#I had to work 5 days in a row (I know normal people do that all the time but I don’t I’m in retail!!!!)

[castle-calypse]

my right eyebrow has been twitching randomly for the past two days and I found out (1 second of googling) that it could be from fatigue and here I am at 1:45am again

[saintzweig]

nsfw patrick zweig x camgirl!reader

–based on this blurb PART TWO HERE

– wrote this with 5 hours of sleep, not proofread because i'm lazy so i apologize in advance for the mistakes or if its shitty :3 wasn't actually going to write this but i couldn't stop thinking about it sooo

it was 3pm on a thursday, you were sat in your history class bored out of your mind. it was your last class of the week and it had only half an hour left but with the way your professor was droning on and on about god knows what, you couldn't wait to get out of here fast enough. 

you had a live scheduled in two hours, as well. you needed enough time to rest and freshen up before you turn your camera on. you did live cams anonymously on some sketchy website just to get by, a cam girl if you will. you grew up in a strict religious household so you've never thought you'd end up doing this but desperate times call for desperate measures, it was an easy way out of your financial problems. plus, if you were careful enough no one would have to find out. its not like you were going to do this forever, only until you graduate and find a job with a decent pay. by then, your account will be deleted and forgotten about, as if it never existed in the first place. 

your mindless scribbling was interrupted when your professor called your name. "l/n, zweig"

your head snapped up to the front and then to patrick zweig who sat two rows infront of you. 

"your presentation will be a week from now, your topic will be on the reconstruction. i expect you'll do a thorough research." 

you quickly wrote down the details as your professor dismissed the class, students rushing to get out of the room while you stayed behind to gather your things. before you knew it, patrick stood infront of you. his backpack slinging over one shoulder and his hands in his pockets. 

you didn't know patrick zweig, you knew of him. a great, cocky tennis player who was supposed to go pro after juniors but his friends, art and tashi, convinced him to accept his standford offer. so he'll have something to fall back on if things don't go to plan. 

you've heard people talk about him, how he's reckless in his plays yet he keeps winning. how he doesn't do anything in class yet he keeps passing. you had to stop yourself from sighing in front of him, is he going to make you do everything? 

"y/n, right?" you've never heard him talk before, atleast not anywhere near you so you were surprised that his voice sounded ... attractive. you took this time to actually look at him, he wore a plain white shirt and denim jeans, which isn't much but he made it look so good. his face was slightly scruffy, his nose statuesque and his pink lips was pulled into a slight smirk. you had no idea why his appearance made your heart beat faster than normal. 

the two of you discussed when to meet, deciding to do the work in your dorm every other day during his free time. so now, on friday evening, you were sat on your desk working on the outline for your project as you wait for him to arrive. 

not long after, there was a knock on your door and patrick entered in his tennis attire, carrying his equipment. "a single room?" he asked with his eyebrow raised, taking in the sight of your room. the white walls adorned with tapestry and posters, your bed covered in a pink bedding and your desk was cluttered with your study materials. 

"i got lucky" you sat on your chair as he settled on your bed, laying on his back in exhaustion. there was something familiar about your room, he just couldn't put his finger on it. has he been here before? did the two of you hook up and he had just forgotten about it? or maybe it's because most dorms look the same, it's probably just similar to tashi's. he put the thought on the back of his mind as you started to discuss your project with him. 

it went surprisingly well the first day, although patrick was stubborn, he knew he couldn't just skip on this project because he'll end up having to do it alone so he decided doing it with you now was the better option. the next day, he got too comfortable that he's so easily distracted. you started bribing him with his own pack of cigarettes, taking it from his hands and putting it under your thigh as the two of you sat across from each other on your bed. 

it was a little difficult to work with him, considering he's not so good at studying but it was fun, you had fun with him. he made jokes that you tried to keep a straight face on but end up laughing so hard your cheeks were starting to hurt. he keeps trying to flirt with you too, which just ends up with you scowling at him and slapping his arm. 

and as soon as he left, you turned your camera on and positioned yourself on your bed. normally, you would only strip and massage your body, never going as far as playing with yourself in front of your viewers. but this time, you couldn't stop thinking about patrick. how big his hands were compared to you, you imagined it wrapped around your wrist, or holding your waist, or choking you. the thought making you squeeze your thighs together. you made soft noises as your massaged your breasts, imagining what it would feel like to feel his hands cupping you. you felt yourself get wet as you pressed your fingers against the fabric of your panties.

tonight's live felt a bit more sensual, it was almost difficult to stop yourself from getting carried away but you needed to be careful. so after an hour, you turned the camera off and placed your laptop under your bed. as soon as you lay back, your hand found its way inside your white, lacy panties. you shiver as the pad of your pointer finger brushed against your sensitive clit, feeling the slick against your skin as your press against your cunt. 

you spent the next hour touching yourself to the thought of patrick using your body, feeling his lips against your skin, lapping up the juices leaking out of you. the sounds you were making were too pornographic that you had to place your hand over your mouth. your fingers covered in your juices as you desperately fucked yourself. it felt like a pretty sight to see that you almost regretted turning your camera off. 

you wanted someone to see you, you wanted him to see what he was doing to you. 

the next time he came over, he had just come straight from tennis practice. his skin was slightly moist with sweat and he wore shorts that rode up his legs when he sat on your bed. you couldn't focus on anything but his thighs. 

“you feeling alright? you're looking kinda red, zoning out too” you blushed, feeling like he just caught you red handed. 

you nod, “yeah, it's just a little hot” 

he smirked, telling you to take your shirt off if it's that hot, he wouldn't mind it at all. you rolled your eyes at his suggestion, turning your attention back to your laptop. you were tempted to do it, it took you everything in your body not to. even with your choice of work, you still had a little bit of self respect and discipline left. 

that night, you ended up touching yourself on camera for the first time. making yourself cum infront of your viewers while they had no idea you were thinking of patrick, again. having your lips on his skin, straddling his lap and feeling his bulge press against your clothed cunt, his hands on your breasts as you bounce on his cock. you made the highest amount of money you've ever made since you've started. but you made sure to tell them it was a one time thing. 

the next evening, was the day before your presentation. patrick was on his way over so the two of you can practice and prepare yourself for tomorrow. 

you bumped into him on your way to the communal bathroom, telling him to go right ahead. 

patrick entered your room, dropping his equipment by the door as usual. instead of laying in your bed like he always does, he sat on your chair. leaning back with his arms crossed as he observed the trinkets on your desk and the photos pinned on the corkboard. 

a few minutes later, you walked in and sat on your bed, facing him. he turned around in your chair to ask you something about the photos but the sight of you on your bed left him dumbfounded. the realization of why your room looks familiar finally came to him, the only reason it took him so long was because the only way he's ever seen it was through the camera, facing the exact direction he's looking at right now. 

you were the anonymous cam girl he had been jerking off to after your sessions, you were the girl he had just sent a hundred dollars to the night before. 

[ventique18]

Papa 🐉 with triplets HCs

When going overseas for official duties, he prefers not to be cooped up in that weird iron bird creature (it's an airplane, hun). So he instead flies to the country in his dragon form. Imagine people's awe when this gigantic, magnificent creature lands gracefully, lowers his head down carefully, and out of his mouth hops not one, not two, but three little dragons. They're so tiny you could swear they're cute little dogs.

He always goes to meetings clad in heavy robes. More often than not though, his mysterious cloak has a peculiar feature: it produces three sets of giggling voices every once in a while, especially when the room goes deadly silent.

Once an hour passes though, three little tykes get magicked out of the cloak like how a bunny hops out of a magician's hat. The wyrmlings like to climb on and off papa's back and munch on his horns. Everyone could only glance in amazement at how strong their Majesty's neck muscles must be to withstand the weight.

The three siblings still have very small wings but would always attempt to fly. 🌸 always almost has a heart attack when they inevitably come crashing down from their disproportionate weight, but 🐉 would save them the last second with his magic. He'd laugh loudly and hug 🌸 to reassure them none of their babies would get into accidents while he's alive.

I say accident because the three would frequently get hurt on purpose anyway. Their parents don't understand why, but one of their hobbies seem to be beating each other up in any way they could think of. 🐉🌸 would often wake up in the dead of the night because one sibling hurled another off the bed, simply because he/she was hogging 🌸's chest apparently. 🌸's chest is their favorite snuggle spot.

While 🐉 frankly doesn't have all the time in the world, he strictly employs a 8-5 work hour like a regular person. He doesn't really mind working but ever since he's started a family, he believes this is finally his god-given grace so he'll do it properly. His spouse is very capable in assisting him so they never really had problems with this arrangement.

So he likes to be closer to his babies and feeds them personally while it's still normal. He kinda just force-feeds them mashed food with a spoon in a row though. "Can't you make it more fun? Like, open wide, here comes the flying broom!" "I am simply not a sappy person." "You feed me while saying cheesy shit though..." "I cannot very well say those kinds of things to my children."

When he bathes them, he makes them line up and dunks them into a pool one by one. When they're in their dragon form, he scrubs them with a brush like he's doing laundry.

He hangs them on a clothesline to dry them on a sunny day lmao. "What are you doing to our babies??" "What? They enjoy it." Fair enough, the little gremlins are giggling.

When 🐉🌸 gets one those snazzy refrigerators with a water faucet and ice dispenser in front, the siblings like to sit on top of each other's shoulders so they could steal ice cubes for themselves. Or lap at the running water like thirsty dogs.

Grim has dedicated water bowls all over the place because he finds it hard to pour from a pitcher, and the feral siblings actually prefer lapping from those than go to the refreshments table to fetch a drink. The first time 🐉🌸 saw this, they were so shocked they kinda just stared blankly.

"Are... Are they actually dogs..." "I do not know, at this point." "Did you do this too when you were little?" "We did not have any semblance of a pet so I do not think so." Lilia reveals later though, that 🐉 drank from the damn toilet once.

He likes teaching them all manners of things. He gets a bit too intense sometimes though, what with them failing over and over again on what he thinks to be simple tasks, so 🌸 has to remind him gently that they are not him and shouldn't ever be him. He lets up and smiles. Yes, this is what children are supposed to be.

He legitimately doesn't have any ounce of experience with fatherhood and was suddenly thrust with three, so 🌸 honestly thinks he's a bit clumsy when it comes to taking care of them. Really clumsy and callous, actually.

But when 🌸 chances upon their three babies curled up against him, with him napping soundly and still holding an illustrated book on gargoyles and their history (goodness, he never changes), they thought he wasn't so bad after all.

Thinking harder about it though, what with him carrying the weight of the country while carrying the weight of three chubby babies and a feral cat, he might be the best father ever, after all.

[4littlefishies]

The 36th Floor

Office worker Satoru Gojo finds himself stuck with the task of training his brand new coworker, but he doesn't know what to expect when he sees who he's supposed to be training. He can't fall in love with the man that sits in the cubicle across from him, right?

satoru gojo x suguru geto office au

warnings: nothing for this chapter, smut in later chapters!

wc: 6.6k

note: Hi all! Thought I'd start posting this on here as well. I always upload first on ao3, so if you wan't to keep updated, I'll put a link at the bottom! :) This is a non-curse non-jujutsu au because I enjoy writing fluff and happiness and crack and all the good stuff. <3

Monday Morning

Satoru Gojo opens his eyes as the sound of his alarm blares through his previously silent bedroom. His hands come up to rub the sleep out of his eyes as he sits up in his bed before grabbing at his phone to make the annoying sound of his alarm stop. He takes a couple deep breaths and sits with his eyes closed for a moment before he finally pushes the comforter to the side and shifts his legs off of the side of the bed. 

Standing up from the warmth of his bed, Satoru shivers as the cold air hits his skin. He makes his way to the bathroom to start the routine that he does every morning before work: Shower, brush his teeth, skincare, hair; in that order, five days a week, 12 months a year. He loved how the structure of his morning before work and getting to listen to music as he calmly got ready made his whole day feel better.

Afterwards, he would make his bed and head out to the kitchen to eat a quick breakfast, which typically consisted of a sugary cereal or some kind of fruit for on the go if he was in a hurry to leave - which unfortunately happened more often than not. Thankfully, today was one of the days where he had time to sit down at the counter and eat a proper breakfast.

Humming along with the music playing through his phone, he makes his way back into his room and steps into his closet. He pulls out a navy blue suit jacket and pants, along with a white button-up shirt for underneath and a tie to pull it all together. Satoru gets dressed and with his jacket folded over the side of his now neatly-made bed, he picks out a pair of brown oxfords and finally puts on his watch. 

The mirror by his bedroom door is the final step in his routine as he checks his reflection one last time before heading towards the front door. The blue of his eyes almost glow back at him as he looks over himself in the mirror, making sure his bright white hair looks decent before flicking off the lights and pulling on his jacket. He picks up his bag from the table next to the front door and grabs his keys out of the bowl, shoving them into his pocket. 

“See you when I get home, Shiro.” He whispers to the white cat, looking up at him with wide eyes from the couch. The cat makes a quiet noise that makes Satoru smile as he closes the front door behind him and checks that it’s locked before turning and walking down the hallway towards the elevator. 

Today was just another day for Satoru, a typical Monday morning. He would walk to the station not too far from his house and wait for the train along with everyone else also going to their 9-5 jobs in the city. He found joy in the time he got to listen to music on his commute and enjoyed seeing the same people he would see every morning. The man seated across the aisle from him would get off the stop before Satoru, every single morning. The woman a couple rows in front of him would get off the stop after he got on. 

Satoru liked to ponder and imagine what these strangers on the train were doing with their days. The scenarios in his head were probably much more exciting that what was actually going on in these people’s lives, but he would rather imagine that the stranger in the same black trench coat every day is actually a member of the Yakuza and not just an accountant or a lawyer or something normal. 

Before he knows it, the train is coming up to his stop. He stands up, stabilizing himself with one of the many hand holds as the train finally slows to a stop. The doors open and he steps off, walking in time with his music, his hands in his pockets as he walks out into the crisp morning air. The walk to his office is a short one, but he stops at the coffee shop in the lobby of the building as he does every morning.

“Good morning, Miwa!” He says in a singsong voice as he steps up to the counter. The young woman smiles and grabs a disgustingly sweet drink set to the side of the register that was just made for him. He picks it up and hands her twice as much cash as it actually costs before turning and swiftly walking towards the elevator. “You’re the best, Miwa!” He calls out over his shoulder as he rushes towards the closing elevator doors.

“Have a good day Gojo!” She calls out after him in response. He waves with a smile as he steps into the elevator. Just another part of his routine that makes his day even better. He takes a small sip of his still-too-hot coffee in the half full elevator and presses the button for floor 36. He readjusts his bag on his shoulder and pulls out his key card as the elevator makes stops at a few floors before he reaches his own. 

“Have a good day guys.” Satoru says as the elevator opens to his floor, resulting in a few quiet thank you’s and you too’s. Someone else steps off of the elevator at the same time as him and Satoru turns to notice that it’s his coworker, Shoko Ieiri. A surprised look crosses his face as he looks at her. “What the hell? I didn’t even notice you in there!” He says with a cheeky smile on his face as they walk down the hallway towards the glass door of their office. He holds his key card up to the side of the door before the lock clicks and he pulls the large glass door open, allowing Shoko inside first.

“Just say you don’t care about me, idiot.” She says, rolling her eyes with a smile, walking inside as Satoru holds the door open for her. The two of them head straight for the break room, Shoko puts her lunch box in the fridge, and Satoru grabs a strawberry-mango yogurt, along with a spoon. 

“Maybe you need to be more noticeable.” Satoru teases back at her. Shoko closes the fridge and glares up at him. The two of them have been friends since high school, which resulted in their sibling-like relationship that consisted of endless teasing and fake bullying.

“I got you hired here, I bet I could get you fired too, you know that right?” She says as they both turn to walk out of the break room to head to their cubicles, which luckily - or unluckily - were right next to each other. Satoru leans on the edge of Shoko’s cubicle as she sets her things down and tries to get adjusted.

“No way, Shoko. Nanami loves me.” He says, talking about their boss. She raises an eyebrow at him as he backs up into his cubicle across the aisle and sets his bag down on his desk. He puts his hands up, as if to say “I can’t help it” and sits down in his chair with a smile and turns to turn on his computer. 

The office is quiet with the chatter of everyone arriving for the morning along with the sounds of keyboards typing and mice clicking. Gojo starts with the normal morning things like checking his emails and then his planner to see what he has planned out for the day. “Shit.” He whispers, but still loud enough for Shoko to hear. 

“What’s your problem?” Shoko asks, not even turning her head away from her monitor to look at him. 

“They’re having me train someone new.” He says, sounding slightly annoyed. “I have so much to do already and they want me to train someone new?” He rubs his forehead and closes his eyes, thinking about how much more this is going to set him back. 

“If you need help with anything, just let me know.” She responds, trying to be helpful, all the while knowing that she would have no idea how to even do most of the things that Satoru does on a daily basis. 

“I just need to get as much done in this hour that I have before he gets here.” Satoru says, mostly to himself, but loud enough that Shoko hears.

“I have a meeting at 10, but I’ll be back after lunch if you need anything.” She adds, trying to be helpful and make him feel better about the day ahead.

“Thank you, Shoko, I appreciate it.” He says, starting to work on a presentation for when some of the higher ups from corporate were coming later in the month. He pops one headphone in, trying to get focused into his work to get as much done as possible in the shortest amount of time. 

Slowly but surely, Satoru’s coffee disappears and the strawberry-mango yogurt cup he had grabbed from the fridge is empty and long gone. His fingers type away quickly at his quiet keyboard as he fills the slides with information that he needs to get across to the corporate visitors. Sales had been great this year, and it was his responsibility to explain to the higher ups what their branch is doing right and things that they think could help other branches to do better.

An hour passes much more quickly than Satoru would have liked, but Shoko is gone to her meeting in one of the conference rooms and suddenly Satoru’s phone rings. He rarely used it to talk to anyone outside of the office, so he was not surprised to see the name Utahime Iori on the screen. He smiles and grabs it before answering sweetly.

“Why good morning Utahime.” He says nicely.

“Gojo, I just finished up paperwork with the new hire, so I’m just giving you a heads up that he’s on his way, okay?” She responds, trying to avoid conversation as much as possible.

“Not even a good morning back?” Satoru responds, sounding hurt, all the while he has a smile on his face. 

“Good morning.” She says, shortly. “He’s on his way, his name’s Suguru Geto. Bye.” She hangs up and the line goes blank.

“Hello? Utahime??” Satoru questions at the obviously ended phone call. He chuckles and hangs the phone back up. He hears a quiet set of footsteps walking on the other side of the wall to his back. He turns around and stands up just in time to see the long black haired man come around the corner. He’s wearing a black suit with a red patterned tie and wears his hair half up and half down. Satoru makes eye contact with him and he feels immediately nervous, as well as something he swears he’s never felt before. 

“Um. hello, are you-” He starts, but Satoru stands there almost unable to move. Immediately, he feels like he knows this man from somewhere. He seemed so familiar to Satoru - his voice, his face, his eyes, even though he knew that he didn’t know this man. “-Gojo?” He finally finishes, quietly, unsure if he remembered his name correctly. The way he says his name sounds like velvet. He wants to hear him say his name over and over again. 

“Yeah! Yeah, Satoru Gojo. But you can call me Satoru, if you want.” He says, breaking out of his thoughts, He sticks out his hand to shake it. Their hands meet in the middle and they both grip the other’s hand firmly. Both of their hands are warm, but Satoru feels like his hands are on fire. He smiles at the man in front of him, and he nods back, seemingly trying to put his name to memory. “What was your name again? Utahime told me but-” He trails off, waiting for the man to tell him his name. 

“Suguru Geto.” He says, a soft smile painted on his face.

“Nice to meet you, Suguru.” Satoru says, bravely using his first name. His palms start to feel sweaty as he steps back into his cubicle. He is silently kicking himself as Suguru stands there quietly. “So, you can grab Shoko’s chair from over there, if you want and bring it on over here and we’ll get started. Oh, and you can set your stuff in the cubicle in front of hers, that one is going to be yours.” He says, pointing at the cubicle diagonal from his. 

Suguru quickly sets his stuff down and decides to grab his chair instead of Shoko’s and wheels over to Satoru’s desk. “Good call, she might have killed me if she knew I told you to take her chair.” He smiles to himself towards his monitor as Suguru sits behind him, his jacket left behind in his cubicle, showing off his broad chest and shoulders in his grey button up.

“Yeah, definitely. That’s where Shoko sits?” Suguru asks, curiously.

“Yeah, um, do you know her?” Satoru asks, slightly confused as to why it sounds like Suguru knows who he’s talking about. He takes a silent deep breath, feeling his heart rate increase at seeing him without the jacket. Jesus Satoru, calm down he thinks to himself, waiting for Suguru to answer his question. 

“Um yeah, she’s actually the one that got me this job.” He responds softly.

“No way! I went to school with her, she got me this job too.” Satoru responds, sounding way too excited.

Suguru chuckles softly at Satoru’s excitement and of course Satoru notices. He doesn’t know why, but he wants to make him do it again. The sound was like music to his ears. He takes a quick deep breath and quickly changes the subject. “So! Should we get started?” He doesn’t know what’s come over him. Normally he’s an incredibly extroverted person and would have no problem talking to new people, but he doesn’t want to say something wrong this time, and he doesn’t know why but he’s nervous.

He tries to calm down and opens up the website on his computer that the company uses for training new employees. This is something he’s done enough that he doesn’t really have to think about it, which is good because he can’t stop thinking about where he could maybe, possibly know this man from. It’s driving him insane, the immediate connection he somehow feels to this person that he’s never met before. He feels the tops of his ears get hot. 

“Alright so, you get in here and I’ll sit behind you so you can see the monitor and work on the computer when you need to, and I can sit back here and mostly watch and answer questions if you need me to.” Satoru says, standing up and moving his chair to switch places with Suguru so that he can see the monitor better. Their arms brush up against each other in the tight cubicle space as they switch spots and Satoru feels like he’s going to lose his mind at the feeling.

He starts going through boring training videos and and every day procedures with him, trying to focus on training him for work, rather than just talking to him like normal. All he wants to do is learn about who this beautiful man is. Why would Shoko never tell me about him? Satoru thinks to himself as Suguru watches another video. Satoru sits behind him, organizing his drawer of pens to occupy himself until the video that he’s seen countless times comes to an end.

“So, is it all kinda making sense?” Satoru asks, closing the drawer and looking over at Suguru as he clicks to the next page. 

“Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think I’ll just need to do it a couple times and I’ll be good.” He shoots back, confidently. 

“Oh yeah, absolutely. You’re a natural.” Satoru says, earning a smile from Suguru, causing him to smile as well. “Okay, you can start the next video, but I’m gonna be right back, okay?” He stands up, putting both of his thumbs up as he creeps out of the cubicle. 

“I’ll be here.” Suguru says, putting one hand up as Gojo walks around the corner of his cubicle and out into the hallway that leads towards the bathroom. 

He quickly walks into the dark bathroom and the motion activated lights click on. He looks at himself in the mirror and takes a deep breath. “What the hell is your problem?” He whispers to himself in the mirror. He’s never felt this way about anyone except for this complete stranger. He wants to get to know him. He wants to get closer with him. He turns on the water and runs his hand under the cold water before holding it to his forehead and cheeks, trying to calm down. He takes another deep breath and runs his hand through his hair, fixing it, even though it didn’t need fixing. 

“Calm down stupid, you’ve known the man for an hour and a half. Keep it together.” He says quietly in the mirror to himself once again before leaving the bathroom and heading back to his cubicle to continue training Suguru. He rounds the corner and Suguru perks up once he sees that Satoru is back.

“Oh good, you’re back! I got stuck on this page and I didn’t want to mess anything up, so I waited for you to get back.” Sugaru says, pointing at the screen. Satoru walks up behind him and grabs hold onto the mouse, clicking around to see what's going on, bent down next to Suguru. He hadn't been this close to him yet, even when they shook hands, he couldn’t smell his cologne. He can now smell the warm scent of cashmere but also pine coming off of him as he leans down next to him. 

“Ugh I hate this thing. It signed us out, just a second.” Satoru says, before reaching in front of Suguru and pulling the keyboard to the side so that he could sign back in and they could keep working. Satoru sees Suguru sit back as he watches him get back to the place where they left off. Once he’s back, he slides the keyboard back in front of Suguru and pushes the mouse back to him. “There we go.” He says, slowly sitting back into his chair. 

“Thanks.” Suguru says softly before getting back to the training. 

The next hour and a half goes by without incident and thankfully without too much awkwardness between the two of them. Satoru is thankful for lunch so that he can get a break. He thinks about inviting Suguru to join him for lunch, but decides against it. He needs an hour to himself to think about why he’s feeling the way that he is, and what he thinks he’s going to do about it, if anything. 

“So, we get an hour for lunch, you can stay here, go somewhere, whatever.” Satoru says, explaining to Suguru as they close out the training. 

“Okay, thanks!” Suguru says, standing up and rolling his chair back to his cubicle. Satoru looks over as he puts his jacket on and walks out into the hallway. Gojo takes a deep breath and leans back in his chair, stretching his arms before standing up. He grabs his jacket and pulls it on before grabbing his phone and wallet and heading towards the front door. He pops his headphones in as he steps into the empty elevator and heads down to the lobby. 

He clicks play on the last song that was playing as the doors open to the busy lobby. Satoru heads straight for the main doors and out onto the street, where he puts on his sunglasses as he steps outside. He takes a right and heads towards his favorite cafe to go for lunch during his work week. The walk is only a couple of blocks, but the air is cold and it turns Satoru’s cheeks and nose a rosy pink with the chill of the wind. I should have invited him. Satoru thinks, shoving his hands into his pockets and picking up the pace in his walk to the cafe. He probably thinks I don’t like him. Why was I acting like such a weirdo? The thoughts cloud his mind the entire duration of his walk. 

He reaches out to pull the handle and the normal sound of the bell on the door makes its presence known as Satoru steps into the small cafe, gaining the attention of the young pink haired teenager behind the counter. “Hey Gojo!” He calls out as Satoru approaches the counter. “You want your usual?” He asks, already typing his normal order into the cash register. 

“Yes please!” He replies, “and can I also get one of these? Actually- two of those. If I don’t get one for Shoko, she’ll kill me.” He replies, pointing to the delicious looking cupcakes in the display case. 

“Alrighty then!.” The pink haired boy says, sliding open the case.

“Just you today, Yuji?” Gojo asks, pulling out his wallet while the total pops up on the screen in front of him on the counter.

“Yeah,” Yuji says with a sigh. “Megumi is off today, so just me!” He says, taking the cash that Satoru hands him. “No receipt, right?” Satoru shakes his head no, and Yuji crumples up the receipt and tosses it into the trash behind the counter. “Have a good rest of your day, Gojo!”

“You as well, Yuji.” He says in response as he grabs his food and heads to a table in the corner where he can sit down and relax for a bit before heading back to the office. He settles on his usual spot - the small table with two chairs in the back corner, and sits in the chair facing the front door so that he could once again people watch. He takes a bite of his sandwich before setting it back down and looking at his phone at a text from Utahime.

‘Geto is training for the rest of the day with Haibara once you’re back from lunch.’

Satoru reads this and feels relieved because now he can get his work done, but also disappointed that he wouldn’t get to be around Suguru for the rest of the day. He reacts to the message with a thumbs up and decides not to bother her anymore for once. He sets his phone down and looks up at the group of people that just came in from the street and he sees him. 

Shit shit shit shit. Satoru thinks to himself. Should I go say something? No! He has a quick mental battle with himself. He doesn’t want to bother him outside of work, but he wants so desperately to get to know who Suguru Geto is. He watches from behind his sunglasses as Suguru approaches the counter and interacts with Yuji. Satoru notices his smile is soft as he orders and pays. He looks around and that’s when Satoru picks up his phone and starts looking at it again, trying to avoid possibly making eye contact with him. 

Just from what Gojo can see in his periphery, Suguru seems to look around for a moment before he steps towards the front door and leaves the cafe, seemingly taking his food back to the office. Satoru breathes again as he realizes that he was holding his breath waiting to see what would happen. He wasn’t even sure what it was that he wanted to happen. If he would have noticed me, he would have said something, right? He thought to himself, sure that Suguru didn’t spot him over in the corner. 

Satoru realizes that his hands are sweaty and wipes them on his pants, hurriedly. It’s fine He thinks again. He tries to finish his sandwich, but ends up getting sick of it after a few bites and wraps it up to take back to the office along with his cupcakes for him and Shoko. He gives Yuji a wave as he steps out onto the street to start his walk back to the office, an upbeat song once again playing in his ears. 

He walks through the large front doors and heads towards the elevator, taking off his sunglasses and tucking them into his jacket pocket. He steps into the elevator and immediately notices Shoko this time and calls out her name. 

“Oh, so you noticed me this time huh?” She teases as the doors close and they are the only two inside. He wants to ask her about Suguru, but he decides that it’s better that he doesn't - at least for now. 

“How was your meeting?” He responds, choosing to ignore her statement. He takes her deep sigh as her answer. “That bad, huh?” He asks, the elevator starting to quickly climb.

“It was just a bunch of old creepy men and I just kept getting talked over the whole time.” She says, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, obviously annoyed. Satoru shakes his head, knowing that she’s not exaggerating. He’s been in those meetings and they just don’t care to hear what she has to say. It’s extremely frustrating and he tries his best to help when he’s there. 

“Well… It’s not that much, but I got you a little treat.” He says, handing the cupcake box to her as the elevator reaches the 36th floor and comes to a stop. Her eyes widen and her mouth falls open in a smile as she reaches out and grabs the small box.

The elevator doors open and they step out, walking down the hallway together. Satoru uses his key card and opens the door once again, following Shoko inside. Satoru heads straight back to his cubicle to see if Suguru is at his desk. To his disappointment, he isn’t. Satoru sits down at his desk and unlocks his computer to get working on his presentation for later in the month. He checks his email and sees that thankfully, the marketing department sent him all of their reports that he needed for his presentation. He hears Shoko sit back down into her chair as he’s working diligently. 

“Where’s your trainee?” He hears Shoko say over the sound of the music in his ear. He takes out his headphone and turns his head.

“He’s with Yu for the rest of the day. Guess they want him to learn different positions.” He says, and it comes out more disappointed sounding than he meant it to. “I’m just happy they’re giving me time to focus on my own work. I’m more behind now, but I think I can catch up by the end of the day if I just focus.” He says, turning his head back to the monitor in front of him. 

He doesn’t see Shoko raise her eyebrows at his change in attitude all of a sudden. She grabs a pen and a sticky note and writes “Do Not Disturb! Satoru Gojo hard at work! >:(” and rolls across the aisle, sticking it to the outside of his cubicle with a smile on her face that goes completely unnoticed by Satoru. 

The final hours of the day slip by faster than Satoru would have liked, but he feels good with where he’s left off on his work. He leans back in his chair and stretches his arms out before glancing over at Suguru’s cubicle once more, only to see it still empty. Hmph. He lets out quietly, hoping that he would be able to say goodbye at least before heading home for the day. He looks over to see Shoko is long gone, her computer already off and monitor black. He smiles to himself as he stands up, grabbing his jacket off of the back of his chair and throwing it on before grabbing his bag from underneath his desk and slinging it over his shoulder. He grabs his empty coffee cup from the morning and finally tosses it into the garbage on his way out the door. 

Satoru takes one last look around to see if he notices Suguru anywhere, but he’s nowhere to be seen. He’s probably gone home idiot. He thinks to himself, looking down at his watch. The day was technically over 15 minutes ago. He walks out the front door, saying goodbye to lingering coworkers on his way out. He makes sure to grab his sandwich from the fridge and shoves it into his bag, making sure to grab his cupcake as well.

For the last time of the day, he steps into the elevator, alone this time, and pops his headphones in, ready for the commute home. The elevator makes a couple stops to pick up people from other floors also on their way down, but the ride isn’t too long to the lobby. Satoru steps out of the elevator and makes his way towards the front doors. He begins his short walk back to the train station, once again walking to the beat of the music playing in his ears.  

He sees the train is already at the station as he’s walking up, and he begins to take a bit longer strides as he tries not to miss the train, but eventually, just misses it.

“Shit.” He hisses as he looks around for an open bench to wait on. A woman and her son sit on the bench directly behind him, so he finds an empty one slightly further down the station and sits down. He decides to text Utahime, who is probably still at the office.

‘Hiii Utahime, Just wondering if I was going to be training him again tomorrow morning :)’

He clicks send and almost immediately the three bubbles pop up to indicate that she’s typing. 

‘Yeah, he said that he liked training with you, which surprised me. Now leave me alone and go home.’

Satoru feels his face get red. He what? He thinks, a smile creeping onto his face. Don’t be crazy. With a stupidly excited grin, he rubs along his jaw, bringing his bottom lip in between hit teeth to try to bite back his smile. He can’t help but read the text over and over again to make sure that he understood correctly, and no matter how many times he reads it, it’s always the same message. He liked training with me? A voice comes over the speaker announcing that the train will soon be arriving in the station. Satoru stands up, straightening out his jacket while trying to suppress the goofy smile on his face. 

He steps onto the train and picks a seat close to the door. His short train ride was of course filled with people watching and imagining what their days are like. Finally, his stop arrives and he steps back out into the cool air and begins his walk back to his apartment. He can’t stop smiling to himself on the way home, just excited to go back and see him the next day. 

I have to invite him to lunch. He thinks to himself. They went to the same cafe, it was only polite to, right? Satoru opens the front door of his building and heads towards the elevator. He clicks the up arrow and waits for the ding and the doors slowly open. He steps inside the empty elevator and clicks the button for the 36th floor - same as the office, funnily enough. It makes it really easy to remember where you live and work when it’s the same number. He enjoyed being up so high, able to see all the beautiful lights of the city of Tokyo from his home. 

Satoru grabs his keys out of his pocket as he approaches his door, and easily unlocks the door without any trouble. He steps inside and calls out. “Shiro, I’m home!” He hears a small meow followed by a thud and the patter of paws padding out to greet him. “There’s my girl! Are you hungry?” She responds with a meow as Satoru sets his bag down and kicks off his shoes before stepping towards the kitchen and pulling out a can of wet food for the cat. A constant stream of meows fill the room until Satoru finally sets down the food for her. “Yeah yeah! I’m getting there!” He calls out to her as she yowls up at him from his feet. He sets down the bowl in its normal spot and Shiro digs in. “You act like you’ve never eaten before.” He says as he picks up his bag and shoes and heads into his bedroom. He sets his shoes back in their spot and hangs his bag on the hook on the back of his door. 

Satoru starts by taking off his jacket and hanging it up, followed by shedding the rest of his suit and clothing down to nothing but his underwear. He walks out of the closet, taking a quick look in the mirror with a smile on his way by to the bathroom. He turns on the shower and stands there while it heats up, thinking about his day, about how good this shower was going to feel, about Suguru. He takes a deep breath before shedding his final layer and stepping into the steamy shower. He lets the hot water run down over his hair and face before he rubs his face with his hands, still smiling over the day.

“You need to chill out.” He says out loud to himself in the shower. He runs his fingers through his hair and goes through the normal order of things in his after-work shower. He takes a deep breath and tries to relax his muscles as the hot water runs over his shoulders and down his back. The pressure of the water feeling good on his back, which is sore from sitting in his chair hunched over all day. He closes his eyes and lets the water run over his tired muscles for a minute before finally turning around and turning the water off. He shakes his hands through his hair, trying to get as much water out as possible. 

Satoru grabs his towel from the hook on the wall and uses it to dry off before wrapping it low around his waist. He opens the bathroom door and makes his way over to his dresser to pull out some sweat pants and a black tshirt. 

After putting on his moisturizer and getting redressed after his shower, Satoru makes his way back out into the kitchen. “What should I have for dinner, Shi?” He asks the fluffy cat, but mostly to himself as he opens the fridge to check what he has. After checking the pantry, he decides that he has the correct ingredients to make some lemon pepper salmon with rice, so he starts pulling out ingredients and in less than an hour later, he’s plating up and setting it on his dining room table. He takes a quick picture, satisfied with his work before he sits down and starts eating. 

“This is delicious!” He says into the empty apartment to himself. He smiles to himself as he finishes up his dinner and decides to wind down by watching something in the living room. He turns the tv on and picks up his phone before queuing anything up and sees a text from Shoko.

‘You didn’t tell me that you were training Geto!!!’ 

He reads the text and his heart rate immediately picks up again. Is he talking about me to Shoko? Races through his mind and he begins typing a response. 

‘You never asked ¯\_(ツ)_/¯’ He clicks send and immediately sees Shoko typing. He didn’t think to mention that he had in fact mentioned that he knew her. Not only that, but that she got him the job, similarly to how she had also gotten him the job. 

‘Dude!!!’

Satoru is confused as to what she’s getting at.

‘???’ He sends back.

‘Why didn’t you tell me??’

‘Idk, didn’t really realize that I needed to.’

‘Okay, I’ll talk to you tomorrow!’ She finishes with. 

“Weirdo.” Satoru says out loud to himself before setting his phone to the side and picking a random movie from his collection and pressing play, just to have something playing. He props his feet up on the coffee table and interlocks his fingers behind his head as he sits back, thinking about Suguru once again. He stares up at the ceiling, remembering how nice he smelled, how nice he looked. He feels a soft movement from the other side of the couch as Shiro makes her way over to plop herself down right on Satoru’s lap. 

“What the hell am I gonna do, Shi?” He asks, still looking up at the ceiling before bringing down one of his hands to pet the cat, who was happily leaning into the pets that she was getting. He smiles down at the fluffy white cat in his lap and paints his attention back up to the tv where his movie continued to play. Satoru spends his Monday evening watching movies and eating the cupcake from his favorite cafe, all while being unable to stop thinking about Suguru Geto.

About three movies and enough sugar to send a child into a sugar rush, Satoru looks at this phone once again. Empty of notifications and the time reads 10:31. “Guess I should get ready for bed, huh baby?” He says as the cat follows him into his bedroom. He flicks off the lamps as he walks by, leaving his living room lit up by nothing but the moon and the lights of downtown Tokyo down below. He turns on the lamp on his nightstand before stepping into the bathroom for one last time to brush his teeth. 

He walks out of the bathroom over to his windows. He sits down for a moment in the arm chair in the corner of his room and looks out the window. He enjoyed doing this before bed, just to relax a little bit. He liked to think about all the lives of everyone he could see from his window. Every person he can see has their own life that he will never know about. Satoru takes one last look at the busy street below and stands up and walks slowly over to his bed, yawning as he does so.

Pulling back the comforter, he climbs into his bed. Shiro jumps onto the bed and lays down close to his feet. Satoru throws the comforter over himself and grabs his phone from the nightstand, turning off the lamp as well. He opens up his text message with Utahime one more time just to smile and read that Suguru enjoyed being with him today. He thinks once more about how he also had mentioned him to Shoko. Satoru makes sure his alarms are set for the morning before turning on some brown noise to help him sleep. 

Last, Satoru sets his phone on the night stand and can’t help but smile excitedly into his pillow. He was excited for the day ahead of him for tomorrow. Finally, something to look forward to outside of the monotony of a typically boring office job. 

chapter 2

[fentrashcat]

So I've been putting off talking about my tourettes recently bc it seems everytime I have the words to express what's going on, something new happens. So instead of trying to organize things or put them into like a semi story-time post, I'm just going to list things out. These will probably not be in chronological order because so much has been going on the last 2 or so months that I've lost track of all the "when"s.

⚠️everyone's experience with Tourette's or tic disorders will be different, I can only speak to my own⚠️

⚠️TRIGGER WARNINGS for descriptions of tics/tic attacks, description of self injurious tics, abilism ⚠️

1. Nicknamed my Tourette's gremlin "Archibald" or "Archie". I tend to yell at my tics already when I get frustrated or annoyed, so I named him. It's mostly to make myself laugh. Saying "Archie's being an ass" or "apparently Archie didn't like that" makes me giggle, and more so when my friends play along in cursing Archie. It also lets my mom/friends know I'm not hurting from my tics.

2. Developed a lot of new tics. Some I've had before as one offs but are now common ones. The new tics include saying "knock-knock", "hi" (hi being said in not my normal voice), "Beetlejuice!". I've also developed biting at the air? Like my head goes forward and I bite so that my teeth clack.

3. Developed a frequent, kind of self injurious tic. On the same day or week that "knock-knock" came about, I also started knocking on my head twice w my right hand. It can be really soft or really hard to the point it concerns my mom. We tried having me wear like a beanie but it seemed I knocked harder with the hat on, and I'm really picky about hats bc sensory.

4. Got told by the family member I work for that I could easily find another job if I "weren't so picky". I then had to explain to her that I have seen the change in an interviewers face from "You look like a great canidate" to "finish this up as quickly as possible and never contact them again" when I had to disclose my Tourette's (noticeable repeated tics, otherwise I'd never disclose). I also had to tell her that I was "coincidentally" let go from a job the day I had to disclose, after being told repeatedly that I was doing well before. I also had to tell her that the one job that seemed chill about my tics that wasn't family connected, I had to quit bc it was 30/40min away and I don't drive so was begging people to drive me.

5. Fully convinced Archie is actively trolling now, as the "Beetlejuice" tic came about after mom said her coworker said it and she had to repeat it 3 times fast (she also has tics but is undiagnosed). Then the "Beetlejuice" started and she had to repeat it everytime.

6. I've been working for like 4 weeks now, and have had Tourette's related issues 4 times now. I've left work an hour early twice, 5 hours early once, and had to miss a day due to tics/tic attacks.

7. The missed day actually happened this week. I started getting intense head jerk tics about an hour before my shift finished, but I wanted to try working through it. Every few minutes I'd be forced to quickly/violently look to the right 5-10 times in a row. It started to hurt really bad but I managed to finish out my shift. By the end of my shift my head, neck, and shoulders hurt like crazy, and pain meds didn't seem to help at all. (Wasn't sure if they'd help for repetitive motions but figured was worth a shot). It kept going like that for 3 or 4 hours before I relented and said I won't be able to come in the next day. I couldn't lift my arms above my head or look to either side from the pain of it all. I'm still sore like 2 days later but able to move around now.

8. Biting the air tic came about when I was kind of hungry, but apparently also happens when I'm pissed? Happens randomly too, but thought that was funny.

9. Trying to figure out how to get my family to understand that just bc tics CAN mean something is wrong, they don't ALWAYS mean something is wrong. I know they're just worried and wanting to help me but if I tic 3 or 4 times in a row they keep asking "what's wrong" and won't take "nothing, it's just happening" as an answer. At which point I end up getting frustrated because they keep asking and the frustration leads to more tics.

10. We pulled up at a gas station that was advertising hot dogs and my mom ticced "hot dog" in the same voice she uses when our puppy brings her her hotdog toy. She was trying to suppress it, and afterwards she looks at me and goes "I couldn't NOT say it, like it physically hurt trying to not, is that how you feel all the time?" And I was just like yeaaaah pretty much. Mom's tics are usually reactionary, and she doesn't get a lot of premonitory urges, so it was really unusual for her.

That's all I can think of at the moment, thank you for reading. If I think of anything else I'll probably make another post but I'm not sure if I will. Sorry this one was so dense, I've been putting this off for a while lol.

[winryofresembool]

Jily one-shot: That Time of the Month

Summary: Lily isn't feeling well while attempting to finish her Head Girl duties. Luckily James is there to help.

For @jilymicrofics prompt 'flush'

words: 2600+

genre: fluff (with a bit of physical hurt/comfort)

rated: G

@athenasparrow you seemed curious about this one!

AO3

...

“Evans.” James raised his gaze from the detention slips he was trying to go through, sitting at a desk in the Heads’ Office. “I know you take great pride in finishing your work when you’re supposed to, rather than doing things the Sirius way - such as, doing your homework 5 minutes before the class - but you look like you’ve been hit by several powerful Bat-Bogey Hexes in a row. Are you OK?”

“I'd be better if you didn’t interrupt me, Potter,” Lily snapped. James gave her a disbelieving look and she huffed in response. “I’m doing just fine, I just really need to have this done before the meeting…”

James got up from his chair and stopped next to her, covering the piece of parchment she had been reading with his hand. “You’re a really bad liar, you know.  C’mon, you can tell me if something is wrong.”

Lily muttered something incoherent that James couldn’t understand.

“Pardon?” He raised his eyebrow.

“I’m. on. my. period. right now. There. Are you happy?” she growled, her cheeks and ears getting some extra color.

“Oh.” James wasn’t sure what he was supposed to answer to that. He knew that periods were a perfectly normal thing but the girls he knew rarely talked about them, at least near him, unless they absolutely had to, for example if it was hindering their flying during Quidditch practices. “I’m… sorry?”

“Well, don’t be. Now, will you finally let me do my work?” She gave him a gloomy look and attempted to steal the piece of parchment back from him.

Something about Lily’s demeanor finally gave James his tongue back. “No.”

“Excuse me?” 

James took a step closer to her. “Lily, as your fellow Head Student I don’t want you to force yourself to work when you could and should be taking care of yourself. I can handle this.”

“You’re not going to give up, are you?” Lily glared up at him but her voice had lost a lot of its earlier sharpness.

“Afraid not. Not without a fight, at least.” James grinned, pretending to draw his wand from his pocket. Lily’s shoulders hunched and she hid her face into her hands.

“Fine,” she mumbled against the palms of her hands. “If you let me finish our patrol schedule now, I promise to be a good girl and take a nap after that.”

“Alright.” James agreed, choosing to take that as a win, and turned his attention back to the detention slips. He only had time to read through a couple of them before Lily muttered to herself: “No, this can’t be right.”

“What can’t?” he inquired, and Lily’s expression told him she hadn’t realized she was speaking aloud.

“I accidentally put Fawley on a patrol twice in the same week. And Price, I forgot she can’t patrol with Lovegood; they just had this big fight a couple of weeks ago and haven’t spoken to each other since then. And looks like Crouch is missing from here altogether…”

“Okay, Evans,” James clapped his hands together. “I believe it’s time for an intervention. I’m going to take this,” he pulled the schedule from Lily’s hands, “and I’m going to use a neat little charm the boys and I came up with when we were… uh, inventing something. It should help me put all the names in order with a single tap of my wand. I just need a list of who can and can’t patrol together.”

Lily sighed and handed him a list she usually kept hidden in a locked drawer. The new Head Students had quickly noticed in the beginning of the semester that it was quite necessary; the Prefects could be a rather dramatic group of people when they wanted to. 

“I haven’t written it down yet but the other day I heard that McGriffiths and Gudgeon are dating now… so unless we want to keep checking if they’re snogging in a broom closet instead of patrolling… Ugh, bloody hell, literally!”

James was confused by Lily’s last exclamation until he turned his eyes from the list back to her. She was wincing, her hand on her lower abdomen and her eyes closed. James hated seeing her in pain and wished there was something more he could do to help.

“I’ll make sure that McGriffiths and Gudgeon won’t be patrolling together, then,” he said briskly. “But now, you go lay down on that couch; everything is under control here.” He basically pushed Lily up from her chair and off to the couch before she could even protest much. Producing a blanket with a wave of his wand, he waited until Lily had settled down and draped it over her.

“Thanks, James,” she muttered from under the blanket. James’ heart skipped a beat when she mentioned his first name.

“Any time,” he nearly stuttered, before returning back to his desk.

James quickly finished up the patrol schedule and organized the rest of the detention slips before standing up and approaching Lily again.

“I’m going to get something to eat from the kitchens. Do you need anything?”

Lily seemed slightly taken aback by his question. “I don’t…” She winced again. “Actually… some hot tea and maybe some fruit would be nice… And…” she hesitated for one moment, “if it isn’t too much to ask… Madam Pomfrey has a potion for the cramps so if you’re able to stop by the Hospital Wing…”

“Of course I can!” James exclaimed instantly. ”You could have asked earlier instead of just squirming around!”

”Sorry that I had other things in my mind!” Lily said, annoyed. “It’s not always this bad… I don’t understand what’s with it this month…”

James softened again, understanding that she wasn’t really annoyed at him but the pain and possibly the hormones made her a bit snappier than usual.

“Okay.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “Worry not, I’ll get you your potion. Can’t have my Head Girl suffering while we could be… working hard to make sure we’ll have a very productive Prefects’ meeting in a few hours. You get some rest now.”

“Alright. Thanks. Go get your dinner, Potter,” Lily mumbled, pulling the blanket higher up her body.

…

It took James less than 30 minutes to gather all the things he had planned to gather. His first stop was in the kitchens and when he explained his situation to the elves (mentioning that someone who’s important to him is not feeling well so he wanted to surprise her with a meal), he got an entire basket of food from them. It had some tea, pumpkin juice, fruits and sandwiches in it but the elves had also snuck in a chocolate bar, a piece of cake and Lily’s favorite pie. James left the kitchens thanking the elves over and over again and promising to do something for them in return.

Madam Pomfrey was happily surprised when James asked her if she could put some potion for cramps into the vial he had brought with him. His face heated up when she asked him if the potion was for his girlfriend.

“N-no! Not a girlfriend! She’s just a… friend. Who happens to be a girl, yes. I just offered to get her the potion because I was on my way to pick something from the ki…” he remembered he wasn’t really supposed to know how to get into the kitchens, “um, the Great Hall anyway.”

“Oh, alright,” Madam Pomfrey nodded. “Well, regardless, I think you’re doing a nice thing for her.”

She handed him the potion and also a hot water bottle and he left, feeling rather warm and hoping he could go out for a fly to organize his thoughts but remembering that he still needed to complete his task.

Before he managed to return to the Head’s Office, however, Sirius’ voice spoke via a tiny mirror hidden in his pocket:

“Prongs! Where are you?”

He put the basket he was carrying down, fishing the mirror from his pocket, and soon he was staring at his best friend’s face in it.

“I was in the kitchens… and the hospital wing. Why do you ask?”

“Why were you in the hospital wing?” Sirius kept pressing, ignoring his question. “Did a bludger hit you again or something?”

James wasn’t about to reveal what he had really been doing there because he knew Sirius would tease him mercilessly. He said vaguely: “Something like that, yeah”.

“I didn’t know you had a Quidditch practice today.” Sirius raised his eyebrow. “Actually, I saw McKinnon a little while ago and she didn’t look like she had been flying recently.”

“How do you know that?” James questioned.

“Because she was quite busy snogging D… Never mind that. This isn’t about her, this is about you. You weren’t actually hit by a bludger, were you?”

“Why are you such a scent hound today?” James countered.

“Because you’re acting weird and as your best friend it’s my duty to find out why,” Sirius stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Anyway, I just wanted to ask you if the map is in the dormitory? Pete thinks Mulciber and his lovely gang are up to something again and Regulus might also be involved somehow… I wanted to check if there’s any truth to that statement.”

“Yeah, it’s there in my bag…” James replied, feeling weirdly uninterested in Mulciber’s plans, his thoughts still in the girl in the Head’s Office.

“Alright, thanks.” James could see Sirius starting to walk towards the boys’ dorm. “Hey, Prongs?” A smirk spread on his face, making James feel rather suspicious.

“Yeah?”

“You were actually with Evans, weren’t you?”

James rolled his eyes. “What if I was? Of course I have to spend time with her because we are the Head Students. I’m working with her.”

“I bet you guys were working real hard, alright,” Sirius snorted.

“I’m pretending I didn’t hear that,” James remarked. “Besides, I wasn’t lying about the kitchens and the hospital wing. Here’s the proof.” He showed the basket he had gotten from the elves to Sirius’ mirror image.

“Oooh, now I get it. You were getting some food for a romantic date… and probably some contraceptive potion from Poppy…” Sirius’ grin only widened.

James’ face felt so hot he imagined he would have been able to cook eggs on it. “Get your mind out of your gutter, Padfoot. If you really must know, she wasn’t feeling too well while we were finishing some of our paperwork so I volunteered to help the girl out and get her some potion for the pain. That’s all.” He was happy he didn’t have to lie about that part.

“Alright, lover boy,” Sirius lifted his free hand in the air as a peace sign. “Well, you go continue your meeting with Evans, I have some Slytherin stalking to do.”

“Right. See ya.”

James put the mirror away and ran his hand through his hair. He could only hope that he wasn’t as obvious with his feelings as Sirius made it sound. Lily and he had only been friends for a couple of months and he most definitely didn’t want to ruin it by revealing that by the way, those feelings he had had during their 5th year had not gone anywhere; as a matter of fact they had only gotten stronger and more genuine as he had learned to know her better. James from the past few months had learned that there was much more to the mystery that was Lily Evans than he had ever realized, but that only made him more intrigued.

He couldn’t remain in his thoughts for long, though, because the girl in question was still waiting for the potion. Using some of the little known passages he and his friends had discovered during their nightly expeditions he made it back to the Head’s Office much faster than he would want to admit aloud.

When James entered the office, he found Lily up and trying to write a report for Dumbledore. She got some color on her cheeks when she realized he had caught her disobeying his orders to rest.

James folded his arms after he placed the basket on the desk. Before Lily had time to defend herself, he said: “Looks like someone is as bad at following orders as I am.” 

“Yeah. Sorry.” She attempted to give him an innocent smile. James wanted to stay annoyed with her a little longer, but he couldn’t.

“Lily, sometimes it’s OK to let other people help you. There’s two of us for a reason. So that one can step in if needed. You’d probably do the same for me, right? ‘Cause we’re a team.”

“Right. Yeah, I probably would,” she admitted.

“Well, now that that’s been clarified, I brought you some things.”

He emptied the desk from the parchment, throwing them into a drawer before handing Lily the potion. She didn’t chuck it down instantly, though.

“You’ve been so nice to me today. I have to be honest… I imagined you would be one of those guys who get squeamish at the simple mention of periods.”

James frowned. “Why would I be like that? There are girls in our Quidditch team; they always let me know when they’re not feeling like flying. Besides, we Quidditch players are pretty familiar with pain and blood for a variety of reasons, so…” he shrugged.

“Right,” Lily replied and drank her potion with a grimace. It seemed to have an effect pretty fast; the relief on her face was visible within moments.

“That’s better,” she sighed. “So, do you have food for us?”

“I do,” James grinned in response and started spreading the contents of the best onto the desk. Lily’s mouth opened when she figured he had brought her a full on picnic. Fruits, sandwiches, treacle tart, chocolate, ham pie…

“James…” Lily looked at him with wide eyes. “This is too much…”

“Nah. I don’t think so. You’re always prioritizing other people’s needs. I think it’s time you get something nice done in return. Besides… I’m not planning to let you eat all of this on your own,” he winked, grabbing a sandwich from a plate and stuffing it into his mouth with great gusto. 

Lily threw him an odd look he didn’t quite know how to interpret. Then she took a chocolate bar from the desk and made a contented little sigh as she took a bite from it. 

“We gotta make sure there will be a Hogsmeade weekend soon… My Honeydukes chocolate stock is stupidly empty.”

“Oh Evans,” James clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “If you ever need chocolate, just say the word and it’s yours.”

“What? But… we can’t just march to Hogsmeade whenever…?”

“Trust me, we Marauders have our ways.”

“Right. Of course you do,” she snorted. “More seriously speaking, though - and don’t make any Sirius jokes now…” (James put a hand on his chest in mock offense.) “Thanks, James. I’m lucky to have a co-Head like you.”

James smiled softly at her. “I could say the same to you.”

Just like that, the atmosphere in the room changed. For a moment James and Lily just kept staring at each other, not quite sure how to progress from there. James’ eyes traitorously flickered towards Lily’s lips, and when she instinctively moved a little closer, her hand reaching his, he found himself mimicking her movements. But just when their fingers intertwined, his eyes asking her a silent question, a Prefect from Hufflepuff popped in to ask something about their upcoming meeting. The moment between James and Lily was broken, but he still squeezed her hand once more.

“Are you feeling better now?”

Lily smiled at him, her face adorably flushed. “Yes. Much better.”

A/N: Please let me know what you think!! (Ps. yes, I guess I'm a bit mean, not letting them kiss, ahah)

[the-ace-with-spades]

(I don't have the energy to make some cover tiles for this chapter but here it is for the people who read it on tumblr)

5 times Jake crossed paths with Fire Lieutenant Bradshaw and 1 time he met Maverick's son

Part Four | read on ao3

The Officer's Son | 1.6k

Jake is walking down the corridor, steps fast — he’s already late to the pre-flight briefing and Maverick seems laid back but he’s sure even he had limits.

He is marching through the whole building, passing an intersecting corridor and does a double take when he glances to the right. He is sure he’s imagined him, but he still stops mid-step and turns back around, takes a deep breath and he swears he hears Javy’s voice as he struts to his goal, suddenly disinterested in impressing Maverick. Act normal.

Because Bradshaw is standing in the middle of a corridor of NAS North Island.

If this ain’t fate, he doesn’t know what is.

“Didn’t know we had a fire inspection today,” he speaks out and instantly wants to hit his head on the nearby wall.

“Lieutenant,” he says only and then quirks an eyebrow at him, looking at the patch over his heart.  “Or should I say Hangman?”

Bradshaw puts his hand on his hip, cocking it to the side, and Jake bits down on his tongue.

He is wearing the uniform, that’s how Jake’s attention got caught in the first place, the dark blue pants and button up long-sleeved shirt. His broad shoulders are perfectly shaped in the tight fabric, straining to be confined, and the front where the buttons are is so form-fitting Jake could trace his abs with his fingertips.

His ass, finally clearly visible, is nice and round, and he bet he’d fit in Jake’s palm perfectly. The turnouts were sexy but god, he definitely prefers Bradshaw like this — coated in the uniform, buttons fighting on his chest, the SDFD patch on his huge bicep, and B. BRADSHAW in a bright white thread stretched out on his chest.

“Just Jake, for you,” he remarks, sending him a wink.

“Thought it was Jacob,” he says, eyes sparkling innocently, and mentally, Jake swears — he probably knows his middle name, too, just because he saw his driving licence. He needs to make him forget, somehow. “No inspections planned. That’s not my department, anyway.”

“Don’t know about that, you can inspect me any day,” he says and it’s cheesy and not his best shot but Bradshaw is smiling, the apples of his cheeks rounding up as he bites down on his lip.

Sounding amused, he asks, “Has that ever worked for you?”

“I don’t meet that many firefighters — you tell me,” he says as he takes a step closer. He needs to lift his chin to look him in the eyes but it’s so worth it.

The sun from outside, where the planes are standing in neat rows, shines through the window wall, and turns Bradhshaw’s eyes into dark amber, sprinkles of gold shining. He looks at Bradley and he locks their gazes, eyebrows raised lazily as he gives Jake a once over — his eyes go up and down his body and Jake straightens his back, cursing how unflattering the flight suit is.

Bradshaw's gaze is unreadable and Jake feels hot in the face as he clears his throat, every move so smooth, like he's doing all with the purpose of getting Jake more flustered.

It's working, if anything, because Jake's mind is somewhere in the clouds with his jet wash.

“Not much luck then,” Bradshaw tells him, finally, turning to face the elevator, giving his a good view of his side profile, the way his jaw twitches and the curve of his nose not letting Jake look away.

The light is stuck on level three, has been for a while now. 

“It probably broke again,” he remarks, just because he doesn’t know how to keep the conversation going.

“Yeah,” Bradshaw sighs, but the soft quirk of his lips is still there. “I know this model.”

Vaguely, Jake remembers him and his crew being called to elevator rescue right after Jake asked him for his number — which, even the memory makes him cringe.  

“Thought taking the stairs would be more of your thing,” he remarks.

It's a bit cliche but Bradshaw is a firefighter after all and he's goddamn fit. Jake would gladly follow him on the way up the stairs and enjoy every step and curves that would flash in front of him as those tight navy blue pants would stretch in all the right places.

“I only have clearance to go to level four, I can’t open the stairwell."

Jake bites down on the inside of his cheek, curious who Bradshaw is going to — they don’t often have civilians on base, even rarer ones that are allowed into venturing to level four, where most of the admiralty residents. “You have an officer waiting for you?”

“My dad forgot his lunch,” he says, raising up his right arm — Jake hasn’t noticed, but he’s got a thermal bag in his hand, neatly folded between his long fingers. “I’m bringing it in.”

“A bit out of your way,” he notes — Bradshaw’s station is in the north west of San Diego. “I could escort you up.”

“I think I’ll wait.” 

At this point, Jake is sure he’s just playing hard to get. Well, two can play the game — Jake’s never had anything easy in his life so be it.

“Or I could escort you outside,” he offers, voice turning low, thumb pointing behind himself, vaguely towards the rows of jets in the window behind his back. “My jet is right there, ready to be taken for a joyride.”

He doesn't know how he'd actually manage that — he's pretty sure Maverick is laid back enough to not dishonourably discharge him on the spot but he isn't sure he's big enough of Jake's fan to fight his case with Cyclone.

Well, to hell with it.

Bradshaw puts his arm back on his hip and he must be doing it on purpose — his arm looks so huge and his chest is puffed up, like he tries to hover over Jake with all the two inches he has on him. His bicep is so big Jake just wants to drape himself all over it and then maybe get it wrapped all over himself next.

Jake takes a step closer, meeting him headfirst, the dryness of his mouth suddenly so prominent as he can't clear his throat without making a ragged sound.

“Did Nat not tell you?” Bradshaw asks.

His cheeks warm up, feeling as stupid as the moment when Tasha told him Bradshaw’s a commercial pilot in his free time. He tries to not show it — it was a dumb thing but how could he have known? — and instead pretends he doesn’t get what Bradshaw’s getting at. “Tell me what?”

“That I can fly on my own, Lieutenant,” he says, the lazy, smooth voice is back, smudging the vowels on his tongue.

“Not in a fighter jet,” he counters. “I bet you’ve never seen one up close, not to mention sit in one in action.”

The elevator opens.

Bradshaw turns to him, just a little, and shuffles closer on his feet, just a bit, enough that he can feel the warmth of his breath, before he swivels again, gracefully stepping into the elevator compartment as he says, that slow, unbothered voice penetrating Jake's lungs, “You’d be surprised."

Jake makes himself breathe again, blinking the tension out of his body. Tries to play cool, tries to cock his hips out and give him a look from behind his eyelashes, but it all feels so clumsy.

“Hey, the offer is still on. Maybe I’ll even let you pull the stick.”

Bradshaw raises an eyebrow, slowly and pointedly as he licks his lips, and swaps his visitor pass on the key panel. “Which kind?”

Bradley closes the elevator before Jake can step in.

He could catch up with him, take the stairs and meet him on level four, probably, but that is starting to sound stalkerish and obtrusive, even for Jake's asshole methods. Not to mention that he could easily run into Maverick up there or worse — into whichever senior officer that's Bradshaw's father. He doesn't remember seeing Admiral Bradshaw anywhere in the commanding list but he isn't stretching his luck when there's not much of it in the first place.

He goes to the ready room, sits down next to Javy and tries to pretend everything is alright.

Thankfully, Maverick isn’t there yet.

Javy raises his eyebrow, awaiting some explanation. 

“So,” Jake says when Javy doesn’t stop staring at him like that. “Bradshaw—”

“Your firefighter?”

“He’s not—” Javy raises his eyebrow higher. “I saw him, like, ten minutes ago.”

“On base?”

“Yeah,” he confirms, only now encoding what has happened. What he’s learned about Bradshaw. “His dad is an officer, apparently.”

“What? How do you know?”

“He was bringing lunch to someone on level four,” he explains.

Javy’s eyes widen and he whistles under his breath, looking like Jake’s situation is making his day. Amused, he remarks what Jake is mentally panicking about, “So at least senior, maybe flag officer.”

“Yeah.”

“Oof,” is all Javy adds. “Good luck.”

"It's not like I'm going to meet him again, right?" he says, but he doesn't sound so sure even to his own ears.

Javy doesn't answer anything because Maverick finally walks in and they both stand up at attention.

Maybe it's fate, after all, that he sees Bradshaw everywhere, even here, but even fate runs out of ideas at some point.

[homeslices]

Hey I love your best friend writing with chishiya. Was wondering if you could do a before the borderlands how they became friends. You said they met in collage so I guess they meet there and become friends. Maybe when they very first enter the borderlands as well. Like what they were doing before the fireworks.

Best Friends 0

Part 1 Here

Part 2 Here

A/N: I finally got this done!!! If I’m being honest I’m not 100% sure how I feel about this because it is all before the show, romance, and smut, so any feedback would be amazing. Also I’m not sure how ooc Chishiya is in this, I’m sorry 😭

Summary: This is apart of my Best Friend series. This is Pre-Borderland, and mostly just mutual pining.

Pairings: Shuntaro Chishiya x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: None

The first day of school has never rattled you. You have thought like this since you were a child and had to leave your home in order to attend preschool for the first time, then for kindergarten, then for elementary, and so on and so on, and it’s the same now, your first day of medical school.

If you're being honest with yourself, school was always more like a chore to you. While you enjoyed learning, that’s all you really liked about school. It’s not like you didn’t have friends, quite the opposite you had quite a few, but you knew friendships from childhood hardly ever lasted outside in the real world, and if you were being truthful, you much preferred the quiet.

Your lecture started in 5 minutes, and although most people wanted to get there early, you just wanted to slip in under the radar. The door to the lecture hall was propped open, and just as you’d hope you were able to go in and take a seat in the very back completely undetected. Well, almost completely undetected.

There weren't many people around you. In fact there was only one other person in your row who was also pretty much invisible to everyone there, everyone besides you.

You sat a few seats away from the mysterious blonde, taking notice of him, just as he was taking notice of you. You set all of your supplies in front of you, however much to your annoyance, your pencil rolls off the table right in front of him.

The blonde looks at the pencil that rolled over to his shoe, then to you. He gives you an amused look before finally speaking.

“Well that’s inconvenient.”

You raise your eyebrow, curious more than anything. Most normal people would just hand you the pencil without a word, yet he seems to be dragging it out.

You hum in agreement, “yeah it is.”

He looks down at the pencil once again then back up at you. In response you shrug and turn back to your desk only to pull out a pen inside.

His lips quirk up slightly, and a few moments later, your pencil that fell at the strange blondes feet rolled its way over to you on the desk.

From that day forward you always say in the back a few seats next to the guy, who’s name you later found out was Chishiya.

Over the next few months you became close. You partnered together for group work, studied together preparing for tests, and even just hung around for the hell of it. You found out you both had a lot in common, including your sense of humor, and over time you also realized you were beginning to develop feelings for the blonde. You would rather die than admit that to him though.Those months blended into years and now you're both working at the same hospital, much to your pleasure and annoyance.

“You know, most friends would’ve gotten their friend caffeine when they work a 13 hour shift together.”

Chishiya nods his head in agreement, before taking a sip of his coffee and replying to you.

“Yes they would.” A smug smile makes his way to his face and continues. “Good thing we’re not most friends, huh?”

You narrow your eyes in fake annoyance only to be handed Chishiya’s half drunk coffee as he stands up.

“I need to get going. One of my patients, Hayato, has a donor for his transplant lined up and I need to tell him and the family.”

An actual, genuine smile graces your face.

“That’s amazing, Shun,” you respond, calling him the nickname you gave him long ago.

He only hums in agreement, but when you make eye contact with him, you can see how happy he actually is. Hayato has been a patient of Chishiya’s for a while, so naturally he’s become close to both him and his family.

As Chishiya walks out of the break room, you take a sip of the coffee he handed you and immediately grimace.

“Who the hell drinks black coffee?” You mutter, only to look at the clock in the corner of the room and realizing you have 4 more hours left of your shift.

Sighing you take another drink of the bitter liquid and close your eyes ready for this day to be over.

Over the next few days, you can see how the good news has affected Chishiya. He seemed lighter somehow. His lips quirked up more often, he humored you during break, and he even got you caffeine. However, like most good things, it didn’t last.

It was a week before the transplant when everything fell apart. Chishiya left with one of your superiors, and once he came back, it was like all the light had left his body.

It was after your shift, on your way home, the Chishiya told you the news about Hayato no longer getting the transplant he so desperately needed. You of course were beyond angry, yet Chishiya only sighs and in a monotone repeats what both of your superior said to him.

“It’s just the way it is.”

And a few days later, you both were on the second floor watching the young boy’s mother, whose son just passed, sob. Chishiya’s jaw was tense and eyes were as black as a void, drained of everything. Yet, all you could do to show your best friend emotional support in that moment, was hold onto his hand and squeeze.

Chishiya would never admit how much this hurt him, and you would never push him to, but you were always there to try to make him feel better. This leads to another thing Chishiya would never admit, his feelings for you.

You were always there for him as he was for you, yet neither of you were ready to acknowledge that. At this point, for a stranger looking in, it almost seemed like you both were already dating. You were always with each other, supported each other, and just clicked.

This leads to where you both are now, walking down the busy streets of Tokyo trying to get to your usual café. While crossing the busy street you take notice of someboys, about both Chishiya and your age, screwing around in the middle of it. You just huff out a laugh at their childlike behavior. Your attention soon is drawn to fireworks being lit up in the sky.

“That’s weird,” You say to Chishiya. “Is it some sort of holiday I forgot?”

Chishiya only looks up to the fireworks, while not breaking pace, and shrugs.

“I don’t believe so.” He pauses only to continue with one word. “Strange.”

You snort in amusement.

“You think?”

Chishiya’s lip twitches up slightly and when you both reach your usual café, he opens the door for you.

You mumble out a thank you before entering your normally crowded café, only to find it empty. The only sound you could hear was Chishiya’s footsteps behind you coming closer.

“This is even more strange.”

You turn to look at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the situation, only to gap in shock as you see outside.

The big windows of the café is where you and Chishiya usually sit and people watch, observing the people walking down the street. Yet the only thing these big windows show are the empty streets of Tokyo.

Chishiya follows your gaze and his eyebrows raise.

“Huh.”

“Where the hell did everyone go?” You wonder aloud.

“No idea.” Chishiya responds casually.

His carefree attitude makes you press your lips together and sigh.

“What do we do now?”

“Probably look around.” Chishiya responds after having a moment to think.

Seeing as there was no other option, you nod and make your way outside of the café with the blonde. You both wander around the town, going in and out of different buildings, not finding a single soul. You did find out though that phones and other non-battery powered electronics do not work here. Wherever here is.

Taking a few useful supplies with you both, and temporarily stumped from the lack of clues, you both head to where you began, the café. At this point it was dark and you honestly just wanted to rest. However, the sudden brightness of a build board turning on blinds you for a second.

‘Players this way’ with an arrow pointed to the left, graces the screen. You glance towards Chishiya, who is already looking at you.

“You think we should go?”

“I think that we would get more answers.”

You hum in agreement to him, and brush your arm against his as you pass, follow the way the random arrow points you to.

Finally reaching your destination, you and Chishiya find a lit up restaurant. You glance at him, to which he nods, and simultaneously you enter the building, both with blank faces. The building was not empty, in fact, there were four other people waiting inside. They all looked nervous, but not because of the unknown. They all looked like they have done this before. In fact, that’s probably why they all were so anxious, you piece together.

Finding a table with phones on top and a sign saying ‘one per person’ you and Chishiya both take one. It turns on surprisingly, scans your face, and the words ‘register closes in:’ and a countdown appear on the screen.

A generic feminine voice rings out, interrupting the silence.

“Registration is now closed. The game will now commence. Game: Blackjack. Difficulty: 6 of Diamonds.”

Following the voices direction you all file into the restaurant to the table in the center, with nooses hanging over the chairs. Not giving anything away with your face, as to not to seem vulnerable, you take in the scene before you, and as the voice instructs, sit in a chair around the table and place the noose around your neck.

You look over at Chishiya, who was seated right next to you, while the voice lists all the rules, which you were paying close attention to. Once again, you find him already looking at you. His face, similar to yours, holds no emotion, but his eyes display curiosity. Yours do too you're sure, but also slight fear as there was a noose hanging around you and the person you care most about.

The last sentence makes both your gazes harden.

“The game clears once there are two survivors.”

The quick conversation with your eyes between you and Chishiya is clear, and as you look around the table, analyzing the strangers that sat with a noose, identical to Chishiya’s and yours, around their necks, you know that only you and Chishiya are walking out of this alive.

[pansexual-puppy-pack]

day 5 of @theoraekenapperciation 's theo week 2024: college!

note: i don't know how community college works. non-american here. i didn't wanna do research. im sorry americans.

Theo dug his heels into the pebbled stone of the quad.

Beacon County Community College wasn't bad, really. It's just that Liam, Mason, and Corey had dropped him off a day before, helped him move into his dorm, and left him. Alone. In a new place with new people, and he didn't even know what he wanted to major in—holy shit, what was he doing here?

He should leave. He should turn around and go. And he could! He could pack everything back up, get into his truck, and leave.

He was about to.

Like, give him a second, he'll do it.

Fuck it, who was he kidding.

Theo started walking towards Building B.

It wasn't... bad. (Yeah, Theo was skeptical. He'd never really been to any kind of college before, and although he'd memorized the map before setting foot on campus, he didn't really know his way around. In a more social sense. It didn't help that he was surrounded by Liam, Corey, and Mason yesterday, who kept pushing him towards various different groups of people that Theo kept walking away from.)

It really wasn't—it was actually pretty nice, Theo had to admit, as he opened the oddly heavy front doors and went to look for the main auditorium. Just his luck, a couple RAs with nametags were at a table covered in the school colors handing out flyers and pointing to a bunch of places.

Fuck it. Theo approached the table.

One of the RAs noticed and gave him a friendly smile. "Hiya! How can I help you?"

"Which way to the main auditorium?" Theo asked, taking a flyer she handed him.

She pointed behind her, where a crowd of people were flooding towards the end of the hall. "Turn right at the corner—which dorm are you in?"

Theo gave her a close-lipped smile. "Gansey Hall,"

She seemed to light up at that and tapped the arm of her co-RA. "Hey, I think this one's yours!"

He looked up from his laptop, where he seemed to be looking at a disgustingly huge spreadsheet, and turned to face Theo, flashing him a smile. "Hi! Henry, I'm the Gansey RA for floors three and four, you're...?"

"Theo Raeken," He introduced. "Dorm 4D."

Henry laughed at that. "God, 4D—one of my friends used to be in there. If you find any plastic rats, please tell me, I think she stole at least five."

"Noted." Theo nodded. The clock on the wall said he had ten minutes before orientation started. "Why?"

"How much time do you have?" The first RA asked. "Dot. Mare Hall RA for floors 1 and 2."

"Ten minutes," Theo said, glancing back up at the clock. "Nine." He corrected.

"Not enough time, I think," Henry said. "I'll find ya when I do. For now, you should be getting to orientation—have fun!"

Theo decided to test the waters. (Wouldn't do any harm to get in his RA's good graces.) "Listening to a room of old people talk for two hours? Always." He said, heavy on the deadpan sarcasm as he started to follow the crowd.

Henry and Dot's light laughs echoed behind him. (Good. They like him. Hopefully.)

He got a text on his phone.

liam: Don't forget to be normal about making friends

Well. Theo wasn't entirely sure if what he just did was normal or not.

In the auditorium, Theo decided to flip a proverbial coin and take an unoccupied seat between two people in a middle row.

They were pretty nice, too—on his right was a nice lady in her mid-forties who started regaling him with a short version of her life story (Margaret), and on his left was a seventeen-year-old teenager who really wanted to be a full-time archivist (Dmitri). If by "normal", Liam meant "people around Theo's age", he'd already failed it once, but Margaret took a liking to Theo and gave him her number after she learned that they'd be taking the same Biology class, so a win was a win. Dmitri also handed Theo a little crocheted mouse after the orientation, so.

Once it wrapped up—thankfully without incident and without any classes that day—Theo went back out to Henry and Dot's table, where they quickly asked if he had any snacks on him.

"No," Theo said. "But I could grab you something from the vending machine around the corner if you want,"

"Oh my god, please," Dot begged. "I like, need a chocolate bar right now."

"Anything. Literally anything." Henry said. "You could shovel me dirt from the quad and I'd eat it,"

"Okay, jesus," Theo said lightly. "I'll be back."

More than a couple thank you's followed him down the hall as he blew fifteen bucks and five minutes on the vending machine, returning to the table with two handfuls of candy bars and chips for the two of them.

"Holy shit, thank you," Henry said, ripping into a bag of chips. He ate one and whispered, "You get one free pass for this, use it wisely,"

"Henry!" Dot whisper-yelled, unwrapping a chocolate bar.

"What?" Henry asked. "He doesn't look like someone who'd need it, anyway, right, Theo?"

Theo nodded. "If my dorm's trashed, it was my friends from highschool."

"I'll take your word for it," Henry said, making a zipping motion in Dot's direction when she opened her mouth to protest.

Theo greeted them a goodbye as he walked off. He wanted to explore the campus.

[franklyshipping]

Tickle-Hungry ~ A Markiplier Ego Fanfic

Here we have our next glorious anon prompt, this one pertaining to an interesting ship between the snazzy Bim Trimmer and courageous Silver Shepherd! Let's explore this cute union and DO THIS!

TAGGING: @bimlee-trimmer @bim-trimler and @silvlee-shepherd

Silver Shepherd, as usual, was being a complete and utter sweetheart, and Bim Trimmer was smitten. The charming gameshow host had taken a swan-dive into the whole “new year new me” vibe, and had begun this process by giving his studio a complete revamp in anticipation of a new panel show he was going to be filming. All the basic decorating had been done and everything he needed was on-site, but now it was a case of getting all the heavy apparatus and props in position… and the workforce he normally used had all come down with the flu! Naturally of course, Silver Shepherd was eager to jump to the rescue and be the hero of the hour, and for the past few days had been placing podiums, installing rows of seating, as well as positioning heavy cameras and light fixtures.

Bim was helping too of course… though mostly by bringing Silver drinks and snacks whilst he himself mostly watched the hero at work. Silver didn’t mind, and honestly was glad because the last thing he wanted was for Bim to pull a muscle! So he accepted the sustenance and chat happily, honestly loving having Bim’s constant company… and the occasional subtle flirting that came with it. Silver pretended not to notice, but he saw how Bim would glance over at him (or sometimes just straight up stare) whenever he stretched or flexed amidst his work. Silver found it very flattering, and as a result had slowed his pace a little, just to make the fun last.

‘Where do you want this camera going?’

‘Just over there please, we’ll use that one for the wide podium shots.’

‘Okey dokey!’

Silver went about moving it, his shirt raising as he did so, and Bim had to bite back a grin when he got the chance to catch yet another glimpse of Silver’s delectable midriff. Bim didn’t know what was coming over him, but something about spying Silver’s adorable tummy or waist made him feel–

‘So what’s it about?’

‘Huh?’

Bim blinked at Silver, realising Silver was stood in front of him, smiling curiously.

‘The new gameshow! Is it a quizzy one?’

Bim used all his willpower not to blush as a charming smile appeared on his face, and he laughed lightly.

‘O-Oh, hah, yeah yeah it is.’

‘How will it work?’

Silver asked, his eyes bright with curiosity which made Bim feel like his heart was going to melt. Bim subtly neatened his hair as his smile grew, subconsciously trying to look smart and charming as he replied.

‘Well um, the questions are in different categories. If you answer enough questions in one category you can get prizes related to it, and there are a list of themes people can pick from. For example if someone went with the theme of Italy and they answer three questions right, they’ll get a dinner for two at a 5 star Italian restaurant. Answer six questions right they’ll also get a six year supply of authentic gelato, and if they answer all ten questions correctly then they also get an all expenses paid 4-night holiday to Florence! Also all the questions are multiple choice, so it’s not super hard.’

Silver looked utterly awestruck, mainly because the prizes sounded so generous!

‘Woah, that sounds so cool!’

‘You really think so?’

Bim asked, and Silver nodded as his beaming smile grew.

‘Yeah! I mean… I think all your ideas are awesome.’

Silver’s words hit Bim like a freight train. Bim was used to compliments, he got them from colleagues and fans practically every day… but to hear words like these from Silver just got to him in a totally different way. Bim couldn’t hold back the warmth blooming on his face, and when Silver saw he’d made Bim blush he himself felt his own cheeks turn rosy. But of course that’s fine between really close friends! Silver figured it was totally normal that his tummy was full of flutters and that his fingers were twitching with the urge to play with Bim’s hair and stroke his face– oh boy. Silver blinked, getting his thoughts straight, and opened his mouth to ask what Bim wanted moving next.

But he didn’t have a chance to get his words out, because Bim too had been swirled about in his own head. All he could think about was how damn kind and sweet Silver was, how generous and selfless… but also how goddamn pretty he was. I mean he was a superhero for goodness sake! Not only that, but he was so strong, so soft looking… and that midriff was a whole treat all by itself. Bim couldn’t resist anymore… and so he pounced.

‘So shall I do one of the podiums next or–AHH!’

Silver’s words were cut off as he suddenly found himself pinned to the floor, eyes wide. As he locked eyes with Bim he spotted a twinkle… a very, very familiar twinkle. Silver had been tickled by Bim before, so he knew what his ler mood looked like… but for Bim this was even more than that. There was something feral in that twinkle, and for a moment Silver could have sworn he saw his eyes flash violet and his teeth momentarily gleam with sharpness.

‘B-Bim what the heck?!’

Silver giggled nervously as he squirmed, but Bim’s hold was strong as he kept him playfully pinned down. Slowly he leaned in and whispered in the hero’s ear.

‘Do you have any idea… how tempting you are?’

Silver’s pink cheeks suddenly darkened to a distinct red as he stuttered.

‘T-Tempting? H-How?’

Bim chuckled fondly down at him, and gently lifted up Silver’s t-shirt to reveal his stomach and waist. With a few fingertips he started tracing the bare skin, and he purred in a low voice.

‘Soft, sensitive… tasty looking…’

Silver’s eyes went wide as he realised what Bim was getting at, and the traces already got his giggles started. Bim’s way of tickling was legendary in the manor…in the most wild and chill-inducing way. Bim slowly licked his lips, grinning and revealing his teeth as his face hovered closer and closer to Silver’s stomach.

‘N-Nonono Bim Bim w-wait yoou know I c-can’t take it when you–EEEEP!’

Bim pressed his open mouth against Silver’s stomach…and started nibbling. In an instant Silver was struggling wildly as he giggled and snorted, his blush creeping down his neck and he started babbling.

‘Nohohoho stahahahappit! Yohohour teheeth ahare shahaharp!’

‘Mhmm, all the better to tickle you with!’

‘Nuhuhuhuhu!’

Silver giggled even harder as Bim nibbled all over his soft, plush stomach. He wasn’t leaving any marks to speak of, but those canines in particular was just impossible for Silver to ignore. Plus with Bim holding his hands down, their fingers interlaced together in a totally normal friend way, there was nothing he could do to fight back!

‘Mmm, has anyone ever told you that you taste as good as you look?’

Silver was flustered into near speechlessness as he gazed up at Bim, gaping and stuttering.

‘Wha–…I…’

Bim laugh, giving Silver’s lower belly a nip as he growled warmly.

‘Aww, did I embarrass you?’

Silver resumed his wild giggles and little shrieks as Bim’s teeth continued their tickly feasting. The rest of the hero’s energy translated into him frantically kicking his legs as he replied.

‘Why ahahare yohou dohoing thihis toho mehehehe?!’

‘I already told you, because you’re just so tempting!’

Bim retorted, nipping at one of the hero’s hips to make Silver squeal and whine.

‘Buhuhuhut why?!’

Silver’s eyes were wide with cute confusion, and Bim hesitated as his own cheeks got hotter. He decided to hide his face by bowing it to nip Silver’s hip again – but even as the hero squealed… he caught the edge of Bim’s smile as it turned noticeably shy.

‘Maybe I… like you.’

Silver’s breath hitched and both men went still. Silver’s smile didn’t fade as the tickles paused and Bim gently released his hands, sitting up and clearing his throat softly as he glanced away from Silver. Bim’s heart and head were racing. Did he really just say that? Would Silver be happy because of what he said? Would Silver know exactly what he meant when he said that he liked him? Bim’s mind was threatening to run away with him, until he felt a squeeze on his hand.

‘You like me?’

Silver whispered, and when Bim looked at him he saw an expression full of a smile, a blush… and hope. Bim cleared his throat softly, gently resting his chin on Silver’s tummy as he nodded, looking at Silver tentatively. The Silver’s face was hot as his mind raced with his own thoughts. Was this really happening? Did Bim say what Silver thought he said? Did they both have the same feelings? Silver knew how he felt for Bim, that’s for sure… he’d felt things for Bim for such a long time, but a lack of confidence had always gotten in his way. Until now. Silver reached out and gently stroked Bim’s cheek, encouraging him to look at him.

‘Maybe… maybe I like you too.’

Bim’s face lit up, and he instinctively pressed his cheek against Silver’s hand. One look in his eyes told him that he and the hero were on the exact same page. Bim also saw that the smile on Silver’s face was vibrant, and a tad cheeky. Flirty. Bim grinned, and leaned down to nuzzle Silver’s already pink hip – he figured there was no harm in flirting back, just a little.

‘Oh really?’

Silver squeaked with surprise… but didn’t push Bim away as he continued to softly nuzzle along his waist. He hid his face in his hands as he giggled, nodding as he peeked at Bim through his fingers. If Silver had been looking for confirmation of their relationship, this was definitely it. Bim chuckled, showing of his pearly whites as he grinned broadly. This was the best day ever.

‘I think you like it when I nibble you, don’t you?’

Silver got butterflies in his stomach at the thought of admitting that of all things… and he also liked the thought of keeping up that subtle cheeky streak he had bubbling in his chest. He snorted softly as he mumbled.

‘Mahahahaybe…’

Bim smirked at that, raising a playful eyebrow. He could tell Silver was playing coy on purpose which he thought was adorable… and he knew exactly what the perfect response would be. Bim took a deep breath, and started blowing raspberries along Silver’s exposed waist as he chuckled.

‘Only maybe? Are you sure?’

Needless to say, Silver was an absolute giddy mess of shrieks and yelping-laughs as his eyes widened cutely.

‘WAHAHAIT WAITWAITWAIT BEHEHE NIHIHICE!’

‘I am being nice, I’m giving you one of your five a day!’

Bim continued his raspberries as Silver kicked and batted at him. Though he didn’t fight back with any genuine force, it didn’t take long for the one-sided tickles to transform into a full-blown tussle of pokes and half-hearted wrestling. Neither man could stop smiling.

‘Yohohou’re ahaha meheanie!’

‘You take that back!’

‘Nohoho!’

‘Oh you’re really gonna get it now!’

Silver’s giggles were bubbly and full of squeaks as they continued wrestling, and Bim’s giggles were similarly unstoppable. He leaned in close with a growl, and the hero shrieked and flails when he felt a sloppy raspberry against his ear.

‘AHHH NONONOHOHOHO!’

‘Ooohhh, I didn’t know your ears were so ticklish!’

‘LEHEHEAVE THEHEM AHALOHONE!’

Bim laughed, and playfully grazed the shell of his ear with his teeth.

‘Aww, so sensitive and delicious! I think these might be my new favourite snack!’

Silver was a mess of flustered laughter, but once again wasn’t truly trying to push Bim away. In fact, he was doing the opposite. His arms were wrapped around Bim’s waist, keeping him snug and as close as humanly possible, which was keeping Bim’s heart racing with delight. He treated both of Silver’s ears to a load of nibbles for a while, before he dimmed down to more soothing kisses, until finally leaning up and having mercy. Silver was panting as he giggled residually, and he beamed when he saw the shy smile return to Bim’s face.

‘Was that… okay?’

Silver giggled, and didn’t hesitate to nod.

‘Yeah… more than okay.’

Then, before he could let his nerves cloud his judgement, Silver leaned up and gave Bim a peck on the lips. Bim’s face lit up, his eyes flashing with those magical glints of violet once again… and he kissed Silver back. They were connected, warm and soothed for a few sweet moments before they briefly parted for air, and Silver whispered.

‘Do you still want me to move stuff–?’

‘Nope.’

‘Are you sure–?’

Bim cut him off with another kiss, making the hero giggle and melt – if he had to pick between moving light fixtures and kissing the most handsome gameshow host in existence, he was going to choose the latter every time. Especially when said gameshow host pulled him to his feet with a grin and a growl, holding his hand and pulling him out of the study and he mumbled about still being hungry. Silver figured his grin was probably permanent now, and his step had a skip to it as he interlaced his fingers with Bim. After all, he wasn’t the only one hungry for tickles – and that, darling readers, is the greatest prize of all.

WOOOO HOPE YOU GUYS LIKED THIS FIC LEMME KNOW IF YA DID! WOOO LUV YOUS!!

[catchyhuh]

Building off of camping… if they were to holiday/vacation, yknow, outside of their usual “work” trips (which tend to be basically vacations anyway) how do they go about it? *Will* they holiday? Or are they dragging the others around on a madcap mission? …Where do they visit? How do they pack? What are they like at the airport?

…That’s a lot of questions. Please please feel free to pick and choose, or ignore this entirely if it doesn’t tickle your fancy, or if you’ve answered something similar already that— for some reason— I cannot remember right now!

you’re right that IS a lot!! but as you’ve noticed by now i fucking LOVE talking so i’m absolutely DELIGHTED that it’s a lot!!!

i briefly hit vacation spots they’d like a while back, but in terms of vacation PREPPING and the flights…

lupin:

lupin will call a weekend trip to some dead old thief buddy’s place he was asked to clean out a “vacation.” he loves this stuff.

packing though? eeehhh

it’s rough, because he despises packing (ironically, since he loves planning out significantly more complex things like heisting and physics for ziplines and shit) because there’s always one freakish scenario he forgot to account for JUST BECAUSE he’s traveling. he got pollen up his nose once and didn’t have any antihistamines anywhere in his luggage. anywhere. he brought stuff for nausea (which none of them even get on a BOAT, much less a plane!) he brought stuff for muscle cramps, for excessive bleeding, for swimmer’s ear, fucking everything but stuff to kill that runny nose. hell on earth

waaay too lax at the airport. way too lax. terrifyingly so. they’ll be calling out his gate, his ROW, and he’ll just casually stroll along. he always just barely manages to make it. but if the others are even one step behind him… eeeehhh…

usually whoever he’s traveling with decides to just wait by the gate like normal people do. if the plane leaves without him then thank god, right

however, traveling with lupin has one major advantage, the advantage that’s really the main reason the others will bother standing him falling asleep on them barely an hour into the flight-- sneaking stuff past tsa. don’t ask him how. he’ll get even sneakier about it if you ask how

jigen:

half-asleep the entire duration of waiting for the flight, wide awake during the seven hour process. nothing cures him of this problem, nothing. he’s doomed to live it forever

doesn’t mean he can’t pretend to be asleep so the others don’t bother him though!

window seat guy, not because he needs to see the view that bad or anything, but because he knows when he’s planting his ass down he’s not moving unless some higher power wills it. and he doesn’t want people pushing past HIS legs all day

packing for jigen is just. so simple. he only ever has like 5 suits at a time, total, his hat, shoes, all that’s ON his person as they’re leaving, really all he has to do is grab a hairbrush, cologne, and a toothbrush. he just uses goemon’s toothpaste for convenience’s sake anyway

however, he actively enjoys packing for the show it gives him. he’ll sit on the couch and watch lupin and fujiko move from room to room mumbling to themselves so they don’t forget whatever item is currently on their mind. it’s like that scene in clue where they’re all running through the rooms

none of this is just THAT serious to him! it’s just not! calm down you guys! actually, no, don’t. it’s kind of funny. look, he’s gonna forget his razor again, watch

fujiko:

fujiko packs like she intends to live on the plane. she packs like she’s anticipating crashing in the middle of the pacific on some uncharted island and having to live there for the next 15 years

and she’s a fucking tetris master with the way she packs her bags. however, this also means the cute hot pink cheetah print suitcase that she’s had since 2002 roughly weighs as much as a small palette of cinder blocks. but nobody tries to swipe her luggage because of it!

she’s never late for a flight! never ever! why try to cram in shit before the actual exciting part of getting to the destination, right? why stress over the mediocre coffee she can get on the other side of the globe, cheaper for that matter, when she can just sit and fucking relax. because for her, the vacation begins the minute she’s on the plane and secure she’s heading to her destination

which means nothing but first class. all the time. undebatable. she’s just straight up not going otherwise. you’re going to make fujiko mine sit squished between two random strangers? who don't have the decency to use earbuds?? C’MON NOW

she tends to rack up quite a bill every time the flight attendants come by with the little snack and drink carts and stuff. it would be a real problem if the name on her ticket wasn’t fake

goemon:

airport dad shit going on here to a degree no sane person would ever conceive

his line of thinking is “what if the plane is early” and despite the numerous explanations of “then they just wait” he seems CONVINCED they’ll be ready to leave without him

he also seems to be the only one with full awareness that they are. internationally wanted criminals. hacking the no-fly list to get through is one thing, but are the others not concerned about being recognized as, again, internationally wanted criminals??

packing for goemon is even SIMPLER than jigen. but there’s a certain stressor that comes with it. that’s a lot of metal to deal with at security. why am i even typing all this they already animated it

so, physically, the easiest packing job! emotionally, pretty damn taxing. he thinks lupin’s just lying when he says he just “can’t find a good way to hide it.” he knows the fucker is giggling watching him stand there silently sweating waiting for his ONE OF A KIND, HIGHLY VALUABLE, BORDERLINE MAGIC SWORD

but yeah otherwise he’s chill with vacations :) he doesn’t exactly go out of his way to plan them but yeah he’ll follow along :)

zenigata:

you already know he’s fighting the idea of a vacation, i already know he’s fighting the idea of a vacation, but we’re forcing him to go on one so we can study the scientific results

if we’re making him vacation with like. yata. or by some miracle the gang he is unfortunately the one who ends up carrying half the shit. not a big deal with yata! not a big deal with “sorry sir, my arm’s just asleep from the plane ride, could you hold my bag for a minute?” vs “well since you’re already standing by the little suitcase conveyor belt it wouldn’t KILL you to grab my little suitcase, right, pops? and maybe fujiko’s. you know how she gets. and maybe jigen’s. not goemon’s though he gets picky about that,”

cannot sit through a flight without passing the hell out. yet another point backed up in canon. somebody has to wake him up or he just won’t even get off the plane

he gets progressively more and more peeved with each minor instance with tsa and when the others give him a wary look he’s standing there, arms crossed like no no. they’re doing their job. and then the agent finds yet another pair of handcuffs and just throws them out and zenigata clenches his hands a bit tighter

[xerxeswitch]

My Companion, K.H.

I have been itching as well as been hesitating on making this post, since I am very protective of my bond with him. I have high respect for him to the point where I get possessive of our bond to keeping it mainly a secret in most cases. Only two people knows his true identity. This post is mainly to show him my deepest appreciation. I was going to make a post about him -- his true identity and spreading his name in appreciation for he is an underappreciated known psychopomp in mythology, but he told me that our bond is sacred and it shouldn't be showcased with his name. Other than he said he rather have the focus on how our bond developed, not focusing on his name or legends since he said it holds no worth in our relationship but the relationship itself. So, his name here is K.H. ... I had dreams since I was a toddler. It'd be in a dark cavern with luminescent water emerald green. The caves were gray and had a texture that I do I recognize, but it has subtle carvings of the dead, as if they're embedded in the surfaces. In the water was filled with frightening aquatic creatures that could swallow a person whole, as I recall a huge black frog eating something decayed. There were decaying bodies in the water as well, or people asleep. Not quite dead but not alive. There was a boat in the emerald waters. On that boat was a large man with muscles as big as a normal-sized human head. He has intense, yet stoic dull blue-grey eyes. His gray skin looks to be in decay but it does NOT affect his strength. He wore a big black, aged trench coat. He was bald too. He looked like he could be a bouncer if he wanted to. In his arms was me as a baby. He would be cradling me in his arms as he stood in his boat with a giant, spiked oar. As I grew older around 5-7 years old, I would have dreams nearly back to back returning to him and that cavern and his boat. I would enjoy his rides around that boat, demanding with my childish, bratty demands to keep rowing me back and forth around the area. He doesn't seem to mind too much -- he told me he found it amusing. I tried to get in the emerald water before, but he scolded me saying, "The waters are poisonous, stay out of it, child." He would continue to row me around keeping him company. -- I never forgot those dreams. Ever. It was engrained in my memories as fresh as the day I had them. Suddenly, I had a dream again of seeing him after all these years when I turned 24 -- around the time I accepted my psychic senses and opened myself to the spirit world again. And...well...here we are. I just want to say: Thank you for being there. Somehow, your energy always kind of helped me when you did your work in the shadows. You wanted to make sure I was safe.

I don't know why you care about me so much to the point of acting like a father figure, but I thoroughly appreciate it. I really do. No matter what, you are Family. ---- (If anyone adds up to which mini "deity" figure I am talking about later on, then I'll edit it to make it more discreet. I'm just that protective) (And no, I do not worship "deities," nor believe in the concept that they are "deities" but that doesn't mean I don't like a handful of these beings)

[echodrops]

The Promises I Made (2023)

Oh man. Oh man.

At the end of last year, I said that I had really struggled through 2022 and hoped that 2023 would be an easier year, but also that I didn't want to count any chickens. Which was... ultimately the right mindset to have, because 2023 was even worse for me than 2022. Between the stressors of work, money, and things just falling apart on me left and right (car is still in need of $3000 worth of work...), I couldn't be more glad that 2023 is over.

Consequently, it was a very bad year for promises. Possibly the worst year I've ever had since I started, actually. Oof, icing on the cake after all the disappointment I dealt with this year.

Still, a tradition is a tradition. Here are the promises I made for this last year!

2023 Promises

1) Work on the Texas house yard. It’s still never really recovered from the frost that killed everything in 2021 and it looks pretty shabby right now.

Status: Broken, mostly. I did have the gardener come and do a lot of trimming as well as take out one dead tree, but still, one dead tree remains, and the tree in the backyard has grown roots so big now that they've exposed a underground wire, so uhhhh... gonna have to deal with that this year...

2) Get both bedroom floors sanded in the Utah house upstairs.

Status: Broken. This just didn't happen. No money. But it really, really needs to happen soon though... Oof...

3) Get the Utah house sprinklers up and working ALL the way for this summer.

Status: Broken. This is the hardest promise on this list, I swear to god. This city in Utah has NO ONE who is willing to work on normal residential sprinklers. Please someone save me.

4) Actually get the back fence fixed up and the greenery back there trimmed and managed.

Status: Broken. Well, one day...

4) Put a new sink/vanity in the downstairs bathroom of the Utah house.

Status: Broken. I sure... made a lot of promises about the Utah house, didn't I... Where did I think all this money would come from...

5) Related to that, lose at least 20 pounds. 2020-2022 was not kind to me and the stress eating was real.

Status: Broken. I didn't gain weight this year but I didn't lose any either. RIP.

6) Take my mom on a road trip to one of the U.S. states that she has not been to before.

Status: Broken. I was busy all summer and we just didn't do this.

7) Get back in touch with the allergy specialist to continue working on my allergy/inflammation issues.

Status: Broken. Yikes, seven in a row without a single kept promise. Anyway, I did want to do this, but again, the surgery they want me to have will take all my insurance and then $2000 out of pocket. It's just... not going to happen...

8) Go through my closets and donate or throw away clothes that I know I will not wear.

Status: KEPT. Oh my god, one I actually did. I ended up donating SO MANY shirts to Goodwill.

9) Finish at least five books this year.

Status: Broken. I finished two I believe. But... maybe the 50+ 100k word fanfics I read this year could count instead?

10) Organize my documents (especially student papers)—my desktop and documents folders give me nightmares just looking at them. 

Status: Broken. Jesus, why am I so allergic to this promise? I think it's been on the list for like three years running now.

11) Help Kacchan through her first semester as a teacher! Exciting!!

Status: According to Kacchan herself, this promise has been kept. Go me.

12) Get a decent paper shredder to shred old mail. 

Status: Kept! I finally got a shredder!!

13) Clean off my back patio/car port area so I can park my car there again.

Status: Broken. Literally there's not that much stuff out there other than my coworker's old bikes she dumped on me. Why have I not done this...

14) Get the Texas house dishwasher fixed… I’m so tired of washing dishes by hand… How do people do this, oof.

Status: Kept! I got a newwww dishwasherrrrrr. I am so happy...

15) 100% complete FF16 babyyyyy!!

Status: Broken. I played it, but did not 100%. Too busy. TvT

16) Talk to an HR rep about my retirement savings so that I can consolidate my retirement accounts. I have been putting this off for like five years now.

Status: Broken. I think this has been on the list for years too. And given the current uncertainty of my workplace, I honestly think at this point I might be better off not asking anyone who works there for any financial advice...

17) Do at least one artwork to actually use that new paint program I bought. 

Status: Broken. Well, I THOUGHT about it. Does that count?

18) Pay my credit debt down by at least $2000. I’m still paying off the hell year but I hope I can make progress on this.

Status: Broken. The hell year of last year became Hell Year 2.0, Economic Boogaloo this year. So many things went wrong and had to be paid for. My wallet is C R Y I N G.

19) Finish making changes to master courses. No more major revisions!

Status: You know what, I'm going to count this as kept, because we're now down to the really specific courses that only one or two professors teach. So, close enough!!

20) See a zone-tailed hawk. This is another rare-but-possible bird for my area.

Status: Kept! Conveniently, one flew over my car one day?? I got only a terrible cellphone photo, but I did see it. Yay!

21) Attend the FFXIV Fanfest in Las Vegas!

Status: Broken. I tried!! But I did not win the lottery for a ticket, so I was not able to go. This one was pretty much out of my hands, though.

22) Update HaaH at least once. Please, Echo???

Status: ...I'm sorry, forgive meeee. OTL

23) Get the small leak fixed in the side bathroom of the Texas house and have the faucets replaced.

Status: Plumbers are... so expensive... Broken.

24) Look into the cost of light housekeeping services to give myself a little more time to do things that aren’t work.

Status: Technically kept... in that I did look into the costs... But ultimately, I chickened out of contacting anyone. I don't know why, but I feel like even if I got a housekeeper, I would be so embarrassed by my house being messy, I would frantically clean it the day before the housekeeper arrived anyway...

25) Catch up with hanging up all the charms/pins I’ve gotten recently on my corkboards; these are just sitting in boxes/bags around the house. D;

Status: Broken. My god, I thought about doing this so many times this year but I just never did it... I even both MORE charms and then didn't hang them.

26) Use Spotify more often or cancel my Spotify Premium subscription; it’s not worth it if I don’t use it.

Status: Kept. I cancelled it when they decided to raise the price. Cancelled Amazon Prime and Netflix this year too. Honestly way too tired of companies raising the prices of subscription services while offering LESS quality than in prior years.

27) Get an art display book to preserve my great grandfather’s artworks.

Status: Kept. They are safeeeee now.

28) Fix the screens on the Texas house.

Status: Broken. Probably for the best I didn't do this though, since the dog developed a habit of scratching at the office WINDOW to be let back into the house...

29) Bird watch at a specific location in Texas. It’s my secret where since I’d rather not share my specific location on social media, but let’s hope I can finally make it to this place!

Status: Kept. I didn't see many birds there though, RIP.

30) Finally get rid of the dirt pile in the front of the Utah house.

Status: Broken. I feel like the dirt pile is getting smaller and smaller over time as erosion takes its natural course, but I didn't really do anything to decrease the pile this year.

31) Sign NeNe (my puppy) up for the intermediate dog training course.

Status: Broken. I thought about this several times, but decided not to in the end. I wasn't massively impressed by the trainer she had for her puppy class, and honestly she's pretty decent at learning things at home anyway.

32) This is super nerdy, but my bro got me the FFXIV cookbook and made me promise to actually use it, so I guess I’d better at least try to make something from it.

Status: Broken. I keep making this promise and continually forget it, over and over.

33) Take down the remains of the wooden fence posts at the Utah house.

Status: Broken. This one I could have done and just... did not do. I'm pretty useless.

34) Take part in the fitness challenge at work this coming semester.

Status: Broken. To be fair to me though, in August I fractured my pelvis and basically couldn't do anything past basic walking all the way until December so I kind of have a semi-reasonable excuse for this one.

35) I will remember to take my medicine on time, all the time. Taking them late is messing things up quite a bit.

Status: Mostly kept. There was a night or two where I did forget, but since I literally require this medicine to live, I can basically immediately tell when I need to take it again, so most nights I do take it on time.

36) Get a stand for the toaster oven in the break room so we can finally use it!

Status: I'm going to count this as kept even though we did not get a new stand. Instead, we rearranged the order of the room to make it possible to fit both the toaster over and the microwave on the same countertop. So the toaster oven can indeed be used now!

37) Get my car detailed because the inside really needs to be vacuumed.

Status: Broken. My god, the car needs this so desperately now. But... money...

38) Go horseback riding on the island. I’ve never ridden on a beach before!

Status: Broken. Nobody really seemed that interested in going with me, and I thought it would be weird to go alone...

39) Eat healthier. Maybe cutting out snacks is too much to ask, but at least replace some average meals with salads, etc. and overall make an effort to actually eat better. Sometimes the fact that I feel like garbage is my own fault.

Status: Broken. The stress eating was extreme this last year. Please save me.

40) Wait, I should probably acquire a Playstation 5 so I can actually play my new copy of FF16, lol.

Status: Kept.

41) Help make sure the new tutoring requirement for the English classes goes over well.

Status: Kept, in that I did the best I could with a very, very weird plan. We immediately abandoned this plan the moment the grant expired anyway, since no one liked what admin had wanted us to do.

42) Finish decorating the main office. I’ll feel better if my workplace reflects the level of professionalism and school spirit that I envisioned it having this year.

Status: Broken, and I'm not going to roll this one over to the next year because I am 100% stepping down from my current administrative position and going back to being a full-time instructor again, so I will not need to decorate the main office anymore! Whoo!

43) Catch every variant of Vivillon in Pokemon Go. I’m currently missing Icy Snow, Marine, Meadow, Monsoon, Ocean, Polar, River, Sandstorm, Savanna, Sun, and Tundra, if anyone would like to be friends!

Status: Broken. I caught some of the ones I was missing but I really didn't play as much Pokemon Go this year. Broken pelvis decreasing walking ability but also just got tired of the game pushing more and more microtransactions, so I kinda took a longggg break.

44) Try to be more comprehensive with giving feedback to students. I’m always good at providing detailed comments on essays, but I’d like to spend more time commenting on smaller assignments too this year.

Status: Broken. Every year I try, every year I feel like I still haven't given enough. Maybe the issue with this promise is that I don't really know what is "enough" for the students compared to what I personally think I should give...

45) Make sure the retirement party for my coworkers who retired this year goes off without a hitch and honors them well.

Status: Kept. Oh, this was so nice and so much fun. It was really great seeing the retiring faculty members so emotional over how much we were able to honor them and their contributions to the school.

46) Take part in more activities on campus; I have a tendency to not attend many events because they’re in the evening when I’m tired, but I should really stay more often.

Status: Kept, though mostly by necessity. I kept constantly getting called in to help on things, even in other departments.

47) Write some Chainsaw Man fanfic for @mistystarshine!

Status: Broken. I'm so sorry, this just did not happen. I wish my work schedule was manageable instead of actually insane. There are so many things I want to write and do for myself, rather than for work...

48) Help my parents tear out the carpet in my old childhood bedroom.

Status: Broken. My mom talked about it a lot, but it never ended up happening.

49) Do something to destress (massage, pedicure, something?) at least once per month. I gotta take better care of myself…

Status: Broken. So broken. I only got more stressed this year. More and more and more and more...

50) I will keep my promises! 

Status: Oof, mostly broken. Next year I'm going to set a reminder for myself so that I remember to check my promises every few weeks or something...

Kept promises: 15

Broken promises: 35

Another year, another chance, I guess. See you all in 2024!

[mcrmadness]

I just realized something.

I have been editing videos for a school projects for a few months now. Every single time I mention the workload to people, I get mental pats on the head. I mean, people tell me they are sorry for the amount of work I have. People are worried for me and tell me that it's a lot of work and tell me to rest too.

And like, I understand where they're coming from, but I don't need patronising? I have noticed that this actually makes me annoyed. I know this is how people show support, but apparently I just don't like it when people do this with me. To every single one I have said that I don't MIND this workload, I wouldn't have not ACCEPTED this project if I wasn't capable of this. I'm actually enjoying this, these deadlines and being productive. I'm doing here what I really like doing and went to school for: editing videos! It's like dream come true, it's the closest to a real job event that I have ever had. The ONLY downside is that I'm working on this like it was a real job but I'm not getting ANY money for it, which I'm a bit salty about, but experience-wise this is an amazing opportunity and great project to work on.

This is a very fascinating thing to notice. I know many people would not be able to do this what I now do, but also: I'm not normal. I have my own ways of working. Just because you can't work on tight schedules and high workload does not mean that I can't either. It's the 40h regular work weeks that I can't work in without wearing out even when you can. Projects fit me better.

Also my rebellious nature is always almost offended when people suggest me that my work is too much or that I should take a pause or breaks. Like shut up, you don't know me, you don't know when I need pauses and how often. If my go is to work on a video for 12 hours in a row I days a week for 4 weeks, then it is. This is is still a passion of mine. I don't get exhausted from it the way I would do if I had to do a job I hate for 6h for 5 days a week for months.

The secret lies in the work. I'm studying media, because it's my passion and hobby. I know myself, I have had burnouts before and I know what to watch for, and I DO KNOW HOW TO TAKE CARE OF MYSELF. I don't need people to tell me "don't wear yourself out". I know myself better than what anyone else does.

[transxfiles]

hii bailor how are you. have you read or watched anything cool recently. i just started fellow travelers (the book) and it's making me feel so crazy i had to put it down and like go walk around to feel normal again

HIIIIIIII i have been doing so mcuh with work and art and everything so i haven't done much reading since june (i read like 7 books in a row i was doing so well) BUT i have been watching movies bc i found out that the local arthouse theater gives a really good student discount. also i have been hanging out at the video store and befriending the ppl who work the front desk there so i've watched a bunch of fun movies recently. SO!! some movie recs from things i've watched recently

humanist vampire seeking consensual suicidal person (2023)

dark comedy film about a young vampire who cannot hunt for food bc she cant morally justify killing people. after her parents stop hunting for her (finally forcing her to confront her fear of taking human life) she realizes that she might be able to work around her issues when she meets a suicidal teenager who wants her to kill him. genuinely such a sweet coming of age movie. and VERY silly. and beautifully filmed.

latter days (2003)

found the dvd at the local tax evading secondhand bookstore and bought it as a joke but genuinely this movie was very good. how do i even begin to describe latter days. blowjob scene in the first 5 minutes. the "sweet home alabama" screenwriter's passion project that he described as him trying to figure out what his repressed mormon past-self and his young newly out queer self would've done if they'd met. the answer is gay sex. apparently. this is an insane movie. i really enjoyed it but tbh i had the unique viewing experience of watching the movie with my old homoerotic best friend from high school so idk if my opinions on it are valid. they may indeed be tainted by that viewing experience. some insane fucking one liners though.

scream, queen! my nightmare on elm street (2019)

really great documentary for queer horror fans. follows the life of mark patton, the man who is most well-known for being the "first male scream queen" after he starred in nightmare on elm street 2: freddy's revenge. this was a video store rental and did not disappoint! experienced a positive jumpscare when i heard the first voiceover and was like "WAIT!!! cecil gershwin-palmer??????" it is indeed voiced by mr cecil welcometonightvale himself, cecil baldwin 👍

this ask also gives me an excuse to share some of my journal pages about movies i've seen recently so !

(+ bonus photo of my latter days dvd. insane fucking movie. btw fun fact the sticker on this dvd says 3 dollar but i did in fact get it for free bc the bookstore ladies love me. so)

i should add fellow travelers to my TBR probably,,, i need to read again. im always saying that when i haven't read for a while but it's true. i've been reading so many theater related nonfiction books recently for work and school and independent study and stuff but i gotta read A Narrative again soon.

i also need to go insane over A Narrative again and i think that'd do the trick........

rn i'm reading "standby" which is this book about theatrical design theory and it's so SO good but a little dense. i will say the last book that i devoured was andrew rannells' book of essays "too much is not enoguh" i read that in like 3 days and that was me pacing myself. it also got the stamp of approval from my mom who i lent the book to pretty much as soon as i saw her after i finished it.

also read this weird script a while ago called "the last thing i'll ever write" by adam lauver but i really don't know how i feel about that one. it was fun to read in the moment bc reading it was like putting together a puzzle of trying to figure out how i would actually put the show on a stage but idk if i;d recommend it. it IS weird art though and i do love weird art.

ive also been watching falsettos pretty frequently. idk why. its been scratching a theatre itch in my brain.

[ducktaildl]

If you want, answer or try to answer to the following questions, please.

1) Is there anyone who knows that you wear/ like/buy diapers?

2) Has anyone accidentally ever seen you wearing diapers (with nothing else covering them) in a locker rooom, in a public toilet, airport check-in, during a medical visit or anywhere else? If yes, how did he react to this?

3) Has anyone accidentally ever been able to notice you wearing your diapers under your clothes? If yes, what has the reaction been?

4) What are your favourite diapers?

5) Ever worn diapers 24/7?

6) Do you like straitjackets, gags, and adult diapers together?

7) Have you ever been seen while buying adult diapers in a shop? If yes what has been the reaction? Furthermore, how has the cashier reacted?

8) Have you ever bought diapers using internet?

9) Has ever been anyone who has joked about you wearing diapers? Has ever been anyone who has made fun of you because you wear diapers?

10) Have you ever been humiliated for you wearing/liking/buying diapers?

11) Have you ever tried reusable adult diapers? If yes, how are they?

12) When did you wear your first adult diaper? What did you feel?

13) How has being ABDL influenced your social and love relations?

14) How many diaper lovers/ABDL do you know, both online and where you live?

15)Are you more AB or DL?

16) Why do you like/love diapers?

17) Have you ever seen anyone wearing diapers, in a public space (with nothing else covering them)?

18) Have you ever been able to notice anyone wearing diapers under clothes?

19) Have you ever seen anyone while buying adult diapers in a shop?

20) Have you ever worn diapers at job?

1. My boyfriend knows, and my ex. I suspect some of my family do too.

2. Yes they have, I have been seen multiple times in the locker room in nothing but diapers. Most people are occupied with their mobiles and do not seem to notice, but I remember one time when a young guy came in when I was standing there exposing a huge diaper. I think he got really shocked and immediately ran out from the locker!:-) Just the other day I was at a spa treatment and had not realized I had to have a bare chest. Could not slide my onezie down so eventually I had to take it off and expose my huge diaper I was wearing at the time. Not sure she realized because she hold up a towel the whole time!😂 I have also been checked at the airport several times in huge diapers.

3. Yes, I have been wearing really thick with DL-friends for lunch at restaurants and they said they could tell people noticed my huge diaper butt.

4. Abena M4 is my favourite. I usually pair it with the L4 and lots of inserts.

5. I do from time to time but only 2-3 days in a row.

6. I haven’t tried actually, but would like to. I love wearing tight laced corsets.

7. I have, and they did not react at all.

8. I usually buy diapers using internet.

9. No never.

10. No. Generally I think people, if noticing at all, feel sorry for you for being assumed incontinent and forced into diapers.

11. Yes and I love their bulkiness but prefer normal ones for their plastics and the sensation when you fill them.

12. I was around 13-14. It was sensational, can’t describe it. But I have been drawn to diapers since I was around 4-5 years old.

13. Well it has not been much accepted. I haven’t been open with it which I wish I would have from beginning. When it comes to social life I sometimes wear with friends and family and at work. Do not think they have noticed really. If I marry again we will have to talk about my need for wearing diapers from time to time.

14. I have met a lot of nice ABDL people over the years. I met 15-20 really nice guys.

15. Definately more DL but am trying to explore my AB-side.

16. The feeling while wearing, which is very sexual to me. And the shape of the diaper too, the visual thing is very important. And also the fact that it is a bit difficult to walk and sit in my enormous diaper!😀

17. No

18. Yes, but mostly elderly incontinent people. Except for my DL friends ofcourse!😍

19. Yes

20. Yes I frequently wear diapers at work!

Thank you for all your interesting questions!