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mintywolf · 8 days

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(I wrote this on the train coming home on August 26th although I am just getting around to posting it now because time is a weird soup.)

So okay.

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I haven’t written a personal journal post in a long time but I want to write down EVERYTHING I can remember about my adventure to NYC to see the Critical Role cast so I don’t forget. It was SUCH a moving experience and I’m so glad I went even though I was scared.

So okay my big goal for this year was to finish the first chapter of my C3 prequel fan comic A Long Road Home (southerngothiccomic.com), have a print edition made, and meet Laura and Marisha at a convention so I could give copies of it to them in person. When the CR cast announced they were going to be at Anime NYC this year I figured that was the closest they were probably going to get to me in Virginia. (And getting autographs at NYCC is reportedly like hunting a unicorn so I figured this would be my best chance.)

I was also terrified, and almost talked myself out of it because I was nervous about giving them the comic, even though I already had a badge and it was what I really, really wanted to do. I know the cast loves to see fanart — and also, it has been revealed, reads the fanfic — but it’s also a pretty well-known taboo for a fan to show their fanfic to a creator and a graphic novel is an unholy hybrid of the two. I was also worried that it would seem presumptuous of me to present them with a fanmade prequel graphic novel because there’s almost certainly going to be an official one at some point, and afraid that at best they might politely tell me they couldn’t accept it (for the reasons that comic writers aren’t “allowed” to read fanfic), and at worst they might be kind of annoyed that it exists. Either way I’d be REALLY sad, and in the weeks leading up to the con I worked myself up into an irrational panic about this. Fortunately my friends managed to talk me into not backing out (and spoilers: it turned out okay in the end!) but I was still very scared.

Also I was so focused on the comic stuff that I forgot until after GenCon earlier this month to think of what I wanted to actually have autographed. I decided to get a big print of the chapter one cover from INPRNT, assuming that since I ordered it two weeks in advance with an eta of 5-7 days that would be plenty of time for it to get to me. Well, reader, it was not. (But please do not let me dissuade you from using INPRNT! To their credit when I contacted them and asked if I could upgrade to rush delivery, they expedited it for free. Unfortunately even with rush shipping it just missed me, arriving at my house while I was on the train to NYC.)

Pâté on the train going to see his biological parents. (Laura and Marisha.)

When I saw that it wasn’t going to arrive in time I was starting to panic because there is nowhere near me to have art prints made. It’s a 15 minute drive (past the alpaca farm) just to get to the nearest grocery store. Grasping at straws I was kind of like Should I . . . draw something? On paper?? With real media that I haven’t used in like 10 years??? I only have 3 days!!!

Fortunately my life was saved by @emphaticembroiderer who had the brilliant suggestion of sending my art ahead to a print shop in NYC and picking it up before the convention. There are indeed MANY of those in New York and I managed to find one that was open on Saturdays and able to make my print on short notice. (567 Framing on W 14th street. The owner, Jack Hu, did excellent work and was very kind!) By that point I was frazzled and didn’t want two of the same print so I decided to be self-indulgent and had this one made. Not my showiest piece but it is one of my favorite things I’ve drawn. (This turned out to be the correct decision.) It’s a 6 1/2 hour train ride from here to there (and it got a little delayed along the way) so by the time I got there it was after 5 and the print shop closed at 6:30 so I zoomed over there straight from the train station to pick it up. It turned out BEAUTIFULLY, and the owner was pleased with how happy I was with it and that he’d been able to help.

He enjoys that he is included.

Then I went and checked in to my hotel and that point really just wanted to lie down on a bed but I had plans to take Pâté to see Hadestown on Broadway that night because I wanted to make the most of my trip. (Also it’s important for our scrungly son to receive a cultural education.) In keeping with the theme of the weekend I wore the Laudna-themed sundress I made for GenCon with one of the poppies in my hair. An usher told me they liked my ensemble. :) I had decided to go for a front row mezzanine seat because I didn’t know when I’d ever have this opportunity again and I didn’t want to risk my miniature self being stuck behind a tall person. It was perfect; I could see everything and the performance was AMAZING. Pâté had a very good time too.

The next day was the CR panel and autographs!! I decided to wear my 1950s Laudna cosplay from GenCon. I had some doubts about it when I got there because without the rest of 50s Bells Hells the theme isn’t as clear and outside of a DnD-focused convention the recognizability of a CR character is kind of low, let alone an AU variant on one. But once I found the Critters my Pâté poodle skirt was appreciated. :)

This is Rach @dadrielle, Astoria @astoriacolumnstaircase, Abby @overnighttosunflowers, and me as 50s Hells at GenCon!

And okay I know this said a lot but it’s true, CR fans are the NICEST fandom to be a part of. <3 If you’re ever standing in line for a CR thing by the time you get there you will have new friends. (For comparison the other-fandoms cosplayers I saw at the hotel and on the way to the con didn’t even return my smiles, even though we were all clearly going to the same place.) I fell in with a group of people who were near me in line (including an amazing Owlbearman cosplayer) and we decided to all sit together. The panel was really great. I don’t remember everything that was asked because of everything ELSE that happened later that day but they hinted that Big Things are coming (including multiple live shows!! Please come to Richmond! Or DC! Or at least somewhere on the East Coast!) for the 10th anniversary and Momlan stepped up to the mic during the Q&A segment and revealed that Sam has achieved his childhood dream . . . to become a minotaur. :D

With the mindset of making the most of this trip I had intended to try to get a spot in line to ask a question but I was hesitant about being on camera (even in cosplay) and while I was dithering about it like 50 people got in line. (I was also Suffering by that point because my rockabilly Laudna shoes have like 3 inch heels and after walking from the hotel to the convention center I didn’t have the fortitude to dart over to the line in them.)

My question, which I hope to submit next time there’s a Q&A opportunity, was this: For Marisha. We’ve seen Delilah’s influence manifesting in Laudna’s fashion choices recently. Now that she has the means and the freedom to do so, what kind of clothes would she choose for herself?

(Because I am a little sad that — until a possible post-campaign oneshot — we’ll never get to see a high-level Laudna costume that’s totally of her own design and I’m really eager to know what it would look like! Let her be spooky and free!)

Afterwards the cosplayers were being rounded up for a photo shoot but I was anxious to get a good spot in line for my autograph with Laura at 2pm so I stealthed away with Ken (@elissabrat), a Jester fan I had met in line, who knew where they were and had one with Travis at the same time. When we got there we were told No, go away and come back in an hour and a half, because it was still only 12. So we went to the Artists Alley where we found a girl named Lea whom we had also met in the panel line and collected a few other stray Critters (Ken has a boisterous and inviting personality and importantly, is very tall, preventing the rest of us from getting lost in the crowd) and we wandered around seeking out all the CR fan artists we could find. (There were a lot! It was great. I got some prints.)

by Cait May and Maliveth

Around 1 we decided to go back and see what the line situation was. Before we parted ways I exchanged twitter handles with Lea, who looked at my profile and said “Wait . . . this is you?”

She told me she was a big fan of my comic and looks forward to it every week! and we were both kind of like !!! at each other for a moment. I had never met someone who recognized my art in the wild before. (On ANY other day this would have been the most amazing thing that happened to me, haha.) I was so touched to meet her. <3

I took out the two books I was carrying and explained why I was there and we all got hyped up about it. And it made it feel a little less daunting, to know that there was someone there who understood the quest I was on and how close I was to the end of it.

I was like 5th in line for Laura and since it was still early I got to participate in that bonding experience integral to every con, sitting on the floor in cosplay, with a very good Vex behind me. (Hilariously, even after the dig at them — or maybe unaware of it — in the most recent episode, there were a lot of Funko Pop resellers around us, haha.)

I sent word to Southern Gothic Discord to remember me fondly in case I died here. In fact I'm not entirely sure that I didn't.

It felt like there was a disproportionate amount of fanfare revealing my print because I kept it how it was packed by the printer, wrapped in paper in between two pieces of cardboard so it wouldn’t get bent, so there was this whole ceremony of peeling back the tape, turning under one of the cardboard protectors, unfolding the paper, and turning over the print. But Laura loved it. She made like a happy sob when she saw it (it was really cute) and she looked at it for a long time taking in all the details and said it was beautiful. <3 <3 <3 (No matter how much we love and ship Imogen and Laudna, NO ONE loves them or is shipping them harder than Laura Bailey. She asked if I was going to bring it to Marisha too and was careful picking out a spot so there'd be room for both of their signatures. :))

I told her I was really happy to meet her because I’ve been a fan since BloodRayne (so, um. 20 years) and she said “oh wow, that was OG days!” And she gave me just a really kind look like she understood how much it meant to me to be there.

Then I gave her the comic. You all were right, I was worried about nothing! because she is the sweetest and she loved it. I very nervously pushed it across the table and said it was a comic I had made and wanted to give her. She picked it up and started turning the pages and was surprised when she saw what it was. “Wait, this is a whole novel! You made this?”

I confessed that I had, and she asked how long it had taken, I told her about a year (it was actually longer; in the moment I kind of forgot not how many pages there are in the first chapter but how many weeks are in a year) and she looked just really impressed that I had made it and touched by how much work had gone into it. She said she couldn’t wait to read it and seemed really excited to hear that it’s still going online! (So no pressure on me there if she's keeping up with it now, haha. o.o) And she kept looking between the book and me like she couldn’t believe it.

Then she asked me if I would sign it for her. :')

Somehow I survived long enough to do so! (a little wobbly because my hands were shaking) and someone (I think it was the ticket scanner) made a joke about how I was the first person to give an autograph at a signing, haha. And then she came around the table and gave me a hug. <3 <3 <3

After that my soul was still on the ethereal plane but the rest of me managed to find my way (after a brief wrong turn) to Marisha’s line. (There was a really good Keyleth and Caduceus in line behind me and they kindly noticed and returned the Pâté sticker that fell out of Marisha’s book).

She recognized my cosplay as 1950s Laudna right away! which was very validating after my earlier indecision haha. She loved the Pâté skirt and thought the scissors embroidery on my collar was adorable. She really liked the art too and was kind of like “Awww” about the book like in an “aww it’s an Imogen and Laudna thing” kind of way (she also liked the glass bottle windchimes on the cover and I love that she noticed that detail because Laudna’s penchant for turning things other people have thrown away into arts and crafts is one of my favorite aspects of her character) until she opened it and started looking through it.

Then she said, “Wait, this is actually really good," and she asked me seriously if Liam “Art Dad” knew about it (I said he had liked some of my other art on Twitter but I didn’t know if he knew about the comic) and then she said — still looking at it, more to herself than me — “We’ll have to add it to our art catalogue.” I don’t know exactly what that means (and I don’t want to get my hopes up too high by speculating; I was too !!! in the moment to ask and now I’m going to be wondering) but . . . it sounds . . . exciting??

They also both enjoyed Pâté and his lil sunglasses. :)

I had gone up with the intention of asking my other burning question: How does being cold-blooded affect Laudna in cold climates? If she gets too cold will she enter a state of brumation like a lizard? Will she freeze solid?

But I forgot. And it really wouldn’t have been the right moment. Maybe when I come back with Volume Two. :)

You’re supposed to pay extra to get a quote put on there but they both did it anyway without even asking. I think they must be really pleased when someone brings them something personal that they’ve made to have signed and not something they’re planning to sell.

After that I just kind of floated away from the con even though it was only like 2:30 haha. Nothing else could have happened there that would have equaled or improved upon that experience. Although I did adopt a Tentacle Kitty. The vendor (correctly) guessed “you look like you’d vibe with our spooky collection” so I had to get a new buddy for Pâté. (50s Laudna, still readily identifiable as a witch wherever she goes.) Also I saw a very chill emotional support pomeranian in a backpack.

(On the way back I saw the mark of the Traveler graffiti’d in green on the sidewalk. Truly a blessed day. :P)

Afterwards I just sat on the bed in my hotel room amid the floof of my crinoline wondering what even is my life for the next few hours and being like !!!! at Discord. Then I met up with Abby (whom it was wonderful to see again!! thank you so much for coming to see me) for dinner and had a really lovely time going over the What Just Happened of it all and talking about Imodna over strawberry pancakes. As one does. Perfect ending to an amazing day. <3

It was SUCH an incredible, exhilarating experience, thank you everyone who pushed me into not giving up out of fear. Laura and Marisha are SO nice and gracious in person and it was just so rewarding, after all the work and love and time I’ve put into this comic, to be able to finally bring it to the people who inspired it! And to see it appreciated and admired by them! It was more than I ever could have imagined.

This fandom is the best. My heart is so happy and full of love right now. <3 <3 <3

#irl mintywolf

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captawesomesauce · 3 months

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Thoughts at 1230pm

Moving moving moving… no, we're not moving… but y'all sure seem to be!

We know so many people who are looking to buy a house, looking to get a new place, looking to move out of state, out of country… and almost all of them are looking HERE.

And it's funny, I've basically become the one-stop-shop to help!

When we moved, we asked our local friends some questions and got… shit answers. They were unhelpful at best, evasive/elusive at worst. I realized that when people move, they don't really think about the things I do, the things that matter to me. They go about it completely differently! They just look at the house and the neighborhood and they're just.. this works. Maybe they'll look at schools or commute to work but that's about it.

When I look at I want to know where the best places are to get food, how close it is to medical stuff, what is the 6 month and year to date crime stats for the area, what is the noise pollution like (big streets, airports, freeways), what about the air quality, what about the weather (does this area flood, does it get really windy, does it get really foggy), what are some of the best places to eat around there, what are your favorite things to do, how easy is it to get to other places????

The area matters a lot to me because I want to be safe, I want to go exploring, and I don't want it to be a hassle to do basic fucking tasks!

When I lived in the valley, it was a 30+ minute drive to go 1 mile to the grocery store! To go anywhere was always an hour or two schlep each way and it sucked!!! I've had friends who lived on streets that were notorious for flooding every time it rained, I've looked at places that were amazing, but had shit air quality and noise was insane, and I've been places where the nearest docs visits were major drives away.

All of that sucks. It's a quality of life thing.

So I tell people which beaches are best, which grocery stores are better than others, what areas have great sales on furniture, what areas to avoid, what areas are safe/fun/good, even what my favorite chinese food place is. lol That's how you help people... answer their QOL questions with stuff only a local would know.

#thoughts

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beangods · 4 months

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1, 6, 11, 12

1. Zodiac sign

depending on how special i'm feeling, i'm either a sagittarius/scorpio cusp or a november sagittarius (like, the last possible day you could be considered a cusper).

6. What I find attractive in men

i am le basic in terms of physical preferences---i usually go for the slim guys who are not inconveniently tall, OR very solidly built short guys. in terms of personality and overall vibes i am exclusively attracted to nerds, geeks, and dweebs. i pay attention to hands, teeth, and eyebrows, and i am #sink4source: my extremities are always cold, so my ideal guy would also double as a space heater so we could have thermal equilibrium. 2010s tumblr was formative to my sexuality so the day dyed white hair went out of fashion was my 9/11

11. My last night out, in detail

saturday afternoon and evening was entirely taken up by the DC pride parade. i went alone in the early afternoon, driving to the nearest metro station and taking the line in to the stop closest to the local sci-fi organization. it was hours before the parade, but i saw some german ladies who looked like they were going and a few other gay guys in rainbow corporate branded socks, one of whom left an empty brewski on the seat across from me. i threw it out at my transfer station and discovered my homemade brownie/cookie hybrids had been squashed a bit by the bottle of V8 splash i brought as a drink. whatever, i got to the sci-fi org meeting (in a gorgeous little brownstone) with time to spare.

i was the youngest guy there, and it was my first time attending a meetup, but it was really nice to be around older gay nerds who were having fun. two dudes left early to get a good spot to see the parade and hit up the circuit parties after; i left with the bulk of the sci fi guys and missed the dykes on bikes.

i ended up near the front of the crowd, but anything i caught i offered to people behind me because i didn't want any of that crap to keep. it was my first pride as a stealth gay man, and it was really . . . striking, i guess, how other dudes actually approached me and flirted with me or (in the case of the retirees) regaled me with tales of their own gay youth and what pride was like back in the 80s. there was one really beautiful strawberry blond with dark brown eyes who liked what he saw, but he was with friends and nothing much could have happened anyway.

the parade itself was disgustingly corporate; there were a few pro-palestine signs and one smugly homonationalist one from the israeli column, but also . . . three grocery store chains, not even decked out. after a certain point i'd had enough and went back to watch the guys play board games.

i ended up going on a walk around the block with the host and one of the oldest dudes there, who told me about the neighborhood and what it was like 20 years ago, and everything about original receptions to star wars. we passed through a block party and around several groups of revelers before ending up back at the house, and i finally got to play a game of unearth, which involved dice and hexagonal tiles.

i did socialize a bit, had fun, and walked out of there with 5 skeins of yarn and three professional contacts i still have to follow up on. emails.

got out of there a bit after 10pm and passed three lines into clubs on my way back to the metro. i probably would have had fun if i'd gone in, but i had no cash and a long way home, and i was worried about being stranded at the transfer station. luckily the lines run til 1am on saturdays, but even after getting back to my car i still had a forty-minute drive home in the dark with only weird saturday night radio for company.

i arrived shortly after midnight and spent a solid few minutes stargazing, trying to find the milky way. i'm on a farm, so we do see a lot of stars, but we're still only 30 minutes away from anywhere that's anywhere and light pollution keeps getting worse with all the construction going up around us.

anyway yeah that was the last time i "went out" for fun.

12. My favorite book

hmmmmmmmmm right now probablyyyyyyyy hold me closer necromancer by lish mcbride. that's a very tenuous position as i don't really have that many favorites though

ask meme 51 questions!

#answered #runthepockets #thank you jared

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lefae · 9 months

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Personal Update

On December 1, mom broke her ankle horribly enough to require surgery to fix it. I stayed with her through most of the hospital stay (I only came home one night because I have PTSD issues regarding that hospital and wasn't getting any sleep there because of it), and have had to spend most of my time since then at her house because she's completely non weight bearing and is incapable of much mobility at all on her own right now...

Given that I am physically disabled, with mobility issues - spinal damage and a once broken ankle that needs surgery again that I can't afford, both of which demand I severely limit the amount of time I'm on my feet or I risk losing my ability to walk completely even faster than I'm already losing it - you can just imagine the struggle that this is, given how difficult it is to simply take care of myself, much less another person. Add to that that we don't always get along when forced to be around each other for extended periods of time, and I don't get any chance to rest during my chronic illness flare-ups or to recover from them...

The rest of my family who had been helping with at least meals, running errands, and a couple overnight stays a week all have COVID right now as of December 24. Thankfully, there wasn't any family gathering, so neither mom nor I got sick, but that also means all of what minimal help and breaks I got have disappeared, to where it was a while production when I needed to get my aunt from the sperm donor's side of my family to give me a ride to the store to get a few things I needed for myself because no one else picked them up for me like they were supposed to.

I am bloody exhausted, in severe pain, dealing with severe depression on top of it all, because in all this, one thing has been made abundantly clear: it doesn't matter how fucking disabled I am, my family honestly doesn't give a shit and it's actively exploiting the fact that I'm unable to work (even if I found a job I could handle, it wouldn't be available here locally, the internet sucks to much to be able to do it remotely (plus they wouldn't leave me alone to do it regardless), and any commute would be insane even if it was in the immediate area since it's a 30 minute drive to the nearest fucking grocery store as it is, etc) to have me essentially work literally 24/7 with no compensation, I'm not even able to sleep in my own fucking bed, I don't have access to my computer at all most days, I have to work regardless of flare-ups or migraines or pain levels, and I've actively noticed a severe decrease in my own mobility trying to do this because no one else will, and the hospital sent her home instead of putting her in rehab like we were told they would because no one here was able to handle doing this but apparently that didn't matter and no one would listen to me when I tried to kick up a fuss despite my being the one who has had to do the vast majority of the work since, all while completely neglecting my own living space because I haven't even had time to go home and take out the fucking trash or clean out the fridge because apparently no one cares if I get sicker or permanently injured in all of this.

And the real kicker is when everyone else is being all "woe is me" because they miss my uncle who passed away in September, and expecting me to comfort them when I'm well past my breaking point to where I simply want to run away and never look back because I can't keep this up, I'm so tired and I'm so much pain and I'm scared that by the time this is over, I'm going to be unable to even stand on my own two feet anymore and it will be entirely their fault at that point and they'll just leave me to fend for myself like they've always done, yet expect me to push myself to the point of sickness and injury for them even when I say I'm not able to do it because they'll threaten me with taking away the financial support I'm dependent on them for.

So yeah... Don't expect a lot of activity from me right now, since I have a lot of trouble trying to type on touchscreens and I'm largely stuck on mobile for the foreseeable future. And if you can spare a few dollars so I can try to just order some things for myself to have it delivered rather than struggling and fighting with family to get any bloody help around here, I would deeply appreciate it (links to buymeacoffee & Amazon wishlists are in my pinned post, or it's possible to tip through this blog).

#out of coffee ( ooc )#personal #vent cw #abuse cw

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nururu · 9 months

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Wild to me how I went shopping in a small town to try to save money since Seattle is so expensive. Went to a Safeway in a small town ran by a cult and everything was double the price of Safeway in Seattle and triple the price of target. These places choose their prices bc they can. This small town has no choice but to shop in town, otherwise they have to drive 30 minutes out of town to the nearest grocery store. This isn't authentic inflation and never has been.

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overflowchute · 1 year

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venting

legitimately all i fucking want is to have a normal fucking life and be happy and i can't even have that because i'm fucking poor and i can't afford literally anything that'd make my life better, and now i have to face an insanely high bill that'll make everything in my life harder and the worst bit is that legitimately i don't know what the fuck i;m going to do if it happens again. it'll probably cost like 3000 dollars or something just to get this dealt with at the dealership and then what do i even do with my car? i don't want to drive it to work anymore which makes this job so much more frustrating, but i need to keep working it because otherwise i won't have any money at all. ive been interviewing for all these better jobs that im hopeful about but they're all way more distant and now they're just utterly not an option for me if i can't drive!!! im stuck with this stupid fucking job where im going to have to take the bus and change my entire schedule to fit it every day, let alone considering the 30 minute walks im going to half to take to get to the nearest grocery store...

ok, well, maybe when i get my car ill only drive it to the grocery store because it wasn't stolen for 3 months until i started leaving it at work all day... but im still just. i dont know what to do. i really dont know what to do. im legitimately just crying in bed like an idiot instead of being able to get to sleep because what the fuck is there even for me to say. what am i going to do at the service appointment tomorrow, ask them how long they can hold my car because i don't have any fucking money? how am i supposed to just keep on walking through life normally and go to work when everything's become so much harder? i worked 11 hours today at 15 dollars an hour, that's 158 dollars without counting my lunch break, and then i spent 200 dollars getting my fucking car towed to the dealership so i literally went negative today. i havent had more than 3000 dollars since i was getting scholarships at school and now i have to imagine dumping that much to replace something that could get easily stolen yet again at a moment's notice

like what the fuck am i supposed to do. get a whole new car that doesnt have as likely a chance of seeing its converter stolen? buy one of those stupid 200 dollar shields that only might stop a determined thief, despite the fact that those converters can go for like 700 dollars on the resale market? i can't fucking do any of that because i'm fuucking poor and i'm going to have to work like a month just to deal with the current situation, let alone trying to figure out a way to not have to deal with it anymore, LET ALONE any of the things i wanted to fucking save up money to be able to do

it's just actually fucking hopeless like life is just misery and suffering ok

#narfvent

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abbinurmel · 1 year

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A Tale Of Goats and The Most Metal Album Cover Tree Of All Time.

This is a true story that happened to a close friend. I right now am sitting up with insomnia again in his house and felt like honoring him, despite it being three years since his death. I've told this tale dozens of times irl but now felt like telling this story online because I wanna immortalize it as it is that good.

So. My late biker friend, Machito, my inarguably coolest friend, one of my oldest and only flesh and blood friends. The man the myth the rocking legend. There are a million other equally wild if not wilder tales of him and his pals/rivals, but this one is my favorite. So...

Once upon a time, there was this friend of mine who was your ur example of a badass rugged mountain man. A solitary, dark long dreadlocked / epic mustached, scary tattooed, leather wearing, tall, even darker skinned and somehow actually more badass irl than Danny Trejo who was practically his lookalike, sorta guy. A guy who has masters degrees in both law and biology who lives in the Catskills in a trailer with his mom next door along with his Harley bikes and his beloved chihuahuas. And during his life in the rural wilderness of upstate New York he was on and off a small farmer. This makes sense as the nearest major grocery store is an almost 30-40 minute drive down steep winding dirt roads, occasionally down heavily snow piled hills. He had no crops but raised livestock like chickens and cows for extra food, as so many here do. At some point he owned a small herd of goats. And one day, they all escaped out of their pen because the gate somehow broke. He did not realize this until after the sheriff called to inform him, telling him over the phone that neighbors far down the way had a bunch of goats now racing all up and down their big front and back yards, shitting everywhere and kicking down trash cans and tearing up grass and he had to now show up and fix this problem as they knew they def were his. My friend drove over and brought out his shotgun.

"No no! Don't *shoot* the goats! *Catch* them!" the officer snapped.

"Are you nuts," Machito said.

"Why not?" asked the sheriff.

"Because they're GOATS, you idiot city slicker."

"You can't shoot animals out here."

"We got us a whole batch of scared goats on the loose, I've no patience in this heat, or hope of ever catching them any other way. These goats are not pets. They'll not come if called. I didn't raise them that way. They're for strictly meat and hides. So they're to be slaughtered regardless anyway."

"Don't care."

"-Look. It's a waste, I know, but asides just leaving them to run amok wild, its best I can do. If I don't kill them, eventually some other guy will: shoot at MY property, I might add, as you said, the goats that *I* paid for. And if a redneck doesn't shoot them, then out in the bush the coyotes will tear em apart. More likely they just hit a car. Or die of disease. These aren't forest animals, they have no idea where they are going. It's probably more merciful this route."

"No way you going to do that!" yells the sheriff. "You're gonna catch them alive."

"I cannot do that."

"Oh you better!"

"-You go and catch one of them then, to show me how easy it is."

The sheriff was astounded but acquiesced. Surely he ran thru field, the tall grass full of mud, goat shit and thorn bushes, trying in vain to bare handedly by the haunches catch all these panicking, not at all stupid, very large hoofed and horned, kicking, dirty, stubborn, noisy, stinky creatures.

-the fat old white town sheriff returns, bedraggled and battered, red and sweaty, tired and filthy.

"Okay you win. Shoot the bastards."

"Toldyaso," says Machito.

"Just shootem, shoot them all!" says the sheriff. And he does. But that is not the end of the story.

Machito drags all the dead goats now into his pickup. He drives home, back up the mountain, in the blazing summer sun, with an enormous pile of meat already attracting flies. ...Bear in mind now. This is a guy who is a lone hunter, a mountain guy, just a biker who reluctantly killed a mass of goats all by himself. Not a farmer. He does not have a real actually fully staffed farm. Or a giant freezer capable of handling a ton of goats all at once. The way one properly butchers a goat is to string them on a hook and remove entrails, same as any dead deer, pig or cow. Most meat raising people, if they don't take livestock to a slaughterhouse directly while alive, will maybe use some type of big tablesaw to hack the limbs and heads off. But again, this is not a guy living with that sort of an efficient mass butchering setup. He is just guy chilling in the boonies, a guy with a trailer, and a single pole and a chain with hook on it to his name. When it comes to meat, he just takes a single eventual goat or pig, after having raised it for a long time to get fat, and after a clean shot in the head he then simply butchers the whole thing with a machete to be either stuffed in a fridge or straight for dinner. He is not a guy who kills lots of animals weekly to regularly sell in grocery aisles this is just a *hobby* for the pleasure of eating fresh venison and goat meat stew as that's how they often did things in rural Jamaica, where his mother comes from.

SO. Do the math: he has a whole pile of corpses on his hands, no huge professional farmhouse or freezer to put all these dead goats in. They gotta now be carved all up outside and stored/preserved right the f *NOW* or else things will be gross real quick. ....My friend had to in the July heat string up around a dozen dead adult goat corpses upside down from a big dead tree's branches in his backyard and remove all the entrails and place them in a big ol pile on a table next to it.

A beautiful sight, a great big ol Tree of Meat and Death. That is not the end of this story.

My friend (who again, is a long wild haired scary looking hermit biker) is hot and sweaty and covered in blood. Flies and mosquitoes are cos of that constantly nipping him all his flesh. His hair is a bloody sticky mess. He smacks his face and all over his butcher's apron. Leaving behind bloody hand prints. Holding a giant machete. I think you know where this is heading.

Some hours into carving yet more dead goat carcass, a doorbell is heard. Now, very few people ever regularly visit my friend's place. It's too remote. And the few who do so are rarely on anything except very familiar terms. And my friend has had a rough time of it of late with another biker friend of his. They aren't enemies, they are still close, but he has reached a point of just being fed up by their repeat bunglings and toxic codependency of late. There was also some car or motorcycle repair stuff I think? I can't recall the details, they were not important...Anyway.

Machito has a car out in the driveway with for sale written on it...but has completely forgotten about that as it has sat there for ages. What he didn't know was ***a woman*** from out of town has stopped by to inquire about the vehicle. But instead he thinks it is this aggravating friend of theirs who's been for one reason or another getting on their last nerves and always lately dropping by. So he lunges around the side of the trailer house, pissed off and sweaty, clasping a big knife, soaked in blood and stained with handprints all over. And blindly as he comes in charging, he roars:

"ARGHHHH, WHAT THE FUCK IS IT THIS TIME?! HUH?"

The poor woman screams. She runs away in terror.

"NO WAIT! WAIT STOP ITS NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE-"

Lady comes round the back, she sees The Metal Album Goat Tree of Doom and screams and nearly faints then runs away as fast as she can, gets in her car, and hits the turbo. Still not the end of my story.

A doorbell happens. It's the sheriff. The guy from before. He says there was a reported disturbance of a serial killer up here so tell him what happened. Machito takes him out back to show off the goat tree and explains the misunderstanding. The sheriff cackles and wheezes: "Do you know who that woman that reported you was...? That WOMAN was MY WIFE."

They both share a laugh and open a couple beers. And soon. The sheriff is bringing Machito over to HIS HOUSE. Where he hides him. And the wife isn't home yet. She still is at the station.

She gets eventually home after her hubby says it's fine he arrested the psycho. She sits down to dinner and starts to talk about how relieved she is when yes OF COURSE YES mY BEAUTIFULLY STILL GORE SMEARED FRIEND BARGES OUT OF THE HALL SHOUTING AND WAVING HIS MACHETE AND YES IT IS TERRIBLE AND HORRIBLE AND CRUEL AND YES THIS JS THE BEST FUCKING EPIC PRANK OF ALL GODDAMNED TIME.

And THAT is the end of my story.

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1-800-sope · 3 years

Text

Tag, You’re It (M)

paring: Jungkook x reader

rating: M

Gener: Yandere

Warnings : Kidnapping

Summery: They always say it’s someone you know, someone that you are close to that turns out to be a psycho freak, you just weren't expecting it to be your hot innocent next door neighbor.

Inspired by Tag, You’re It by queen mel <3

BTS Masterlist

“Looking at me through your window

“Boy, you had your eye for a little”

“Hi Y/n.” Jungkook, your friendly neighbor shouted from across the yard as he spotted you. “Good afternoon Jungook, How are you?” You shouted back mirroring his smile. “I’m doing good just got done with some grocery shopping.” Jungkook responded displaying the plastic bags he was holding in his arms.

With that you let out a groan as you inserted your key in the lock. “That reminds me, I have to do some shopping of my own.” A chuckle escaped from jungkook.

“I’ll cut you up and make you dinner

You’ve reached the end, you are the winner.”

“Say if you don’t have food, I hope i’m not overstepping but why don’t you come over for dinner tonight.” Jungkook asked innocently, biting his lip as he eyed you from the sided. You focused on opening your front door trying to ignore the pounding in your chest. “As much as I would enjoy that Mr. Jeon, I have some homework to get to tonight.” You said as you looked up at him. Your door was now unlocked but you didn’t want to go inside, not yet at least. You wanted to savor this moment with your overly extremely hot next door neighbor.

Jungkook nodded his head as he went to open his own front door. “Well I wish you all the luck on that homework, but just know my offer still stands.” To anyone that would have seem like an innocent invitation, to YOU it was an innocent invitation. but to Jungkook it was far from innocent.

“Rolling down your tinted window

Driving next to me real slow, he said”

Jogging through the neighborhood was one of the things you did every morning five days out of the week. You would jog around the block two times, stop by Mrs. Kim’s daughters lemonade stand grab a drink and continue. It was all apart of the routine.

But having a suspicious black BMW slow down as it turned down the street you were making your way down was not apart of the rutie.

You were an observant girl, always aware of your surrounds, you liked to be kept on your toes never getting too comfortable, some might call you paranoid. So when you turned your head and caught site of the slowed down car you picked up your pase. But so did the car.

“Howdy Neighbor.” A familiar voice called out as the car was now next to you. “oh my god Jungkook!” You jumped back face flush with a beating heart. God this boy will give you a heart attack one day.

Jungkook looked at you with innocent eyes. “Are you alright?” He asked as you stopped and placed both of your hands on your knees, taking in deep breaths.

“Yes, you just scared the living daylights out of me that’s all.” You chuckled leaning back up whipping some sweat off of your forehead, when you make eye contact with him your face flushed.

gross and sweaty in front of the handsome neighbor way to go Y/n,

“Oh my bad I didn’t mean to.” He quickly spoke with a sincere look in his eyes. You laughed and shook your head. “It’s okay Jungkook, Just don’t drive so creepy next time.”

“Let me take you for a joyride

I’ve got some candy for you inside.”

“Say, I just got back from the store and I have some popsicles it is a hot day, would you like any?” Jungkook asked with a sweet smile that almost made you say yes right away.

You watched as the young man reached in the back of his car behind the driver's seat, you took note on how the ink on his muscular arms looked extremely good

when he pulled forward a box of popsicle you looked away not wanted to get caught drooling over him. “Thank you Jungkook.”You smiled as you watched him open the box. Your mouth instantly watered.

“Come eat it inside.” Jungkook said. You watched in confusion as he leaned over and open the car door. “Oh I really shouldn’t” feeling self conscious you took a step back.

“Nonsense, The popsicle will melt while it’s out there, and do you really wanna hold a sticky stick while you run.” He looked at you with a teasing smile.

Giving up you rolled your eyes and got into the car. “that’s a good girl.” Jungkook said as you shut the door face now more flushed than before and chest pounding that you pray to the gods he can’t hear it.

‘What flavor do you want?” He asked dismissing the comment he just made. You on the other hand had the words still repeating in your head. Another puls feeling shot through you but this one was not in your chest.

“Is there Orange.” You mastered to ask as you let out an awkward cough hoping he just thinks your flustered state is from the morning run. “Let me take a look.” He mumbled digging through the box.

“If not cherry is fine, you know i’m okay with any flavor except grape. the grape ones-” “taste like medicine” You and Jungkook said at the same time. You nodded. “You're in luck missy, I found an orange.” He playfully smirked holding up the orange flavored popsicle.

It’s been four weeks since your encounter with Mr. Hottie neighbor and you were thankful for that. Yes Jungkook was nice company but you won’t be able to go another minute with your heart going crazy like it was going to blast out of your chest.

It was currently 1:30 am and you were laying on your living room couch trying to finish up your thesis statement for one of your college courses, that when the third rumble of your stomach hit and you got fed up.

grabbing your car keys and throwing a jacked over your tank top you made your way out the door and to your car. One of the perks of being a college kid is being broke, ordering takeout for three weeks straight really put a dent in your pocket.

starting your car up you drove to the nearest corner store that was open.

pulling into the parking lot you failed to notice how it was almost empty except for wo other cars.

stepping out you didn’t bother to lock your car door the goal of getting in and getting out was the on thing that filled your mind.

“Running through the parking lot

he chased me and he wouldn't stop”

Once you were done paying you quickly grabbed your bag and pushed open the door, the cold air greeting you in the procese sent a shiver down your spine. was it worth it to go out in your pajama shorts and a tank top, looking around you took in how dark it was. no it wasn’t.

quickly opening your car door you placed the bag next to you and the keys inside. taking a peaky through the rear view mirror. That’s when you saw it

There was a person in the backseat of your car but before you could let out a bloody scream they placed the a white cloth over your mouth.

Now you were fully regretting going out tonight.

Not taking in a deep breath you reached your hand out to the cup holder next to you grabbing the paper spry you through your arm back and pressed down on it, the attacker cussed and moved their hand.

not wasting a minute you got out the car and did what anyone in their right mind would do. You ran. you heard the car door slam shut and you knew they got out too the fast footsteps that started to follow you proved it. but you didn’t stop, you didn’t look back.

“Grab my hand, pushed me down

took the words right out my mouth”

You felt the hands on you, the force pushed you to the ground as a hand went clasping around your mouth muffling your scram, a muscular arm wrapped around your waist bringing you back up.

This was not happening, You were not done for. You couldn't wouldn't except this faith and that's why you did everything your self defense classes taught you. You slammed your foot on this psycho’s toes and he released you again with a cuss.

if you would have listened. you would have noticed that the voice sounded oddly familiar.

but before you can even get one step away something hard came in contact with the side of your head sending you straight to the gourd.

your blurry vision filled with large black boots and then you lost consciousness.

You slowly opened your eyes, gretted to a dim light and a room with four walls, no windows in sight. just a door. panic rushed through your body and you tried to move that’s when you noticed you were hanging.

A thick rope wrapped around your wrist was hanging you up from the ceiling nothing was supporting your feet.

“Enie meenie miny mo”

A voice was heard from behind you, it made your heart stop.

“Get your lady by her toes”

You felt something brush against your ankle and you let out a piercing scream. The sinister sound turned into a child like giggle.

“If she screams, don’t let her go” it sung.

A choked sob escaped you as the tears started to run down your face. “Whyy why why why.” You whispered to weak to speak.

“Shhh shhh, it’s okay love.” The voice cooed as a hand was gently brushing down the side of your head.

The presence of your abductor finally showed itself, they were now standing in front of you holding those familiar innocent doe like eyes.

“J-Jungkook?”

“Howdy neighbor.”

#yandere bts #yandere jungkook #jungkook x reader #bts x reader #yandere jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x reader

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maybege · 3 years

Note

May! I just woke up with a UTI (sorry tmi) which sucks but all I can think about is it happening with Trucker!Paz. He notices something is off when you keep shifting in your seat, a seat you usually happily curl up in. When he asks what’s wrong you just reply with the standard, “don’t worry alpha, I’m fine” with a weak little smile that turns into a cringe when they go over an unexpected pothole. He assumes it may be your period but wasn’t that last week? Is time going by that quickly? Soon enough, you nervously ask if you can stop to go to the bathroom, which is odd because you have NEVER asked when a rest stop wasn’t within the next few miles…the last one was 20 minutes ago and the next one won’t be for another 30 minutes at least. Now he is worried and quickly pulling off the nearest exit to find a grocery store, his anxiousness scenting the air, making you more worried. You think that he is worried about time and so you quickly squeak out “it will only be a minute, I promise” before scurrying down and slamming the door. The second that door is shut, he is pulling out his phone and deep diving into google. After some time and some frantic googling, ( “omega not pregnant but keeps peeing?”, “omega vagina discomfort not sex?”, “how often do omegas pee?”) he determines that it is most likely a UTI, brought on by hormonal change or an infection following your period. He is freaking out and as soon as you open the door, he is on you, “‘mega, are you having painful urination, cloudy pee?”, spewing out the list of symptoms from WebMd, saying words he would usually deeply blush at. You are taken aback and slide back into the seat saying, “it’s okay alpha. I get them a lot, I have antibiotics in the back”. He is immediately making sure you took them—“yes I took them when we got up, as soon as I felt bad”, “no I need to wait the full 12 hours between doses”— and running into the grocery store to make sure you have over the counter painkillers, lots of water, a huge jug of cranberry juice, and a heating pad because he read that they can help. In a flurry he is back, fussing over you like a mother hen, making sure you drink enough and lecturing you about making sure that you let him know when you have to go, he will stop anywhere, anytime. After you promise him to keep him up to date on how you feel, he starts to drive away, only to pause and look over at you, “are you sure you’re okay, ‘mega?” You smile and respond, “I’m always okay when I with you alpha”

ANd I’m now too soft!!! He would take such good care of you 😫😫

Anon, my love, I love you and I hope you’ll feel better soon but reading Paz’s google entries had me CACKLING 😂😂😂

Poor man, he’d be so worried because he can smell your discomfort and your pain and his instincts immediately perk up next to the sirens going off in his head. But as soon as he definitely knows what’s up, he doesn’t wait long to put measures in place to make the next few days as ideally for you as possible! He googles how to make cranberry juice more tasty, trying out the perfect water:juice ratio to get you the best taste but still enough juice that it can work. He changes the route to include more rest stops on the road and even when you ask him to stop between them, he doesn’t even blink when he pulls off the next exit to find a good stop for you 🥺

When, in the middle of the night, your heat pad stops working and he can feel you shift in your sleep, Paz just carefully rolls over, putting aside the pillow wall and putting his large warm hands on your belly while his front is pressed against your back and you immediately calm down. “Thank you, alpha,” you mumbled sleepily, raising his hand to press a kiss against his knuckles, “You always take such good care of me.”

#may answers #truck driver!paz vibes #paz vizsla x reader

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harryhandstan · 4 years

Text

or the one where you forget harry’s birthday and try desperately to make it up to him

just wanted to write something small to try to get back into writing after my break! thank you all for your encouragement, excitement, and patience and I apologize for it being a few days later than I wanted it to be! this is probably the closest to angst that you’ll ever get from me :)

thank you to @1980holland, @summertimestyles, @tbslenthusiast, @bigspoonstyles, @angryinternetduck, and @iconicharry for letting me run my ideas by you and being so kind in general. more thanks to @tbslenthusiast and @bigspoonstyles for being the most wonderful beta readers and just lovely friends overall!

this is another part of my dad!harry series so as always they are linked in order if you want to re-visit them or read from the beginning if you choose to!

⭐ I Want Your Belly ⭐ Wonderful and Warm ⭐ Washed Away in You ⭐ Do You Want to Build a Snowman? ⭐ A Styles Family Christmas ⭐

word count: 3.6k

“Harry, I’m running late do you think you could drop Sterling off at the sitter’s on your way to set?”

You’re already dressed, pulling on your shoes and grabbing your bag and keys from where they were tossed next to the dresser from the evening before. You dart into the bathroom to quickly brush your teeth.

Harry pokes his head around the doorframe, a wrinkled shirt in his hand, rushing through his own morning routine, “Thought she was coming here?”

“She can’t today, remember? Today’s our day to drop him off.” You put your toothbrush away just as he joins you, taking the toothpaste from your hand to use for himself.

“Alright, yeah. Y’ll have to pick him up later though, think it’ll be a late one for me today.”

“That’s fine. I’ll throw his bag together and leave it by the door for you to grab on the way out. He’s already been fed and changed so he should be all set. I’ll transfer his car seat to your car too, so you won’t have to worry about that.”

He still has the toothbrush in his mouth, so you stand on your tiptoes to give him a peck to the cheek, adding a “bye, love you!” on your way out the bathroom door.

“Wait..y’don’t have anything else to say to me before you leave?” His mouth now rinsed, he crosses his arms and leans against the doorway, a tired smile working its way across his lips.

“Um..be careful? Don’t drive too fast with Sterling in the car.”

“I never drive fast,” He takes a quick peek in the mirror, running his hands through his messy curls before turning back to you, “S’that all? Nothing else to say?”

You search your brain, trying to remember anything else you may have forgotten, “Oh! Right..”

His face lights up then, thinking maybe he was gonna finally hear the words he’d been waiting all morning to hear from you.

“Make sure you tell the sitter there’s an extra pacifier in the right side of his bag that she can leave there in his cubby in case we ever forget one..and that I’ll drop a pack of diapers and wipes off when I pick him up cause I know he’s running low.”

His brow furrows slightly with disappointment, but you’re too busy to notice, blowing him another kiss before rushing out the door of your shared bedroom and down the hall to get Sterling’s bag ready.

He’s still pouting as he opens his top drawer to select a pair of socks for the day.

He couldn’t believe you forgot it was his birthday.

In your opinion, 6 weeks was not long enough for maternity leave. You’re sure no amount of time in your happy bubble with Harry and Sterling would’ve been enough.

You were somehow able to push those 6 weeks to 12, your boss kindly agreeing to let you do what work you could from home. Eventually, that extension had to come to an end though and there was no other way you could avoid returning to ‘normal’ life.

You’re an hour into your work day but you still can’t shake the feeling that you had truly forgotten something. Harry’s words from the morning ring through your head again and again but you still couldn’t pinpoint what was special about this particular day. It was a Monday..was there some sort of significant anniversary from your relationship over the years, something small but important to him?

You grab your phone when you have a chance, a quick lull in your morning that allows you to scroll through your phone’s calendar to double check anything your phone may have not yet notified you about. There’s nothing saved, and it does nothing to jog your memory of what importance today’s date holds.

A text from Anne comes through and your heart stops when you read the message: Tell the birthday boy his present from me is on the way! I was a day later than I should’ve been sending it out so hope he won’t be too upset with me. All my love to you and Sterling as well!

No. Oh no. Guilt bubbles up through your chest and you cover your mouth to stop from cursing too loudly and scaring your nearby coworkers. You have to steady your hand so you can navigate your way through your contacts to Harry’s number, trying to calculate where in his schedule for the day he may be now. It was too early for him to be taking a lunch break, but you silently prayed he would be on a break in between filming scenes that would allow him to answer.

He had told you in the past that even if he wasn’t able to have his phone with him, it was always nearby. Especially now that you had Sterling, he tried to make himself available no matter how busy his schedule would be for the day. Even if he wasn’t able to answer, he would always make time to call back.

So when you try 2 times with no success of getting through, you stop. You had both agreed before that 3 calls was your distress signal, and you didn’t want his mind to think the worst when he did see you’d tried to get through to him. A text seems too informal, too little for the man you love and adore. He deserved better than that, better than you, a partner who forgot one of the most important days where he should be made to feel special and loved every second.

It wasn’t like you didn’t know this day was coming, you did, of course you did. Being a new parent had well and truly ruined your memory. Turns out birthing a tiny human requires learning a ton of new information to keep your little one alive, meaning that even almost 3 months later your brain hadn’t been fully restored and you weren’t sure if it ever would be.

How could you make up for something like this? You suppose you could pretend that it was all a joke; that you’d had this elaborate plan all along to surprise him and make him think that you had forgotten his birthday. But you couldn’t lie to him like that, it would only cause you to hate yourself even more later for covering it up. Plus, Harry knew you too well and would see right through that, and then whatever hurt you’re sure he was feeling now would only grow.

You know he would eventually forgive you, if he hadn’t already, but that didn’t stop guilt from overriding your thoughts. If anything it made you feel almost worse knowing that he would be so incredibly forgiving.

God, you could only imagine the reaction of the fans if they found out. Some of them already had some questionable opinions about you, a few even going so far as to speculate if Sterling was truly Harry’s child, claiming that you had somehow “trapped” Harry into a relationship with you and that it would eventually fail. Harry had tried to ban you from going too deep, but sometimes your curiosity got the best of you, prompting you to scroll through Twitter or Instagram occasionally. It usually ended with you getting your feelings hurt and Harry having to remind you once again to stay away.

You try to find something in your memory, anything that he may have mentioned wanting (or at this point even needing) over the past few months. Aside from the mundane, everyday things like laundry detergent and shampoo to add to the shopping list, you couldn’t recall a thing. You only had 6 hours before you had to pick up Sterling, so you had to come up with something fast, something amazing.

What do you get for the golden boy who has everything?

You couldn’t believe you didn’t think of it before. It was something you had discovered not long after Sterling’s birth, but like many other things it had gotten easily dismissed and pushed down to the bottom of your list.

Today, it only takes a few clicks through the website, a double checking of the spelling of the name that will be on the certificate, and a quick selection of a location for where you want it to be for Harry to now be the (hopefully) proud owner of his very own star in the sky.

After all it was Harry who found the name Sterling for your child, it was him who whispered “buonanotte nostra piccola stella” each night as he helped you put Sterling to bed; a phrase he had been most pleased with himself for learning, the Italian to English translation being “goodnight our little star”. If he couldn’t be there to say it, he made sure you knew the proper enunciation of the expression so that you could pass it along from him. It was always followed by 3 kisses to the top of his son’s head.

Thankfully, you were able to use the printer at work to print out the certificate and the map, slipping them both into a manilla envelope and tucking it away in your bag before you clock out for the day. Though you wished you had time to stop and select a nice frame, you only have 30 minutes before having to pick up Sterling, so you opt for a speedy trip to the nearest bakery and grocery store to gather what other supplies you’ll need for the rest of the evening.

By the time you and Sterling make it home, you still haven’t heard anything from Harry. You send up another silent prayer, more for his safety than anything, but also selfishly for yourself and his forgiveness towards you. It wasn’t unusual for you to not hear from him most days, and you remind yourself of his words from that morning about most likely having to work late.

You push away the guilt that threatens to invade your thoughts again, doing what you need to do for Sterling to keep him content while you start preparations for dinner. Once you have him settled in his swing nearby, you take a moment to scroll through your music selection on your phone, deciding that having something playing in the background would be better than being alone with your thoughts while you work.

You’ve just washed the veggies to chop for the salad when your phone dings, indicating a new message. You know it’s from Harry, and you’re almost scared to look. Instant relief floods your body when you do have the courage to take a peek: Home in an hour. Love you! Give bub kisses from me xx

The “love you” fills you with overwhelming comfort; takes you back to the day you first met him and how your heart skipped a beat when you realized it was you he was trailing through the crowd of people to approach, a cozy smile plastered on his face. You’ll never forget the gentle way he had spoken and how even though you were surrounded by at least a hundred other people at the party, he didn’t take his eyes off you the whole night. You let out a huge sigh of breath you hadn’t realized you’d been holding in and contemplate the best way to respond, finally concluding that simple was better.

Be careful, baby. Love you more!! Bubs and I miss you

His text gives you more motivation than you already had to power through making his favorite meal for him. An hour is plenty of time to get everything done, so when Sterling gets fussy and wants to be held, you tuck him against your side, doing what you can with one hand while keeping a tight grip on your son. You know he had missed you when he almost instantly relaxes at being close to you, and your heart hurts at the thought of ever being away from him again, even for something important like your job.

It still takes you a minute to get him calm enough to rest his head on your shoulder, so you don’t hear the sound of the door, or the clink of Harry’s keys or the sound of his footsteps falling down the hallway.

“Need some help, lovie?”

His voice, which normally calms you, nearly makes you jump out of your skin. So when you turn and say, “I thought you said an hour!” it comes out more like an attack than grateful to see him again.

“S’what I thought but we rushed through so I could leave earlier. Is that a problem?” His face is unreadable, somewhere between confused and disappointed with your tone.

“No! Of course not, Harry, I just..” That’s when your voice breaks, your guilt and emotions of forgetting his birthday finally being too much to hold back.

“Hey, don’t do that,” He’s moving the rest of the way through the kitchen to you, a hand smoothing a small circle over your back as you try to wipe your tears, “Please don’t cry.”

“I just wanted to have everything ready by the time you got home, to make up for this morning. For forgetting it was your birthday in the first place. I’m so sorry, H.”

“You’ve got nothin’ to apologize for, angel. You don’t have to make anything up to me. We’ve both been crazy busy lately, I’m surprised I even remembered what day it was. Here, why don’t I put Sterling in his swing and help you finish dinner?”

“No, absolutely not. It’s your birthday and I know you’re tired. Plus, I think he missed us today. You know how much he loves his swing but I didn’t get very much done before he got upset.”

“Alright, well, I’ll take him while you get everything else done. How’s that sound?”

You nod an agreement at his plan, transferring Sterling from your shoulder to his. There’s a few whimpers of disapproval, but he lets out a small sigh of contentment once he realizes it’s Harry who holds him now. Harry turns his head to smack a few kisses to the baby’s cheek to further pacify him. Sterling’s eyes open briefly, gazing sleepily up at his father.

“Hi, bub, missed you. Let’s go see what kind of trouble we can get into while Mummy makes dinner, huh?”

“Not too much trouble, boys. It’s almost bedtime,” He winks at you as he turns to leave and you stop him, “Hey, wait, try this. Tell me if it needs anything.”

You stir a spoon through the pasta sauce you’ve had simmering away on the stove, bringing it to his lips with a hand underneath, careful not to drip it down the front of his white button-up or the top of Sterling’s head. He lets you feed him the spoonful, but doesn’t take his eyes off your lips. Before you even have time to ask him how it is, he’s trapping his mouth against yours, a satisfied hum at the sauce mixing with the taste of you.

“Delicious.” He runs his tongue along his bottom lip, catching a bit of sauce that ended up smudged at the corner of his mouth.

“Really?”

“Really, darling, it’s perfect.”

At this point it’s obvious he’s not talking about the sauce, and you push yourself up to plant another kiss on his lips.

“Another,” He gently demands, and you oblige, but he doesn’t pull away yet, “C’mon, few more.”

“Looks like Sterling’s not the only needy baby in this house tonight. How many more kisses do you need?”

He smirks down at you, “It’s my 27th birthday, innit? Think I deserve 27 kisses, don’t you?”

You send him away with the promise of fulfilling his request for the rest of his kisses later, finally able to rush through finishing the last of what was needed to complete the meal and call him back to see the table full of everything you’ve prepared.

Sterling is bright eyed in Harry’s arms again, and you hope that feeding him will lull him back to sleep for the night. With him having to stay with a sitter on the days that you and Harry were both working, you’d recently had to switch to using bottles for some of his meals. The sitter had assured you that he was adjusting to the bottle well when he was with her, but it had been a frustrating transition for you.

“You’ve just spoiled him to the usual way, love. It’ll get easier. Want me to try?” He holds out his hand, offering to take the bottle and Sterling back, but you refuse. You know Harry’s right, it will get easier eventually, but right now you know he’s just still tired and hungry. So you give in, lifting your shirt and tossing a blanket over him while he eats.

“Eat so you can blow out your candles and then open your present.”

He sets a plate of food in front of you and passes you a fork so you can eat with your free hand.

His mouth is full of food but his green eyes light up when he looks at you, “I have a present?”

“Of course you do. It’s your birthday, isn’t it?”

“Can we skip cake and do the present first?”

You giggle at his excitement, but the truth is you’re nervous. You know he will be nice enough to tell you he loves it, but you also know him well enough to read the truth on his face.

“Sure, birthday boy, whatever you want.” Sterling’s finished eating by now so you rest him on your shoulder, tapping his back a few times until you hear a small burp. Harry’s plate is mostly empty now, as is yours, so you tuck Sterling into his swing while you go to retrieve the envelope from earlier in the day. Your heart races as you may your way back to where he sits at the table, his eyes covered dramatically as he waits.

“You can open,” You slide the envelope in front of him and prop your chin up on one of your hands as you watch his fingers work to open the clasp. The papers sit upside down on the table and you inhale a deep breath as he flips them over. His face is full of curiosity as his eyes scan the page.

“Did you..is this real?”

“Well I’m not sure how official it is but, yes, it’s real.” You take the map from behind the certificate and point out the location, “According to this it’s..”

“Is my star right over our house?” His eyes are wide as he studies the coordinates, “Can we go see if we can see it now?”

How can you say no to that? You let him lead you out the back door of your home and out into the cool air of the night. He only lets go of your hand when he reaches the edge of the yard, pointing straight upwards.

“It’s gotta be that big one, right? That mine, right?” You look over his shoulder down at the map and then back up to where he’s pointing.

“Yep, I think that’s the one. Unless..do you have the map upside down?”

“No! Do I?” He squints his eyes, bringing it closer to his face in an attempt to read it in the dark.

“You definitely did. It’s that one there..to the left of the big one we thought was yours.”

“S’gorgeous, baby,” He tugs your hand until your smushed against his side and he tosses his arm around you, letting out a deep sigh as he continues to stare up at the sky, “Thank you so much.”

“You really like it?” You’ve got both arms wrapped around his middle now, enjoying the feeling of his chest rising and falling.

“I really do, angel. Can’t believe you named a star after me twice.”

“Twice?” You tilt your head upwards to look at his face.

“Yeah. Twice. That one,” He points up again, “My favorite one though, the greatest gift you will probably ever give me, is probably snoring in his swing right about now.”

As sweet as the moment is, you can’t help but snort out a laugh at that, “If he’s anything like you, he’s definitely snoring right now.”

“Hey, I don’t snore!”

“Oh yes, you do. Feel like I’m sleeping in a cave with a bear sometimes.”

That earns you a big, booming laugh from him, and he pulls you even closer to kiss the top of your head. You turn your body to face him, squeezing him once and kissing his chest through his shirt.

“Happy birthday, Harry.”

“Thank you,” He places his hands on either side of your face, thumbs rubbing along your cheeks, a slow smile sneaking its way across his face, “Can I have the rest of my kisses now?”

The next time Anne and Gemma come to visit, he’s sweeping them down to the end of the hallway leading into your living room, to where he now proudly shows them the framed certificate and map sitting side by side on the wall. Of course they had both already heard about it before. The day after his birthday he had spent 10 minutes on the phone with each of them bragging about it. He’s got Sterling in his arms as he shows it off now. He holds him up next to the two frames.

“How lucky am I, huh? Not every man can say they have two stars named after them, can they?”

thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!

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#harry styles imagine #harry styles one shot #harry x reader #dad!harry #my writing

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