#I grew up with my mom playing his cds all the time

[fistfuloflightning]

I can’t decide on a voice for Maglor.

Either Will Martin, with such a stunning clear tenor

Exhibit A:

Or Josh Groban, who has the literal voice of an angel—beautiful, haunting and powerful

Exhibit B and C:

[braxlrose]

Heyy i LOVE your writing your my of my favs writers

was wondering if u could do like hc of tom with a reader like childhood bffs to dating only if you can ❤

a/n: i love this trope so much so im so glad someone requested! imo it's one of the best and cutest tropes to ever exist. it's actually the one I'm using for my DR 💀 this is also kind of like a pt 2 for this post except with Tom instead of bill and there's not much mentioned of georg and gustav

childhood friends to lovers w/ tom

tom x fem!reader

• you met tom and bill when your mom moved you to Loitsche when you were 5 years old, right next to tom and bills house. their mother met yours when their mother went over to introduce herself to you guys. that's when she mentioned that she had a daughter the same age as her sons.

• that night, your mom brought you over there for dinner and you played with Tom and Bill. you guys had tons of fun and ended up becoming great friends that night.

• after that, you guys hung out every day and hung out at school. you were their new bestfriend and as I mentioned in this post, you helped them switch back and forth and confuse the teachers.

• the teachers were already used to their antics but with you, it just got worse and more complex. your mom scolded you a ton and ever had a fight with Tom and Bills mom because you kept getting into trouble but there was nothing they could do to stop you guys from hanging out.

• it was really hard to tell them apart when they were younger so you got relieved as they got older and started to have their own style

• you guys went bike riding all the time together and would ride for hours doing random shit

• you, bill, and tom would always go to the pet store to see all the cute little animals

• you would pick flowers for bill and make him a flower crown and even know tom refuses to admit it, he wishes you made him one too.

• both bill and tom were very over protective of you, but tom mostly. if he ever found out that anybody hurt you in anyway, he'd be pissed.

• you went trick or treating with bill and tom every year. (even though it wasn't too popular yet in the 90s in Germany)

• sharing and switching candy with them was a must

• you and tom were a bit closer than you and bill but you were still friends with both of them. it's not like you had a choice anyways.

• you always slept in toms bed whenever slept over (which was pretty much almost every night) and you two were always cuddling.

• bill and tom had bunk beds, so whenever you slept over you guys would put blankets around the edge of the top bunk and then tell scary stories

• you guys would sneak onto the ice cream truck and steal as much as you could. you'd always end up puking after because of how much you ate.

• you and tom would sit next to eachother every time in class and whine whenever you two had to move or got told to move because you guys were talking

• tom has a massive sweet tooth and you guys would steal stuff from the corner store

• you, bill and tom would hang out at the pool tons.

• you and tom would practice playing guitar allllll the time

• you were apart of the original "band" and played for weddings and other gigs with them

• you helped their mom bake a cake for their birthday every year and you always had so much fun with her. she even taught you how to write their names on a cake

• you went cd shopping with Tom for new cds and other old cds he didn't have.

• when tom had his first kiss (WITH A 16 YR OLD GIRL AT 9 YEARS OLD 😨😨😨) you didn't really know what to feel. you weren't even sure what you were feeling but you didn't like that he was kissing another girl

• you never said anything though, what could you even say?

• you and tom started out as just friends, no feelings at all not until you guys were pre-teens.

• as you guys grew older, tom and bill started getting girlfriends. you never dated anybody though; mostly because of your insanely massive crush on Tom.

• you basically just pined for him while he dated other girls. but you did feel nice sometimes. you got to see the side of him other girls didn't. you got to see how sweet and fun and nice he was with you. he was always different with you and if any girl had a problem with that, he'd drop them immediately.

• you got to sleep in his bed and cuddle with him and stay up late and hang out with him 24/7. they didn't get to do that, you did. and that gave you a sense of security.

• when the band started to actually become a band and you guys started getting more gigs, you and tom would always play next to eachother and even created your own style of playing with eachother

• you helped tom pick out his red guitar

• you and tom also have matching stickers on your guitars

• whenever girls flirted with Tom, you'd always get jealous and sometimes even try and steer tom away from them. like if they started flirting, you'd come up to tom and say "we need to get to band practice" or "Bill needs you for something" etc. etc.

• after a while, you'd come to the conclusion you just weren't his type and he'd never have feelings for you like you did for him.

• when tom first told you guys he lost his virginity, your heart dropped. tom, your tom, lost his virginity. you wanted to cry but you couldn't, they wouldn't get it, they wouldn't understand. so you just laughed along with the guys and make jokes.

• when durch den monsun came out, more and more girls were all over tom. but at this point, you'd gotten used to it. when you realized how many girls he was sleeping with, you just shoved all your feelings down and locked them away. feelings would ruin your friendship, right?

• your hotel room was right next to toms so you could hear basically everything they were doing. it was absolute torture. why couldn't tom see your feelings, why didn't he feel the same way?

• tom treated you like a little sister. it was awful. you wanted to cry everytime he called you dude or bro. he would never call you baby, or babe, or sexy. like he does other girls. he'd never see you like that.

• when you guys are at clubs, you try your best not to watch him flirt with other girls. it's easier that way. but along with that, you just end up getting drunk.

• tom would come running into your room at like 11 pm at night asking you for a condom. this became routine, and over time your heart shattered a little bit less only because you'd gotten used to this. used to him liking other girls.

• one night, while you guys were out at a club. you got sloppy. when you were drinking you ended up stumbling over to tom and dragging him to another room. and that's where you confessed to him down you were feeling.

• you ended up bawling your eyes out and saying how stupid it was because you know he'd never feel the same and that he doesn't want a serious relationship but you couldn't "help how you feel".

• tom took you back home that night and cuddled you and rubbed your back until you fell asleep. little did you know he felt the exact same way about you...

edit: I'm super tired and wanna go to bed, but let me know if you want dating headcanons for this bc I will do it, I'm just so tired.

taglist: @hearts4kaulitz @burntb4bydoll @spelaelamela @bored0writer @fishinaband @billsleftnutt @tokiiohot @bluepoptartwithsprinkles @saumspam @5hyslv7 @killed-kiss @memog1rl @80s-tingz @billybabeskaulitz @victryzvv9 @banshailey

[sirenedeslily]

𝐗𝐎𝐗𝐎, 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐘 ‎𐦍 𝐦att & 𝐜hristopher 𝐬turniolo

✦ ۰ — PROFILE 01 | powerangers

01 ❙❘❙ ID: YN LOVE, FILMOGRAPHY major ✶ ˖ #maneater, a crazy bisexual woman, grew up with the triplets, hot-headed, extremely stubborn, abed nadir and the sundays lover, loyal to a fault, pisces, sarcastic and dry humour, a little too obsessed with letterboxd and her cd collection, petty, finds the account “yours truly” amusing.

02 ❙❘❙ ID: NICK STURNIOLO, CINEMATOGRAPHY major .𖥔 cunt, raging homo #1, sassy man apocalypse, professional, interacts w “yours truly” the most, blunt and dgaf, club connoisseur, knows EVERYONE and hates EVERYONE, “where’s nick?” “at the club where else”, bro is living that #bratty lifestyle, loud asf and proud!

03 ❙❘❙ ID: JAYDA KING, SCREENWRITING major 𓆡 ⭒ㅤ𓈒ㅤ vanilla scented mermaid, calm, mom of the group, frank ocean obsessed, aries, down to earth, always sunkissed, high 25/8, enjoys arguing w kids on dti, in a committed relationship with elijah and makes sure to be annoying about it, “yours truly” kinda just makes her lol

04 ❙❘❙ ID: HEEJIN JEON, ANIMATION major ༘˚⋆𐙚 LOSER, yellowjackets hyperfixation goes crazy, scared of pretty girls, raging homo #2, has failed her drivers test 3 times, libra, burns minecraft villages for fun, plays the electric guitar, really wants a “yours truly” post dedicated on her pulling bitches (she can’t)

05 ❙❘❙ ID: QUINN WEBSTER, SOUND DESIGN major ʕ⁎̯͡✭ rude asf, scorpio, socially awkward and dgaf ab it, still owns a ps3 to play little big planet, fucks with paramore heavy (literally all he cares about), the baby of the group, dry texter, hates chris, goes wherever the group goes, thinks “yours truly” should suck his nuts

m.list ˖ 𓏲࣪ CREEPS! | 3HUNNA | YOURS TRULY

▌▍   ֙⋆  ་  ᳝ ◝ returning to GENTLE HIGH college for her second year, yn love is no longer the girl who left for summer break. she now harbors a fierce hatred for her childhood best friend, chris sturniolo, and the tension between chris and his brother matt sturniolo is impossible to ignore. as whispers spread, the notorious gossip account "YOURS TRULY" dives into the mystery, exposing secrets that could tear friendships and family apart. with each revelation, the campus teeters on the edge of chaos, leaving everyone wondering who will be the next to fall. the truth might be darker than anyone ever expected.

ᨳུ⠀ TAGLIST ! @carvedtits @et6rnalsun @wovenribbons @flouvela @l34n @sofieeeeex @sturniolossss @eternaldecisions @lovingregulusblack @cl1tlover3000 @mattslolita @mattssgf @le4hsblog @baeofevery @brvtall @chratts-left-ball

𝒢𝜚 💭 ࣪ ✸ NOTE ∿ and so it begins.. thank you all for being patient with me and for all of the love, i truly appreciate it !! ♡︎

my inbox is always open !!! pls feed it some content ꫶ࣺ᭮᭰ likes, comments & reblogs are highly appreciated. xoxo

© SIRENEDESLILY 2024

[lazyneonrabbitt]

Records of forgotten times.

Daryl Dixon x Reader

Old music records bring back memories and sparks talk of a new future.

~~☆☆☆~~

Today was relaxing day in your Alexandria home.

Daryl had come home from a run and had brought home a literal truckload of items of which a couple of boxes were dropped at your place.

He busied himself moving the boxes into the living room while you continued your work in the kitchen.

"What did you bring back, Dee?" you mused from you spot in the kitchen, where you were cleaning off last night's dishes in your favorite shorts and one of Daryl's shirts that were way too large on you. It was fraying at the hem and the old classic rockband on the print was fading badly, tour dates from a long forgotten time barely recognisable anymore. He never thought twice about you stealing his shirts. They were so much more comfortable than his button downs and with the shirts smelling like him they helped you sleep when he was out on runs.

“Found an old storage place, had a bunch of boxes with music. I got first pick cuz I found ‘em.” He kept filing through the large boxes filled with records and taking each one he liked out to stack near the old record player your house came with.

“Let me have a look too when I’m done here, please?” He grumbled an agreeing response and you made sure to hurry along with your cleaning round so you could join Daryl on the living room floor.

Daryl had gotten up off the floor to fumble around with the record player and try out one of the records and to his luck it still played. He had pocketed some still boxed replacement needles and swapped the old one out before playing a Judas Priest record and got a nice, crisp sound to which he comfortably hummed along to and even sang along with some parts.

As you were hanging your cleaning rag and towel over the opened oven door to dry you mumbled along with some lyrics that had remained in the back of your head.

This surprised your dear old partner to the point of stopping entirely with what he was doing to stare at you enjoying his all time favorite band. “Ya know this music?” He sounded so confused it made you laugh. You never really talked about your old world life, never really feeling it was needed to share about it. Not until now.

“My parents were old school rockers, I grew up on this kind of music.” You had walked over and sat down at one if the boxes.

“Yer calling me old now?” Old. He hated that word, even if you were both adults he still didn’t like the sound of him being put in the same box as your late parents.

“I mean,” You started, not sure how to properly say this without being offensive. You loved Daryl and you were happy with him, really not wanting to make him uncomfortable. “I guess you’re around their age, right? Dad would have been sixty-two by now. He loved this music so much we had cabinets filled with CDs, he'd go to concerts with friends and have music nights every month. Mom woukd have been around fifty-eight I think. She preferred more symphonic stuff.” You were so caught up in your memories you had stopped looking through the music entirely, your hands shakily holding onto one record a little too tightly for Daryl’s comfort.

“I’m fifty-three, if ya really gotta know.” He had moved over to your side and put an arm around you to pry your fingers off the record. “An’ I really hope yer not secretly seein’ me as a father figure cuz I'd love it if my kid'd be one year old in about two years from now..”

You registered his comment and were pulled back into this world with a soft sob. You hoped it’d be saved for later when the sadness that these boxes brought you had blown over.

“I miss them.” Your words were barely above a whisper, but Daryl caught them all. He had managed to get the record from your hands and took a glance at the cover.

The image didn’t look all too different from the current world. A blue sky behind the ruins of a building, and a man in a rather unnatural pose on a regal looking wooden throne in the foreground. The title reading ‘A Farewell to Kings’ by RUSH.

“Yer old man listen to this?” You quietly nodded, sniffling and wiping at your tears that were now freely running down your face. He put the record aside to make a new separate pile just for you.

“Come on, let’s see what else is in here. Maybe some Ozzy. Ya like Ozzy?” You now nodded with a smile appearing on your face. “Y.. yeah, we had a dog named Ozzy. Mom liked him a lot.” The memory of the dog you had for a short while did lighten the mood a bit, thankfully.

Daryl had abandoned his search entirely and only looked through the boxes with you now, picking out records he did like and ended with almost the entire collection by Judas Priest, which you learned was his favorite.

“Oh shit, look!” You held up a copy of Mötley Crüe’s ‘Dr. Feelgood’ with an excited squeal.

“Nah, that’s what yer into? Crazy girl.” He shook his head with a loving smile. By the time you reached the second to last box you had both gathered quite the collection. Daryl had reluctantly handed you all the Crüe records he found, even if they were duplicates. You wanted to keep them because of their different covers. Even in this world you loved collecting and Daryl admired your ability to find happiness in these items.

“Hey, ya want this one too?” A Metallica record. Not one that you knew so you declined. A grumble let you know he heard you and the fwips of records being looked through continued until another one was being held in your direction. This time it was a Black Sabbath record. You took it to inspect the track list on the back and added it to your pile. “Oh! Another one, yess!” You happily pulled out an Iron Maiden album and admired the cover art, taking in all the small details.

“Ya really listen to them or just love the art?” A hand extended to hand you one more. “Ah, thanks. I like both.” You declared, staring at the next artpiece. “But I wouldn‘t be mad if these end up not playing. We could decorate with the cover arts.”

Daryl looked around the still bare walls of the house and loved your idea to make it more truly yours.

With all the boxes thoroughly searched and your collection put away you went to take the leftover boxes to the communal area for everyone else to enjoy. Seeing the other residents get so excited over music brought smiles to your faces and you went back home more satisfied than you’d thought.

“So..” You locked the front door behind you and nervously stepped over to the cabinet that held your newly acquired collection. Daryl followed your every step with a true hunter’s eye, wondering what got your nerves up all of a sudden. “Which one of these do you think has the best baby making vibes.”

“M’sorry?” No way he heard that correctly. He had convinced himself you hadn‘t heard him since you completely disregarded his comment before. “Ya sure? I mean.. I know wha’ I said but,” he stopped and couldn’t get himself to look you in the eyes. Opting for the crack in the floorboard instead. Before he had a chance to find the right words you had abandoned the record cabinet and stepped over to stand in front of him and kiss his cheek. “I love you.” You whispered before properly kissing him and making sure he got the hint that this was really what you wanted.

“But seriously, pick one. We need something loud to drown out the ..other noises.” You joked with a wink.

~~☆☆☆~~

The talk you had with Daryl that day months ago turned out to be true.

When you laid in your shared bed you spoke about the one obvious thing about your relationship and how the Alexandrians were gonna be judging you for it. When word got out about yours and Daryl’s romantic relationship you already got stares from concerned women who thouht you were being claimed by the older man. You both were way more open about your relationship now that you had a safe place to live and try to have a normal life again, but the original residents who had never gone through the horrors that you had never really let go of their old world beliefs. And now that normal life you tried to live also came with your own child shich had the staring and quiet comments becoming even worse. Uncle Daryl already had Judith, who would always make rude comments to whoever dared to speak ill of her new auntie, but now he had you and with that his own soon to be born child and he wasn't gonna let anyone ruin his happiness because of some dumb opinions.

~~☆☆☆~~

A/N: This one made me cry while writing. The parents are based off my own, one of which is no longer with us. Did some painful remembering for this one.

[wordsarelife]

DAY 6: SANTA BABY

pairing: isaac lahey x fem!reader

summary: you and isaac gift each other the perfect present during secret santa

warnings: none i think

notes: sorry this was such a delay

the pack was sitting around the christmas tree, unpacking the various presents they had gifted each other.

"who is mine?" isaac asked excitedly.

you raised your arm smiling at him. you grabbed your bag and gently pulled out the present for him. "here you go"

"cool" isaac gushed while taking the box from you "i had you" he smiled, while reaching behind his back and holding a present in your direction.

"thank you" you both smiled at the same time and neither of you could take your eyes away from the other.

"aren't you going to open it?" stiles asked from next to you.

"uuh, yeah of course" you quickly took your eyes off of isaac and started to unpack your present.

isaac seemed to be a bit faster than you. "what is it?" scott asked and you looked up, giggling as you notice scott trying to braid lydia's long hair and failing miserably.

isaac doesn't answer. his eyes were fixated on the thing in his hand. he frowned and you grew scared for a second, maybe what you had bought him wasn't the right choice after all.

"y/n" he looked up at you and you were ready for him to be disappointed, but instead he smiled. "thank you"

"what is it?" lydia tried to look over isaac’s shoulder, what tempted scott to quickly pull her back.

"you're ruining the braid" scott warned.

isaac turned around to him, to show lydia the cd in his hand. "it's a cd my mom used to play for me when i was a kid. sadly it broke a few years ago and i wasn't able to find it anywhere" he turned back around at you, still obviously in wonder "how did you possibly find this?"

"i checked a lot of stores, but it's not sold anymore" you explained "then i visited my grandpa and he still had it from back when he bought it in store. it was basically free" you cringed "sorry i didn't spend any money on it" you felt bad immediately. you hadn’t even thought about this before.

"are you kidding?" isaac laughed, getting up from his seat and hugging you "this is the best gift ever!"

"a personal present of sentimental value" stiles nodded "great, yeah, amazing even. now open yours" he looked at the still wrapped box in your lap. "it's star wars time in ten minutes and i'm not waiting on anybody" he looked around the room warningly.

"geez" lydia raised her hands while she got on her feet. her hair looked like a bird had nested in it, all while scott watched his work proudly. "i'm gonna make a quick run to the bathroom" she excused, leaving the room

you continued to unwrap isaac's gift, but stopped in your movement, while you recognized a familiar pattern. "no" you shook your head, pulling the sweater out of the box gently. "my grandma’s sweater" you smiled "the one stiles ruined last summer" you send a spiteful look in the boys direction.

"i told you it was an accident"

"how did you make the stain go away? i thought it was ruined"

"the dad of a friends friend has this shop were they specialize in fixing ruined clothing" isaac exclaimed shrugging "i just asked for a simple favour"

you rushed out of your seat, hugging the boy. "thank you"

"no problem" isaac smiled "seems like you and i had pretty similiar ideas"

"yes" you said and again you couldn't take your eyes from his face, a face that was pretty close to yours now.

before you were able to lean over and possibly connect your lips, the tv announced the movie starting.

"couch! now!" stiles almost screamed, pushing you all to sit down. you sat beside isaac and when scott and stiles didn't look, he softly interlocked your hands.

you smiled at the gesture and at him. laying your head on his shoulder while the movie started.

you almost shrieked out of your seat, when there was a scream. "scott!" lydia bellowed from the direction of the bathroom.

you and isaac laughed when she walked back into the living room, looking even worse than before. it seemed like she had tried to loosen the hairstyle scott had did and had made it even worse.

"what is that?" she pointed to her head.

before scott could answer, stiles shushed all of you. "sit down and watch the movie" her head turned to him quickly "ehh- please"

to your surprise lydia actually complied to stile's request.

"honestly" isaac whispered in your ear "does christmas ever get less crazy?"

"never" you whispered back "but i'm glad that you are here and we can agree on the craziness"

taglist: @twistedhistory @bakingintheshire @mqstermindswift @taygrls @athenalikethegoddess

[colorisbyshe]

Your taste in music vexes me.

It's very simple.

I grew up being pseudo-raised by a family down the street and we 50% listened to average American radio (so 90s/2000s Big Music) and 50% listened to raggaeton and other radio stations that were only in Spanish, which no one ever translated for me (I was the only one who didn't speak Spanish), so the songs stayed in my heart all my life but... I had no real way to find them. The specific songs are lost to the passage of time but the influence on my taste remains.

Then I'd go home and my mom would play Enya. And then left my dad for a man who would take her to The B 52s concerts. So, that was my home life. Also, my dad would bring home cds people left behind on the greyhound bus he drove, so I got SUPER into Brandy's Full Moon album and Eiffel 65's Europop.

And then I got into anime at a young age, so both Jpop and meme music got into the mix via anime OP/EDs but also AMVs. But I wanted to kill myself, so I listened to emo music (we can argue whether or not this stuff counts as emo but at the time!! it was) , preferring stuff like Hawthorne Heights but also more metal offerings (which is probably the anime influence, lots of AMVs actually skewed towards "harder" stuff than like... FOB and MCR).

That was all of high school, then in college I realized I wanted to fuck several members of One Direction, so I got really into them and then got into a british radio show which introduced me to The Klaxons, Everything Everything, Laura Mvula, and more. But also, Dubstep was really big... and I was a binge drinker in college, so of course I was into that.

Also in college, I got into video games as well, in a way I hadn't been for years, so picked up Utada Hikaru again and then got into instrumental soundtracks. Through Utada, I rediscovered my love for 90s/early 2000s R&B. And decided to explore more current offerings.

This was amplified by the fact that I was ALSO getting into kpop (as a natural offshoot of my Jpop interest) and had frustrations with the "rap" in the songs and wanted... actually good rap and hip hop. So, I swerved a lot into exploring actual hip hop and not the fun house mirror hip hop that the kpop industry was offering.

All of this is curated by my unmedicated ADHD which demands high energy music and they all collided into a musical open mindedness which makes me willing to try anything.

Other notable events/influences:

I lived with a guitarist who would practice all the time and talk about his inspirations and stuff

Tumblr dashboard

Living in Vermont in general

Listening to people just cause they're gay (I have stopped doing this but it did influence me)

Really cannot reiterate enough how much AMVs influenced my taste in music. My entire preference for EDM probably stems from late 2000s AMV culture

Cousin who also semi-raised me got me into Mika, band of horses, and Paolo Nutini

[fiorimaya]

Could you do a Dr. Teeth x reader? I hardly see any these days, so it would be nice!

You got it! This is actually the first canon x reader fic I've ever done so I hope I do it right! D: LOL thanks for requesting!

"I think I'm just going to do a bit of homework and then head to bed," you told your mom.

After the exchange of "goodnights", you went up to your room, and... well, you didn't necessarily lie, but you didn't tell the whole truth either. You got some of your homework done, but right before ten after you stopped for the night, you most definitely wasn't sleeping. Your phone buzzed, alerting you of the text that you'd been waiting for all day. It was from Teeth.

Just a couple blocks down between Crimson Street and Spruce Street. You ready?

You couldn't keep from smiling as you texted back, telling him you were on your way.

You already had your bag packed for the night and once you heard complete silence throughout your house, you threw your bag over your shoulder and snuck out into the hallway. Very quietly, you crept down the stairs and out the front door. You began walking down the street. The bright moon and the streetlights being the only light at that point. And then you saw his car's headlights.

He smiled at you while you got into his car. "Hey, Y/N. You look absolutely (adjective you prefer) tonight."

You blushed a little at that.

"Ready to go? I've already filled her up," he said, patting his dash with a laugh.

"Let's do this!" You cheered.

Within a few minutes, you were on the interstate. He was holding your hand, giving it a squeeze every once in a while. He had a CD of some 80s band cranked up loud you were both singing along with it.

After a five hour drive and a whole tank of gas, it was around 3 in the morning when you finally arrived at your destination: the beach. The two of you ran, giggling all the way, to the shoreline.

The night was spent slow dancing at the shoreline to your favorite love songs (that were played on his little speaker he'd brought), collecting seashells, night swimming in the ocean (which included a little water fight between the two of you), and a lot of cuddles while looking up at the sky full of bright stars. Eventually, the two of you got up and ran to the gate. Hoping you wouldn't get caught, you jumped the gate and assisted him in getting over it. And then, hand-in-hand again, you made your way together out onto the boardwalk.

The two of you found a nice spot about halfway down and sat, your feet dangling off. The sun would be rising soon; the skies already changing colors showed sign of it.

"We are going to be so dead when we get home," you laughed.

He laughed with you. "Perhaps. But it was worth it."

You smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Yeah it was."

Your hands rested behind you on the cool wood. He turned towards you slightly and put a hand over one of yours. "Y/N... you have no idea how happy you've made me these last few months. I don't know what I did to have someone like you. I don't deserve you, but I'm so glad you're mine."

You could feel your face heating up as you looked down with a smile. "Well, Teeth. I feel the exact same way about you."

You looked back up at him and he grinned. "You mean the world to me. And I... I love you. So much."

Your eyes widened a little bit. That was the first time he'd said that. Your smile grew. "I love you too. With all my heart."

And just when you thought you'd seen it all that night, he leaned forward and kissed you softly.

You both pulled away, giggling; faces both red.

"Well, uh. Maybe we should head back," he suggested.

"Good idea."

You helped him over the gate again, and the two of you ran back down to the beach to grab your shoes and your belongings before hurrying back to his car. He refilled the tank again, and just like the night before, you were on the interstate again. Hand-in-hand.

It had definitely been a night you wouldn't ever forget. You two's first "I love you", and then you two's first kiss... what would ever be able to compare?

[polyamorouspunk]

Going on a double date tonight with Mountain Boy and his friend Medschool Boy and his gf. Very excited!! Going to a place thats like an adult playground with pinball machines, giant jenga. Arcade cabinets, bowling, bocce, fire pits, and SLIDES. And also alcohol. More excited about the slides though lol

Hope youre doing good bestie 💛

Wow that sounds great Key! I hope you had so much fun!

I flew in back home on Thursday morning and from the airport we went to visit my brother at work because it was the most convenient place to stop! My brother visited some other stores in the mall with us and I got to see the work he’s been doing in person, which he’s been proud of for years (working his way up in the business).

Then my two best friends and my best friend’s husband and my gf went to Cracker Barrel because she wanted to go and there’s not one near where we all live, so we drove out to go and my two best friends and her had so much fun and bought stuff.

The next day I crashed at my best friend’s house and hung out with their mom for the day before everyone came over and we went and got pizza at the pizza place we all grew up eating at, and then we went back and played card games.

The next day I hung out with my best friend’s dad and we used the laser printer that I showed you and I had SO much fun with it. A lot of my stuff broke which sucks so I’ll have to glue it back together. I also accidentally snagged one of my best friend’s pieces. I caught one that was hers but I ended up taking another by mistake. They have the files on the computer though (my art) to make another if she really wants though. Her dad told me all about the machines he’s invented and the whole time he was apologizing if he was boring me but I just kept asking questions and he kept showing me videos and explaining things rather well to me, and he taught me how to use the laser printer and made me run it (like a dad teaching his kid how to do something) so that was fun.

After that we watched Pokémon Horizons. My best friend unfortunately fell asleep during it as she works long hours early in the morning but the thought was there.

Then Sunday we left to go to NYC and I got to see Tallah and say hi to Justin! He made me take a free CD of their EP because he says I spend too much money on him (truth) but I think I left it in CT so I’ll either have to get my best friend to mail it to me or get it when I hopefully come back up in May to see Electric Callboy.

[zhongrin]

genshin ask game go!!! 🪡🌿🌾🦋🌰 and for the lols... 🍨 lmao hehe see ya Riiiiin have a good day/night whenever you read this!! <3

🪡 Who’s in your party and what roles do they fill?

answered here, but also, i forgot to mention my main party 4, which is the fridge team consisting of ayato (main dps), kaeya (sub dps), layla (shielder/support), kazuha (support) who needs a healer when you can perpetually freeze your opponents indefinitely right-

🌿 what was your first team besides Traveler, Kaeya, Lisa, and Amber?

besides kaeya? ough.... i'm trying hard to remember helpdjskdj

xiao is definitely included in there. i got him 1 month after i started playing and i loved going nyoom nyoom while gliding and hearing him go 消えろ。無能。ここだ！無能。くだらない。無能ー you get the point.

i don't remember the other characters... i think it was barbara, then shinobu came so obviously i switched her in... and then kazuha came so he's immediately a member. then zhongli came and boom, i think that was my permanent full team for a looooong time.

🌾 what’s your favorite character trailer?

surprise surprise, it's

ー z h o n g l i

i know i'm hopeless sHUSH hskfhskdjs look it might be one of the older trailers and sure al haitham's and wriothesleys feels more cinematic and modern and they're also a banger BUT IDK MAN THERE'S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT ZHONGLI'S TRAILER UEHHHHIEHRIWHDKEHE I'M NOT CRAZY

🦋 show off your serenetea pot, if you want

hskdjskdjsl i haven't refreshed it in so long and i'm so bad at decorating so the style is all over the place lmao but here's a few rooms:

(kitchen) (bedroom)

(library) (office)

🌰 who’s your favorite npc?

........ pantalone? h-he's not playable so- /smacked

hmmmm, if that's invalid, i'd have to say dunyazard. no one else comes to mind other than her. close second is the mom from the recent thelxie event ;w;

🍨 who’s voice is your favorite?

absolute favorite is, without question, hands down, zhongli's jp voice. all hail maeno tomoaki. what a gem (pun intended). sometimes i just open one of his genshin streams and let it play in the background. i think itms mostly because i grew up listening to him in anime and all those drama cds haha

in no particular order, i personally adore: zhongli's jp/en/cn voice, al haitham's jp voice, wriothesley's jp/en voice, ayato's jp voice, thoma's jp voice, itto's en voice, neuvillette's en voice, furina's en voice, ei's en voice, yoimiya's jp voice, miko's en voice <3

also, special mention to the jp version of that fonta promoter guy in the archon quest. i wheezed so hard when he almost perfectly imitated onod's voice bahahah

[maroonangels]

i want to ask you all of them but for the sake of ur time and other people to ask: 20, 19, and 18

did not see this til now whoops

ask game list

cut off cause this got long

18: What do you want to know more about [a character of your choice]?

- I really wanna know more about sasha & her home life, I don’t think she’s an only child but I do see her as an independent one so I think she’d be the youngest (probably has an older brother or two) but like her parents?? tf are they doing?? where are they?? and also I just really wanna see what her bedroom looks like

19: any hcs about the characters, relationships, etc - god I could make a ten page list of hc’s but I’ll give you some of my mains—

missy was/is obsessed with any adaptation of hades/persephone

harper & cash start buying each other stuffed animals after one too many shitty childhood memories are shared between them (roommate bonding yall)

harper & spider used to be friends as kids and got a tad close again when she dated dusty in s1

malakai & missy have self care nights together where they do face masks and eat takeout and vent

dusty & ant were friends before spider was in their group and at one point it was dusty & ant & darren instead of spider

there’s been weirdly civil moments between malakai & spider that nobody sees but they know about, it makes their dynamic a bit more complicated if either of them think about them for too long

spider grew up doing dance (all of it too, hip hop, ballet, jazz, contemporary etc) and was great but quit out of spite of his mom only ever liking him when he was dancing — yes missy makes him dance for her when she finds out

spider used to crash on dusty’s couch when he couldn’t take his mom anymore but now he has to sneak into dusty’s dorm or just settle on the backseat of his car

ant takes harper to his favorite restaurants over the course of a week of eating out every single night — they are both soooo smitten by the end of the week

malakai still calls quinni when he’s having communication problems even if they aren’t as close as they were in s1 (she’s always v helpful)

missy, spider & malakai all had emo phases to different degrees at different times but they bond over it — spider had it the “worst” & longest and would still be in the trenches if not for dusty, malakai is the one to start playing the music at hangouts and starts the convo about it, missy has the most amount of merch including records & cds that she starts playing more often

20: favorite fic + a fic you'd like to read - I don’t have any fics I want to read so I’m just giving yall recs

- daisy’s drop (do you think you feel the same?) - by @faebriel - cash/darren, a super nice look into cash’s character and feels extremely in-character to me (I don’t wanna spoil much cause it’s mostly just fluff & talk but it’s sooo good yall should go read)

- sorry if I say some things I mean - amerie/malakai - one of the first fics I read for this fandom and still one of my favorites, it’s soo sweet and cutesy oml

- love and learning - missy/spider, ongoing, it’s heavy at points but I’m an angst lover so. It’s honestly such a nicely written fic and makes me love the spider/missy ship even more

[onlinegriffin]

Short Story

I was born on a summer day. I was dressed in pinks, purples, yellows. I was surrounded by flowers and teddy bears. My mom used to tell me that I was a healthy baby. My dad held me for the whole first day of my life. My grandma kissed my forehead a million times. My grandpa gave me a hat that matched his. I was passed from family member to family member, all of them holding me tight and telling me I was loved.

I was young when I died. My family surrounded me as I couldn’t move. I felt their hands on my face, and heard all of their voices telling me to stand up. My mother tried to cry. My father wouldn’t look at me. My grandmother told me I should’ve waited until I was older. My grandfather said I didn’t know what I was doing. How could I have done this to them? How cruel of me.

Dead bodies don’t wear pinks, or purples, or yellows. Dead bodies don’t smell flowers or play with teddy bears. My mother told me I was selfish for it. My father told me I shouldn’t rock the boat. My grandmother grew angry at me. My grandfather didn’t look at me anymore. And that was it.

The house was too small for the five of us. My mother folded all of her nice quilts, my father packed his guitar. They were kind enough to drag my body along as they moved on. They drew smiles on my lifeless face, marker staining from ear to ear as they cooed about all the good things yet to come. The things we do for a fresh start.

When my brother was born, I was propped up in the hallway. I could hear them echoing the name they picked as they swaddled him in blues, greens, reds. He was surrounded by toys and puzzles. My mother said he was a healthy baby. My father laid him on his chest for the whole first day of his lift. My grandmother kissed his forehead a million times. My grandfather gave him my old hat. I was laid in a chair, a marker-stained face staring at the child born to take my place.

When my limbs no longer clung together, I became a problem. I laid out, always in the walkway. My mother complained about how she had to step over me. My father tripped on my torso multiple times. My bad. They pushed me under the kitchen table for safe keeping. My brother used to climb under to hide with me. He’d tell me about his television shows, and I didn’t feel alone.

After a while, I was caked in dust and dirt, drawing in the bugs and mice. The little squeaking furballs would come up to me and nuzzle my face before nibbling at my nose. My father screamed at the sight of the rodents, and my mother swat at them with a broom. I listened to them squeak and run in fear. My brother thought they were cute.

The house was too small for the four of us. My mother folded all of her nice clothes, my father packed his CDs. They were kind enough to wipe the dust from my face and patch up the holes left in my face by mice and bugs. The car jostled roughly, making my head bounce against the window. My brother laughed and cooed, pointing at everything out the windows I couldn’t see. The things we do for a fresh start.

When my sister was born, I was laid on the floor. I could hear them echoing the name they swaddled her in pinks, purples, and oranges. She was surrounded by stuffed animals and sensory games. My mother said she was a healthy baby. My father bounced her on his leg for hours. My grandmother said she was the loveliest baby she’d ever seen. My grandfather wrapped her in his jacket. They all stepped around me, complaining about how much space I took up. My brother knelt beside me under the table, pushed out of the way.

When I began to decay, I became a problem. Goop and oose leaking from every surface as I fell apart. My mother complained that she had to throw out the rug. My father told me to clean up. My bad. They opened the windows and the wind danced across my skin. The scent of decay became too much, I suppose. The worms crawling in and out of my skin were like new friends. My brother played with my sister, fighting loudly and often. My parents were mad that I hadn't stopped their bickering. With my slack limbs and voiceless throat, how could I?

The house was too small for the five of us. I stained the floors, I made the house reek with the scent of my rotted flesh falling from my tired bones. They were kind enough to hose me down to get rid of the worms. They wrapped me in a garbage bag and laid me in the back seat. My siblings played a movie on their tablets as we drove to our new home. The things we do for a fresh start.

My carcass dripped. I didn’t mean it to. House after house, I stained the floors. Opening windows didn’t dissipate the scent anymore. They stashed me in a trunk for safe keeping. I could hear my siblings whispering to me from the outside. I could hear them lay their toys across the top, I could feel them tapping at the lock. I missed the days my brother would kneel beside me and tell me about his television shows.

The house was too big for the four of them. My mother folded all her nice sweaters, my father packed his drum sticks. They folded all my clothes, letting my siblings try on anything they wanted. They were kind enough to load me and my trunk into the back of the car one last time. They slid me into the forest. I heard my brother tap on the trunk. I heard my sister drape a blanket over it to keep me warm. I heard them get in the car with their parents and drive away.

No more houses, no more moving, no more tables to hide under, no more decay. The forest grew around me, only an inch of wood and a lock separating us. I could hear the animals sniffing and scratching outside. They could smell me. I knew it. Over the years, my rot spread to the trunk. It took centuries, but I finally felt the soil embrace me. I felt my worm friends return, and I felt myself melting into the ground. I spent so long being in the way. Being under tables, being in bags, being in trunks.

I died young, but I love the forest. Here, I will remain. No one’s here to pack me up. No one’s here to tell me to clean the mess I leave. No one’s here to push me under the table.

[ponderingthepassion]

One. Meet The Beatles.

Harry Nilsson said that 1 was the loneliest number. Yet, as an eccentric 10-year-old, I was not alone anymore.

It was Christmas Eve, 2010. I had not been a 10-year-old except for three weeks but was eccentric for as long as I remember. With my odd personality, making friends was not my strong suit. Naturally, I felt ostracized. At this point, I had been questioning what was wrong with me for years.

I grew up as a child of divorced parents, so holidays were full of planning and logistics while it seemed that my brother and I were tossed from one home to the other. That Christmas though, we would stay Christmas Eve night with my dad and have Christmas morning with him, after having spent the earlier part of the day with our maternal grandparents. Then, we would pack up the presents we wanted to bring back to our primary home and spend the rest of the festive day with our mom.

Explaining the logistics still has my head in a spin. The important part was that I was under the care of my dad on this very day because it seemed that the universe aligned so perfectly.

As my brother and I spent the afternoon awaiting the night to come so we could fall asleep and bring on the morning faster, my father's girlfriend at the time stopped by for a little bit. Being together was not bizarre because while they were together, they spent ample time together. My father and his girlfriend never married and the relationship fizzled out, she became a second mom to me. I knew then and still know that she cares about me, even if it has been years since I've seen her.

During her visit, she brought along Target gift cards for my brother and me. We were weird kids with weird interests and I look back now and think about how impossible it was to buy gifts for us. The gift cards made sense. For my dad, she naturally brought more personalized gifts.

He was no musician and was a hobby guitar player if you could even say that. Yet, he was more passionate about music than some trained musicians that I have met. His passion was more of an obsession. It shaped me naturally as I took on his genetics, as he immersed me into his little world. My youngest memories are of sitting in his music room on the upper level of our house before my parents divorced. The radio blared with the likes of many Elvis tunes, Boris the Spider by The Who, and I stayed mesmerized and amused. I learned the lyrics almost subconsciously to some of my favorite songs. 

A CD seemed to be a good gift for someone so musical (this was before he lugged his record collection back out, which would come a few years later). My dad had a vast collection, with the most noteworthy titles being his copies of the complete Elvis masters. The addition of a greatest hits compilation by one of the few artists that rivaled Elvis' success did not seem to be anything extraordinary.

For me, that one CD was life-changing. The CD did not present itself as anything more than a greatest-hits package. The red and yellow design was more reminiscent of that of a fast food company, rather than something fitting of what could be hailed as the greatest band of all time. Regardless of any physical appearance, my dad asked if I had heard of The Beatles. 

Sure, I had heard of them, or at least I thought I had. I could not name any of their songs, but at least the name sounded familiar. Even if I had heard of their name, my dad wanted to play me the CD. So, I sat back on the couch and listened. 

This was different. This was unlike anything I had heard before. One Direction had been formed by Simon Cowell on the X-Factor only a few months prior. Justin Bieber’s “Baby” could not be ignored, no matter what anyone did. The music that came from my dad’s stereo was captivating. It was different. 

It was as if everything in my life clicked for once. With my awkward nature, I was eager to find something I could cling to. I did not want this CD to stop. I knew my dad only wanted to listen to a few songs. After all, we had to go to bed soon so Christmas could arrive in the morning. 

It would be fitting to mention that I could not remember any gifts I received that Christmas. However, the gift of listening to that CD is one that I still hold so close. This simple CD catalyzed my musical obsession. This was not some pre-teen phase. 

Many might have thought that I would be obsessed with The Beatles for a few short months and then abandon them and start listening to the music my peers listened to. Yet, that did not happen. The obsession grew over the years and now. Being obsessed with music and being discussed as a walking encyclopedia of music became a part of my demeanor. It was very evident that the obsession did not fizzle out at all. In fact, it got more intense. 

However, the CD was what I needed. My brain still recognizes the track listing with Eleanor Rigby being followed by Penny Lane. For instance, listening to Revolver and hearing Eleanor Rigby, not hearing the starting lyrics of Penny Lane follow, is still a bit jarring, even in the present day. The familiarity, as a lonely ten-year-old became so comforting. 

That same lonely ten-year-old clung to The Beatles like the friends she never had. I am still not certain as to why I became so obsessive. Yet, trying to decipher the whys and looking back with a more mature perspective seems to offer that I engrossed myself like this. If I occupied myself and my time so heavily, I would not feel alone. These artists could not judge or avoid me, but I could invite them into my life when I wanted to. I had control. After all, up until the last year, it seemed like these musicians were mere characters. 

At a point, it became more than just a hobby to fill a void. At a point, it became almost life-saving. I wanted to engross myself more in the stories behind the music I listened to, and read. I read a lot. It did not matter. I read so many books, but I would not be limited to books, but also articles, and learning what others had learned and decided to share. I was an information sponge. 

Yet, through this pursuit of knowledge, I learned of the humanity of these musicians. Their humanity, tinged with negative experiences, was not unlike those I faced as a hopeless adolescent. Yet, becoming aware of the humanistic struggles of these musicians gave me some hope back. They seemed larger than life and unreal, but they were just people.

I needed that hope to get through the hand I had at my disposal.  Growing up was not happy, but the music and the stories behind the music could bring me moments of fleeting bliss and contentment. I needed anything to help me make it through. I still lean on music as a primary coping mechanism. I let it revitalize and rejuvenate me when I feel detached from myself and my surroundings. 

Some individuals do not believe in miracles, and I am not quite sure where I stand. Yet, divine timing is evident. Something out there knew of the hardships and the journey that I was about to endure and knew what I would need to make it through on the other side. 

When introduced to The Beatles, I was ten and had already experienced some evils of the world. I knew of the horrible ways in which some individuals presented themselves. I was not coping well with this exposure, but I had been gifted hope in the form of a CD. The world was not all nasty. 

After all, art was still present and was not tarnished. I had a gift in the ability to enjoy it. I also had a gift with my passion and earnest ability to go into something with everything in my soul that I had, which included something as mundane as liking a band. 

I was still odd and eccentric, but so were the musicians I listened to and read about. They made it okay to be weird because if they had not been unique, they would not have made it. I needed that confirmation. I needed confirmation that I would make it out of the other side because at times, I did not think that would ever happen. Yet, I can say that it did happen. 

It is very safe to say that after all this time, I have grown, both physically as I am no longer a ten-year-old little girl, but also within myself and my passions. Twelve years have passed (as of writing), since that Christmas Eve. I am now confident that my main passion in life is music and to do something with it, whatever it could be, is my main desire. 

It could seem silly to say that a CD changed my life, but at last, I was not alone anymore and I never would be again. 

(EDIT: I started this piece sometime last year and would like to say that I have since reconnected with my father, but did not want to edit the above to reflect that, to keep the integrity of my feelings throughout the entire writing process. I have also since then seen my “second mom” and she is still as lovely as she was back then.)

[bigbadripley]

Chapter 14 - Redrum

Marc Spector/Steven Grant x Female!OC

Summary: Marc never expected to see his childhood friend Simone ever again. To Simone, Marc may as well have been dead. However, when Simone met Steven 15 years after Marc disappeared, she couldn’t help but notice how familiar he was.

18+ | 2kish Words | Third-person omniscient | Dark!fic/Angst | AU/AT |

Warnings: Heavy language, OC with religious trauma, childhood trauma, sexual trauma. Physical and emotional abuse of a minor, lots of angst, alcohol, painkillers, marijuana mention, homophobia, violence, tw! SA, death mention

A/N: This chapter is heavy, please be careful and read the tags. There are periodic flashback chapters, this is one of them. I update warnings with each chapter. Only proceed if you can handle the themes included in the warnings. I wrote this entirely as a trauma dump.

Minors DNI, DL;DR, if I miss a warning, please let me know.

Chapter list

"He told me in due time everything will be fine You could always flip your soul for like $9.99 Watch these problems go away and your family will be straight Just know you'll never get to see the gold on Heaven's gates" -"Redrum" by 99 Neighbors 

Moni's mother didn't need much convincing to allow her to stay the night with Ericka. The girls hatched a plan to bring it up with Ericka's parents first, then Moni's ma, then have them call each other. Somehow, it worked out perfectly, and they were in pajamas listening to music in Ericka's bedroom that very weekend. 

"What about Kimmy?" Moni asked as she pointed to a photo of a cute girl with glasses in their senior yearbook they had received the day before. The song "Like A Stone" by Audioslave played softly from the CD player as Ericka eyed the photo for a moment and shook her head,

"She's nice but not my type." 

"I don't think your type exists. You've shot down every suggestion I've made!" Moni said as she closed the book and placed it between them on the bed. Ericka shrugged,

"Only because I don't like them!"

"Shit, at this point, I think you just wanna kiss me," Moni joked. Her friend pursed her mouth and allowed her eyes to drift to Moni's lips. Moni noticed this but dismissed it in her mind even as her hands grew clammy. 

"Not unless you're good at it," Ericka stated, tone lighthearted. Moni matched her style,

"I've never had any complaints," She played cocky to impress her, as Ericka was the coolest girl she'd ever known.

The girls laughed nervously, Ericka with total concentration on Moni, having a slight crush on the girl for quite some time. On the other hand, Moni wasn't sure and certainly didn't think Ericka felt that way. 

"Then can I kiss you?" Ericka asked reluctantly. Moni was stunned and nearly frozen at the question. One half of her brain told her no, and the other told her yes, please. What came from her mouth was a compromise.

"If you want to," Moni replied, slowly moving the hardcover picturebook to the other side of her body. She wasn't sure if Ericka was joking anymore and almost passed it off as one until Ericka went for it, placing slightly puckered lips to Moni's unprepared mouth. 

Moni couldn't tell if she was into it or not but guided Ericka through the kiss the only way she'd ever known them to be. Regardless of the strange sensation that mirrored anxiety, kissing Ericka was easier than kissing any boy. Her heart fluttered just as well. 

Ericka's plush lips felt like crushed velvet and tasted like the strawberry milkshake she sipped. She smelled like flowers and citrus and all of the nice things that Moni had never noticed before then, now so close she could hear her heart race with each brush of their tongues. A rock formed in the pit of her stomach-

Is this what it's supposed to feel like? 

The girls were abruptly interrupted by Ericka's bedroom door creaking open quickly, causing them to kick away from each other in a panic as Ericka's mother's face went from delight to sheer horror.

"Mom, I-" 

"We were just-"

They both started but were cut off right away. 

"I think you need to leave, Simone." Erika's mother said, face stern and arms crossed. 

Simone grabbed her overnight bag and started walking back home, fearful of what Ericka's parents would do. If they were anything like Moni's mom, it would be rough. 

Moni found that she had no way out of this one when she arrived home to find her mother standing, waiting for her with the phone in her hand. What seemed to worry Moni the most was that there were tiny sheets of paper spread around the table, the notes from inside Loser Jones and the doctor's notes she had practiced forging to get out of school. 

Along with all of that was a small plastic baggy with a little bit of pot in it that she was tasked to hold onto by Ericka. She stared at the contraband intensely, amazed at how her mother yelled more about the sex notes and her "homosexuality" than the drugs. 

This would be the final straw. This was the night when it was decided that she would be sent to stay with her tío.

  Uncle Luis was Moni's father's eldest brother and the only one out of 3 uncles who happened to still be alive at the time despite his habits. He would claim it was because God willed it to be, but Moni and Marc would joke that it was because it was hard to kill a cockroach. 

He was a big guy with a beer gut and an appetite for whiskey, painkillers, and young women. Nobody seemed to know his cap on "how young is too young?" though. He happened to be Moni's godfather, as well and offered to help raise her after her father went in the clink. Estefania declined for pride's sake, but Luis kept the offer on the table and pushed harder the older Moni got. 

This was a red flag for Moni that went unnoticed by her mamá.

Once Moni arrived at the old man's house, it was clear he smoked like a train and drank like a mule by the state of the place. The house was a two-bedroom, one-bath, so the space wasn't copious, to begin with. The addition of the empty liquor bottles that flooded the place didn't help, and the overflowing ashtrays on every surface made matters worse. 

She was tasked with cleaning, cooking, and preparing his drinks, as well as upholding the rules of only wearing long skirts and dresses around the house, saying grace before every meal, and never listening to secular music. It was like being part of a fucked up cult with the added bonus of getting to sneak the least smoked butts out of the ashtrays for safekeeping before dumping them out.

The old man's policies were bearable compared to what he did when he was filled with oxycodone and hard liquor. That was when the holy man everyone assumed him to be did things he would only repeat in confessional and expect to atone for through a few Hail Marys. 

Moni couldn't do much about the arrangement due to her age and graduation being a mere month away. She tried to sneak a call to her mother, hoping she would let her come home, but all Moni got was an earful of Spanish expletives and a paddle to her rear when tío Luis caught her using the phone. 

There was never a waking moment where Moni wasn't uncomfortable in that house. If she did anything wrong, she got paddled. If he did anything right, she got her uncle's idea of positive reinforcement, which was just making her sit on his lap while he told her how special and beautiful she was. 

Aside from trying to feel clean by scrubbing herself raw every day in the shower, she started smoking the butts she saved once the old man was passed out for the night. She relished the burning sensation of the too-hot tip between her fingers and lips when the tobacco was too low to smoke. It made her feel more comfortable than that place did and gave her a modicum of control.

She often dreamt of Marc busting her out of there like he said he would. She still missed him and even kept his note to her in her Chuck Taylor shoe box. 

As for her friendship with Ericka, they were only allowed to see each other in class and mass. Mrs. Fatu was convinced that Moni was at fault for kissing her daughter, and everyone who heard about what happened had the same idea. 

As always, Moni was the bad kid. Corruptor. Sinner. Whore. It became clear that her mother sent her away for reformation and to save herself the embarrassment of having to stick up for her daughter to clear her own image. 

After three weeks at her tío's, the final straw for Moni was when the disgusting man pressed himself against her while she was cooking dinner, grinding against her buttocks as she silently wept. The tears ran down her cheeks as she felt a scream trapped in her lungs, refusing to escape like a fever dream. She was seventeen, but her mind regressed to ten years old, powerless to stop it. Mushy, fresh-faced, spineless. All she could do was stare blankly at the nicotine-stained backsplash and blink. 

Do you need help? Blink once for yes, twice for no.

She was trapped in her own body between the old man and the stove for what felt like an eternity, sinking closer and closer to the gas burner and imagining the flame catching her dress. 

It would be better. 

Her breath was caught in her windpipe, and declined to move, afraid of the exhale sounding pleasurable. 

Don't let him hear you breathe. Don't give him the satisfaction. 

Then it was over; the back of her dress was damp, and her pancakes had burned.

That was the day she decided to kill her uncle. After a lifetime of being told that the things happening around her weren't true-

You're a liar. You remember things wrong. You're a temptress. You're a whore. You deserved it. You don't know what pain is.

That damp fabric patch on her bottom reminded her that what happened was real. There was no faking what happened, no imagining it. Though nobody else would believe her-

I know what happened. I know everything that happened under this roof. I'll be damned if I don't do something to stop it. You'll go to hell for this, and I'll see you there.

Tío should have never trusted her with his drinks, as it was ultimately her crushing five of his pills into the whiskey he nearly drowned himself in every night that ended his life. She pulverized the pills into the finest white powder she could. She tasted the concoction with her fingertip when she mixed it up: it tasted like poison. He wouldn't know the difference. 

The big fish eat the little ones until the little fish think faster.

When Moni called the police the following morning, she swore she could be a politician, utterly devoid of all blame. She cried and shed hot tears and snot, but not for him or his soul. They didn't suspect her and ruled it an accidental overdose. 

May he rest in piss.

  Her mother was terrified of her after that. She knew what had happened just as well as Moni did. 

"¡Regresa al infierno! ¡demonio!" Her mother yelled at her when she came home, tears in her eyes and rosary in hand. Mamá told her to go to hell. Called her the devil. 

Moni felt like she had already been there and saw red as her mother screamed at the sight of her only daughter.

Me? The devil? Even with what that sicko did? 

In her rage, she tried to rip the religious beads from her mother's hands, and they broke, scattering them all over the floor with small ticks as they bounced across the tile. Moni had never seen her mother cry before. She would never see her cry again.

Due to her suspension, she couldn't walk the stage with her classmates but still received her diploma and graduated on the principal's roll. Moni got a job at a local deli and made enough money in tips to get a laptop. That cheap Dell started Simone's journey, meeting Joyce and getting her scholarships. That was it for her time in Chi-town. 

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

I’m still at my parents’ place, and in their basement they have the DVD collections that were in the living room back when I was younger. I hadn’t looked closely at it before, but it’s interesting now that I do, a look at the media on which I grew up.

Flying Circus, Life of Brian, Holy Grail, and Meaning of Life at the top. We had a VHS of And Now for Something Completely Different, too. I used to watch all of those frequently from when I was quite young, except for Meaning of Life. My dad never let me watch that as a kid, saying it was too sexual. I watched it for the first time when I was about nineteen, and did not understand how he thought that was worse than the stuff he did show me. Yeah there’s a song about sperm, but Life of Brian has Graham Chapman’s entire penis in it!

A level down, we have Ripping Yarns, Fawlty Towers, Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister, and Blackadder, which were my go-tos. The major shows I re-watched over and over, from when I was too young to understand them. Those and the Python were my favourites. There’s a DVD of Mr. Bean on the end there, which I didn’t realize they had, because I used to watch Mr. Bean on VHS. That was also a favourite, but less enduring. Those other shows I watched over and over until I was at least in high school; Mr. Bean I thought was hilarious as a young kid but didn’t need to go back to after that.

Extras and Little Britain were both shows my dad liked and tried to get me into, but I watched a few episodes and never liked them much. I now think I was on the right side of history with that one. He tried the same with Absolutely Fabulous, which I liked when I watched it but never got properly into, and just watched all the episodes for the first time last year. I enjoyed those a lot and think it could have made my list of favourites as a kid if I’d given it one more chance. A similar situation with A Bit of Fry and Laurie - I watched some with my dad when I was young, liked it, but never got fully into it. In 2020 I watched every episode of it and thought it was the best sketch comedy I’d ever seen, I couldn’t understand why it never became a favourite when I was young.

There’s Two’s Company and As Time Goes By, which were favourites of my dad and his mother, and I sometimes watched with them when my grandmother was in town. Butterflies was a show I’d forgotten about until I saw its DVD again just now, remembered that it’s another one that initially came from my grandmother, and I really liked it. My dad wasn’t that into that one, but I used to watch it with his mom when she was in town.

There’s The Office, which I watched all of once and liked okay, but not enough to watch again (until, again, last year). Some Billy Connolly DVDs, which I remember my dad also had on a CD that he used to play in the car, that I enjoyed while I heard it but didn’t really understand.

There’s a DVD of the Hitchhiker’s Guide TV show, which I don’t think I actually watched until last year. But I read all the books for the first time when I was about thirteen. Actually, my dad read them to me. All five Hitchhiker’s Guide books, both Dirk Gently books, and Last Chance to See. We’d sit in the living room while he read them out loud, it took about a year to get through all of them. I've read them on my own plenty of times since, but it was fun to do it that way the first time. Reading out loud makes a book a shared experience the same way a TV show can be.

The American stuff is on the bottom shelf, and in another shelf that’s beside that one. The Veep DVDs were purchased only for my dad, because by the time Veep started airing, I’d learned how to use streaming sites. I was on board with that show from Day 1 because I’d already been obsessed with The Thick of It for years by then (the Thick of It DVDs are not in this picture because they’re at my house, it was my very favourite and I took it with me when I left, even though I also had mp4s of all the episodes on my hard drive), so I was downloading those episodes as they aired, not waiting for boxsets.

M*A*S*H and Cheers were my American favourites, in the rotation just as much as the Blackadder/Fawlty Towers/Yes Minister/Ripping Yarns. On the other shelf are the Seinfeld boxsets, which I was really into for about six months when I was about twelve years old, but the interest didn’t last longer than that. The other shelf also has 30 Rock DVDs, but I don’t think I watched those because I was finding shows online by the time I got into that one.

I remember exactly how I got into 30 Rock, actually. I was at home one day when I was about seventeen, watching TV with my dad. I wanted to put on an episode of M*A*S*H, and he told me to try this other thing called 30 Rock. I said no, I don’t want a new show, I want to watch an episode of M*A*S*H that I’ve seen 200 times since I was eight years old. He told me to give it a chance. I had somewhat recently worked out that I was gay, though I had not yet told my parents (and wouldn’t for several more years). I did, however, take one look at Tina Fey and say... yeah okay, I guess I can give this a chance.

I quickly learned that it’s one of the best shows I’ve ever seen; I watched two episodes with my dad on the couch that night, then used the internet to watch every episode that had aired up to that point, and continued to follow it until it ended. For most of my twenties, 30 Rock and Parks and Rec were the main shows I re-watched absolutely all the time, until I had every episode pretty much memorized. 30 Rock is a brilliant, sharp, consistent (which is impressive for so many episodes), extremely funny show, and I know that now. But yeah, I did initially get drawn in because I took one look at Tina Fey.

I think there was about a month when I was too young during which I’d have described The Full Monty as my favourite movie, but I definitely didn’t understand what was going on in that one (not that I was too young to understand the nudity, I got that they were strippers trying to decide whether to show all of themselves, what I didn’t understand was the nature of economic hardships in steel mill towns in the North of England in the 1990s).

Anyway, when I say I grew up at least partly on British comedy and went back to that in 2020, that’s mostly what I mean. Not pictured are, among other things, the Beyond the Fringe and Alan Bennett monologue CDs, and the Secret Policeman’s Ball VHSes. The News Quiz and The Now Show, which my dad first got me into when I was about nineteen and that I never stopped listening to. The copy of How To Irritate People with John Cleese that lived at my grandmother’s house, and that I used to love watching with her when I went to visit. She died when I was sixteen, and I don’t know where that VHS is now.

Also, my dad and I once watched Green Wing together, saw each episode exactly one time, and the fact that I’ve seen Stephen Mangan on panel shows is the only reason I’m convinced that show was real and not a fever dream I had.

[katielovably]

I grew up with Nicky. We were unseparable until we weren't you see? Nicky's mother move away when we were 8 taking Nicky and their sister, Alicia. I was devastated to find this out. We were best friends, I never thought in all my days that they would gone just like that. We said see you tomorrow. I remember locking myself way and crying when my mother told me. That was my way of coping. When mom and dad would yell or Jemima or Jem, my (at the time sixteen) older sister were caught (mostly by mom) sneaking in or out past curfew. I hate having the bedroom over the kitchen you can hear it all. I heard my dad scold mom for telling me so blatantly prompting another argument. I remember covering my ears and falling to my side crying on the floor loudly.

Jem was the one who came to me and picked me. I remember trying her: I hate it here. There's always yelling, screaming, fighting. I miss, Nicky!

Jem stroked my blonde strait hair.

Come on, Little bird. Jem said softly walking to the window, trying to creep to the window with me fallowing, holding her hand.

The door opened to show dad who scooping me up, holding me close.

Get out. Threw the door not the window. He hissed holding me tightly

I was trying to help. She snspped back as I cried once more as Jem glared but pulled out her phone flipping it (flip phones was the Teenager phone at the time) open dramatic before walking out talking to someone as he sighed, holding me tightly.

Your ok, Aderyn. He softly said. It may seem like he starts things but he wasn't the worst.

Nothing changed just now I had nowhere to retreat to when the yelling starts... I mean it was more mom starting fights maybe dad... it was a blurr. But Jem gave me her old mp3 players, laptop and showed me how to get the music off my ID'S and put them on the mp3 player. That was my life saver. I was finding CDs all over and adding them (the laptop couldn't connect to the internet hence why I got it).

At school during recess, I would sit on the swing and swing higher and hight. Picturing myself just flying away. Where would I go? Anywhere but here. This town is no good. Fakes smile. No more arguments. A place of opportunities for work, even Jemima works as a waitress after school for money to pay rent to dad, it got mom to stop using the "we pay for everything around here." Plus she's getting experience paying rent. Jem pays for her own food and even has her own cupboard/side of the fridge plus all of it has her name I all over them items thanks to dad but mom does grab from them at time but dad tries to corrects her which is what causes an argument. Jem has her cupboard under a lock now and got her own mini fridge in her room which is also locked.

April, 5 2006(a month after Nicky left): it was recess, I was heading towards the swings.

Hey, Aderyn. Where is your friend? Been alone for awhile. Haven't seen your bodyguard around. What happened? They ditched ya? Miller Jones (Nicky and my biggest bully) said walking to my side.

Go away, Miller. I said as I only focused on the swings in seconds I was on the ground.

Don't tell me to go away, you little twirp! Miller hissed hitting me.For some reason I didn't feel it, I felt numb.

He has family issues being my mom's step-sister's son (I don't consider her an aunt so he's not my cousin... even though they tried forcing us to play but he's his loud and violent), he's older brother has issues as well and in prison for r@pe, abuse and murder who knows what else today with Miller fallowing in his messy trail but their trying to help him to pervent it but you can tell (in my 20's not then).

What are you doing!? I heard as Miller was pulled off me. Jemima stood there between us.

Get out of here or I'll tell your mama or worst! Jem snapped making him run

She stood there glaring to the kids around who were bystanders, the teacher on the other side of the school yard.

Jem pushed purple-blue hair out of her face before her attention turned to me.

What are you doing letting him do that to you? Come here, little bird. Let me see.She said holding her hand out to me. I took it and allowed her to help me up. She looked at my wounds.

I'm fine. I said softly.

Uh, no you aren't. You look like a pinata that didn't break up. Now come on. She said with her arm around me she led me to the office.

Your luck I have work experience here and I was walking over. What were you thinking! She said.

I... I did nothing wrong. I simply told him to go away.... you know how he is. I softly said.

Yeah but you just took it! She said opening the door to the school. I walked in.

I didn't feel it.... besides i would get in trouble if I fight back, Jem. I said softly hugging myself.

She sighed and took me to the nurse office in the office. Jem told them everything as the nurse looked me over and I got bandaged up. Due to Jem's work. Mom was called to pick me up. Mom was advised getting me checked but the yelling started, I simply sighed and walked to the silver BMW 3-Series, it was like I was a ghost, sitting in the passenger seat waiting for mom to come. Mom complained the whole time. I ignored her nodding in understanding when she would look at me... I probably looked like an idiot because she wasn't looking at validation or seeing if I was understanding what shw was saying but i didn't care ether. At home, I slept.

I was bullied/ beat up by Miller but he watched for my sister. I did nothing but laugh as he hit me mocking him as he got annoyed by my actions harder he would hit i would merely lay there laughing which turned to a mix of laughing and crying those day he would simply be creeped out but mostly I would curl into fetal position, protecting important organs I don't want to hurt until he was sick of it. The onlookers around me feared Miller and did nothing until a teacher caught him the next month where Miller was expelled and we had a school meeting talking about bullying and speaking up/telling the teacher. Something like that.

July, 9 2006 : mom and dad had a parents only party to go to leaving me under Jemima's care. We watched movies with popcorn. She made KD for supper. She fell asleep after the third movie on showtime. It was an adult movie about the Apocalypse or something. I kept watching until the scene when the woman cut her hair. I looked at my hair. It was someone else were in control and I found scissors and walked to the bathroom and started cutting.

Aderyn? Jem called after an hour looking around the house for me freezing after passing the bathroom and started at me.

What the fuck are you doing?! Your old enough to know what you're doing. Mom and dad is going to kill me!? She said taking the scissors away.

You look like one of Eli's childhood barbie dolls. Let me just... she tried multiple times to go for different ways of cutting.

I can't, where do I even figure out where to start to make it look reasonable.... wait! She said pulling out her phone and calling someone.

One of her friends, Eliana or Eli (the friend who barbie doll was referred earlier but is now Jem's friend groups personal hair cutter) came over.

Can you fix or make it look reasonable? Mariah said nervesly

Trust me, dove (Jem's nickname... because her name means dove). I got this. Eli said with a smile, pushing black hair with Amber highlights and Mariah pushed her own blonde hair with faded pink tips before watching the window as Eli cut my hair. It was shorter than it was and styled.

There we are, birdie. Eli said at the end.

Oh, my God. It looks amazing as always. Thank you! Jem said as they hugged

We need to clean up. Jem said looking around. Eli was already cleaned up the hair.

Hum? Eli said looking up as I swept popcorn using a handheld broom and Mariah did dishes before going back to watching movies with Eli and Jem sat together on the couch with me on the floor watching a more PG movie on DVD, spiderwick chronicles (one of Mariah and mine favorite movies) then after I fell asleep. They put on a love movie and made-out (Jem is Bi). Apparently mom and dad got way to drunk and stayed over along with others. For once Jem didn't get in trouble by our parents because they suffered from a horrible hangover when they came home and they hadn't noticed or thought they got it professionally done, dad actually liked it.

[matchbet-allofthetime]

Was hanging out with a homie two days ago and was talking music with his dad. Happened to mention that I'm looking for a bass but am poor as shit, and I just got myself a new amp that's nice for cheap (and it works!) from my local Goodwill. Like, a damn nice amp. Also said I didn't have an aux for it, but had the power cable.

He replied he only uses Bluetooth amp shit nowadays, and he's got several extra cords. He handed me one of them and said "I've got too many, please take as many as you need"

And then promptly handed me a fucking Wash urn MB-2 bass.

And said "I got it off someone real cheap a long time ago because I thought it looked nice, but I don't play it much, and I couldn't decide between the colours on this nice Jaguar I wanted, so I bought both colours, and it's taking up a little space where it isn't used. You can borrow it as long as you'd like."

I grew up with a musician mom who used to get into shows for free because she set up shows for friends. She taught me young that most of the time, when an old musician says you can "borrow" something, you've just gotta wait and see if they actually want it back.

Because they'll hand you shit, say "you can borrow it" and they never expect it back.

I think I just got given a nice-as-fuck bass by a man I've only met twice.

And it's sitting next to my mom's acoustic she can't play anymore and my own Strat I was told during hurricane Isaac at about six years old I could "borrow".

That guitar has been mine for over a decade, and it's two years older than me.

And I'm over here like... I feel alive.

I feel so alive, having three guitars and an amp in my room, sitting in front of all my music CDs and my CD player and my books.

And I have the money to get three stands.

And I am so fucking happy I might actually cry.

There is so much love to be had in someone wanting someone younger to indulge.

I never had the chance or the means or the time to play and learn, but now I do.

And it's because twice in my life, someone say there and said "listen, you've got music in you. please learn, please play, and never stop, because there's music in you." And they gave me something to achieve that dream with.

And they asked nothing, just offered freely.

Musicians are beautiful.

And because mom can't play anymore, I will. Her guitar, my guitar, this guitar that I may have to give back, but may not.

I don't know yet.

But I am happy.

The fret markers glow in the dark 💚 and next to Cobra (the bass, which I've named temporarily) you've got my baby Stitch!