I stand by my words.

This wasn't about doing something silly and then regretting and deleting. This was about posting something with a message, and then deleting because it couldn't stay up on his account ("as long as it's not on my tiktok"), but relying on army to catch it and spread it around.

"Let's talk in English", reading out a comment...

The Nah, though, lol.

"English is so difficult", he says in English, lol.

Talks about how the comments are slow and the responses in Stationhead were immediate, and then, out of nowhere he's going...

Puiriri...

Well, he actually does this during Like crazy as well.

Nope, not JM on the brain what so ever...

"Korean is sexy"...him going with that's right, Korean is the hardest language... He actually talks about how the translations from English to Korean differ from translator to translator and how interesting that is. True about the opposite way as well, seeing the difference in the structures of both languages.

"You want to see me laugh?"

Funny, the original translations were "smile if you're real". Either way, he's hilarious.

I can't with him. LMAO.

Prepares drink no. 2.

Again, this man doesn't want to be called cute, but he's so damn cute, lol. Like how can you be preparing this alcoholic drink and still be so cute about it? Lol.

No tequila or champagne for JK.

"You want to have a drink with me?"

JK: You already all know it.

Why does it feel like JK is talking about so much more than just knowing his address is up on YT?

"You want me to call out my address? But you really can't visit me." Boundaries set once again. With a smile. But set none the less.

Plays a song he tells us he was recommended by one of the dancers while filming 3D MV. 21 by Gracie Abrams.

Says we'll be like this today "let's rest". How you can call what he does later as rest I have no idea, lol.

He shows us where he shot the TikTok clips, the corridor. Shows and explains a little how he does it.

Does a little clean up sesh in the kitchen. The way he was rearranging the bottles and utensils, while on live, was that intentional? Was it just his neuro divergency, getting distracted perhaps? Idk.

Asked if he ate, asks "what will I eat?" in English and tries to say something else or thinks maybe he didn't say it properly initially, but gives up, lol.

Then someone askes to hear Hobi's song. And JK is happy to go put on Jhope's song, saying he misses him. 😭

Says "Arson", twice, but then plays "More", lol.

Ok, so this is where we start with listening to the members songs, and I do have something to say about this.

JK plays 2 of Hobi's songs, and puts on a show.

If this is JK resting... Lol.

Sure he's tired...

After Hobi, JK plays Tae's Slow dancing.

Then stops the song, sits down saying how tiring have to rest and then says "Let's go with all the major songs for the members".

And guess who's next... one guess allowed... Of course you know the answer to that.

He has Like crazy playing twice in a row and then SMF pt. 2. He really LOVES SMF pt. 2. You can tell it means A LOT to him. Not that LC doesn't, but I feel that emotionally LC is harder for him, while SMF pt. 2 is cathartic (for JM and as such so meaningful to him as well).

He's all playful with LC.

We have this as well...

And at some point wants to do something, walks off camera looking for a prop, I guess, only to come back deciding it's a no go - won't be fun (me sitting here dying to know what he was up to).

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The whole bottle empty during LC.

He moves on to Jin, 1 and a half songs, RM (3 songs) and Suga (2 songs).

Point being, the only member that gets only 1 song played is Tae. Ouch. The only member to have the same song played twice - JM.

So, let's talk a second about the whole Like crazy playing twice. Cause Idk if you get it. He listens to Hobi and then Tae's Slow dancing, then says "we have to listen to all the members", cause he ain't falling into the TKK trap, and he plays JM. Cause, of course it would be JM. But here's the thing. Each one of them was on a specific playlist. When he played a song it continued to the next song in line. Hobi he said Arson, but actually played More (which was interesting within itself), and then it went to On the streets. RM same, went down through his album, Suga the same. But not JM. He played Like crazy, and then following it, him not moving from his chair or changing the songs or going to play it again, it played it again. Same version. In the album Like crazy is followed by SMF pt. 2 (which did follow the second time LC played, and he did listen through that too). So my question is what kind of playlist JK has for JM? Does he just have these songs going on repeat? He gets up to stop it just at the end of SMF pt. 2, and I can't help but wonder what the next song would have been? SMF pt. 2 again maybe?

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Of course he still remembers the choreo.

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He talks about Jin and Super Tuna, how he's wild and that side of him is why the team is so bright. He really loves him so, and misses him.

"I miss my members".

Prepares drink no. 3.

The whole ceremony around the drink preparations... he's so funny.

He makes a comment about Jin's MV while looking towards where his whole music playing set up is. So, this is YT he's playing from? Which means these would be YT playlists? Which means he watches LC on repeat? I mean, who could blame him really?

Gets up to change the playlist to RM's songs.

While Flowerworks is playing he reads a comment and says:

"Did Mingyu cut his hair?"

Now, we know they saw each other later that night, getting together with others as well, but JK once again draws the lines here. He's a good friend definitley. Someone he hangs out with, of course. But knowing if he cut his hair... meaning being in constant contact with him or more than that, as there are some that might think... nope.

Ok, time to get serious.

He starts to talk about the members songs, their "colours are so different", and then he's asked after resuming activities in 2025 what he wants all the members to do together? Turns down the music a bit to get serious:

Make an album, quickly come out to see army, first priority of course. From the moment they get back together to find the way to come out as quickly as possible. "We will do Bon voyage...we will do In the soop..."

Stops, gets up to turn down the volume even more, and this is when you know he's delving even deeper, and getting even more serious. Sits down and continues...

Ok, I'm really not sure this is about the solo activities. He talks about that further on. I thought this when I first heard this during the live, and although the wording is slightly different I still think this is JK is sending us a message. They love us, they love each other. They will be coming back and they will be giving it their all. But that said, they will also have their own personal lives. Setting the stage, perhaps? For relationship announcements? Marriages on the way? He told us that he wants to make us happy, but to do so we have to understand that he deserves happiness as well. Is this one step further in that direction? yes their focus is on army, but with all of that they will also have their own personal paths.

He continues about them wanting to "look awesome" in front of us, or want to give us strength,

He knows what his top priority is, and he hopes we know that we are the reason. For real.

He continues to talk about coming back in 2025, releasing a song, saying it will be approx. 2 years.

They mustn't forget there are those rooting for BTS. Train, release an album, tour.

They will have to meet army around the world.

This is interesting:

They will reveal by doing shootings and "let your ears get pleased and let you watch our shows". Stories

"BTS is this kind of team". That is what they will show.

And what members each want to do, they can do that later. Him making clear that their first priority is the comeback as BTS.

Number one priority is about the group, and he makes sure we understand that this is not only him speaking but also true for every single one of them.

Again, army's importance to him. This isn't acting or being false or fake, this is genuinely what he feels. When said in a comment that army are because of BTS he corrects them, sets things straight: BTS are here because of army!!

And then this happens:

"Jeon Jimin?" he reads out a comment.

Now, I understand people think it's disrespectful because of the meaning it has in the West but the fact that in Korea people don't change their names after marriage. Thing is, Karmy nor JK, for that matter, really find it offensive? He doesn't even take it that way. To him it's someone putting their two names together, I'd say just like Jikook or minkook or kookmin. Nothing more nothing less. And he chooses to read it out. He could have just left it, but he decided to read the comment out.

This is when he remembers he has to play Suga's songs too, lol. Playing Haegeum.

"How can all the member have such different tastes in music? Isn't that fascinating?"

I love it that he feels that way. I love it that he knows how talented he is (especially knowing how he runs himself down intellectually). I love that he knows and appreciates the rest of the members talent as well. They are all different, and yet all outstanding each in their own way.

And not only does he see that in them, he also attributes his own growth as a person to them.

JK tells us how Yoongi told him off for not doing the Haegeum dance challenge, repeats it a couple of times too, how he was upset about it, lol. So he says he will do it. A little late, no? And he makes sure to make it clear that it won't be soon either. But it will go up on his TikTok.

Toilet break time.

Comes back, finishes up his drink and stops Amygdala to play Seven and 3D before he ends his live.

So, he chooses the explicit version of Seven. Sings along. Admits he's a little drunk and for now will stop drinking. Emphasis on "for now", lol.

Now, while he's playing Seven someone asks for him to play Slow dancing.

Once is enough, thank you very much!! Lmao. He just keeps shutting them down. It's also the way he says it, the intonation. Sound annoyed, lol.

Says he'll play 3D and say his goodbyes, which he does. Sings along to 3D as well, ad-libbing at the end, kind of wondering if this is something we will be getting in his live performances. It does feel like he chooses to sing certain lyrics while not others, in both Seven and 3D.

Then he says his goodbyes, to look forward to the album, to know that he is always thinking of us, to have a wonderful night and day and thanks us again .

So that's it. JK's live. Missed these lives of his, as exhausting as writing these posts are, lol. This is Jungkook. Cute and funny and serious and sincere.

#Jungkook #JK #JK live #Jikook #Kookmin #Minkook #Jimin #JM #Youtube

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yan-lorkai · 8 months

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.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ A/N: My excuse for writing this is that 99% of my problems would be solved if I were adopted by Vil and Rook, plus it's October so my mind automatically went to several different scenarios involving vampires, you know. Though in the original draft Epel would just kill the reader mercilessly, but I decided to spoil myself a little and made it platonic instead. I'm not sure if I'll do a Halloween event yet, let me know what y'all think about it please.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Warning: Yandere content, platonic yandere, RookVi + Epel being their son, gn!reader, some randoms die, description of blood and members though it's not that explicit, reader gets surprised adopted, I think that's all. Let me know if I should add more warnings tho.

You never thought you would miss the sun and its gentle, joyful rays. You never thought you'd miss walking down busy streets and hearing people talking over each other, but in that moment you thought about all these completely mundane things as you ran as fast as your lungs would let you and your legs could carry you.

Whose idea was it to enter the abandoned mansion? You couldn't even remember anymore, panting, leaning on one of the walls to keep yourself upright. What mattered now was where you would escape and how, and if it was really possible. Your pursuers weren't exactly human as they did well to demonstrate by ripping out your friend's throat, laughing as the blood dripped from their fangs.

Maybe, you thought, heart pounding against your ears as you looked from side to side searching for one of the vampires, maybe I could break one of the windows and escape from here.

It wasn't a spectacular plan, but in your head filled with adrenaline and fear it made complete sense. There was no time for "what ifs", there was the here and now. And with that thought you forced yourself to walk once again, holding back the tears of grief and fear inside you, clinging to the futile hope that you would survive the night.

You opened one of the thousands of doors in that dimly lit hallway, biting your lip hard as you forced your eyes to see through the darkness in search of a window. But there was nothing there, no window, no bed or anything, just a very strange smell and the disconcerting sound of a clock.

The air around you seemed to change and you turned around feeling like something or someone had touched your shoulder. Your hand fumbled for the doorknob and you ran out faster than the devil running from the cross, leaving behind only a glimpse of blood and guts that you probably hadn't even noticed. But later perhaps you would understand.

The seconds dragged by, the blonde vampire's laugh still echoing in your mind as your friend asked for help, the expression on your other friends' faces frozen as they tried to escape. The look of disbelief on one of their faces as you abandoned him in order to save yourself.

You no longer knew how many doors you opened, how many exactly the same rooms you entered, how many times had you felt as if someone was watching your futile efforts to survive while silently laughing at your fearful humanity in the face of death. But you were already exhausted and your pursuers hadn't even found you yet - or, on the other hand, maybe they had but didn't want to kill you yet, like a cat playing with a mouse before ending its life.

In the distance, you saw a small silhouette. His lavender hair and almost angelic appearance would have made you trust him if you hadn't seen what he was capable of doing.

For a second, you thought he hadn't seen you and started to slowly walk away, praying that it was just a legend that vampires had super hearing. One foot behind the other, left then right. But then he looked at you, his little eyes seeming to sparkle and he laughed, loudly, extremely loudly.

Without thinking twice, you turned your back to where you had come, running as fast as you could across the little terrain you knew, every place memorized in your mind as you heard his approaching footsteps and cynical laughs. Every second passing like a cinematic scene in which the protagonist is chased by the killer in a generic horror film, everything jumbled together in your head as you panted and ran, and did it all over again.

You allowed yourself to look over your shoulder when everything went silent and the boy was no longer there. But even though you couldn't see him, you could hear him laughing and whispering something to someone else, to another vampire.

You were running too fast to stop when you reached the end of one of the hallways, crashing into one of the walls and sending a hanging mirror crashing to the floor, glass flying everywhere as you forced yourself to stand up and ignore the pain, quickly looking left and right to see where to go.

It makes a difference? You thought bitterly.

But you got back to your feet, tired, sweaty, in all your stupidity you raised your arms and screamed full of frustration. "I'm here, come kill me if you want, oh, mighty vampires."

Just silence and dark. You really felt like a mouse, searching for the cat's paws to avoid being crushed, searching for the cat's fangs to avoid being sucked to death, but the cat didn't seem to care about you enough. Or, initially that was what the feline wanted you to think, but footsteps were heard all around you, behind you, beside you, in front of you, you were surrounded and now they were really coming.

At least I'll punch one of them, you thought with a small smile.

"You're quite troublesome, mortal." A soft voice sounded in your ear, making you shiver all over and turn back to look for its owner. It was the same voice that announced their death to your friends, the same voice that in any other context would have made you smile, as it was a beautiful voice. "Swallow those tears, human, before I give you a reason to cry. Their deaths are your fault, your own death will be your fault for breaking into the home of the night lords and thinking such a transgression will go unpunished."

You touched your eyes and were surprised to notice small tears falling from your eyes, the vampire's words slowly resonating in your mind. It wasn't your idea to come here, but you didn't dissuade your friends even though you knew the legend that surrounded the house. Was it really your fault?

Fatigue seemed to finally be taking over your heavy bones, despite you trying with all your might to keep your concentration and hatred burning within you, despite you trying not to accept the fact that you would die that night.

"Do you practice this speech every day in front of the mirror?" You retorted, lips trembling as they curved into a wry smile.

A laugh. He was laughing at you like you were just a kid who was using the silliest insult they learned to offend people. "Is that the best you can imagine?"

You looked at him, tall, blond, wondering if such a freak had ever been human, wondering how someone could lose their morals so frivolously and take pleasure in killing and dismembering humans for fun. And you didn't answer him, biting your tongue hard to keep from shouting insults.

"Oh, but Roi du Poison, they're so cute." Another voice echoed, this time you felt a hand gently smoothing your hair with fingers so light you swore they were made of feathers, the pale face resting just above your shoulder, freezing you in the same second as the two of you made eye contact. "Can't we keep them instead?"

Rook still half hugging you, half enjoying the smell of your blood; his arms tightened around your waist as you tried to push him away with all the strength you could muster. Pushing and clawing his shoulders away, trying to kick him and fighting him.

But he felt like a block of concrete, motionless, hard and smiling so gently at you and your efforts. His hands continued twirling strands of your hair and drinking in your expression of discomfort, as if all this were normal.

"Yes please." The same boy from before asked, an excited gleam passing through his eyes as he looked from you to the other vampire. "You promised me I would have a little sibling."

Little sibling…?

If you hadn't had a vampire literally holding you so tenderly but firmly in that moment, his face resting on your neck, maybe you would have laughed and screamed that you wouldn't be the sibling of a murderer and that if you could you would kill them all with a stake. Or, anything sharp you had on hand.

But you held back, taking deep breaths, just waiting for the right moment to act. Maybe some of your other friends had managed to escape and would come back soon to help you.

The vampire, Vil, looked at your tired figure with attentive eyes. Excruciating moments passed in total silence, you being unable to hear your own heavy breathing or the way your heart beat as you waited.

You waited for his attack, for his mocking laugh. Your hands closed ready to hit the face of the first vampire who dared to try to bite you. It was foolish to think that this would do anything, if anything it would make them angry and kill you more slowly to see you suffer.

Vil looked at Rook, watching how he was intoxicated by the smell of your sweet blood and they both looked at each other, talking, arguing silently while Epel looked at his dads impatiently, shifting his weight from one leg to another, eager for an answer.

"Or you can let me go." You argued. "I promise I won't tell anyone anything."

But the three men completely ignored you, deaf to your suggestions and blind to your justified fear. Rook slowly released his tight grip on your waist and you felt as if you could breathe again, as if pressure had left your entire body, which was paralyzed.

"They're in your capable hands, son." Vil stated, hands resting on his hips as he looked at the boy.

Not so subtly, you move away from the reach of Rook's nimble arms, feeling exposed as all the vampires look at you. A different look; a look you don't give at your food, the bile in your stomach began to stir and you took a deep breath.

Epel, the youngest vampire, moved. His footsteps being so silent against the floorboards that if you took your eyes off him you wouldn't be able to see him approach.

"I was like you a long time ago," He murmured, baring his fangs in a small smile too intimidating to be casual. "but you don't need to be afraid, y'know"

"I don't kill people." You countered. "I'm not a monster like you."

Epel smiled once more, his eyes shining with recognition. "Every new vampire says that. I said that too and you say it now, but in the future you will kill, because that's what we do to survive."

One second he was in front of you and the next he was gone, leaving behind only a bad feeling of not knowing which side he would attack from. Rook and Vil watch the events unfold from a safe distance.

You forced your ears to work to their fullest, searching everywhere for him.

Suddenly, you heard him step on the shards of broken glass and you turned around, your closed fist making direct contact with his face. Epel staggered in surprise as if he didn't expect you to fight back, but soon he looked at you and smiled.

It was actually a dance, the way you dodged and tried to attack him. But the problem with dancing is that it requires good physical condition and you were running for a long time, running to get to that damn house and then running to try to escape the house, a false step took you to the ground in moments and Epel pressed his foot on your stomach keeping you pinned to the ground.

You continued to fight with all your might, but he was relentless. As immobile as Rook, so impossible to escape and face to face with your death, tears of anger and helplessness flowed from your eyes in abundance against your will.

You wouldn't be graced with death like your friends, but it would be a death all the same. A death without sunlight, destined to know that the people who care about you would be looking for you, looking for your body, without knowing what really happened that Halloween night.

"We'll have a lot of fun when you wake up, lil sib." He whispered, it was supposed to be something comforting, but it sounded extremely condescending.

Despite the difference in height between you and him, you felt smaller, much smaller in the face of the impotence and strength of that delirious look. "When you wake up I will show you the best plains, the best hunting places and you will understand everything from my perspective."

"I'll kill you when I wake up." You promised him, dryly, firmly.

And you don't break your promises.

Epel ignored your words as he knelt beside you, cold fingers holding your hands without much effort as his face moved closer and closer to your neck. His pink lips brushed against your skin.

"You fought well, but you must accept your defeat."

He bit your neck before you could retort, injecting his vampiric venom that would kill you in a few minutes, laying your body on the ground once again. The boy remained sitting next to you, watching every pained expression pass across your face and trying to remember if he reacted the same way.

A lot of time had passed and he couldn't remember. Soon, you wouldn't remember your unfounded fear either, soon, you and he could do what siblings do, whatever that is. For the past five hundred years he has been his dads' only child, but Epel likes to think he will make a good big brother to you.

"Sweet dreams, Yuu."

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rosella35 · 7 days

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Borrowed Courage: Chapter 12

*Edit* = Kaleb's dad's physical description has changed because I'm indecisive and for next chapter's lore ;)

Oop. The last time I updated this was October 2022. I've completed an entire Master's degree since then ^^'

Thank you for being patient with me everyone! You have @fireflywritesgt and their incredible writing recently to thank for me rekindling my G/T hyperfixation and picking up my slack with Borrowed Courage. I hope you enjoy this mammoth of a chapter, kicking off the morning after Brooke and Kaleb's video call.

Word count: 7.4k *whistles*

Content warning: contains angst, swearing, and borrower gang tattoos(?)

****

A normal weekend for Kaleb was relatively boring by human standards, but to his borrower side, it was a welcome change of pace. His daily use of Upsize and constant interaction with humans meant that by the end of the week, Kaleb’s mind and body were battered to the point of exhaustion. It was for that reason that he’d come up with a rule for himself that on his days off, it was strictly ‘borrower time’. The concept was exactly as it sounded; Kaleb’s Saturdays and Sundays were spent tinkering away within the walls at his original size, going on the occasional borrowing trip (mostly out of habit than necessity), and if he really felt like it, travelling to the city’s aptly named interspecies zone with one of his upsized family members. As much as he loved attending school and blending in with human society, there was a deeper, almost visceral part of Kaleb that relished the moments he got to spend living unapologetically as a borrower.

Unfortunately though, this weekend was going to be different. As his phone’s alarm went off bright and early on Saturday morning, Kaleb groaned, dragging himself reluctantly out from under his mothers’ handmade quilt of fabric scraps and across the room to silence it. He braced himself on the side of his propped up phone for a minute, hiding a yawn behind the back of a hand and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the other. Bands of light streaked through the cracks in the wall that separated his cobbled-together living space from the human-sized apartment outside, illuminating hundreds of tiny, floating dust particles that no borrower could ever seem to escape from. Kaleb studied them intently for a minute, trying to distract himself from the overwhelming urge to flop back into bed.

There’s no time to sleep in, he reminded himself, because today, he had a mission. A very un-borrower-like mission that involved breaking his own rule.

In his meagre defence, Kaleb hadn’t expected Brooke to actually take him up on the offer to study together in his family’s apartment. In fact, if he were being honest, he’d made that comment in the spur of the moment to sound cool in front of his human neighbour. This brought him to his current predicament: Kaleb had lied about having human guests over. Well, at least guests Brooke’s age. The truth was, the only human who had ever stepped foot in the Finch residence was Evie, and for good reason.

This is gonna be a long day. He thought, staring longingly at his unmade bed one last time.

With a begrudging sigh, Kaleb forced himself into his morning routine. He pulled on a fresh pair of handmade clothes, ran his repurposed toothbrush through his unruly bedhead, and set out into the ‘hallway’ that led to his family’s main living area. His cloth shoes were silent against the dust-covered timber floor, which was really a support beam that ran horizontally from one side of the wall near his human bedroom to the open kitchen and living room area on the other. On a normal Saturday morning, Kaleb would take his time with the trip, admiring the infrastructure of the apartment walls from a perspective he was fairly sure not even the human architects who designed the place would ever experience. Today, that luxury was swept aside as he turned the corner and shimmied down a knotted line stapled to the connecting support beam. From there, he speed-walked the last few feet’s distance towards a door crafted from the sturdy plastic cover and spiral binding of an A6 sized notebook.

“Hey mom, dad? You there?” Kaleb called as he crossed the threshold, leaving his shoes on a mat at the door.

Having constant access to Upsize and by association the human world meant that the Finch household was more accessorised than most borrower dwellings. The floor was carpeted for starters, hence his mom’s strict no-shoes policy. Their kitchen and living room area had been purposely built parallel to the human-sized equivalent, which allowed Kaleb’s dad and uncle Rodney to construct a series of tubes and pipelines that provided water, electricity and gas. The kitchen itself boasted a functioning gas stove and range hood made from a small aluminium funnel that filtered the steam outside.

On the other side of the room was a walk-in pantry that housed a wide assortment of nuts, dried fruits and repurposed glass trinket bottles filled with pickled vegetables. There was a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf almost as tall as Kaleb himself leant against one side of the doorframe, and a stick of cinnamon on the other. And, on the apartment’s kitchen counter that could be accessed through a door next to the pantry was his uncle Rodney’s most prized possession, a mini fridge meant to hold human cosmetics, that allowed the Finch family to do what most borrowers could never dream of—store their perishables.

Kaleb’s mom, dad, and twin sisters, who were seated at their popsicle stick dining table having breakfast, glanced up in surprise when he entered the room.

“Someone’s up early.” His mom remarked, looking over his shoulder at a leather watch pinned horizontally across the wall to check the time. She gestured for him to sit down in a spare seat before leaving her own chair to fetch him a plate and cutlery. Kaleb did so, fighting the urge to drool as he took in the plate of steaming dime-sized pancakes, syrup, and berry slices his mom had prepared in the centre of the table.

“Heh, yeah. Morning.” He greeted, thanking her as she handed him a simple plastic plate repurposed from a button, a copper wire fork, and a knife he was fairly sure had once belonged in a set of Cluedo. Kaleb wasted no time helping himself to a stack of pancakes, maple syrup, and a slice of strawberry, momentarily distracted from his reason for being up so early in the first place.

As if reading his mind, his mom continued. “It’s not like you to be up this early on a Saturday. How was work last night?”

“Same old.” He said around a mouthful of pancake. “They’re talking about letting me start working the drive through next month, which sounds kinda cool. Apparently the pay’s a bit better than flipping burgers.”

“Ooh, I wonder if you’ll get any pranksters.” Juno piped up eagerly from her seat at the other end of the table. “Y’know, like those people on TikTok!”

Kaleb smirked across at his sister. For their thirteenth birthday and in preparation to begin attending human school next year, Juno and Paige had been gifted their first ever mobile phone, or in other words, their gateway into the world of the internet. Since then, the pair of them had been chattering non-stop about all of the amusing things human influencers did to entertain their loyal fans on social media. “If I do, you’ll be the first one to hear about it.” He promised her, before turning back to his mom.

“Actually, I was hoping to ask for you and dad’s opinion on something.” Kaleb started, setting his knife and fork down as he mulled over his next words.

His parents both looked at each other, and then across at him with concern. “Sure, Kaleb. What’s wrong?” Asked his dad, leaning across the table to grab a wedge of blueberry.

“Well… nothing’s wrong, exactly. I just…” He squeezed his eyes shut, finding himself clamming up all over again. Why was it suddenly so hard to speak?

“Is this about apologising to that girl in your class?” His mom interrupted, lacing her fingers together. “Because if it is—"

“No, no, it’s not that.” He replied before she could continue with what was sure to be another lecture. “Well, I mean, it is, kind of…” Voice trailing off for the second time, Kaleb gritted his teeth in frustration and decided to just get it over with.

“How do you feel about me bringing someone from my class over to work on a project next week after school?” He blurted out.

Instantly, the mood around the dining table shifted. “Someone from your class… Wait, you mean a human?” His mom realised, an incredulous look plastering her face. “You want to have a human over? In our apartment?”

“Who?” His dad enquired, scratching his stubbled chin thoughtfully. “Is it someone you’ve told us about before?”

“Well, about that…” Kaleb began to fidget idly with his fork, preparing himself for the reaction his next words would almost certainly garner. “It’s actually Brooke Tucker. Y’know, from downstairs?”

“Brooke Tucker…” His mom was the first one to connect the dots. “Hold on, you mean the girl your teacher called me about… the exterminator’s daughter?” She looked positively aghast.

Meanwhile, from the other end of the table, his dad chuckled, amusement glinting in his hazel eyes. It was the perfect example of how he and Kaleb’s mom couldn’t be any more different when it came to handling situations involving humans. “I take it your apology was well received, then?”

His mom’s icy gaze shifted from Kaleb to her husband. “Hugo, this isn’t a joke.” She scolded, pointing her own wire fork across at him accusingly. “Don’t you see how risky that is, letting a human like that into our home? What if she notices something amiss, or worse, someone gets seen?”

“Margalo, dear, let’s think about this for a minute.” Kaleb’s dad cut her off from her fretting, well practiced in calming her anxious antics. “It’s not like Kaleb’s going to be giving her a private tour of the walls. I’m sure the two of them will just study together in the main room like I’d imagine any other human students would. Am I getting that right, Kaleb?”

“Pretty much.” Kaleb confirmed, endlessly grateful for his dad’s support.

His mom glanced helplessly from her husband, to Kaleb, and then back again. “I know, but that doesn’t eliminate the risk involved here.” She protested. “With that… man… for a father, that girl is probably more observant than your average human, and besides all that, I heard from Kaleb’s teacher that she brags about torturing borrowers in class. Why on earth would you want to bring someone like her into our home?”

“Yeah, about that.” Kaleb said, recalling his conversation with Brooke from the other night. “It’s a long story, but turns out, she actually made all of that stuff up to try and get me to leave her alone. I… I think I can trust her.”

Margalo Finch narrowed her eyes. “You think, or you know?”

Meanwhile, Kaleb’s dad was appraising him with that observant look of his that always seemed to peer deep into one’s soul. It was the same look he got when he was thinking of a new protagonist or plot-line for one of his novels. “She has no reason to suspect us, dear.” He finally said, addressing his dishevelled wife with the calmest voice he could muster. “Even if Kaleb did provoke this Brooke Tucker girl about her father’s…” he coughed “…line of work, that doesn’t mean she’s automatically going to assume there are borrowers living here. Besides, plenty of young humans are getting into borrower rights activism these days, and if she’s had a change of heart so quickly, then isn’t that a good thing? One less thing to worry about with Kaleb going to school, hmm?”

As he listened to his dad defending him, Kaleb felt a pang of guilt that both of his parents were blissfully unaware of how much Brooke already knew about their family secret. He’d thought about telling them what had happened; how he’d made the fatal error of running his mouth on the apartment roof that night and paid the ultimate price for it; how he’d escaped with Evie’s help and against his better judgement, confronted Brooke again the following night; how he was finally starting to see eye to eye with her, as rocky as that process was turning out to be. But he just couldn’t bring himself to do it, at least not yet. A part of him was afraid that if he did, he would never be allowed to attend human school or use Upsize again. That was a gamble Kaleb just wasn’t willing to make.

“I… I understand that, but why?” He was jolted from his thoughts by his mom, who stared across at him with an expression that was a mixture of confusion and defeat. “I’m proud of you for making things right with her, but I thought you couldn’t stand the girl.”

Kaleb let out an exasperated sigh. That question again. It was one he was still grappling with himself. Why was he making this much of an effort with Brooke? He decided to shelve that debate for the time being, instead casting his mind back to the conversation he’d had with his mom earlier that week. “It’s like you said, isn’t it?” He recalled. “That the humans own the world, and we just live in it. When I thought about it that way, I wanted to make more of an effort to see things from Brooke’s perspective, y’know, just like any other human would. I guess I figured if I do that,” Kaleb almost laughed at the absurdity of his next words, “then maybe we could even be friends someday.”

Kaleb wasn’t sure if it was the delivery of his conviction, or the fact that he’d used her own words against her, but he could see the fight leaving his mom’s pale blue eyes. She sighed, relenting. “Well… I suppose it’d be alright to have her over, so long as it’s just the one time.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. Well, that’s the first hurdle crossed. “Thanks, mom.”

“You’re actually gonna bring home a human then, Kaleb?” Juno exclaimed. “That is so-o-o dope!”

“Dope?” Their dad asked, bemused.

“Yeah!” The borrower teen declared proudly. “We’ve been practicing our slang for human school!”

Kaleb groaned, pinching his brow. “No one uses that word anymore, Juno.”

“But Damon said—”

“If you’re actually listening to Damon, then that’s your first mistake.”

“That’s what I said!” Paige piped up smugly from beside her twin, and Kaleb reached across the table to give her a first bump.

“Okay fine, I won’t say it again.” Juno relented, before quickly turning back to her older brother with an impish grin. “But still, Kaleb, are you sure you wanna have a girl over? Our apartment looks so povo.”

“Hmm… I’ve definitely heard that word get tossed around, but only by this one Australian kid in class.” Kaleb confirmed as he processed the rest of her remark. “You do have a point, though.” He straightened up in his seat. “That’s kind of the other reason I got up so early this morning.”

“Povo?” His mom repeated in confusion, to which Hugo Finch sighed.

“I believe our children are comparing the main apartment to something akin to squalor.”

“Well, I suppose we do have quite a bit of… extra furniture.” She surmised with a chuckle, starting to lose some of the tension she’d built up from before.

‘Extra furniture’ was a stretch. The truth of the matter was that by nature, everyone in the Finch family was a kleptomaniac. Kaleb had seen a few episodes of Hoarders on YouTube, so he knew their human-sized living space wasn’t overly messy per se, but the fact remained that the Finch apartment currently functioned as more of a storage space for its residents’ various trinkets and bits-and-bobs than a place you’d expect humans to be living in. After all, it wasn’t like most of the giant furniture they could have purchased to fill the rooms would ever be used in the way it was intended. In fact, the only reason the apartment contained things like an old table and chair in the living area and Kaleb’s springy mattress were for the human-sized borrowers to have somewhere to sit while they waited for their Upsize to wear off in the afternoons.

With that in mind, Kaleb revealed his next big proposal. “How about this,” he declared. “I have some money saved up. If you let me have Brooke over to study, I’ll turn the apartment into the most decked-out human condo you can imagine.”

Margalo eyed her youngest son skeptically. “That’s the first I’ve heard about these savings.” She pointed out. “Doesn’t most of your money go towards your Upsize?”

Kaleb cringed at the reminder of his current financial situation. “Well, yeah, but I have some left over.” He protested.

“Hmm,” was all his mom replied with as she mulled over the idea in her head.

His dad spoke up next. “It would be nice to add a little bit of charm to the place. Who knows, maybe if it were more inviting, I would spend more of my time writing out there instead of in my office.” After earning a raised eyebrow from his wife, he added, “It’s just a thought. I’m sure Evie would appreciate it, at the very least.”

Juno, meanwhile, looked positively ecstatic. “Yes! A home make-over! I’ve always wanted to do that, since I saw this interior design page online!” She exclaimed giddily, jumping out of her seat with her hands still planted on the table.

“Yeah, c’mon, mom.” Paige agreed. “You’ve gotta let Kaleb do it, our apartment will look so awesome at the end! We can even take those cool before-and-after shots like they do on Youtube.”

With bated breath, the four of them waited in suspense for Margalo Finch’s final verdict on the matter. At last, Kaleb’s mom spoke up, though not without first taking a long, thoughtful sip of her peppermint tea. “Just to be clear, whatever this ‘home make-over’ is going to involve, it’ll have to come out of your bank account.” She said sternly. “Your father and I are able to pay for your schooling, but that doesn’t mean we have the money to afford this, too. Remember, your Upsize delivery is tomorrow. It’s not going to be our fault if you have to miss a week of school because you ran out of money to pay for it.”

Kaleb nodded his understanding. Every second Sunday, he made the journey to the next suburb over, where for lack of a better term, he made the exchange of two-hundred-and-fifty dollars’ cash for his next package of the highly secretive size-changing pills. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve got it covered.” He assured her, which was only partially true. Satisfied with the way things had gone with his parents, Kaleb thanked them for breakfast and got up from his seat. “Well, I’d better get to it then. I’ve only got this weekend to pull this off.”

Before he could make his exit, Juno and Paige both leapt out of their own seats, flanking their older brother on either side. Juno looped her arm around Kaleb’s, gazing up at him with wide, pleading eyes. “Hey bro, if you let us take some of your Upsize, we can help out with the decorating?”

Kaleb hesitated, weighing up the idea in his head. Their offer wasn’t exactly surprising, all things considered. Ever since their dad had permitted them a trial run of Upsize earlier in the year, the Finch twins had been itching to venture out into the human world again. Kaleb couldn’t blame them. For him, experiencing life from a human’s perspective for the first time was like tasting a forbidden fruit. Once he’d seen everything the bustling city beyond the walls had to offer, the apartment building, despite being roughly the size of a city itself to a borrower, had never felt smaller.

“Well, I guess this would go a lot quicker if I had some extra help…” Kaleb started to reply, but paused, reminded of the abysmally empty plastic jar in his room where he kept his medication. “But I’m down to my last two pills, and I’ll need at least one and a half for myself…”

As though reading his mind, his dad chimed in. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll go collect your delivery tomorrow for you if your sisters want to help out.” He gave the twins a pointed look. “It’ll do them good to take a break from technology for the day.” In a lower voice, he added. “That’s all they seem to talk about anymore.”

Kaleb nodded gratefully, before turning his attention back to Juno and Paige and their identical gleeful expressions. “Okay, but that still means I only have enough Upsize left for one extra person, and only for half a day. You’ll have to do rock paper scissors on it.”

The borrower family watched in amusement as its two youngest members played best of three. A moment later, and Juno let out a triumphant cry. “I win!”

Paige folded her arms and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. “Fine. But you better let me tag along, too, okay?”

“Okay!” Juno looked relieved that her twin wasn’t mad. “I’ll even wear the overalls Damon bought me with the big pocket on the front, so you can see everything!”

Kaleb had taken to leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded, smiling at their conversation. “Well this is new.” He joked. “I was starting to think I’d need to butt in, but it sounds like you’ve already sorted things out.”

“Ohshut up, Kaleb. We’re not twelve anymore.” Paige snapped indignantly. “I can take the loss this time.”

He raised an eyebrow. No, but you’re barely a year older than that.

“Anyway, Mr. big shot.” Juno continued, hands on her hips. “Forget the Upsize. Do you really have enough money to buy all that human furniture?”

“Well, no.” He admitted, before shooting them a coy smirk, the irony in what he was about to say not lost on any of them. “It looks like we’ll just have to borrow some things along the way…”

****

While Kaleb and his sisters worked tirelessly from morning till night on their DIY apartment makeover, Brooke’s weekend was shaping up to be as dull as ever. She spent her Saturday locked away in her room, humming along to the latest Five Seconds of Summer album through her AirPods as she scrolled away aimlessly at social media. She wasn’t really paying attention to her phone, though. As she lay there with only her thoughts to entertain her, Brooke couldn’t help but mull over the events of the last week, and the many encounters she’d had with her classmate-turned borrower whose family happened to live on the third floor.

It still felt surreal to look back on it all. So much had changed in such a short time; about the way Brooke viewed society, about the way she viewed borrowers, about the way she viewed Kaleb Finch. It was a lot to process, and she still wasn’t sure how she felt about it. A part of her still wished she could go back in time and stop herself from going up to the rooftop that night, if nothing else but to prevent the torrent or emotions—the confusion, the guilt, and everything in between—that followed.

Even so, Brooke would be lying to herself at this point if she said she wasn’t at least a little curious about the secret life of her upstairs neighbour.

Bored as she was, the human girl couldn’t help but wonder what Kaleb was doing at that time. Would he be out and about exploring town? Considering his poorly concealed fascination with anything human-made, she could definitely picture that being the case. Or maybe he was hanging out in his own bedroom in the walls; a sight Brooke still hadn’t managed to rid from her mind after getting a glimpse of it during their video call last night.

Or maybe… she glanced lazily up at the ceiling, studying the grate of the air vent in the corner, half expecting to see a pair of much smaller eyes staring back at her from the other side. Maybe he was passing his time stalking her again, waiting for the perfect opportunity to sneak out from within the walls. She found herself scanning the room almost involuntarily, studying every nook and cranny that a borrower could possibly conceal themselves in. She felt her phone slip out of her hand as her heart filled with strange sense of… was it yearning? Curiosity? The thought alone made the human girl shudder in discomfort.

Did she… want to see him again? Brooke was struggling to deny it at this point, especially after last night. Weird as their conversation had been, it had unlocked a part of her that she thought had been buried long ago. Maybe she was lonely after all; lonely enough that even the company of her former bully was preferable to returning to the way things were. After all, the alternative couldn’t be true, could it? She couldn’t have really been enjoying spending time with Kaleb… right?

Stop thinking about him! Brooke’s thoughts screamed, bringing her internal monologue to a screeching halt. You’re not that desperate, Brooke. Get it together! The human girl would have slapped herself again had she not been paranoid about the footage somehow making its way onto the landlady’s security camera feed. With renewed determination, Brooke snatched up her phone and flopped over onto her stomach in bed, opening up her Netflix account. If binge watching the latest season of Stranger Things couldn’t distract her from thinking about her borrower neighbour, she didn’t know what would.

****

It was at exactly three thirty-five on Sunday afternoon when Brooke realised that ignoring Kaleb’s existence would be easier said than done. After a night spent glued to her phone screen like the teenager that she was, Brooke had committed to watching the last few episodes of the season on her laptop while she simultaneously updated her Spotify playlist with 80’s songs from the show’s latest soundtrack. Just as the credits rolled after the final cliffhanger, Brooke’s reeling thoughts were interrupted by an email notification in the corner of her screen. Still in the midst of processing the show’s ending scene, she clicked on it, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the subject line: Integration Day.It was sent by Mr. Bell, her history and home room teacher, and Brooke immediately felt all of her concerns about Stranger Things drift away as she read the message.

Dear Students,

I hope you have all had a relaxing weekend.

I am emailing in regards to an initiative the school is putting forward in an effort to promote borrower inclusion into the human education system. Beginning this week, the first Friday of every month will be Integration Day, during which we will be inviting those students living with borrower tenants aged 13 to 20 to have them participate in classes.

If you would like to be involved in this initiative, I have attached a consent form below. In order to be considered, the form must be completed and signed by both your parents or guardians, as well as the parents or guardians of the borrowers wishing to attend school as part of the program.

More information regarding the initiative will be announced in home class tomorrow morning.

I look forward to seeing you all then.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Bell

Brooke closed her laptop abruptly, frowning as she took a minute to process the information. This was a surprise. Of all the things she expected her teacher to agree to host, a borrower education scheme certainly wasn’t one of them. It was almost funny, she thought. Had Brooke received that email even a week earlier, she probably would have had a very different reaction to the one she was experiencing now. She imagined herself fuming in front of the laptop screen, cursing at the borrower race that seemed to find every possible way to make her life miserable. Hell, that part of her was still there, in some way. Mostly though, Brooke felt… indifferent about it all. She wasn’t as angry as she probably should’ve been—would’ve been. Instead… Yep, there it was again.

Brooke couldn’t help but wonder how Kaleb felt about the Integration Day announcement.

Running her fingers down her face in exasperation, the human girl decided it was as good a time as any to get some fresh air, if anything to put some distance between herself and… whatever thoughts her head kept conjuring. So, she got up out of bed, tugged on her pair of well-worn doc martens without bothering to properly do up the laces, and set off into the neighbourhood, bidding her parents a brief goodbye on her way out.

The street was quiet, save for a group of teenagers riding skateboards and laughing amongst themselves out the front of the local diner. Brooke tore her eyes away from the familiar green plaque emblazoned with the letter ‘B’ hanging in its window. Surprising (and frankly, unsanitary) as it was that borrowers were allowed in a burger joint of all places, she didn’t want to think about that right now. Trusty earbuds in, Brooke trudged along the sidewalk, letting the world fall away for a moment as she listened to the comforting riff of a punk rock song.

Eventually, hunger won against out against her mindless wandering, and she stopped by the bakery to grab a ham and salad sandwich on her way back to the apartment. Before long, Brooke found herself sitting against the railing on the rooftop to watch the sunset, absentmindedly nibbling at her late lunch as she took in the pink and orange hues of the sky.

“Damn, am I gonna have to find a new place to do my evening brooding?” A familiar voice piped up, as if on cue, and the human girl barely refrained from cringing at the sound.

So much for avoiding him. The nagging voice in the back of her mind taunted. It’s almost like you were hoping he’d be here—

Brooke swallowed down those thoughts, as well as her mouthful of sandwich, hard. Trying to compose herself, she tilted her head in the direction of the voice, eyes widening momentarily in surprise to find Kaleb standing at the top of the staircase a few feet away at his borrower size. He was learning casually against the cement wall with his arms folded, a halfway smile on his face that the human girl could barely make out from this distance. She noticed with interest that he was decked out in what she was coming to label his ‘borrowing outfit’ again; tiny black fingerless gloves, a cropped brown jacket and beige undershirt, khaki pants and what looked to be a brand new set of (barf) rat leather boots. A coil of string attached to a fishhook hung from a loop in his belt, and that ratty looking satchel of his was strung across his body, looking somewhat bulkier than usual.

Realising she was staring, Brooke coughed. “Yeah, sorry, there really isn’t enough space up here for two.” She quipped, gesturing to his smaller form with her sandwich. “Even when you’re… like this.” That raised another question. “Why are you small, anyway?” Brooke’s trademark nonchalant attitude returned in full force like the trusty emotional shield it was. “Surely there’s something productive you could’ve been doing today.”

She could have sworn he gave a tiny eye roll at her comment. “Speak for yourself.” Kaleb scoffed, stepping out towards her so he didn’t have to speak so loudly. “And I don’t have to be human-sized to be productive, geeze.” There was a pause. “To answer your question, though, I’m waiting for a package. The company that… organises my Upsize comes every Sunday afternoon with a delivery. Since I ran out early though, dad’s gone to get it for me.”

“That doesn’t sound sketchy at all.” Brooke smirked.

A flutter of wings caught her attention, and she watched as a pigeon landed a few metres away, head tilting curiously at her food. Out of the corner of her eye, Brooke didn’t fail to notice Kaleb already taking a few cautious steps backwards, towards the top of the staircase. With a cheeky grin, she tore a piece of bread from her sandwich and tossed it directly in front of the borrower’s escape route.

Less than a second passed before chaos ensued. Pigeons descended from the sky to fight over the crumbs, and Kaleb let out a startled yell, falling unceremoniously onto his backside with his arms held protectively over his head.

“W-What the hell, Brooke?” He cried, scrambling to a stand and slowly edging towards the shadow of her torso. He looked up at her indignantly with his tiny arms folded. At his size, the sight was almost cute, though she would sooner die than admit that to him out loud. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Relax, they’re just pigeons!” Brooke’s grin widened. “C’mon, don’t you guys train them as pets and shit?”

“You try training a wild animal twice your size, see how well that works out for you.” He grumbled back, thoroughly unamused.

Brooke smirked, stuffing the last of her sandwich into her mouth. As the pigeons, realising there was no longer food on offer, finally dispersed, Kaleb sighed irritably and took a seat about half a meter away from her, one knee drawn up to his chest. Chewing thoughtfully, she noted the uncharacteristic slump in his tiny shoulders. The human girl had an inkling as to why that might be.

Following her hunch, she spoke up. “I take it you got the email then? About—”

“Yeah, I got the email.” He interrupted, kicking a minuscule speck of rubble with his shoe. With how close he was sitting to the railing, it sailed right over the edge of the roof, and Brooke was once again left to wonder how Kaleb was able to sit so calmly before a relative five-hundred foot drop without losing his nerve. A Borrower’s tolerance to heights was no joke.

“So?” She pressed, adopting a cheshire cat’s grin. Reaching out, she poked him in the side with a finger. “Want me to take you with me to class on Friday? I think everyone would get a kick out of it, especially Amy Snyder.”

Kaleb swayed where he sat, not even looking up at her. His gaze remained focused on the city view ahead of them, as the sun dipped further into the horizon. “You’re not funny, y’know.”

“Really? I thought it was plenty funny.”

“Can’t you take a hint?” he snapped, irritation plain on his tiny face as he finally turned to glare up at her. “I’m not in the mood for your stupid human jokes right now.”

She leaned back on her elbows on the uneven concrete floor, looking down at him tauntingly. “Clearly. I’m confused, though. Isn’t integration what you lot were pushing for in the first place? I would’ve thought you’d be happier than this.”

Kaleb grit his teeth. “You call bring-your-borrower-to-class Friday ‘integration’? This whole thing is just a publicity stunt, to boost Westmount’s reputation as a ‘diverse learning environment’.” The borrower shuddered. “Tch. I can already see the headline.”

“Well, at least they’re making an effort, right?” Brooke pointed out. “That’s more than you can say about other high schools.”

“The whole point of borrowers attending human school should be to learn. This is more like show-and-tell than anything.” Kaleb shook his head stubbornly, hands clenching around the strap of his bag. “Nope.” He decided. “I don’t want anything to do with it.”

Brooke stared at him for a moment, his five-inch-tall form silhouetted by the glare of the setting sun. A question was nagging at her mind again, one that had been stewing there since her heated debate with him on the same rooftop just the other night. She tilted her head to the side. “Kaleb, why do you hate humans so much?”

He looked back at her, caught off guard for a moment as the question sank in. “I—”

“Kaleb? You up here?” A distinctly male voice called out suddenly, and the echo of human footsteps could be heard traipsing up the stairs. As if he’d stepped on a live wire, Kaleb was on his feet in an instant, his face losing several shades of colour.

“Shit, that’s my dad.” He announced in a panic, flashing her a jaunty salute. “Gotta go!”

“Your—what?” That was all the warning Brooke got before the borrower took off at full speed towards what was no doubt a secret pathway behind the stairwell. The human girl sat, blinking in shock at how quickly Kaleb had made his escape, just as the sound of a man clearing his throat behind her reached her ears.

Brooke wasn’t sure what she was expecting when she took in the sight of who she could only assume was Kaleb’s upsized father as he stood at the entrance to the rooftop. “Um, good evening.” He began, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as he greeted her. “Sorry, I didn’t realise anyone would be up here at this hour.” He warbled. Brooke hadn’t failed to notice the way his hazel eyes darted across the roof as he spoke, no doubt checking for any sign of his currently much smaller son. Frowning faintly, he returned his gaze towards her. “I’m looking for a borro— I mean, a boy around your age. He always comes up here to watch the sunset, you see.”

Brooke almost snorted at his ramblings. That was definitely a trait Kaleb had inherited. Everything else about him, though, was not at all how she’d imagined the borrower man to look like. For starters, he was lean and wiry, even more so than Kaleb, with shoulder-length brown hair tied in a messy bun at the back, showing only the slightest hints of greying. His skin was a deep olive colour, almost sun-kissed, as though the man had spent more of his life outdoors than in. His body was littered with faded scars, one particularly gruesome one on his leg that looked almost like an animal bite, and another jagged line across his forehead, cutting through one of his eyebrows. He even had his right ear pierced with two simple black studs, making him look less like an author and more like a seasoned warrior from a video game.

What surprised Brooke most about the man though was the sleeve of tattoos running up almost the entire length of his left arm. At a glance, she could make out the realistic designs of what looked to be a field mouse with its teeth bared against an opposing finch, surrounded by strange symbols completely foreign to her human eyes but looking suspiciously like the borrower equivalent of gang signs. That and the fact that the mysterious man in question was unapologetically wearing a t-shirt that said ‘World’s Greatest Farter (Father)’, boxer shorts, and fluffy slippers left Brooke’s mind completely blown.

Realising he was waiting for a reply, the human girl forced herself to speak. “I haven’t seen anyone, sorry.” She spluttered. You owe me, Kaleb.

“Oh, well, that’s alright. I’m sure he’ll turn up eventually.” Kaleb’s father responded, hesitating as he stared her down with almost the same intensity as she had just done with him. “Actually, I don’t believe I’ve seen your face around here before.”

“Probably not.” She replied glibly. Brooke for one had certainly never seen the man before, otherwise she might have done a better job hiding her bewilderment. As it was, she was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that borrowers could have tattoos of all things. Shutting down that particular train of thought, the human girl focused back on the conversation at hand. “My family and I just moved in the other day.” She continued, standing up and nodding in his direction. “I’m Brooke.”

Instantly, recognition flashed in the man’s hazel eyes, and he beamed across at her, closing the gap between them and holding out his hand. “Oh! You must be Brooke Tucker. Our new downstairs neighbour. You know of my son, then—Kaleb.” He cleared his throat a second time as he introduced himself. “My name is Hugo. Hugo Finch. My family and I live in apartment thirty-five.”

“Nice to meet you.” She answered, awkwardly shaking his hand and trying not to think about how at his normal size, she would be able to fit her own hand around his entire body. “And yeah. He’s in my class.”

“Yes, he’s told us a lot about you.” Hugo said with a nod, making the human girl’s eyebrows raise in surprise.

“Really?” Brooke gave the upsized borrower her most innocent smile. “All good things, I hope.”

“Oh, of course.” He said without missing a beat. “He tells me the two of you are working on a project together for modern history at the moment. It’s nice to see him making some new friends at school.”

Brooke winced at that. “I wouldn’t exactly call us friends.” She said, dancing around that particular topic. “But yeah, we’re getting there with the presentation. It helps that we live in the same building, too. Definitely makes it easier to get our research done.” She forced out a chuckle.

“I’ll bet it does.” Hugo agreed pleasantly, seemingly oblivious to her awkwardness. “I hear you’ll be visiting our apartment after school this week for a study session, too. Sounds like the two of you will be finished before you know it at this rate.”

Brooke smirked at the indirect mention that Kaleb had apparently asked his parents if he could have her over to study. Cute. “Yeah, seems like it. It’ll be good to get it done early, I guess.”

“You’ll love what he’s done with the place, too.” Hugo continued, his expression full of pride as he spoke about his son. “It was a mess before, but he and his sisters really stepped up this weekend to clean it up.” He gestured to his blatantly stay-at-home attire. “I even tested out the space for my work today, as you can probably tell. Before, I was renting out another… office because of the clutter, but I can definitely see the appeal of working from home now…” He trailed off with a chuckle, paying no mind to the human girl in front of him as she struggled to process this new information.

“I didn’t realise Kaleb was… redecorating.” Brooke said slowly, not sure whether to be amused or unsettled. She felt herself fidgeting uncomfortably with the inner seams of her hoodie as she recalled her conversation with the borrower in question last night, and how she’d jokingly suggested taking him up on his offer to have her over to his place. Surely Kaleb hadn’t spent the entire weekend cleaning out his family’s apartment just for them to study in… right? There was no way that could be true. She felt her cheeks redden at the mere thought.

Brooke was jolted back to the present when Hugo gave a breezy laugh, looking almost as uncomfortable as she did. The man wrung his hands, his expression reminding her vaguely of a deer caught in the headlights. If Brooke didn’t know any better, he’d just told her something he wasn’t supposed to. “R-Right, well, I’m sure he’ll tell you all about that at school tomorrow.” He warbled, glancing down at his wristwatch. “Speaking of Kaleb… if you’ll excuse me, I really should be getting back to tracking him down. It was nice talking to you, Brooke. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”

Before Brooke could string together a reply, he’d darted back down the stairs almost as quickly as Kaleb had fled the rooftop not even ten minutes earlier. All the human girl could do was stare, hand raised in a wave that had come far too late.

“Yeah. Nice meeting you too…” She muttered to the empty rooftop, as the breeze whistled through her hair and night finally settled in.

Brooke was beginning to wonder if it was a borrower custom to run off mid-conversation. With how much she’d already learned about humankind’s smaller counterparts and their strange and secret culture in the past week, she didn’t think anything would surprise her at this point. Yet she still wanted to know more, a desire that both scared and excited her. She wanted to know more about Kaleb’s world, just like he wanted someone to share it with. Her heart just wasn’t ready to admit that yet.

For now, the human girl settled back into the blissful ignorance she was used to. She sat down heavily with her back up against the railing, and turned her music back on.

“My life is so weird.” Brooke sighed up at the stars.

#g/t community #g/t writing #borrowed courage #kaleb and brooke #sizechange #sizeshifter #the borrowers #tinypeople #gianttiny #borrowerau #angst #shrinking #sfw

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haunted-headset · 4 months

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hey friend! tis me back again hahah

this is gonna sound so random but anyways i was thinking.. reader coming home to hear wilbur shouting away in his room (he’s streaming for once LMAO) and deciding to just chill in the living room/bedroom for a bit. and then when wilbur’s finished and he surprised to see reader and he’s so happy to them and just aah :,) 🫶 and i had the idea of smth like a cozy night in with wilbur?? and i was wondering if u had any thoughts on that or if u wanted to write about it maybe! no pressure at all to do any of that tho <3

i hope ur having a nice dayyy! 💕

💗 You're Back! 💗

a/n: stopppppp this is so cute!! also why did my writing get really good during this

summary: read the ask

contains: excited Wilbur, tired reader, tooth-rotting fluff, pet names, kissing, & silly Haunty shenanigans overall

words: 702

tags: @zuuriell @somebody-v @vibestillaxxx @ax-y10 @joviepog@themonsterunderurmom @ogelizasoot @wilburstan@smolsleepykitten@funnyreally2009@crows-death@dykepunz@aresriiots@0miamor0@defonotval@chipch0p@mazzistar16@unmellowyellowfellow@thosecolorfulsheets@vopix@aine-lasagna@merianakross@veeislost@urfav-sapphic-siren@shazbaz58-blog @wifiatthetrainstation@mcr-pr-fob@shd454@rqvii@idioticion@m0thza@artistphantom @lexx-the-gay-rubber-ducky @finleyforevermore @poraphia @radio-to-trenchcoat-demons @mysticalsoot @21-cats-in-a-trenchcoat @strangleetomz (let me know if u don't or do wanna be tagged)

At around 5pm, you finally got home after an exhausting day at work. You, of course, loved your job; it was your dream job, after all! Some days were more tiring than others.

You took your shoes off & put them near the door next to Wilbur's scuffed, untied Dr. Martens that had lost their shine years ago, unlike your darling boyfriend, who always seemed to have some sort of lively spark about him that nobody could quite have for themselves, which is rather peculiar, since he writes incredibly heart-wrenching songs nowadays. The shoes were massive compared to yours, almost like a clown's.

In the office, you heard shouting & laughter. You didn't think your boyfriend would be streaming, since he hadn't streamed since October, & he never mentioned any upcoming streams. Maybe he was treating the livestream like he treated Mammalian Sighing Reflex & did it unannounced to surprise people. Not wanting to interrupt him, you walked into the bedroom to take off your work clothes & change into sweatpants & Wilbur's brown hoodie that still had the smell of earthy, soothing cologne & petrichor lingering on the soft fabric. You checked yourself in the mirror. You looked okay, except for the fact that your eyes were drooping & you looked almost like you were going to collapse & fall asleep on the floor if you did any excessive movements. You yawned & stretched your arms above your head, hearing a few cracks & pops as you did such from not cracking anything all day. You then cracked your neck & knuckles, & both of them made loud pop & crack & crunch sounds. You finger-combed through your hair, tugging through the knots while wincing. You looked very dead. Abandoning the rule you made for yourself not to bother Wilbur during streams, you slowly opened the office door just a crack, making sure not to make any loud creaks.

"So, I think that'll be all today, chat!" Wilbur smiled. "Thank you all for coming. I'm so sorry I haven't been streaming as much, I've just got Lovejoy things to do. We're all very busy all the time. Here, let's have you all raid...Philza. Go raid him. Bye, chat!" He clicked the "Stop streaming" button on his PC & sighed. Since his spinny chair was still facing the PC setup, you were able to come around & hug him from behind.

"Hello," you mumbled sleepily. "I'm back."

"Angel! You're back!" Wilbur sprang up from his seat & picked you up & spun you around, causing you to laugh. When he stopped, he sat down on the chair with you in his lap. "How was work, love? Everything go okay at work?"

You shrugged. "It wasn't bad, per se, but it was just exasperating. Nobody was rude or crass to me, but I'm just really tired." Wilbur made a small "ah" sound & nodded.

"Do you want to go cuddle in bed & drink some tea?" Wilbur asked, playing with your fingers. "Do you want to do that? Or we could do something else."

"Tea & cuddles sound nice," you said. Wilbur nodded & picked you up & walked you to the kitchen. He still kept you in his arms while he made tea, softly asking you which tea flavor you preferred & which mug you wanted, or if you even wanted a mug or if you just wanted a glass. You two waited in the kitchen while the tea was being prepared, with Wilbur rocking you back & forth to a symphony only he could hear. When the whistling of the tea kettle echoed through the kitchen, he poured the two mugs of tea & handed you one as he grabbed the other & walked back to the bedroom. He cautiously placed you on the bed to make sure neither of you spilled the tea onto the soft white sheets. When he sat down on the bed, you immediately scooted over to him & cuddled up to him with his arm over your shoulders & your head buried in the crook of his neck. & you two just stayed like that for an uncountable amount of time.

Thank goodness you came back.

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flightfoot · 5 months

Note

i think you rec fics if i'm wrong i'm so sorry. any fluffy fics with all 4 lovesquare sides? - though just ladynoir/adrienette would work too.

Yep I give those recs! This is actually one of the tricker cases, because on the one hand there's a lot of them and on the other hand they're interwoven with a lot of other things and often don't have specific tags to search with, so I'll see what I can do. I'm mostly just looking for fluff fics that have more than one side of the Lovesquare represented.

I Put A Spell On You by dazaimaru

Friday, October 25. 6 days until Halloween. It’s their first high school Halloween dance, and Marinette and Adrien are ready to throw on some non-superhero costumes for once--that is, until an akumatized witch spoils the party and threatens to reveal what lies underneath everyone’s disguise. With Hawkmoth taking full advantage of the spooky season, the days leading up to Halloween are certainly going to be thrilling! Especially considering Marinette’s growing feelings for a certain black cat…

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Fate, Destiny... A Hamster by @mostmagical

After finally moving into his very first apartment per Ladybug’s suggestion, Adrien stumbles upon something no movie or TV show could have ever prepared him for: someone else's hamster. At least now there’s an excuse to talk to the new neighbor. (Adrinette Never Met AU)

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Villainous Matchmaking by @nedjsmlfavs

When Chat Noir is tragically unable to attend an event with Ladybug, the mayor calls in a favor from a designer ‘friend’. Now she’s attending in style, on the arm of the hottest male model in Paris. Which would be fine if it weren’t for one, tiny issue: Paris’ favorite domestic terrorist now knows how Ladybug feels about his son. This leads him to his greatest plan yet, using Ladybug’s extremely obvious crush on Adrien Agreste to akumatize Chat Noir. A Ladrien/“platonic” Ladynoir fic

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Painted Canvas by @wehadabondingmoment

And then, Adrien would send her a selfie, acting as if he was some secret agent trying to not get caught and he was so ridiculous that Marinette’s heart ached at the thought of being away from him. Hushed phone calls, his voice sounding like honey; in moments like these, she wasn’t Ladybug, only a teenage girl drunk on love. Or: Adrien and Marinette are soulmates and it still takes them years until they finally meet. Also fencing.

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Professeure (of your love) by @mostmagical

“We should do it.” Her voice came out in a screech. “What?” “Just a fake wedding at graduation,” he said, like it wasn’t completely crazy. . . After ages of letting Paris believe their beloved superheroes are married and in love, Marinette's superhero partner turned fellow teacher wants to apply the same logic to their civilian lives and put on a fake wedding for their students. Only problem is, for Marinette, the being in love part is very much not an act.

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From School Bells to Wedding Bells by @linnieluna

When the superhero duo takes on another exhausting fight against an akuma, Chat Noir does what he never hesitates to do and takes a hit for his partner. The problem being: neither of them knew what power the akuma possessed. That is... until he is transported into the future. More specifically, to his friend Marinette's wedding.

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The Power of Love by @nedjsmlfavs

In which Ladybug announces that she’s pregnant via her long term boyfriend and Chat Noir is a supportive partner. After all, he can hardly be upset when he’s been dating his Princess for years! A different take on the show’s tagline (“The Power of Love Always so Strong”) written for Valentine’s day 2023.

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The Rules of Engagement by underworkedoverwhelmed

When tragedy sends Adrien Agreste racing back to Paris to run his father’s fashion house, Marinette doesn’t expect much from her very new, very rich boss. At least not until she is set up on a blind date with a very familiar face. Much to her surprise, Adrien Agreste was hiding far more secrets behind his stoic business-like mask of temporary CEO. Maybe as many secrets as she had been trying to hide for years. As they grow closer, Marinette fears her mask isn’t nearly as foolproof. Day after day, it gets harder for her to keep all her secrets well hidden from the surprisingly sweet man who insisted on staying by her side as often as possible. Only she couldn’t afford to fail. Not when her biggest secret could spell the end of the job she’d dreamed about for years.

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Dreams of You by @chocoluckchipz

Dreams had long been his only escape. Dreams of Ladybug, the girl who had always been there for him. If only in his dreams. And only while she was also sleeping. Because with the first rays of sunshine gliding over her skin, with the first fluttering of her eyelashes, from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, memories of Adrien would vanish from her mind. She would go on living her life. He would always be the only one who remembered. At least until they meet in the real world and fall in love all over again, something that would’ve been easier to do if Adrien wasn't a prisoner in his own home.

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Tell Me Why You Love Me by @linnieluna

“Anyway, that piece of paper contains the name of this texting app. It’s completely anonymous, so you can download it, make your account with no attachments to your personal life, and communicate with me outside our suits. I included my username on the paper, too, so you can add me once you’re done." Her partner skimmed through the words on the paper and nodded his head. “Brilliant as always, M’lady. I’m surprised we didn’t figure this out sooner within our superhero careers.” “Yeah, it would’ve been nice to have this before, but hey, better late than never. Make sure not to have your phone screen on the messages if you’re going to leave it somewhere. We don’t want anyone reading our texts. Also, this is for emergencies only. No jokes or puns. I can only deal with you for so long.” “I don’t know if I can agree to that last one,” he said. Now 22 and working full-time, Marinette and Adrien seem to be getting busier and busier, which means fewer opportunities to keep track of akumas and show up on time. With the idea of using a messaging app to communicate with each other without revealing their identities, their lives immediately grew to be easier... until it wasn't.

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Soul Searching by LiquefiedStars

Marinette was devastated when her soulmate turned out to be Adrien Agreste and not her sweet, loving partner Chat Noir. Despite their misunderstandings, she is willing to give Adrien a chance, even if he doesn’t seem all that interested in her. After all, they are soulmates and the universe says they are meant to be together. A Soulmate AU.

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Love is Blind by @jennagrinsoverml

Tired of all of his potential girlfriends being blinded by his face, his fame and his name, Adrien takes a chance to compete on Love Is Blind: France, where he hopes that dating without seeing each other—or learning each other’s names—will finally help him to be lucky in love. What will he do when he realizes that his Lady is one of the contestants, however? And will he be able to win her heart where he’s never succeeded before? Meanwhile, Marinette is looking to meet the right guy after years of pining away for someone who has only ever seen her as a friend. She’s not entirely sure if she can fall in love with someone without seeing them, but the things that have always mattered to her most are the kinds of things that can’t be seen. What will she do when she realizes her heart is being pulled in two directions? And will she be ready to make a decision in time?

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Over and Over by stcrsquad

Marinette Dupain-Cheng has had the worst day possible. She's failed to confess to Adrien (again), made an embarrassment of herself, and got into a fight with Chat Noir. Adrien Agreste has had the worst day possible. He is tired of being pushed aside by everyone, including his crime-fighting partner Ladybug. Luckily, fate (and Bunnyx) works in mysterious ways because they wake up again on the same day. A do-over. Except it keeps happening. Can the two figure out what they need to fix to break the loop, or will they be stuck forever?

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Graine de toi by MireilleTanaka

Ladybug and Chat Noir think they’re close, until they begin waking up in one another’s skin. AU: Adrien is homeschooled, and he and Marinette have never met. Written for Adrinette April 2020, Day 17: Life Swap. The one prompt snowballed into a multi-chapter fic. Loosely inspired by Your Name (Kimi no na wa), but no need to have watched it to read, since there's no actual plot connection except the premise of swapping lives.

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Knight in Shining Amour by Cakedecorator

Marinette is the daughter of the castle bakers, and she herself is the royal seamstress. She lives her life making clothes, helping her parents, and generally living a simple life. However, she also laments the loss of her childhood friendship with Prince Adrien, and remembers the promise they made when they were five years old. Resigning herself to the reality that she would never be able to marry the prince, and assuming he'd forgotten their promise, Marinette tries to live her life without letting loss get to her. However, her love story begins a new chapter when she's approached by Cat Noir, a debonair new knight in the castle.

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Evergreen by tanyatakaishi

Everything was gone. The entire cityscape had been obliterated, leaving them in a valley of trees. Blue mountains, peaks dressed in snow, stretched tall in the distance and at their foot lay an array of vineyards, miles wide with no civilization in sight. AKA: two heroes lost alone in the woods with no cheese.

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Someone to Watch Over Me by @dfcfanfics

Adrien is used to his father taking him for granted and treating him poorly, especially since his mother's disappearance... but it's never been anywhere _near_ this bad before. Between that and trouble at school, his life is in quite the downward spiral. He's been putting on a brave face, but he's struggling... and his friends are starting to notice. One special friend in particular. Marinette is determined to help him, any way that she can -- with _and_ without her mask. But when Akumas fly towards Adrien, he soon finds himself more deeply entwined in Marinette's life AND Ladybug's private life than he'd ever imagined. Can Adrien possibly decide between the two angels who are making his life worth living again? Can Marinette process Adrien's crush on Ladybug AND his growing feelings for her? And can Gabriel stop laughing long enough to launch his master plan? A fluffy DFC - buggachat Ladrienette jam. 10/15: Our story is now complete with the posting of Chapter 24, the epilogue. Thank you so much for reading, as always.

#ask #miraculous ladybug #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #ml fanfic rec #adrienette #ladynoir #marichat #ladrien

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cereusblue · 4 months

Text

https://gofund.me/96bce824

Hi, all. So, I've had a day from hell and I'm too exhausted to re-explain on another platform. But here, I'll copy paste the story here. TLDR at the bottom. If you can't help, pass it on. Literally everything helps. Love you all.

Good day all, thank you for stopping your busy day to check my page.

Let me lay out the situation as best I can.

First off, some background for myself and my family. My fiancee and I only have(had) one functioning car between us when we took in a family member of his in an emergency CPS case. We are trying our hardest to take care of her and teach her how to be a person, but our schedules and only having one vehicle has made that a struggle. She has gotten a job just last week and is working hard to get on her feet. It's great and we are very proud of her! It's part time for the time being while she learns how to manage finances and how the world works.

However, since October things have started taking a turn for the worse. Between my fiancee and I, we both worked minimum wage and in October I bent over to put on a shoe and my back made a horrible crack noise. I went to the ER in immense pain and despite having insurance, I still got dumped with a hefty bill that to this day I am still trying to pay off. I have gone through physical therapy as requested by my doctor, since he didn't want to operate on someone of my age. However, it did nothing but agitate the problem. While I can now move around again, bending over and lifting anything past 15 pounds is strenuous. I'm in pain every single day and even sitting up is difficult most days. I can't stand up for long anymore before it becomes too much on my back. But things continue to happen, as they do. I was set to come back to see my surgeon this year but on Dec 29th in the last hour of the day, my job decided that an AI system could completely take over my job and laid me off. Getting unemployment as well as answers back from my previous work has been very difficult. My benefits were cut off with no chance to refill medications or see my surgeon. So, now my continued treatment to fix my back on top of my other health issues have all been put on pause. I've been working for almost two years now to get treatment and figure out what's wrong with my health, but I am now on a desperate search for a new job.

Which leads us to today. We are already strapped for money, and on a trip to an interview and my fiancee going to work, we got taken down a gravel road that looked deceptively fine. Driving across, the ice was far deeper than it appeared and it destroyed the grill, bumper, and wheel well (I believe that's what it's called) aka part of the frame that covers the front wheels broke and are hanging. That's not where it ends. So, I took the car to get it temporarily fixed so we could hopefully figure something out to get repairs done. The car got a temporary fix, and then I proceeded to take the car to pick up my fiancee from work. He and I began our drive back home, and as we were passing train tracks a doe jumped out into the road way too close to us. She only came into view as she appeared in the lights of the car, immediately getting bodied by the car. As you can see from the image, she destroyed the hood of the car and much more. I feel horrible for the poor thing and I hope she went quickly, noticing the fur and blood on the front bumper. We managed to get the car home, but the check engine light came on. This car is a Toyota prius. Anyone who knows anything about a prius knows they are basically tin cans. So, the worry is that the cooling system is busted now too. This will exponentially increase the amount we need to pay to repair the vehicle.

The worst part is, is that this is the only car we have to go to work and for me to go to interviews. I do have a car, but it's not in running condition right now. The poor thing is a 1999 and needs some parts replaced that we have not had the funds or availability to get a list of parts and have them replaced. The car also can't move anyway right now and would need towed. The prius is our only vehicle we have, and I don't have the funds to drop on fixing it. Insurance won't pay for it as far as we have been made aware by the body shop because of the type of insurance we have.

So, this is the current estimate we have to work with in regards to repairs. The entire front, hood, coolant system, and I know a few more pieces need replaced. The prius can run and be moved to a body shop at least, but paying for it will be a nightmare. If he can't get to work, we are in major trouble. My fiancee, his little sister, and I all rely on this car for work. While I'm still looking for work, I'm very limited because of my current physical state. We've spent a lot of money on my Healthcare already and every day are worried I'm going to reach for something and have my back crack again. While we are working on Medicaid, these things are proving a slow process. They also don't cover previous medical bills when I did have insurance. So, our only choice is to live off his income currently while I'm on a search for a new job every day. Our lives depend on this one car. Especially since we live out in the woods and work is 40 minutes away.

If you've read this far, I appreciate every single second of your time. Every single hand this gofundme goes through will be a huge help. If you can't help, that's okay, please don't stress your own financials if youre in a tough spot. If you can pass this along to anyone you can, that would be more than enough. Thank you again, and I wish you all better fortune this 2024.

For those who can't read the whole thing;

TLDR; Me and my family are already going through a lot of financial troubles with my health and being laid off, our only mode of transportation is severely damaged from an unmaintained roads massive pothole and hitting a deer in the same day. Three people rely on this one vehicle for all our jobs and interviews that are far from home. Donate if you can, if not, please share and thank you so very much.

Also including another picture here for you all to see. Thank you all again, I wish you better fortune this year.

#gofundme #emergency #fundraiser #pls help #idk what else to tag rn im so exhausted

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actualmermaid · 2 years

Text

Hey Christians

I am once again getting reports that some of you are appropriating Jewish holidays and traditions, and 🌠 you should immediately stop doing that 🌠

Since I'm also a Christian, maybe you'll take this better from me. I usually see this behavior from people who are white, American, and/or Evangelical-adjacent, and I suspect that you're messing around with Jewish stuff because you feel alienated from your own cultural background, whatever that may be. You belong to what is essentially the big-box-store version of Christianity, and you're probably hungry for something that feels more "authentic." That's 100% understandable! But it is not a reason to appropriate traditions that belong to a community that has not shared them with you!

Luckily, there are some pretty easy ways to get acquainted with your own cultural heritage through traditional Christian observances.

Get acquainted with the traditional liturgical calendar. Our observances are structured around the solar year, and historically, these observances were tied to the patterns of agricultural labor. Religious festivals also had seasonal significance: the birth of Jesus coincides with the lengthening of days after the winter solstice, the resurrection of Jesus coincides with the rebirth of plants and animals in the spring, and so forth. The more you learn, the more you realize how much we've lost/forgotten!

If you know where your ancestors came from, you can research how folk-religious festivals are practiced in those parts of the world! What foods are eaten? What games are played? What stories are told? If there's a church associated with "your" cultural community, you might consider visiting them around important festivals and learning what they do. Remember, you are a student, and you should still approach these observances with respect and openness!

Here's a non-exhaustive list of things to try if you're feeling the temptation to appropriate a closed Jewish practice:

Instead of observing Rosh Hashanah because you're feeling left-out by the lack of major Christian holidays at this time of year, start looking forward to the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi (October 4). Here in the US, it's common for churches to hold a special "Blessing of the Animals" service or a "St. Francis the Peacemaker" service, often in cooperation with churches from other denominations! It's a lot of fun!

Instead of trying to host your own Passover seder (I have a horror story about this that I will refrain from sharing out of respect for my Jewish friends), just celebrate Easter like the rest of us! Easter, not Christmas, is the most important day in the Christian liturgical year. There are MANY ways to celebrate Easter in a more "traditional" way than you might be used to.

Celebrating Hanukkah as a Christian makes you look fucking stupid! Don't do it! Instead, if you want a multi-day traditional Christian observance, our things are the seasons of Advent and Christmastide! Again, depending on your cultural background, there are lots of ways to "practice Christianity" around this time. Fasting (similar to fasting during Lent) and lighting the candles on an Advent wreath are easy ways to start.

Don't try to observe Torah, that's not our thing! If you want to practice more "rules," consider trying out one of the many Christian fasting traditions (NOT the "Daniel Fast," which is basically a crash diet attached to some very bullshit theology), praying the Daily Office or using prayer beads, or wearing a head-covering in church. ("But I'm not Catholic," you might say, but if you do some research you'll discover that none of these things are unique to Catholics! You're not Jewish either, but that's not stopping you from messing around with their stuff!)

Before you come at me with excuses about this not being "biblical" or whatever, keep in mind that many Jewish observances are also not "biblical"! If you really want to try out a Jewish holiday, you should make a Jewish friend and let them invite you, but it's pretty hard to make Jewish friends if you're constantly trying to steal their shit! (The last 2000 years of Jewish-Christian relations are hard proof of this!)

#christianity #judaism #religion #culture

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hauntedwitch04 · 8 months

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Fools in love

Remus Lupin x reader

Words: 1,8k words

Warnings: none, just fluff and idiots totally in love with each other

Author’s note: Hi everybody! It fells so good being back, I missed writing and this is the first one-shot I write in a lot of time, so I'm really grateful for every tiny bit of love you gave me. Hope you enjoy the first day of my Halloween Party

Requests are open I Ask

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Join the Taglist

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🎃Halloween party 🎃

DAY 1: “Take my sweater, I love you and i don’t want you to transform into a popsicle”

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Rain beats hard against the windows of the Gryffindor common room. The fire near me crackles, and the pieces of wood seem to break like bone after a very hard punch, as my heart probably had a few hours ago.

I've spent a lot of time by the fire, but even so, I can't shake the cold that got into my bones, in the rush in the rain I made to get back to the castle, after waiting for more than two hours for a Ravenclaw boy who asked me out, outside the Mielandia.

I still remember the feeling of the cold wind against my cheeks wet with hot tears. My sweater was now dumped on the sofa, soaked with rain, and dripping rhythmically on the floor, mesmerizing me.

The fire dances before my eyes, and I can't help but feel like two people hugged tightly, dancing to music of their own created by their love.

A little bit I feel stupid in feeling so bad, for a guy who basically I don't even like since I've actually been in love with one of my best friends for what seems like ages now, but I think the thing that has hurt me most of all is not being able to be loved even by this mysterious guy whose name I honestly can't even remember.

For hours now I've been asking myself if I'm really worth loving? Why should people fall in love with me? Am I worthy of someone's love? If I can't even date a guy I don't like, how could I ever date the one I consider the love of my life? And why the hell does Remus John Lupin have to be so perfect?

I spend what seems like days sitting there staring into the fire. I hear people passing by, coming in and out of the dorms, some stop and look at me with compassion, trying to somehow share my pain, while others whisper hypotheses and theories about why I am in that situation. I, however, remain impassive, like a marble statue, the only emotion I allow to shine through are the tears I cannot stop.

It is still a long time before I can glance at the clock without seeing it fogged up by my crying.

Midnight.

I close my eyes and pray for any otherworldly entity to erase my memory of this rainy early October day, when my thoughts are interrupted by a warm hand resting on my shoulder. I turn slightly and my breath catches in my throat for a moment, for fear that the object of my thoughts will see itself reflected in my eyes and be able to read into me, into my soul.

"Lily told me you've been stationary here for more than four hours. I had to practically make a deal with the devil to get Poppy to let me leave early to come to you, luckily yesterday wasn't too bad." He says quietly as he sits down next to me, the famous Remus Lupin, every Hogwarts girl's dream, looking at me softly. Shit, I think to myself, there was a full moon yesterday that's why I didn't see him all day. I hadn't worried about it too much actually before I went to the appointment, too caught up in the anxiety of this meeting, but now I realize what a shitty friend I've been to him. I look at him and see his face battered by sleep and exhaustion, while only a few new scratches or scars adorn his face. My eyes land on his, and selling his worried look I can't help but feel guilty and go back to crying. After a few seconds, I realize that I am not only crying out of guilt, but also out of the realization that he, the boy I love more than my own life, will never see me in the same way that I see him but only as a friend to be taken care of.

His warm hands brush my shoulders and I immediately shiver at that contact. His gaze grows even more concerned and he immediately decides to take off his heavy sweater, one of his favorites that his mother made him last year after his had all grown small when he grew up all of a sudden during the summer. As he takes off the sweater, with his arms still above his head and this one still covered by the garment, his T-shirt, which he wore underneath, rises slightly so that his athletic body covered in scratches can be seen. I feel my cheeks turn red as I look at him, but I am quickly distracted by my friend handing me his sweater.

"Take my sweater, I love you and I don't want you to turn into a popsicle," he says, fixing his hair. His words strike me more pain than a bullet, but I hide my distress behind a bitter smile, and put on his sweater. Immediately I am hit by his scent: chocolate, cinnamon, ink mixed with book pages and cigarettes. I thank him in a thin voice, before returning to silence.

"I guess I understand that the date didn't go very well." He says after a few minutes, trying to figure out if I felt like talking about it, watching me carefully as I played with my sleeves.

"Actually, there wasn't even a date." I reply, chuckling bitterly.

"What do you mean?" He retorts confused, as he moves closer to me, to study me better.

"Well he never showed up. I stood like a moron in front of the place where he told me to meet for a couple of hours, even caught some rain, then when I realized that I was merely making a fool of myself I came running back here, and I haven't moved from here since." I explain quickly, not wanting to cry again.

I see the anger mounting in his eyes as he takes one of my hands between his and brings it to his mouth.

"If anyone has made a fool of himself it's him, honey. He's a fool if he missed an opportunity like this. You deserve so much better, the best person the world has to offer." He says in a whisper as he holds me in his arms, doing nothing but twisting the knife in the wound making me bleed more and more.

After a while he breaks away from that grip and takes something out of his pants pocket, which I discover is a piece of chocolate, and hands it to me.

"Eat, you'll feel better." He tells me, but I shake my head.

"I don't feel like eating, Remmy." I try calling him by his nickname, hoping to soften him, knowing that when he puts his mind to something, it's hard to change his mind.

"Honey, I won't take no for an answer. I care about you, like a sister, and I don't want to not only see you suffer for that moron but also starve to death." He continues, pulling my face up, resting one of his fingers under my face.

I don't know why I feel something breaking inside, as if a pitcher full of water has decided to pour in, and I no longer have control over my words.

"That's exactly my problem Remmy. I'm not crying, sitting here for over four hours for a guy whose name I can't even remember, I'm feeling like I'm dying inside because what happened made me realize that the only guy I've ever really loved in my life will never look at me, if he's not even interested in me even a person who's not even worth a hole in his sock. I've been sitting here for hours crying because I'm afraid that I'm not worthy of being loved, because I'm afraid that I'll have to live with these damn feelings, because I'm afraid that I'll see this boy grow up and fall in love with someone else while I'll still be here, and he'll continue to see me as just a sister, and he just happens to have reminded me of that fact himself just a little while ago." At my last words I see his eyes light up, having realized who I was talking about, after being dark and dull throughout my entire speech. "And now if you don't mind, after screwing up our friendship, I'm going to bed." And I try to get up, but I don't make it in time because a hand encircles my wrist and Remus draws me toward him forcefully, in contrast to his delicate lips brushing against mine. It takes me a few seconds to return the kiss, unsure of what this moment might change between us, before I let myself go completely to him. I bring my hands behind his head, and run my fingers through his hair, while his hands go around my hips to take me on his lap, as we continue to kiss, as if we were suffocating and that was our oxygen.

"I love you, I love you, I've loved you for what seems like forever, and I'm just a coward for not telling you sooner." He says pulling away slightly, so he can breathe before giving me another full kiss. Then he starts giggling, and I look at him shocked, before I start laughing too. We laugh until our stomachs hurt and tears furrow our faces. Remus stands up, picks me up and lays me down on the couch in front of the fire, then lies down next to me.

"We are two idiots." I say, chuckling some more. "We are so stupidly in love that we didn't realize each other's feelings."

"We're all idiots in love, honey." Remus replies, kissing my forehead. "Sirius will never get tired of holding it against me that he was right." He says giggling and hiding his face in the crook of my neck.

"Not even Lily." I chuckle in response as well, before I feel that being held tightly in her arms, sleep is slowly taking over my senses.

"By the way, you look very good in my sweater, honey." Those are the last words I hear before I fall completely asleep.

At that moment, however, neither of us knows yet that our friends will never let us forget the fact that they found us the next morning cuddled on the couch in the Common Room, in front of the fire, and I was wearing the sweater of what would become my husband and the father of my children, to whom Sirius would tell this story and how their parents fell in love and how he and Aunt Lily were right.

#hauntedwitch04's writing #becky's halloween party #halloween party #marauders x reader #marauders fluff #remus lupin x reader #remus lupin imagine #remus x reader

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