#unfortunately I will have to wait until I go home in August to have them since this doesn’t ship to fucking California 😭

[yanderemommabean]

Hey It's been a while

First, I just want to apologize for being gone as long as I have. Things got to a heated point at home, and I had to postpone my move until August while facing some health concerns.

Im finally out of that god forsaken house. But it wasn't easy. They cornered me, and I cried for six hours trying to just hold on until the next day when I could go.

Im so so so fucking sorry I havent been able to be on here. I know you all must have been worried sick, and I should've at least made some update posts, but Ive been stressed as all hell in my new home trying to get insurance figured out so I can get insulin, trying to get a job for rent and Sammy's meds (he got diagnosed with heart worms, and im devastated at how long it's been going on so we're trying like hell to get him better, ive been up days in a row worried sick about it while waiting on job offers and its killing me).

I got to take Pixie, and she got checked out too and I havent heard anything, so that's good! I've been sick and trying to figure everything out, and was just not able to write like ive been wanting to. I had to leave behind one person i really didn't want to, who unfortunately is stuck with my family, and its also been eating at me.

I'm alive, just stressed and sick and trying to heal from abuse and the shock of not being yelled at for being sick and scared and making mistakes.

Again, Im so sorry you guys. I should have tried to update at all, I've just had so much going on and so much sickness. I am so grateful to have you guys at all, and the sweet messages you sent me made me smile when I finally logged in and read them.

I can't guarantee an everyday post like I usually used to do, but I'm going to try and at least be back more than I have been! I love you beans. I'm so sorry for the radio silence. Everything came to a fever pitch and has been nonstop trying to get settled in since I finally got away, which was the end of August. Before that, I was sick, unable to stand up without passing out, and barely eating because the abuse was so bad that staying in my room and starving was better than any interaction. I wont go into too much detail but the abuse was another large part I didn't want to post. Just bed rotting and hoping time would speed up to get me out of there.

Anyway, this was a terrible ramble, I'll hush, but thank you all so much for your messages, and im happy to be back! Even if just a bit at a time for now until im more settled in <3

Much love!

-Mommabean

[ryan-sometimes]

Y’all so I’m Brazilian but I moved to the US aged 18 without my family for college. My parents are still in Brazil. I’m also a big reader, and one thing that made me upset when I moved to the US was how expensive books in Portuguese are here. They can cost 5x what I would pay in Brazil!

I complained to my parents that I really wanted to read a specific book by a Brazilian writer called Machado de Assis, but it was super expensive here in the United States. Today I get this text from my mom:

Translation: daughter, your father bought you this

It’s a box set. Of pretty much EVERY BOOK by Machado de Assis. What?????

[hwanchaesong]

Folklore: A Trilogy (August) Teaser

Childhood friend!Jake X F!Reader

Synopsis: Ever since you left home to pursue the city life, you really did think that everything was over. Then you returned, and you still see him there. Will something rekindle and burn inside you once more?

word count: tba

genre & warnings: fluff, smut, angst, other warnings tba when the full fic is out

a/n: this is a part of Folklore: A Trilogy, where the first part is about Jake. i made a playlist for this and i'll probably post that along with the full fic. for now, please enjoy the teaser. lemme know if y'all wanted to be added to the taglist. tysm 🩷

"Y/N! Wait up, please, let me explain!"

You were well aware of Jake's pleads which made you walk faster, unfortunately, races like this meant that the one who has the longer limbs wins, and that wasn't you.

Jake caught up to you in no time, forcefully pulling you into his arms and enveloping you into a tight embrace, not letting you go even if you fight and hit him, accepting all of the profanities that you throw at him, he deserves that much.

It feels like you're in some k-drama. Getting back hugged by your childhood friend in a place where people are nowhere to be found, the skies turning into shades of gray and black, and frankly, you're getting tired of struggling knowing that you already lost the fight since he's so much stronger than you.

When he felt you go limp in his hold, he slowly turned you around so that he could examine you properly, a miscalculation on his part because seeing you in such a defeated state made him want to bury himself six feet under the ground until he's sure that he's paid the damages he had caused you.

"Y/N, please just one chance," he cupped your face, peering at you with such beseech, "please hear me out."

When you didn't speak, he took that as a chance to elaborate his case.

"I know it's wrong of me to interact with her, but she suddenly sat down in front of me. She caught me off guard and I was about to tell her off."

You let out a scornful laugh, pushing him away from you, "Oh so you're saying that she's about to leave?"

He nodded, hope skirting his features but you wiped it all off with your next sentence, "Then how do you explain that wide smile you have while talking to her, huh?!"

"Come on, Y/N, it was fake. I had to d-"

You raised a hand to stop him from saying more, having heard enough of his bullshit for the day, "Cut the crap, Jake, just- give me some time to think about.. t-this." your voice cracked in the middle and the sound reverberated through Jake's heart.

Watching you turn your back away was the hardest shit that Jake has to endure, especially since you're only a hair's breadth from his grasp.

Jake runs his hands over his face, attempting to rub the moisture away.

He has to fix this- No, he will fucking fix this even if it means that he has to go from heaven to hell.

You went home with a heavy feeling in your chest, ignoring the questions from your family and skipping dinner, (which is a big deal because your mother cooked your favorite food) since you don't have the appetite to join them for a delicious meal. You're tired, and all you wanted to do was cry yourself to sleep in the comforts of your mattress.

You dropped your body in the cotton sheets after washing up, dressing yourself in a simple tee and shorts.

A stuck gum in your precious, long hair that had caused you to cut it short, which made your classmates call you a tomboy.

It was eerily quiet, then the horrid memories that you buried in the back of your head started to swim back into the surface, your hands automatically went to your hair, gripping it hard as you choked back a sob.

Your artwork that was destroyed because this jealous girl just had to spray some black paint on it, causing you to lose a painting competition.

That one time when you had a crush on this guy named Soobin, but then he rejected you when you confessed because a certain someone made rumors about you wanting to have sex with him wherein reality, you only wanted to have a date with him.

You remembered being called to the principal's office because you were accused of cheating during finals, which you never did but for some reason, 'evidence' of your wrongdoings appeared, and you lost the chance to become the class valedictorian.

The root of all these shitty things that you experienced: Kim fucking Chaewon.

All the pent up humiliation and anger were released, the thought of Jake, the person who was supposed to be your shield from the chaos being involved with the person that you disliked, no, hate the most is killing you inside and out.

You sniffed, shutting your eyes and letting the tears flow freely as you clutched your pillow close to your chest. How you wished for your boyfriend to save you from this dark hole that swallowed you once more.

"Sunghoon, I need you here please."

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

You were rudely awakened by the repeated taps on the glass, a suspicious silhouette moving around the see-through curtain. You sit up, quietly grabbing a lamp on the bedside table and tiptoeing towards the window, you slightly jumped when the shadow knocked again.

You took a deep breath, raising the lamp on your left hand and slowly pulling the curtains to the side. You yelped when you were met with Jake's face pressed onto the glass of the window, clad in an all black outfit and you had to physically stop yourself from laughing with how hysterical he looks.

"Jake?! What the fuck?!" you whisper-yelled, putting the lamp down on your dresser and quickly unlocking the window, ushering him to get in before someone sees him and calls the police.

"What are you doing here?! And in the middle of the night? Do you have any idea that people might t-"

Yes, because life is not that easy and clichéd that a tree would be conveniently placed right in front of your window on the second floor of your home. Jake has to work for it.

"I have ice cream. You didn't get to eat yours today." he shoves a plastic bag in your face, effectively cutting you off as he huffs and puffs, probably out of breath since he had to climb the tree behind your house and go over the roof so he could sneak into your bedroom.

"I don't want it." you uttered, trudging towards your door and opening it, nudging your head downstairs, "Please leave, I'll be nice enough to escort you out."

You weren't looking at him, you don't have it in you to take him in because you're weak. You're not strong enough to stay mad at him, you know that one gaze into his starry eyes and you're gone, and you couldn't afford to do that.

Still, you should've checked at least once because hearing the plastic being dropped on some furniture and his incoming footsteps made you assume that he's done, that he's leaving, which was not the case.

A surprised gasp left you when Jake's hand grasped yours that was holding the knob, closing the door with a slight thud and he easily towers over you. An uncharacteristic intensity in his usually warm orbs made your knees buckle, your heart rate speeding up when you realized that his masculine body has you trapped. Most importantly, his musky perfume makes you dizzy, clouding your ability to make sound judgement.

"I came here to see you, so no, I'll politely decline the offer of me leaving so soon." he murmurs, his hot breath cascading down your cheeks, and you got even more flustered when his free hand gripped your chin, leniently guiding your vision towards him.

"Please, Y/N, baby. Will you let me explain what happened earlier?" he rasps, earnestly peeking into your own eyes as he searches for an answer that he desperately needed.

You'll blame his perfume, his minty breath, his insanely attractive voice, and the sudden romantic ambience of the room. You'll inculpate anything at this point except your fragile self, because is it supposed to be your fault if Jake has the ability to render you defenseless against his overwhelming power over you?

A shaky sigh escapes you, nodding your head absentmindedly. The petname surely haa an effect on you, to which you could only describe as a whole circus playing around your whole nervous system.

"Jake.."

"There is nothing going on between me and that bitch, okay? I only care about you," he pulls your interconnected hands from the knob, bringing it to his lips and gently pecks your knuckles, "I'll drop anything just to be by your side, you know that right?"

"Please baby, I'm so sorry. I will never get in touch with her ever again. I'm so fucking sorry, I don't- I hate it when you cry, I hate it when you're sad. Please let me make it up to you. Please let me show you how much you mean to me."

You're not an impulsive person, as you'd like to believe, you tend to think first before doing something that you might regret in the future, but as of now, none of that matters.

For the first time in your life, you took the initiative, connecting your lips with Jake's, pouring all of your emotions in one emotional kiss. He wasted no time in returning it, turning his face sideways to deepen the liplock.

Jake was brought back to reality when he felt you suck on his lower lip, opening his eyes in a haste and pulling away from you.

So this is what it felt like to kiss your plush, glossy lips. This is what it felt like to hold you in a way that is more than just some fucking friends.

This is what feels like to have you. Intoxicating, addicting, and astronomically out of his wildest dreams.

"I don't think we should d-" he starts, but you hushed him by placing your index finger above his lips.

This is.. wrong. You are in a relationship, right? You two shouldn't be doing this.

"Jake," you whisper his name with such mirth, "show me how much I mean to you.. please."

That was the last thing Jake needed, throwing out whatever rationality remaining in his brain in exchange for the yearning that he desired for so many years.

He groaned when you willingly opened your mouth for him, allowing him to slip his tongue in, licking every corner of your cavern. You let his wet appendage graze your teeth before moving your own to clash with his. Both are battling for dominance in this wild exchange of saliva which he easily won, and you couldn't keep your moans at bay when he sucked on your tongue.

Pressing his lips into yours once more, a heated make-out ensues with him leading the way, wrapping his arms around your waist and compressing you between his body and the door, wanting to lessen the distance. He wanted more, he needed more, and he sure as hell will make the most out of this.

He'll act as a clueless villain if it means that he'll be able to steal the most precious gemstone that's already owned by someone.

But who fucking cares?

How could one say that it's wrong when everything feels so right? No one is qualified to dictate shit when the pieces of the shattered past are starting to recollect themselves, turning into a masterpiece called a forbidden tryst.

"Keep it down baby, don't want your parents to barge in here don't we?" he muttered against your lips, head moving to your clavicle and you instinctively craned your neck to the side, giving him the permission to paint you with the most colorful hues of blue and purple.

Jake breathes through his nose, inhaling your rousing vanilla and strawberry fragrance. This is what he's ever dreamed of. You, in his arms, being able to mark you as his and only his.

One rainy day, he woke up only to realize that he wanted to be the man to make you happy. He wanted to cook meals with you, travel around the world, take candid photos of you and set it as his wallpaper. He wanted to be the person that you'll meet at the end of the church isle.

He couldn't exactly recall when it all started.

Was it when you cried over that dimpled man back during 8th grade? Or was it when he saw you in your ball gown for prom? He has no idea, but he does know that he's prepared to give and let go of everything just for you.

Jake clutches on your waist even tighter, nuzzling his nose in the nook of your neck and leaving feathery kisses up to your mastoid. He smiled when he heard you giggle, biting your ear lobe teasingly, "Still ticklish I see."

You poked his side in retaliation, making him jump and shriek a bit, "So are you."

"Why you little-!" Jake carried you like a sack of potatoes, dropping you on the cushions haphazardly yet you felt his palm on the back of your head, acting as an insulation so the impact won't hurt you.

"You'll be sorry for that." he says with a smirk, wedging himself in between your legs, and before you could reply, he kissed you deeply, proceeding to attack your neck with pecks and bites, sucking in the spot that had you gripping his hair.

His hand started to explore your body, tracing your shape and going inside your shirt, stopping right under your boobs. Jake lifted himself off, his eyes speaking for himself, silently asking you if it's alright to remove your clothes.

You nodded and started peeling off the shirt, the fabric getting comically stuck on your forehead (that's what you get for wearing clothes from your junior high days). You both laughed at the witless situation, and despite all that, you felt him help you out of the predicament but not without leaving a kiss on the exposed lower half of your face.

When the shirt is finally out of the way, you hastily remove your shorts as well, leaving you in nothing but a pair of panties because yes, you did not put on a bra, finding it ridiculous to wear one inside your own house.

You suddenly felt conscious when you noticed that Jake was unmoving and you found yourself covering your upper body, a movement that made the boy snap out of his daze.

"No, baby don't cover up," he grins sweetly at you, gulping down his nerves, "sorry, you're gorgeous, I can't help but admire."

You bit your lower lip, glancing at him and tugging at his own clothes, "Then be fair, give me something to admire too." you shyly said, avoiding eye contact when you saw him grin.

Jake instantly shrugged every piece of his attire, baring his all to you, and your eyes almost popped out of their sockets because what the hell?

Of course you knew he was well built, his fitted outfits leave nothing to the imagination at times, but fuck you to the moon and back, you did not expect him to be this muscular. He has abs! For goodness sake, you weren't prepared, and it shows since Jake has to boop you in the nose to get you out of your daydream.

"I know the view is amazing," he gently laid you down, positioning himself on top of you, "but tonight is all about you, darling."

He pulled you in for another solid minute of make-out session, this time though, he touches you with more fervor. Snaking his hand on your chest, gripping your left boob and lowering his head down to give the other the rightful attention it deserves.

You moaned his name when he suckled on your nipple, tongue circling around the areola and occasionally biting to add more to the sensation. He used his fingers to twitch and pull on the other nipple, his other hand trailing over your stomach, down to the navel until it reaches your heat. He experimentally dipped a finger, gathering your juices and groaning at how wet you are for him.

"Baby, you're dripping and I've only done the bare minimum." he mutters, releasing your nipple with a pop and staring down at you with desire written all over his features, "You really want me that bad?"

"Yes Jake," you answered without any hint of doubt, "I want you god, please, do something." you begged, and who was he to say no to his beautiful baby.

"Your wish is my command, princess." he grinned, going into full action as he slid down, coming face to face with your core.

Princess.

You weren't able to delve deeper into your thoughts when you felt a finger inside your pussy, a warm mouth lapping at your wetness and sucking on your clit harshly. Your back arches when another digit goes inside you, going at a moderate yet wonderful pace every time it curls and hits a spot that had you curling your toes.

There was only one person who called you that. It should hit you by now that this is taboo... but it's just one night.

After this, you'll move on and act like nothing happened. Isn't it?

"Right there!" you moaned, getting closer to your orgasm, Jake sensing this made adjustments to his ministrations, basically going into feral mode. His deft fingers pumped in and out of you vigorously, his sucking, add to that the small nips in your bundle of nerves are getting too much for you to handle.

"Cum for me." he uttered, and the mini encouragement and vibration from his voice had you undone within a few seconds. Gushing into his face which he happily guzzled on, not stopping until you told him to stop, sensitive from the overstimulation.

He went up to your face and you could see the shiny slick on his lips, "That felt good?"

You smile, pulling him in for a kiss, tasting yourself in his tongue, "Very much, but what about you?"

"Baby, didn't I tell you that tonight's all about you?" he shakes his head, using his own limbs to spread your thighs open, allowing him to slot himself in the middle, goosebumps raising on your skin when you feel his tip prod at your entrance.

"Then what are you waiting for?" you taunt, wrapping your legs around his waist, pressing him closer to your soaking cunt. "Take me, Jake."

You really have a way with words or maybe you have this effect on him like magic, whenever you talk, all he could think about is making you his.

Inch by inch, he inserted his big, fat cock inside you and you know, because you feel it. The way he stretches you out just the right way, the vein on the side of his dick pulses every time you clenched on him, and when he finally bottomed in, you both let out a sigh that you didn't know you were holding.

Jake grits his teeth, putting the tip in and he thinks he's crazy because it's just the head but your pussy is sucking him all in and it almost made him cum.

He calmed himself down, if he's intending to pleasure you as much as he could, he's sure as hell to make himself last longer than usual.

He lets you adjust to his length, taking in a slow pace when you whispered for him to move. Gently rocking his hips onto yours, making sure that he wasn't hurting you in any sort.

Then you begged for him to move faster, harder, truly, you're making this more difficult than it's supposed to be. He could hardly contain himself, but the more you egged him on, the more he lets loose.

"Ah!" you cried out when Jake lets a rather ruthless thrust, his tip hitting your cervix deliciously and it was getting him drunk off of you. He got a taste of you, and it'll be difficult to stop. He rammed into you mercilessly, the creaking of the bed was the least of your concerns now as you're more focused on the delightful feeling he's giving you, unconsciously scratching his back.

Your warm, wet walls hugged his cock so nicely that it made him believe that your pussy is made for him. Truly, every time he pushes in, you get tighter and it feels like paradise.

Jake hisses at the pain, but it motivated him to no end, knowing that you love what he's doing to you right now.

Knowing that the reason you're acting like this is because he's doing you, as of the moment.

Nothing matters but the hushed moans of his name on your lips, he doesn't care about anything other than how good you feel.

You weren't in a good condition either, you're losing grasp of what's real, drooling mindlessly at the delight you're receiving. The man on top of you gives it his all, fucking you with all his strength as his length hits all the perfect spots inside you, making your eyes roll and see stars at the back of your brain.

Jake really tried to hold on, but your sudden release made your walls squeeze his cock, a low groan coming out of him as he cursed and complimented you on how well you're doing for him.

"Baby, I'm close." he warned you, sweat forming on his forehead and dripping down to your cheeks, and he finds it so hot when you darted your tongue out to lick the salty substance away.

"Inside, Jake. Please come inside me."

"Are you sure?" he slowed down a bit, peering into your eyes for confirmation.

Then you cupped his face, smiling at him lovingly, "Yes, I trust you."

That was all it took for him to release his seed inside you, thrusting shallowly to ride out his high until he collapsed on top of you, rolling over and slipping out of your walls when you halfheartedly complained about how heavy he is.

He finally did it.

Jake felt like a champion, one chance was enough for him and he's thanking all of the deities out there internally for giving him the opportunity to show you the love he's been meaning to shower you with.

He felt his body stiffen when you laid your head on his chest, telling him to stay, but what terrified him the most was when he listened to your request and naturally wrapped his arms around you.

Jake focused on you, combing your hair using his fingers as he watches you drift into dreamland.

You look ethereal like this, glowing under the dim light of the street lamps outside and how he wishes for you to continue being with him like this until you're grey and old.

He'll slip out of bed later, (couldn't risk getting caught by your family in the morning), and write you a note to make sure that you won't feel like shit when you wake up. For now, he'll relish in the blanket of your warmth and even breathing.

The boy sighs, his hand moving to your back, fingers lightly tracing his name over your smooth skin,

'J A K E '

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

taglist

@deobitifull

[xocasper]

Sunset and Vine

Pairing: Frank Iero x Reader Summary: Kinktober Day Four - Hate Sex Warnings: NSFW content Tags: hate sex, degradation, begging, oral sex Word Count: 3756 A/N: My pre-August writing makes me puke, honestly. It's a crime. Unfortunately, it's one of my only Frank fics. I'll definitely write another one after I finish the Ray fic I'm working on. Anyway, the title is a reference to Taylor Swift, not geography. Enjoy!

Having Gerard as a roommate was great in many aspects. He wasn’t loud or overly messy, and he didn’t take long showers–if any–keeping the bills low. It was nice to have someone to talk about your problems with, especially someone as empathetic as him. Living with him was so close to perfect that it seemed like any issue could be overlooked. Unless that issue was his best friend, who was practically a third roommate at this point.

Frank was probably at your apartment more than you were, hanging out with Gerard as often as he could. This would be fine if he wasn’t the most insufferable person you’d ever met, priding himself on his ability to infuriate you. Whether it was waking you up at night by talking too loud, or having the energy of a Jack Russell terrier at eight in the morning, having Frank around always sparked conflict.

Aside from his rowdy behavior, he was also a total asshole. The second he realized you disliked him, he made it his life’s mission to push you over the edge. His tactics varied from playground insults to minor “accidents”, which included shoving past you in the hallway, eating food that you swore you marked, and other intentional inconveniences.

You weren’t much better, often retaliating just as bad. It was mostly bickering and occasional roughhousing, but nothing worth leaving over. Gerard usually got in the middle of things, making futile attempts to settle arguments before someone got hurt. In addition to this, he was always trying to convince the two of you that the other was tolerable, nice even. Until it showed though, you took his convictions with a grain of salt.

Today you had less patience than usual, getting little sleep the night before. It was a Saturday so you had more than enough time to nap, but you couldn’t seem to relax. You could live with that, but things got worse when you went to the kitchen, realizing quickly that you had forgotten to go grocery shopping. Despite the rough morning, you tried to keep an open mind.

Shopping wasn’t awful, but the lines were. After waiting in line for ten minutes, the lane closed, leaving you to wait another ten minutes in another line. Somehow, your day hadn’t been troublesome enough. The universe had granted you fifteen minutes of traffic on the way home, because heaven forbid you try and stop for coffee.

Coffee that you spilled as you got out of the car, effectively staining your pants, warranting a frustrated outburst, or at least a few tears. As if this wasn’t enough, you walked all the way up to your floor, arms full, with no key. Not only had you locked your car keys in your car, but also the key to the apartment, resulting in ten minutes of knocking and calling Gerard.

Thankfully, he came to your rescue, greeting you at the door with an exhausted expression, one that quickly turned to worry as he saw the distress on your face. He didn’t say anything at first, taking the bags and placing them on the kitchen counter before returning to you with open arms. It was nice, cathartic, to be held, and you were more than grateful for his compassion. However, you still wanted to take your anger out on something, feeling a strong urge to go punch a hole in your wall like an angsty teenage boy.

Gerard wasn’t going to let you do that though, unpacking the groceries and telling you to change into clean pants. When you came back in a fresh pair of sweats, he already had the coffee maker brewing, proudly presenting you with a cup as you took a seat at the counter.

“I take it your morning went well?” he joked, blowing away the steam while you held your head in your hands.

“Gerard, I’m running on three hours of sleep and eight ounces of coffee, and my keys are locked in my car. So yes, my morning was fucking wonderful.”

He breathed a small laugh, shaking his head as he took a sip of coffee. “It’s only eleven, so you’ve still got time to do something fun. Besides, it’s Saturday, which means no work. At the very least you can take a nap.”

His suggestions were sweet, but you’d already failed to go back to sleep, which took that off the list. “Actually, one of my friends is dragging me to some bar tonight,” you groaned, remembering the promise you’d made to her after she spent two weeks begging you to go.

He gave you his condolences before downing the rest of his cup and returning to his bedroom, leaving you to dwell on the rest of your day. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t seem to lighten up, the afternoon dragging on slower than usual. At least you had your keys now–thankfully Gerard kept a spare–so that took some weight off your shoulders.

You had gotten a couple of texts from your friend, ensuring that you were still going and practically begging you to put some effort into your appearance. More to prove yourself than anything, you reluctantly hauled yourself out of bed to get dressed up, hoping something short and scandalous would be the cure to your problems.

A few hours had gone by since something detrimental had happened, leaving you to believe that the storm had passed and that you could enjoy your night. You tried to stay positive as you picked up your friend, fortunately arriving at her place with less traffic than earlier. She was standing outside already, breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of you, who had tried harder than usual to look nice.

Things really seemed to be looking up, as you arrived at the bar with no accidents or road rage, and you were actually starting to look forward to the night. Plus, dressing up proved to be some help, as you were chatting it up with some guy at the bar who couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from you.

Maybe this was good–you had a pretty poor day, so a hookup wasn’t an awful idea. He was cute and seemed interested in you, but right as you were going to take things further, your friend stumbled over, slurring something about how she had puked on someone’s shoes.

Lo and behold, there was another girl, drunk off her ass, wailing about her ruined heels. Of course, when things began to seem okay, there had to be some sort of sabotage, bringing you right back to square one. You muttered a quick apology to the guy, who waved you off and moved on to someone else, rubbing salt in the wound.

Thankfully, you hadn’t had much to drink, leaving you much more sober than your friend and a much safer driver. You tried your best to keep her calm while she cried about ruining your night, and how there was this “totally sexy guy” that she was in love with–despite forgetting his name–and how she would never see him again. As much as you loved her, it was exhausting, and you were more than happy to walk her inside and get her a glass of water before heading home.

All you wanted was to go to sleep, but the second you walked inside, you knew that wasn’t happening. Instead of a quiet apartment, you were met with the unpleasant sight of Frank, sprawled out on your couch.

“Oh my fucking god, you’re here?” you asked, exasperated.

He rolled his eyes, “Are you always such a whiny bitch?”

Gerard looked back and forth between the two of you, concerned and slightly frustrated as he tried to diffuse the situation. “Hey, I didn’t expect you to be home until later, and I can tell that something happened, but Frank isn’t here to bother you.”

“Look, I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon than come home to this,” you assured him, motioning to the mess that was Frank, shirt rucked up and a beer in hand, looking disheveled and a little buzzed.

“Says the one dressed like a back alley whore,” he scoffed; his words would be hurtful if you hadn’t heard them a million times.

“Don’t you moan on stage for people?” you snapped impatiently.

Frank sneered, “You’re just pissed that it’s not for you.”

He was insufferable, absolutely awful in every way, shape, and form. After the day you’d had, you barely had it in you to not take a Louisville Slugger to his knees. The grin he wore as he fueled the flame made it worse, ignorant and mocking as he waited for your insufficient response.

“You’re vile,” you spat, slipping your shoes off and having half a mind not to chuck them at him.

“But I’m right.”

Finally, Gerard piped up. “Alright let’s not do this right now. You go chill out for a bit,” he instructed, pointing at you. “And you, stop instigating them.”

“Fine,” you huffed, sauntering off to the bathroom to shower off the lingering grime from the bar.

As previously mentioned, a perk of living with Gerard was the nearly endless supply of hot water. His hygiene—or lack thereof—meant you could take long, hot showers without any complaints. This was especially helpful after days like these, the warm water cascading down your body, taking your problems with it as it whirlpooled down the drain.

You weren’t sure how long you had spent in there, but it must’ve been a while as the wretched sound of Frank’s shouting had died out. Hopefully, he had left, and realized that he also had somewhere to live. At this point, you should’ve made him start paying rent, he spent enough time here anyway.

Unfortunately, he was still hanging around, making his presence abundantly clear after you finished blow-drying your hair, banging on the door far harder than necessary.

“Could you be any louder?” he griped as you opened the door, eyes lingering on your bare skin, body barely covered by your towel.

“My eyes are up here,” you snapped, annoyed solely because it was him.

“I know where they are,” he said, eyes narrowed mockingly.

”Is Gerard still here?” you asked as you pushed past him, heading off to your room with him trailing after you, sticking around in the doorway.

He knew you were attractive, but it was nearly embarrassing how difficult it was to focus on anything else, watching closely as you shuffled over to your dresser. “No, he went to get food, what’s it matter to you?”

“You actually shut up for once, I figured he must’ve left,” you turned to face him, quickly realizing he was still in the doorway. “Fucking Christ, Iero, have some dignity.”

He grinned as you shut the door on him, heading back to the living room while you changed away from prying eyes. When you finished, you had little choice but to sit next to him, now hungry upon the mention of food. Staying in your room wasn’t the best option when there was a 5’6 toddler in your living room, so you settled on the opposite end of the couch.

“You’re really wearing that?” he asked in distaste, receiving an eye roll.

“They’re fucking pajamas, yes, I’m wearing them.”

“Okay,” he said passive-aggressively, raising his hands in defense. “Better than whatever you wore earlier.”

Impatient didn’t even cover how you felt at this point. “How in the world are you friends with Gerard?”

“How are you his roommate?” he fired back.

“Because I’m not an insufferable douchebag.”

“And I’m not a priss, so it seems like he can put up with anyone.”

This didn’t help, leaving both of you equally pissed off. “Look, I’ve had a pretty awful day, and now I come home to this,” you motioned at him. “In my living room. Go back to the fucking dog pound, Frank.”

“Did anyone ever tell you that the world doesn’t revolve around you? As far as I’m concerned, you pay half the rent. So no, I’ll be staying,” he said, breath stalling as he realized just how close the two of you were.

You hated how attractive he was, from the way he spoke to his appearance, boyish and effortless. It was clearer up close, which only upset you more. “Get the fuck out of my apartment.”

He huffed a short laugh, breath fanning across your skin from the close proximity. “Is that what you really want? Or are you actually dying to be fucked? I know you think about it,” he said cynically. “Quit being a bitch all the time and maybe you’ll get what you want.”

“Shut up,” you told him, burning up as he carefully placed his hand on your jaw.

“C’mon, you can do better than that,” he mocked you, thumb brushing across your parted lips, and lightly pressing it against your tongue. “You’re so much sexier with your mouth shut.”

Maybe it was lack of oxygen, or the weight of your day, or maybe even the two shots back at the bar, but you could barely think as his thumb left your mouth, swiftly replaced by his lips. You had no issue kissing back though, coming to your senses just enough to gain some control. His hands flew to your waist to pull you closer, yours tangled in his hair.

Frank was an outlet, and you could project all your frustration and anger onto him–he deserved it. When you pulled away, his arrogant grin returned, and you gave him a sharp glare before kissing him again.

His kisses were rough and carnal, wasting no time parting your lips once more and gliding his tongue against yours, smooth and assured. You were on fire, and as much as you hated giving in, he was irresistible.

“We are not doing this on my couch,” you told him, panting softly.

“Why? Don’t want Gerard to see you getting fucked like a whore?”

It turned you on more than you’d like to admit, ignoring him and pulling him towards your room. The second the door shut, he was back on you, hands meeting the bare skin of your waist as he held you, fingers digging into your sides with more aggression than you deemed necessary. He slid your shirt off and pushed you back onto the bed, leaving you surprised that he was even more attractive when he was on top of you. Frank, however, hadn’t stopped thinking about this since you came out of the bathroom, his gaze fixed on your half-naked form.

You grew impatient in the few seconds he spent idle, snapping at him. “Can you hurry up? Or will I have to get myself off without you?”

With a scoff, he pulled off his own shirt, chest showcasing a handful of tattoos, arousal coursing through you at the sight of them. “Can you be patient for two fucking seconds?” he glowered at you.

“Maybe if you weren’t so slow, I wouldn’t need to be,” you bit back, quickly cut off by his lips on yours, his fingers tracing the waistband of your pants before shucking them off.

Everything was quick from there, Frank’s palms warm against your thighs as he pushed you up against your pillows. He nipped at your skin, sucking and biting at your chest, leaving light blemishes as he went, smoothing over each one with quick flicks of his tongue.

“For as much as you run your mouth, I thought you’d know how to use it,” you said, earning a gentle bite in response, Frank perking up as you let out an involuntary moan at the sudden sharpness.

He let out a dry laugh, “You’re in for a real surprise, then.”

Frank proved himself right as he settled between your thighs, making quick work of your panties before resting your legs over his shoulders, and placing his hands under the swell of your ass. His ego grew at the sight of you, splayed out and desperate to be touched, dripping with arousal mere inches from him. He could hear the way your breath caught in your throat, anxiously waiting for relief. Your subtle shifts didn’t go unnoticed either, Frank relishing in your attempts to get closer to him. Finally, he leaned in, tongue running flat as he tasted you, feeling his jeans grow tighter as you arched into his touch.

It was almost embarrassing how eager you were for him, but anyone would be with the way his tongue moved, lapping with a motive. He was a bit shocked to be enjoying himself around you, but he was between your legs, after all, listening to every vulnerable noise you made. It was enough to make him pull you closer, sucking lightly on your clit as you attempted to grind against him.

“You know,” you started, cutting yourself off with a moan as he worked his tongue at a merciless rate, undoubtedly to shut you up. “You’d be so much more tolerable if you did this instead of talking.”

He almost pulled away, ready to shoot back a comment about how you would also be more tolerable if you were sucking his dick, but he selfishly believed his mouth had better use between your thighs.

“Frank,” you whined, rocking down against him as he pulled away for a moment, lubricating the pads of his fingers with your arousal.

The sound of his name on your tongue surprised him at first, but his shock quickly turned to desire. It was easily the hottest thing he’d ever heard, making it a goal to earn every noise he could. Every moan increased tenfold as he slipped his fingers inside of you, moving slowly before picking up an even pace. His tongue was a fierce contradiction, gently licking at your clit while his fingers curled quicker, the contrast sending an orgasm rippling through you.

With quick strokes of his tongue, he cleaned you up, pulling every last sound from you. Hastily, he climbed up the bed, itching to get out of his tight jeans. For once, you had nothing to say, too focused on catching your breath.

“Open,” he instructed, biting back a moan as your tongue lolled out.

He pressed his slick fingers to it once more, but this time you closed your lips around them, sucking and flicking your tongue against the pads, causing him to let out a choked curse.

“You’d be so perfect if you weren’t a bitch all the time,” he told you, pulling away as you unzipped his pants.

To your surprise, he stopped you, receiving a look of subtle concern. “What do you want?” he asked, a wicked grin on his face. You paused, looking at him confused.

“C’mon, I want to hear it,” he insisted, waiting for you to speak.

“I’m not gonna beg for it,” you told him, rolling your eyes. He shrugged and started to slide away from you, and you found yourself giving in quicker than you would’ve liked.

“Fine!” you said, and he looked back, waiting smugly for your pleas. “I want you to fuck me.”

It definitely sounded forced, and he could tell that your voice was laced with annoyance. He hummed, “I don’t know, that seemed kinda rude. Try again.”

You looked at him exasperated, trying again with slightly less irritation. “Please, Frank.”

He still wasn’t convinced, shaking his head, grin still plastered on his face. “Man, you’re really bad at this.”

“You’re such an asshole,” you lashed out, kissing your remaining dignity goodbye as you put on a sweet voice for him. “Frank, please fuck me, please. I need it.”

Proudly, he tugged his jeans off. “See what happens when you’re nice?”

You ignored him, too focused on the generous bulge in his boxers, prying down the waistband with nimble fingers. A wave of sheer want crashed over you, head spinning as he hovered over you on full display, Frank quickly noticing how your eyes stayed fixed on him.

“See something you like?” he asked, breath catching as you reached a hand up, gently stroking him.

“Fuck you,” you muttered bitterly, and he was back to scowling at you.

Frank lined himself up before you could react, taking things slow just until he was buried inside of you. “Has no one ever thought to fuck the bitch out of you?” he asked, eyes narrowed in mild distaste.

You opened your mouth to retaliate, but he quickly snapped his hips against yours, any rebuttal you had prepared turning to a loud moan. He built up a rhythm, rough and unforgiving, hooking your legs around his waist to thrust harder, deeper, as you cried out beneath him. You wrapped your arms around his neck, desperate for anything to ground you. He moaned as your nails sunk into his back, the sweet burn encouraging him to pound harder.

With another call of his name, you came undone, legs shaking around him as he thrust a few more times before pulling out. Frank let out a short string of curses as you wrapped your hand around him, pumping him until he came on your stomach.

He laid next to you for a minute, the two of you panting softly from the exertion. It was peaceful, although a bit odd, to have him next to you, without arguing or hard feelings. Maybe he wasn’t as bad as you thought.

“I’m surprised Gerard isn’t back yet,” he said out of the blue, sitting up.

Oh fuck. You had forgotten that he was due home soon.

“Shit, you should probably go then,” you said, eyes barely open at this point. “Could you get a towel?”

He snickered, “Clean it yourself.”

“You’re disgusting,” you said, slapping his thigh. With a melodramatic sigh, he left, returning a few moments and tossing a towel at you.

“Thank you, now get dressed before Gerard sees you stark naked in the hallway.”

He grinned, “So we’re cool now?”

“As if,” you mumbled tiredly, though in your haze you still shot him a smile, listening to him fumble with his jeans as you cleaned yourself off.

Too caught up in your sleepy state, you nearly missed the sound of his soft footfalls and the creak of your bedroom door as it shut, and Gerard’s voice through the walls as he returned a few minutes later. You’d have more than enough time to regret this tomorrow, but at the moment, it seemed like a pretty good end to a pretty bad day.

kinktober taglist: @clichedlovers  @halloweenbitch2764  @lubbockshusband @cigarettesandalcohol  @couldbegayer1234  @doc-martens-enthusiast @yachiiko @becausethedrugsneverwork @michelethesong @dangerouslittlefairy @chronicallythicc

[what-if-queen-camilla]

Chapter 37

28th August 1996

"Darling!", Charles sighed breathlessly, pressing Camilla against his chest as tight as he could, never wanting to let loose of her again. Tears were running down his face, tears of joy and relief. "Darling, it's done. I'm free." He had driven down to Wiltshire as soon as the final divorce papers had been signed earlier that morning. He just wanted to be with her, he needed her, needed to feel her and kiss her and touch her. And how well he did it… Camilla couldn't suppress a little moan as he tenderly kissed her neck and pressed her against the wall, boisterously letting his hands wander all over her perfect body, keeping on kissing her passionately. "Darling…!", she gasped, chuckling. "What if Thea comes home from school?" "She won't for at least the next three hours…", Charles responded, gently pushing her up the stairs, continuing to kiss her, until they finally reached the second floor and eventually Camilla’s bedroom, sank down on the mattress and made love, tenderly, passionately, almost desperately, longing for each other and to be as close to each other as possible…

"So… now, that I'm a free man, will you marry me, darling?", Charles asked casually, holding her tightly, gently stroking her after they'd both been to heaven and back again. Camilla giggled and rolled her eyes. "Oh Darling… we might have to optimise that proposal first…", she chuckled, kissing his lips firmly. "You don't want me to get down on one knee, do you?", he asked, looking at her in disbelief, and his eyes widened as she casually declared: "Of course! What else?" For a moment, she left him speechless but then burst into laughter, rolling on top of him, kissing him again, first still chuckling and innocently, but then more passionately once more, and eventually, they made love for a second time that afternoon.

"But darling, given I… I did get down on one knee… and there were candles and roses and classical music…", he pondered as he held her in his arms again afterwards. "And… champagne… and all the things you like… would you say 'yes' to me?" Camilla smiled and cuddled up to him even closer, tenderly stroking his face. "Of course I would. I still would if you didn't get down on one knee. I love you and of course I want to be with you. But I think we'd better not rush things." "No, let's rather wait for another 24 years.", he said cynically, rolling his eyes and she laughed, pressing a firm kiss on his lips. "Idiot. I'm not talking about 24 years. But you haven't even been divorced for 24 hours. People should have time to get to terms with that first, don't you think? And not only the public. Also our children. Especially yours. I know how difficult a divorce is for the children involved and we should be careful and not too pushy with them and get it all done smoothly, you know?", she asked, looking at him with puppy eyes. "Darling…", he whispered, marvelling at her as if she was the greatest miracle he had ever seen. "You sound like a true Princess, you know. You're so clever. Caring, considerate, empathic… just the perfect future Queen.", he gushed but she pulled a face, turning away from him. "Stop this!", she almost begged. "Whatever happens, the one thing that is certainly never going to happen is… that." She couldn't even bring herself to say that word. "But, you know, I don't even need that. I'd be more than happy just to be Mrs Mountbatten-Windsor.", she sighed and this time it was him chuckling. "No, darling, you will be my Princess first, and then, one day, you'll be my Queen. That's just what happens if you marry the heir to the throne. Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales. And one day… Her Majesty The…" Charles, no!", she interrupted and playfully boxed him. "If I really… must… have a title, can't I just be some sort of a Countess or Marchioness maybe? Like Fiona?" "Unfortunately, my darling, your future husband doesn't hold the title of a Marquess, so I'm afraid there's no chance for you to become a Marchioness, my beautiful darling. And for the Countess… I might be the Earl of Chester but… I can't have my future wife being outranked by her friends. So… you'll have to be a Duchess at least." "Of Cornwall, you mean?", she asked, knowing all of his titles and their respective "ranks" by heart; after the Prince of Wales, his second-highest title in England was the Duke of Cornwall with its female courtesy form Duchess of Cornwall. In Scotland it'll be the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay, which she quite liked if she was honest. "Yes. I'd still prefer you to be my Princess of Wales but if you really don't feel comfortable with that one, you could be known as the Duchess of Cornwall instead.", he promised her, sweetly kissing her forehead. Camilla sighed. It still sounded and fell all rather surreal to her and she couldn't see herself holding any kind of title other than "Mum", "Darling" or "Mrs…" But somehow life had brought her into this situation and if this really was her destiny, she was going to embrace it and give the very best she could - for the love of her life, and for their sweet little daughter. The thought of her brought along some other concerns.

"What will all of that mean for Thea, darling? What will change for her?", she asked insecurely "You know, we have just settled ourselves here and… she feels comfortable at school. She's got her friends, she likes her teachers… She's happy. And I don't want her to have to go through yet another major change. Perhaps we can… just let her finish primary school the way she's used to it and… arrange everything in time for her to start at a new school… wherever that may be… but so that she'll be able to finish something… properly. Before..." She tried to picture her and Thea's life as his official wife and more or less legitimate child and though she'd never had a lack of creativity or imagination, she couldn't really see that. Thea would probably be sent to an exclusive boarding school, as it was usually handled for girls from that circle, and she herself would move in with Charles, of course, possibly into his Apartment at St James's Palace, supporting him carrying out his duties, and it would probably be expected from her to get involved with some charitable causes as well, which actually wasn't an issue for her as she already was involved with some organisations anyway;

Following her mother's death, she had got in touch with the National Osteoporosis Society, a very small organisation based in Bath which wasn't far from where they lived, after their director Linda had so kindly reached out to her after hearing about her mother. She had sent her a charming letter and attached some literature which had so helped her and her family to understand what had been wrong with her mother during her final years and months, and it had also made her realise that her grandmother Sonia, who'd died the year before she had had Thea, must had suffered from the same disease as well. It had been a great comfort to know that they weren't alone in this and of course she had wanted to do what she could to help in return, though with her damaged public image she had been very cautious. However, last year in September, before that dreaded interview and all of the revelations, she had hosted a soiree at Bowood House, Fiona and Charlie's home, in order to raise funds for the charity and to her very surprise the event had been quite a success which had eventually caused Linda to ask her whether she would like become the charity’s patron - which she had considered a joke at first - but Linda had assured her that she really meant it and that Camilla had already proven just how much good she’d do the organisation by having helped over 10,000 pounds with the soiree plus the 12,500 pounds - her half of the settlement she and Andrew had got from “The Sun” after they had sued the magazine for having published personal pictures which had been stolen from them - by their long-standing and trusted, former housekeeper at Middlewick House who had sealed them to the newspaper for 25,000 pounds. The Sun had paid them same amount as a "compensation" but no money in the world could have ever compensated the intrusive and humiliating violation of their privacy, so she had given her entire half of it to the NOS, hoping that at least something good could come out of it all, so eventually she had agreed and had become their patron earlier that year. She had not yet quite figured out what exactly her new role was going to include but she really wanted to do what she could to raise awareness of what her own, and so many other families out there, were going through and if it also helped to improve her damaged image, and therefore Charles and their children, she was ready to get it started.

*Side Notes:

• Charles and Diana did get divorced on 28th August 1996

• From then, Diana was know as "Diana, Princess of Wales" which was a courtesy title. Had Charles remarried when she was still alive, his new wife would likely have been The Princess of Wales nonetheless, because he was The Prince of Wales. However, she could've still decided to be known by one of his lower ranked titles, just as Camilla did when she married I'm in 2005 and chose to be known as HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. She was still The Princess of Wales, though she didn't use it.

• Everything about Camilla's involvemt with the NOS is true. The stolen pictures published in The Sun, the settlement and compensation, and her quietly giving her half to the NOS. The soiree also happened as described.

[forabeatofadrum]

Ljubili se (6/21)

Notes: Well folks, the December Fanworks Challenge has come to an end, officially. This fic still has a long time to go. Like its predecessor, the fic will be finished, but it's just taking some time since I am super duper busy!

But I really wanted to publish a chapter today, to at least acknowledge the work that the people from the @klaineadvent have put into it and to thank them, so hooray, here I am! I am glad that the Advent lives on in whatever way. I'm really happy that this (smaller) fandom is still kicking.

Thanks for reading! Time for Kurt and Blaine to reunite!

AO3 | S&C

–

INSCRIBE

Kurt’s waiting at the airport. It’s the third time in a short while that he’s here: he landed here from Ljubljana, he sent off his dad and Carole, and now he’s picking up Blaine. God, he’s so excited. He went all out. He even brought one of those boards with Blaine’s name on it, so that he can wave it around like all the others who are picking someone up. Kurt even went the extra mile and inscribed it in a piece of wood.

And it pays off, because when Blaine arrives in the lobby and Kurt waves it around, Blaine’s entire face lights up.

“Kurt!”

“Blaine!”

They run towards each other and hug each other tightly. Kurt buries his face in the crook of Blaine’s neck and Blaine tightens his grip.

“You’re here,” Kurt says against Blaine’s skin.

“I am, love.”

“Welcome to New York!”

They stand there for a few more seconds, but then it’s time to go. Kurt’s eager to show Blaine around. They’re first going to drop Blaine’s suitcase off at Kurt’s apartment, and then they’re going into town. New York has a lot to offer.

--

“This place is insane,” Blaine says as he looks around Times Square. Kurt knows Blaine’s been to New York before, but he gets it. New York also takes his breath away. You get used to it when you live here, but it’s nice to be reminded. When Kurt came back from Ljubljana, he had to take it in as well.

He’ll miss it when he goes to LA.

If he goes to LA.

Classes start next week, so then Kurt can really sink his teeth into this. But now, he doesn’t need to think about being with Blaine in LA, since Blaine is here.

Blaine makes some photos of the billboards.

“Ljubljana was never this flashy.”

“True.”

“But I wouldn’t want it to be.”

“Same.”

When Blaine’s done taking photos, Kurt takes his hand and they make the trek to Central Park. Kurt had prepared a little picnic. He even bought a second hand picnic basket at a bargain store!

It’s a nice August day as well. It’s perfect. They roll out a picnic blanket and feed each other food. It’s too cute for words and Kurt loves it. He loves seeing Blaine smile.

“We’ll take the train back to your place next?” Blaine asks after a while.

Kurt nods.

“Do you already want to go home?”

Blaine shakes his head.

“No. Not necessarily, but just checking.”

“Why?”

“Because of your roommates.”

“Ah.”

Yes, they’re going to tell Rachel and Santana. They won’t be home until the evening, which is fine, because then Kurt will have Blaine for himself for a bit longer, but they will be home and they will notice that someone else is there.

“Could you tell me about them?” Blaine asks.

“Oh. Well. They’re cool, albeit busy,” Kurt starts, “They come from the same school and decided to live together. I joined the household later. Santana is a professional dancer. She works at this dance studio and she has a girlfriend named Dani. Rachel is driven and passionate. She landed an agent while I was in Ljubljana, so she spends most of her time auditioning and what not. Not going to lie, she almost makes me feel bad about it.”

Blaine frowns, so Kurt elaborates.

“It’s just… she’s advancing in her career. I fucked off to another country and she’s actually going somewhere.”

“But you also did it for your career!” Blaine argues, “It looks amazing on your resume. And career aside, it was also a lot of fun.”

Kurt sighs. He knows that. And he met Blaine, which is arguably the best part of his semester abroad. Rachel unfortunately tends to make remarks about how much better she’s doing. She’s not even doing it to hurt him, more to show off, but it’s noticeable.

“Besides, multiple ways lead to Rome, and with Rome I mean a theatre career,” Blaine continues, “Your degree is important and you’ll do an internship this year too, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Have you already started thinking about that? You can show that off to Rachel!”

“I haven’t,” Kurt lies.

He needs to change the subject. He can’t dwell on the internship thing and accidentally spill the beans.

“But yeah, that’s Rachel!” he quickly says, “And Santana. My roommates.”

“And you like them, right?”

Kurt nods.

“I do. They’re my friends. I actually miss them.”

He does. Kurt, Rachel and Santana are roommates first, friends second. It’s the truth, but they’re still friends and Kurt cares for them and he knows they care for him too. Rachel and Santana truly haven’t had time to just relax and catch up. Well, maybe Santana has had, but she prefers spending her free time with Dani.

“I can’t wait to meet them, then,” Blaine says.

They finish their picnic and then they take the train back to Kurt’s place. Kurt’s desperate to have some time with Blaine in private and judging by the way Blaine keeps reaching out, the feeling is mutual.

It’s almost as if the train ride is endless.

But once they’re inside and Blaine’s pushed Kurt against the door to kiss him, it all goes so fast. Kurt doesn’t mind. They take off their shoes and dump the picnic basket before heading to the bedroom.

-

Kurt and Blaine decide to make themselves presentable before greeting Rachel and Santana. They have a quick shower and then get dressed.

Then they wait.

They’re lying in Kurt’s bed, holding each other. Kurt has his head rested on Blaine’s chest and he can hear Blaine’s heartbeat go fast.

“It’ll be fine,” Kurt reassures him. Santana is a lesbian and Rachel has two dads, so they luckily don’t have to worry about homophobia.

“Yeah,” Blaine sighs.

Then, after a few more minutes, they hear the front door open.

“Anyone in here?” Santana screeches out. The walls of this apartment are relatively thin, so Kurt can hear her crystal clear.

��Santana, Kurt’s shoes are here!” Rachel says back.

“… together with another pair of shoes,” Santana notices.

“Kurt?” Rachel also calls out.

Kurt looks over to Blaine. Blaine nods. It’s time.

Kurt rolls of Blaine and Blaine slides out of the bed and walks towards Kurt’s mirror to check his appearance. What a ridiculous man, Kurt thinks fondly, He wants to look at his best when he meets my roommates.

“Ready?” Kurt whispers, so that Rachel and Santana will not overhear.

“Yeah,” Blaine says under his breath.

Kurt also gets out of bed and walks towards the door to open it. He does and pokes his head out of the doorway.

“Hey,” he says lamely to Rachel and Santana.

“Hey,” Santana says back in the same tone.

Rachel’s already moved to the kitchen to probably make tea with honey for her voice, but she also says a quick hello.

“So?” Santana says with a knowing smile, “Something you wanna tell us, Hummel?”

“Yes, actually,” Kurt says and he looks back over his shoulder. Blaine gives him a thumbs up. “Ladies, I have a boyfriend.”

Rachel lets out a delighted shriek.

Santana just yells: “Called it!”

“And he’s here. Ladies, please meet my boyfriend,” Kurt opens the door even wider. It feels so formal. Blaine appears in the doorway, next to Kurt, and he opens his mouth to speak, but then his eyes widen.

Santana has a similar look on her face.

“Blaine Anderson?” she asks in disbelief.

“Santana Lopez?”

[nancypullen]

Well, Hey There!

Gosh, I let the last few days get away from me and this poor ol' blog paid the price. I don't even have anything exciting to report, I've just been puttering - a bit in the yard, a bit in the house, even did a little Xmas shopping, but mostly a whole lot of nothing.

A decision was made that we would not be joining the Y, so I'm trying to discipline myself into at least a 30 minute dance workout every day. Let's just say I'm not very disciplined. There's a treadmill in the garage that works perfectly fine and I really don't mind turning on some music or a podcast and killing 30 minutes on it. Unfortunately I can always find something else that I want to do more - like reading, painting, watching a murder show, writing limericks, picking fuzz out of my navel, watching clouds, naming birds at the birdfeeder...see? Busy, busy. Speaking of that treadmill, until recently it was blocked by that desk/hutch combo that I bought at an auction for 7 dollars.

I finally painted it and got it moved into my craft room!

I'm still organizing it and will probably switch the items on the shelves until I'm satisfied. I'll move that basket out from under the desk too. I suppose it's the lighting, but the handles and knobs really do match. Know what my favorite bit is?

The bottles.

Those are just old Starbucks bottles. I painted the lids with the same paint I used on the desk and then sorted my buttons into them. I need a couple more for black and brown, so I have to keep drinking.

I'm tickled with the extra storage (the drawers are so tidy!) and I love it when organization can be pretty.

The drawers have glues, scissors, blank cards & envelopes, cardstock for printing my dead people, etc. The shelves hold everything else I use for my silly cards.

My paper is sorted in those clear bins on the right - I only bought four, so it's sorted into florals, patterns, holidays, and "special" stuff like maps, sheet music, and that sort of thing. I didn't have to buy anything else, the baskets and stuff were hanging around the house waiting for a job to do. The wooden crate holding markers, colored pencils, and paint pens was gifted to me from Tyler & Jamie's wedding.

Remember that Goodwill print that I was turning into a witchy picture? I finally stopped dabbling with it and put it back in the frame. First I painted the frame black, and because I ruined the original mat (oops) I had to fish around and find one that would work. Nothing I had on hand fit the print and I wasn't about to buy a new mat, so I edged the print with gingham and lace (my answer for everything) and slapped it in the frame.

Poor photography skills, but you get the idea. What was once a prim and proper street scene is now giving Halloween vibes. now it can go into the back of a closet with the rest of them. Why do I do this?? I should take them all and donate them back to Goodwill and let them find homes. I'm home alone. For the last two days Mickey has been out day and night snapping photos of Summerfest, Denton's big bash marking the end of summer. I hope Mother Nature sees it and turns the heat down. It's been drizzling on and off today, so I'm sure everything is steamy. No, thank you. Hard pass. There will be a handful of vendors selling stuff I don't need, no decent food or food trucks, a decent selection of bands playing at different times and on different stages, a great area for kids with slides and bouncy houses, and at the end of the night, fireworks. I may go sit on the front porch later and take a peek at the fireworks. I was spoiled by attending the Wilson County Fair every August , that was always the official goodbye to summer for us, even though the weather didn't break until a month later. Annnd speaking of weather, I saw that The Old Farmers' Almanac issued their winter forecast. I was disappointed.

We're up there under "Mild,Wet". Every year I cross my fingers for "Cold, Above Average Snowfall" and it never happens. Thanks to Climate Change I think it's going to become rare if not extinct.

Oh well, I need to tidy up a bit and then choose a movie to watch with the girls. This is who I mean by "the girls."

They keep begging for the BBC version of Jane Austen's Persuasion, so it looks like tonight is the night. I'll try to think of something more interesting to write about tomorrow. The rest of the week may be a wash. We're getting the grandgirl on Monday and returning her Thursday, so I'll be busy and tired. It's her last week before school starts so there needs to be some fun. She's had a great summer, vacation and camps, but we'll have some Grancy-style fun. Look at these cute sprinkles I picked up for back-to-school cupcakes. Perfect for a first grader!

I'll have to see if there's a movie playing that she might be interested in, and I'll bet she'd like to go on a treasure hunt in Target with me. The rest of the time it will be Barbies, pool, books, and probably some arts and crafts. The only things that she requested I add to the grocery list (I asked) are apples, pretzels, and pizza Lunchables. I have a feeling her parents may want me to get some veggies and good protein into her. Grandpa sees nothing wrong with that list. If I turn my back he'll have her at the 7-11 getting a blue Icee right before dinner. Anywayyyy, I'm rambling. I'll wrap this up by saying that I hope your Saturday evening is a delight. If that means running wild with friends or being in your jammies by sundown, I hope you love every minute of it. Sending out loads of love tonight. Take what you need and pass it on. Stay safe, stay well. XOXO, Nancy

[theretirementstory]

04/08/2024. Greetings from a partly cloudy Bar-sur-Aube where the temperature is currently 19c.

Don’t ask if it’s been a busy week, aren’t they all? However, I was in Paris on Monday then again on Tuesday. It was very hot on Tuesday, at one point it was 43c in the taxi. We could have been home earlier than 18:30 but we had another patient to pick up at a different hospital and although it was an opportunity for photographs I would have preferred being home. Never mind, people have extended their departure waiting for me so it was just payback time. Thursday it was to the hospital in Troyes for my transfusion, I was glad to see the weekend when I could relax before it all starts again next week!

When I was having my treatment at the hospital on Monday, I met a lady who had lived in London for 40 years and had come back to France to look after her mother. Even more surprising was that she actually lives in Troyes. It was wonderful to chat in English with her, unfortunately I fell asleep and missed her leaving. Maybe I will see her next week.

Pauline has been in Porto for a little holiday before she returns to Paris to find work. She sent me photos and to say I was a little envious was an understatement. At the present time, however, I don’t have the energy to walk into town never mind sightseeing in a city!

Monique messaged to say that she was bored as the car was in the body shop and she was stuck at home. I was going to try and manage with my shopping but then Anie messaged to see if I needed anything so I was fortunate enough to have new supplies delivered.

As the cleaner was unable to give any time to come and clean my house, I was “stuck” again. Anie came to the rescue, she thinks that she has found a lady and hopefully she will start next week. What wonderful friends I have here.

“The Photographer” and his children have had a wonderful time in the motor home. They all slept well, it’s the fresh air. The site was basic but young children just need a playground and some grass to run about on. They were happy to see Grandad when they got home and of course will be telling Mummy about their adventures too.

“The Jetsetter” had met up with “The Photographer” and family to have a picnic on the Knavesmire in York. My grandson, who loves pineapple, was pleased that there was some at the picnic.

To me holidays are all about making memories and that is what were made this last fortnight.

“The Trainee Solicitor” has had yet another busy week. I am not sure if he and the “The Recovery Coordinator” managed to go to the cinema. He has however booked the flights for a visit to see moi! We are all looking forward to it.

“The Recovery Coordinator” is now counting down the days until her holidays. She is looking forward to coming out to see me and I can’t wait to see them.

Yesterday it was a memorial football match for a young man who sadly passed away in 2016. He was a school friend of “The Trainee Solicitor” and both he and “The Photographer” used to play football with this lovely young man. Sadly, cancer is no respecter of age and to lose anyone to cancer is sad but for a parent to lose a child to the disease is so very very sad. Both men went to the match, “The Photographer” was taking the photos and “The Trainee Solicitor” was just catching up with people he hadn’t seen for a while. He saw the “young man’s” Mum and managed to talk to her without becoming emotional.

It’s the weekend for the grand getaway for the people who have holidays in August. Let’s hope that traffic is light in Paris tomorrow. Goodness me “what is a holiday?” I was booked to go on one last year and was planning another this year and both times my holiday was spent in hospital! Well to all of those managing to get away from it all, enjoy.

You may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned my garden lately. Goodness me the shrubs are possibly more than 2 metres high, the weeds in the borders are taking control and I am sure that a cherry stone has produced a new shrub (in my neighbours garden) which is now encroaching into my garden. In the front, the Weigela plant which was cut back last year, has thrived and I am having huge problems keeping one of the gates open. I hope the gardener comes soon to trim all of these back otherwise I will be lost in the shrubbery!

The music this week is a bit of a change for me, the first song is back to 1981 it’s “Don’t Stop Believin’ “ by Journey and the second one is from 1989 it’s “Back To Life” by Soul II Soul. I hope you listen to these songs and like them.

I am really into the Olympics, good heavens I have watched BMX racing, archery, the fencing, I really have enjoyed them. Of course athletics, swimming and gymnastics took my fancy as well as cycling but I was surprised to find myself watching judo.

The above photo is of the Fontaine de la Place Gambetta and the photo below is of more beautiful architecture, this building has Sapeurs Pompiers on the stonework.

I wish you all a Bon dimanche.

[atomicladytimetravel]

How I Met Your (Step) Mother

Chapter Three: Flashbacks

Summary: We take a trip back to the 80s to see how things started for the trio.

Word Count: 2,895

Chapter Two

Monday August 22nd, 1983

It was the first day of freshman year and Tommy was nervous. His leg bounced subconsciously as he sat waiting for the day to start. His older brother had tried to calm his nerves on the drive over, telling him that high school is no big deal and it’s not exactly how it’s portrayed on after school specials.

He glanced over when he noticed a girl he didn’t recognize sit next to him. She was very pretty. She wore a Metallica t-shirt and ripped jeans, worn black Chuck Taylors on her feet. He had been going to school with the same people since elementary school and he knew most of the people surrounding him in his home room, but he’d never seen her before.

“Hey,” he said. When she turned to look at him, he continued, “I’m Tommy. I’ve never seen you before.”

“My family just moved from Dallas,” she responded. She went back to staring at the board ahead of her.

“You got a name?” Tommy prodded. She gave him her name without looking back at him.

“Pretty name,” he said, giving her a half smile.

“Thanks, my mom gave it to me,” she deadpanned. Tommy laughed. The tiniest grin tugged at the corner her mouth. She decided he might be okay.

—————————

It didn’t take long for the two of them to begin dating. He brought her home after school one day and introduced her to his parents and older brother. Joel was as good looking as Tommy was. He was the reason Tommy broke up with her the first time.

In the second semester of freshman year, she and Joel had home economics together. He was the only other person in the class she had ever really spoken to, so she sat next to him. They talked during class and realized they have a lot in common. She laughed at his jokes and when they left class, he held the door for her.

She found Tommy in their usual spot at lunch. She attempted to kiss his cheek but he turned away. She frowned.

“What’s up?”

“Heard you were having a pretty good time with Joel,” he spat.

“What are you talking about Tommy?”

“In home ec? I heard y’all were getting pretty cozy,” he explained angrily.

“Oh my god.” She rolled her eyes. “He was the only person in class I knew so I talked to him.”

“From what I heard it was a little more than that,” he said.

“What, are you spying on me? All I did was laugh at something he said and he held the door for me when we left class. You’re acting like I fucked him in the floor or something. Jesus.”

“Well if he’s so fucking funny, you can go out with him then. I’m done.” He picked up his lunch and stomped away from her.

“Tommy, wait!” she called after him, but he ignored her. She stood there, stunned, until she felt tears prickling at the corner of her eyes. She made it to the bathroom before she let them fall. Unfortunately for her, Joel’s locker was right across from the bathroom and he saw her emerge, eyes puffy and red. He rushed over to see what was wrong.

“What did he do?”

“He broke up with me because someone told him you and I were getting too friendly in home ec,” she told him honestly. “He wouldn’t listen when I told him it was nothing.”

Joel was taken aback. Had he been subconsciously flirting with her? She was pretty, but she was his brother’s girlfriend - and a freshman for fuck’s sake.

“Oh fuck…I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to start anything,” he said. “I’ll talk to him, maybe I can fix it.”

“It’s not your fault, I’m the one that sat next to you. You would think it would be good that we get along but I guess not.”

She was sulking in her room when the phone rang. She ignored it, thinking it would be for her mom or dad. Her mom called up the stairs that it was for her. She rolled over and picked up the receiver from the phone on her nightstand.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Hey…,” Tommy’s voice came through, sheepish and apologetic.

“What?” she huffed.

“I’m sorry. Joel told me what happened and said if I ever made you cry again he would kick my ass,” he said.

“You should’ve believed me when I told you there was nothing going on,” she pointed out. “You have to trust me. Yeah, me and Joel get along but that’s about it.”

“I know, I’m an idiot,” he sighed. She smiled.

“You’re forgiven,” she giggled.

Friday September 14th, 1984

“Tommy Miller, you unbelievable asshole!”

They were at a party they most definitely shouldn’t have been attending. Most of the kids were seniors, but a few underclassmen had been invited. Tommy had gotten drunk for the first time and she had just found him in someone’s bedroom with Tiffany Anderson, a cheerleader who was always subtly flirting with Tommy.

She slammed the door and ran downstairs to find a phone. She couldn’t call her parents, so she called her only other friend not at this party - Joel. She breathed a sigh of relief when he answered instead of one of his parents.

“Joel, can you come get me?” she sobbed into the receiver. His stomach dropped.

“What’s wrong? Where’s Tommy?”

“I found him in a bedroom with Tiffany Anderson.”

“I’ll kill him,” Joel growled. She heard Tommy calling for her.

“Just hurry, he’s looking for me and I don’t want to talk to him.”

“Okay. Wait outside, I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

She managed to avoid Tommy until Joel pulled up to the curb where she was standing. She flung open the door and slid into the seat before a fresh bout of tears overcame her.

“You been drinkin’?” he asked.

“No, but he was,” she said through her tears. “He got really drunk.”

“Great,” Joel grumbled. That meant after he dropped her off, he’d be going back for Tommy. “Tell me what happened.”

“I was talking to some people when one of the girls grabbed my arm and said she’d just seen Tommy go upstairs with Tiffany. I went up there and found them kissing and her shirt was off.” It took her a few minutes to get the whole story out between sobs. Joel felt bad for her and hated seeing her cry. He patted her on the knee gently.

“I’m sorry he did that. I guess I’m gonna have to kick his ass now.”

She thought back to the promise he made last year if Tommy made her cry again. Despite how hurt and angry she was feeling, her heart fluttered a little at the realization he cared enough about her to remember that.

When he circled back to the party, Tommy was already waiting for him outside.

“You’re gonna kill me, right?” he slurred when he opened the passenger door.

“Somethin’ like that, yeah. Get in, you little jerk.”

Instead of roughing him up, Joel did the next worst thing a brother could do - he ratted him out to their parents. Tommy was grounded for a week for going to the party and two more for cheating on his girlfriend. The Millers weren’t raising playboys.

Saturday March 23, 1985

It took six months for her to even entertain the idea of talking to Tommy again. She talked to Joel every day, the pair having become good friends since the incident. That bothered Tommy to no end.

“You know it’s not cool that you still talk to her and she won’t talk to me,” he complained over breakfast one Saturday morning.

“Get over it. I ain’t gonna stop being her friend because you couldn’t control your hormones. You really hurt her. Don’t you think it would hurt her feelings even more if I took your side when you were clearly in the wrong? Have you even tried to apologize?”

Tommy looked down into his bowl of cereal and mumbled a defeated, “no.” He knew Joel was right. He called her house and to his surprise, she agreed to talk to him. He apologized a hundred times, telling her he had been so drunk that he doesn’t even remember doing anything with Tiffany, or how he got home.

“I miss you,” he told her earnestly. “Can we meet somewhere?”

She was quiet for a few moments. She missed Tommy, too. She believed he was sincere, although she was pretty sure Joel was the catalyst for the conversation. He was always the voice of reason among the three of them. There was a tiny part of her, shoved away in the recesses of her mind, that wished she could be with him. The older Miller was more mature and they had a lot more in common. She was in denial about her feelings for him and he was seeing someone anyway.

“You still there?” Tommy asked tentatively.

“Sorry, I was just thinking. Yeah, we can meet somewhere.”

Friday May 8th, 1987

“Why don’t you just fucking admit you’re in love with him?” Tommy shouted.

“Tommy, I’m not in love with Joel. I love you, would you please stop?”

It was true, she had shaken any feelings she thought she had for Joel. She focused on her relationship with Tommy after they got back together near the end of sophomore year. Things went great for a solid year - until Stephanie came along that is. When Joel suggested a double date, she had been excited to meet the girl he talked constantly about, but she wasn’t worth the hype he gave her. She mostly ignored Peach and Tommy in favor of kissing and touching Joel whenever she could. It made Peach want to vomit. When she did talk, she was condescending and rude. Peach was mad at Joel by the end of the night for even entertaining this woman. This triggered the argument between her and Tommy.

“Please, you seethed the entire time we were at the restaurant with them,” he argued.

“Yeah, because she was a huge bitch. She acted like we were fucking toddlers because we’re still in high school. If we’d closed our eyes for a few seconds, she probably would’ve fucked him at the table,” Peach countered.

“Stephanie’s only half of the problem. Jealousy is the other half.”

Peach put her head in her hands, frustrated that the conversation was getting nowhere.

“Maybe we’re just supposed to be friends,” she sighed. “I can’t keep breaking up and getting back together with you. If you leave me over this, then I’m done. I don’t know how to convince you that I’m not in love with your brother.”

“You can’t,” Tommy said sadly. “I can see it. It always been Joel for you, Peach. I just couldn’t see it til now.”

“Tommy please, that’s not true.” Her voice broke and a cascade of tears flowed down her cheeks. “I love you Tommy.”

“Maybe so,” he shrugged. “But I don’t think you love me as much as you love him.”

He didn’t give her a chance to respond. He stormed out of her house and left her sobbing in her room - only this time Joel couldn’t pick up the pieces.

When Joel asked her what happened, she told him it was too upsetting to talk about and he didn’t push her. He couldn’t console her like he wanted to - not without Stephanie losing her shit. She didn’t like Peach but put up with her because Joel was adamant about being her friend. Stephanie ultimately ended up getting her way, though, because Joel hung out with Peach less and less. She lost her boyfriend and her best friend in one fell swoop.

Saturday June 6th, 1987

For the first time in weeks, Joel approached Peach and gave her a big hug. He’d had to elbow his way through the throng of fresh high school graduates to see her.

“Congratulations, grad,” he beamed. Peach saw Stephanie scowling over his shoulder and Tommy was glaring at her from across the auditorium. She fought the tears that were coming and gave Joel her best fake smile. He saw right through it, of course, and his face fell.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “He’s an ass. He - he told me what happened.”

“For fuck’s sake,” she groaned. “I’m not in love with you, okay? He’s always thought we had something but it’s in his head and I can’t make him see any differently.”

“I know, I know. It’s okay,” he soothed. “Hey, it’s your big day and I see your folks lookin’ for ya right now. Go enjoy yourself, okay Peach? Promise me?”

She gave him a weak smile. “Okay. Promise.”

Saturday July 4, 1987

Peach walked through the back gate of her friend Julie’s house. Her family always had a huge barbecue on the fourth and Julie was allowed to invite whoever she wanted. They were filthy rich. Joel spotted her coming in and called out to her; she found him sitting alone at a picnic table, smoking a joint. Julie’s parents were very liberal. He offered it to her as she sat across from him.

“What would Saint Stephanie say?” she teased before taking a drag.

“She ain’t gonna find out,” he replied.

“Where is she, anyway?” She passed the joint back to him.

“This ain’t really her scene. She’s doing something with her folks.” He took a drag off the joint and passed it back.

“How are you doing since…you know?” he asked. Just when he asked that, Tommy walked through the back gate, Tiffany Anderson clinging to his arm.

“Well, I was doing a lot better until he just walked in with Tiffany.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Joel sighed. “He’s so stupid.”

Peach made to get up, but Joel stopped her.

“Don’t leave. He just wins that way. Besides, we ain’t talked in weeks.”

“Fine,” she agreed. Tommy approached them with Tiffany in tow.

“Peach, you know Tiffany,” he said smugly.

“Yeah, it’s really nice to see you with your shirt on Tiff,” Peach quipped with a fake smile. “And Tommy, at least you broke up with me before whoring around this time. I call that character development.”

Tommy scowled at her, his plan obviously failing. He grabbed Tiffany’s arm and left without another word. Joel shook his head.

“Idiot.”

Later that evening, there was a knock at Peach’s front door. Tommy stood on the other side, hands shoved in his pockets and guilt on his face.

“What do you want, Tommy?” Peach sighed when she opened the door.

“I’m sorry. It was stupid for me to show up with Tiffany. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He looked genuinely sorry.

“Are you two dating or what?”

“No; I asked if she wanted to come with me but I took her straight home after and I didn’t even have a good time,” he admitted. “I miss hanging out with you.”

“I miss hanging out with you, too,” Peach told him honestly. “Can we try to be friends? I’ve been miserable all summer.”

Tommy looked at her sheepishly, knowing he was at least half the cause of her misery.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” he said.

Thursday October 6th, 1988

Things went back to normal for a long time. Peach, Tommy and Joel saw each other on a regular basis. Peach and Tommy were getting along much better as friends and the three of them were closer than ever. They were hanging out at Joel’s new place when Peach noticed he was being unusually quiet.

“What’s up Joel?” she asked. “You look a million miles away.”

He heaved a heavy sigh before answering, “Stephanie’s pregnant.”

Tommy and Peach stared at him in stunned silence. Tommy had finally seen what Peach saw in Stephanie and he didn’t like her either.

“You’re having a demon spawn with She Devil?” he asked incredulously. Peach nudged him in the ribs.

“Tommy! You can’t refer to your future niece or nephew as demon spawn.”

“You didn’t say anything about the She Devil comment,” Joel pointed out. Peach raised her eyebrows at him.

“You know how I feel.”

“Well, she’s gonna be the mother of my child so I suggest y’all get on board,” he shot back angrily.

“Oh god, you’re not gonna marry her are you?” Peach groaned.

“Thought about it,” he said with a shrug. “But I’m gonna give it a little bit.”

The three of them sat in silence for a few minutes. Peach was the first one to finally speak.

“Well…if you’re happy, I’m happy,” she said. “Obviously I wish Stephanie was a better person, but as long as she treats you and the baby right, I’m good.”

“She’s getting better at lying,” Tommy thought to himself. He wondered if she believed anything she was saying, because he didn’t.

Thursday July 20, 1989

Tommy and Peach waited anxiously in the waiting room of the maternity ward for Joel to come out and tell them he was officially a father. He’d called from the hospital a few hours prior and they rushed right over. At 4:47 pm, he burst through the doors with a huge grin.

“It’s a girl. Her name is Sarah.”

[yr-obedt-cicero]

You’ve probably been asked this question a lot but were the Hamilton’s strict parents?

I would consider them so. Before I begin about Hamilton and Elizabeth individually, it's important to settle the family dynamic they had; Hamilton was usually off at work, and couldn't always be there every day with the kids. But Elizabeth was a “stay at home mom” (Which doesn't work in the common case it's used in; as Elizabeth didn't have the opportunity to go out and work if she even wanted to), she was always with the kids and running the house. It definitely appears like they weren't the lenient, coddly type. Don't get me wrong, they were very affectionate parents, smothering even. And they valued having a tight knit family — that it was a family virtue of Hamilton's that his family wasn't to be separated ever if possible. But they definitely weren't the kind of parents that were friends with their kids. I would describe their parenting style as helicopter parents, where they were very involved in their children's activities and lives.

I'm not too sure about Elizabeth, because not much is written on account of her parenting style. But considering how strict her own mother was, she likely ruled out the same teachings as when she was a girl. If Elizabeth was strict in any sense, it was likely with religion, as that was a very essential thing to her in life — and she was was very adamant her children attend church, and she would read them a Bible lesson every morning. Unfortunately, there isn't much insight on motherhood for Elizabeth, as most of her correspondence was burned and since she spent all of her days with her kids there was nothing that needed to be written down. She harped on John C. often for him to update the progress on his biography, so you can make the assumption if she wanted her children to get work done she wouldn't allow slacking off.

With Hamilton you can get a good idea of his parenting style and what role he played in the household; Hamilton was majorly in charge of the boy's, and would take them with him into the city when he could. It seems on disciplinary matters, Hamilton was only called upon if the case proved severe enough, like a “Wait until your father comes home and hears about this”. Rarely in any of his correspondence with Elizabeth is there mentions of him needing to correct much from the kids. Only a brief mention with Philip, who was the most rebellious of the children; “I am anxious to hear from Philip. Naughty young man.”

Hamilton played a very active role in his children's education, in fact, all of the surviving letters to his kids are about their education. Hamilton managed all the children's schooling, and even mentored Philip himself after he graduated college. He was a very strict and unrelenting teacher, probably prioritizing education above all due to how sacred it was for him as a child himself. He wrote Philip a very strong rule list that dictated and managed every day of Philip's life while studying for the bar.

And he was always keeping an eye on the children when they would leave, as I mentioned before; Hamilton often did not like the family to be apart where he could not keep an eye on things. As Hamilton was reluctant to let Philip travel alone for very long, and even had a friend of his keep an eye on him while he passed through Providence;

“As my eldest son Philip, who lately graduated, will pass through Providence on his way to Boston, I give him this line barely to introduce him to you; since the time I have prescribed for his return will not permit the stay of more than a day at Providence.”

(source — Alexander Hamilton to Jeremiah Olney, [August 12, 1800])

He also just seemed protective of his children in general. He would constantly write panicking letters to Elizabeth when he heard one of the kids had gotten sick, and would usually try his hardest to rush home. According to Hosack, after Philip nearly died in 1797, Hamilton took on nursing his kids himself whenever they fell ill and prescribed their medicine, or found the greatest doctors in the state, himself.

So, overall, yeah I would consider them so.

[lorellaishc]

The Joys of Exploration

((Daily writing challenge august 2023 day 5, Wanderlust/Violation, @daily-writing-challenge, CW: None))

Shansii and Lorellai stood at the edge of the estate in Elwynn, looking through the shimmering bubble that protected it into the woods beyond. Birdsong filled the air and leaves gently rustled in the wind, giving the sun dappled forest the most enticing imagery imaginable.

Lorellai sighed. "It's so dumb that we're not allowed to go walk in the forest! We're twelve years old, we know how to take care of ourselves! And think of all the cool stuff we're missing out on that's just beyond what we can see!"

Shansii crossed her arms and huffed. "You're so right. We're practically grownups. In fact," she continued, smiling as she made a decision and taking something out of her pocket, "you're so right, that go walk in the forest is exactly what we're going to do!"

Lorellai's eyes glittered with mischief. "Is that your dad's wand? For turning off the bubble?"

"Yes it is, and he is having a nap so he won't even know it was gone. We'll be out and back before he wakes up! Wanna go on an adventure!"

"Do I ever!" Lorellai cheered as Shansii used the wand, just as her dad did, to make a hole in the field, and the girls jumped through, running off into the woods.

Unfortunately, the best laid plans of little girls don't always go exactly as they might hope. As one hour turned into two, and then into three and four, the pair were forced to admit the truth.

"We're lost, aren't we Shansii?" Lorellai asked, noting to herself how much spookier the forest looked when the sun was close to setting.

"We're not lost, we're just taking the scenic route." Shansii declared, doing her best to hide the waver in her voice. She was sure this was the way back. Just like she'd been sure of that other path that went around the fallen tree.

"We're so dead when we get back," Lorellai groaned, pulling out her last dried fruit snack, tearing it in half to share without a second thought.

"Our parents are adventurers! They'll understand, don't worry-" Shansii's reply was cut off by a rustling in the bushes. Something growled low from them, and the girls immediately huddled up.

"What was that?" Lorellai asked, hugging her friend.

"You're the ranger in training, you tell me!"

The growl continued low, and the bushes rattled more, and a dark shape leapt out at them with a shriek, that mingled with the screams of the girls as the beast fell upon them, and started poking at them with its antennae, and nuzzling at Shansii.

"Wait... Taatoo?" Shansii said, realizing that the beast that had jumped them belonged to-

"THERE you are!" Shillan's voice rang out as he followed his ravager through the bushes, finding the girls safely pinned by his loyal companion. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Come on, we gotta get back before I get in trouble!"

Lorellai pushed away the friendly insectoid. "Aren't you mad at us?" she asked, trying to hold back tears. She was a big girl, after all.

"No, but I was worried a lot. But! If we don't get back before your moms do, there's gonna be enough mad to go around, so come on, let's get you home!" Shillan declared, picking up Shansii while Taatoo bumped into Lorellai until she climbed on, and then they hoofed it back, as fast as the ravager's talons and Shillan's hooves could carry them. It was fully dark by the time they got back to the manor, but Shillan breathed a sigh of relief as he saw that the carriage wasn't back yet.

"Alright kids, we made it. Let's clean you up and get you into bed, I'll sneak you some dinner later okay?" Instead of the agreement he expected, he heard sniffles, and turned to see both of the girls trying, and failing to hold back tears. "Hey now, it's okay. It was scary, but you're home no worse for wear, and you probably learned something about going off alone, right?" He smiled at his daughter and her best friend as they nodded wordlessly, sniffling and rubbing their eyes. "Tell you what, tomorrow we'll go on a proper hike, just the three of us, and we can go see all the cool stuff you want. Okay?" More sniffly nods met him, and Shillan took the hint, scooping the girls up and taking them upstairs to get ready for bed. They'd probably sleep well after such an exciting day.

[mtap-comics]

Welcome back to my Bad Things Happen Bingo!

Fandom: My time at Portia

Pairing: Arlo x Female Builder

Summary: Elenya never thought getting her nose broken by a door was the way to get a boyfriend.

Word count: 6464

Prompt: Bloody Nose

Author’s note: So, this one is a mess. The beginning of this has been in my WIP's since August last year and was originally going to be a short, sweet story and now we have this...

There's more angst in it than I planned (not too much, but I couldn't control my head on this one), but hopefully the ending makes up for it.

In between, I think my knowledge of English left me, so if something sounds weird, please let me know!

Now I hope you enjoy reading!

Warnings: Blood, Broken Nose, Getting Together, First Kiss

Read on AO3: Link

Impactful Meeting

Elenya walked across the Central Plaza in a good mood. It was a sunny, albeit cold, autumn day and the leaves of the Wishing Tree were shimmering in all sorts of colours. She loved the colours of autumn, especially here in Portia. In Barnarock, unfortunately, there weren't too many trees, so she was all the more happy about her first autumn in the small city.

She was on her way to the research center. Yesterday she had found an old toy ship in the abandoned ruin 2 and wanted to give it to Petra. The researcher was happy to receive all kinds of things from the old world, even the non-technological ones, and Elenya hoped that she would be excited about it.

But when she pushed open the door to the research center, no one was inside.

Strange, it was only 5 pm. Where is Petra?

"Petra, Merlin?!" She took a few more steps into the room and called out to the two researchers, but there was no answer. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned back to the door. Probably the two of them had once again pulled an all-nighter and had now gone home early, completely overtired.

She was about to reach for the doorknob when the door suddenly opened and swung inward. Startled, she took a step back, but unfortunately she was too slow. The door hit her in the middle of the face and with a pain-filled cry she fell backwards onto her butt.

Pain shot up from her nose into her head and frantically she held her hands protectively in front of it. Something warm ran from it and she tasted metal on her lips.

Ouch...

"Oh God, Elenya, I'm so sorry. Are you all right? Let me see, please." A horrified voice hit her ears and someone knelt in front of her. Calloused hands gently grabbed hers and gingerly pulled them away from her face. A shocked hiss came from the person in front of her and slowly she opened her eyes.

Her gaze immediately fell on the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. Eyes that belonged to a certain Civil Corps Captain (who she might have had a teeny tiny crush on) and were now looking at her worriedly and guiltily. “Fuck, I'm so sorry. I didn't expect you to be right behind the door. I hope I didn't break your nose."

"Ouch..." She said aloud this time and a soft whimper escaped her.

Damn, that hurt.

"Oh geez, that's bleeding pretty bad. Wait, I've got a tissue somewhere." Hectically, Arlo rummaged around in his waist pack until he triumphantly pulled one out. "Here, let me..." He held the handkerchief gently to her nose, yet pain shot up into her forehead at even the lightest touch and she flinched slightly. A single tear escaped from her eye and frustrated, she wiped it away.

Surely she couldn't just start crying in front of him just because a door had hit her! He must have thought she was a crybaby.

"Hey, it's all right. I'm sure it hurts like hell and I'm so sorry. Here, you should bend your head forward a bit so the blood doesn't go down your throat." Arlo's other hand came to rest soothingly on her back and gently pushed her forward so that her head hung slightly over.

The handkerchief was by now completely bled through and Arlo rummaged in his pocket for more. Immediately she missed his warm hand on her back, but as soon as he held the next tissue gently to her nose, he put it back and began rubbing it reassuringly. "I hope it stops bleeding on its own, or I'll have to have Dr. Xu brought here. We can't get you up the hill like this and the blood loss can get dangerous very quickly. Fuck, I’m so sorry Elenya." His warm voice was still drenched in concern and guilt and cautiously Elenya lifted her head slightly to look at him.

“Don’ wo’y A’lo.” She sounded terribly slurred, the Rs unrecognisable as such and the movement of her mouth hurt her nose, but Arlo had apologised four times by now and she felt sorry for him. Getting hit in the face with a door definitely hurt, but he hadn't done it on purpose. “You didn’ do it on pu’pose. I’m go’ing to be o’kay.”

"Still... I'm really sorry."

With a soft sigh, she ignored the fifth apology, concentrating instead on the warm hand that kept gently stroking her back, trying to distract her from the throbbing pain in her face.

~~~~~~

After 10 minutes, the bleeding finally stopped. By then she had bled through a whole pack of tissues and she could feel the loss of blood affecting her body. Her hands had begun to shake and she felt a little dizzy. Unconsciously, her upper body tilted towards Arlo, who had been rubbing her back all along. He immediately moved his hand to wrap it around her shoulder instead, pulling her sideways against his chest.

"Woah, hey, are you all right?" His worried gaze pierced through her and exhausted, Elenya let her head drop onto his shoulder.

"Jus’ a li’le dizzy..." Her eyes closed without prompting and the arm around her shoulder tightened.

"Damn, that must be the blood loss already. It's stopped by now, fortunately, but you've still lost a lot. We'll wait a moment to see if it gets better, otherwise I'll have to see if I can get something with sugar for you from somewhere." Arlo pulled her even closer to him until she was practically sitting on his lap, one leg behind her back and the other under hers and exhausted, she enjoyed his warm embrace. Everything felt a little fuzzy around her and his strong arms gave her some support.

For the next 5 minutes she let herself rest in Arlo's arms, but the woozy feeling in her head didn't get any better.

Maybe she shouldn't have stayed up all night either.

Arlo also seemed to notice that she wasn't feeling any better and worriedly his gaze bored into the back of her head.

"It's not getting better, is it?" His voice dripped with concern.

She shook her head slightly in the negative. Her whole head was throbbing with pain and when she opened her eyes, everything was spinning around her. She would have liked to just fall asleep in Arlo's arms.

"Crap, this is not good at all. What am I going to do with you? We really need to get you to Dr. Xu." His arms tightened around her. "Wait, maybe I still have..."

The hand around her waist disappeared and Arlo began to rummage in his pocket again. With a triumphant sound, he pulled out a bottle of rainbow lemonade.

At the last second she managed to stop herself from wrinkling her nose in disgust. That would have hurt a lot.

She hated this stuff. It was sour, minimally sweetened, and she couldn't understand how anyone could commit such a crime against lemonade. And Arlo probably wanted her to drink that.

"Here, I know you don't like it, but I'm worried you're going to pass out on me. You need to drink something." He tried to push the bottle into her hand, but her hands were shaking so badly that she could barely hold it.

"Sorry..." Exhausted, her eyes fell shut again and her hands fell back into her lap. Arlo was probably not at all wrong in his fear. The only thing keeping her awake just then was the fact that she wasn't going to let a little nosebleed get her down.

Surely her body would be able to handle that little bit of blood loss!

"Hey, nothing to apologise for. I'm the one who messed up. Come on, I'll help you drink." Gently his words swept over her head and with a bit of fumbling he managed to get the cork off the bottle without having to loosen the supporting arm around her back.

"Here, slowly..." Gently, he held the now open bottle to her lips and tilted it slightly. Reluctantly, she drank the lemonade, careful not to screw up her face.

This was really the most disgusting thing she had ever drunk.

But the sour drink actually helped to invigorate her body. As soon as the bottle was empty, Arlo set it aside and slung his left arm back around her waist and, supported by his strong arms, the world slowly stopped spinning.

Carefully, she lifted her head from his shoulder and was relieved to find that the trembling in her hands had subsided as well.

Hopefully, Arlo looked down at her.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yes... Thank you." Gratefully, she looked up into his deep blue eyes, which gazed at her with relief.

"That's good. Do you think you can get up? The next DeeDee should be here soon, then we can take you to Dr. Xu."

"I think so. I'll just need your help." Her voice still sounded totally nasal and she wondered briefly if Arlo had even understood her, but she didn't need to worry about that.

"Of course. We'll take it real slow." Carefully, he disengaged from her and slid away a little so he could stand up undisturbed. Immediately she missed his warmth and just managed to stop herself from leaning in his direction.

Get a grip, Elenya. This is no time to be pining after Arlo.

Two large, calloused hands appeared in front of her face. Expectantly, Arlo looked down at her on the floor and carefully Elenya placed her still slightly trembling hands in his. In contrast to her ice-cold ones, they were wonderfully warm and enveloped her almost completely.

For a moment she just stared at her hands, how they melted perfectly into Arlo's, as if they were made for each other. She could feel the evidence of Arlo's hard work under her palms, all the calluses and long healed scars, but also how strong they were. Hands of a fighter and protector.

She had often found herself staring at his hands and wondering what her hands must feel like in his. And now she had the answer. Gently but firmly he held them and his warmth flowed from her hands to her heart. She never wanted to let go again.

"Ready?" Arlo's voice snapped her out of her dreamy thoughts and startled, she looked up at him, a slight blush on her cheeks.

Awkwardly, she brought her legs under her and then nodded. She had to get up at some point.

"Okay, here we go." He pulled lightly on her hands and she rose as slowly as she could, her legs shaking. Still, her circulation dropped for a moment, only to have all the blood rush to her head afterwards.

She became dizzy and her legs buckled under her.

Arlo caught her immediately and pulled her against his chest. Just before her nose collided with his shoulder, she was fortunately able to turn her head to the side and for a moment Arlo's arms under her armpits were the only thing keeping her upright.

"I've got you. You're all right."

Thank God he had such good reflexes. She could do without another acquaintance with the floor. But unfortunately, getting up had another consequence, and startled, she stepped away from Arlo as soon as her legs carried her again.

A new trickle of blood flowed from her nose and she didn't want to bleed all over his white jacket. It was enough that she was covered in blood.

"Oh no, not again." Concerned, Arlo held the next handkerchief gently to her nose. Where he had conjured it from, she could not say.

Fortunately, this time it was only a few drops and Arlo dropped his hand again in relief.

But guilt quickly filled his face as he worriedly examined her face and she wondered how bad she must look.

"Damn, I really did some damage. I'm so sorry, Elenya."

The upset look on his face tore at her heart and she tried to smile at him encouragingly, even though her whole face hurt as she did so.

"Do I look that bad?" She tried to say it as a joke, but her slurred pronunciation probably didn't bring it across well and his face contorted in even more anguish.

"God, I'm so sorry. At least let me try to wipe the blood away, okay? I'll be very careful." Before she could answer, Arlo disappeared in front of her and walked over to the sink that hung on the wall behind the Recovery Machine.

She heard the water running for a moment, then Arlo was back with a wet handkerchief.

"Hold still, please." His left hand came up to cradle her cheek and with his right hand he carefully wiped the blood from her face.

Hypnotised, Elenya stared at him. His face was very close to hers, she could feel his breath fanning her cheeks, his worried gaze firmly focused on her face. His touch was so gentle and tender that for a moment she could forget the throbbing pain in her face.

Engrossed, she studied his face. Slight laugh lines were visible at the corners of his eyes, his nose was slightly crooked, as if it too had taken a beating some time ago, and up close she was surprised to see that his deep blue eyes were streaked with bright flecks.

She had never noticed that before.

She couldn't take her eyes off him. Everything about this man was perfect to her, even the slightly protruding ears. It made him less perfect, and it was kind of cute.

She would have loved to trace his features with her fingers. Touch those soft-looking lips...

"There, that looks better. I'm afraid there's nothing I can do for your jacket, though."

Arlo's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she quickly shifted her gaze from his lips back to his eyes. Warm and apologetic, they looked back, his hand regrettably leaving her cheek.

Once his words had registered in her brain, she looked down at her jacket in confusion. A heavy throbbing in her nose told her that this was not a welcome movement, but she had to see for herself what he meant.

And indeed, a considerable amount of blood had spread over her yellow jacket, creating a grotesque contrast. It looked as if she had been in a slaughterhouse.

"Oh..."

How was she supposed to go out like that? What would people think?

"I'd say you just take the jacket off, but the sun is already setting and it's going to get cold very quickly. But how about I give you mine? I don't want you to be cold."

Before she could even respond, he was already taking off his jacket. A thin sweater was visible underneath, and now it was her turn to look at him worriedly.

"But... you'll get cold." She made no move to take the jacket held out to her.

"Don't worry about that. I don't get cold that easily. And you need it more than I do." He smiled softly at her and hesitantly she accepted.

She took off her own jacket and handed it to Arlo to take his in return. Carefully, without moving her head too much, she slipped it on and was immediately enveloped in comforting warmth. The jacket was much too big for her, of course, but felt wonderful.

Unfortunately, she couldn't detect Arlo's scent through her swollen nose, but the heavy, warm fabric still felt like a hug from him. An unconscious tension fell from her shoulders. Only now did she realise how cold she had been, her jacket not warm enough for her weakened body.

"Thank you..." Shyly, she looked up at him.

"You're welcome. Come on, I can hear the DeeDee already. Time to get you some painkillers and a diagnosis." Softly, almost tenderly, Arlo looked at her and shakily she put her hand in his, which he held out to her in an encouraging manner.

She let him lead her out of the research centre.

~~~~~~

The ride in the DeeDee was cold. While the cold air was a relief to her throbbing face, the rest of her body didn't like it at all. Shivering, she sat next to Arlo on the back seat, who didn't seem to be touched by the cold at all. Although it was she who was wearing his warm jacket.

Worried, he looked at her.

"Are you cold? Come here." He lifted his arm invitingly and she was only too happy to slide back into his arms. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, and exhausted, she leaned her head against his shoulder. The energy boost the rainbow lemonade had given her didn't last much longer, and she spent the 20 minutes it took to get to the clinic nestled against Arlo's side with her eyes closed.

Every jolt of the vehicle sent a new wave of pain through her nose and she was glad when they finally reached the top of the hill.

Wordlessly, she let Arlo help her out of the DeeDee and with a quick thank you to the driver, he led her to the clinic, a hand wrapped around her upper arm for support.

Curious, Dr. Xu looked up from his desk as they stepped through the door into the clinic, but his gaze immediately turned to concern when he saw her face. He quickly stepped around his desk and toward her.

"Oh my, what happened, Elenya? Have you been attacked?" The doctor looked worriedly at her nose.

Elenya still didn't know what it looked like and somehow didn't want to know, judging by the doctor's expression.

Arlo cleared his throat embarrassedly next to her.

"It was my fault. I, um, hit her face with a door." A slight blush graced his cheeks, and a new wave of guilt etched its way across his face.

Reassuringly, Elenya gently patted the hand still wrapped around her upper arm and nodded affirmatively at Dr. Xu, who looked at Arlo in confusion.

She wanted to say that it was an accident, but she didn't get around to it.

Dr. Xu immediately instructed her to sit on the hospital bed to the left of the entrance. Arlo helped her up and she gratefully leaned against him. The contrast of the cold air outside and the warmth in the clinic made her whole face throb and left her dizzy.

Arlo’s worried gaze bore through her, but she didn't have time to say reassuring words to him because Dr. Xu was already stepping up to the bedside.

"Okay, let me take a look. This looks really bad." Carefully he probed her nose, but even the slightest touch sent a sharp pain high up into her forehead and she jerked back with a hiss.

"I'm sorry, I know it hurts, but you have to bear with it for a moment. Can you do that?" The doctor looked at her apologetically and lowered his hands again.

"Yes, I think so." She really didn't want to, and you could hear it in her voice, but it wasn't as if she had a choice.

Before Dr. Xu could mess with her nose again, however, a large, warm hand suddenly slid into hers and, surprised, she looked at Arlo, who sat down next to her and gave her an encouraging look. Gratefully, she smiled back and squeezed his hand gently.

With a nod, she motioned for the doctor to continue. Clenching her eyes shut and holding Arlo's hand tightly, she let the procedure pass.

Fortunately, it didn't take long and as soon as the hands had left her nose, she let her head fall exhaustedly against Arlo's shoulder. Her face was throbbing, she was tired and she wanted to go home to her bed, just forgetting about the whole accident.

Arlo's hand gently detached from hers and instead wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side. Gratefully, she curled up against him and let out a soft, happy sigh. Even though it was technically Arlo's fault that she was in this position in the first place, he was the best part of the whole thing.

She'd never been so close to him for so long, and she couldn't imagine anything better. He radiated such warmth and security that she wanted to stay in his arms forever.

Of course, that wasn't possible, so she tried to soak up as much of his warmth as she could and burn the feeling into her brain so she could never forget it.

Dr. Xu gave her a moment to collect herself, but then didn't hold back with his diagnosis.

"I'm afraid your nose is broken, Elenya. Fortunately, it hasn't deformed and should heal easily, but it will be painful for a while."

A curse sounded from above her left and she looked up at Arlo in surprise. She had never heard the Captain curse like that before.

"Fuck, I'm so sorry Elenya. How can I ever make this up to you?" Eyes brimming with guilt, Arlo looked down at her and the sight almost hurt more than her broken nose.

With a sigh, she slid away from him a little and took the hand that slipped from her shoulder in hers.

"Arlo. As I told you before, this isn't your fault. It was an accident and there's nothing you need to make up for." She squeezed his hand gently and looked at him seriously.

Would that ever get through his thick head?

Judging by his still guilty look, probably not. She sighed again.

"Okay. How about you get me something warm, not bloodstained, to wear while Dr. Xu fixes my nose. Then you can take me home and make sure I don't get into any more accidents, how does that sound?" Talking was still not particularly pleasant on her face and used up a lot more energy than she had right now, but Arlo's mood lifted noticeably at the prospect of being able to do something helpful for her, and that was definitely worth it.

Still, she fell back against his shoulder, exhausted, and he hurried to put his arm around her shoulders again so she wouldn't fall off the bed.

Her head throbbed.

"Elenya!" Startled, Arlo held her upright.

"Exactly how much blood has she lost? Do I need to prepare a transfusion?" Dr. Xu's voice also dripped with concern and she quickly tried to look more alive again.

She's not going to need a blood transfusion for a little nosebleed!

Arlo took over answering. "Her nose had been bleeding for a good 10 minutes, and not just a little, but I don't think a transfusion is necessary. She was very faint for a moment, but I was able to pep her up with a rainbow lemonade for the trip up here. I think plenty of rest and something for the pain should be enough." Arlo's hand stroked her upper arm soothingly during his explanation, and gratefully she leaned into the gentle touch.

"Are you sure? I don't like the colour of her face at all." Concerned, the doctor stepped closer, and with some effort Elenya raised her head enough to face him.

"It's all right, Dr. Xu. I'm just a bit tired..." Exhausted, her head fell right back against Arlo's shoulder.

Okay, maybe a little more than tired, but she didn't want them to have to worry about her anymore.

"Hm... I think I might have something that will help you. Be right back." The doctor scurried to the cabinet behind his desk and after a brief clinking of glass, he returned to the bedside.

"Here, this is for the pain and this should help you get some energy back. And by tomorrow morning, your body should be able to make up for the lost blood." He held two vials in front of her.

She tried to reach for the first one, but her hands were shaking so much again that Arlo quickly stepped in and gently held the medicine to her lips, just as he had done with the rainbow lemonade.

Slightly embarrassed, she drank the two liquids and the effects quickly unfolded in her body.

The intense burning in her face diminished to a light throbbing and the trembling in her hands stopped completely. She almost felt human again, if it weren't for the unpleasant sensation of her swollen nose.

Finally she could sit again without Arlo's help.

"Thank you, Dr. Xu."

"No problem. That's what I'm here for. Now let's see what we can do about your nose." The doctor disappeared behind his desk again and was now rummaging around in the drawer behind it.

Elenya used the time to turn to Arlo.

"Do you think you could get me something to wear now? I don't want to keep depriving you of your jacket."

Even if it felt wonderful to wear it. But she would never say that out loud.

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave you here alone if you still need my help." Still concerned, his blue eyes pierced her.

"Dr. Xu's medicine has worked wonders. I feel much better already. I can manage on my own for a moment, don't worry." She took off his jacket and held it out to him. Hesitantly, he accepted it with his free hand.

"I always worry about you, but okay. I'll be right back." With a quick squeeze of her upper arm, he stood up, leaving her speechless.

Had he really just said that? And then in such a tender tone, too?

Her heart skipped a beat.

Did he mean that he was always worried about all of Portia, or specifically about her? She knew that he did everything to ensure Portia's safety, admired him for it, but that just now sounded quite different, more personal.

God, this man was driving her crazy!

~~~~~~

Arlo came back through the door just as Dr. Xu was finished with her nose. Thoroughly cooled, two white strips of tape were now running over her nose to prevent it from becoming deformed after all, and thanks to an oil he had dripped into her nose, she was finally able to breathe a little more freely. According to the doctor, it should also prevent her nose from bleeding again.

"Hey, you look better." Arlo approached her with a gentle smile.

"I feel better too." Elenya smiled back. "Dr. Xu did a wonderful job. Thank you for that." Gratefully, she turned her smile towards the doctor, but he just waved it off.

"No need to thank me. I'm happy to help." Satisfied with his work, Dr. Xu took a step back from her. "For the next few days, it's best to cool your nose for about 15 minutes every two to three hours to help reduce the swelling. I'll give you some more painkillers to take with you for the next few days, as an injury like this can hurt for a few days, but your nose should heal without any problems." His look turned stern. "Avoid heavy physical work, though. A rapid pulse and high blood pressure can interfere with the healing process and make the swelling worse. Is that clear?"

With a sigh, Elenya nodded.

Looks like she'll have to make do with small commissions like necklaces, pouches and the like for the next few days.

"I..." Arlo started, a guilty look in his eyes again, but she interrupted him immediately.

"Nope. Not your fault, Arlo." She looked at him sternly, and with a surrendering sigh, the smile returned to his face.

"Okay... I brought you something, by the way. I was hoping Sam might have something for you to wear, but it looks like she decided to wash all her clothes today of all days. So I brought you a sweater from me. With your jacket underneath, you shouldn't be cold anymore." To underline his words, he held out a grey bundle to her.

Gratefully, she reached for it. The fabric was very soft under her fingers and she would have liked to bury her face in it and inhale Arlo's scent, but she just managed to stop herself.

That would have been a bit too embarrassing.

With his help, she first put on her blood-covered jacket, shortly wondering if the stains would ever come out, and then Arlo's warm sweater. Instantly she was comfortably warm and Arlo's smell rose lightly into her battered nose, warming her from the inside.

His scent alone made her feel safe and protected, comforted her. A testament to her feelings toward him.

"Warm enough?" Chuckling lightly, Arlo looked at her.

"Yes, thank you..." Suddenly shy, she hid her face slightly in the oversized sweater, realising she had been smiling stupidly to herself.

Damn it, get a grip.

Dr. Xu just shook his head at the sight of the two of them and instead decided to prepare a bag of painkillers for Elenya to take with her.

He gave it to her with a final reminder not to do anything strenuous and Elenya left the clinic together with Arlo.

~~~~~~

Arlo took her home on Spacer. Pressed close to his chest, his legs pressed against hers, she sat in the saddle in front of him, enjoying his closeness. His left arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her securely, and with the other he led Spacer towards her workshop.

Thanks to his sweater and enveloped by his body heat, she was not cold at all and could have stayed like this forever. Unfortunately, they had to arrive at some point and she let Arlo help her off the horse as soon as they arrived at her garden gate.

She was already preparing to say goodbye when he caught her off guard with his question.

"Um... can I maybe come inside for a minute?" He sheepishly looked down at her, and surprised, she agreed.

She wouldn't dream of turning down more time with him.

Arlo accompanied her into her house, but stopped just behind the door. Embarrassed, he had his left hand on the back of his neck, the other in his jacket pocket, and looked at her insecurely with slightly flushed cheeks.

"I... um... wanted to ask you something... or, well..." His eyes darted nervously from side to side, and Elenya looked at him in surprise.

She had never seen the normally confident captain so nervous. What could he possibly want to ask her?

He set to speak once more, but his mouth fell shut again without having said anything, the blush on his face deepening.

Her heart swelled with tenderness for the new Arlo who was revealing himself before her. It was nice to see that the usually composed man could show weakness, and she felt honoured that he did so in front of her.

Encouragingly, she smiled at him.

"Damn, just come out with it, Arlo," he muttered to himself and her curiosity was piqued even more.

He took a deep breath and then pulled his hand out of his jacket pocket. He held his hand out to her and she looked curiously at his palm. And what she saw there took her breath away.

Her heart began to race.

In Arlo's hand was a beautiful heart knot.

"I know this is probably the most inopportune moment after I broke your nose, but this heart knot has been sitting on my bedside table for several weeks now and I've been avoiding approaching you with it. But I can't put it off any longer. Would you accept my heart knot?" Nervously and hopefully, he looked down at her, but she couldn't answer him.

Her brain was still overwhelmed with the fact that Arlo was offering her a heart knot. Her, the builder who stumbled into his little town three quarters of a year ago and had since been madly chasing through the streets, fighting talking rats and drastically reducing Portia's tree population.

And he wanted to date her?

Stunned, she still stared at his hand. She could hardly believe her luck. Over the past few weeks, they had spent time together outside of work, having dinner at Django's or him dropping by her workshop to engage her in light conversation. Her slight crush on him continued to grow and develop into deeper feelings, but she had not dared to hope that he would reciprocate them.

"Elenya?" Arlo's uncertain and sad voice finally snapped her out of her thoughts, and she was startled to realise that she hadn't answered him at all.

She inwardly slapped herself. Here he was, mustering up the courage to ask her such a difficult question, and she just stared at him for minutes.

Overjoyed, she finally turned her gaze to his face.

"Oh God, yes, Arlo! Yes, yes, yes! Nothing would make me happier!" Carefully, she took the soft heart knot from his hand, placed it behind her on her coffee table, and then fell around his neck, laughing happily, careful not to bump into him with her nose.

Startled, Arlo caught her, but then pressed her firmly against his chest.

"Really?" Hopeful and incredulous, he looked at her and she nodded.

"Yes, really." Now a deep blush settled on her cheeks. "You, um, have been the highlight of my day for a long time now when I've got to see you." Embarrassed, she averted her gaze and took a step back.

"Good to know it's not just me." Happy and satisfied, Arlo grinned at her and she couldn't help it, she grinned back.

For a moment they just looked into each other's eyes, happy with the outcome of the evening. Then came the question that would make the evening even more special.

"Can I kiss you?" Longingly, Arlo looked at her.

"Oh God, yes, please."

Far too often she had imagined what it would be like when he kissed her, and finally her dream was coming true!

Eyes shining, Arlo's left hand went gently to her waist to pull her closer, and his right hand rose to cup her cheek tenderly. Happily, she snuggled into the soft touch and let her eyes fall closed.

Carefully, he tilted her head up, and then his wonderful soft lips were finally on hers. A pleasant shiver ran down her spine and with a happy sigh she returned the tender kiss.

No matter how many times she had imagined this moment, nothing could compare to the real thing. The kiss wasn't perfect, but as far as first kisses went, it came close.

Arlo kissed her gently, carefully and so tenderly that she could no longer doubt his feelings. His right thumb caressed her cheek, and never before had anyone kissed her with such feeling.

She was in heaven.

Unfortunately, the kiss just didn't last as long as she would have liked. When she tried to deepen the kiss, she bumped her nose against his and with a startled hiss, she backed away from him.

"Ouch..." Pain shot up from her nose to her forehead and she reflexively reached for her nose to hold the aching spot. Which, of course, caused even more pain.

Fuck.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry. Are you alright? I hope it doesn't start bleeding again. Let me take a look, please." Startled and concerned, Arlo gently pulled her hand away and examined her nose.

"It's okay, Arlo. It wasn't your fault. The pain is already subsiding." Indeed, the pain quickly faded back to the dull throbbing from before, and this one she could well ignore. That didn't seem to appease him, though, and now it was up to her to gently cup his cheek and lift his head so he was looking into her eyes instead of worriedly at her nose.

"Really. It's all right. And it was all worth it. The kiss was wonderful." Gently, she smiled at him.

A brief, satisfied smile settled on his lips at her words, but was quickly replaced by a guilty frown.

"It really was. But still... You're in pain because of me, and I can't forgive myself for that. Why aren't you mad at me?" Frustrated, he looked at her.

"Because there's nothing to be mad at." Gently, she smoothed out the furrow between his eyes.

"And besides that, maybe this will teach you to open doors like a normal person in the future, instead of kicking them open." Teasingly, she grinned at him, finally managing to get a startled laugh out of him.

"Maybe you're right. But I'm afraid that's going to be very hard for me. It's just so much more fun this way." Still laughing, he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her tightly against his chest, careful not to let her nose bump into him again.

Happily, she snuggled into his arms, a little sad that she couldn't bury her nose in his neck, and for a moment they just stood there, enjoying each other's closeness.

"You are just amazing, sweetheart. I don't deserve you," Arlo whispered into her ear, and her heart skipped a beat at the endearment.

She felt her cheeks grow warm and sheepishly she detached herself from him a bit to be able to look at him. His warm gaze was waiting for her and her blush deepened.

God, this man was going to kill her one day.

"What… did you just call me?" she asked. Disbelief in her voice.

"Sweetheart. Because that's what you are. My sweet, strong little builder with a big, kind heart." Affectionately, he pressed a kiss to her forehead and bright red, Elenya hid her face back in his chest.

Oh God, now he was also calling her "His." Where did these pet names suddenly come from? Would he always call her that from now on? She wouldn't survive that!

Elenya's heart was racing in her chest and she didn't know how to react. How was she supposed to respond to such sweet words?

"Arlo..." she choked out, but that was all her overwhelmed brain could come up with. She knew the eight letters she wanted to say to him, but this was definitely too soon. They had just shared their first kiss, so the L-word was definitely out of place. Even if it was true.

Because she did love this strong, selfless man with a need to help everyone. There was no doubt about that.

"Shhh, let me just hold you." Arlo pulled her a little closer and she let him without resistance. His strong arms and warm chest under her felt so good that she would have loved to melt into him. There was no place she felt safer, even if he broke her nose.

[ivykim]

VIVI LOG #1

masterlist // wattpad

summary: join ivy as she shows you her little vlog. this includes lots of adorable cats (featuring heeseung), her amazing singing (featuring aria, bailey and skye) and a late night walk home, featuring jay.

ivy’s outfit: cat cafe | karaoke | late night walk with jay

NOTE: so around this time jay and ivy were already dating since this is the first EN-loG that came out in August 2021. i'm assuming the boys recorded their vlogs in july or somewhere around there (after drunk-dazed promotions before tamed-dashed era). if you see cute haseong moments in here, that's the reason.

ivy goes to wave goodbye to the boys who were at home, she walks out and enters the car (with heeseung). her manager was driving her. ivy politely bows to the camera slightly.

"hello everyone, today i will be going somewhere that i've always been wanting to go!"

"i think many of you would be excited(?) to see me here since many engenes have pointed out that i resemble this animal."

"if you said it was a cat, then you are right. we are going to a cat cafe!" she hears a snort beside her. she pans the camera to heeseung.

"heeseung-shi, why are you laughing at me?"

"i wasn't laughing at you, you were just adorable." heeseung explains.

"hmm...okay. the reason why i am going to a cat cafe is to relieve stress. i miss my own cat, luna, as unfortunately she is in america right now with my family."

"anyways, we'll see you once i arrive at the cafe." she blows a kiss to the camera.

ivy arrives at the cat cafe and so she goes to take her order for drinks and cakes. she patiently waits until, a cat rubs against her legs. she grabs the camera and records the cat.

"this cat is so pretty, it's making me miss my own cat even more." ivy pouts. she goes to pet it but it jumps onto her and happily settles down on her lap.

"seems like the cat likes you." heeseung says. ivy looks over at the boy. he was scratching the cats head, it was purring softly.

"hmm i do love a man who loves cats you know." ivy smirks.

"ivy's fanboys, take note of that. ivy likes guys who love cats." heeseung tells the camera. ivy playfully rolls her eyes, she stops recording and lays her head on heeseung's shoulder.

"hee, it's been a while since we've had a proper date..." ivy turns to look at the boy.

"we're in public, angel. wouldn't want anyone to find out about us, hmm?" heeseung pecks her forehead. ivy plays with heeseung's fingers.

"okay." heeseung tilts ivy's face so he could look at her.

"you make me really weak, you know?" heeseung gives her an eskimo kiss. ivy blushes.

"i thought you said we were in public and that we could get caught."

"changed my mind. not when you look this hot." ivy shoves heeseung slightly.

"you are being a pervert."

"now, why would i be a pervert?" he leans down to her ears, "if you dressed up like this all for me. hmm?" she feels him smirking.

"i-i need to record so don't try anything." ivy warns heeseung. he chuckles.

"just teasing, vivi. i'll get us our drinks." he ruffles her hair.

ivy doesn't even realise she turned on the camera already. it records her lovingly gazing at heeseung.

— caption: "oh? the editors left this in here? to explain, heeseung was grabbing our drinks so yeah!! there isn't much talking but here are some videos of me and heeseung playing with the cats!"

— caption: "let's move onto, karaoke!! with my friends!! bye bye, heeseung :("

it was the next day, ivy had planned to go karaoke with her friends.

"so i'm not exactly sure if i'm able to say their names but if anyone watched I-LAND, you would surely know who they are!"

bailey, aria and skye entered the frame and waved to the camera.

"this is bailey, skye and aria unnie. they were i-landers just like me. these 3 just debuted in a new girl group under HYBE as well so i will get to see them around."

"if you don't know their group name, it is CLOUD. there is i believe 4 other members in the group but i have yet to meet them. hopefully, i will be able to in the future! for now, i am here to celebrate and congratulate them on their debut with a girls day out!"

"unnie?" skye says.

"yes, skye?" ivy asks.

"aren't we supposed to turn to the right instead of left?" ivy looks down on her GPS. she sighs before turning back to the camera.

"we'll be right back. just have to locate the karaoke place."

they finally located the karaoke place and went to pay before entering the area. they bought snacks and drinks to have. ivy places the camera on the table next to the tv.

they grabbed the song picker and added it into the playlist.

"let's see if they have any enhypen songs!" bailey says. they gasp when they find drunk-dazed on it.

"they have drunk-dazed??" ivy says. bailey taps on it and the familiar melody starts playing.

"why does it sound like a folk song?" aria asks.

"don't know but aREumDApGO hwANGhOLhAE." ivy starts singing weirdly. aria and skye laughs. bailey looks over at ivy, a little concerned for her same aged friend.

ivy points to camera during her part. everyone joins in singing with her. aria takes a video of ivy before sending it to heeseung.

— caption: "what is wrong with me that day? i didn't drink at all since skye was present...and you know she's a minor."

ivy starts dancing weirdly in front of the camera.

— caption: "oh my god, kim haeun! you are an idol!! maintain a good image please T_T oh no. please stop."

thankfully, the staff edited the video appropriately so ivy's idol image was protected. they left the karaoke room after a lot of fun. it was quite late about 7pm so they went out to a little (this was off-camera).

they left the restaurant and ivy pulls out the camera to record them hugging and leaving. jay and their manager arrives on time. he smiles at the girls and they waved at him.

jay grabs ivy's hand and helps her into the van.

"WE SEE YOU IVY!!! TEXT THE GROUPCHAT LATER!!" aria yells. ivy laughs. the manager starts to drive after jay and ivy were settled in.

"engenes, are probably curious as to why you are here." ivy turns the camera to jay. jay laughs.

"noona promised me a late night walk since she went out with jungwon."

"he couldn't sleep, what was i supposed to do? you know jungwon deserves the world, jongseong."

"i know, he does deserve the world. i just felt sad that you didn't go with me."

"well now, you are going alone with me." ivy says.

"even better." jay flirts.

— caption: "STOP JONGSEONG😲"

they went home first. ivy went to take a shower and changed into more comfortable clothes. once she was done, both her and jay started to walk.

"engenes, look over there. the sky at night is really pretty." ivy points out to the camera.

"noona?"

"yeah?" she turns to look at jay.

"you know what's prettier?" jay asks.

please don't say me.

"what is?" ivy says.

"engenes."

it was like she could hear the glass shatter.

"oh. you're right, engenes are way prettier." ivy smiles. "it would be great if we could bring the enhypen puppers here for a walk eventually." ivy sighs.

jay sneakily holds onto her hand. ivy blushes.

"you're right noona. it would be great."

"i wish luna was here. she would've loved the outdoors."

"then i wouldn't be able to go with you."

"well that's sad for you." ivy sticks out her tongue.

"come here, give me the camera. engenes, can get a good girlfriend shot of you." jay says.

"you're right."

"here engenes, you are now jay or well jay is engene now."

"you are always my bias, noona." jay says behind the camera.

"lies. you said jungwon was your bias."

"engenes, always say that too but they don't really stay loyal huh."

"you're calling them out, jongseong."

ivy notices it was getting quite late.

"we should head back, we have a schedule tomorrow."

"mmm, want me to take pictures of you before we get back?"

"sure."

and so jay took pictures of her. the video ends off with a few montages of her and jay walking around the park and fooling around. off-camera, ivy and jay had a mini date. they held hands and jay even snuck in a kiss when no one was around.

it was great night for both ivy and jay.

[video end]

[thequeenopower]

Enemies to friends, friends into lovers, and probably to enemies again ; Sapnap

A/N: I've actually liked him since he first showed his face but in my head I feel we would butt heads a lot if we were in the same friend group so I decided to make this <3

TwitchCon is a very odd place. It's just a building filled with content creators who have weird fans. Fortunately enough for me, I was a faceless streamer who no one knew was coming. The only reason I was even here was because my friends were also streamers and one was even in the dreamsmp with me so they had a panel to attend. I was kind of left to wander around the place so I decided I'd wait in lines to have pictures taken with streamers. Specifically Sapnap, my best-est friend. I'm lying, we hate each other. So I created a plan to give my fans some content and also just do something with my time.

"Hello!" He smiled towards me.

I slyly waved as I hadn't made a plan as to what I was going to say besides how to pose.

"Could we pose like those old high school prom photos?" He laughed and nodded at my odd request.

The photo was taken and I ran to the nearest corner. I edited over my face and posted it to instagram with the caption, "With the loml <3" which proceeded to get thousands of likes in a couple of minutes.

I decided to change my shirt into one I got from a vender, which then had me run into trixin, who I had to take a selfie with. Unfortunately, the shirt was obnoxiously twitched themed and had me getting mistook for a worker every two seconds. So I decided to text one of my friends and they said another streamer had an extra shirt, turns out it was Dream's. (A/N DID HE OR DID HE NOT CHANGE CLOTHES AT TWITCHCON CAUSE I SWEAR HE DID)

So here I was, wearing a t-shirt that was too big for me, walking around like I wasn't one of the top viewed streamers on twitch. It was pretty humbling as people bumped into me without saying sorry, like bitch, do you know who I am? But, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that it's because they don't actually know what I look like. I'm sure if they did they would get on their knees to beg for forgiveness from me.

I got a message that the panel was starting and a seat was saved for me. By the time I got to the room and sat down, all the streamers were sitting down and getting ready to answer questions. My friends were in my ear pestering me to get up and ask a question, but I was going against it since I just heard someone ask, "Do you like my shirt?" which got me scared as to if they could see the person who was asking the question. Because obviously Dream would know his shirt and he would know who I was as my friend told him the shirt was for me. But I soon worked up the courage to get up and ask Sapnap, my best friend, a question only he would know I would ask.

So I got up and waited in the long line until it got to be my turn.

"Hi, I'm a big fan. I actually have a question for Sapnap." He nods towards me.

"If you were a hound dog, would you be crying all the time?" He looked at me funny before replying.

"Uh, no..." I felt a little embaressed as he didn't get it quick but by the time I sat down he mumbled words in what I could only describe as painful starstruck-ness.

"It's August! Wait! Was that August?" Everyone kind of looked around trying to find me which got me nervous they actually would.

So I did what any normal person would do, I left and sat out in the car.

TwitchCon ended at 8 but some streamers waited around for fans who weren't able to meet them, my friends included. I was texted to come to them because there was an ice cream place around the corner they wanted to go to but they wanted to walk instead of drive. Something about reducing pollution but it doesn't really help the stop of pollution cause we're just gonna drive home. So I went to them not realizing there was going to be other streamers there and they were going to join us for ice cream.

"Everyone meet August, August meet everyone." I wave and say hello to them before standing behind a friend of mine to hide from everyone.

Not like I wasn't comfortable showing my face, I'm just not good with talking to people in person. It's common in people nowadays.

"Hey, August. Nice shirt." Dream said from beside me. It seems like the fans were clearing up and we were now slowly moving from the venue to the ice cream shop.

"Oh, thanks. And thanks for letting me borrow it." He smiles and says it's no problem.

"Hello my other nutella enthusiast." George says from behind. Sapnap walked beside him, paying attention to his phone more than trying not to trip over a hole in the ground.

"Maybe you should get off your phone before you trip and die." I comment which earns me a mean face from Sapnap.

"Maybe you should focus on yourself instead of being so obsessed with me." I shrugged him off with a 'dumbass' before continuing my way towards the shop, slowly making my way towards the front of the line to be with my friends.

Now I'm not going to lie through my crooked teeth that I didn't like Sapnap. In the beginning I did, before I knew the real him. I thought he was cute when he first showed his face, but after going onto the early days of the SMP and being attacked with insults on a daily basis from him, the feeling slowly dwindled till all that was left was hatred. Now I won't lie, he's still attractive but I would never, ever, become friends with him, never mind be his girlfriend.

We nearly ran the place out of ice cream as the last person ordered but I'm sure they didn't mind. Ranboo, who is canonically my son, made small talk with me as we ate our ice cream.

"Sapnap's looking at you." He said with a smirk as he motions behind me. I don't turn around as I scoop up the last bit of ice cream.

"And I care, why?" He puts his hands up like it was simple.

"Because you guys are meant to be!" I laughed which he then went onto explain all the lore behind our love.

"Us getting together is as likely as you and Donald Trump getting together." He huffs, evidently done with me being stubborn about the topic at hand.

The next day of TwitchCon, I was walking around again, but I wasn't alone. The Dream Team were following me around like lost dogs because they didn't have anything to do until later that day.

"CONNAAR!" I yelled running up to him.

"Wassup, Baby!" He screamed back as he hugged me super tight.

We conversed for a little while until George started complaining of being hungry and wanting to check out what food there was. So we said our goodbyes and made our way to the food court where Dream and George got in line immediately and I stayed behind answering a text on my phone.

"Oooo who's J <3?" Sapnap said from over my shoulder.

"None of your business, Nick." And with that, I walked away annoyed.

After all of us getting our food we sat down and ate, occasionally getting asked for pictures, excluding me. After all that excitement, we walked around again, going outside every now and again to get some fresh air.

"Hey, August? I'm sorry for snooping on your personal things." I hear from beside me.

I look at Sapnap like he had three heads.

"Did you just apologize?" He sheepishly nods before hiding in his phone again.

He looks up one last time and I smile and mouth 'Thank you' before continuing on to exploring the venue.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bar was packed full to the brim, either with drunk people or sober designated drivers. I was one of the drunk people. I've had exactly 3 shots and a couple margaritas which brings me to the situation that I was in. Sitting beside Sapnap, practically on top of him, while he listened to me ramble on about my job. He was sober, I think.

"And it's not even like I need to advertise things for money, I make enough as is!" He laughs as I slur a bit.

"Why aren't we friends?" I ask suddenly. It surprises both of us, though it doesn't affect my intoxicated mind as much.

"Well, it's because we just can't agree on things." I nod and put my head on the table. The music was giving me a headache and it seemed like most of the friend group was done with the bar as well.

As we walked out, Dream tripped on a brick and fell onto the sidewalk. He laughed it off as his face started to bleed, he also had a couple cuts in other places. His friends hurriedly got him back to their hotel, which I also went to as I didn't know where else to go. They had a two queen bed room attached to another two queen bed room.

"Ooo this is nice! Gurl!!" I continued to quote the tiktok sound loudly until Sapnap puts a hand over my mouth.

"Come on, lets get you to bed." I mumble a 'take me out to dinner first' line under my breath as he took me to the other room where George was staying.

He took my shoes off and tucked me into bed.

"Goodnight, August. See you in the morning." He turned off the light and shut the door. Before I fell asleep I heard banging and strings of curse words from the three boys as they tried to handle a drunk Dream.

I awoke without my jeans on or bra, kind of concerning but the gentle talking from next door calmed my thoughts. Quickly putting both articles of clothing on, I walked through the door and into the other room.

"Holy shit, what happened to you Dream?" He laughs but its stopped by a whince.

"He fell when he was drunk, but we kind of took a while to tell him and he posted saying he did it in his sleep." I laughed at Georges comment as I look around for my phone.

"Oh, you dropped it on the dresser, here." Sapnap handed me my phone, lots of notifications popped up as soon as it turned on.

"Shit, I gotta go. My friends are gonna start calling the cops." I call one of my friends as she picks up instantly.

"Let me walk you out and get you an uber." I nod, not hearing him so well as I'm listening to the death threats I'm getting for not coming home.

The ride home was long, but the chastising I got was longer. And it did not end till we walked through the doors of TwitchCon for our third and final day. It was Twitch Rivals and I just stood in the background shots of the streams going on. It was actually pretty hilarious to watch everyone rage about losing a game. I sometimes went over and talked to George whenever Sapnap and him took a break.

"You know, Nick's a little embarrassed about losing so many games. I think he's trying to impress you." George said smugly.

"There's other girls he's probably trying to impress, like Slyvvy or Hannah." George shook his head.

"No August, he likes you." And with that the conversation was dropped as Sapnap and Dream came back and talked with George before the next round.

I couldn't believe what I was just told. Him liking me? Bullshit. He's cursed me out since the day we met. Sure he does some nice things every once and a while but that's it. He can't possibly like me. But as I look up, I catch him staring, which he tries to play off as looking around the arena.

Oh my god, he might like me.

Should i make a part 2? I feel like i should idk. idk who would even be reading this. im literally just writing throw up at this point. maybe ill make a part two but only if requested ig. I will probably forget I posted this and not even make a part two but idk maybe. this is just word throw up now. The last part, where the bar scene starts, was actually going to be part 2. Yes I was already making part two before you even requested it. but i only ended it here because i dont think people would read this.

[samismusicjournal]

Ethel Cain’s “Preacher’s Daughter”

1. Family Tree (Intro)

This song is so cinematic, I love it. It’s a walking-in-slow-motion song and very badass. It’s a powerful elegy about generational trauma (”The Fates already fucked me sideways” meaning she was doomed from the start due to her circumstances).

2. American Teenager

A tonal and emotional shift from the previous song. Very fun and angsty.

3. A House in Nebraska

We really explore Ethel’s artful lyricism in this song. The images are so distinct. It’s a very mournful song that anyone going through a heartbreak would probably vibe with and cry to.

4. Western Nights

There’s a very desolate and resigned atmosphere to this song. It talks about being “in love” with someone with serious problems and red flags.

6. Hard Times

This is such a sad song about abuse. It has a similar resigned tone to Western Nights, like we’re experiencing the abuse in real time, just having to let it happen. It’s terrible to think that someone who you idolize and respect and love so much could hurt you so bad.

7. Thoroughfare

I love the folksy vibe this song has. It has a romantic western/rock feel to it. Oh my god I’m listening to it now and it’s quickly becoming one of my new favorite songs. It has the same adventurous and devil-may-care attitude that America’s Horse With No Name has.

8. Gibson Girl

This is another badass- sounding song, but this one is about the dark parts of her new relationship. She’s being objectified and drugged by someone she thought she could trust.

9. Ptolomaea

Instantly, I’m creeped out by this song. It is so doom-filled and foreboding, it sounds like the soundtrack to a nightmare.

10. August Underground

If what I’m reading is correct, Ethel is dying in this song, and she’s being held hostage by Isaiah. For not having any lyrics, this song sure does pack a disturbing punch. I recognized the title as the infamous snuff film, so it makes sense that the subject matter is so terrible.

11. Televangelism

What I read about this song is that it’s her ascension into Heaven after her brutal death.

12. Sun Bleached Flies

This was the first song I heard before listening to the album in its entirety. It came up on my Discover Weekly on Spotify, and I really liked it. Now, hearing it in the context of the album, it’s even more emotional. This is Ethel processing her traumatic journey. At the end of the song, she admits that she never stopped loving Willoughby, her first love.

13. Strangers

Isaiah takes Ethel out of the freezer and eats her, but she warns him that she will be “turning in his stomach and making him feel sick.” She also laments the fact that she will never get to see her mother until she gets to Heaven, and that her mother will “wait up” for her when Ethel appears on the side of a milk carton as a missing person.

Final Thoughts

This is a haunting story. It shows how people trapped in the cycle of abuse are more likely to find themselves in troubling situations. Although Cain’s demise of being cannibalized is a little extreme, it serves the album well by using the shock factor to make the listener pay attention. The whole story just makes your heart ache for her because all of her circumstances are so unfortunate, and none of them are really Ethel’s fault. Generation trauma that was handed down to her by her father’s abuse, her strict religious upbringing, losing her first love, losing her second love in a shootout, running away from home, and being betrayed by one of the only positive male influences in her life. I’m definitely going to do more research into the story of this album because I’m very intrigued by it. This was a great listening experience, although I would never have figured out any of the plot if it hadn’t been for the numerous articles and Genius annotations I read. I like when artists include little hints as to what’s going on in the story of their music, and Cain does a decent job of that (especially the part where she is cannibalized). However, the loss of her second lover in a shootout with the police after a robbery was not clear to me at all. Neither was the transition between her being drugged and her death. But knowing the story makes this album all the more enjoyable. I’m glad people online have come together to figure it all out. Will definitely be listening to Thoroughfare a lot over the next week at least!

[crosshimes-fanwritings]

No Vacant Allowed

Fandoms: Zatch Bell and Professor Layton Rating: T Summary: A 18 year old Japanese girl just want to be a miss independent and a 14 year old British boy just want to help her like a gentlemen he is. Disclaimer: I do not own Zatch Bell and Professor Layton. Verse: Vacantverse Ship: Luke (Professor Layton) / Suzume (Zatch Bell) Crossover Ships Week 2023: Day I (First Meeting) Note: LOL I know crossover week 2023 ended already and late submissions are accepted until August so here is my shitty writing for day 1. @crossover-ships-brainrot. Also, this crossAU takes place in the new Professor Layton game setting (I know NWOS isn't out yet but I don't give a fuck lmao)

Visiting Steam Bison, America wasn't no summer vacation for 18-year-old Suzume Mizuno. She decided not to invite her best friend, Mariko Nakamura, and her high school classmates to fool around in America, which most likely they would if she did request their presence. Suzume has no plans to relax in a foreign country. She was only here for one purpose; to search for her missing father.

Tetsuya Mizuno, the father of Suzume, was last heard from Steam Bison, according to the address on his postcard that Suzume received from him four months ago. When Suzume didn't get a response from her father, she assured herself that he was just too busy. However, Suzume knew her father better. Tetsuya would never take too long to write back to his daughter.

'Why did I bother to come here?' Suzume sighed in grief. 'The moment I arrived on American soil, a group of thugs forced me into this alley and robbed me. The jerks stole my passport, visa, and money.' When Suzume realized her suitcase was also stolen, she scowled in anger. 'Those assholes also took my clothes!'

14-year-old Suzume would cry and beg for help, but 18-year-old Suzume would swear and refuse assistance. She stomped out of the alley, ignoring curious, dirty, and apathetic looks from the bystanders. She's going to search for the thieves on her own.

14-year-old Luke Triton was on his way home from the city hall when he noticed a foreign girl standing on a barrel. She was peeking into an abandoned building's window, and she had an angry expression. Luke approached the girl quietly.

"Miss, that's dangerous."

"I know, it is dangerous. I'm not dumb. Those bastards robbed me."

"How could they do such a thing to a pretty young lady?"

"Pretty?!" The startled girl turned her head towards him, giving him a gape. "You need to get your eyes checked, kid!"

"I didn't mean to offend-"

And because the girl was so flustered with his compliment, she lost her balance and was about to fall on her butt, but Luke caught her in time.

"Are you all right?"

"….I'm fine. Wait a second" The girl glared back at the window. "They were counting money. THEY WERE COUNTING THE MONEY THEY STOLE FROM ME!"

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" An angry voice bellowed from the inside.

"Boss, I swore I heard Triton's and a lass's voices." A second voice spoke, clearly frightened.

"That fucking kid and his Lovelady! Get them!"

And Luke didn't waste no time. He held the girl's hand and led her to safety.

Suzume was a foolish young woman. She had exposed herself and the young boy by screaming her head off. Well, she did have the right to get angry. Those thugs still have her savings for her trip. She can't shower and change clothes in a hotel. Not until her belongings and money were returned to her.

Gurgled. Suzume's stomach gurgled. She blushed, feeling embarrassed.

"Are you hungry, Miss?"

Damn. The boy must have heard the gurgle. Suzume turned her eyes away from him in shame.

"Yes. Unfortunately, it looks like I'm starving for a while." She added a nervous giggle. "Can't buy food without the money, after all."

"Oh, there's no need to worry, Miss. You can stay with me for a while."

"Huh?" Suzume froze for a second. "No way. I mustn't," She shook her head in disapproval. "I'm a young adult here. I should be taking care of myself."

"My family wouldn't mind."

"Why are you helping me?"

"Do I need a reason to help someone? It's just common decency.'

"…Hold on. I forgot I am in America and speak English fluently. Can you understand my English?"

"I can understand your English pretty well."

Finally! Suzume's two years of learning the English language paid off.

"Oh. That's good! I was afraid that I may be butchering the English language."

"Triton," A policeman caught up with the two. "You're needed back at the city hall."

"Are you being arrested?" Suzume questioned the boy, confused about why a policeman was there.

"Pardon me, Miss?!!" The Policemen responded to her question in disbelief. "Now, why would I arrest Detective Luke, who had helped the police to solve the toughest mysteries in this wonderful city?"

"Wait," Suzume gawked at the boy. "you're a detective?"

"Yes, it looks like the cat's out of the bag, huh? I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier. I'm Luke Triton. It's nice to meet you, Miss."

"…Suzume.Mizuno," Suzume responded in an awkward tone. "Well, I guess I'll see you around…"

"What are you talking about, Miss Mizuno? You're coming with me. It's too dangerous for a young lady to be alone on these streets."

"How old are you?" Suzume narrowed her eyes at Luke in doubt.

"I'm fourteen."

"Aren't you too young for detective work?"

"Age doesn't matter when it comes to detective work."

"It sure as hell does."

"Miss, you shouldn't use such language."

"I'm 18 years old. I can use whichever language I want, and I'm quite moody right now."

"Umm, we should head over to the city hall now…" The police officer reminded the two awkwardly.

"There's better be food and drinks at the city hall," Suzume grumbled.

"I'm sure they will have refreshments, Miss Mizuno." Luke smiled gently.

A few hours later, Suzume and Luke arrived at a manor. A butler named Doland Noble greeted them at the front door.

"Welcome back, Master Luke. Oh, you brought a guest?"

"Oh, yes. Miss Mizuno will be staying with us for a while."

"That is indeed kind of you, Master Luke. Please do accept the Master's hospitality, Miss Mizuno."

Suzume didn't respond. Her mind was racing. She didn't feel comfortable with this hospitality. It felt wrong to freeload off a 14-year-old boy and his family. Where were Luke's parents anyway? Should he be getting their approval first?

"Are you coming in, Miss Mizuno?" Luke asked, smiling at her.

Suzume stepped away from the front door. She clasped her hands and shook her head nervously.

"Ah, Miss Mizuno doesn't speak English?" Doland wondered.

"She does, Mr. Doland. She's just nervous. Please prepare a bedroom for Miss Mizuno."

"Very well. I shall leave you two be." Doland bowed politely and went back inside.

"…All I need is a shower and a change of clothes, but those thugs also stole my suitcase." Suzume pouted, still quite upset.

"You can borrow one of my mother's dresses. Beth can wash your dress for you."

"No, no. It's fine!" She sighed in frustration. "I have no idea why I'm even here in America. All I wanted to search for my missing father in peace."

"Huh?" Luke's eyes went widened in surprise. "So, you aren't here for a vacation?"

"No. I'm not."

"What is your father's name?"

"Tetsuya Mizuno."

And Luke just took out his notebook and wrote Suzume's father's name.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to help you search for your father, Miss Mizuno." Luke grinned at her. "I will also help you to retrieve your belongings from the thieves. After all, a gentleman must help a lady in distress."

"How cute, Triton," Suzume giggled. "You want to help an old hag like me."

"You aren't an old hag…"

"I know, Triton. It was only a joke. Forgive me for trying to be so mature."

"Well," Luke smiled delightfully. "There is a greenhouse and a garden in the backyard. You can enjoy your time there until you're ready to walk into my house."

Suzume gasped. Her eyes glittered. She felt a little better. This Triton boy knew how to comfort someone well. She smiled brightly at him.

"Okay, Triton! You can tell me about the mysteries you solve!"

Two hours later, Suzume finally tracked down the thieves in a hideout and crashed their meeting.

"GIVE ME BACK MY BELONGINGS AND MONEY, YOU SHITLOGS!"

The thieves froze in fear, gawking at a young Japanese woman in a long pleated dress carrying a baseball bat. Luke was facepalming outside of the house alongside the officers.

"So much for protecting Miss Mizuno…"

"Triton, should we go in and arrest the thieves?"

"I'm not the Chief of Police, sir, but sure."

"Luke, my boy." Luke's mentor, Professor Hershel Layton, stood next to him. "Do you know the young lady?"

"Yes, professor. I just barely met Miss Mizuno hours ago."

30 minutes later, back at the Triton household…

"Are you actually British, Triton?" Suzume asked in curiosity.

"Yes. I'm just living in America because of family reasons." Luke answered. "How did you know?"

"I can tell by your accent."

"Oh, so you are pretty smart."

"Not really…

"Miss Mizuno, would you like to try this puzzle?" Layton offered, giving her a kind smile.

"Sure…" Suzume accepted. She needed to test her brain anyway.

And Suzume indeed did get her passport, visa, money, and clothes back.

"Why I'm still freeloading here, Triton?"

"Because I invited you, silly. That's why."

"Tritoooon," Suzume whined.

And it wouldn't be the first time Luke would hear his surname being called like that. And Layton has a flashback of Anton, Don Paolo, and Descole calling him Laaaayton. The professor smiled and sipped his tea while observing Suzume and Luke interact friendly.

And the adventures of an 18-year-old Japanese girl, a 14-year-old British detective boy, and his unknown mentor began in AMERICA.

Well, maybe they'd meet more new friends in the future.