#BUT FIRST THING’S FIRST: checking for a microchip

[wholesomepostarchive]

the most wholesome thing is seeing that the wholesome post blog runner is probably one of the nicest people ever :3 i’m generally Terrified of sending asks especially to a blog that Does Things like this but seeing you talk in the tags instead of just reblogging and moving on makes you seem very friendly and approachable !!!! and i hope u know i appreciate that :] i hope you have a wonderful day and both sides of your pillow are always cool and that if you see a random cat on the sidewalk it won’t run away from U ♡

woah, META-WHOLESOME!! thank ya for the compliment, i try my best to carry out those kinds of traits i value!!!!! i’m SUPER super glad that ya did!!! THANK YOU THANK U!! always appreciating how much of an impact this lil blog has on top of appreciating u for sharing as much with me :-)

it’s always a TRIP getting to hear that something i do that i wasn’t even really mindfully doing makes all the difference?? i’m just really, REALLY grateful for all the different kinds of posts that get sent my way and seeing cool + uplifting + sentimental + OVERALL WHOLESOME posts that i express my thanks + ramble a bit in the tags haha !!

i ALSO hope you have as terrific of a day as you’re able to! and i hope you’ll enjoy seeing more posts pop up!

AND YOU’LL NEVER BELIEVE but i got new pillow cases like a week ago THAT DO JUST THAT! AND THERE’S A NEW CAT ON THE STREET WHO HANGS OUT WITH ME SOMETIMES (i’ve been planning to see if he has a microchip, but i know for a fact that the neighbors who feed all the stray cats on our street already have a cage + are well-versed in TNR, so i’ve been thinking about asking them first because the thought that someone could be out there looking for their pal is enough for me to “do it scared”) !! SO THANK U NOT ONLY FOR THE SWEET SENTIMENTS BUT ALSO FOR THE UNEXPECTED HILARITY OVER THE FACT THAT THEY’VE COME TRUE???

[batboyblog]

Things Biden and the Democrats did, this week #13

April 5-12 2024

President Biden announced the cancellation of a student loan debt for a further 277,000 Americans. This brings the number of a Americans who had their debt canceled by the Biden administration through different means since the Supreme Court struck down Biden's first place in 2023 to 4.3 million and a total of $153 billion of debt canceled so far. Most of these borrowers were a part of the President's SAVE Plan, a debt repayment program with 8 million enrollees, over 4 million of whom don't have to make monthly repayments and are still on the path to debt forgiveness.

President Biden announced a plan that would cancel student loan debt for 4 million borrowers and bring debt relief to 30 million Americans The plan takes steps like making automatic debt forgiveness through the public service forgiveness so qualified borrowers who don't know to apply will have their debts forgiven. The plan will wipe out the interest on the debt of 23 million Americans. President Biden touted how the plan will help black and Latino borrowers the most who carry the heavily debt burdens. The plan is expected to go into effect this fall ahead of the election.

President Biden and Vice-President Harris announced the closing of the so-called gun show loophole. For years people selling guns outside of traditional stores, such as at gun shows and in the 21st century over the internet have not been required to preform a background check to see if buyers are legally allowed to own a fire arm. Now all sellers of guns, even over the internet, are required to be licensed and preform a background check. This is the largest single expansion of the background check system since its creation.

The EPA published the first ever regulations on PFAS, known as forever chemicals, in drinking water. The new rules would reduce PFAS exposure for 100 million people according to the EPA. The Biden Administration announced along side the EPA regulations it would make available $1 billion dollars for state and local water treatment to help test for and filter out PFAS in line with the new rule. This marks the first time since 1996 that the EPA has passed a drinking water rule for new contaminants.

The Department of Commerce announced a deal with microchip giant TSMC to bring billions in investment and manufacturing to Arizona. The US makes only about 10% of the world's microchips and none of the most advanced chips. Under the CHIPS and Science Act the Biden Administration hopes to expand America's high-tech manufacturing so that 20% of advanced chips are made in America. TSMC makes about 90% of the world's advanced chips. The deal which sees a $6.6 billion dollar grant from the US government in exchange for $65 billion worth of investment by TSMC in 3 high tech manufacturing facilities in Arizona, the first of which will open next year. This represents the single largest foreign investment in Arizona's history and will bring thousands of new jobs to the state and boost America's microchip manufacturing.

The EPA finalized rules strengthening clean air standards around chemical plants. The new rule will lower the risk of cancer in communities near chemical plants by 96% and eliminate 6,200 tons of toxic air pollution each year. The rules target two dangerous cancer causing chemicals, ethylene oxide and chloroprene, the rule will reduce emissions of these chemicals by 80%.

the Department of the Interior announced it had beaten the Biden Administration goals when it comes to new clean energy projects. The Department has now permitted more than 25 gigawatts of clean energy projects on public lands, surpass the Administrations goal for 2025 already. These solar, wind, and hydro projects will power 12 million American homes with totally green power. Currently 10 gigawatts of clean energy are currently being generated on public lands, powering more than 5 million homes across the West. 

The Department of Transportation announced $830 million to support local communities in becoming more climate resilient. The money will go to 80 projects across 37 states, DC, and the US Virgin Islands The projects will help local Infrastructure better stand up to extreme weather causes by climate change.

The Senate confirmed Susan Bazis, Robert White, and Ann Marie McIff Allen to lifetime federal judgeships in Nebraska, Michigan, and Utah respectively. This brings the total number of judges appointed by President Biden to 193

[charliemwrites]

Woof woof yall.

No content warnings

You’re out in the woods one day, taking photos and going for a little hike. Stupid mental health walk or something; whatever, it’s a nice day and you’ve gotten some good shots. You’re just about to turn back when a huge brown and black wolf lopes out from a nearby thicket.

There aren’t any wolves in England though! Hunted to extinction - it’s why you feel safe bebopping around the forest alone in the daylight. So you see this big fuck-off sized “dog” and coo at the pretty puppy.

“Hello handsome boy, aren’t you just gorgeous! Will you come say hi?”

You do all the right things that you’re supposed to do with an unfamiliar dog but he just barges right through. Trots up to you, nose shoved into your crotch. You startle, bark a laugh, shove at his big stupid head.

“A little forward,” you tease, scratching under his chin, “but it’s better than biting.”

You feel all around his neck for a collar, but no luck. He must be someone’s though, huge blue eyes too intelligent and focused on your words. And his coat is so well maintained, glossy and shedded.

“Do you know how to… sit?”

An adorable head tilt, and the big dog settles onto his hind quarters.

“What a good boy!” you croon. “So smart!”

He licks at your palm and wrist as you scratch at him, huge tail thumping. A canine grin, tongue lolling out as he waits for your next command.

You hum.

“Well, guess we can check if you’re microchipped, huh? Or at least I can get you some water. See if someone recognizes you…”

You make a kissy noise at him. “Let’s go, big boy. Come.”

And to your delight, he falls into step with you. He weaves along the path ahead and behind, but always loops back to you, brushing against your thigh as if to reassure you he’s still there.

You hum as you walk, giggling when you see his ears twitch and swivel towards you. Tease that he should do better if he doesn’t like your version of Jolene.

You only cross paths with two other people on the walk, a pair of guys clearly out for a more serious hike. The dog plants himself between you and them, ears pinning back and a low growl erupting from his chest. You startle a bit, carefully burying your fingers around his scruff in case you need to grab him quickly.

“I’m guessing he doesn’t belong to either of you, then?” you ask.

One of the guys shakes his head. The other gives you an odd look. “He’s not yours?”

The dog barks, loud and rough. You shush him, explain the situation to the hikers. But the dog never stops rumbling and they quickly go on their way, keeping a wide berth.

You huff. “Don’t like men, huh?”

Poor thing. Maybe he was abandoned by a mean owner?

“S’alright, bud, I’ll be good to you.”

He follows you all the way back to your home. And when you open the door, shoulders right past you.

“Ah, shit,” you groan. “You weren’t supposed to come in!”

He gives you an almost betrayed look. You try not to huff in amusement.

“So help me, if you bring nasty things in this house I will shave you. Shave you. You’ll look so silly. Like an overgrown raw turkey.”

The dog turns, trots back to you. You didn’t realize just how big he is until he’s got his big paws on your shoulders. You blink, have to take a step back to brace against the weight of him. In his hind legs he’s taller than you. Really could pass for a pure bred wolf.

A big, rough tongue licks from your jaw to your forehead. You scrunch up your face but end up laying a kiss on his muzzle in return.

“Alright, you big nasty. Down you get.”

You shut and lock the door behind you, brushing leaves and dirt off.

“Okay, shower first,” you say aloud, already tugging off your clothes. “Then we’ll run into town, see if we can track down your family.”

You don’t mind the dog staring, unblinking, as you strip down right there, balling things up to avoid tracking a mess through the house. Nor do you mind him following you to the bathroom, though you do push at his snout when he licks the back of your knee. Just normal dog things, really. They don’t get people stuff like clothes or boundaries.

“Stay out of trouble, bud. I’ll be right out.”

As you wash up, you consider the merits of adopting. Only if you can’t find the dog’s actual family, that is. It’s lonely in your little house sometimes - and a bit spooky at night. A big, protective dog might be just the thing.

Next

Masterlist

[blackbirdsblackberries]

AQUIRING A ZOO

Chapter 1: A Ruff Day for two

Damian is humiliated. Who wouldn't be? Joker had teamed up with a bunch of other villains and had stolen a magical device that turns people into animals - why? Damian doesn't know!

While fighting however he was split from the rest of the family and hit with the ray.

You want to guess what animal he got the luck of turning into?

If you guessed a Yorkshire Terrier then you'd be correct.

It's not that Damian doesn't like the animal, he adores all animals no matter what, it's just offensive that that's what he ended up being. Couldn't he have been something cooler? A Doberman? A German Shepherd?

Whatever... Either way he is now wondering the streets trying not to get picked up by strangers - or stepped on for that matter.

While lost in thought about how he will get back to normal and whether his family are okay he didn't see the pair of legs standing in front of a closed shop.

He bumps into them, as soon as he does he dashes back and starts to growl - it's really all he can do.

He looks up at the figure who looks more confused than anything, they have a phone in their hand and pajamas on. They look half asleep.

Damian quickly deducts that the person was harmless.

Honestly, Damian was ready to just leave, walk around this person, yet when he attempted to a loud bang filled the air.

He swears it was the dog instincts, that it wasn't his own instincts, that made him run behind the person.

He's Damian Wayne! An al Ghul for crying out loud! No way is he scared of an explosion, even if it was even louder as a dog.

The person reacts slowly, clearly extremely tired. They turn to look at Damian and after a couple seconds they speak up, pulling Damian from his fight or flight response.

"Poor puppy... Are you lost?" The person bends down and slowly and carefully pats Damian. Damian is tempted to bite the person's hand off but refrains in case they call the pound.

"your coat is so well taken care of... Not to mention the fact that you're a handbag dog. You must belong to one of the wealthy elites... That part of town is so far away from here though, poor thing" their voice is soft, clearly tired. They yawn slightly.

"it's pretty late right now so the pound is probably closed, I'll take you tomorrow to check for a microchip because I don't see a collar."

Damian wishes he could scoff as a dog. Why would this stranger help him? Especially the breed he is. They're noisy, skittish and more, definitely not the type for run down apartments that this person definitely lives in.

Yet, he doesn't bite or growl when they pick him up. He squirms slightly in discomfort but soon enough they hold him properly.

Fine. He'll stay the night then in the morning he'll make his way back to Wayne Manor and find his family.

You have decided that your luck is absolute shit. It has to be. You're pretty sure whatever god is watching is purposefully planning your demise.

First, your lover of three years cheats on you.

Second, you fail two of your exams and forgot to hand in an assignment.

Third, your favorite convenience store closed early so you couldn't buy a tub of cheap ice cream so you can act out how a person in a movie would react to all of the above.

Fourth, a dog stumbles into you, clearly from some wealthy douche and now you've spoken before you thought and moved before you could comprehend.

Your landlord is going to have your head. A great way to end the shit show of a day, not to mention Yorkshire Terrier's are the most yap filled dogs imaginable. Luckily this one is quiet... Hopefully for the rest of the night.

You look down at your phone in your other hand, you were messaging your dad to ask for more money because you were recently fired from your last job.

It's not like you like asking others for money, it's embarrassing, but your dad is well off enough to send some over.

You and your family are stable, something a lot of people in Gotham can't relate to. Sucks to be them you guess.

The only reason you're living alone is because they live in Metropolis and you were studying at Gotham University.

Was the degree worth living in this dump of a city? You sure hope so. If not you'll actually become a villain.

You glance at the dog from time to time, checking for any discomfort. The dog is still, eyes blinking occasionally. Was it in thought? You didn't think dogs would think like that.

Eventually you make it to your apartment complex, it was better than the one next to it, but to be fair the one next to it was abandoned after a fire.

You head upstairs to your apartment on the third floor.

Turns out the higher the apartment from the ground is, the higher it will cost. Luckily for you your mother is paying for it, you just pay utility bills.

You struggle with your keys and the dog in your arms. Eventually though you open the door and all but throw the dog down, he was super heavy.

That or you just weren't used to holding anything that breathes.

The dog walks in and sniffs around.

"I suppose I should name you.." You speak aloud, closing the front door of the apartment and walking to the kitchen right next to it.

"how about... Buddy?" The dog huffs.

"No? Okay uhm... What are dog names? Give me a second." You search up dog names and click on an article.

"Uh, Oreo?" A huff.

"Max?" A huff.

You continue going down the list before groaning.

"Fuck me... Forget it, I'll put on the TV and the first name I see will be your name."

You grab the remote and turn on your shitty old TV. The news pops up, one of the headlines reading:

Robin seen being hit with animal ray!

"huh... What about Robin?" The dog rolls it's eyes but doesn't seem to object. You smile, relieved.

"Good. Robin it is."

[gravityrises]

The Virtues of Stanford Pines

Summary: I've seen people accuse Ford of doing horrible things on one side, and people defending his actions on the other side. But how about we turn the tables and talk about all of the good Ford has done. (At least, that was the plan.)

Word Count: 2813.

Spoilers: Gravity Falls series, Journal 3, The Book of Bill, Lost Legends, thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com

1. He's incredibly hard-working:

Just because someone is smart doesn't mean they don't put a lot of effort into studying and Ford definitely did. It's mentioned twice just in "A Tale of Two Stans," when he tries to convince the college board to give him another chance and when he describes his years at Backupsmore.

And it doesn't stop at intellectual pursuits. In Journal 3 Ford says he exercises daily, despite having always hated physical activity.

Anyway, I don't think anyone is going to argue this point, so let's leave it at that.

2. He's supportive of his friend:

There are going to be a few controversial takes, but I truly believe that Ford was trying to be a good friend to Fiddleford. Now, there were fights between them, and Ford did say quite a few insensitive things both to his face and in the Journal. But overall, I don't think he ever intended to hurt Fiddleford, and he definitely appreciated his friend's company.

When Ford invited Fiddleford to work on the portal, he wrote in the journal: "He (Fiddleford) has sacrificed so much to come to my aid. He has temporarily left his bride and their young son... he has abandoned his own professional aspirations... I must do my best to make him feel at home.... I am off to the store for some banjo strings and microchips!" (quote shortened, because I'm lazy) Clearly, Ford cared about his friend and wanted to make him feel welcome.

He also compliments Fiddleford's "brilliant mind," "amusing quirks" and scrupulous work ethic, by saying "I double-check my equations. He quintuple-checks!"

And I hear you, didn't he claim the complete opposite in the series? According to him, Fiddleford "was wasting his talent trying to make personal computers", right? Well, if we ignore the fact that the creators weren't 100% consistent in their writing, here's how I would reconcile those two statements. Ford thought (erroneously) that his friend's research wasn't important in the grand scheme of things, but it was important to Fiddleford personally. And can you really blame Ford? He was about to demostrate the existence of other dimensions and create a gateway that would allow us to visit them. If something like that happened irl, it would've been a groundbreaking discovery, altering our very understanding of the natural world and how it works. Meanwhile, laptops, at least in Ford's opinion, were just "heavy, slow journals." Still, he knew this work was important to Fiddleford, and he wanted to accommodate that. Hence, his trip to buy microchips (and banjo strings.)

Ford tried (and unfortunately, failed) to help Fiddleford deal with his anxiety. In Journal 3, he mentions teaching Fiddleford some meditation techniques and going to the Carnival, so that Fiddleford would enjoy "a day of relaxation." In the Book of Bill, Ford feels guilty about not getting his friend a gift and decides to throw a surprise Christmas party instead. This was also an attempt to cheer Fiddleford up after his fight with his wife.

"But Ford didn't take Fiddleford's anxiety seriously, and it ruined his life." Okay, let's say you're right. Remember, Ford was raised in the 60s. A time when mental illness or just mental distress were looked down on. What was he supposed to do? Suggest Fiddleford goes to the therapist? I mean, they were studying paranormal creatures, if Fiddleford told those stories to a therapist who didn't believe in these things, there would've been a really high chance of misdiagnosis. Should Ford have simply fired Fiddleford? Well, that wouldn't have been very nice. Also, there is no need to infantilize Fiddleford in the first place, he's a grown-up person capable of makind his own decisions. If the job is too stressful, if the relationship doesn't work out, he has every right to leave, because his life and mental well-being are his responsibility. Instead, he ignored Ford's warnings and decided to use the Memory Gun and start a cult. It was, by the end of the day, Fiddleford's decision. And it's tragic. It really is. No one deserves to lose their family, their mind and their sense of self. It's something Ford feels guilty about, because whether it was intentional or not, he did indirectly contribute to Fiddleford's downfall. That's why, when they finally reunited after 30 years, Ford apologized to Fiddleford. And according to Journal 3, Fiddleford dissmised his apology, leading Ford to say that "Not only is this man's mind superior to mine, but he has one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen."

3. He has no reservations about helping others out:

There's a reason why Ford's the first person people turn to, when there's a problem. He has both the desire and the skills to help people out. Using Dipper's idea, he stops agents from investigating his family. He goes above and beyond just to change a lightbulb in the kitchen. Though morally questionable, he did give the kids a mind control tie with the intent of helping Stan win the elections. In the comics, Stan turns to Ford when Mabel's face is stolen and when Stan himself is cursed by an old chest.

And that's how things were in the past too. In "The Pines Boys in: The Jersey Devil's in the Details", Ford defends his brother, twice. First, when Filbrick accuses Stan of stealing the gold chain from his pawn shop. And then, when the Sibling Brothers offered Ford to let him keep the monster and become famous in exchange for photos that would prove Stan's guilt. And just to add an incentive, they threatened to frame both twins, if Ford didn't comply. Obviously, it didn't work.

According to thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com, that's also how he became friends with Fiddleford: on the very first day, he spent nine hours helping his new friend prove his theory. And in the Book of Bill, when Ford learns that Bill's home dimension was destroyed by a monster, his immediate reaction is to offer help with hunting it down.

Whenever someone's in distress, Ford really wants to help them out, and I don't know about you, but to me that doesn't sound like someone lacking empathy.

4. He's got no qualms questioning the status quo:

In Journal 3, Ford mentions traveling to Northwest Manor to confront Old Man Northwest with evidence of his family's deceit. Instead, he was met by young Preston, who wasn't impressed with his speech and forcibly escorted Ford from the premises.

Also in Journal 3, Ford wanted to debate politics with Reagan. Make of that what you will.

Now this one is more of a conjecture, but in the Book of Bill, this is how Bill compliments him: "Guys as smart as you come along once every century, and they scare the pants off of authority figures!" This lie wouldn't have worked, if it wasn't what Ford actually wanted.

And of course, learning that his former "muse" is one of the most feared beings in the entire multiverse, didn't stop Ford from going on a quest to defeat Bill. Even after witnessing other creatures shriek and cover their ears at the mere mention of Bill's name. Which leads me to my next point.

5. Calling him determined would be a massive understatement:

Forget his sleepless nights at college, forget his extensive research in Gravity Falls, Ford has spent 30 years, let me repeat that again, 30 years traveling across dimensions and looking for a way to destroy Bill Cipher. I haven't even been alive for that long! From the little we know about those years, they were anything but easy. In fact, Ford describes them as "frightening, exciting, cruel, and strange." (And of course, the guy actually does use the Oxford comma in his writing. Who would've thought?) Let me stress that Ford was under no obligation to continue his quest, maybe he could've found a quiet dimension to settle down and live peacefully, in fact, that's something he contemplates while visiting A Better World in Journal 3. But he decides against it. Not because he didn't want to, he literally says that he wanted to revel in his parallel self's success. Not because defeating Bill would get him recognition. It wouldn't, at least not in his home dimension, where no one is even aware of the danger. No, he didn't stay, because his own conscience wouldn't allow it. Ford just couldn't break his vow from 30 years ago, it's as simple as that.

And what does he do, when his plans fall apart? Does he even consider giving up? Of course not! In fact, he ends his tale of interdimensional travel with the following sentence: "My resolve to defeat Bill has never been stronger." It's almost comical, watching him throw anything he can think of at Bill and see what might stick. His battle in the Nightmare Realm was interrupted? He jumps through the portal to stop Bill's forces from entering his dimension. The portal created an interdimensional rift? He tries to contain it. Bill threatens to get his hands on the rift? This time Ford has two ideas: he tries to encrypt Dipper's thoughts and creates a mystical barrier around the house. The worst happens and the world is about to end? Well, get in loser, we're going to shoot Bill with Quantum Destabilizer. Ford misses and is captured? Not to worry, there's a Zodiac prophecy, we can give that a try. It doesn't work, because two grown men can't put aside their grievances for just a few seconds, gosh that scene is so frustrating to watch. Well, here is another idea: one can erase Bill with a memory gun as long as he's in someone's mind. I don't know what else to say, Ford really did his homework, when he set out to destroy Bill.

6. He has the patience of a saint:

Wow, now here's a controversial take. Remember Stan's "Beep boop. I am a nerd robot. That's you. That's what you sound like," which Ford just laughs off. Yes, that's what siblings do all the time. And yes, this teasing does come from a place of hurt. Stan was feeling like "the stupid twin," "a dumb idiot who screws everything up," so Ford felt like he just had to put up with this. But it's still hurtful to be mocked for your interests. It really feels like their relationship was already a little strained even before the Science Fair Project Incident.

What about the fact that he was the first to stop the fight in "Dungeons, Dungeons, and more Dungeons" and suggesting Stan might actually have fun, if he joined their game?

Or all the snide comments Stan made, when they reunited during Weirdmageddon, including "Well, he's lost his mind" and "You really think some caveman graffiti is gonna stop that monster?" All of which Ford simply ignored. Yes, he did correct Stan's grammar under the worst of circumstances, I agree, but you know, everyone has their pet peeves.

What people often forget is just how difficult it is to be a kind person, when you're stressed. It is much easier to treat people with respect and understanding, when you yourself are doing fine. So is it that big of a surprise, that someone who's under pressure, sleep-deprived and/or in pain might be more prone to outbursts? And we know how traumatic Ford's experience of being bullied as a kid was, how much suffering Bill put him through, how difficult his years on the other side of the portal were and how much pressure he was under, trying to prevent a literal end of the world. It's ironic that the people who blame Ford for his lack of empathy, really don't show him any empathy themselves.

7. Even under torture, he didn't reveal the equation that would've allowed Bill to take over the world:

Do I really have to spell it out? Look, as someone who was on the verge of mental breakdown from a simple toothache, I have nothing else to say other than: This is admirable. And he did it to protect the world that, need I remind you, wasn't particularly kind to him. On the same note, he just never joined Bill in the first place: not in the 80s, and not during Weirdmageddon.

"Oh, but he's the one who started the Apocalypse, so he kind of deserved it." Seriously? No, I mean it, are you being serious? Is that something you would say to a person suffering from diabetes type 2, that it's their fault for eating too many sweets; or to someone with liver cirrhosis that they deserve to suffer because of their alcohol addiction? Because this is neither appropriate, nor helpful. Talk about kicking someone when they're down...

8. He's fiercely loyal to his family:

I think the way Ford compliments his grandniece in "The Last Mabelcorn" is very revealing: "You've protected your family. You're a good person, Mabel." His very definition of a "good person" is "someone who supports and protects their family." Which is... interesting to say the least, considering that Ford has spent a very long time away from his family and completely alone. But it does sound like something he aspires to. That's why he goes out of his way to help his family out, whenever they're in trouble. (See point 3 for more on this.)

When Bill threatens the kids, Ford is willing to risk the entire universe for a slim chance that they might be spared. It's a cruel Trolley Problem, which once again proves just how much he values his family. Still, this is some Fate/Zero level angst and I don't want to talk about it more than I absolutely have to. Let's finish this up with something more lighthearted.

9. He's never lost curiosity and childlike wonder:

This! This is what made me fall in love with the man and why I'm wasting my time writing this nonsense in the first place. This allconsuming excitement, when he finds a new anomaly to study; this seemingly endless energy, when he explores new places; this pure joy, when he gets to play DD&MD with Dipper! I don't know how to talk about it without gushing.

Ford obviously loves games, and not just DD&MD. He plays chess with Bill. He mentions being great at charades in the comics. And what cracks me up the most: during Weirdmageddon, when Pacifica compared the Zodiac to a game of hopscotch, not only did not Ford get offended, but he replied: "It would be a pretty fun game of hopscotch." Ford, darling, the world is about to end, is this really the best time to contemplate a hypothetical game of hopscotch? Also, you've just been through something traumatic... Forget it, you've been through 3 decades of traumatic experiences, can you at least have the decency to become a tad more cynical as you age, like the rest of us. I guess, mirth really is the mail of anguish. (It's from Emily Dickinson's poem and the quote means that some people act cheerful to hide their suffering.)

Also, something Ford doesn't get enough credit for, mostly because people usually focus on his academic achievements, but he is quite creative. He draws incredibly detailed sketches not only depicting various anomalies he encounters, but also whatever happens in his life. (Probably off-topic, but I find the implications of that karaoke page so funny. Think about it: the guy sobered up, looked at the incomprehensible nonsense he had written the previous night and thought: "You know what? This could really use an illustration.") Also don't forget that he canonically plays piano. Yeah, if I were Stan, I'd be jealous too.

And of course, that's why he's so passionate about science. Sure, part of him wants the fame and recognition that would come, if he makes a big discovery, but you can't deny that he genuinely enjoys learning new things. And that he enjoys sharing them with whoever is willing to listen.

In conclusion, I'm not trying to say that Ford is perfect in every way and has never done a single wrong thing in his life. To be honest, that would've made him a really boring character. So, yes, he is flawed, and misguided, and sometimes insensitive. He's made a lot of missteps because of his upbringing, personality and, as many have speculated, neurodivergence. But I really take issue with people saying Ford's a bad person, when he clearly isn't. Ford is and always was a good person, and by the end of all the trials he became a better person. One who understands that the only way to success is cooperation, not being a lone vigilante. That it's not a weakness to ask for help or to need help in the first place. And that a sea otter shared is a sea otter halved.

That's strange... why did I write that?

[skellyflowers]

My Cat Vessel

A/N: I have never had a cat.

I thought I would ever get a cat. But here I am, looking at this odd fur ball. I don't even know where he came from. I found him on my apartment doorstep. He had a collar and a name tag, so I know his name is Vessel, but no owner contact information. 

I really did try to find Vessel’s owner. I asked my neighbors, I put up posters, tried social media and checked to see if he had a microchip. But no luck. So, for the foreseeable future, I have a little black cat.

Vessel is an… odd little guy. He only eats if I put his bowl on the table with me, so we eat together. I often find him staring at me. Usually from around the room. He runs around my apartment in the middle of the night. He also… yells at me when he sees me. My friends tell me that he is just being a normal cat.

I've had Vessel for about 2 months now and I've learned more of his habits. He likes to sit at the door as I leave to go to work. He only sits in his cat bed if it is on the couch. I'm also pretty sure he is having secret cat meetings with three other cats in my neighborhood. I swear if I come home to three more cats.

“Vessel, I'm home.” I called out. 

I look around for him. Normally he is right at the door when I come home. Ready to give me welcome home bites.

“Vessel? Where are you?”

“Mowww.”

Oh. There he is. Where did that come from? The kitchen?

“Vessel?”

“Mrow!”

I look around the kitchen but I don’t see him. My kitchen isn't that big, where is he?

“Ves, where are you buddy?”

“MEOW!”

“Are you in the cabinet?”

“Meow.”

I open my cabinet and see him sitting in a soup pot. He meows right in my face when he sees me.

“Don’t yell at me! How did you even get in here?”

The cat makes no effort to move. After about ten seconds I pull the pot out of the cabinet, Vessel still sitting inside.

“Get out of there.” I say putting my hands on my hips.

Vessel just looks up at me. He makes a chittering sound. When I try to pick him up he gently swats at my hand.

“We're not making cat soup tonight.”

I turn the pot to pour him out of it. When I place the pot make down Vessel climbs back in the pot. We do this two more times. After the fourth time I flip the pot on top of Vessel. His bowls echo under the pot.

“You ready to come out now?” I ask as I lift the pot up.

He crawls out from under the pot. He then climbs onto my shoulder and headbutts me. He crawls around my shoulders and purrs loudly in my ears.

“Did you miss me?” I ask him.

“Mrow.”

“I missed you too. Did you see your friends?” I ask as I walk to the couch.

“MEOW!”  

“Don’t get any ideas. You aren't for the streets. Not anymore.”

He meows softly in my ear and bats at my nose. He starts to purr again as I scratch his ears. I put him on the couch and started making us dinner. When I look up to check on him, he is sitting on the arm of the couch staring into my soul.

“Don’t stare at me like that!” Vessel decided to jump off the couch and walked into the kitchen to stare at me.

“Mreeow.” 

“You want chicken?” He meows really loudly and rubs against my legs. “Ok, let me get your bowl.”

Vessel jumps on the table to wait for me to bring his food. I put extra chicken in his food and turn on the TV so we have something to watch. Vessel is a loud eater.

“And you want to leave to hang out with your friends..”

 After dinner I put a nature documentary on for Vessel, to distract him. I want to take a bath and really relax tonight. Last thing I need is that fur ball to stand in the bathroom and yell at me while I just try to wash off a long day at work. Before I get in the tub I check on Vessel and see him as close to the TV as possible. His eyes are huge while he watches.

I get about 7 minutes alone before I hear him. At first it's a quiet meow, then a few footsteps. Then a louder meow and tiny paws running. I open my eyes and look at the bathroom door and see a little black paw reaching under the door.

“Ves! Stop!”

“Meowwwww!”

“I'll  be out in a few minutes. Relax.” 

He quiets down after I say that. I decided to cut my bath short. I dry off and put on my robe. As I exit the bathroom and go to the living room I see Vessel. He is loafed on the couch. But with his ears pulled back I can tell he is a grumpy loaf.

“Don’t be mad.” Vessel doesn’t respond but his tail moves behind him. “Ok. My me time is done. You can be as clingy as you want.”

“Meow.”

I walk over to him and pick him up. Vessel flops in my arms and purrs loudly.

“I knew you weren’t really mad at me.” I walk to my room with him in my arms. 

I put him on the bed and changed into my pajamas. I noticed that Vessel covered his eyes… like he was embarrassed. Once I changed and got under the covers Vessel climbs on top of me and starts to make biscuits before settling on my chest. I give him a scratch on his ears.

“Goodnight Vessel.” he quietly meows and I fall asleep to his loud purrs.

[pocksprincess]

Chapter 3 - On The Job

Series masterlist

Obito Uchiha x f!reader

Modern AU, obi still has scars, reader (25) is a vet nurse, I don't like neji but I tried really hard to be fair to him in this lmao, this is a filler chapter soz

Word count - 950

Beta baddie - thank you @dabilove27 <33

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Monday morning comes all too quickly and subsequently your introduction to the elusive Neji Hyuuga. You sigh heavily as you pull into an employee designated space in the practice's carpark, turning off the ignition and slumping in your seat. Your eyes are sore and you're exhausted from a weekend of cleaning and unpacking the rest of your belongings. Your list of house chores seems to be never-ending, but the place is starting to finally look and feel like your own.  

You haul yourself out of the car and step into the mild air. The last vestiges of Summer cling desperately to the landscape–the trees resisting the yellow hue that is beginning to tint the ends of their leaves and the stubborn heat persisting even in the early hours. It's bearable now, only the promising nip of Fall on the breeze making it so, but you know that in a few hours it will already be too hot within the practice in your stuffy uniform. 

You swing your bag over your shoulder as you make your way across the lot to the front doors, a bell chiming your arrival as you step inside the reception area. Pretty much everything throughout the building is a clinical white and smells of disinfectant but there is the underlying smell of pet fur and kibble permeating the air. You smile happily at TenTen as she sits behind the front desk, sipping on a mug of tea in one hand while she taps away on the keyboard with the other. 

"Morning, TenTen,” you yawn, eyeing up her mug enviously. 

"Morning!” she chirps, giving you a wide smile, her signature space buns wrapped neatly with little bows. How on earth is she so chipper in the morning? 

"Water's still hot in the kitchen!” She gestures to the employee common room behind her and you slouch toward the door to grab your own mug of something hot. 

"Thanks,” you mutter sleepily as you pass her. She laughs at your bleary eyes and barely awakened state, giving you sympathetic eyes. 

As soon as you step into the kitchen area with its small coffee table and saggy armchairs tucked away in the corner, you come across a tall and slender figure with long, dark hair standing with his back to you. You stop in your tracks and get zero seconds to prepare yourself before he whips around, hair flowing around him like a goddamn L'Oréal ad, and addresses you.

"Ah, good, you're here.” His voice is clipped and curt, all business. “And right on time.” He gives you a look down his nose as if he doesn't think you capable of being punctual despite having never met you and you just now proving him otherwise. His eyes are the most delicate lavender grey, a stark contrast to his hard personality. Before you can even think to respond he's moved on.

"Come, we need to prepare consultation rooms one to three for the morning appointments.” And with that he simply walks out of the room–no introduction, no small talk…no caffeine! TenTen purposely didn't warn you, the wretch! Bet she's laughing her ass off in reception.You groan inwardly and dump your bag on the table before hurriedly trotting after him–you get the impression he doesn't tolerate those who can't keep up. 

Despite the early (and rather full-on) start, your day has been fairly routine and mundane–you performed a health check on an elderly cat with arthritis, struggled to wrestle a great dane onto the extra large scales for his weight check and gave an adorable little chihuahua puppy its first vaccinations and baby microchip.

All the while, Neji allowed you to step forward and show what you know, occasionally adding things for the owners benefit and prescribing medication. And after each appointment he gave you a full performance review on each of your actions. You honestly don't mind, you get the feeling he'll keep you humble and in top form. 

By the time lunch rolls around, however, you are about ready to drop. Your own fault for going to bed so late, but you really wanted to finish putting up the shelving unit in the living room so you didn't lose all the screws and fiddly little pieces. You sink into one of the squishy armchairs with a hot mug of coffee in your hands. Finally, caffeine. But now that you've stopped, your mind wanders (as it so often has since first meeting him) to your insanely cute neighbour.

He's pretty much all you've thought about since Saturday afternoon–those captivating eyes, the way the muscles in his arms flexed and bulged as he crossed them over his broad chest, the touch of your fingers…you couldn't even hide your obvious attraction, you must have looked so desperate, practically halfway to climbing him like a fucking tree. But the moment that stuck out most in your memory was how he pulled his hand away from yours as if you had burned him. How he'd tucked his scarred arm into his side and out of sight. He'd even angled his face so that his left side was most prominent. It makes your heart ache just thinking about it again. 

He doesn't hide his scars but he clearly does his best to not draw attention to them. You recall the way the whorled pattern pulled at the corner of his mouth in shock when he opened the door or when he graced you with a small, shy smile. You wish you knew what he'd been thinking during that whole interaction.

But more pressing than that thought, you have a question that you desperately hope is answered sooner rather than later–when will you see him again?

[momoliee]

Here Is Why You Should Read Priest’s Modern Danmeis :

As much as i love priest’s period novels, i absolutely adore her more recent, modern novels even more. You can tell that her writing style has completely changed as she grew and gained more experience, giving an edge to her work. I definitely believe her modern books NEED to be as popular as her wuxia ones cause COME ON?

(i’ve written in depth reviews on my page for each title i mention)

First, my absolute all time favorite, one of my top 3, Mo Du :

I’ve read this series a total of two times so far, and I’m about to read it a third time cause it’s just that good. And here’s the thing, i almost NEVER reread or rewatch stuff ok.

Fei Du is one of the most complex characters that i’ve encountered in my reading experience, with the worst type of mental trauma that i could come across. His relationship with Luo Wenzhou is one of the most enjoyable and perhaps, priest’s best written romance. Theyre both equally flirtatious, equally bold, their back and forth bickering is full of sexual tension and their progression from enemies to lovers is IMPECCABLE.

And the plot? PHENOMENAL. The BEST mystery and thriller detective series that I’ve ever encountered, with each book having it’s own individual mystery, and no two mysteries are similar. From child trafficking to serial killers to drug dens and even terrorism….you name it. Each arc is well crafted, and by the end, you’ll truly be able to sigh in satisfaction. For priest to be able ro make you enjoy both the romance and the plot equally…shes a genius. a 27/10.

Trigger warnings: this book discusses heavy topics such as pedophilia, rape, drug abuse, suicide, self harm, and a lot of similar topics

Next: Can Ci Pin:

Her most underrated work and i cant even begin to understand why. I mean yes it takes place in outer space in a futuristic society where people live for around 200 years across the span of 8 galaxies (not there are no aliens, but there are concepts such as ais and robots) but like….you’ve all read sha po lang with its steampunk theme and you all KNOW just how good priest is at world building. Dare i say, priest is the best danmei author when it comes to world building.

Yes, this is perhaps her slowest and longest piece of work and i get why so many would get bored after the second book. But here’s the thing, ccp has one of the most complicated worlds and plot. the plot is actually one of the most confusing and heavy plots that i’ve encountered. so in order for the story not to fall apart, it was very necessary for priest to spend the first two novels and half world building as well as slowly laying out a proper foundation for the plot. That way, when she starts speeding up the pace, you are basically a pro who doesn’t need to backtrack, reread or double check anything. By the time i was done with the third novel, i felt like i knew everything about space politics, wars between galaxies, Ai and microchips, and everything in between. And that’s saying something cause im an IDIOT when it comes books and shows politics ok.

In this series, priest has seriously invested into every single side character, even those who’ve been dead since before the series even started. With extensive backstories, each and every single character grows on you as much as the main pair if not more, and you fall in love with the found family priest created as well as all the characters who are only talked about in flashbacks and past tense. Another favorite part about this series.

Now the main characters and the romance….chefs kiss. Lu Bixing has one of the BEST character arcs that i’ve come across. He starts off as this bright sunshine boy, goes through hell, becomes this depressed cynical man then finds his way back to his old self again all in the span of the novel itself. Being able to go through the pain with him then watch him heal, makes you very attached to this baby. Li Jingheng my all time cold prince biggest crush ok i love him. Their romance was SOO entertaining cause EVERYONE was rooting for them and everyone played matchmaker and wingman with them it was HILARIOUS. The comedy was top notch, the second hand embarrassment was real, but it made the reading experience feel much more organic idk i just enjoyed myself so much and laughed so hard. 20/10

Trigger warnings: human trafficking and experimentation, self harm and suicide

Third : Lie Huo Jiao Chou

Xuan Ji’s wings of flame are the highlight of the series ok. Almost every single scene has him whipping his wings out just to show off and his boyfriend eats it up everytime ok.

I absolutely love the amnesiac plot line where two past lovers meet again and yet are unable to recognize each other. Yet, slowly, as they spend more and more time together and one of them starts regaining his memories, the pining and longing begins. And oh does Xuan Ji YEARNS in the most beautiful way possible. And once they BOTH regain their memories in full, the angst is just the cherry on top. Being unable to resist each other yet still trying to pull away, the tension, trying to hold back…delicious.

The plot is so easy to keep up with and enjoy too. Both the story taking place 3,000 years ago and the one in present time are equally entertaining, where we see scenes of war and tomb raiding and investigations and a little bit of magic too. The visuals are fantastic, and the contrast between the two parallel settings is new and refreshing as a concept. 8/10

Trigger warning: main characters experience severe child abuse and neglect

Fourth : Guardian

Guardian is the most popular out of priest’s modern novels so i dont feel the need to say much.

Guardian discusses heavy topics such as death and what’s beyond. With an element of mystery where an investigation team search after where dead souls are being stolen to or why some souls are being sucked out of living people, the premises has an element of horror and goth that gives it this edge. Coolest ghost story around.

The main cast is also a hilarious bunch, and you sort of grow attached to the entire office especially a fat black talking cat. 7/10

Trigger warning: death and murder

I hope this is enough to convince you all to check out more and more of pipi’s work. Yes, sha po lang, lord 7, faraway wanderers and fuyao sect are amazing…but if you haven’t read priest’s modern work then yall are missing out ok. that’s it for now xxx

[mamas-filly]

The Vet Visit

"So poor thing was just loose on the street?"

"Yeah! She was really friendly so I thought she had to have an owner.

"Well, she doesn't have a chip or a collar, so if you're that fond of her, you can just take her home."

A hand reaches through the bars to pet your head, as you're shivering without the clothes this woman found you in.

"What do you think, girl? Are you coming home with me?"

The person in a white coat across from your captor speaks before you can say anything, the two of them continuing to talk above you

"We'll need to give it the required shots and give her a microchip, of course, plus any other... 'procedures' you might be looking for"

"Oh, I'm not looking to get her spayed right now, but Im glad she's being chipped, I would hate to have her get out and never see her again!"

"Of course, ma'am. If you'll just return to the lobby, we can set up payment and a follow-up appointment."

You finally see her face as she leans down to peer through the bars of the oversized crate you've been in, petting your head again as she coos into your ear

"I know its scary girl, but the Vet's going to take very good care of you okay?"

The cage opens, and you scramble out, starting to try and say something before she's too far, but as you open your mouth you feel a sharp pinch on your hips and the desperate pleas only come out as an enthusiastic "Bark!"

Stunned in surprise, you find yourself easily wrestled down by the strong, confident hands of the vet as they hold you still for the next shot, and the next.

"Good girl... good girl, you just got excited when your owner left, huh?"

Your mind swims in light fluffy emotions, as the doctors hand strokes you, no longer holding you down, though you can't really recall why you were trying to leave in thd first place. The vet calmly looks at your teeth, your breasts, and you even feel a cold glove drift and assess your loins, but all with medical efficiency.

"Your owner is one lucky lady, in perfect health, and very well behaved. It's hard to imagine you were a stray"

The vet muses to himself as you feel the harshest pinch of all today, right behind your ear. But your attention is soon swallowed by the biscuits the vet pulls from his pockets, which you greedily eat from his palm.

Once he's out of treats (and you checked, your face shoved into his pockets as he laughed at your antics), the vet puts a collar and leash on you (earning another good girl for standing so still for him) as he leads you to the lobby.

A receptionist clicks away on the keyboard before turning his head to your new owner.

"All we need now is the name Ma'am"

"Goodness, I only wish I could ask her myself." Your owner chuckles to herself at the thought. "Daisy, she looks like shed be a Daisy"

It's just then that you get led into the lobby by the veterinarian, and you can't help but tug against your leash when you see your owner, you love her, you love your owner(a thought that feels heavy with how universal it is).

Seeing your excitement your owner smiles

"I think the names a hit. Come on, Daisy, let's go home!"

[wolfawaycamp]

I am humbly requesting LauraMax fluff, maybe including an ever growing number of pets because they keep bringing home strays? Y'all know where to find me if you have any questions 😂

🐰 Someday, Max told himself, he’d learn to say no.

To say no to a pair of sad puppy dog eyes, whether they were Laura’s or those of an actual, literal puppy dog. And Laura didn’t do sad eyes often, that was the thing that really got him about it. It was always a sneak attack when Max’s headstrong, self-assured girlfriend pulled out the big, sad baby blues, batted her eyelashes at him, and actually said, “please?” It was unfair, really, because it worked every single time. It was just giving Max the illusion of choice when he inevitably gave in and let Laura have whatever it was that she wanted.

That was how, across multiple separate occasions, they’d ended up with their current menagerie. Max had known that cohabiting with a veterinary student would expose him to a number of critters, but he hadn’t expected it to turn out quite like this. Certainly, Max hadn’t expected to turn into some kind of creature himself the summer before Laura embarked on her graduate school studies, but with what they now jokingly called ‘Wolf Boy Summer’ squared away (they had to laugh, you see, to keep from crying), the creatures had at least been smaller and more manageable.

They’d moved to San Francisco with only a tiny cage with two tiny mice inside, for their tiny apartment. The mice, which Laura had liberated from a science lab she’d worked a few shifts at in undergrad, were champion puzzle-solvers and cheese-finders named Trillian and Cashew. Max didn’t even get consulted about these guys, given that Laura had lived in her own dorm at the time she’d acquired them, but she did let him name one, which is how Trillian ended up named after a character in The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Laura named Cashew Cashew because that was the flavor of nut milk she was testing that week. (Max thought Cashew was lucky the two mice hadn’t shown up during pea protein milk week.) Laura was “pretty sure” they were both female, until Cashew ended up pregnant and blessed them with baby mice Frankie, Benjy, Ford, Hazel(nut), Almond, Pecan, and Peanut. Max told her this bode poorly for her career in animal care, but Laura took it in stride, saying she’d have to spend more time studying sex differences in mice in the future. They got two larger enclosures and separated everyone out by sex, properly this time, and now Max has to turn the sound up on their white noise machine when he and Laura snuggle up in bed, or else he hears the Galaxy-Nut siblings running in their wheels all night long.

Then, Laura fell in love with a stray cat with a severely matted coat that had been hanging around their doorstep for days, and Max found his loyalty to his mouse family strained. Should they really bring a predator into their happy little home? But Laura was absolutely certain she could make it work, even in the limited space their apartment provided, and the cat really was pitiful-looking. So Max capitulated and the Kearney-Brinly household expanded to include ten mice and one cat.

The pathetic ginger cat, Westley, luckily, turned out to be utterly uninterested in the mice. He got his name because he showed up for the final time on movie night and meowed pitifully through the first half of The Princess Bride (both Laura and Max’s favorite) until they brought him inside. Laura took him the next day to check for a microchip and, finding none, she had the matted orange furball completely shaved. In the middle of winter. And sure, it was a relatively mild San Francisco winter, but Max still thought Wes looked cold.

“I’ve already ordered him a sweater,” Laura said, “but I know you’ve been working on your knitting, maybe you can make him another?”

Max had scoffed at first. Then he’d taken a second look at his pitifully nude cat and stayed up late researching cat sweater patterns. Now Wes has an entire wardrobe of knitwear and Max, Laura, and Wes have matching Christmas sweaters for their Christmas card photos. Max drew Emma for the Hacketteer gift exchange, but he traded with Abi for Dylan and now he’s working on another set for Dylan, Ryan, and Schrödinger. (He knows Ryan will be especially delighted.)

Then it was Max’s turn. He found a large bedraggled dog of indeterminate breed tied to a stop sign in an abandoned parking lot and the dog let him know immediately that Max was his chosen father, riding home with his head in Max’s lap the entire way. Westley liked Laura best anyway, why shouldn’t Max have his own cuddle buddy (you know, other than Laura)? Laura agreed it was only fair, and now Inigo stretches out between them on movie night and he has to get his fill of both scritches and popcorn before he’ll allow them to cuddle with one another.

“Hon,” Max told Laura, who was sitting at her desk with Westley perched on her shoulder like a pirate’s parrot, “you know I love all our kids, but we really cannot have any more animals in this apartment. We might actually get evicted.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more, honey,” Laura replied, and Max had thought that would be the end of their animal acquisition. He could admit that was pretty naive of him.

The next day, Laura had a list of rental houses for them to visit a little further from the city. Sure, she’d have a longer commute to her classes, and Max would to his job, but wouldn’t it be worth it for the ‘kids’ to have more space? Max couldn’t exactly argue with that, so they moved into a two-bed, two-bath with a small fenced yard.

And that was where Max was, cutting up a salad for dinner, when there was a knock at the door. Max answered to find Laura on their doorstep holding the saddest-looking beagle Max had ever seen, her own face mimicking its hangdog expression perfectly. They were both whimpering. “She was released from the surgical program at school and needed a home, I said we’d take her on a trial basis but baaaabe, just look at this faaaace.”

He sighed, but couldn’t help smiling a little, both at the wriggling dog and at his girlfriend. Her big pretend sad eyes, her genuinely huge heart.

Someday Max would learn to say no. But today was not that day.

[changingplumbob]

Pancakes Household: Chapter 9, Part 7

The household grows but probably not in the way you were expecting

Nicknames: Bob = Sleek, Eliza = Jumble

Our first snowfall of the season! Fergus will have his birthday party after school and while Eliza is taking the day off to clean Bob has an alternate plan.

Bob: *to dust bunny* Well hello friend! Oh you’re adorable, have some dust

Onyx: What are you doing

Bob: Trying to befriend the dust bunny, isn’t it cute?

Onyx: Uhhh sure… But won’t mother just vacuum it up

Bob: I think, if I can win it over, it will become resistant to the vacuum

Onyx: *grumbles dramatically* I try to understand science and they just keep changing it

Bob: Hey everybody, who here is in the grips of winter? It’s meant to be autumn, but we still got a dusting of snow this morning, it is beautiful out there

Drone: *Chimes*

Bob: New follower sound? Welcome to the chaos new buddy. You probably know I’m Bob since it’s in the title of the video. I’m a professional chef who has self published 3 cookbooks. I’m still working on establishing myself so I try to share my cooking and baking adventures, alongside the fitness I do to balance out all the cooking and baking I eat *laughs*

Ta da! Perfect pie!

Livestream finished, Bob sneaks back to the bedroom while Eliza is still busy upstairs. The dust bunny greets him and is happy to receive some more dust and pets.

Bob: I shall call you Dusty and you shall be mine and you shall be my Dusty

The dust bunny chirps in approval, solidifying the friendship. Dusty is here to stay! Now Bob just needs to get up the nerve to let Eliza know.

Gathering his courage and the laundry he goes to see Eliza and attempts to speak over the vacuum.

Bob: So Jumble, don’t be alarmed if you see a dust bunny in our room. His name is Dusty

Eliza: Bob!

Bob: What? I’m in an adoptable mood, blame the watcher!

Eliza: *mumbles* sure

Bob: It will bring us simoleons

Eliza: *hears clink of money* Simoleons? I guess it can stay, but Sleek not where visitors will see

Trying to help out Onyx, Bob decides to take Ginger for a run so his teen can enjoy the party after school. Ginger is thrilled to spend time with her favourite person again. Did I mention they became companions earlier because I meant to! The sun seems to have wiped away the snow but it is still cold out, Bob might have to change his active wear. He gets Ginger home and in the gate when something catches his eye across the road…

Bob: What are you doing out here?

Dog: *whines* freezing my paws

Bob: It’s cold, did you get lost?

Dog: *yaps*

Bob: How about a treat huh? A good snack always makes me feel better

The dog happily accepts and hungrily gobbles down the treat.

Bob: I can’t just leave you out here. We best get you to the vet to check for a microchip. Will you let me pick you up

Dog: *yaps* of course, you look like a walking pillow

We went to the vet and no microchip. They did a search and there were no reports of missing dogs matching her description in the area. Still in his adoptable mood Bob said he would take her home, naming her Strawberry.

Bob: Good job keeping quiet, now we need to give you a bath

Strawberry looks at him quizzically.

Bob: We don’t want to give mother any reason to say you can’t stay so we’re going to show her you’re clean and healthy. Think we can do that?

Strawberry: *yaps* You bet ya dad

Scrub -a – dub – dub, bubbles in the tub!

Bob: We’ll dry you off then I should have it around here somewhere… Ginger didn’t want it but I’m sure you can use it

Eliza: BOB! Why is there another dog in our living room

Strawberry: *yaps* are you my mother

Eliza: Bob? Oh you are pretty cute aren’t you *pets*

Strawberry: *yaps* Dad gave me matching bows

Bob: Her name is Strawberry, she was out there in the cold so-

Eliza: Oh, I don’t like to think of any animal in that, you did the right thing Bob. Has she met Ginger

Bob: Uh, don’t think so

Eliza: Go to the kitchen Strawberry, you’ll find her in there

Strawberry: *yaps* Yes mother, right away mother

Bob: I wasn’t sure how you’d react

Eliza: We have the space and I know dogs help you stay happy, how could I say no

Bob: I... I love you Eliza

Eliza: I know. Right back at you *kisses*

Ginger is relaxing when Strawberry approaches. Ginger is confused, where did she come from?

Strawberry: *yaps* hello sister, I am… uh… I think dad said Strawberry

Ginger: *barks* dad does love his food

After some introductory sniffing the pair playfully lick each other’s faces

So not so fun story, my game is not great at starting events just now so Fergus blew out his candles half an hour after the party was scheduled but ten minutes before the event began. So with that bumpy start welcome to teenagerhood Fergus! If you don’t know when my sims reach teen they roll one of their parents traits. Looks like Fergus is going to be materialistic just like his mother. New likes include flower arranging while dislikes include rascals, only time will tell how this will affect his friendship with Artemisia. Oh, and he also rolled the Strangerville Mystery aspiration!

Previous ... Next

[jakesaverse]

BLOSSOM | JAKE SIM

MASTERLIST | PREV | NEXT

Authors note: Hello! Sorry for the very delayed updates 😭 unfortunately once I started posting about it I started having a writers block. So hopefully this isn’t too bad! I also made it longer to make up for the very bad update schedule. And it’s also sort of a slow burn but next chapter there will be more interactions between both groups don’t worry! Also, don’t forget to read the writing section! It’s just a cute little interaction outside of texting!

You paced back and forth in your small apartment, your eyes darting nervously toward the dog you had found in the park. "What am I going to do?" You muttered, feeling a mix of panic and guilt. You had brought the dog home thinking it was abandoned, but now you weren’t so sure. What if it had an owner?

Just then, there was a loud knock on the door. When you opened it, Niki and Heeseung stood there, both barely able to contain their laughter.

"Y/N, are you serious?" Heeseung said, stepping inside with a wide grin. "You actually thought stealing a dog was a good idea?"

Niki burst out laughing. "Yeah, Y/N, you're supposed to take candy from a baby, not a dog from a park!"

You groaned and pointed to the dog, which was now chewing on one of your sneakers. "I didn't steal her! She was all alone and looked lost, so I brought her home. But now I'm not sure if she was really abandoned or just ran away from her owner."

Niki crouched down to pet the dog, still chuckling. "Well, genius, did you check if she had a collar or any identification before kidnapping her?”

You shook your head. "Nothing. No collar, no microchip, at least none that I can see."

Heeseung plopped down on the couch, trying to keep a straight face. "So let me get this straight. You found a dog with no ID and just decided to bring her home? What if someone did that with you?"

Niki grinned. "Yeah, Y/N, you might want to watch out. Someone might 'accidentally' steal you next time you're out without your ID."

You rolled her eyes but couldn't help but laugh. "Very funny, guys. But seriously, what do I do now?"

Heeseung chuckled. "We could put up posters in the park and around the neighborhood. If someone is looking for their dog, they'll see the posters. We could also take her to a vet to see if she has a microchip."

"That sounds like a good plan," You said, feeling a bit more at ease. "But... what if no one claims her? What do I do then?"

Niki shrugged, still smiling. "Well, if no one claims her, I guess you'll have a new roommate. And by the looks of it, she’s already claimed your sneaker as her favorite toy."

Heeseung laughed. "Yeah, you might want to start dog-proofing your apartment. She’s going to need a lot of attention and training."

You watched the dog, who was now happily gnawing on the sneaker, and sighed. "I guess you're right. But what if I'm not ready for this? I mean, I don't even know how to take care of a dog."

Niki put a reassuring hand on your shoulder. "Don't worry, Y/N. We'll help you out. It's not like you're doing this alone. Plus, there are tons of resources online. You can learn everything you need to know."

Heeseung nodded. "And we'll be here to help. It might actually be fun. Think of all the adventures we'll have with a dog around."

Just then, the dog let out a tiny bark and pounced on Heeseung's shoelace, pulling it undone. Heeseung tried to shake the dog off, but it only made the dog more excited. "Hey! That's my only pair of decent shoes!" he exclaimed, hopping around on one foot.

You couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like she has a thing for shoes. Maybe I should start a shoe donation drive."

Niki snickered. "Or you could just buy her, her own pair of sneakers."

You smiled, feeling a bit more confident. "Alright, let's do this. First, we'll check for a microchip, and if no one claims her, I'll keep her. But you guys better be ready to help out."

Niki and Heeseung high-fived each other. "Deal!" they said in unison.

As you all sat down to brainstorm your next steps, the dog trotted over and curled up at your feet, looking up at you with big, trusting eyes. You couldn't help but feel a surge of affection. Maybe this unexpected turn of events wasn't so bad after all.

Suddenly, the dog let out a tiny sneeze, startling everyone. "Bless you!" You said, chuckling. "I guess she’s allergic to bad decisions, so keeping her must be a good one."

Niki and Heeseung burst out laughing. "Looks like we've got ourselves a little comedian”

—————————————————————————————-

taglist: @belovedsthings @river-demon-slayer @grassbutneo @mxxnintheskyreblogs @riksaes @dreamiestay @jakeyverse

[poppy5991]

Wow! The last post on this topic was quite popular! So here’s another from a person that actually does emergency response for a living…

Writing PTSD in first responders/emergency personnel accurately: Trauma Thresholds

(I called them out in the tags last time for Owen’s PTSD portrayal, but this is one thing Grey’s anatomy does quite well.)

One mistake I see in media/writing is a character being traumatized by something that an average person would find traumatic…but probably not an experienced responder.

We do expect to see and are trained to cope with some level of trauma in our jobs. You anticipate witnessing injury, illness, death, and grief. So things that the average civilian finds disturbing don’t phase us so much. But there are specific things that can trigger a trauma response, mainly:

Moral injury: Witnessing or being put in a situation that violates your deeply held moral values or sense of self

Projecting loved ones on to a trauma (I.e. what if that was my kid/they are the same age as my sister/my loved one was at that event)

Experiencing/witnessing violence or harassment on the job

Out of my depth: asked to work without the necessary tools, rest, or training

Here’s a couple examples of what might be par for the course versus what will fuck you (or your character) up….

Scenario 1: Paramedic responds to a heart attack on a middle aged man. Performs CPR while wife wails in the background.

Traumatic? Probably not

Scenario 2: Paramedic responds to a sudden infant death call on a six month old. Performs infant CPR. Mom is wailing in the background. Paramedic has a newborn at home with their spouse, born a few weeks ago.

Traumatic? Yep!

-

Scenario 1: ED nurse works a gunshot victim on their shift. Standard case that they see frequently in an urban ED.

Traumatic? Probably not.

Scenario 2: There is a mass shooting at a local event. Sudden influx of multiple gunshot victims. The ED is overwhelmed and understaffed. Family are showing up at the ED screaming and looking for loved ones. The shooter is still at large.

Traumatic? Yep.

-

Scenario 1: Public Health worker is doing shelter surveillance and interviewing people on their disease exposures and medical needs. Hears harrowing stories about the disaster from traumatized and scared people who may be separated from loved ones/witnessed death/lost their homes.

Traumatic? Probably not.

Scenario 2: Public Health worker is doing shelter surveillance and interviewing people on their disease exposures and medical needs. There is an unaccompanied child/dementia patient wandering around. They realize that this person’s family have left without notifying anyone and have abandoned their loved one during the disaster. The person is anxious/inconsolable and asking the worker where their family has gone.

Traumatic? Yep.

-

Scenario 1: Disaster animal shelter worker is doing intake for animals after an evacuation. Both the people and animals are traumatized and stressed, anxious about being separated.

Traumatic? Probably not.

Scenario 2: Disaster animal shelter worker is doing intake for animals after an evacuation. A man comes in and aggressively demands to be given his purebred dog. Refuses to show ID. He becomes increasingly aggressive, threatening workers but departs when police are called. Police inform worker that the man was probably trying to steal a purebred dog from the shelter to sell. When checking the microchip, realizes they are correct- they remember the owner and it is not that man.

Traumatic? Yep.

-

These are just a few examples of things that happen in real life. It can be different if you are new to the field and witnessing things for the first time, but if you’re writing an experienced responder experiencing trauma make sure to give context as to why a certain event was traumatic as compared to their normal work threshold.

Also make sure not to fall into the trap of writing “perfect victims.” People in stressful situations can and do act very poorly out of fear and often we take the brunt of it. It’s not realistic to write all the victims that your character is helping as calm, compliant, rational, and kind. They are more likely confused, angry, combative, dazed, and upset. And they are likely to view their problem or loved one as more important than everyone else’s in that moment. And to act in accordance. No matter how insignificant.

Lastly don’t forget that in addition to work, we have personal lives. While working stressful situations, we too have loved ones pass, pets get sick, have relationship problems, etc. so you can write that in to flesh out the character. It’s very much true that people with children have a harder time dealing with situations involving harm to kids, people with pets struggle more with helping in situations involving animals, etc.

[bulldog-butch]

For your recovery reading pleasure: I found a cat on the streets a couple days ago, and now I'm his mom!! I've been wanting a cat for monthsss but kept procrastinating on actually going out to the shelters and going thru the whole process. Then I came back from a night shift on Tuesday morning and ran into this lil sweetie meowing and begging for pets on the sidewalk in my apartment complex. He was v social and energetic, but also grimy and his ears had tons of puffy scabs that he was scratching at. I made an impulse decision to go to petsmart, get a carrier (and a monster drink to chug lol), and take him to the vet to get checked out! He literally strolled right into the carrier, like he wasn't afraid at all. He didn't like the car ride, but he never actually freaked out. Just meowed a lot. Ended up taking him to the petsmart clinic, and they told me he was already microchipped :( I was devastated, untilllll she came back and said there was no owner info actually registered to the chip! Whoever his previous owner was, they obviously hadn't been taking care of him for a while, and I haven't seen any lost pet signs anywhere in my apartment complex, so I decided to register my info to the chip and keep him!!! Got all the things I need for him that day (w recs from the vet tech for food & litter), and now he's my lil guy 🥰 he got his vaccines, flea treatment, and a ton of meds for his ears, which turned out to be a pretty bad yeast infection. We're doing ear drops and antibiotic spray twice a day, and he got a steroid shot and antibiotic shot that'll stay in his system for a couple weeks. He's my first cat, so I feel kinda like I became a teen mom overnight lmao, but I'm gonna do my best to take care of him as my bougie spoiled indoor cat lolol. If you have any tips or tricks for being a cat mom, I'm all ears!! Otherwise I hope you have a speedy recovery 💫💫

the cat distribution system doing the lords work!! it sounds like he’s in very good hands. the one piece of advice that comes immediately to mind is it’s usually not worth it to buy the more expensive toys. my roommates cats favorite toys are from the dollar tree 😂 he also loves peacock feathers which they sell at more pet stores and are very cheap

[jamiesfootball]

please do tell me more about the brilliant “isaac mcadoo gets a one-eyed bunny” pearl you dropped on me last week i am so. I AM SO !!!!!! ABOUT IT.

Loosely based off of this and this and this and a few other posts about giving the Richmond lads pets

“What’s her name?” “A Good Samaritan brought her in, so we’re not sure. People don’t really microchip rabbits. We’ve just been calling her Bun-Bun.” “Then that’s her name,” said Isaac.

First Jamie with his monster cat, a true beast dressed up all fancy in an embroidered cravat, the two of them clogging up Isaac’s Twitter feed. (Isaac heard him out when he said he was trying to be better, but Isaac believed him when he saw him with the cat. The best-est cat in the world, he’d tell anyone, with a cheek-splitting grin on his face that rendered him almost unrecognizable from the man Isaac knew a year ago.) Then Dani with Jude of the forlorn eyes. A sweet dog, a real good boy, the both of them. (Isaac did not tear up when Dani showed him how to avoid petting the gnarled scar across his neck, from where a crueler owner left carelessness like a brand.) Then Dani had mentioned the other animals at the shelter, and well. It was a field trip now, wasn’t it? “This is Remy,” Moe explained as he cradled a small rat in his hand. “He used to be an explosives expert. Found land mines.” Jan scoffed. “That is not what the card on the cage said." “Doesn't matter what the card said, man. Just look at his eyes.”

Isaac ignored them, orbiting closer to Sam. The young man looked even younger than usual, his eyes wide with wonder as he peered through the glass. “You thinking about it?” Isaac asked. “I know nothing about snakes,” Sam whispered. Two orange shoelaces entwined together on a sandy rock. “I should let someone else find them. Someone who will know how to care for him.” Sam didn't sound like he believed a word he said. Isaac clapped him on the shoulder in sympathy.

Isaac wasn't looking for a critter to take home. Nah, he had enough on his plate. He was being smart about it. All the others, they could take on the weight and the care and the responsibility for a living breathing thing. Isaac had enough of those in his life: twenty-four of them in the locker room alone. At least if the whole team got pets, then he'd always have a good excuse to check in on them. Could say he was just in the mood to pet some dogs, or look at some fish, or perish under the weight of Jamie's massive behemoth of a cat. He could not imagine ever looking Moe in the eye and saying the words 'please let me hold your pet rat,' but he'd say them if it meant being a good captain.

The problem, he knew, with Moe and the rat was that once you named the thing you wanted, it made it impossible to want it any less.

Isaac hadn't know he wanted to be captain before Roy handed him that armband, and now it was all he wanted.

But he hadn't thought it would take so much work. Roy made that shit look easy. Even before Roy woke up from whatever coma he'd been in and started putting in the effort, the lads always followed in his wake. It wasn't like that with Isaac. He could command a room, sure, but did they listen? He could speak to them, but he couldn't move them. He couldn't remake their world the way Lasso rallied the team with his speeches.

He wanted to be the tides that could buoy hearts back to shore. It wasn't enough to have them listen if they didn't take his words to heart.

The team was a commitment that left no room for fuzzy little critters.

In a cage on the ground was a tiny bunny.

Isaac froze.

The bunny froze.

The enclosure was makeshift, nothing more than a cage on the ground with cardboard peaking out the sides. Hay tickled around the sides, and a tipped-over packing supply box made for a hidey-hole. Isaac towered in the bunny's sky. Far away on the ground the bunny huddled into a shivering ball no bigger than Isaac's shoe, a small black hole on the distant horizon.

One of the shelter's volunteers caught him staring and shimmered into existence at his side. "If you're interested in rabbits, that's our only one right now. Would you like to hold her?"

"Would I?" Isaac repeated.

The volunteer took that as a 'yes.'

The fur under his hands was immaculately shiny, a sort of brownish-black that parted under his hands like waves in a sea. She shivered. Isaac cradled her in his palms, following the volunteer's instructions to support her legs and back. Pressed next to his bicep, she looked like an afterthought.

Growing up Isaac had known with childish certainty that it was the feet of rabbits that went thump-thump-thump. As he held the small creature against his chest he felt the reality of its tiny heart singing thump-thump-thump.

"What happened to the ear?" he asked.

"It's a bit gruesome," the volunteer warned delicately. "But it sometimes happens after the mother gives birth--she gets a little carried away in the cleaning up. It worries some people off adopting, but the bunny is fine! Completely healthy, this one. so long as you don't mind a little imperfection."

The volunteer made it sound so easy. When Roy had handed over the armband, that had sounded easy too. That was how they got you. They dangled a carrot in front of you, and sometimes the carrot looked like respect or captain, and sometimes the carrot looked like a tribble and shivered in your hands, daring you to hold too tight.

Isaac did not need a pet. He had responsibilities, a weight upon his shoulders he'd never planned for.

Held aloft in the sky, the rabbit weighed hardly more than a feather.

"What's her name?"

[mymoodwriting]

2.7k, head trauma, blunt force trauma, blood, near-death experience, needles, manipulation, mind control, betrayal, yandere

“I’m not going to leave.”

“Get out!”

    You were hurt too, having seen the others leave, one after the other, each with their own reason. This place that was once filled with smiles and laughter had gotten so cold and silent. Now it was just you and Hongjoong in this place, and he was distraught. You were trying to comfort him, but he didn’t want to hear it.

“Hongjoong, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Just leave! Like everyone else. This is your chance.”

“Hongjoong!”

“I said leave!”

    Hongjoong shoved you away, hard, not even wanting to look at you. He had something good here, and it fell apart so quickly. There was no point in trying to hold onto any of it, or anyone. He wanted you gone like the rest, so he could grieve alone, he had always been alone anyway. At some point he expected to hear the door open, he didn’t want you trying to reason with him anymore. Except he didn’t hear anything. The idea of you standing around in silence was dreadful.

“I told you-”

    When Hongjoong turned around to face you, he saw something worse. You were on the floor, blood pooling around your head.

“Y/n!”

    Hongjoong fell to his knees in a panic, your name slipping past his lips in disbelief, over and over again. He gently tried to wake you, but there was no response. The sound of his heartbeat grew louder and louder, tears beginning to blur his vision. He gently picked you up, feeling the warm blood on his hands.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, y/n, please… please don’t go… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

“I can fix this.”

“Uh…”

    Hongjoong looked up with tear filled eyes, seeing a black figure suddenly standing before him. His grip on you getting tighter.

“You can’t take her! She’s not gonna die!”

The figure laughed. “I’m not a reaper, I’m here to help you, both of you.”

“Help?”

“She isn’t going to die, but your doctors won’t be able to wake her up.”

“What?”

“I can though. I can give you everything back.”

“I… I…”

“Let’s get her to the hospital first.” 

❤

    It wasn’t until Hongjoong had a moment to breathe that he could finally make out the black figure. They hid behind a mask with chains, wearing a black fedora. He wasn’t wrong thinking they were a reaper upon first glance. When he had called for emergency services the figure had disappeared, and now that he was alone with you in the hospital they were here again.

“Stable?”

“Yes… but…”

“Unresponsive. With no way of knowing when or if she’ll ever wake up again.”

“If you’re not a doctor, how can you help?”

“I can wake her up.”

“How?”

“Your technology has not advanced much, but mine has.” The figure held up a microchip. “This little thing, implanted in her brain will reignite her cognitive functions, thus waking her up.”

“And you’re sure that will work?”

“Yes. Shall I?”

    Hongjoong was still skeptical. He didn’t know who this person was, or why they were offering help. If this all really worked he was sure there would be a price to pay. Although he’d pay it no matter what. He stepped aside as he watched the man in the black fedora turn you on your side, using some device to insert the chip into your neck. He checked to make sure everything was right before looking down at his watch. It was quiet but after a moment your eyes shot open and you gasped awake, all the machines coming to life at once.

“Y/n! Y/n, are you okay?”

    Hongjoong was quickly at your bedside. He could see the panic in your eyes, taking your hand and trying to get your attention.

“It hurts! Hongjoong, it hurts!”

“Y/n, y/n, it’s okay, you’re okay.”

“It hurts! It hurts… Hongjoong, it hurts…”

“What’s wrong with her?” Hongjoong look up at the other. “You said she’d be okay!”

“I just said I would wake her up. It seems her mind is still processing what happened. It’s not a problem though.”

    The man in the black fedora glanced down at his watch again, and moments later you relaxed. Your eyes seemed a bit glassy, but at least you weren’t in pain anymore.

“It’s best to suppress the inciting incident that caused this mess.”

“What?”

“I’ll make her forget what happened.”

“You can do that?”

“Yes. She won’t be in pain, or upset with you.”

“How do you-”

“This doesn’t have to be just for her.”

“What?”

“With these chips you can get the rest of your family back. You won’t have to lose them ever again.”

“You mean make them forget we ever fought…”

“Exactly.”

“And what do you want? All this, it can’t be for free.”

“This is what I want. To put everything back together.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want to lose my family either.”

    Hongjoong glanced down at you, seeing that you had fallen asleep. He squeezed your hand gently, feeling that you squeezed back, a soft smile forming on his face. His stupidity nearly cost him you, and he couldn’t make that mistake again.

“What do I need to do?”

❤

Months Later…

“That’s enough practice for today.”

    One by one they all collapsed to the floor, exhausted from all the dancing, but they all had smiles on their faces.

“I’m starving.” Wooyoung whined. “Hyung, do you have any food?”

“I’m sure I have something for you all.” Hongjoong said. “Just give me a minute.”

    Hongjoong took a moment to get up before going off to take a look at what he had in his kitchen. A moment later Seonghwa came over.

“We can just order something you know.”

“But I still need snacks to feed you all while we wait.”

“True.”

“Here. Take these, I’ll order from our favorite place.”

    Hours later everyone was well fed and just lounging around. The food was definitely putting some to sleep, you included. You managed to crawl up onto the couch where Seonghwa was watching TV. He welcomed you as you laid your head down in his lap, yawning and getting cozy.

“So cute.”

    Seonghwa gently pet your head, glancing around at the others. Hongjoong had fallen asleep on the other couch, seeming peaceful. Mingi and Jongho were sitting on the floor, chatting and watching TV with some popcorn. Yunho and Yeosang had gotten stuck with dish duty, so they were off in the kitchen. Meanwhile San and Wooyoung were practicing some more now that the food had settled. It was a peaceful night, and he was glad to see everyone around.

“I think I’m good.” San collapsed on an empty couch. “No more.”

“Come on, San.” Wooyoung whined. “One more time.”

“Tomorrow.”

“San.”

“Go bother Hongjoong.”

“Fine.” 

    Wooyoung creeped over to Hongjoong, planning on yelling into his ear. San watched with excitement, hiding his giggles. Just as Wooyoung was about to scream he heard a chime. He glanced back at San, but he didn’t know the cause either. It was an unfamiliar sound to both of them. Wooyoung looked back down at Hongjoong just as a screen went dark. That’s when he noticed the watch his older brother had.

“Ya, San, check this out.”

    San went over, looking at where Wooyoung was pointing. He had never seen the watch before. The two were very curious about it, seeing that it was pretty high tech compared to the other things around. San carefully reached over, getting it off Hongjoong, the two then examining it further.

“Where did he get this?”

“No idea. You think he’ll get us one?”

“But why did it make a noise?” San questioned. “What was it for?”

    San managed to turn the watch on, seeing that it didn’t even tell the time. He found that it displayed a list, just eight numbers. When he clicked on the one, he had another list pop up, showing that something was on custom mode, with the option to turn it on, off, and put it in sleep mode. Out of curiosity San turned the one off, the two boys looking around the place to see if that changed something. Although it didn’t seem to do anything.

    Seonghwa didn’t care for the other two and their shenanigans, knowing Hongjoong would scold them if he woke up. He had gotten into a rhythm of petting your head softly, finding it therapeutic. He figured you had fallen asleep, but at one point he felt you practically melt in his lap. That caught his attention and he glanced down. You were breathing just fine, definitely asleep, but something felt off. Even if he felt bad to wake you, he had to make sure you were alright. He gently shook you, but you were unresponsive. He tried again, and he began to get more frantic.

“Y/n… wake up.”

    While shaking you his hand brushed against your neck and he stopped, having felt a strange bump. He reached over again, feeling a small nub under your skin. The thing was that it felt solid, like a metal or plastic, which confused him and worried him at the same time. Without really realizing he reached up to his own neck, finding a similar bump to yours.

“What… Jongho, come over here.”

“Huh?”

“Come here.”

    Jongho didn’t know what was going on, but got up and went over to Seonghwa. The eldest didn’t say anything, just reached up to his neck and felt around.

“What?”

“Do you feel that?”

    Seonghwa moved his hand away and Jongho reached up to his neck, finding a bump he hadn’t noticed before.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know… but I have it… and so does y/n…”

“Mingi, grab your neck.” Jongho said. “Do you feel something?”

“Uh…” Mingi did as he was asked, his eyes going wide. “What is that!?”

“What’s what?” Yunho asked, coming into the living room area. “What are you doing?”

“Come here.” Seonghwa gestured for Yunho to come close. “I need to check something.”

    It was the same with Yunho, and they were all starting to look around at each other confused. Seonghwa shifted focus back to you, trying to wake you, not caring to be gentle, and you weren’t responding at all. The others were aware of his actions now, starting to worry too.

“Is she okay? What happened?”

“I… I don’t know… she just… she won’t wake up.”

“What’s going on with y/n?” Wooyoung asked. “What did you do?”

“Nothing. Will you two stop playing with that thing, and go get Yeosang. See if there’s something in the kitchen to wake her up with.”

“Uh, yeah, yeah.”

    Wooyoung rushed off to the kitchen, leaving San to put back what he stole. He quickly turned the one back on, figuring it did nothing. As he reached over for Hongjoong’s wrist, he was suddenly startled by your screaming. Seonghwa had been holding you, trying not to completely panic, and then you came back to life. You inhaled sharply, your eyes went wide, staring off into space. For a moment everything was quiet, then you began screaming.

“It hurts!” 

    You fell out of Seonghwa’s arms, curling up on the floor and holding your head. Everyone crowded around you, Seonghwa trying to figure out what was wrong. Yeosang and Wooyoung ran over from the kitchen, San dropping the watch and going over as well.

“It hurts! It hurts… Hongjoong, it hurts!”

    The screaming was what finally woke Hongjoong up. He bolted upright, a bit confused over what was going on, but your screaming made him tense up. He recognized your screams of agony, immediately looking down at his wrist to see the watch was gone. Thankfully it was in his lap, and upon looking at it he realized someone had messed with it. He didn’t bother asking, just fixing the situation, and making your screams stop.

    Seonghwa thought the worst of it was over as you began to calm down. Although as you started closing your eyes he tried to make sure you stayed awake, but you drifted off, and he couldn’t wake you. He was worried about you, but the others were staring at Hongjoong. In your panic you had screamed out his name, and they wanted answers. There was something they didn’t know about.

“What the hell was that?” Yunho questioned. “What just happened.”

“Are you all okay?”

“No. Why was she screaming? Why did she say your name?”

“I… I don’t-”

“Don’t lie.” Seonghwa hissed, holding you tight. “You know something. And what the hell is that watch for?”

“What?”

“San was messing with it and all this happened. Explain yourself!”

“Seonghwa, I don’t know what-”

“Check him.”

“What?”

“We all seem to have something in our neck… what about you?”

“What are you-”

    The three that hadn’t known about that reached up to their own neck, finding something strange under their skin. Mingi and Yunho had gone over to grab Hongjoong, Jongho checking him over and shaking his head. Seonghwa asked for the watch, Wooyoung going over and taking it, bringing it over to the eldest.

“What is this?”

“It’s just a watch, I don’t-”

“San, what did you do with it earlier?”

“I just turned something off, and then on again.”

“Did you turn her on and off!?”

“I don’t know! I just… I didn’t mean to hurt her.”

“Seonghwa, that’s not a fucken toy.” Hongjoong yelled. “Just give it back.”

“What if I turn the other seven numbers off?”

“Don’t…”

“Then tell me what this is? What did you do to us!”

“Just give me back the watch… and I’ll explain everything…”

“I am not-”

    Seonghwa suddenly dropped the watch and grabbed his head, groaning from a headache. One by one the others were affected as well, falling to their knees and grabbing their heads. Hongjoong didn’t know what was happening, but he scrambled over for the watch, intending to fix things. Although the device wouldn’t turn on.

“What… what’s happening!”

“You lasted longer than I predicted.”

“What?”

    Hongjoong looked around, finding the source of the familiar voice, the man in the black fedora. He casually walked over, taking the watch from Hongjoong’s hand, and then focusing on the one he had on his wrist. All the boys collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

“Fix them.” Hongjoong begged. “Please.”

“You weren’t careful. I’ll do better.”

“What?”

    Everyone suddenly got up, the boys walking over and standing in a line. They all had glassy eyes, and seeing them so quiet, and lifeless, was unnerving. When you got up Hongjoong reached over and grabbed your hand, holding you back.

“Y/n…”

“…”

“What are you doing to them!?”

“I’m collecting what I’m owed.”

“You said you didn’t want to lose your family! Why are you doing this!”

“Consider all this a test run.”

“You… you’ve been watching us… the whole time… you… you used me… you used my family!”

    Hongjoong got up and attacked the man in the black fedora. The two tussled around for a bit, and Hongjoong suddenly felt a prick against his neck. He knew what that meant, his eyes going wide in panic. His rage grew, but given his rash actions he wound up knocked back. He did manage to pull back the mask though, shocked to see a very familiar face underneath. Himself.

“You… you’re… me?”

“…”

“Then your family… it’s just like mine… isn’t it?”

“Not quite. I don’t have a y/n in my family.”

“Why… why…”

    Hongjoong collapsed to his knees, feeling a headache coming on and knowing he was powerless to stop this. He had seen the implantation process before, seven times, and it wasn’t exactly pretty.

“Just as you wish to protect your family, and keep them together, I intend to do the same with my own.”

“But you… ah…” 

“Don’t worry about your boys, or yourself. I’ll take good care of you.” 

    Høngjoong put his mask back on, walking over to where you stood, still and silent. He watched you for a moment before reaching up to caress your cheek.

“And I’ll take special care of you.”