#sell them which is this whole thing that is also stressing me out. also i need to do the taxes . another stress factor

[seenthisepisode]

.

[honeyednights]

:))

[blicketdabest33]

Y'all remember that MCYT PJO au I asked for help with awhile ago? WELL HERE'S THE CABINS AND MY EXPLINATIONS BEHIND THEM!!

#1 Zeus Cabin: Jimmy, Joel Jimmy: He's a Zeus kid, but everyone somehow forgets about it. Joel: He's competitive and strong. Also, because Jimmy is his half brother through godly parent, i get to make a fun bit about him dating Lizzie. And one of his origins in Afterlife SMP was a thunderborn

#2 Hera Cabin: Scott Scott: Scott's whole thing is loyalty. Hera is the goddess of marriage and is insanely loyal to Zeus. However, I feel like Hera should get at least one affair. So now Scott can use peacocks as weapons.

#3 Poseidon Cabin: Skizz Skizz: Poseidon kids tend to be really, really loyal to a fault and heroic, both qualities I think Skizz possesses.

#4 Demeter Cabin: Sausage, Shelby, Bdubs, Stress Sausage: This man built Sanctuary in a jungle and has flowers in his hair. He sells wood. There is no other place to put him. Shelby: Mushroom gnome, spooky mangrove witch, powerful storm witch, i need not continue. Bdubs: Moss man. Stress: SHE HAS FLOWERS

#5 Ares Cabin: Martyn, False Martyn: His planet is Mars, which is the roman version of Ares. He ended Limited Life in such a violent way, i can't help it. He was also red for the majority of Secret Life. False: I just feel like False should get to kill people more often.

#6 Athena Cabin: Grian, Pix, Owen, Xisuma Grian: This sums it up pretty well

Pix: Smart man. Archeologist and definitely a nerd. I wanna see him skipping out on training just so he can read history books. Owen: He likes to explore and discover new things in Pirates. In Rats, he's a tinkerer. In New Life, he's an explorer who wants to study hybrids. In Empires, he's a Llama who's curious about how humans work. Just a very curious character overall. Xisuma: Admin. I'm not elaborating.

#7 Apollo Cabin: Gem, Oli, Lyarrah Gem: She is an Apollo kid because of her Empire in S2. She's the sunlight princess. Apollo kid. Oli: MUSIC. MAN. Lyarrah: She writes the captions for the hermitcraft recap.

#8 Artemis Cabin: Pearl Pearl: Y'know, Artemis could've just like... had a kid, even though she took that oath. It wouldn't even have to be with a guy. Gods can change to whatever gender they want. Anyway, Pearl gets to be an Artemis kid because her symbolism is moon, she loves dogs, and will commit murder and hunt at night.

#9 Hephaestus Cabin: Doc, Mumbo, Tango, Impulse, Cub, Zedaph, Fwhip, Iskall Doc: Redstone Mumbo: Redstone Tango: Redstone Impulse: Redstone Cub: Redstone Zedaph: Redstone Fwhip: Redstone AND has a red scarf (don't ask me how that's relevant) Iskall: Redstone

#10 Aphrodite Cabin: Keralis Keralis: Okay, I don't know why, but Keralis gives me the vibes of a very charming person. His voice is nice to listen to, so imagine how useful it'd be if I gave him charm speak.

#11 Hermes Cabin: Scar, Etho, Joe Scar: Trader Scar, scammer extraordinar. Etho: All i must say is Shady-E's. I get "jack-of-all-trades, master of none, often better than master of one" vibes from him. He's funny, he's mischievous, it just works. Joe: Comedy man. Excellent delivery. And, yet again, i look at this man and go "That right there is a multi-talented man with a habit for mischief."

#12 Dionysus Cabin: Joey, Beef Joey: *points at his season one empires theme* i need not say more Beef: Idk, food. I don't really have a reason. I don't know too much about Beef.

#13 Hades Cabin: Zloy Zloy: Zombie man. He writes the Hermitcraft recaps in the dark at 2am with nothing but pure spite.

#14 Iris Cabin: Katherine Katherine: SHE. HAS. COLORS. and also I couldn't put her in Demeter cabin because Shelby is already there and i am NOT excluding Nature Wives from this au

#15 Hypnos Cabin: Bigb, XB, Wels Bigb: Sleepy stuff, right? WRONG. Gaslight. Go in everyones dreams, make fake prophecies, peace out, and cause chaos. XB: I look at his fanon design, I see an alien, and I go "aha he sleeps" Wels: This guy (@dingdinghq) said so and i completely agree. Something about sleeping in S6.

#16 Nemesis Cabin: Edit: wels not here no more

#17 Nike Cabin: Ren Ren: VICTORY. I don't know much about Ren's story in the Life Series, but I look at this man and see someone who has won a lot.

#18 Hebe Cabin: 

#19 Tyche Cabin: TFC TFC: Man goes mining and gets really lucky. That's it.

#20 Hecate Cabin: Lizzie, Cleo, Jevin Lizzie: Witchy vibes. Also, Arson. Cleo: Arson. She uses her magic for Arson. Jevin: He's a magic slime. Also, Arson. All Hecate kids love Arson.

[kedreeva]

Hi! I have a small farm but your posts have made me consider adding some peafowl. I've had guineafowl and chickens but god would i love peafowl. I also saw your posts with your hand raised peahen in the house, and I was wondering if she's actually litter trained? I have some bottle babies but have transferred them all out to typical barn/pasture existence, but if I could litter train a peafowl for (partial) indoor existence that would be glorious

As I have said many many times before and will likely say many many times again, you do not want a permanent house peafowl, I promise you. Bug was indoors with me because a) I have over a decade of experience with these birds, b) I did a sex linked breeding so I KNEW that she was a girl from the second she hatched c) I didn't particularly want to hand raise her, but I also wanted sleep and the birds are brooded in the house and she would not stop screaming d) I knew I was going to be home full time basically 24/7 to raise her without having to leave her on her own for long stretches while I was at work and e) I raised her with the full intention of putting her out when she was old enough to hold her own with the big birds- and that's where she currently lives, outside where she belongs.

They cannot be house/litter trained, the most you can do is diaper them, and they're not big enough for that for a few months and wearing one is always a risk- if they catch a toe from a poorly-fitted or poorly-applied diaper, they are strong enough to break their own legs and/or break their necks/wings struggling to get out.

Unlike standard breed chickens and farm waterfowl, peafowl can fly, like Actually Fly, and they can do so from about day 3 of life. You don't want a 10lb bird throwing itself around your house, because they're not passerines, they can't grasp things with their feet so they will just knock everything you love over in an attempt to find flat ground to stand on wherever they want to be. And they WILL throw temper tantrums when they're not getting their way- when you aren't sharing food, when you aren't going to bed at 6pm in the winter, when you aren't performing their daily schedule right, etc. They're just smart enough to be assholes, and big enough that that's a problem.

On top of that, males that are hand raised become exceedingly aggressive at maturity, to the point where many have been put down because they will relentless hunt and attack humans in their territory, and they have nasty spurs on their legs, and the ability to fly and to jump at least 6 feet up and hardly use their wings, which means they CAN jump and spur you in the face- and unlike chickens, they know where your face is, and will go for it. I've seen several folks with injuries from aggressive boys where the person narrowly escaped losing an eye. I, myself, was clawed over one eye once just from a bird that was eluding capture, and I'm well aware how much more badly that could have gone if she'd meant it rather than just trying to get away from being caught. The hens are (usually, although I've seen an exception) not aggressive, but unless you have the ability to socialize a hand raised hen with other birds, they have a hugely difficult time adapting to living in a flock, and I've heard many others refuse to breed with the males of their own kind. If they can't adapt to socializing with other birds, they can stress hugely when left alone or with other birds, and this can make them prone to illness.

The photos are cute, but this is a 110% "please do not attempt this at home" kind of deal. I've been caring for/learning about peafowl and their care in some way for 20 years and breeding them for the last 15 or so and I can say with my whole chest that you don't need any complications when getting into peafowl. There are already a million things that can go wrong just trying to raise a peafowl in a normal way, people kill the babies so often that a) reputable breeders often refuse to sell before 3 months old so they are well started and hardy and b) at least one Large Scale breeder I know of sells multi-pack day old chicks (the "discards" from his experimental pens) for super cheap because he fully expects them to die so he doesn't have to worry about competition on rare color breeding and can still make a buck.

If you want peafowl, and you have the space and the ability to pen one properly, and access to proper food and vet care, and you've done research on care and behavior, then absolutely go for it, they make great farm animals and they're really easy to befriend as subadults and even as adults and some birds are even super chill and will come right up and say hi (like Eris, whom I took home from another breeder because I visited and she just walked up and started inspecting me for treats like a chicken). But they do not make great indoor pets, even partially as adults.

[neopuppy]

I want to start writing and posting my very hush hush🤫 battle of the bands AU without anyone bothering me about updates. im not asking for a lot in actuality BUT……the way people act on here…

if I do this it would be a series. I think I will split up how each part gets posted too……since two groups are involved.

but also if it’s a waste of my time….I’ll just move along and keep rolling out one shots instead.

THIS WILL BE A CROSSOVER AU: nct dream/enhypen🤨

the premise: two childhood best friends(Heeseung/Jeno) fight over a girl in middle school and end up going to different high schools/both have little garage bands that play local shows but both gain notoriety in their districts, enough that a lot of people vote for them to make it to the top 5 for Battles of the Bands in their county

here’s where you come in- you are friends with the ‘00 liners and often help them sling demos/sell merch bc they let you go to all their shows for free, and offer to pay for stuff etc. throughout high school you always had the same boyfriend whose a year older than you and right before you’re ready to graduate you find out he’s been cheating on you in college. broken hearted and full of despair, your buddy Jeno’s like ‘hey if we win this battle of the bands thing we get a spot on Warped tour, you should come, it runs through summer. once in a lifetime opportunity.’

ur like nahhhh, but you go to the battle of the bands and meet their rival group(enha hyung line) for the first time and the singers REALLY into you, which leads to a run-in between him and *gasp* his ex-childhood bestie Jeno, they start talking shit to each other and you’re like😅😅😅??? ‘Why are you yelling at my potential rebound’ to which Jeno shouts ‘ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! HIM(yes.. its heeseung) NEVER!!!!’

yaddayaddya blah blah……you end up going on the tour, both bands come in as the top 2 finalists, and it ends up being the most chaotic memorable summer of your life……tons of drama, LOTS of guys, a lot of hooking up, some feelings, some confessions, jealousy, first times, etc etc. very coming of age with y/n running train on the whole squad as usual. I want to also really focus on each character and sort of how they all ended up in their bands/became friends, very ‘my teenage angst has a body count’-esque. each character has a song attached to them that delves more into their personal story/persona, etc……it wouldn’t be a super long AU, but maybe.

these updates would be SLOW, not weekly!!!! and tbfh if you even ask me once🤏 abt updates I may block you. Boom was like the last series I rly consecutively updated and it STRESSED me out/ruined how fun it was to write toward the end bc of the constant nagging for updates. its actually so much more annoying to read that message more than anything…maybe..

I want to write this bc, I love both groups and I think this type of story is something *I* personally could make something really fun out of, but yeah, like I’ve explained… the ‘when are you posting again/when will you update’ etc or snarky ass ‘FINALLY YOU UPDATED’ etc…..don’t do that!!!

with that being said..…I dare to ask the audience…

[fatuismooches]

(About the Dottore sugar tax)

I like to imagine that some members of the Fatui are very discreet in handing out the sweets.

Oh, one of their comrades is getting a scolding and it looks like it's escalating? Quick! Sneak a sweet nearby that the Lord Harbinger could spot easily!

And what happens is that mid-rant, the segment would glance just a little to the side behind the researcher and he sees - what the fuck?? Why is there a Charcoal-Baked Ajilenakh Cake on the desk??? How? When???

And he just gets so confused that he kinda momentarily short-circuits

The Fatui can't keep using the sweets tactics too often tho, they might accidentally pavlov their lord into hating sweets if he keeps receiving them when he's angry!

It happened with Omega already, he scowled at the Fatui Skirmisher and demanded if the agent thought of him as a dog that could be placated with a mere treat. Yeah that guy is dead now.

And of course the segments start to get suspicious by the sixth incident of receiving a sweet out of nowhere.

Zandik is baffled, because somehow everyone and their damn mother knows he has a sweet tooth and he is convinced that Pantalone has something to do with it (probably the ninth trying to gain his favour for a new gadget to sell)

Reader: sweating in the background.

Wait no I got pavlov's experiment mixed up: It would be more accurate to say that since Dottore keeps receiving sweets when he's angry - he starts to subconsciously expect sweets when he's frustrated. Which is even funnier because imagine how confused he'd be. He's stressing about failed results, why is he salivating???

OH MY GOSH... THIS IS LIKE THE FUNNIEST AND CUTEST THING EVER AHH!! When you work for someone such as Il Dottore, it is important to stick together with your fellow co-workers. Because you never know what will happen. And also, you don't really want to be carrying your new friend's dead body to the experimentation room. So it's important to look out for each other every now and then. This includes distracting the Harbinger's attention in any way possible from the target of his assault. Even if it means sneaking sweets into the lab. Yes, it is truly terrifying work, but it is necessary, especially when you were so kind to bestow this protection upon them.

THE WHOLE ASS CHARCOAL CAKE IS WHAT MAKES ME DIE... 😭 Was he really so caught up in his ranting that he didn't notice it? Actually, never mind that, how did they know he likes sweets, much less prefers Sumerian sweets compared to any other nation? All the agents have the exact same poker face, betraying absolutely nothing, for their lives are genuinely on the line right now. It was all riding on this Charcoal-Baked Ajilenakh Cake. Yes, this was 100% serious.

Ugh... if i was a regular agent think i'd rather die than present the OMEGA segment of all a piece of candy. The courage it'd take is insane. But oops. The other agents knew from that day they needed to be more careful with their tactics... yes, they have to add this to the handbook now. 😭 I imagine, the method begins to be used sparsely because the segments are not going to let their reputation be dumbed down to the guys who can be won over by mere sweets. Nope, not happening, they should be feared! Not known to the Fatui as being a sweets lover! So subduing the segments with sweets only happens on very violent days. Or if you happen to be in the room, you'll happily take the sweets offered by the agents and share them with the segment to make him calm down.

EBWKBEWEW DOTTORE BLAMING PANTALONE FOR ALL HIS PROBLEMS!! 😭 ah he would, despite how smart he is, it just completely slips his mind that you could have done this as well. Oh well! You just hope he doesn't find out! *nervous sweating intensifies*

Teehee him stressing not only over his failed results but his sudden urge to devour some sweets... it's really annoying for him though, usually, he ignores his growling stomach for a long time but, the taste of sweets is just haunting him and his tastebuds.

Maybe if he asks you, you can make some that lasts a few days... because at this rate, he expects to be thinking about sweets for a while with how poorly his experiments are going.

[been-taking-muay-thai-classes]

A Day for Silly Love Songs

I have no idea what posessed me to write this at 2AM, I blame the Wings and youtube for recommending me love songs. Anyways enjoy this valentine's day Jamil x gn!reader I made in a rush. As always, if you notice any mistakes no you didn't

The Prefect always thought Valentine’s Day was just a commercial thing back home, a holiday made to sell specials, food and perfumes at a “discounted” price. They were more of the idea that love, be it for friends or family or lovers, should be expressed all year instead of just this one particular day.

Still they couldn’t help but miss the gaudy decorations of red, pink and white that often took over the world during this time of year, the silly love songs that people loved to dedicate each other and the loving messages friends left in the chats.

The Prefect also knew Valentine’s Day wasn’t a thing in Twisted Wonderland. It became obvious when February came and no heart-shaped decorations nor red, pink and white ornaments filled the campus nor the internet pages Cater and Idia were so keen on showing them.

No trends related to love or friendship, no complaining about loneliness or happy couples, nothing to show liking or disliking this particular date.

So, naturally, they didn’t take it personally when the freshmen received their gifts on the 14th wondering why the sudden affection. The Prefect didn’t explain, simply giving a 'I just felt like giving you all a little something for being such good friends'. After all, the whole history behind Valentine’s was complex and frankly quite separated from how it was celebrated in modern times and they didn't have the time nor the energy to explain why such a holiday was of any importance. All they cared about was giving their friends a little token of their appreciation.

Some of the upperclassmen also were confused. Ruggie and the Octavinelle trio in particular seemed intrigued but cautious about needing to return the favor. But they all smiled upon learning the gifts were just that, gifts. Ruggie in particular was very happy about receiving free food, no matter how small the bag of cookies was.

Malleus meanwhile was ecstatic to get a present from his friend. The wooden charm, painted a beautiful purple, was elegant in its simplicity and the fae was more than glad to attach the little charm on his magical pen. 

So on and so forth, the Prefect gave everybody a little trinket to show them their love. Even the more reclusive Idia got a little something.

However, there was one person who was yet to receive anything from the Prefect. And he had surely noticed by now.

Jamil Viper was stretching along with the rest of the basketball club, preparing for the training ahead, but he was having a hard time focusing with Ace and Floyd talking nearby.

‘Heee so Shrimpy gave you candy too? No fair! I thought my gift was special!’ 

‘Hey don’t look at me like that! You’re seriously freaking me out-’ Ace was interrupted by Floyd suddenly standing up and approaching him with a menacing aura, to which he responded with darting out of his reach and into the court. Floyd chased him, laughing all the way, and soon the rest of the club was shouting at them both to encourage the race, hoping to either see Ace outrun Floyd or be caught by him. 

Jamil was honestly done. He could feel a headache forming from the stress as well as he could feel the frustration of hearing around campus how everybody was getting a gift from the Prefect. That’s it, everybody but him.

Was it something he said? He knows he’s been busy lately what with helping the Scarabia students get back to studying and settling back in the dorm after the holidays, and also the whole ‘Crewel wants to make sure you all have the basics down pat, so we’ll be having weekly tests until March’ but he didn’t think he’d been neglecting you so much. He still went over to the cafeteria on a semi-regular basis to give you the “leftovers” -food he totally cooked specifically for you to enjoy- he had. He still made some time on his schedule to teach you and Grim a little bit of History or Alchemy or Ancient Curses because he knew how much you struggled with it. Merciful Sands, he even made his best effort to walk a certain route, different from his original one, to and from class everyday just so he could make sure to say hi to you every day.

As Floyd, Ace and some of the other guys started playing something completely unrelated to basketball, Jamil decided he had better things to do than stay here and do nothing. So he promptly grabbed his things and left without a word.

He walked fast and tense, with a determination and purpose that made most students move out of the way immediately. He reached the Scarabia kitchen in record time, and put on his apron to begin gathering ingredients.

Oh so you want to give people food? But not him? The rational part of his brain told him the Prefect had either forgotten or given his gift to Kalim to pass it later, but the emotional side wanted to remind the Prefect of their bond. He was the guy they kept messaging in the middle of the night with the pretext of not being able to sleep. He was the guy they kept calling first thing in the morning to make sure he’d slept well and have a nice breakfast before class. He was the guy who returned all that affection tenfold with little details that he both hope you would and wouldn’t notice because he loves you but he has so much trouble admitting his feelings.

So now, he’s preparing you a dessert. He knows it's your favorite, and while he would have liked to make this with more time over the weekend, make it really tasty and beautiful and surprise you with it on Ramshackle, maybe even have a date while you shared the food right now he needed to remind you just how much better he was than the rest of the students at this school, and how well he understood you. 

Kalim was just getting back from his own club activities when Jamil was preparing to leave. ‘Ohhh what’s that? It smells soooo good!’ The shine on his eyes denoted how eager he was to try the dessert, but Jamil had no time to lose, he was on a mission ‘I have to hand this to someone, but there’s some leftovers from lunch if you get hungry’ and just like that he was gone. Kalim didn’t even have time to ask who it was for or where exactly the leftovers were.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Prefect sat in the Ramshackle living room, staring at the one gift they had been unable to give. Grim had fallen asleep from a food-induced coma, so he couldn’t bear witness to the defeat and shame on the Prefect’s face.

‘Ugh why can’t I do something so simple? It’s just a box of chocolates, why do I have to make such a huge deal out of it? I already gave everyone else things, and nobody thought anything weird’ sighing, the Prefect dropped their weight back onto the couch and laid there for a few seconds, thinking.

The heart shaped box, which they had to make by hand as Twisted Wonderland didn’t have such decorations, looked surprisingly good despite being carried dragged around campus all day. In fact, the Prefect was pretty certain that if they looked inside, the assorted chocolates of the various flavors they could remember from back home would also be intact. So why was the box still here instead of with its intended owner? 

As much as the Prefect hated to admit it, it was because they knew this gift was different from the others. All of the others were just little trinkets, with much love and some money put into them but barely the same time, effort and dedication that this one had required. And all because the Prefect had somewhat hoped to find Jamil alone at some point and confess their feelings with this gift. But as they walked around campus, the nerves and fear of rejection got the better of them.

After all, Jamil often joked about how troublesome the students here were, or how he was always worrying about his juniors and doing things to help them out (even if it they hadn’t asked for help), or how stressed he was lately with all the tutoring lessons or helping students recover their usual sleep schedules. The Prefect could tell it was all getting to him,  to the point his replies to their usual texting and calling had shortened to a few one or two-word answers. 

No, right now wasn’t the right time to confess. Jamil had enough on his plate, the last thing he needed was to consider someone else’s feelings and stress about rejecting or dating someone. And the Prefect certainly didn’t want to think too hard about the possibility of rejection and what that would mean for their friendship. 

‘Welp, guess I better get rid of this. Not like I’m gonna use it anymore’ as they stood up and gave themselves a single, determined clap, the doorbell rang.

‘Hm? Who could it be at this hour?’ looking around the room, the only things here were theirs and Grim’s ‘Odd, I don’t think the guys forgot anything’

The Prefect approached the door, thinking that perhaps Malleus had dropped by to go sightsee some gargoyles. Instead, as they opened the door, they were greeted by the man of the hour. Jamil Viper, whose panting, flushed cheeks and slightly disheveled appearance, revealed he may have been running here.

‘Jamil? What’s going on?’ The Prefect made to grab him by the shoulder but he stopped them with a raised finger. He took a few deep breaths, and when he was confident in his ability to speak, replied ‘I don’t know what I did to be ignored out of everybody today, but I brought you something to hopefully fix it’ 

Just then, as Jamil raised teh bagged food, did they realize he was carrying something. Their eyes widened and their cheeks flushed, but nevertheless they let him in.

‘Um, I don’t know what to say Jamil… um sorry, I promise I didn’t mean to ignore you all day’ Jamil walked in and quietly left the food on the table, careful not to wake Grim. He turned to eye the Prefect, not fully believing their words but too infatuated not to. 

‘So then how come everybody got gifts today except for me?’ at his accusatory words, the Prefect flushed even harder, the tip of their ears growing hot with embarrassment. Instead of answering with words, they simply grabbed the heart-shaped box and gave it to him, hoping this would suffice as an answer instead of having to admit so soon to their feelings.

Jamil eyed the box curiously, growing flushed himself upon noticing the…peculiar shape of it. He carefully opened it to see the assortment of colorful and well-crafted chocolates inside, as well as a handwritten list of flavors corresponding to each shape and color on the back of the lid. 

‘Uhhh’ all of a sudden, Jamil didn’t know what to say. The speech he had rehearsed on his way over, to try and make the Prefect see how he felt and possibly choose him as a boyfriend, was completely gone from his mind. ‘is this what Floyd was raving about?’ 

‘No, I- I made these myself, the others gifts were bought’ their voice was wavering between being strong and weak, as if they had to overpower the need to protect their heart with the love they felt for him.

Jamil took the box and began reading some of the flavors with curiosity, and seeing his rising eyebrows, the Prefect added ‘these are from back home, at least the few flavors and shapes I could remember better’ Immediately Jamil smiled, soft and fond. Oh, a piece of your world? Just for him? Was he truly that special to you? He ought to find a way to repay this thoughtful and kind gift tenfold. But first, he needed to make sure of something.

Letting the box on the table, he opened his own gift to you, revealing the delicious dessert he’d made. Although not quite as good as a professional chef’s would be, he was sure it would taste amazing. And so were you, from the smell of it.

‘I made this for you, because I thought maybe you were upset we- I haven’t been paying- able to spend much time with you’ he coughed a little, trying to regain the strength of his voice and his resolve ‘I figured…well we could eat together and catch up a bit…if…if that’s quite alright with you, Prefect’ and how could they say no? When he whispered their name with such softness, such reverence and delicacy, as if saying it any other way would break them, break him. 

The moment truly felt like taken out of a cheap rom-com movie, but that only made their own determination stronger. ‘I would love that Jamil…’ they stepped closer, slowly entering his personal space. Timidly, asking for permission and giving time to reject, they closed the gap between them with a small, chaste kiss to the corner of his lips. The moment felt perfect, they took it in for the few seconds it lasted. And then, when Jamil didn’t respond, they stepped back in a panic.

Was it too much? Had they read the signs wrong?

Jamil was frozen, face completely flushed and breath gone. They looked at him with concern and he looked at them with fear. And then confusion. And then realization. And finally embarrassment. Quickly he his his whole face with his hoodie, mumbling something about wanting to be cool on their first kiss.

The Prefect had to laugh, it was an honest reaction not meant to embarrass him further, but it clearly had that effect. So, they had to grab his hands gently, pry them away from his hood strings, slowly peel the hood down and hold his cheeks tenderly. Their eyes denoted all the love, warmth and longing they had for him and Jamil hoped his showed the same.

With one last loving kiss, they sat down holding hands to enjoy their treats together before Grim inevitably woke up from the smell of food. 

The Prefect always thought Valentine’s Day was just a commercial thing, but maybe there was a bit of romantic magic to this day after all.

[poetry-protest-pornography]

Okay, Love Sea ep 1, finally!

This place is so pretty, I wanna go

Rak is going to this island to be a supermodel, I guess

Jfc Fort is so attractive, ugh

Did he just push that man overboard because of a pen?

Seriously, why is he so fancy?

Side note: I actually love that Rak looks expensive. It not only sells the "rich guy on vacation/fish out of water" thing, but it also places him apart from this tight knit island community and from casual tourists. It makes it clear that he's not comfortable in himself here, because he's dressing specifically to hold himself apart from the rest of them.

It also gives fun opportunities to see him relax through his wardrobe. Also, Peat is just really beautiful, and he wears it all so well

Rak is so grumpy 😆 I love rich bitch Peat already

The casual "I'm borrowing this" and Mut being zero percent fazed by Rak's bitchiness is so attractive and also immediately introduces and characterizes the setting and Mut both. Super well done

Baby those are not island shoes

I love that Mut clocked that Rak needed to be knocked down a peg and spoke so he couldn't understand him. He's establishing right off the bat that he's not intimidated or particularly impressed with Rak's attitude, and I love it. They're doing characterizations so well so far? Honestly really impressed to get this from Mame

The knocking a little tune on the window 🤣🤣🤣

Oh. I already don't like Vi. Like. A lot don't like her

JA IS HERE?!

A lovely surprise Ja!

Baby is stressed

I love that everyone who looks at Rak is like "this guy is sooo pretty". They're right and they should say it. Just look at him

This waiter is just like "oh, you know my friend? Let me tell you all his business (because you're his type, shh)"

Rak's momentary disappointment at the "women" part, and then his incredulous "that guy?!" when the waiter pointed out the guy who's staying because of Mut were incredible. Peat's acting is excellent here

I love that literally the whole island is just "that's our boy, isn't he wonderful!" about Mut. He deserves all that praise

"more like a cat, you'll know when you see him" Yep. That's like, 5 "Rak is a cat" references so far

35,000 bath is only like, $1000usd. I know money is different in Thailand than here, but idk if I'd put up with that grumpy man for a whole two weeks for that little

I was very concerned that this was going for some really gross colorism, and I'm very glad that it very quickly established that Rak is being made fun of for being an uptight rich jerk and projecting superiority all over the place

Rak: *seduction mode activated*

Mut: wow, where did all your hair go?

Thank goodness.

"don't you feel anything at all? I'm way hotter than that guy getting the bar!" Oh baby, this i didn't want you act is not fooling anybody

Rak just sent him another line, thousand dollars over breakfast. "You had me at 5k" 🤣🤣🤣

What a great fucking line

"Keep being arrogant and you'll hurt yourself". Mut is a king, actually

The caught punch and the "I can do more" while he laced their fingers was A Lot. Wow. These two do tension SO WELL

Oh I really don't like Vi

I feel like a lot of GL now is at where BL was a couple years ago. Which is to say a lot toxic. But this is a shitty way to introduce a character. Instantly unlikeable. "I'm going to be so shitty to you and use class politics to use you, but it's okay because I have a crush on you". I haaaaate it

Oh no, Fort looking at his hand and smiling softly is giving my PaiSky flashbacks and I'm gonna cry (I know someone made this side by side gif, please tag me)

What Mame book is Rak writing rn? 🤣

God Fort is so hot, how dare he (had a conversation with @hotasfahrenheit about how hot he is, and I've been informed that we get to see stretch marks at some point and that makes me feel crazy, actually? I love that he's visibly tan, I love that he has imperfections. He's so insanely attractive and it's so much hotter when he's a real person -- and not whitewashed)

Rak running around this boat like an excited puppy is adorable

And now, pouty time because he got yelled at for leaning too far over the edge 😆

Oh no

That hug and little kiss on the temple are going to haunt me. What a beautiful moment. And absolutely bonkers for two people who have known each other for five minutes

Their acting has really grown, I'm so proud of them

Are you hungry for clams or for me? Lol. The "hungry" metaphor for sex never fails in BL. Never miss an opportunity to make the joke

Ughhhh:

He's so beautiful what the fuck

Well. That was a hell of a first episode. Cannot wait for more

[naturepointstheway]

2008 Wellington Non-Replica Cats here we go

Gather around, everyone, while I pull out my souvenir programme from 2008 Cats I still have from this production way back yonks ago. Feel free to partake in some snacks! There will be plenty of photos from the brochure, hence putting them under a "read more".

Okay, so looking through this production's cast list, I see that there were pretty much the whole cast you'd expect (we had a Plato rather than Admetus, for example), plus some OCs sprinkled in there as well, which I like! The Growltiger sequence was clearly still in there, as there's a Griddlebone for example. One thing I really love is that they cast a very old (I think retired, or close to) actor as Old Deuteronomy which makes sense to me, because he is supposed to be an old cat (I think the actor was in his mid-sixties at least). Ditto for Gus as well, also of a similar age to the actor who played Old Deut, which I love for this cast, and also it makes sense for them to be played by older people, considering they are supposed to be on the older side of life.

There was a separate Quaxo character from Mistoffelees as well, and also kept the Exotica character from the 1998 movie as well.

OCs created (names only, sadly) include Victor, Johnny, Isis, Savannah, Rocket, Anoushka, and Garbo.

Okay enough rambles, on to the photos I took on my phone from the brochure!

Yes, that is Munkustrap, and honestly love his wig--very wild, very maine coon ears in there. Interesting they gave him leopard spots--maybe Jenny gave him those for him to wear for the night? I actually don't mind they gave him some leopard spots here, as it makes him look a lot more like Tugger as well, selling that whole Munk and Tugger are brothers thing even more.

Speaking of our favourite rock star cat...

That leather costume. Umph. My poor bisexual heart. I love the extra floof at his ankles (I think those are leg warmers). This Tugger, from what I remember, gave me very John Partridge's Tugger vibes, which I wholly approve of. Victoria has called shotgun for the space between his legs, and an OC (I think) cat is clawing her way up his thigh which, mood. Yes. Electra is the one that did the screaming at the end of his song (the one stretching up to him, wearing that white-ish unitard.

Griddlebone and Growltiger (I think)!

This Macavity fucks, and I remember his costumed was sparkly as fuck. Practically was in a sparkle-off competition with Mistoffelees in terms of sparkly costumes. I can absolutely see why Bomba wanted this Macavity inside her NOW.

Here's the one and only Grizabella; my favourite costume out of this non-replica Cats, I have to say.

Found a Teazer lurking at the beginning of the brochure, and I love her makeup, which is definitely very much based on the 1998 film Teazer's makeup. I love it!

I think this is supposed to be Misto, and they're adorable, especially with the makeup (which is why I'm pegging them as likely to be our favourite magical sparkly boy, as that looks very similar to Jacob's makeup in the 1998 movie.)

A Mungo has been spotted, looking cute as all get out. He absolutely uses his cute face to fool people into thinking he would never, ever steal or cause a ruckus no way he absolutely knows nothing about that Ming vase or the winter vest he stole from the humans' drawers. That was definitely another cat that looked just like him and just happened (impossible as it seems) to have a name very similar to his.

Old Deut looks very cuddly I want to snuggle him.

Munkustrap would like to have the spotlight for a bit in the middle of Bustopher's song. For some reason I keep thinking the cat next to him over his right shoulder is wearing a superhero outfit, and now all I can think of is either Teazer or Jerrie (looks like one of them) trying to convince Munkustrap they cause ruckus because they're superheroes dammit! Munk is having the fucking time of his life and I'm here for it! Let the stressed out junkyard dad have some fun and this song absolutely Brings Joy for him. Bless this Munk.

First page of a two-page spread from what seems to be The Naming of Cats. One of my favourite things is how some of the wigs are very based on the original Broadway wigs and I'm a thousand percent HERE for this. I LOVE wild wigs that you sometimes see in other productions too, especially in bootlegs from earlier productions from the eighties/early nineties. I see one of the psychic twins (Tanto I believe) with their unmistakeable wig, and a sparkly Misto behind whom I THINK is Jemima (1980s style wig), and Victoria is also very easy to recognise here too with her white wig and unitard.

Second page of the two-page spread from what is likely Naming of Cats. I can very easily spot Tugger right at the back at top left corner, and there's a Jenny over near the right top corner too (very bright orange stripes. We're talking neon here!)

First page of a two-page spread from the Jellicle Ball, everyone looking fab there; I believe I spotted a Tugger again (yep there he is at the far left), a Victoria, and what might be Quaxo right at the back there in the tuxedo costume.

Second page of a two-page spread from the Jellicle Ball, and oh hi Misto there you are looking all cryptid and mysterious way up on your lonesome in the back. I think I finally spotted Alonzo at the bottom right corner (his patterns suggest he could be Alonzo) too.

Aaand that's all! Hope you enjoyed this little journey through my very old souvenir programme from a non-replica Cats performance in Wellington, NZ in 2008. May your conjuring turns never falter and may you always meditate on your secret third name.

Name...

name...

name...

[the-lark-ascending69]

Near-future, black mirror esque AU in which Nancy, stressed college student with loads of childhood trauma, gets recommended by her psychologist to get an emotional support robot. That's what they're called, yes. They're sold to very lonely people to pretty much look after them emotionally. Nancy has always hated the idea, and doesn't really like androids or robots of any kind. Plus, she thinks it's quite sad that she's so lonely she needs an android to keep her company. She also couldn't possibly afford it.

Her friend Steve, though, who hasn't seen her in a year despite living 15 minutes away (she has a tendency to isolate herself and use her studies as an excuse), got her one. It's a second-hand unit, a slightly older model that's seen several repair shops in the past, but it works, and it was half the price of a new one. He shows up to her apartment with the box, looking smug and proud of himself. If anything, Nancy feels insulted.

She doesn't touch the box for a few weeks, and doesn't get rid of it either, because her studies take her so much time, she can't bring herself to keep her apartment clean. When her mother visits and sees the mess she's living in, with a perfectly functional android willing to help her, she finally caves, and as soon as she's alone, she decides to see if this thing can at least help her clean up.

It surprises her that it looks so... human. Its skin is soft and warm, with all the natural imperfections of a human's skin. Same as her hair. She's dressed in old worn-out clothes, and she curls into herself, in fetal position, inside the box. Only the button under her skin on the back of her neck reveals her as an android. Nancy reads the instructions, presses there for 10 seconds, and waits.

Or she planned to wait - eight seconds in with Nancy's fingers pressed on that spot, and the android's eyes flew open. She cried out, screambled out of the box and looked around, breathing heavily and hugging herself. Her eyes fix on Nancy, look her up and down with a frown, and asks:

"Who are you?"

Nancy opens her mouth to reply, then looks down at the instructions, hoping they'd say something about this kind of scenario, and that her new robot didn't go rogue and try to kill her.

"Wait, are those my instructions?" The robot asked. She looked down. "I really don't mean to complain about my living situation going from extremely fucked to simply fucked, but that is not my original box. Mine was smaller, and it had a bunch of little dots on the side. Did they sell me again?"

The instructions said nothing about this possibility, so Nancy decided it was time to improvise.

"I... my friend got you at a garage sale, I think."

"Oh. Well, that is low, even for me," the robot said. She rubbed the back of her neck. "Should my neck hurt this much?"

Nancy blinked.

"Shouldn't you know that?"

"Honestly, I don't even know what levels of pain are normal for me. It always hurts just a little bit somewhere, like, right now, my whole spine really hurts." She laughs. "At least I think it's supposed to feel like pain? I don't think we're wired to feel pain, exactly, I mean, that would be just sadistic. Talk anti-natalism to me. But I swear this spot right here just feels really really bad. Or maybe it's anthropocentric to... perceive it as pain, don't you think? It's very existentialist, actually, the whole... perceiving thing - I bet Berkeley wrote something about it, at some point, but I haven't read him in ages."

"You read books?"

"What? Oh. Oh, uh... I - I think I'm offline? Like, I don't have access to the database, so I kinda have to do it the old-fashioned way if I want to learn somethin," she said. "It's cool, though! I like reading a lot."

"...Okay. So, um... here it says your model is..."

"Robin," the android said. Nancy looked up.

"I'm sorry?"

"That's my name," she said. "I came up with it, I - I thought it sounded nice. Do you like it?"

Nancy stared at this... thing, a million thoughs coursing through her head. The first one was a newfound understanding of her low price.

She made a movement with her head that could be understood as both a shake and a nod at the same time.

"Yeah, yeah, sure" she said, brows knit together. What the hell did Steve get her into? "It's... nice."

"Oh, thank God, because Mom and Dad hated it."

"Mom and...?"

"My first owners - Richard and Melissa, I always called them Mom and Dad. They... they, uh, they hated that, too."

Jesus Christ.

"So... Robin," Nancy said. "I was wondering if you could help me put away some of my things while I study."

"Oh! Yeah, yeah, yeah, sure." She stood there, eyes wandering, around, until they fell on Nancy's bookshelf "Holy shit, you have Dostoyevski! Is it in Russian?"

Nancy blinked, opened her mouth, took a step back and shook her head. Robin was already striding towards her bookself, tracing the spines of books with her fingers.

"Actually, why don't you read after you clean this up?"

Robin turned to see her, eyes wide and a growing smile, like a kid in a candy shop.

"I - I can read all of this?"

Nancy was going to kill Steve.

She shrugged and shook her head.

"Sure," she said. "After you clean this mess."

"Aye aye, cap!" Robin chirped, making a quick salute with her hand and getting to work.

Nancy was, for certain, going to murder Steve for making her responsible for this... thing. There was something wrong in her system, and that was very much obvious. She looked down at the instructions manual - surely there would be a way to turn her off for the night. She wouldn't want Robin to murder her in her sleep, or worse - wake her up at 4 am to talk about books.

Or she could just tell her to shut up. She was a robot, anyway. It's not like she could feel anything.

[finnskeeper]

05x15: "The Long Goodbye Job"

Thoughts under the cut. I'm not sure how long this is going to be.

The Opening

"What was your mistake?" The cuts and bruises on Nate's face. The shaking. The barely held back tears. I knew this episode was going to be a doozy, but I didn't expect to be hit by a truck right out of the gate.

The Client

Here's where it gets interesting. There is no client. But Nate had to come up with one for the story he sells to Interpol over the course of the episode. So what would be so damn important that he'd risk everything? Making sure another parent doesn't have to go through what he did with Sam.

The Plan

Watching it a second time, it's definitely fun to try to pick out which points are fact and which are part of Nate's story. We know the rundown went a little differently (Eliot and Parker were at the briefing for the black book, not doing recon on the building) but there are likely elements that are real (Hardison's hesitation at the Sterenko, for example). The rooftop scene with Nate and Parker isn't real (because they didn't go in on the roof, they came in with the coroner's van) and that hurts my heart just a little. It was a great little moment for them, a passing of the torch in a way. It is possible that he took her up there and did all that math to calculate the water balloon shot, but honestly that kind of math is all doable from home base, since they would have access to building heights and distances, and doesn't need to be as accurate.

The Middle

"You said you made a mistake. How did your friends die?"

Aaaaaand there it is. Nate's face here wrecked me. The tears, the shock, the pain...given that he actually crashed the van into the river and took those injuries, do you think there was a small, tiny moment when he thought what she was saying was true? Did he forget, even for a second, that this was also part of the con and he was actually being interrogated about the death of his family?

The Job

Remember Nate is the narrator here, and we see him in the theater basement watching (though later we know he was, in fact, the responding officer), but there are little hints that something is amiss. A) There's no way Nate would actually miss the fact that radios would still work. Hell, Eliot wouldn't miss it. He grabbed walkies in the "Cross My Heart Job" when they didn't have earbud access. No reason to think they would forget those exist now. And B) "Baker 12" being the cop's designation. Nice, sneaky DW reference.

The Collapse

And here's where it all "goes wrong." These 2 minutes were THE most stressful, and that was me going in knowing the big reveal. Hardison dropping down the elevator shaft was horrible, but then Eliot comes in with a steel chair and the most devastating "Dammit Hardison!" of the entire series.

And then we have the whole back of the van/chase scene...

HOW DID ANYONE WATCH THIS LIVE/UNSPOILED AND NOT IMMEDIATELY THROW UP?

(Also, I firmly believe this is another hint that something is amiss...he went to jail to save these people. 3 of them are "gone," but Sophie is still next to him. IMO, Nate would never [willingly] put Sophie in any danger. It's established canon [in S2 he leaves Tara with some dangerous men, and Sophie calls him on it. He'd never leave her there], and having him drive them off a bridge to their deaths rather than surrender seems farfetched now that I look at it again with a clearer head.)

Nate losing it and just pounding on the table in anger and grief. I legit had to pause and walk away for a moment.

The Real Job

"WHY WOULD I LIE? WHY? I SCREWED UP, I GOT THEM KILLED! I LOST EVERYTHING, THE ONLY THING I EVER HAD! WHY! WHY! WHY WOULD I LIE!?"

And that's on Emmys, baby.

Nate looking right at the camera: "No active cases."

Hello, Sterling.

"You would get them killed for that." Is that a note of anger I detect in your tone, Sterling? Are you mad at Nate for their deaths? I thought you didn't like them...

Ah, yes, the actual target. Honestly, no one explains this better than John Rogers himself in the DVD commentary:

“This is a big ass speech. This is a big ass stop the show, this is the moral framework of the entire five years you’ve seen. Nate Ford justifies 77 episodes of Leverage in this speech, cause you know what? It is the last goddamn episode, you’re gonna know why we made the show. We didn’t make the show cause we thought it was clever or cute or fun. I always say this, no show succeeds unless somebody loves it and you know what, everybody loves this show and to me, what Nate’s saying here is important enough to say out loud. No one should be allowed to cheat and get away with it.”

JUSTICE OR ORDER

The Twist/The REAL Job

"Parker's still in the server room." *insert Thor meme here* Is she though?

Fake bodies! And where are those pesky van drivers?

Sterling figuring it out and letting Nate gloat, just a little.

Sophie being the Sterenko operator AND police dispatch AND the supervisor, acting as the grifter/mastermind behind the scenes.

Nate revealed as the patrol officer.

ELIOT ROLLING HIS EYES AND FALLING INTO THE VAN "DEAD."

The recap of how it actually all went down.

"They'll be mixed in with the audience!" Cut to the OT3 in silly little soldier costumes on stage.

10/10, no notes.

(Hey, do you think Sophie/the team had the live feed of the interrogation room so they could know when to move to the next phase of the plan? Do you think they watched Nate rip his own heart out as he played out his worst imaginable scenario?)

The End

"Justice is always easy." Dammit Sterling! Why do you always make it so hard to hate you?

The Proposal ("You gotta say it.")

The OT3 ("Til my dying day.")

LEVERAGE INTERNATIONAL, HELL YES

The final scene is giving "end of Men in Black" vibes. The swanky suits, Hardison and Eliot in power stances, the callback speech, PARKER MASTERMIND FTW...it's all so good.

Has a show ever ended so perfectly? I don't think so. This is the yardstick upon which all other finales will be measured.

Now it's time to go back and watch S1 in the proper order.

[lexleif]

rant about my life and how it’s going rn (not good and super long)

so I do have a job but since I’m an esthetician it’s commission based which means I only get paid when I have a client. since its summer it’s been dead I’ve been working here for about 3 weeks now and I could probably count how many clients I’ve had on my 1 hand😭 yeah so really bad. so that also means I’m not getting paid even when I am at work just sitting waiting for someone to book or doing promotion things. my industry is REALLY hard so I did expect it to be slow at first but not this bad! another thing is while wasting gas at my current job I have been actively looking for hourly paying jobs and I’ve had like 2 otp interviews and 1 actual in person interview. I’ve basically applied everywhere I can even jobs I don’t necessarily qualify for. all that with nothing to come of it and I do like everybody else have bills to pay like rent and such. I’ve really just been surving off my dead mom’s life insurance policy money and that’s also hard bc my family doesn’t trust me to have access to it on my own. (There’s a whole story behind this but the distrust really comes from them bc they still think of me as a child and had an issue with me using mary jane until i had to tell them my dead MOM was absolutely fine with it and knew about it!) anyway so every time I need money even just for food I have to ask one of my family members to write me a check and it’s embarrassing bc the literal checks have my OWN NAME on them and she still writes that’s it’s for me on them😭! that’s also an added stress to my life bc I already have a hard time asking for help bc most of the time it comes with some sort of judgement (about my career or anything). so I’m super stressed out now bc my family member just lmk that the funds for my mom life insurance policy are frozen and that’s scary asf! I’m grinding for clients but that doesn’t have a guarantee and it also doesn’t help that my bf lost his job a month ago as well. his car being totaled by a tree in January and his family being of no help or support for that at all😭 (mostly his dad bc he had the title to his car and couldn’t find it for months and chose to get it fucking mailed which takes forever) bc we need to try to sell it. of course my bf has been doing his best with trying to find a job that’s close bc he’ll need a bike at the least to get to and from. also our lease on our apartment that we live in (my bf moved in with me a little before my mom died). it’s just the lease is up in July and we’re both pretty much freaking the fuck out about how we’re going to make it. It’s also very hard for me to even try to explain this to my family (older millennials/boomers) about just how hard it’s been to just try to make it and have enough money for food, gas, rent, etc. so if we can’t make rent for next month we’re both pretty much fucked I’ll have to live with my grandparents and my bf will need to move back in with his dad probably but I know he hates even the thought of that bc they’ve always had a bad relationship and he’s just not a good father in general.

I just needed to rant bc I have no one else of than my bf who I can talk about this with so if anyone can relate in the slightest or just understand what I’m talking about please feel free to message me we all need support :)

[tigtree]

hello!!! *offers you this fic i’m writing in exchange for your trc goldfinch au please* (whenever you have the time <3)

- @you-know-i-get-itt

hello!! yes!! i’m so sorry this has taken me so long, life’s been a bitch LMAO 😭 and THANK YOU FOR THE FIC!!!!! i just read it and you have such an incredible writing style, i always devour your fics! if you ever end up writing more for it, please lmk!!

okay, buckle your seatbelt because this AU is so scuffed and still remains unfinished (though i’ve been working on bits and pieces over the last couple of weeks) so i’m not sure how much sense this is about to make? apologies in advance LMAO

okay, so the snippet shared beneath read more is from the very beginning of the story… or the end, depending on how you view it. either way, it’s the beginning of the fic i’m working (slowly) on for this AU.

an important note about this AU is that the concept of dreamers/dreams is completely thrown out, because i was struggling to make it fit, and so instead of the Barns being full of fantastical wonders, it’s art. (which i’d argue is a fantastical wonder anyway, but like. not magical in a fantasy sense)

There’s an underground secret market for artists here, and Niall happens to be a pretty prominent figure. The Barns are full of sculptures and paintings and all kinds of artwork, though many of these fellow artists aren’t happy with Niall- he gets himself into some trouble over stealing art and reselling for a whole lot more money than it should have been. He does all of this under a pseudonym, manages to keep his dirty work anonymous, until they figure him out.

One thing leads to another, and Niall Lynch is found dead in the driveway by his middle son.

Aurora has been sick for a while, and the stress of her husband’s death contributes to the rapid decline of her health, meaning Declan has to step in to care for his brothers while their mother is in hospital. Declan had been helping his father for years with the scam- though he’d been morally against it in many ways- and knows that ‘the bad people’ will be back to claim all of the artwork from the house. He therefore packs it all away, and sets it on the drive with a note begging them to just take it, and please leave his family out of this.

Ronan views Declan’s hurry to get rid of their Dad’s stuff as an attack, a dismissal of not just his grief but of their father’s life. He secretly takes a painting from one of the bags- The Goldfinch- and stashes it behind his bookshelf.

I’m really aware that I’ve typed so much so I’ll be brief with the rest Aurora dies, and the freaking art mafia people realise there’s a painting missing- The Goldfinch- and Declan decides they’re moving to DC to get away. Ronan refuses, and ends up staying with Gansey for a while. Through Gansey he meets Blue, Adam and Noah, and things feel okay- until he returns briefly to the Barns and finds a letter containing both Gansey’s address, and Declan and Matthew’s address. He panics, makes his way to DC, confides in Declan about it, finds out they’ve been having ominous happenings relating to the art. Declan decides they’re selling the Barns and townhouse to move further, Ronan isn’t happy with this. More stuff happens, he ends up trading the painting with the agreement that Declan and Matthew will not be bothered again.

While all of this is happening, Ronan and Gansey lowkey have something homoerotic going on, and Ronan is tits-over-toes in love with Adam.

i’ll shut up now, but the gist of it is that The Goldfinch is a sort of physical manifestation of Ronan’s grief- he’s unable to let go of his father, of the past, but eventually has built himself enough of a support system to finally let go of his father and properly grieve. there’s also a focus placed on the small choices that build up, over time, into something more- the Butterfly Effect, and all that.

——————

It’s cold, this time of year.

Ronan’s hands shake as he fumbles through the junk drawer, his fingers numbly brushing over various wires, receipts and plastic soldiers as he hunts for a lighter. He knows there will be one in here- the centerpiece candle on the dining table was lit on what must have amounted to hundreds of occasions over the years. Aurora would send one of the children to this drawer to dig out the Zippo lighter they kept handy for Sunday dinners and Easter lunches, and would allow the chosen child- for she kept the names on a rota- to light the candle.

The lightbulb in the kitchen has stubbornly refused to emit any light tonight, and so Ronan’s not sure what he catches his hand on. He retracts it from the drawer with a hissed Fuck, presses the cut to his mouth and unceremoniously kicks the counter. His entire soul feels disregulated, like it’s jittering around within the confines of his skin, pushing and pulling and desperately attempting to claw its way out.

It’s like the painting had been fused to his very existence, and- with it gone- he’s missing a vital organ.

He braves the drawer again, this time proving successful as his fingers tighten around the cold metal casing. The weight is familiar in his palm as he hurries back to the sitting room, dropping to his knees in front of the wood burner and flipping open the silver cap. When he reaches through the door, twisting his arm until he can catch the kindling with the flame, he catches a glimpse of his reflection on the dark glass.

He can’t quite believe it’s himself. He’s grown since he was last in this spot, learning to light the fire with his father at his side, and something inside of him lurches at the bags under his eyes and the hard lines of his face.

He breathes.

Pulls his hand from the catching flames.

Shuts the metal door.

Doesn’t think about punching the glass hard enough that it’ll shatter, take his mind off of the painting, send his brothers calling, let them all live under this one roof again and pretend nothing bad has ever happened to them. Let them pretend they’re kids, watching over one another while holding down the fort until their parents return from another business trip.

He doesn’t think about the painting.

Which is to say that he definitely does think about the painting.

It’s a parasite- or maybe Ronan is the parasite. Hungry. Unable to survive outside of its host, feeding off of the thrill and the regret and the addictive nausea that overwhelmed him whenever he pulled back the plastic wrapping and caught even the briefest glimpse of canvas.

The little bird had taunted him. Begged him to set it free. Unchain it from its perch and let it go.

Ronan’s phone buzzes somewhere behind him, but he doesn’t move. Doesn’t pull his eyes away from the flames.

It’s probably Gansey. Insomniac Gansey, unaware that Ronan has just ripped his heart from his chest and sold it for his brothers. Gansey, looking for someplace to ramble about kings or someone to hang out with or someone to tell him that he’s alive. Ronan had never understood Gansey’s occasional panic over whether he’s really here or not- if a person is capable of worrying that they might he dead, they probably aren’t.

Ronan kind of gets it now.

Still, he ignores the phone. He lets the heat settle on his face, draw out the dead chill from his bones, and thinks about what he’ll do tomorrow.

[kitthepurplepotato]

Chapter 8 - Aizawa’s “present”.

Summary: Aizawa comes up with an idea for the kids and he hates everything about it.

Warnings: Swear words, suggestive + inappropriate joke.

First Chapter Master List

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

You feel like a teenager again. It has been a week now since Shouta and you had your first kiss; you didn’t mention anything about the change to the kids yet as you two haven’t really talked about what this is, but you are quite sure the whole gang already knows about it thanks to Megumi being a fucking a gossip; you love her but she can’t keep her mouth shut when it comes to secrets.

It’s really fun to have this secret relationship with Shouta; you two sneak around the house, stealing kisses from each other while the kids are not looking, play the perfect parents during the day then kiss through the night until you both fall asleep in each other’s arms, then you do the same the next day. You try to keep it PG for the sake of the younglings but you can’t lie, there were certain moments during the night where you both had to take a few deep breaths or even take a cold shower in the most random times, but otherwise, you both did a good job at keeping the whole thing family friendly. Oh, and also! You are not leaving as it was originally planned, your welcome has been extended for another few days, until you both can get home together. Aizawa-sensei’s orders! Apparently, it was his plan from the get go, but he didn’t want you to stress about being with him for two whole weeks, which is really silly but at the same time, it makes a lot of sense.

Shouta also said there is a present for the kids that will arrive today but he didn’t tell you what it is, so needless to say you are really excited. By the extremely uncomfortable face Shouta made when he told you about it, it must be something fun.

Talking about fun…

“The kids are all out on the beach…” you mumble into Shouta’s ears who tries to look busy with the TV remote.

“Y/N, the present can arrive any time.” He sighs tiredly which makes you extremely confused. Are you being too needy? Is he annoyed?

“Well okay, but it’s not like the postman will barge in through the door with the present, will he?”

“They will.” Shouta looks at you dead in the eyes. “Barge in, I mean. There will be no peace in this household when the present arrives. No peace, Y/N.” His face looks terrified as he says that and you are not sure if you want to laugh or call the police right now.

“You are scaring me. Did you call over a mass murderer or something? Did you sell our soul to a Demon? Shouta, honestly, what the fuck are you talking about?” You freak out, your hands gripping Shouta’s shoulders.

“Why did I do this to myself?” Aizawa says, ignoring you completely. “Trust me, I would rather sneak around with you but I thought the kids will get bored eventually so I wanted to make it more fun for them… But I ruined all my chances to have alone time with you.” He sighs as he plops his forehead on your shoulders. “Honestly, when I came up with this stupid plan, I didn’t think our holiday will go so well. Don’t get me wrong I knew it will be enjoyable but I didn’t think we will be so… physical.”

“Shouta, we are just kissing. And why is this important right now? Fuck’s sake, we are adults, why do you make it sound like it’s something illegal? And what does this have to do with the present? Or is this your way of telling me that you don’t like us being too… physical? Do you want us to take it slow?”

Honestly, you have no idea what’s happening. You just wanted to steal some kisses on the sofa, how did the mood get so… weird?

“No, it’s the other way around. I want us to have more time to get to know each other in every way. But I ruined it.” He sighs again, loud and dramatic. It’s getting harder and harder to not laugh.

“Shouta, are you high?” You giggle to yourself then the door opens up with a loud bang and you end up screaming so loudly, you are quite sure you deafened your soon-to-be-official boyfriend.

“I hope no one’s doing anything illegal in front of the kids!” The intruder yells even louder than you did and finally, you understand Shouta’s sudden depression.

There are 5 people standing in the doorway; Present Mic, a pink, funky looking girl, a guy with tape dispensers, a kid with an obnoxiously red hair and the famous Bakugou Katsuki.

“And where to fuck will these people sleep?” You sneer at your partner who looks at you with a dead expression.

“In the living room.”

RIP, secret kissing while cooking lunch. It was good until it lasted.

“We bought sleeping bags and pillows! This will be so much fun!” The pink girl speaks up, all smiles and giggles.

“I can’t wait to become a prune after swimming in the sea for the whole day.” The red boy daydreams with an adorable smile on his face.

“Yo, what the heck! Bakubro!” Kaminari barges in through the back door and goes for a hug right away, but Katsuki steps aside and Kaminari ends up head-butting the wall with a loud thud.

“Really, Denks?” The pink girl rolls her eyes. “You thought he will hug you back? Did you have so much fun with Hitoshi this week it made you permanently dumb?”

“I really want to make a sex joke, but Aizawa-sensei is here.” The tape guy blurts out and now you REALLY understand everything.

“Jesus fucking Christ, grow up.” Bakugou yells, his sparking hands already on standby. “Say fucking hi first, you are freaking the random woman out.”

“The random woman is Megumi’s Aunt, Y/N.” Aizawa grumbles and while you shouldn’t be surprised by the introduction, it makes your heart ache. Is he still unsure about you? Does this mean you won’t even be able to cuddle while the kids are around? Because if that’s the case, going home would have been a better idea. You really want to pack your stuff up and just go home right now. Aizawa didn’t even think about telling these kids about you, what the hell?

“Explodogirl? The Menace from class 1-A?” Katsuki asks back with interest.

“Yup, that’s me!” Megumi comes in as well, her cheeks pink. Shinsou doesn’t say a word just smiles at his friends, hiding in the background.

“Heard a lot about you.” Katsuki grumbles and fakes nonchalance but there is a tiny blush on the tip of his ears. Aww! “I’m gonna start dinner. Don’t bother me.” The grumpy boy makes his way towards the open kitchen area and Aizawa doesn’t even bother telling him about your plans to make food tonight, and honestly, thank fuck you don’t need to do anything, because you are still not over the fact that Shouta wants to hide your relationship for the rest of the trip.

“You sure you don’t need help?” Megumi tries her luck with a red face and the whole gang sucks their breaths at the bravery. Kaminari mumbles a silent “no” but Megumi doesn’t waver.

“You have a death wish, little girl?” The blonde smirks and you really can’t believe this shit. You thought Megumi is scared of this guy; they’ve never met officially at school as they are in different classes and for some reason, Megumi goes all silent when their friend groups exchange a small talk in the hallways; or at least that’s what Aizawa sensei has told you. All Megumi had said about the blonde to you was “that guy scares the shit out of me, Auntie.”

But maybe… maybe she wasn’t terrified in the first place, more like… she had a fucking crush. On Bakugou motherfucking Katsuki. Oh damn, there will be no chill in this household if this goes well. No chill. Ever.

“I’m only one year younger than you and I’m really good with a knife, thank you very much.” Megumi stands as straight as she can but she’s still so much smaller than the bulky blonde it’s kind of ridiculous.

“Okay, loud mouth, show me what you got.” Bakugou continues to stomp towards the kitchen and Megumi smirks back at his friends as she makes her way after him.

“Megumi is the bravest woman I’ve ever met.” Mina gawks after the two.

“I’m concerned, but I feel like this will be really fun to watch.” Shinsou smiles knowingly.

“I mean, the fact that she’s still alive is good sign.” Shouta sighs as the new arrivals busy themselves with leaving their stuff in one of the corners so they can make their way to the beach right away; after a few moments of running around the younglings leave while the adults stay in the living room.

“You said you are good with knives, you fucking liar!” Katsuki yells in the kitchen but for everyone’s surprise, Megumi only laughs at the blonde’s shenanigans.

“Well, I’m good at throwing them. I can also do that trick with the butterfly knife.”

“Why is it so fucking hard for you to peel a fucking potato then?!” Katsuki retorts. “And why are you giggling like an idiot?! What are you, twelve?!”

“You know you just low-key called me cute, right?”

Needless to say, a bunch of small explosions can be heard from the kitchen area, followed by giggles and tiny screams as the two kids start running around the tiny area.

“I definitely did not! Now finish those fucking potatoes before I use your bony ass as the main ingredient!”

“Okay, okay! Sorry, boss.” Megumi giggles and you swear you can hear another, tiny laugh in the background.

“Fucking idiot.”

“Why don’t we go to your room, Shouta? To chat?” Present Mic winks at the both of you as he shuffles towards Shouta’s bedroom. He stops by the entrance with a mischievous look in his eyes. “So you’re sharing a room, eyy! Shouta, you cheeky bastard!” Present Mic laughs as he sits down on the bed, but for your surprise he doesn’t ask any other questions about your relationship. He tells you about his own projects; the super-cool podcast he started and the heroes he managed to get on it, he talks about his failed dates and other shenanigans and by the end of his story, you kinda forget you are supposed to be mad. You automatically snuggle into Shouta as he starts to speak about his own little stories which are mostly about the children being idiots, but you catch yourself right away and try to move back but Shouta only rolls his eyes and snakes his arms around you.

“So, the trip is going well for you two, I guess?” Present Mic smiles at you both and Shouta answers by putting his hand on your cheeks and pulling you up for a small little kiss.

“Yeah, it’s going really well.” He smiles at you, his eye full of fondness. You are quite sure your eyes are just the same; full of love and affection towards this silly man who just kissed you in front of his best friend with the pure intention of showing off his new partner.

Yup. This is it. You aren’t just Megumi’s Aunt in his eyes, he wouldn’t have kissed you otherwise.

Mic doesn’t say a single world just stares at you two with his mouth half open.

“I’m so happy for you two, goddamnit.” The loud blonde mumbles with teary eyes before he hugs you both. “You deserve this so much, Shouta.”

“Stop embarrassing me.” Shouta rolls his eyes but doesn’t move away from the affection.

“THE FOOD IS DONE YOU USELESS FUCKERS!” Katsuki yells out the back door and you can’t help but laugh.

“You heard the boss, it’s dinner-time.” You grin at the two heroes mischievously. “Let’s go before we get detention for being late.”

~•🩶•~

Everyone is super chatty during dinner and you can proudly say you know the whole “Bakusquad” by the end of the day; Mina is a super confident lady who somehow enjoys hanging out with boys more than she does with girls, Sero is a funny guy but it takes him a few hours to get comfortable around new people, Kirishima is extremely shy under his overly friendly facade and Katsuki is just as loud and abrasive as his reputation is but his heart is in the right place. He loves to cook and he really loves reading in his free time and enjoys solitude more than loud environments. Megumi makes a comment about not being able to see Katsuki with a book in his hands, calmly reading on the beach, which makes the blonde boy so mad he even shows Megumi his reading glasses. Apparently the glasses were a secret because the whole gang gawks (except Kirishima) when Katsuki puts them on.

“Bro, why do you not wear them? You look so handsome!” Kaminari yells with eyes full of wonder and you can’t help but notice how Hitoshi’s eyes turned into a deeper, darker purple color at that. Katsuki is a clever boy and smirks at the purple haired teen who tries his best to become one with the dining chair.

“Trust me guys, you don’t want him to wear it, especially not when he’s tutoring you. If you think Katsuki is scary on a normal day you haven’t seen Katsuki in his glasses yelling your head off for making a mistake in your homework.” Kirishima sighs, clearly traumatized.

“I wouldn’t be yelling if you wouldn’t keep your brain in your fucking ass, you idiot.” Katsuki grins at his best friend.

After dinner the boys get their sleeping bags out; the whole living room becomes a big sleeping space and the kids start to play a board game.

“Hey, Mic, wanna sleep in our room? I don’t think the kids will go to sleep soon.” You ask begrudgingly, feeling a bit sorry for the poor man. Shouta looks at you with pure pain in his one eye. You can’t help but sigh. “Don’t look at me like that, you can’t make the poor guy sleep with a bunch of loud teenagers. It’s common sense.”

“I’m sorry to ruin your night, buddy, but I really need to sleep tonight.” The blonde pats his friends back soothingly while Shouta stares into the space, looking like a kicked puppy. Mic makes a choked sound, probably trying his best not to laugh in his bestie’s face and makes a beeline for the bathroom.

“Okay guys, feel free to have some fun but make sure you go to sleep in a reasonable time.” You speak up. The squad nods. “I want you guys out of the bed by 7AM so I can make you breakfast in peace.” That didn’t sit well with the group of teens and they all start yapping nonsense about child abuse.

“That wasn’t funny, Denki.” Aizawa retorts angrily and the blonde boy shuts his mouth right away. You feel terrible for the poor boy, he looks like he’s about to cry. “Be out of my sight by 8AM. That’s the best we can do. Now behave and let Mic sleep tonight.” Shouta mumbles sleepily by the end of his sentence and moves towards your bedroom without looking at the kids.

“It’s okay Denks, we love you.” You mouth silently to the boy who gives you a weak smile as you disappear in the hallway after Shouta.

“That was really harsh. He didn’t mean any harm, Shou.” You sigh into his neck as the door closes behind you. You leave a tiny kiss there and move your head up to look into Shouta’s eye.

“I shouldn’t have let my frustration seep into my voice but I stand by my opinion.” Shouta retorts.

“That’s fair and I’m sure you have your reasons but you just ruined his night. And you also ruined my few minutes of alone-time because I’m busy telling you off instead of kissing you senseless and I hate it.” You giggle as you leave tiny kisses all over the hero’s chin. Shouta sighs and grabs you by the neck to pull you close for a heated kiss. Needless to say, you shiver from the touch.

“Fuck’s sake, I missed you.” Shouta whispers into your mouth as he slowly moves you towards the nearest wall.

“Language.” You whisper back between two deep kisses and your back hits the wall with a thump. “Hey, the kids will hear us.” You almost moan into Shouta’s mouth when you feel his hands under your shirt.

“They won’t. Also, Mic takes ages in the bathroom so…” Another heavy kiss. Jesus Christ what you would do to be alone with him right now.

“Once we are alone, you are dead meat, Shou.” You bite his lower lip seductively and Shouta makes a choked sound at that.

“I can’t wait.” Shouta pulls you up by your ass, your legs snaking around his thin middle automatically.

Oh god, it’s so hard to not make a noise right now.

“I hate to use your own words against you, but behave yourself, for the love of God.” You sighs, hiding your face in his shoulders. You take a few deep breaths to calm yourself down.

“That was a bit too far, yeah.” Shouta puts you down carefully. “I’m sorry.” Shouta comes close again to embrace you lovingly. “I feel like fucking teenager when I’m with you, I have no self restraint when it comes to you. You are going to be the death of me, I swear.”

“I hope not. I prefer my boyf… lovers alive.” You murmur into his chest, hiding your flushed face. Fuck, that was a close one.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Shouta murmurs back and you both start laughing at your own awkwardness.

~•🩶•~

When Present Mic comes back from his shower, he’s not alone; there is a teary eyed Kaminari right by his side, Mic has an arm over the boy’s shoulders as he speaks.

“I found someone pacing by the door.” He smiles and lets the youngling come forward.

“Aizawa-sensei, I just want to say I’m sorry for being an idiot.”

“You are always an idiot.” Aizawa mumbles and you poke his ribs with an angry face.

“Well, that’s what I’m sorry for.” Kaminari retorts without thinking.

“Oh my god, you two.” You sigh in the awkward silence. “Kaminari-kun is sorry, Shouta. Say something, for the love of god.”

“Well, you can act like an idiot but try to keep it a bit less hurtful.” Aizawa says back with a big sigh.

“Yes! I’ll show you I’m a good son-in-law!” Kaminari perks up then slaps his own mouth. “I mean, not like we are… well… I’m not…”

“Okay, you didn’t confess to him yet, honestly, Denki… get your shit together.” Shouta looks at the poor boy with pure dissatisfaction.

“Like you are the one to talk!” Kaminari retorts then slaps his mouth again. This poor boy needs to get checked for ADHD.

“Well, while your teacher’s love life is certainly not your business, I must tell you that I did indeed confess already.” Shouta says back with a deadpan. Kaminari looks between you two questioningly but decides to not question your relationship further, thank god.

“Okay, Sensei, I’ll woo your son properly! I’ll be his Prince Charming!”

This guy is a lost cause.

“I highly doubt that and please, spare me from the details.” Shouta sighs and dismisses the boy who doesn’t wait around for long before he runs out the door to go back to his friends.

“It’s so amusing to watch Shouta be so nonchalant yet so aggressive about those two. Like, I kinda think he secretly ships them.” Present Mic grins cheekily and you can’t help but laugh.

“Bro, he was talking about them moving in together the other day. He’s their biggest shipper.” You giggle and Shouta looks away with a slight blush on his face.

“It’s inevitable.” Shouta mumbles as Present Mic makes himself a DIY Bed on the floor to finally sleep.

Maybe spending some time with Shouta’s best friend isn’t the worst thing that could happen.

Maybe, being around people, getting used to this new relationship with the help of his friends and family is what you two need right now; you need to see if it works, if you belong, if Shouta’s able to be comfortable around you on the long run not just in the safety of your bedroom.

Because let’s be honest, even though the sexual tension is strong between you two, you don’t want your relationship to be only about pleasure; you want to be able to take his hand in public, kiss him goodbye in front of his family; you don’t want a fleeting relationship, you want this to be real and serious, and this situation is perfect if you want to see Shouta’s willingness to give you all that.

This is the perfect opportunity for Shouta to make this relationship a real one and you can only hope he will get there eventually, even if it’s not today or tomorrow.

“Stop overthinking and sleep.” Shouta grumbles as he pulls the covers over you. “It will be fine. We’ll be fine. Yeah.” Shouta smiles to himself.

“You know what? I know.” You smile back with eyes so fond they melt the hero completely. He looks at you with pure love in his eye and leaves a tiny kiss on your lips before snuggling into you.

Yeah. Everything is going to be okay.

… Next Chapter!

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

Potato ramble:

- The next few chapters might be late, check out this post for further info! Thank you and sorry in advance.

- Aizawa got mad at Denki because of Megumi and Todoroki. While Megumi is probably not traumatized by being a victim of child abuse as in her case it wasn’t as dramatic as Todoroki’s, Aizawa cares about Megumi so much he couldn’t let it slide. Denki got really sensitive about it because for him, Aizawa is his crush’s father not just a teacher. He felt like he messed up and wanted to make it right before Aizawa tells Hitoshi to not be friends with him.

- Katsuki has his own reasons for being so… different but I didn’t want to give too many details as it would contain massive spoilers from the manga. So don’t ask me about that. 😂

Likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated as always! 🩷🩷🩷🩷

TL: @cheesenmax @bobcar1 @ginevraxrogers @garfieldthomas @venuseuripedis @mrsyixingunicorn10 @millerworld @keeri-vents @pwinglez1

[theworldoffostering]

The director of special education did not show up to our IEP this week. It made the meeting a whole lot less contentious. It didn’t hurt that they assigned a much more experienced teacher to DS and our advocate showed up and kept everyone in line. Should it take that much work/effort/stress? Absolutely not! I will never understand how anyone is getting services if we cannot with all of the privileges we have personally been afforded.

DH and I talked to Ms. 6 this week. It could be worse, but it’s not great. She bought herself a car or someone else did, but it seems no one cares if she has insurance (legally required). I told her to call and get some quotes. She has not.

She has a boyfriend she met online that no one has vetted. He’s older (no idea how much older) as he has his own place. He lives three hours away in a neighboring state, but Ms. 6 couldn’t remember which city he lives in. She goes to see him on the weekends despite the fact that no one has met him or vetted him. It’s killing me! She was very vague on the details regarding what he does for a living.

Her car seems some basic repairs. Her grandpa has been a semi truck driver for decades. Hasn’t helped her with the repairs. Boyfriend is maybe some kind of mechanic but is unable to help with repairs. Mom is driving Ms. 6’s uninsured car and teaching Ms. 6 how to do donuts in it.

Ms. 6 said she applied to a PA program. When I pointed out that the PA program she applied for is a masters program (aren’t they all?) that cost $109k for the 28 month program, she seemed shocked and unimpressed. I did do a conference call with her and the high school this week to try to sort out her graduation.

Ms. 6 had knee surgery last week. I offered to be available and make the three hour drive to take her. She said her mom was taking her. The night before surgery her mom said she had to work and couldn’t take her. Grandma said she couldn’t take her because she had already take a sick day that week. Mom’s BF drove her, but apparently doesn’t like hospitals so he didn’t sit in the room and wait for Ms. 6 to be taken back to surgery. Surgery was pushed back several hours. Now mom doesn’t want to take her to the post-op appointment because the dogs have a vet appointment.

Post surgery, Ms. 6 was prescribed narcotics. Mom is an addict. Is she currently using? I have no idea but she used for at least a decade and has a conviction for cooking meth with the intent to sell. Kids were removed for many reasons including heroin use. Ms. 6 said the “oxy” isn’t managing her pain so she asked the nurse for something else AND an oxy refill. The pharmacist wouldn’t give both to mom. Mom told Ms. 6 it’s because they don’t have the same last name. I pointed out that I also don’t share the same last name as anyone in our family, and we were also recently denied a narcotic at the pharmacy. It is clear that no one that she has contact with lives in their thinking brains—they are all convinced that they are victims of one system or another.

Ms. 6 also quit her job. She said it was because they were making her do too much work.

Ms. 6 really wants contact with the other kids, particularly NB at this point. We have withheld that so far but can’t really articulate why. I think because it doesn’t feel healthy or good, and things don’t necessarily feel stable with her between DH and myself and her. I’ve talked to her a handful of times in the past month which are the first times I’ve spoken to her since she left in August. Anyone have experience in this area? Is it wrong for us to feel it out as parents before we open that relationship back up to siblings? It’s not my intention to use them as pawns, but it probably feels that way to Ms. 6. The kids here have not asked to see her, and DS and DD are actively continuing to say that they don’t want to have contact.

I’m trying to be something for her but that all feels very temporary and complicated right now. I sent her a small care package today via mail and am going to offer up some services for her like connecting her with colleges, but am trying to hold tight to a lot of boundaries at this point.

[azaarchiive]

Only The Elite; hinata shoyo

chapter one; birthday girl

notes; fem reader btw not sure if i specified that im so sorry. omg first chappy heheh so happy! if you haven’t read the prologue as it just adjusts you to the dynamics quite early on but if you really don’t then it’s ok! 1.9k words

PROLOGUE - NEXT - INSIDER (k+t’s phone call)

“hey birthday girl!” tooru warmly smiled as you opened the door, stretching his long arms out to hug you tightly.

“thanks baby, everyone’s already in the dining hall.” you sighed, a small smile on you face as you accepted the hug since it almost dissolved all your stress.

keyword’s almost.

birthdays in hiroo are a big thing, it was the biggest events of the year and it was an expectation that no matter when your birthday was, it would be a big fucking bang. it’s a competition, whoever had the most controversy during their birthday won that year. there would be award ceremonies at the end of the year and all.

last year, eita won as he managed to get a tiger loose in his house who bit hajime’s dad. there is still a little tension between them about it till this day.

so yeah, in short, you were stressed as fuck. your maid, precious, has seen this and aided you in organising, she truly was your favourite.

“alright, let’s go.” tooru held onto your hand and dragged your lethargic body to the dining room, which took forever considering your house is massive.

“awe look at y/n and her prince charming!” koutarou teased as he saw you two walking into the dining room.

“would i ever leave a damsel in distress?” tooru smiled as he pulled your body towards him, draping his arms around you lazily.

“erm excuse me? i could literally buy and sell your company.” you rolled your eyes jokingly, folding your arms.

“yeah, just keep quiet after that.” hajime chuckled, taking a gulp of his whisky.

“you need to stop drinking before you comment on anyone else!” tooru huffed childishly.

“fuck off tooru, you’re just mad that i could buy and sell your company also.” hajime gloated, leaning back in his chair as he was satisfied with tooru’s angered expression.

tooru stomped to his chair childishly, refusing to comment any further, this made everyone chuckle at tooru’s antics.

“moving on from this big baby, everyone has their clothes?”

“yes y/n.” everyone said all together annoyed as you had asked them this question at least 4 times already.

“you’re way to stressed, listen, all the maids are dealing with everything. all you need to focus on is making that pretty face and body even prettier. have you even tried on your dress?” suguru smirked sultrily, shamelessly dragging his eyes across your whole frame.

“ugh, you’re disgusting but you have a point. i’m just nervous about the guest list specifically.” you admitted, taking a chair and sitting down at the table as you sighed.

“why, who did you invite?” kiyoomi asked.

“everyone in hiroo and their parents, problem is, all the parents are pissed at mine for the recent business investment we did.” you groaned.

“what the hell did you guys do now?” kiyoomi questioned once more.

“we announced that we are planning to buy some shitty public school- karasuno, i think it’s called? anyways, long story short, we are buying the school and surrounding area to make it less poverty stricken.” you explained.

“so… gentrification?” koutarou commented.

“i guess, but to be fair that area is ugly anyways, like if i was poor, id be happy people are kicking us out. at least id have an excuse to finally get up and make some fucking money.” you shrugged.

“you’re so unserious.” eita replied, laughing his ass off.

“no wait, i get what she’s saying. love the poor people or whatever but they do need an incentive to start working, you know?” suguru said, laughing along with everyone.

“you guys are mean, where are they supposed to go?” koutarou calmed down from his laughing fit.

“who cares? just get out of my area, ya know?” you smiled.

“anyways, not the point! point is, some parents are now like poverty-activists and are pissed at me.” you sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time that’s day.

“don’t worry, it will pass over. speaking out against you gets them the most positive attention from the public, they’ll still come and won’t make any havoc.” wakatoshi advised.

wakatoshi talked every once in a blue moon but every time he did, it was like a million dollar movie line that solves all the main characters problems, the wisest man everyone has ever known is wakatoshi.

“i love you, thanks babe. you’re right, i just need to focus on getting ready and praying something controversial happens.” you stood up and dusted off your lounge outfit.

“not like you can beat me but have fun trying.” eita winked at me as he boasted.

“you’re a monster.” hajime stared directly at eita.

“oh my god, let it go! it has literally been a year.” eita rolled his eyes.

“yeah, because it’s not like my dad had to wear crutches for half of that year, you evil beast.” hajime spat out.

“i’m crying.” tooru wheezed out as he continued to cry laughing.

“so was my father when he was viciously attacked.” hajime muttered bitterly.

“yet he was still able to take away free lunches from kindergarten classes? maybe the tiger should’ve went a little harder.” eita stuck his tongue before quickly making a run for it.

“fuck you and your mothers foundation!” hajime yelled out before chasing after eita down the hallway.

“i’m friends with children.” you face palmed while the rest of the table were bursting with laughter.

meanwhile, back in karasuno’s gym, the remaining members of the volleyball team were sat in silence. looking down at the ground and staring off into space while confused with how the future was going to play out for them.

they should be bursting with excitement, they were going to the finals! they were going to compete with top private schools and some even had opportunities to go pro, however all those dreams may be cut short after their recent revelations.

“so, what the hell are we going to do?” yuu disrupted the silence, asking the question that plagued their mind ever since finding out about karasuno being a recent purchase.

“we might have to move to the countryside…” koushi suggested, blinking back his tears as he faced down to the ground.

“no.” shoyos voice was cracking, barely above a whisper.

“sorry?” tobio asked, carelessly letting his tears run down his face.

“i’m not fucking standing for this. what? we have to leave the only place we can afford to go, on student loans mind you, because some fucking pompous fucks want better scenery? taking the fucking piss.” shoyo raised his voice.

“well non of us fucking like it but what the hell do you want us to do? fucking ask them to stop? like they’ll listen to us.” kei responded.

there was a beat of silence before yuu spoke.

“i… i know this is so far fetched but, we have nothing to loose right?” he started, looking around the group to see all their tearful eyes staring at him.

“kei, you’re friends with tetsurō, right?” yuu asked, to which kei nodded his head.

“well, he knows koutarou- as in bokuto koutarou. he could potentially get us invited to y/n’s birthday this afternoon.” yuu suggested.

“is that really going to work? why would they invited some miyagi boys to the y/n l/n’s birthday party?” koushi rebuttaled.

“well, no time like the present to find out.” shoyo spoke up, staring at kei.

kei rolled his eyes before dialing tetsurō’s number and putting him on speaker.

“yo, kei! i never thought you would call me first, so you do love me!” tetsurō chuckled, his booming voice still echoing through the gym despite it being through the phone.

“don’t get it twisted, i just need something from you.” kei rolled his eyes.

“haha, of course! what’s up?”

“i need you to get my team and i invited to y/n’s party.” kei demanded.

“… kindest way possible-“

“i know, we’re dirt poor, but we aren’t there to enjoy ourselves. we need to talk to y/n ourselves.” kei still stood his ground, tetsurō could tell that kei was being dead serious about this and wouldn’t back down without a fight.

“this is about karasuno, right?” tetsurō asked, kei’s hum of affirmation confirmed it.

“i’ll see what i can do, sit tight and let daddy tetsu deal with it!” tetsurō said before ending the call.

“i guess we’ll see.” kei sighed, truthfully he felt quite hopeless. why would they be able to get invites to the party of the year? the media had eyes all over the estate, the party was already making headlines without it even starting.

five minutes go by and they truly have lost hope, until, tetsurō rings back.

kei answered the phone almost immediately.

“you guys are in! ok so the party starts at 5pm and lasts until 1am.” tetsurō cheered.

“how the hell-“

“listen, i don’t know how myself, just enjoy yourselves. but there is a catch.” tetsurō warned.

“of course, go on?” kei sighed, it was expected that there would be a catch.

“only four of you can come, there’s a very strict dress code and… you guys need to bring coke…” tetsurō notified.

“done, that’s not that bad, i didn’t think that they would want us to bring coke to a party though.” shoyo gleamed.

“i know, right? i’m bummed that only four of us can come though.” tobio replied.

“oh my god, you guys are idiots.” kei facepalmed, koushi and tetsurō bursting out laughing in the background.

“he’s talking about crack, the drug that people snort up?” sawamura, whose been silent up until now, lets out a breathy chuckled.

“oh… OH!” shoyo exclaimed as he realised now what everyone was talking about.

“how the hell are we supposed to get that?” tobio questioned, tilting his head slightly to the side in confusion.

“yeah you need around… 20 grams? ok bye gu-“

“no way, you will not be leaving until you have helped us.” kei commanded, tetsurō sighed in response.

“well… my sister knows some people…” ryūnosuke muttered, looking around at everyone.

“fuck, well, what about the dress code?” kei asked tetsurō through the phone.

“the theme is royalty, so you all need to dress like royalty or something of the sort.” tetsurō informs.

“oh my goodness, do you remember last halloween? we all dressed up as kings!” shoyo exclaimed.

“that probably won’t cut it though..” koushi thought, before whipping his head to azumane.

“azu’ you’re a fashion student right?” koushi smirked.

“i- i guess.” azumane meekly replied.

“you can, whip something together for your dear ol’ friends trying to help the school from crumbling, right?” koushi batted his eyelashes at him, flashing a bright smile at him.

“realistically, no, but i know that the department has to have something to do with a royalty theme so i can do some small tailoring to it, that should only take a few hours.” azumane explained.

“seems like you all have it covered, am i allowed to take my leave?” tetsurō sarcastically asked.

“yes.” kei rolled his eyes and slammed his finger on the red button, ending the call.

“i think… i think we are gonna crash the l/n’s.” yuu smiled.

“we are gonna save karasuno!” shoyo laughed, lazily draping his arms over tobio.

“yes we will.” tobio nodded determinedly, high-fiveing shoyo.

but they all knew deep down that it was not going to be this easy, however, they had to stay hopeful. especially for the events that laid ahead of them.