#thankfully I don't have to do much preparation before leaving LOL

[superflaminggayelmo]

Damn near forgot today was Saturday (aka a treatment day). Thank g*d for my alarm going off

[paperstarwriters]

Hey, do you take requests? I loved your Modern Roomate Muriel X Reader fic and I would love a part 2 if you ever felt like writing it <3

Yes I take requests! But it does take a while for me to finish them cause I'm slow and this was no exception lol

thank you for waiting though! and I'm glad you like my writing enough to want more!

For this one I've tried to keep descriptions vague but also I tried to be accurate with Muriel's colors. Though if you can't tell I'm still not exactly confident with makeup lmao. Tbh i can't use it much since I'm prone to rashes, so I don't have much experience lol. Still I hope you enjoy <3

Pairing: Modern Roommates Muriel x Reader

Warnings: Lots of fluff & Author knows little about Makeup 😅.

Summary: Muriel admits that he has worn makeup before, but under such bad circumstances, you can't help but want to give him a better experience.  More important than the colours, more important than the fine lines, you want this to feel... Nice for Muriel. Like he's being pampered. He deserves that you think.

Word Count: 3, 640

Part 1 | Masterlists | The Arcana Masterlist

Painting

"So have you worn make up before?" 

Muriel pauses in making breakfast, turning to face you as you sip at your glass of water at the table. Had he not noticed you come in? He's typically very (annoyingly) good at that. Any chance of preening at your sudden ability to sneak up on your roommate falls flat as he makes a scrunched expression. Disgust perhaps? Or discomfort? You can't tell as he quickly turns back to his cooking, too soon to let you see what exactly he might have felt. 

Thankfully, he graces you with a reply. 

"I... Did before..... For a bit.... For a.... Job." 

Your stomach sinks. 

It's funny how much there is to notice. What you can pick up and understand when you live so closely with a quiet roommate. How a hum can mean a number of things, ranging from a simple yes to, "I think that's kinda dumb but you know what, you do you." or "I appreciate you too much to disagree." And for all that Muriel did not talk to you about his past, he only ever reserves the word "Job" for one job he's had in the past. Everything else is called work. This, you're sure, is better called torture. 

Asra mentioned it once to you before, when you were new roommates and he was far grouchier and colder. Muriel worked a job under some toxic super wealthy frat boy manager doing something violent and unsavory. A boxing ring you sometimes imagined, an assassination job it sometimes sounded like. In desperate need of money he had to do a lot of terrible things. It's a wonder he ever got out without someone chasing him to drag him back in, but well, thanks to the r3d outbreak getting away is way easier when your employers get sick, or when you can feign an illness and leave as the higher ups fear for their lives.

What kind of make up would that kind of job need? Maybe something black around the eyes like they do for the military with their masks? Or was it make up to appear more sick in order to escape?

Muriel sighs as he pushes your plate closer to you, startling you as you hadn't even noticed it was there. You mutter your thanks before you start eating the eggs and rice he's prepared for you, still trying to chew over what his possible past experience might have been with makeup while you try to chew your food at the same time. The result is tenuous of at best as you run very close to choking on your food a handful of times and miss your mouth once or twice when particularly deep in thought. 

What kind of makeup did Muriel even use?

...What would he look like in makeup?

On that point, what would suit him best? Something dramatic and edgy or emo? Or maybe a pop of colour? Green around his eyes might draw lovely attention to the green within, but a dark eyeliner might as well. What about contrast? Red against green? Wouldn't he look lovely in red? A lingering stain of red on his cheeks, and a bright red stain of red on his lips... Ah how kissable they would be then?

...well, anyone would consider his lips kissable if such plush things were stained a vibrant red...

"Are... Are you done?" Muriel mumbles, eyes diverted to tracing the scuffmarks at the bottom of the wall beside him.

It takes you a moment to realize that your plate is already empty, and a moment longer to realize you had been staring at Muriel for the last few minutes as you daydreamed about makeup. You're quick to rectify your mistake as you redirect your attention to your empty plate, though it takes you another moment to remember that it's your turn to wash them, plucking your plate and his from the table to go and wash.

It's silent for awhile. An anxious little silence wrought with a familiar lighthearted tension. It's more awkward than anything, but someone needs to break the silence, someone needed to say something. If you could just—

"Do you wanna try wearing makeup?" you blurt out. You don't even need to turn to look behind you to see his shocked expression at your offer, maybe even a little bit of hurt or betrayal that you just cannot bear to see. So you keep your eyes on the dishes before you, quickly scrubbing away rice with a sponge as the used pan sits below soaking in the water. "Not any battle make-up or anything, but just something... I don't know... Artsy or something? Something colourful? Something that would compliment your eyes..... Uhm not that your eyes aren't pretty or something—or that you're not pretty without makeup—or that you even need to do this at all haha!" 

Above you the light from the small kitchen's lightbulb is eclipsed by a familiar figure behind you. With a gentle touch of your shoulder, Muriel brings your attention up towards him though he still looks away, avoiding your eyes, as the corner of his lips twitches. You can't tell if he's fighting a smile or fighting a frown. 

"You don't have to, Muriel. It's just an idea..." 

And finally he meets your gaze. "I... No. I... I'd like that. It sounds...nice." 

His eyes wander away from you again, as if ashamed to confess that he'd like to wear make up—though maybe, considering what you've heard about that shitty old job, he is. Maybe his old job was the type to argue that pretty makeup was for the weak and spineless, or maybe he was convinced that pretty makeup was only for the rich and wealthy who came to watch or hire him to fight for them, all while they'd sit so far away and safe and cozy in some plush lounge seat, so far away from the danger and the violence, but getting the chance to watch, and delight in the wretched outcome.

Either case is so awfully sad. Either case only makes you want to doll him up in makeup even more.

Furiously you scrub at the pan, and within a matter of seconds you've scraped off anything that had ever threatened to stick, thoroughly scrubbed at it with soap and set it aside to dry with the plates as you wipe your hands on your shirt and nearly bolt off to your room to search for your materials. Hopefully you had colours that would work well with him. 

It takes you a moment to realize that you're alone in your room, turning with a handful of tools to find no one there behind you, and as you peek out of your door and down the hallway, you find Muriel still standing in front of the sink, staring at you with wide confused and slightly worried eyes. 

"Do you not wanna do it anymore?"

His eyes seem to go even wider for a moment, before he replies, "right now?" 

"Did you want to do it later?"

"I—no....okay!"

And back in to your room you go, this time with the added assurance that Muriel would follow, marked by the faint thud of his feet against the hallway floors.

You dig around for your cleanest brushes, and grab your most trustworthy (and thus most used) brushes alongside it, grabbing something to clean the brushes as you bolt off to the bathroom  to wash your tools, before you return to searching your assortment of tools in search for items that would suit him. The red of one lipstick would look lovely in contrast to his eyes, but a muted dusty pink might look just as pretty wouldn't it? Perhaps a bold black eyeliner, would be a bit much—and maybe a bit too similar to whatever black eye paint they used in the military if he used that stuff, so maybe a brown eyeliner would work a bit better? If you even had one of those... Though maybe brown eyeshadow would be effective enough? Ah but maybe brown wouldn't be as noticeable...

You zip back and forth between the washroom and your tools, between cleaning and searching for colours and palettes rummaging through your rather limited assortment of makeup tools. Having only ever bought stuff for yourself, you didn't really have much outside of your favourite colours or in tones that would suit your skin, but a few older products that you tried and didn't like, or a few palettes with sparsely used colours were surely somewhere within the mix. 

You only pause in your searching as you're pulling your brushes out from the washroom, having dried them off loosely with a towel to go further air dry them beside a nearby fan or in the sun by the window or something, you had been in the middle of deciding when you realized you had forgotten a crucial component. 

"Hey Muriel?" 

He sits up straight at the sound of his name, head snapping away to look out the door, as his hands ball into fists as if bracing for the touch of your brush. 

You can't help but hesitate a bit at the sight. 

"What.....?"

"Oh, uh, you should probably go wash your face, and use some cream on your skin as well. The one in the flat container should be pretty good for most skin I think?"

Muriel nods, still not looking your way as you return to your make up drawers in search for odd colours you only maybe, hopefully had for him.

When the sound of the sink finally shuts off, you take it as your cue to give up. It's an odd assortment of colors—you doubt you'd use that neon shade of green on him, even if green is his colour the brightness might be a bit...off-putting right away, but you have a general colour scheme you can follow using some of the colours on hand. 

Face ever so slightly damp and shiny from the cream, Muriel returns, looking... Anxious to say the least really.

He fiddles with his hands a bit, touching his face almost just as much, trying to wipe away invisible droplets of water, or trying to smooth down the thicker patches of the lotion you let him borrow. 

And again, you find yourself hesitant.

"Are you sure you wanna try this? No shame in backing out. It's easy to put this stuff away." 

Muriel nods, following his silence with a half whispered reply. "No, I'm ..... I'm okay. I want to try...."

You nod, and pulling your first brush from it's little cup, you settle down, and begin to get to work. 

It's a lot of careful maneuvering, carefully dabbing colours onto some places with a brush, rubbing other places with your fingers, before you lean away to check how you're doing. Were the colours too bright? Was that line off? There are a few things that you end up having to scrub off with a makeup wipe, but even with that you're careful of his skin. More important than the colours, more important than the fine lines, you want this to feel... Nice for Muriel. Like he's being pampered. Muriel barely moves through the entirety of it all, but for what little he does it means all the world to you. Silent and unmoving, eyes and mouth closed, Muriel serves as the perfect canvas, only difficult in the fact that it keeps you from seeing whether he likes it or not, if he feels pampered or not. At the very least, you hope it feels nothing like whatever his old job used to do for him. 

Ah, but you can only really hope. 

An orange-red lipstick is the final touch, but your limited supply of brushes are already all packed with colours, and you'd like to —if all possible—keep the things that touched your eyes from going towards anyone—including your own—mouth. 

So you elected a far simpler method instead. You rub your finger against the lipstick bullet, and with your finger to his lips you smudge the colour against his skin. And with a simple touch to his lips, you make him jolt, breaking his statuesque composure, for just a moment before he's still all over again, albeit maybe leaning a little more foreword than before. If he has, it's barely noticeable, and probably caused by that one jolt of movement. His lips are a bit chapped and dry, so it takes a few attempts, but you manage to stain his lips with a suitable amount of colour in your eyes. 

You take a step back to see what you've done, and smile, satisfied at your work. It's nothing special, nothing on the level of some professional in a studio with all the makeup options in the world at their fingertips, but you think that it suits him, and you're proud of that much at least.

"You can open your eyes now." 

You offer him a hand mirror, and let him examine your, admittedly shoddy work. It's not perfect, but the colours look nice you think, though you can't help but wince at the selection a little. You just didn't have a shade of green that would fit him well in your opinion, so you leaned instead into the red colours that you did have. You used the only greens you could find to add a little colour to the inner and outer corners of his eyes, and used a warm orange-y-red lipstick on his lips that turned out pretty dark against his skin, you also smudged the colour a bit along his cheeks as well, as a sort of blush really though if you could you'd like to try to capture that shade of red his face so often blooms. It really isn't your best work, limited as your colour palette was, but....

Well, the way his eyes seem to glitter more at seeing it.... Well, it would make any make up look pretty on him really.

"Can I... Ask for one thing?" 

You blink, surprised for a moment before you're immediately grabbing the makeup wipes again. 

"Sure! Do you not like the colours? Is there a colour that you'd rather wear?" 

His cheeks tint red, and you almost curse yourself for the smudge of dark red on his cheeks, making it harder to decipher that exact shade. Surely you had lipstick in that colour at least...?

"What.... What was the colour of lipstick you were wearing last night....?" 

You pause for a moment, dropping the attempt of colour matching to grab the tube of lipstick from it's place on your table. It was a dark red shade, almost like the colour of blood, a shade you specifically aimed to avoid, hoping that it wouldn't make him uncomfortable. 

"This one? You wanna try it on?" He barely even looks at it before he nods, making you sigh as you bring it closer to him to let him inspect it. "It might look different on your skin than it does on mine just an fyi, so don't be surprised if it looks different okay?" 

Muriel nods again, this time having looked at the lipstick a little more thoroughly. He doesn't react to the colour at all no trace of hesitance or weariness, so perhaps they didn't try to paint him in "blood" or anything dramatic like that. 

With your fingers once again, you press the red colour against his lips, as Muriel leans into your touch this time, eyes closed as he lets you work. The sight of it startles you for just a moment, looking as if he were leaning in for a kiss. 

Your finger slips from it's path, and a smudge of red, streaks away from his lips, but even that looks so.... Pretty against his skin. Like he's been kissed, like whatever lipstick he had been wearing had been smudged by another pair of lips eager to express their affection. 

You hesitate, staring at his lips for a moment before you finally turn away to grab more makeup wipes. When you turn back, Muriel's eyes are already open, already staring at your sloppy job with his lipstick. 

"Sorry I'll fix it. Do you like the colour though?" 

Muriel's eyes flicker to yours for a moment before he looks away, but a grin curls his painted lips, as more colour takes to his cheeks. A resounding yes, then, confirmed by a faint hum. A job well done in your books then, and thus a debt well repaid, for his gentle hand at helping you wash your own makeup off. 

You dab at his lip to wipe away the smudged lipstick, before you begin to pack up your supplies. "Feel free to wear that for however long you'd like, I...." you cut yourself off. The offer to help wash the make up from his face tucked away along with your makeup containers. Muriel helped you to clean off the makeup only because you needed his help exhausted and maybe a little drunk from your night out, but Muriel can surely handle himself. 

When you turn back around, Muriel is staring at himself in the mirror. It's the most you've seen him look in a mirror to be honest. Not including the bathroom, your room seems to be the only one in the apartment with a mirror, and though you've offered to let Muriel borrow your mirror if he needs to, or to help him buy his own, he's staunchly refused your offers. It was a small thing though, nothing that you'd feel the need to press him about. He's covered in scars after all, and you know full well how he feels about those—the whole reason why you let him use a handheld mirror than your full sized one. 

But now, as he holds your little handheld mirror up, to look at his face, you can't help but notice how he traces his own lips with a newfound reverence, fingers dancing along the flesh with the barest touch as if he were worried it would smudge, or wipe away with a mere touch. Yet even then, the corners of his lips are pulled up. Did he like it that much? You make a mental note to buy extra of that colour the next chance you get alongside some green eyeshadow perhaps, though by the looks of if, Muriel seemed to much prefer the lipstick that stained his lips than any of the other colours you've splattered on his face. 

It takes him a few moments, but when his eyes finally flicker up to you, he does so with a smile, that promptly fades into a blushy pout as he realizes your attention. It's a tragedy to see it go, but seeing his lip jut out at the attention is nearly as good. 

"Do you like it?" 

You're startled at his question, for a moment, scrambling for coherent thought to best reply to him. The reply you give in the end makes your own face grow warm, though earnest and true. 

"You look lovely." Even your expression softens a little, as your eyes flit back down to his lips.  Once more, Muriel's face picks up colour again, but try as he might, he can't quite keep the smile from curling up the corners of his mouth at his words. 

"Thank you."

Standing, Muriel fidgets with the mirror for a moment before handing it to you, mouth parting for a moment before he thinks better of it and closes it again. It continues for a moment or two, making him stay longer than you'd expect him to, as he stares anywhere but you. Familiar with the gesture, you wait for him to get his words in order, even as he looms above you while you're half sitting against the ledge of your drawers.

If anything, you take the moment to re-assess your work, recalling all the improvements you fully intended to make if he let you do this again. If you could, you'd use a shade closer to his eye colour as his eyeshadow next time, to bring more attention to the colour there. Or maybe even some sparkles next time? If he didn't mind them that is, it could be a bit irritating to try to clean off sometimes. And maybe next time you'd choose a better shade of blush that would match the actual red to rise in his cheeks. 

And the red of his lips... You're tempted to reach up, to press a finger to his lips once more, if only to feel how plush they were again, if only to give him more of that pretty red that he seemed to like so much despite his past.

And you watch as those pretty painted lips part, as those lovely emerald eyes finally dart your way. You watch as his attention finally turns to you, mouth parted as if ready to speak before he pauses, just for a breath, eyes searching your face for... Something. 

And maybe he finds it. Maybe he doesn't. But in reaction to whatever he sees, just a little bit of that tension escapes his face, shoulders sagging and the faintest curl of his lips gracing his expression. 

"Next time," the spell breaks as he speaks, mouth corralled into a pout once more as his eyes dart away from you, "Next time let me put your make up on for you."

And with that he turns away fingers just brushing against yours as he leaves your room, leaving you to blink and wonder what sort of makeup he knew to apply. 

If anything, at least he seemed to like it.

If anything, you had another reason to feel his fingers against your skin...

[claudemblems]

The Brothers During Your Period | Moriarty the Patriot HCS

I wrote this while I was suffering with mine LOL

Louis

He already knows you're on your period before you even tell him. He tracks your cycle on a calendar so he can be prepared to take care of you way before your cramps even start

Every meal is served to you in bed, including afternoon tea (tea bags courtesy of the older ladies around town that adore the two of you). He makes sure to always keep ingredients like ginger stocked in the pantry since they can help alleviate your pain

Expect him to run a bubble bath for you every evening, complete with hot tea and bath scents if you like them. He washes your hair and massages through every tense muscle. Don't ever apologize for taking up his time; he enjoys doing this for you. He'll do anything to make you feel better again

Albert

He makes sure you're all snug and comfortable in your bed (or his, if being in his room makes you feel more secure), wrapping you up in cozy blankets and closing the curtains to prevent you from getting headaches

If he has to leave you for a while, he presses a kiss to your forehead, promising that he'll be back as soon as he's able. And when he returns, he always has his arms full of chocolates and flowers, maybe even your favorite desserts from that little bakery down the road

He'll lay next to you, arms rubbing against your back, his voice soft as he helps you get through another wave of pain. It breaks his heart to see you hurting so much. He just wants to hold you against him and never let go. But for now, he holds your hand, his thumb caressing your skin as you begin to drift off to sleep. Rest well. He'll be here when you wake

William

He can guess when your period has started simply from your change in behavior. The sudden shifts in your mood still catch him off guard sometimes (it's difficult even for him to fathom why you're crying over a spilled cup of tea), but now he knows when you need extra affection or when you just need to have some space. Whatever you require, he's prepared to give it to you

Because of his extensive knowledge on the human body (for reasons), he thankfully knows some pressure points that can relieve some of your symptoms quickly. His touch is tender and gentle, careful not to hurt you. Hurting people may be his business, but you're an exception. He wants to see you well

If you just want a distraction from the pain, he'll either tell you about his past or recount parts of his day, all while holding you close in his arms. It always makes him smile when he manages to get a laugh out of you, even if it's at his own expense. That awkward incident walking in on his student's romantic rendezvous proved to be quite the entertaining story for you

[selineram3421]

Alastor from Hazbin with his s/o whos doing drunk karoke with their friend? He can be drinking too or just like their "babysitter"? Currently doing drunk karoke with my roommate lol i love your blog

I like this. Hope you had fun!

Kareoke

Alastor Babysitting his S/O

Alastor X Reader Oneshot

.

You asked him to accompany you and some friends to a karaoke bar.

"Will there be entertainment?", he asked.

"It's karaoke love, everyone gets to sing."

"Splendid! Let's prepare darling."

You help each other pick outfits and head out when its time.

When you arrive, your friends wave you over. "Come on! We got a big booth!", they say.

Alastor holds out his elbow and you link your arms together, heading over to the booth. After greeting everyone, both of you sit on one of the couches and get comfortable.

You pick up the menu to see what drinks or snacks look good.

"Hey, you singing?", one of your friends ask.

"Yeah.", you say quickly before turning your head to Alastor. "Do you want to sing too?"

"Perhaps. I'll have to check the song list.", he says.

After ordering drinks, you're passed the tablet with the song list and scroll through it while someone sings their song.

With singing a few songs and having a few too many drinks, your words are starting to slur as you sing the last song. Alastor has only had one drink but decided to be the mostly sober one for tonight, singing at least two songs for the night.

"And I did it my way~!", you sing into the mic and laugh, almost stumbling to the side.

Thankfully you don't fall over because Alastor appears next to you and takes the microphone from your hand.

"A little too much on the giggle water love.", he says as you wrap your arms around him.

"Hehe, giggle water.", you mumble.

Both of you leave after having one last drink.

Teleportation feels weirder when drunk.

You haven't stopped giggling and giggled more when you stumbled over your feet. Alastor decided to carry you the rest of the way to your shared room. Feeling content and warm, you sunk into a peaceful sleep.

.

"Darling? Wake up, you need to get out of those clothes to put on comfortable ones.", you heard Alastor say.

"Mmh. Tired.", you mumbled with your eyes still closed, feeling sleep trying to take over again.

"No, no. Can't go back to sleep now.", he says, brushing a strand of your hair away from your face. "I'll take off you shoes, yes?"

"Mhm..", you hum in agreement.

You feel your shoes being taken off carefully, and you now realize that you're laying on the bed after one of your legs is set on the soft sheets.

"Time to change darling.", he says softly.

Shifting to lay on your side, you hide you face into a pillow and let out a muffled groan.

There's a snap and you feel a different fabric on your skin.

"Let's sleep.", Alastor says and goes over to his side of the bed.

Sleep sounds amazing. You think, feeling the other side of the bed dip as your love settles in.

Turning over to face him, still not bothering to open your eyes, you scoot closer and rest your head against his chest.

"I had fun today.", you say, putting an arm around his waist. "Did you?"

"Yes, I also enjoyed today.", he says and pecks your forehead, wrapping his arms around you. "Rest now mon amour."

Sleep consumes you once again, this time with your partner joining in the land of dreams.

.

Here you go! Hope you and your roommate got back home safe @scary-noodlesblog .

~Seline, the person.

ML for Alastor🎙

[chiimeramanticore]

Part of the Band - Chapter 22 - Old Habits, Fresh Starts

Chapter summary: The gang goes to Showbiz to sign up as the venue's band. Beach Bear reunites with a friend. Dook tells an embarrassing story. A/N:

I may have been gone for four months but I assure you. this fic only dies when I do I don't have anything special to say for this chapter lol so notes from me are short today. here's hoping it won't be another 4 months until I update again 👍

Chapter word count: <- Chapter 21 - Chapter 23 -> Read it on AO3!

The restaurant is still preparing for opening day by the time the band arrives. The place smells strongly of paint, and you can't turn a corner without almost knocking someone over with supplies in their arms. Still, the group makes their way in and manages to find the cat they spoke to at the copier store.

"Hey, it's you guys!" He says upon catching their eye. "I wasn't sure you'd actually show up. But, ah– I am glad you're here, of course! I assume you're here to sign up to try out."

"Try out?" Mitzi asks.

"Sure," the cat says. "You guys aren't the only band who wants this stage, y'know. Nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, right?" He chuckles, though it comes out a bit tense. "I'll, ah, take you to see the boss."

The cat leads the group down a hallway toward the manager's office. They pass by a kitchen, and another room that seems to just be an open space.

"What's that?" Dook asks.

"Oh, that'll be the game room," the cat tells him. "We're expecting a bunch of arcade cabinets to come in soon."

Dook shoots an excited glance to his left, his gaze being met by Mitzi. She looks equally excited about this.

"Bet you guys'll get Space Invaders?" Mitzi says.

"Bet I'll cream you in it," Dook says to her.

"You wish!" Mitzi giggles.

Finally, the group stops outside the manager's office. The cat turns to them. "I think he's still finishing up with another group right now, so give him a minute first. I gotta go worry about these painters we hired who act like they're allergic to tarp." He bounces on his feet once, then turns to leave.

Beach Bear snickers. "Good luck, uh... I don't think you ever told us your name."

"Oh! Call me Crusty," the cat calls back. "Good luck with the boss!"

"Call him Crusty," Dook murmurs. Then, to Beach Bear, "Sounds familiar." Beach Bear scoffs, playfully nudging Dook.

The hallway they've all been led into is narrow, and not exactly comfortable in a large group. Thankfully, it's only a short while before the door to the office opens.

"Finally," Beach Bear says, approaching the door. He moves to step inside, only to be caught face to face with someone trying to leave. A mouse, with brown fur and blonde hair, only barely comparable to Beach Bear in height by way of the heels she's wearing.

"Mini?" Mitzi says, but she doesn't get a response. Mini and Beach Bear have locked eyes, and neither seem to be able to break the uncomfortable silence that follows. That is, until Beach Bear's mouth twitches into something resembling a confused smile, and he laughs.

"What are you doing h–?" He glances behind her, seeing a small group behind her also waiting to leave. A dog, a gorilla, a wolf, and... another polar bear. His smile quickly fades.

"I have other stuff going on," Mini replies calmly, quietly. "I hope you don't think my life revolves around you."

Beach Bear's eyes are transfixed on the other bear. "I... don't," he murmurs.

"I should be asking what you're doing here," Mini continues, still just as quiet, as if this conversation isn't for others to hear. "We signed up first."

"...Healthy competition," Beach Bear finally pries his eyes away and back to Mini. "Least, that's what Crusty said."

"We didn't know there was gonna be another band," Dook tries, but goes equally ignored.

Mini chews her lip for a moment, looking Beach Bear up and down. "You could let us out."

Beach Bear seems to be sizing her up just as much as she is him. "...You look good," he says. There's nothing sarcastic in his voice when he says it, but her expression finally sours anyway.

"You could move," she reiterates, a bit louder now.

Beach Bear steps aside, but then reaches an arm out, blocking the doorway. He glances back toward the other bear, but addresses Mini, "Who's the new guy?"

"Name's Bosco," the bear replies. His voice is deep, and he carries a perpetually sour expression on his face. Beach Bear bites his lip, a failed attempt at hiding his smirk. After another knowing look at Mini, he finally moves aside fully, letting them all out. Dook watches the group pass by him– Bosco is tall, taller than Beach Bear. Is he meant to be a replacement for him? Then, he looks toward Mitzi. She seems as surprised as anyone else... did she not know what her sister was planning?

"Well, ah–" He starts.

"Hey, what's with the hold up here?" A rat stands impatiently in the doorway. He's stout, about Mitzi's height, and is holding a fat, smoldering cigar. "You guys the next group or what?"

"Uh, y- yes!" Billy Bob stands. "Yessir. We're the Rock-afire Explosion, and–"

"Save it." The rat returns inside his office, waving a hand behind him for the rest of the group to follow.

The office is a small, smoky room, with stacks of paperwork and other little messes strewn about the desk and the floor. The walls are a dark olive green. A window on the right wall has its blinds pulled tightly closed. A paint can sits by the wall, left open. It seems even this place hasn't been exempt from the chaos of construction. The boss's desk sits at the center-back of the room, with a plush leather chair to match. The rat assumes his position in the chair, flicking his cigar over an ashtray. At the front of his desk is a name plaque: "Chuck E. Cheese - Chief Entertainment Officer."

"So," he says. "Real ragtag kinda group you guys got here. What kinda music do you do?"

"Rock and roll," Beach Bear answers.

"Well, hey, not entirely," Billy Bob says. "I might wanna write some country music, too."

"And I wanna sing pop music," Mitzi chimes in.

"Can't go wrong with a little soul, too," Fatz adds.

"Alright, alright!" Chuck says. "I'm puttin' you down as 'eclectic'." He doesn't move to write anything down. "Besides, having a multi-genre-capable sort of band works for us, needing a cover band and all that."

"A huh?" Billy Bob says.

"A cover band?" Chuck says. "Didn't any of you read the flyer?"

"That wasn't on the flyer," Beach Bear says.

Chuck pulls open a drawer on his desk and slaps a copy of the flyer onto the table. "There," he says, a finger pointing toward some small text along the bottom edge. "Says we're looking for a cover band. Is that gonna be a problem?"

"No problem at all," Billy Bob says quickly. "We're all fine doin' song covers, aren't we, guys?" The rest of the group all murmurs awkward agreement. "See? No problem."

"Alright, alright," Chuck mutters.

"Any other fine print we might've missed in there?" Fatz asks, half sarcastically.

"Oh, we can go through all the terms if you folks wanna," Chuck responds, fully sarcastic. But intent on following through, he opens another drawer and retrieves a stack of papers, slapping them down on the desk in a similar fashion. "Basically outlines the pay, the hours, the clientele–"

"Is there something special about the clientele?" Beach Bear asks.

"Sure is," Chuck says, "they're human."

The room goes quiet for a moment, everyone apparently at a loss for words. Then, after a beat, Mitzi says: "Why?"

"My mother was half human herself, on her father's side," Chuck says plainly.

"Really?" Dook says.

"No," Chuck says. "But we are still a human-friendly establishment. Not exclusively humans, mind you! But, y'know, they'll be around. That a problem?"

"No problem," Beach Bear says this time. "We're fine with humans." No one protests outright, but the air hangs a little tenser in the room.

"Good," Chuck says, and the tension finally eases. "I'm assumin' you're all willin' to work nights and weekends and what-have-you?"

"Of course," Billy Bob says.

"Great." Chuck opens a third drawer and pulls out a clipboard with a form on it. "Whichever of you is the most literate, come fill this out." Everyone looks at Fatz– save for Fatz, who looks at Beach Bear.

"What?" Fatz says. "He's the English major."

Beach Bear rolls his eyes and approaches the desk. He takes the clipboard and a pen from Chuck and moves to the side to fill it out.

"While he's doing that, any of you have any questions for me?" Chuck asks the rest of the group.

"...Is your last name really Cheese?" Mitzi asks.

"Your last name is Mozzarella," Dook says.

"Oh, right," she whispers. "What's the E stand for?"

"Entertainment," Chuck replies.

"That can't be your real name," Dook blurts. Chuck only responds with a smile.

Thankfully, it doesn't take much longer for Beach Bear to finish filling out the form. He hands it triumphantly to Chuck, who looks it over.

"What'd you say your band was called again...?" He squints, holding the paper an inch closer. "The Rock-afire Explosion?"

"That's us," Beach Bear says.

"Hm. Dumb name."

·–—–·

"So... Humans, huh?" Beach Bear says. The ride home has been pretty silent between the two of them, and Beach Bear only speaks up once they've pulled into their driveway.

"Yeah," Dook responds. "What do you think?"

"Ah, I don't care," Beach Bear says. "They look different, sure, but us working on stage doesn't really mean we'll have to interact with them. It'll be fine. Why, what do you think?"

"I dunno," Dook says. "I don't think humans are bad... I just don't know much about 'em."

"They're just people," Beach Bear assures him. "They're probably more scared of us than we are of them, ha."

"Should they be?"

"No! Of course not. But, I dunno... I guess I get their perspective. If I created a new form of life and it ran off and started doing its own thing, I'd probably be a little freaked out about it too."

Dook ponders this for a moment. "You don't think they think we're, like, monsters, right?"

Beach Bear laughs. "Probably not you. You're a big cuddly puppy dog. Me, though? I don't think most humans will ever even see a real polar bear in their lives."

"Have you seen one?" Dook asks, and Beach Bear shakes his head. On this note, they both leave the car and move into the house. Beach Bear heads to the kitchen to root around for snacks, while Dook wanders to the couch. He sits sideways, keeping an eye on Beach Bear.

"What if I do somethin' embarrassing?" Dook asks.

"What do you mean?" Beach Bear replies, his head inside the fridge.

"Like, on stage, in front of the humans. What if I say somethin' dumb?"

Beach Bear is quiet for a second before responding, "What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?"

"...Huh?"

"What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done?" He repeats, finally moving to look at Dook. He shuts the fridge and moves toward the couch, soda can in hand.

Dook stutters a few times, unsure how to respond. It's not something he was planning to recall today. He's not even sure what his most embarrassing moment is. Beach Bear joins him on the couch now, sitting to his right.

"I can go first, if you want," he offers.

"I didn't know we were takin' turns."

"Sure. Like..." He thinks for a moment. "Mine was in the eighth grade. I had a crush on this girl– her name was Mindy." Beach Bear begins to describe his classmate, and Dook feels himself growing... disappointed. Of course Beach Bear likes girls. Had he been assuming he'd ever have a chance with him? Of course he doesn't. He finds himself withdrawing from the story, something about Beach Bear wanting to impress her during a school talent show and doing a poor job.

"Alright, your turn," Beach Bear says, and Dook blinks.

"Uh..." He'd already forgotten he was supposed to tell a story, too. "For me, it was..." He's still drawing a blank. "...It was also a girl. I, uhh, I wanted to impress her, so I..." His eyes meet Beach Bear's, who's watching him intently. He's so earnest... It's so unfair. "...So I joined her band," Dook says. "We were young, so the band didn't work out. And... turns out she didn't even like boys. So I never had a chance, anyway."

"Man," Beach Bear says. "That does suck."

"Why'd you ask me to tell you that?" Dook grumbles. He feels his face growing hot– he really has embarrassed himself.

"Because," Beach Bear says, putting a hand on Dook's back. "If you say something silly while we're on stage, I guarantee you it won't be as embarrassing as our most embarrassing moments. So you're gonna be fine!"

Beach Bear laughs, and Dook feels some awful mix of desire and shame. He wishes he could slap Beach Bear's hand away– how could he touch him like this after all but rejecting him? Yet at the same time, he wishes the moment could last forever, feeling the warmth from his palm bleed into his own body. It's selfish, it's greedy... it's humiliating.

If he can't keep it together, it could start getting in the way of the band, and cost them their job at Showbiz. He can't let that happen– not just for his own sake, but for everyone's in the band. So in that moment, Dook quietly makes a resolution to himself: he must swallow his feelings for Beach Bear, for good.

[alumort]

Ao3

Happy new year! Not the 1st here yet but im falling asleep so you get it earlier lol

The house was getting colder now that the moon had replaced the sun up in the sky, and for once Neji couldn’t find himself enjoying the low temperature of that Winter night. Had it been any other day, he would be satisfied with a warm cup of tea and nothing else– but right on the last day of the year, his husband had fallen down with a nasty cold and couldn’t even get out of bed for long.

He had to be warm, and Lee simply refused to be laying down for anything that wasn’t sleeping or cuddling– the brunet had to make sure he actually stayed under his blankets, and try to help him feel better. And so Neji was trying to prepare some soup, at the same time using a new recipe that the other man would probably love– a chicken curry soup. It wasn’t too hard to prepare, thankfully.

Lee probably wouldn’t eat too much, but he still decided to make a lot just in case his expectation was incorrect. He would have some once his husband had fallen asleep again– for now, he entered the room as silently as physically possible.

It was strange seeing his husband curled up in their bed, his face pale and with coughing fits every now and then, which made the brunet realize his partner was still awake. He was too tired to even look up, not even noticing that Neji had arrived until he had sat by his side.

“My dear,” the taijutsu master muttered, letting out a weak smile. There was a wet cloth on his forehead that needed to be changed soon, but for now, he had to eat something.

“Hey, Lee. I made you some soup.”

Lee immediately brightened up, standing up and grabbing the plate as carefully as he could– just in case something happened, Neji ended up holding it still, and the other man slowly eating the food without saying much– he had to focus as to not make it fall by accident, after all, and it was harder to do when sick.

He seemed happy with the soup, even letting out a grin.

“It has curry… I like it,” he exclaimed once he ate enough, deciding to get comfortable under the blankets once again. Neji got up and looked around, mentally reminding himself to bring more napkins and fresh water for his partner.

“I’m glad you do. I’ll save it, and we can heat it up if you feel hungry again,” the brunet informed, and Lee just nodded without saying anything. Carefully, he grabbed the wet cloth (which was hotter than it should now) and empty water bottles, just to go back to the living room.

After having refilled and refreshed everything (and grabbing more napkins) he went back to his husband, who hadn’t fallen asleep yet. Lee was probably waiting for him, his eyes focused on the other man and even letting out a soft hum when his forehead felt cold once again, the wet cloth placed on it once again.

“Thank you, my love,” the taijutsu exclaimed, and Neji caressed his cheek in response.

“It’s no problem. I know you’d do the same for me,” Neji replied, silently grabbing his bedclothes and changing there, just to go to the bed without saying anything at all.

“Neji… you will get sick if you stay here,” Lee commented, his voice breaking down every couple of words and giving him the necessity of coughing. The brunet offered him one of the water bottles, and he let out a soft smile before sipping from it.

“I don’t care. I want to stay by your side, Lee.”

His husband said nothing, but he ended up wrapping him with his arms, humming softly when Neji returned the embrace without saying anything at all.

"I ruined the day, and everything. I am sorry, I know you wanted to be with Hinata and your niece–"

A sneeze, and Neji used the short self-interruption to speak with him, a hand carefully holding the other man's face.

"Lee. Dearest, you got sick, you didn't do this on purpose," the brunet whispered, placing a gentle kiss on each of Lee's cheeks. "There's time to visit my cousin and her kids, but now, you have to get better first. I don't want to leave you alone when you're like this, and I won't."

"But I am a Jounin. I can take care of myself," Lee protested with a pout, giggling as he received more kisses.

"And? You're my husband, I'm going to help you when I can. Also… you literally can't get out of bed. Stop trying to act all though."

A chuckle, and then Lee let out a long yawn before getting comfortable on the bed, ready to continue sleeping– Neji decided to imitate him, but his brain didn't want to let him rest.

He felt tired, and almost fell asleep on the spot, yet his gaze fell on the dark night sky before tiredness could take over. What time was it already? Neji couldn't see the clock from where he was… it wasn't needed, though.

The sky lightened up with a million different colors, and only then Lee opened his eyes and the cloth on his forehead fell, startled by the sudden noise. His partner got closer to him, caressing his shoulder with such softness that the taijutsu master relaxed once again.

"Happy new year, Lee. I love you," Neji mumbled,

"New year…" Lee repeated, scratching his stuffy nose as he talked, starting to fall asleep– before that could happen, he opened his eyes widely, suddenly remembering something. "It is Gai's birthday! Oh, I do not think I will be able to give him his gift…"

Neji couldn’t help it but chuckle, and his husband slightly tilted his head to the side in a silent response.

“I’ll give it to him, don’t worry. You have to rest,” the brunet exclaimed, getting closer to the other man just to place his lips on his boiling forehead. Lee smiled and rested his head on the crook of Neji’s neck, shifting his body closer to his.

“Thank you… I love you.”

They didn’t say much afterwards, falling asleep to the sound of fireworks and their own breathing.

… and if Neji woke up with a sore throat the following day, he tried to not let it show too much, simply waiting until it faded away with time. He didn’t want to worry Lee too much, at least not while he was ill.

[bookstoreadbtr]

Norris, as he is affectionately known, is a man of many adventures and remarkable stories. His love for exploration has taken him from the New Mexican High Desert to Mount Fuji in Japan, and even to the depths of the Australian Great Barrier Reef. However, his greatest adventure has been the journey of marriage, which partly inspired him to pen his debut novel, The Wayward Mage. This book launched the Adventure of Jack Wartnose series, a captivating fantasy epic. Despite initial setbacks, Norris found renewed inspiration during the COVID-19 shutdowns and has since become a successful author. As he prepares to release the fourth book in his series, The Condemned Mage, in October 2024, Norris shares insights into his writing journey, challenges, and inspirations in this exclusive interview.

When did you discover your passion for writing? My senior year in high school, I received my first laptop as a birthday gift from a good family friend. Don't know why, but later that night I decided to open a word document and started screwing around with a story of a mercenary on his deathbed. Through my college years and immediately afterward, I started to write a number of short stories, poems, and even longer novels. Never went anywhere with them except posting excerpts on a now defunct forum at the time. Some years later, my hard drive crashed, and I lost everything I had written. Had an external backup, but somehow in the same week I also lost that one. So, at that point, I gave up. I still had the ideas rattling in my head, but no desire to put them down after losing so much progress. Fast-forward 10 years to the COVID shutdowns and it was during this time I had a dream (literally, don't laugh) about a man walking into a medieval tavern and being accosted by the bar maid for "loving and then leaving her" almost twenty years prior, before they eventually got back together. It was so humorous I woke up chuckling, and decided to write it down for fun. Then I wrote a little more, having these two characters marry for a happy ending. Next, a thought came to mind: why is marriage always the ending, the "happily-ever-after?" In reality, marriage is just the beginning of the adventure! I should start there instead. 90 days later, I finished the first book in my award-winning series, "The Adventures of Jack Wartnose," and am now beginning the process of launching the 4th book in the same series October 2024. 

What encouraged you to become an author? In part, I've always been a storyteller. When I was deployed overseas in the Navy, I would write to my family and friends every week with tales of my misadventures. Some of these took hours to write up as I loved explaining in detail the places, cultures, food, and/or "trouble" I encountered. Regardless how long they ended up, no one ever admitted that they were bored reading them. And while I spent a few years where I had put my storytelling skills aside, I never stopped telling stories in my head. Now that I've begun writing again after a years' long hiatus, it's also in part this burning need that drives me to continue today. 

Did you have any fears of publishing before you started? Absolutely! "Would I find success?" "Would people actually read my book?" "Would I be able to afford to keep writing?" Thankfully, I didn't listen to them and kept writing and publishing. I have found a small amount of success, thankfully, but nowhere close to where I could safely quit my day job and devote myself full time to writing. People do continue reading my books and really enjoy them. I just got my first official fan email outside of the family, friends, and fellow authors that read my books. So, that's a small victory! I hope more people will continue to buy and read my award-winning books. Publishing ain't cheap, you know. LOL.

What were three things you learned about the publishing process? a. Just because you published your book doesn't mean you're done with it. There's marketing, promotions, and also occasionally editing your published manuscript whenever a reader finds a misspelled word. And trust me, they will find it. Even after you've done multiple self-edits and had friends/family and a professional proofread it! b. Publishing starts months before the actual date: getting ARC readers, talking with bloggers to get them to read and promote your book, social media blitzing, and booking spots on promotional sites (especially the high-end ones, you need to reserve your spot months in advance). c. Self-publishing is a full-time job and very expensive. It is a big investment at the start! If you treat it as such, you'll have a better chance of success quicker simply because you have more time to devote to learning and perfecting the craft/business. If you bootstrap it like I do, success will take longer as you have to make time away from your regular breadwinning job and familial responsibilities to write and promote it (not to mention having to budget in order to fund the projects). Just be sure that you understand the risks and rewards as they apply to your situation. 

What was the most surprising thing your learned in the process? How difficult it is to build an audience. Makes sense when you realize that tens if not hundreds of thousands of books are being published each year around the world. Everyone is vying to get readers to check out their book, so competition is very stiff. I believe firmly that my books offer audiences a unique fantasy adventure story about family and redemption, with plenty of humor and romance to keep fans of stories like Princess Bride happy; yet also has enough lore, action and character intrigue to please fans of that type of fantasy.

Where can your future fans follow you on social media? Amazon Author Page - author.amazon.com/home

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/167731782-a-s-norris

Facebook - @asnauthor; https://www.facebook.com/asnauthorpage/

Instagram - @asnauthor; https://www.instagram.com/asnauthor/

Twitter - @asnauthor; https://twitter.com/asnauthor

Do you have a website? Sure do!

It is there that visitors can sign-up for my monthly newsletter and receive a free prequel novella to my Wartnose series, "The Wayward Apprentice." Be assured, I will not sell you information.

To read full interview pick up the lasts issue of ReaderZeen, available now!

[psycholojosh]

Almost There!

Been wanting to write on my blog for quite some time now, but I haven't got the time because of practicum. Since September last year, I struggled fulfilling my psychotherapy hours in my master's clinical practicum because I couldn't let go of other commitments, such as my jobs. Being the only person who has to finance his own personal needs and ambitions, I made it a point to make ends meet no matter what -- without compromising *too* much of my wellbeing. But I learned that the hard way. Throughout the months, I struggled with juggling and switching between tasks because there was just so much. (And I'll write more on this in another blog entry.) But it took a toll on me.

So come January this year, I made it a point to rest and recalibrate until I could find my rhythm. And thankfully, I did. Around the end of March, I was able to restart my practicum journey and have been consistent ever since. I learned how to practice boundary and expectation setting -- even if I still suck at it. But, hey, that's progress, if I do say so myself.

By next month, I'll be hitting an important goal. I needed 200 hours of psychotherapy work. And currently... I'm at 190! I just need 10 more hours and I've done the bare minimum in this area. Then, I can switch into assessment practicum more intensely (but I've started this as well). But it's still gonna be a challenge, considering what I'm about to talk about next...

The other thing that I foresee as a challenge is... thesis season. It was hard to believe at first but I thought, "Oh shit. I'm so close to finishing this." And I sooner realized that I needed to prepare for it right away. You see, the ideal scenario for a graduate student is to think about thesis development even before the semester of it. In fact, we were all encouraged to think about it as early as our applications and our first semester!

I already had thesis topics I was passionate about. One of them (which I will not share here in full just yet) has something to do with LGBTQ+ mental health (of course, duh!). I took very brief periods of time throughout the last 5 years reading up on it, exploring it, and studying it. I wouldn't say I'm an expert just yet, but with every learning moment, I feel much more excited to see how I can turn it into a study. But two weeks back, I asked a colleague of mine about some advice with thesis preps. And he aired caution on me. "Start now," he said. And frantically, I did.

But I've been having a lot of questions in my mind recently. Is my topic acceptable by our department? What value do I add to the field? Can I finish this within my preferred timeline (a year, lol)? Am I being too ambitions or too simple? Is this the right time to start my thesis? What if I drop some commitments - quit my job? And how will I sustain myself financially if I do leave work behind? What about my momentum - will I lose it? I didn't realize that there were so many things to consider beyond what the process of graduate thesis goes. And I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling this way.

I'm honestly not sure how to deal with it, nor do I have the answers to my questions -- at least clear ones anyway. But, I'm trusting my gut in this one (as I've always done since I tasted life after college). I feel like I can always pivot on something and make things meet. I'm just worried about what comes next -- and if it's something I don't prefer to happen.

But for now, I'm radically accepting that this is my situation. And pondering about it for too long may not give me my answers. I figured I might as well lean into it and see how I can make things work.

Nearly there. Almost there.

[justtogetthrough]

I spent FOUR GOD DAMN HOURS at a walk in clinic tonight to get my stitches out because my arm has not been healing well, I was worried they'd fall open like the other one did and didn't wanna deal with it, and the stitches are really tight and i wasn't sure I could maneuver scissors one handed and just... overall didn't wanna deal with it.

But where I'm from we don't have walk in clinics so I wasn't expecting to wait FOUR HOURS. The small town hospital would have been quicker than this city clinic. I was getting more and more distressed and was about to leave to come home and get really high and just rip them out of me because I'm so sick of how painful they are. Then the doctor called me in.

I took off my sweater and explained I usually just take these out myself but I'm not healing well, this other one with all the steristrips popped back open when I removed the stitches, and I'm also kinda concerned these ones are infected so wanted someone else to do it this time.

He took one look and was like holy shit yeah that's infected, I am absolutely not taking those stitches out right now with all that going on because you don't want open wounds with that much infection. You need to clear up the infection and probably leave the stitches in for 10-12 days in order to have a chance to finally heal. (I explained today is day 8 so they're due to come out, nevermind that I usually never leave them in past 4 or 5 days...)

So anyway it's so bad he not only gave me 10 days worth of antibiotics but also LITERAL NARCOTIC PAINKILLERS because of how nasty it looks. I didnt even ask for painkillers, he straight up offered. And I feel so vindicated because now I realize my arm has been infected for probably like 5 or 6 days and that I'm not being a baby with how severe and unbearable the pain has been. I told him I've been using a topical antibiotic with lidocaine to try to control the pain and asked why the antibiotic part didn't treat this and he was basically like, a topical ointment won't do shit for what you have going on unfortunately.

I went to the clinic for 5 pm when they opened so I took the dressing off around 3 to dry out the ointment and stuff so he could remove the stitches, and the 7 hours of not having antibiotic cream on it has really shown that that shit was merely holding the infection back, minimally, at best. In the 7 hours it's been uncovered my skin has become so swollen and blistered and it's actually so painful I can't turn the key in my car or even shift from park/drive/reverse or do anything with my arm that requires force or strength.

And I almost walked out of that clinic before being seen because I didn't bring any meds with me or anything to do and wasn't prepared for hours of waiting around sick people who were so god damn overstimulating and so I was on the brink of meltdown all night. My friend offered to come sit with me at 9 after class if I was still waiting and I told them if I'm not seen by 9 I'm going to decapitate myself in the god damn waiting room. And then suggested maybe they don't wanna be around me while I'm this distressed lol. Thankfully the doctor called me in 5 mins later.

My arm is fucking gnarly and I'm putting the lidocaine cream back on it because my arm is so puffy it looks like it's being suffocated by the stitches. I wonder if I have a hydrocortisone cream. I am so motherfuckimg distressed by this and a systemic infection probably explains why I've spent so much of the last 3 days sleeping (I fell asleep during a meeting today even, and have done almost zero work this week) and why my other wounds aren't healing and why my skin is blistering from medical tape and idk just a whole assortment of things that have been weird but not evidently something serious on their own.

At least now I know why this hurts so god damn much ;___;

The antibiotics are supposed to start helping by 24 hours so wish me luck.

This has been the worst 3 weeks of a loooong time and I'm fucking mad about everything.

[millenialfanfictionaddiction]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KOUTAROU!!!!!!

I gotta admit somethin, Ma. I had heard about Kou before I started watching Haikyuu. I had never seen him, but I knew he was popular, that everyone liked him. So when my partner finally got me to start watching (they told me to watch before covid started, but it wasn't until this past March that my hyperfixations lined up) I was determined not to fall in love with this big goofball... Well that was fucking stupid of me XD I swear, by the end of the first camp I was sittin there like "welp, I've fallen for yet another big goof with an infectious smile, shit" ^,..,^"

Anyway!! I love Bokuto so very much, and I won't deny it ever. He's one of my 4 favorite goofs, and he's not allowed to leave us U,w,U Idk what pre-haikyuu me was thinking lol

I'm picturing timeskip msby Kou getting up early on his birthday for practice. He knows his husband has got to have something planned, but he doesn't wake him to ask.

Kou arrives at practice and gets birthday wishes from everyone, which is a great start to the day. Then part way through the morning, Husband YN shows up to make practice feel like kindergarten, and has cupcakes for everyone. Kou is just so excited to see him, and wraps him in the hugest hug (almost spilling the snack) and gives him a big ol kiss. He don't care that the whole team is watchin, his husband came to see him on his birthday!

- Dragon anon

Ahhhh my first Bokuto encounter was the same! I saw a tik tok of him right at the beginning of quarantine and I was like "tell me more 👀" now this freaking himbo plaques my brain daily 😭 especially 6 FOOT 2 INCH HIMBO MSBY BOKUTO 🥵

Please Bokuto is always so excited for his birthday and his husband knows it!

He always gets him the best presents and balloons 🥺

You had taken the day off to spend with your husband, showing up at practice with cupcakes a day balloons 🎈

Thankfully, Meian and Inunaki see you first, giving g them ample time to prepare for Bokuto to lose his mind

"HEY HEY HEY MY HUSBANDS HERE!"- Bokuto screaming and running up to you

Meian and Inunaki form a wall of YN, making sure you don't do murdered by your crazy husband

"Ko, let me set these down love then I'll hug you!"- You, quickly putting things down so you can great your birthday boy

"Ahhh you are the best YN!"- Bokuto, still being held back by Meian and Inunaki 😅

"Ok I'm ready"- you say as Meian and Inunaki move, Bokuto BUSTING through and tackling you

Brace yourself YN, you are about to go down!

"I love you so much YN thank you!!"- Bokuto 🥰

"I love you too Ko! Happy Birthday!"- You 💙

[sweetestlamb]

Flashlight

Author's note: Wasn't episode 8 just lovely? I just couldn't get this out of my head, they're becoming so dependent on each other. Be still my beating heart. They're reminding me of my MoonMun couple so much and I think that explains my obsession and the amount of fics I've written thus far lol.

Summary: Just for tonight he'll be selfish.

"Are you okay now? Is there someone there?" He moves towards the dark alley that she came bolting from looking as frightened as he's ever seen her. He feels his muscles coil ready to protect her by any means possible. But before he can move she's tightening her hold on him, clinging to him now he can feel her warmth all around him like a blanket.

"No! Don't leave me." Hearing that scared plea causes a blurry memory to resurface in his mind, he can almost feel the words swimming in his mind but the memory is foggy and it evaporates as quickly as it formed.

Strange.

"Okay, okay. I'm not going anywhere. Let's go inside." He starts to maneuver her toward her house at first she moves with him but then she stills, letting out a small sound of recollection.

"My phone." She whispers into his chest, they are pressed so closely he can feel her heartbeat still pounding through her chest into his. He strokes her back in a lazy soothing manner, shocked when she melts into his embrace further. Nothing is making sense at this moment but he doesn't care enough to stop, this.

"What about your phone?" He redirects the conversation and she continues, "I dropped it in there when I ran away."

"Okay. I'll go get it, wait here." He starts to gently untangle her hands from his flannel but she lets out a whine, gripping his shirt even stronger and moving with him.

"I'll---let's go together."

She's trembling now, positively shaking in her spot and he wants to argue with her to just go inside and wait for him but her earlier plea echoes in his ears. He can't leave her alone not right now, so he steps forward feeling her move with him, one step after another until he sees the rectangular object on the ground.

"I'm going to bend down to get it." He can feel her shifting beside him looking around wildly but thankfully no ominous figure appears, they are alone.

After a moment she nods, letting go enough for him to bend and retrieve the device and he checks the screen noting happily that it's not damaged but when he touches the screen it doesn't turn on so he tries again.

"It's dead. I forgot to charge it." She admits, taking the phone from his grasp.

He turns to her with a sharp stare, "You stayed out late after what happened and didn't charge your phone? Are you that fearless?" He chides, frustrated with her lack of awareness and disregard for her safety. If anything ever happened to her he would.... He would.......

"It wasn't on purpose. I didn't realize. I know it was irresponsible."

It's not a response he's expecting, the Hye Jin he knows would argue back, hardly taking shit from him ergo her meek uncharacteristic reply makes him feel worst, he shouldn't be blaming her especially after seeing first-hand how scared she is.

"Let's go inside now, it's cold and you're shaking." They both know the temperature has very little to do with her tremors but she doesn't disagree and carelessly he enters the code when they reach the door, ignoring the jolt in his chest that erupts as he enters his own birthday and the door clicks open. He thought she would have changed it by now.

He's grateful she hasn't.

They both take off their shoes, standing side by side now her arm around his waist and his around her shoulder. It's a small space and they can barely move but they work around it, reluctant to release each other.

"Thank you." Her voice is barely above a whisper, he thinks that he almost imagined it. He had an excuse prepared this time, he was merely patrolling and happened to pass her house. That was the lie he intended to go with, but something in her voice stops him from saying those deceitful words. He's tired of hiding and making up excuses for being around her.

"You're welcome. Here sit down, I'll make you some tea." Thoughtlessly he moves towards the kitchen, taking two steps until he can't move anymore. She's holding onto him tightly, he turns around looking at her small closed fists and then her trembling pretty face.

With a soft sigh, he takes her hand rubbing a thumb across the smooth skin.

"Just come with me." Immediately she steps forward pressing into his back, he tries to calm his heart taking the teapot and filling it with water, then he opens the cabinet retrieving a mug and setting it aside.

"I like honey. And a squeeze of lemon." He smiles at her soft demands.

Now that sounds more like his dentist. The bottle of honey is in her top cabinet and he grabs a fresh lemon from the fridge cutting it in half.

They stand silently as the water boils and he finally feels his anger boiling away as well. Angry that he was almost too late and that his town isn't safe anymore, angry that someone was able to shake this immoveable woman.

The shrill ringing of the teapot breaks him from his impasse, on autopilot he pours the water on the tea bag, then squeezes the honey in the steaming water, "I like a lot of honey." She's attached to his back her voice vibrating straight through him, he freezes when she wraps her arms around his waist. Her closeness is messing with his mind, but he tries to finish his job and get them on the couch maybe with some distance between them.

For his sanity.

"Let's go sit down." He grabs both mugs walking over to her couch, placing her cup on the far right and taking a seat on the far left putting a sea of distance between them. But immediately she sits down right next to him, leaving no space between them she might as well be in his lap. He squirms in place, standing up to get some reprieve but she grabs his hand staring up at him.

"Where are you going?" Fear bleeds into her voice and he lets go of his hesitations, tonight is not about him.

Leaning over he grabs her cup, tugging it closer.

"Nowhere, I'm not going anywhere. Drink your tea."

She blinks slowly at him before nodding and bringing the warm beverage to her lips. Her hum of satisfaction warms him all the way down to his toes.

"It's good. You really are good at everything." He preens at the compliment, thinking of all the times this week he wasn't needed or was cast aside for Director Ji. He's been swallowing his jealousy all week. So her words fill a hollow space in his chest.

He watches her drink the entire cup, ignoring his own growing cold on the table.

"I need to charge my phone." She suddenly says and he stares before nodding, taking the opportunity to drink his lukewarm tea. But then he notices that she's not moving despite having the phone and charging in her hand.

"What's wrong?" He raises an eyebrow in confusion.

She looks embarrassed now, unable to meet his eyes and he's flabbergasted at her reaction.

"Come with me?" He stares at her, feeling the same pride bloom as when she sat next to him instead of her sunbae, she's leaning on him.

He spots an outlet across the room, "Okay let's go there." She looks relieved at his lack of teasing, together they walk over to the outlet and she bends to plug in the charger and puts the phone on the ground.

In seconds the phone comes to life and he feels a sharp pain in his chest as a barrage of messages light up her phone, the majority from one person. When she clicks to open the message he instinctively looks away, not wanting to witness their conversation.

"He messaged so much." Her voice is filled with awe and childishly he moves away. He'd almost forgotten that she didn't actually need him. He was just conveniently there.

"I should go now. You're safe. Make sure to come home earlier from now on, maybe ask him to walk you home." It hurts to utter those words but it's easier than being replaced later, it's okay if he's the one that pushes her away first. "I'll see myself out."

He stands ready to leave, pointedly not looking back before he changes his mind and stays forever.

She was just scared, tonight didn't mean anything.

He grabs his fallen bagpack thrusting it on his shoulder, hopping into his boots all ready to head out. But it's unusually quiet, the silence is so deafening that he can't stop himself from looking back over at her. It's a mistake, a huge one at that. The phone has fallen from her hands, abandoned to the side and she's looking at him with the most desolate stare he's ever seen, moisture pooling in her huge round eyes.

"What's wrong? Why are you cry--"

"You said you wouldn't leave me. Why are you changing your mind? What if someone is still there? What am I supposed to do without yo--u?" Her voice cracks on the last word and his heart follows, she needs him. Nobody else has this week but here she is breaking down because he tried to leave, she needs him.

His decision is made for him in that moment.

As soon as he's close enough to touch she's clinging to him once again, he only absently realizes that she's trying to lead them to her bedroom but even he's not saintly enough for that so he stops her.

"Let's go to the couch. You'll feel more comfortable."

She doesn't question him seemingly happy to follow his lead.

The couch is comfy but definitely not intended for two grown adults, leaning over the arm rest he tries to get situated and once he stops moving she's snuggling into his side curling around him like a cat.

"Whenever I was scared, my mom used to stroke my hair."

He stares at the wall in front of them, wondering if she's aware of just how many lines they're crossing tonight- no catapulting over. But he's tired of second guessing himself so he stops thinking and just listens, bringing the hand that is curled on her shoulder up to her head before dragging his palm down her soft hair, gulping when she moans at the ministrations.

Her breathing starts to deepen and he feels her body losing its tension, she's falling asleep and once she succumbs he can finally make his escape, that's his plan. But he doesn't expect her to start stroking him too, her hand delicate on his chest.

"You've worked hard. Stopping a scammer and saving me all while recovering from a cold."

It's nothing. It's what he's supposed to do.

But it feels so good to hear those words, words that he hardly heard growing up.

"Go to sleep." He says instead of thank you, instead of kissing her like he's wanted to since he saw her outside and she ran straight into his heart.

It's a miracle but she listens to him, drifting to sleep her head heavy on his chest and he knows that he should wait a few minutes and try to extract himself but he can't, not tonight. Just for tonight he'll be selfish.

"You're making me want all sorts of things." He whispers to her sleeping face, terrified of her and all that she makes him feel. Feeling emboldened by their almost kiss initiated by her, he pushes her hair behind her ear taking a second to really looking at her face. She really is that beautiful. It doesn't seem fair. Leaning down he presses a soft kiss to her forehead, her skin is sleep warm and perfectly smooth. He presses a second one shamelessly. Her lips are right there and heavens knows that he's tempted but he can't take advantage, can't bring himself to do anything else. That's enough.

He doesn't know when he fell asleep but he wakes up to Mi-seon throwing a blanket over them, he keeps his eyes tightly shut mentally berating himself for that leaving when he had a chance.

"Just friends my ass. Just admit that you like him, look at the way you're clinging to him."

Somehow they traversed further down the couch in their sleep, both laying horizontal now with her body on top on his and her head tucked under his chin.

"I've never seen her sleep so peacefully though. She looks so young."

He tries not to think too deeply into what that might mean, listening to the retreating footsteps of her roommate and feeling himself losing the battle with sleep. She'll probably be embarrassed to find them this way tomorrow but that's a hurdle for another day.

Just for tonight I'll hold her. Until I'm not allowed to hold her anymore.

[syubub]

May 13th Reading

Definitely long awaited and way bigger than I intended it to be so buckle up.

Funky disclaimer: this is for entertainment purposes only and not to be taken as fact! This is my interpretation of the cards!

Oh boy. The continuation of yoongis soulmate saga.

(Note frome future me: it's not proofread but I'm hungry. Sorry for mistakes!)

So so so so

Let's start.

I started with all the normal jazz. Connecting with his energy and shit. Same as usual same old same old. Platform= same same. I was like, "hey, let's talk about your soulmate and the whole may 13th shit" and we connected via energy stringy thing to the forehead and such. I was intresting bc my end of the string was kinda my energy color! Neato. Looks like some rest has really done me good!

Okay, here's where I start actually asking shit. I made notes at this point before the reading as I usually do. I'm just gonna insert the screen shot here.

The 14 thing really fucked me up. You'll see later. Also, when I got the whole Pisces Jupiter thing I had to do me some googling bc we established that Jupiter went into Pisces ON May 13th so I was like?? Am I missing something?

I was. I forgot that it goes retrograde and then co.es back to Pisces on December 28th. And I do indeed think it to be significant.

The shit about temperance makes a lot of sense. In yoongis first soulmate read I flipped my shit bc he was like, "You're gonna get temperance reverse" in regards to a card for his soulmate and I was like "pft whatever. Don't play me like that"

And then I got temperance reverse. It's been a significant card from the jump.

I asked him if he had any advice for his soulmate and that's what "Don't wait for big things, you'll miss the small ones that lead you to bigger things" and "Look for facts before assuming" and "Don't try pushing it, forcing it won't make sense" and "A spade is a spade/ ace is an ace" and "Don't make ill informed guesses" all were

Now this part:

"Union has happened , yet to on the physical"

Gave me some hints thankfully because he straight up said no more hints.

This ties back into the whole Jupiter thing too. The seeds are/ have been planted and now they have to grow before they can be harvested.

Well Mr. Yoongi, I'm impatient and I don't want to wait. I want to see you in love pronto.

Anyways

He showed me a little dream box/ trinket box looking thing and a super vague Keychain with no further explanation... so... there's that I guess.

I can't quite decide if "Don't make ill informed guesses" was a tongue-in-cheek pike at me or if it was genuine advice to his soulmate? He just loves to not explain things.

Now let's begin the monster read.

So. The first row of cards

I asked the question, "what the fuck was May 13th and what was it's purpose in regards to your connection"

Important is what it was lol. I interpret this as them finding their footing and this being the starting point of the genuine foundation being layer. Like they've been manifesting eachother for a while but May 13th marked the start of them making the real life changes in their actual lives that will be the set up for them meeting.

The seven of coins is about thoughtful planning and creating security/ stable plan. The tower is essentially ripping away anything and everything that was built on unstable foundation and challenging/ testing your character (an extremely rude awakeing if you will). Judgement is releasing the past so you can rise above it and confronting yourself as you are (Also legit awakening) the queen of coins is financial security and self confidence in your abilities. Ten of coins is prosperity and abundance and most of all, stability. Eight of wands is explosion of potential and rapid movement. Temperance is awareness and balance between physical and spiritual. It's also that quiet peace where you find balance.

So. Seeing all those cards it really does seem like maybe his soulmate took on something new that could lead straight to union? Same for yoongi. I'd like to analyze and recent or new-ish habits or hobbies he's picked up?

Moving right along though. I asked what the 13th did for each of them in their personal life and personal journey. Kinda like what came as a result of that energy? Let's start with yoongles

This was really intresting to me. I think he definitely gained some form of clarity about the situation with that sun card. The 5 of cups tells me that either he was kinda forced to confront some of his flaws in a way that he was trying to avoid or he had to consciously let go of something dear to him? Could be something he had to leave behind because it crumbled with the tower moment but he didn't see it coming or didn't know that it was time to part with it? With that queen of wands though fits beautifully with the sun! Its like he's found warmth after a long winter. Definitely found a spark of compassion and generosity from a place of happiness and love rather than anger, fear, obligation or pitty.

I asked for clarity cards/ anything else that may 13th signified bringing in and we got the 2 of cups and 10 of swords. I have two thoughts. Either he let go of a relationship that he was already in because he didn't feel as though they were particularly compatible anymore (Also ties into the above section) OR the 13th had made him very much consciously aware of his soulmates incoming status and he is now preparing and working on himself for when this person comes. The 10 of swords would be him releasing the past and the pain and any ill fitting behavior that don't vibe with him any longer. Yellow really seems to be working for him by the way.

Soulmate time

Lol. All signs point to his soulmate genuinely starting a new venture. New creative pursuit that will bring them good money. 10 of pentacles is abundance, prosperity and stability. The ace of wands is a new creative spark and passion and it's the first big steps into something new. The 2 of wands is "the world is in the palm of your hands" vibes. Choices need to be made swiftly and with the ace of wands I think they will be. With the heirophant too, it will be a well informed decision because they've been manifesting this and has been searching for all the possible information.

As for clarity, we have the moon. Damn. Soulmates been doing that shadow work. Dredging up all their bullshit and getting rid of it while still taking the time to sit with it and release it so nothing is unresolved. Also probably extra creative due to all the emotional baggage being thrown out. (Definitely helping with the ace of wands vibes tbh)

Now for the bad boys in the middle

The question I asked is what those individual changes (detailed in the last two sections) will bring for the bond and I just can with them. These fuckers. I am so invested in their love story bc it's so... them? And just so fucking ROMANTIC. UGH I CAN'T.

Back to the point. High priestess, 4 of wands and the lovers. The high priestess is deep knowing and insane intuition, the 4 of wands is the purest joy and marriage and the lovers is well, the lovers.a magical union.

FUCK DUDE I NEED THIS TO BE A ROMCOM.

For the row of bottom cards

I asked if they had anything at all to add so I'm gonna explain each card individually bc I think they could be individual tid bits of shit.

Knight of coins is good news about finances/ money looking promising and organized work (also dependability!!). Death is all about transformation, the beginning of a new chapter and accepting in order to move foward. Ace of coins is spiritual and material abundance and also a reminder to keep grounded. Page of swords is confidence, important news coming and really good insight! Roots out secrets or hidden things like a truffle pig. The star is promising potential, healing and guidance from an enexpected place. The two of cups is a soul connection, love, intuition especially in regards to another person and a good bind. The emperor is self awareness, foresight, fearlessness to achieve a goal and confidence. Eight of coins rev is poor discipline and skating by on low effort.

Now to the sides!

Yoongi is the left, soulmate is the right.

So, let's begin with yoongi. The first two cards are anything he wants to say to his soulmate. Wheel of fortune and three of swords reverse. I take this as "its all in divine time/ it's destiny" (wheel of fortune) and "trust your intuition. It's okay to get hurt, you just need to remember you can always pick yourself up" (3of swords rev.)

We have now cards that I asked what he was learning through this process/ in this time. Be positive and first step.

The last two cards are affirmations he wants to give his soulmate.

"When I introduce joy to a situation, I change the vibrational frequency of what's happening around me" and "directing my focus onto what's thriving creates more of what I want"

Now for soulmates cards (same structure)

Strength and eight of swords. "You're stronger than you think. Take every part of yourself and acknowledge it. You're a force to be reckoned with" (strength) and (soulmate snapped at him on this) "the only thing holding you captive is you."

Now we have peer pressure (I think soulmate is learning to say "fuck you" and "fuck off" to people who have a set idea of how everyone should be living their lives), emotional healing and open your arms to receiving.

Then we have "its good to feel good" (lol I feel like yoongi definitely needs this one) and "when I connect to the spiritual realm, I open the door to recieve divine guidance, clear direction, and great wisdom"

The last stretch my friends.

So. Completion, leave behind the things that no longer serve you. Exist in the present and don't keep mulling over the past or any future happenings. Magic, pay attention to the magic around you. Listen for the signs of the universe and take them as they come (essentially listen to divine guidance) . Be open minded but logical as well. Luminous warrior, try focusing on the good in yourself instead of berating yourself for every small flaw. Spiritual path, self explanatory. The blade, your power can be a weapon when used willy nilly (most often wounding the wielder) or it can heal. Don't fear it but also consider how you choose to utilize it. The give away, be greaful for the sake of being greatful for it, not because you want something in return. The rain maker, manifestation station. Create with the tools you have because you have everything you need in order to manifest. "Don't take life personally"

Now we have heaven sent.

""Let yourself be helped" assistance is coming your way so act on it and say yes"

" This Oracle also comes with the message that you are to trust in the things that you feel and say to others without knowing why. It moves them. You might not understand, but through trust you are allowing yourself not to overthink and censor yourself. As such you are able to become a vessel through which the spiritual gift can be passed on to others. Don't block yourself. Let life happen through you. Only benefit can come from this."

And free from judgment, free to love

" If you have been asking life for a solution to a specific difficulty you have been having, this Oracle comes with the message that a solution is in gestation right now. This situation is already being sorted out and the resolution will come to fruition very soon. Hold tight and wait for the eminent birth of that resolution."

" This Oracle also brings you a message about love. You may find that you are loving, or soon will love, in a different way. You may worry about this love, given that it defies what you have known or been taught about love. Perhaps you are becoming able to love another tremendously, even though you don't have much of a personal relationship with them. You might question if this love is real. It is real Kama it is just happening at a different level to the love and attachment you experience when you are involved in a personal relationship with someone. It is not more or less, it is just a different facet of love. It may be that you are opening up to love the planet and her creatures, including the animals, the ocean dwelling life, your own body, the trees and so on, more than before period you may feel passionately purposeful about giving your time and energy to causes that protect and nurture the Earth and her creatures. You are affirmed in this love too. The universal mother is operating through you to nurture life. She will support you in your work, so that you can continue To come from love and not become drained, depleted or lost in despair or fear of futility. Instead, you will be energised and expanded by your dedicated service to life."

" Finally, this Oracle has a message for those who may be feeling alone or lonely in a need of greater nurturing from others. You are asked to stop, relax, centre and settle into your body to feel your connection with life itself. The air in your lungs is the same as the air that moves through the trees. The water in your blood is the same water that fills the oceans and is moved by the phases of the moon. The flesh of your body is the same substance as the body of the Earth itself. The heat in your digestive system is the same fire and heat as that from the Sun. Feel this connection, then do something nice for another without agenda. Make a donation, even if just a small one, smile, say a prayer, sent out a good thought or make a wish for another. That's it. You have connected to life again and in doing so, life can connect with you. And so it shall.

And that's all for the cards but but but.

Someone (either my guide or yoongi) was like, "do a song. Do a song. Do a song." And I was like, "oki doki, sounds good.

So I asked what numbers I should try refreshing and then it hit me. The number 14 came up before the reading and it seemed a bit misplaced? So I did 14 shuffles and look what popped up

You gotta be fucking with me.

Istg these fools will actually be the death of me dude. Euphoria is so romantic and I lowkey feels like it describes a bit of what their bond must be like.

YOONGGGIIII

Anyway,

I came back to the platform to be like, "thanks homie" and it was weird bc he was practically pure energy? Like usually I visualize his energy as what his physical body looks like because it's easier to comprehend? But nope, he was just a big shimmery glob of energy.

As I was going to disconnect, a few things happened. I felt tingly and the platform was vibrating almost? So I was like, "hold on, what the fuck is this?"

And then

It hit me

"MIN YOONGI IS YOUR SOULMATE HERE??"

I could tell this fuckin asshole was smug even in his blue glob form.

The color was... blue like yoongi but also a light lavender/ pink kinda vibe. Pretty damn distinct.

I was so stoked and I thought we'd all get to chat and I could yell at his soulmate for being an elusive asshat

But Mr smug butt had different plans.

My dude dropped a little marble thing in my hand and I was like ??? And he was like, "you'll know when you need it" and I was like ?????

My guide took pity on me and said, "it's just a representation on information that you've been given but it isn't the proper time to unpack it yet"

Cool cool so like and energetic zip file that will release itself whenever it damn well pleases? Cool cool cool.

(Asshole)

Anyway, I genuinely think that my excitement of this whole situation must somehow also influence how yoongis energy handles my prodding? Like what the fuck is this marble bullshit?

To top it all off, he gives me a friendly shove off of his platform.

Thanks, buddy.

Now we are here. And as always, I'm left with more questions.

My main take away is that amay 13th through July 28th will be all the foundation and ground work and December 28th 2021 through May 10th (11th? 9th?) 2022 will be a more likely time for physical union and actual relationship stuffs.

Anyone who knows more about astrology please feel free to chime in on this whole Jupiter in Pisces bit! My understanding is super surface level!!

~~~~

That was a big boi and now my thumbs hurt real bad. Hope you were entertained by the chaos.

[my-writings-and-musings]

Could you do TFP bots (or just a few of them if you have charcater limit or just don't feel like doing them all, as long as Wheeljack is ingluded I'm good) with a human they just recued and they're like "I'm gonna call my dad hold on" and if they protest they're like "nah you'll like him I promise, just give him a minute" and her dads their old bot friend who went MIA (you can decide who the dad is, or go with Ironhide if you're as indeciceve as me lol)

I miiiiight just have to do this as a short story I hope that's okay! Got my Wrecker boys Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Smokescreen and Ultra Magnus.

Dust was still settling as you realized the threat was over, the collection of vehicons having scattered long before the cave had finished it's partial collapse and leaving you under the gathered team of bots who'd come together to shield you from falling debris. Rubbing off the powdered rocks covering your face, as well as coughing up the taste of dirt, you took a moment to gather yourself as your new giant allies did the same. It wasn't worth thinking about what would have happened if they hadn't come along when they had... In your defense, that ambush had come out of nowhere.

"You okay there?" A deep voice above you rumbled with concern, encouraging you to tilt your head upwards at the big green bot looking down at you. His optics were friendly, and despite his absolutely massive size and hands that transformed into wrecking balls, you immediately trusted him.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks to you guys." You said gratefully, looking to each of the gathered team as they brushed the dust off themselves.

"Protecting organic life is the primary responsibility of Autobots, think nothing of it." The largest of them said, somewhat gruff as he meticulously picked off the worst of the rubble that had showered down upon them. Immediately, you knew he was the one in charge. Towering above the others and with shoulder pauldrons thicker than two of you, he gave off the energy of someone who took no nonsense and had the firepower to back up his authority, yet his gaze was mostly just annoyed as he looked down to you again. "Our second responsibility, however, is remaining hidden from the denizens of this planet. Saving you required us to break cover."

"Give the kid a break, sir. They managed to escape a whole squadron by themselves before running into us. I think we can cut them some slack." A far gruffer voice said, cutting in as the battle scarred mech in question took a protective step your way. Quite immediately the colors on his unique build were familiar to you, but you decided to stay quiet on that fact, reaching for the cellphone thankfully still secure in your pocket. While you hadn't found what you'd been looking for in this mine, at least you had something far more interesting to report.

The big blue bot looked to the other with an impressive frown, unintentionally cementing your thesis as to the scarred mech's identity. The back and forth continued more or less without an acknowledgement of your presence. "They've been seen in our company, Wheeljack. By the procedure Optimus established, we must now secure their wellbeing, and that will be quite the undertaking."

The only one who had not yet spoken, a smaller but solidly built blue bot who seemed the youngest of the group, chose that moment to jump in with a quip. "Doubt docbot will be too happy about another human in the bunker."

"He's all talk. Ratchet wants these little guys as safe as the big guy does, he won't put up a fight." The gruff one, who you were starting to like more by the moment, said with an amused but reassuring smile in your direction. Unable to help smiling back, you suddenly felt that this turn of events might have been more than you could have ever hoped for. If only you could get a word in edgewise...

"You're purposefully missing the point, soldier. We-"

"If it's gonna be such a hassle for you, I'll take 'em myself."

"Jackie..." Once more, the gentle green giant spoke up, looking quite concerned at his friend's purposeful egging on of the bot in charge. You got the sense that this kind of thing happened often by his tone, but personally, you were getting a little tired of being ignored. None of what they were discussing was necessary, and if anyone would have bothered to ask you they'd know that? Finally fed up, you took a breath and raised your arms to draw attention to your tiny self.

"Um, hello? Excuse me!" You shouted, mercifully ending the bickering and securing four pairs of optics on yourself. Relieved for the silence, you pulled out your phone and held it up, projecting your voice to ensure you were heard. The shocked expressions didn't cease when you started to explain, but you didn't let that stop you. Sorting this out would make everything easier for everyone. "I think there's a bit more going on than any of you know. Let me call my dad really quick, he'll set this straight."

The first to reply was the one you knew had to be the rookie of the group, who awkwardly cleared his vents and broke the silence only hesitantly. "Uh, bringing more humans into this really isn't our goal-"

"Who said anything about him being human?" You cut in, grinning from ear to ear at the looks they all gave you. Now that you had their unbroken attention, it was only a matter of summoning your dad and waiting for him to arrive. Dialing his frequency into your phone, you prepared to share just as much information as it took to get him here fastest, wanting to see the look on his face when he arrived and saw who you'd found. This was going to be fun...

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

The roar of a familiar engine had thankfully silenced the second round of bickering to break out amongst the two argumentative bots, who had gone back and forth between listening to you and calling for their superior. It had been entertaining at first, but by the time that roar had echoed down the tunnel you'd been relieved to hear it, and had hopped to your feet from your seat on a convenient rock. The bots had reflexively drawn their weapons, but there hadn't even been any need for you to stop them. A worn red paint job skidding around the corner had made them all hold fire.

In a rush, you'd run out to greet the massive off road vehicle just as it began to transform, and in moments had been embracing the offered hand of a hulking bot who kneeled before you with an expression of happy relief.

"Ironhide!"

"Wheeljack!" Your adopted dad cried out in absolute joy, letting you move safely to the side before approaching the bot who's identity you'd properly guessed. Ironhide had told you so many stories about the Wrecker, it made sense that you'd been able to tell who he was by appearance and mannerisms despite having never met. The two bots greeted one another with an earth trembling chest bump, after which your beaming father turned to the green bot with just as much enthusiasm, shaking hands and crashing their fists together with overwhelming power. "Bulkhead too? Where have you guys been?"

"We might ask you the same thing, soldier." The big blue bot said, cutting in with the same serious look that appeared to be his only expression. On a closer inspection, however, you could see a certain light in his optics. He wasn't altogether displeased to see a new arrival. Standing somewhat awkwardly to the side, the young blue bot appeared delighted if not quite confused.

"Uh, long story, Ultra Magnus sir. I've been on this planet for some time. Found this little troublemaker when they were half their current size, and I've been raising 'em to help with our cause." Ironhide said affectionately, stepping back and dropping to one knee to be more on your level. Before you could puff up proudly at the praise, a single digit tussled your hair as he often did to tease, and you sputtered before playfully pushing him away and undoing the damage. Chuckling, he turned back to his comrades. "Never figured I'd bump into you all here! Jackie, Bulk, and uh..."

The attention turned to the young bot, who only smiled with a wave and a not offended clarification on his name.

"Smokescreen."

Wheeljack gave your dad a playful punch, still buzzing at seeing his old friend alive. The friendship you'd so frequently heard about was clear as day before you. "Glad to see you in one piece, old Rusthide."

"We've been here for years, Ironhide. How come we didn't detect you?" Bulkhead said, looking just as happy but burdened by the question at hand. Ironhide tapped his audial with a somewhat glum smile.

"Communicator's been busted for ages, all I've got is an earth link for cellphones." He said, recalling an injury he'd endured long before meeting you. The line he'd built relied on earth technology, and you still remembered how many tries it had taken to get it right. It was impossible to imagine a whole other team of beings like himself had been out there the whole time... Yet he didn't look at all regretful as he glanced down at you. "If I'd known I wasn't alone, I would have introduced myself and the kid ages ago. Looks like we've got my little one to thank for bringing us together."

You pouted and crossed your arms at the comment. "I'm not little anymore, dad."

"They did alright in a scrap, but how about we get you two back to base? I'm sure the other's will want to hear the story." Wheeljack said, easing your damaged pride with the compliment. You had indeed evaded those Vehicons for a good long while before being rescued... speaking of which, you could use a bit of rest somewhere secure.

Once more, Ultra Magnus stepped in to halt the festivities. "First; I shall communicate with Optimus and let him know what has transpired. He will likely want to meet you in person before we make any rash decisions."

"Seriously? Come on, Mags! Let's get this bot in an actual base!" Wheeljack replied in a huff, bringing back the arguing from before as if it had never stopped. Looking quite amused, Ironhide merely chuckled and offered you his hand, allowing you to get a lift onto his shoulders as was your custom. Clearly not phased by what he was seeing, the only parent you'd ever known let you get comfortable before following the group out of the partially collapsed cave. Who could have thought your simple little scouting mission would end like this?

"Come on kiddo." He said softly, watching the bickering with an expression of nostalgia. "I have a feeling things are about to get pretty interesting."

[luvlyrv]

Our Songs | pt. 6 | Wendy x F!Reader SM!AU

Word Count: 2.7k

A/N: I hope the word count marginally makes up for the fact this series has been on a three month hiatus lol, don't worry though it'll finish soon!

Date: 6/10/21

Series Masterlist

Ever since you and Wendy exchanged numbers you find your hand unconsciously reaching out to your phone throughout the day. You hope to find a notification from her when you turn it on. Thankfully she always seemed to respond back, but even when she didn't you'd put your phone down to repeat the loop. You tried your best to make sure it didn't interfere with your work, but still, your day was marked by Wendy. Although she wasn't there physically your conversations always carried through day and night.

You've known her to be a warm person, always friendly and comforting. You hope you're not reading into things too much, but sometimes you read her messages and your heart skips a beat. The way she would talk about you would make you flustered. It would force you to put your phone down for a second, unable to comprehend the positivity. Then the thought that maybe she was flirting would creep into your head.

The idea that you're just imagining things always comes back to fight it though.

Shaking your head you decide not to contemplate the idea further. After all she was going to come over soon and you needed to focus on finishing your songs. Thinking about any possible romantic feelings was the last thing you wanted to do. Especially with her in front of you.

Luckily the thoughts dissipate as you zone into the work in front of you, scrutinizing every detail you possibly could. You let yourself sink into the feeling of the songs, letting it help guide your decisions in mixing. As quickly as you get focused though, you're broken out of your zone when you hear knocking on the door. Before answering you run to the mirror and take a quick look while trying to make sure you look presentable. When you rush up to the door to open it you act like nothing happened.

"H-hello! Welcome again to my humble abode!" You say it with a smile, trying to suppress the sudden fluttering feeling in your stomach.

"Hey!" She says while looking up and down at you. "Looks like we're accidentally matching today, huh?" Wendy walks past the door and you close it behind her. You take a moment to look at her outfit and then at yours. The both of you had a very blue color palette.

"Well, way to steal the spotlight. You look way cuter than me." You don't sound as confident as you'd like, your voice bordering on the softer and quieter side. You realize you haven't felt this nervous in a while.

"As if that could ever be possible!" Wendy turns her head back at you as she walks towards your room. She rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue at you, only to quickly smile at your remark. "Now stop being silly and let's work."

You follow her into your bedroom and sit down in front of your computer. She sits on a familiar stool and the two of you immediately start working. You share what you have so far, all you do is record some more vocals, including harmonies and adlibs. You polish things with Wendy by your side to help make some stylistic choices. It took a few hours that only felt like mere minutes.

The sun is still out, unlike the first time the two of you had worked together. This leads you to ask Wendy something before she would leave.

"While we're here we should just record the collab video, yeah?" Wendy's eyes light up in recollection of your previous conversation.

"That sounds good, how about we do the Q&A type video today? I can just message Yeri for some questions."

"Sure, I'll ask Seulgi to make up some interesting things for us to answer too."

The two of you didn't have to wait long as both of your friends replied fast, excited to help out and excited to have some questions answered. You situate yourself next to Wendy in a comfortable position and get the camera ready. After getting the camera in position you take the time to fix the lighting in your room, making sure to have a soft and natural feeling with the lights.

Finally, the red light begins to blink on your camera and you wave. Wendy follows along and flashes the camera a friendly look. You give a quick introduction for the video.

"Hey everybody! I'm here with Wendy today to do a little Q&A type video for you guys! We've both gotten some questions from our friends and it's just to share a little about us, how we feel about our collaboration, behind the scenes type of stuff, you know?" Wendy tilts her head and looks at you as you talk, nodding to your words.

"I really can't wait to answer these questions with you." She says with a smile. She looks back at the camera as she pulls her phone out and looks at her messages with Yeri. "Neither of us have prepared any script or anything. We've barely even looked at the questions they've sent us!" You nudge Wendy with your elbow and laugh at a thought.

"What if they sent us something inappropriate?"

"Oh god, Yeri totally would." You both giggle before Wendy prompts you to start reading questions first.

"Alright we'll stop wasting our audience's precious time now. My dear Seulgi's first question is… "what were your first impressions?" Wendy doesn't hesitate to answer the question as soon as it was asked.

"Oh! Whenever Y/N entered the café we were meeting in I was kind of surprised! She doesn't post a lot of pics of herself so to see someone as talented as her in real life was an honor. She's really cute, right?" She reaches out to pinch the cheek of your so-called cute face. You strain a smile of embarrassment at her antics.

"Yeah yeah, I don't record myself a lot." When she stops her assault on your face you follow-up with your opinion. "For Wendy… I was also really surprised… I think I'm really lucky. You guys should know that a camera really doesn't do her justice! When I first met her she certainly gave off a very approachable demeanor too."

"Why do you think that?"

"I don't know? I was really nervous meeting you, yet when I saw you and when we got to talk the atmosphere turned into something really comfortable fast. Let's just move on to the next question." You take a look at your phone again to see Seulgi's question. "What's your favorite thing about the other? Well, Wendy has always been so sweet, it's been wonderful working with her. I appreciate the care and dedication to her work that she has shown me. Her musicality really helped pull everything together, and when I was stuck she was always there to give me a fresh perspective."

"Aww, that's so sweet of you." Wendy says with a blush on her face, her hand covering her face as she laughs a bit. "It's strange to be talking to you like this, I feel like. I think you're a really straightforward person but we haven't really talked about our opinions to this extent! Especially to a camera. Ah… well I think I could really say everything the same for Y/N." Wendy nods a bit in thought before continuing on. "To add to it though, I think Y/N has just always been so considerate to me. Like, beyond being a great musician she has been a good person to me. I think if you've seen some of our interactions on Twitter you'll know that she ended up cooking a wonderful meal for me on our first meeting. I think that if she wasn't as nice as she is, we wouldn't have had this much fun together… wait, this has been fun for you too, right?"

"Oh my god, yes it has. How could you doubt that?" You punch her arm with a fake upset face. You turn back to the camera. "Guys, we've hung out and have talked soooo much outside of our collab. I literally don't understand how she can have a single doubt in her mind about us having fun."

"It doesn't hurt to clarify! Anyways, next question now! And stop punching so hard!"

"Oh hush, it wasn't that hard. Oh hmm, to go along with that Seulgi wonders what our least favorite thing about each other is."

"That's an easy one!" Wendy says all too excitedly. You make a shocked expression, worry flooding your system as Wendy points at you with a smile. "I hate how you're absolutely brimming with talent! Your work is impeccable! Musical genius!"

You groan as your body crumples. "You nearly gave me a heart attack…" Your voice is muffled between your knees.

"It's true though!" Wendy says in a sing-song voice, her face smug in satisfaction to see your scared reaction. "Otherwise there's nothing I can really say."

You gather the strength to get back up and face the camera, then Wendy. Your face is still filled with disappointment but you take your time to stare at Wendy. As you stare at her she seems to come undone as she nervously looks away.

"What are you doing?" A red color subtly creeps up her neck.

"I'm just thinking. I'm thinking that… You also have nothing wrong with you." Wendy can't help but to roll her eyes at your comment. "Except for being awfully cheesy. It makes me wanna go bury myself in a ditch so I won't have to hear your stupid cheesiness again."

"Whatever, whatever. It's my turn to read the questions. Now… this is a good one, "what has the work process been like?"

"Well that's obvious, I do all the work and Wendy leeches off of me like a parasite."

"Hey! Just because it's true doesn't mean you have to say it to the world!" Her response throws you into a fit of laughter, turning you into a mess.

"Oh my, no no! It's really not like that. I would say we have an equal workload, or a workload that makes sense between our respective positions." Wendy shakes her head in disagreement.

"I don't feel so. I feel like Y/N always does so much work, and she does it so quickly too. It makes me feel kind of bad when I sit beside her and see her work her magic. When she's focused and working so hard it's quite amazing."

"Ah geez." You shyly scratch the back of your neck. "Wendy's always like this, complimenting me. Like I said earlier though, she really helps bring me new perspective when I'm stuck and her musicality is like nothing else. She always takes the time to sit next to me and monitor things too. It's not like she's a third party to the process. Not only that," You take the time to send Wendy a smile in an attempt to reassure her that you're not burdened with work. You want her to know that you appreciate her part of the creative process, "but nothing really feels like hard work when I'm with you."

Wendy has a hard time processing your words, so instead of addressing it she decides to just further elaborate her answer to the question.

"Well, I'll just lay down the process for everyone. Obviously, Y/N produces and I sing. Although after enough convincing from me you'll hear her singing on the tracks as well, so say thank you! It all started when Y/N took the time to reach out to me, which I was really excited about by the way, and then we both agreed to meet up at a local place. We just talked about concepts and our availability. We both ended up writing songs and worked together on what we wanted to keep or change. Everything productive happens here," Wendy opens her arms to gesture to the area around her, "at Y/N's place. Even though I have audio equipment at my place too we just record things here."

"Yeah, everything she said is true. I have a little set-up here in my room. I don't think I've ever really shown you guys it? I mean, I've shown my guitar collection before but not all my other equipment yet. I'll film that another time though. Next question?"

"Oh this is kind of interesting to think about, "what do you think the reception of your mini-album will be?" The both of you take a moment to think about it. Recalling many of the things you've read on social media you decided to speak first.

"Well, I think it'll be extremely beneficial to the both of us in multiple ways. I mean first off, I guess by our genre of music we have a lot of overlap between fans. There's been an overwhelming amount of support from fans who are excited to see the both of us collaborate and interact. I have no doubt that it'll do well since it's so highly anticipated by our fans. It'll be even better if you guys manage to stream and share it!" Throughout your explanation you begin to give Wendy shy glances. "I think that even if we drop our music and it doesn't meet much success, I would've gained a lot. I think working together with Wendy has helped me grow as a musician and anything that I learn here I will utilize in the future."

At your last comment Wendy seemed to get excited and she quickly added on.

"Exactly! If anything the most important part about all of this is the fact that I have gained skills as a musician and gained a friend. That greatly outweighs any potential of success." Wendy has a bright smile on her face, happy to be able to call you a friend.

"That doesn't mean we don't want you guys to go ahead and share our music by the way." You joke light-heartedly. "It would mean a lot if you did."

"Now final question for this video! We've been talking too much." Wendy looks at her phone, unlike before she takes a couple seconds before reading the question aloud. "Uh, I think this should be fun to answer. "What do you want to do in the future together?" I think that obvious answer is to make more music!"

You chuckle at her answer before responding as well. "Going to each other's places to have a jam session doesn't sound bad, but hanging out in general is good. We'll definitely continue being friends, and if the reception for our collab is really good we might do another one? That is, of course, if Wendy is okay with that."

"I would be more than happy to do that. I was also thinking of forcing you to binge watch more shows and movies with me."

"Only if you stop hogging the popcorn. Anyways, I think this should be the end of our video. I highly encourage all of you to check-out Wendy's channel in a couple days. The day right before release we're going to be dropping one more video together! Bye-bye!" You wave a goodbye to the camera with a smile. Wendy joins you in your outro.

"See you guys soon!"

You go to turn your camera off as Wendy goes to gather her things. After turning off your lights you go to sit back down on your seat, importing the recently filmed footage to your computer. Wendy takes this moment to sit down next to you again.

"Again, thank you for your hard work!" She says it with a smile as she brings her hand on your arm. "I'm always amazed with the quality of your work and how quickly you can do it."

"No problem, I'll send the songs to you later for your feedback. We'll be able to post everything soon." You smile back at her and give her hand a comforting squeeze. A part of you wishes you could keep your hand there forever.

"Alright, well see you at my place soon!"

When you finally hear the click of your door closing you let out a sigh. You don't want to think about it. You don't want to face it.

You don't want to face the possibility that you've fallen.

[melancholyblues0]

𝓌𝒽𝑜 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊

𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝓃𝑒 : 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝒶𝓃𝓎

brian may x reader series

warnings : swearing, alcohol, future chapters will have smut so... be aware of that ig lol. like tiniest mention of weed

a/n : thinking of making this a bit of a series but we’ll see ? i also have a heavy week of exams next week but i am free from school for like three months (yay fucking hey) so i’ll try to prepare a second chapter because we all know i won’t revise lol. also loosely based off of a roger taylor x reader fic i read a while ago ! i can’t remember the name/author, but if i find it again i’ll tag the author. all characters are mine, aside from brian may/anita. thank you for reading ! this is set in 1994, and freddie doesn’t die/ john doesn’t retire because we’re not gonna deal with that kettle of fish in this fic.

‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾　　☽༓･*˚⁺‧

it wasn't raining today, surprisingly. it wasn't as if it was unusual for the uk - it was always like this - rain, and then a week straight of blazing hot sun. you could even say you'd grown to love it. you'd enjoyed playing with little anya colston the day before, the thirteen year old who lived next to your parents. you'd been in the pool her parents owned, when you heard of a new couple moving in two doors down. rumours had gone round of the husband being famous, but for what you nor anya knew. you both just hoped they wouldn't be as dull and empty as the other adults were (something you and anya had bonded over - your mutual hatred for prissy adults).

~~~

"y/n, darling, please hurry up. you know your father and i don't want to be late." your mother called up the stairs, watching as y/n slid down the bannister. "and the countless times you've slid down the bloody bannister. you'll break your neck one day." she added, sighing as she gave you a once over. "where's xavier ? xavier, hurry up !" she called, and the heavy footsteps of her older brother sounded above them. "why is he always allowed to be the last one out, but i get a bollocking if i am ?" y/n groaned, sitting on the step. "because, you know how xavier's like." your mother said, sighing as xavier finally made an appearance. you huffed as she stood up, and stalked towards the door, xavier not far behind you. 

the second the family entered the maybank home, your mother made a beeline for the champagne flutes on the breakfast bar; your father to the men outside (also where more alcohol was), and xavier followed suit, albeit reluctantly. and although you could think of nothing worse than talking to the women, you followed your mother - entirely for the champagne. "y/n ! how are your a levels going ?" diane asked, peering at you over her wine glass. "i think she's doing alright - she did drop literature for psychology, but i suppose it's better than what she could've chosen." your mother smiled patronisingly. "oh ! darling, this is anita - she's just moved in." diane smiled, gesturing to the woman next to her. you had to admit, she was beautiful. and even better, she didn't share the same patronising smile your mother and the other women donned constantly. "it's nice to meet you, anita." you smiled, taking a sip from your flute. "not too much, sweetheart," your mother said. always the one to take the fun out of everything - and what was the point in not being able to drink; these gatherings were hardly tolerable sober, and you were seventeen. "i'm gonna go find the kids." you muttered, snatching your glass from the table. 

soon enough, you found three girls, only a few years younger than you, sat by the pool. "y/n ! c'mere !" anya called, waving her hand. you made your way to the girls, and anya introduced you - louise was the older girl, recently turned fifteen, and emily the younger, was ten. they were the daughters of the new family, so you and anya made sure to give them the run down on who was who. dominique and otis rains, your own parents; they only had you and xavier. diane and emanual colston were anya's parents (admittedly the least snobby), and had anya and carlson, who was louise's age. then there was adrianna and henry maybank, who had mina (the only girl your age, but after her parents found the pot you frequently smoked under her bed, they sent her to boarding school somewhere out west in the country). florence and alistair bohr (florence was the youngest and prettiest, but the one who tried the hardest. alistair was a sixty - something year old ceo. in your eyes, a perfect match). then finally, there was louise and emily's parents, anita and brian may. they said they also had an older brother, jimmy, who, when you looked over, looked deep in conversation with xavier. the girls appeared to sound equally as disdained by the adult snobbery as you and anya were (mina also - speaking of, it was a shame she wasn't here. you thought she'd broken up from school by now). you warned the girls of the sunday brunches too. it was either you tired yourself out by playing tennis, or you drinking sangria's and champagne with the women, who all ogled the fit male tennis players and bartenders, and seemingly had endless shit to talk.

you glanced up at the men - the very people you found trying to avoid at all costs, but you were curious as to who this brian was. you could've sworn you recognised his name, but from where you couldn't recall. as you scanned the group, you noticed an unfamiliar mop of curly hair - in which became familiar to you very quickly. how could you not know ? that was when the memories of your poster clad walls, concerts that left you and mina with sore throats, and various records with those four faces adorned across the front strewn across your bedroom floor rushed back. "one second." you murmured to the girls, as you got up, and dusted off your skirt, making a beeline towards the group in a spurt of confidence. 

"y/n ! i was wondering how you had been with those women for so long, i didn't see you leave. this is brian, our knew neighbour." your father smiled, wrapping an arm around your shoulder. "my youngest, y/n." your father grinned to brian, and you looked up at him. and christ, you knew he was tall, but he was a bloody giant. "i think what my father really means is that it'll be nice for another man around. he's getting bored of these three dinosaurs." you grinned, the same cheeky grin you'd inherited from your father. "glad to know you don't seem like the others." he laughed, shaking your outstretched hand. "god no, i like to think i taught her better than to end up like those women. in secret, of course, the missus would slaughter me." your father laughed, the others following suit. but you liked the look of brian, a lot. more than you should, but who could blame you ?  you'd practically been in love with the man since you were twelve. not that you would tell him of course. and then you heard the squeal, one you'd known all your life - mina was here. "i'll be back." you smiled uneasily, and rushed inside to find the tall brunette in the doorway. "get here you silly bitch !" she shouted, barrelling into you, tackling you to the ground. "language, mina." adrianna sighed, tossing the keys onto the shelf near the door. she too, like your mother had, rushed to the wine and the women. she needed a drink, after picking up her spritely daughter and managing to cope for a two hour car ride. you and mina rushed upstairs into her bedroom, and you slammed the door behind you. "right, do not freak out. we have new neighbours." you began, looking at mina's flushed face. "and ?" she asked,

"it's brian may."

"it's who, now ?"

"brian may."

"brian may ? the new - new - new guitar guy ? the man we've been gushing over since before we had tits ?"

"yeah, that's the guy."

mina laughed, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. "good god. glad you haven't pounced him yet. if it was roger, i know i would've." she smirked, making sideways glances to her own queen poster above her bed - that had been signed by every member during their '86 tour. "well, not only is his wife and three kids downstairs, he was bombarded by males. shame, really." you joked. 

"kids ?" she gasped, hopeful they were like anya. 

"thankfully, louise and emily are exactly like anya." you smiled. 

"i'll finish this later. i wanna meet the newbies." she wiggled her eyebrows, running out of her room, with you tow.

[charred-angelwings]

Yay! I'm so happy to hear Zeke was able to eat and drink without issue. I'm sure his body is thanking him. Oh yea I bet he was thinking "I can go home if I do this?" and just started going to town lol I hope y'all get the okay to leave soon if you haven't already.

Omg I hate when people respond that way. Like sure let me just flip the switch in my head. 🤦‍♀️ Aww I would've been the same way. I know it sucks feeling like your always an inconvenience and then on the top of that your brain freaks out about that very fact. I really envy people who just do/say whatever without a worry.

Oh wow that must have been difficult. I have nothing against religion in general, but most of it is a bit much for me. I'm more about what's in front of me. That's a great first step and hopefully that will lead to ways of managing it. I tend to be the same way, but that's mainly because I have issues going to doctors and had a bad experiences with a therapist. 😬

Aww thanks hun. I'm glad to have started talking to you. I'm hoping to eventually become comfortable enough to come off anon that way you can reach out to me as well. I don't mind listening to whatever is on your mind dear. 😊

Take care my friend! ❤❤❤

- Anxious Anon

Thank the gods, I am so happy to report that we FINALLY were discharged from the hospital around 5pm last night. They almost tried to keep us another night, saying that not only did zeke have to eat and drink without vomiting, he also is suppose to take him antibiotic without trouble. Mind you, zeke is very sensory sensitive and hates liquid so we opted for the pill but when they brought it to us it was the size of one of those prenatal vitamins, basically a horse pill! so we broke it into two pieces and attempted to give it to him but he threw it up and then they had to order the liquid, which took us 45 mins to give to him. I was so angry because it felt like we were setting zeke up to fail and the surgeon said nothing about taking antibiotic the day before. BUT! he did it and were home now and it was the first night I slept in an actual bed in 8 days. So happy.

Ofcouse, nothing can come easy though. My husband had to leave to florida this morning to attend the funeral of his closest cousin, basically his brother. He's going to be an usher and the only way he was going to make it is if zeke and i were out of the hospital, if not he would have missed it and he was preparing himself for that possibility. Thankfully everything worked out in the end!

Same here, if you ever need to vent or talk I'm here, trust me it helps!! I feel like i've put all my problems on you and I want you to be able to do the same! even if you stay on anon, you can tell me anything ❤️❤️