#I would love to do that some day but I shouldn't over stuff my plate

[mewnia]

2024 UPDATE: Since my professor is putting our capstone projects in an exhibition show, I figured it would be the perfect time to update my work! I even added sheets for my God & Goddess :3c

THE STEMS, THE CREATOR, THE ENEMY

Full character sheets for my characters! The main four are referred to as the “Stems” in my world. Because their powers stem from the Goddess Eumelia! In my Voice Carries the Music story, these four are long gone. But they left their blessings for each of their countries to benefit from, and they each have decedents we meet in VCtM.

Comparisons of 2023 vs 2024 under cut mostly for me bc I love seeing my own progress and I gotta document it somewhere :P

[flowersforthemachines]

Ranking everyone's Hero of the Veilguard armours (because I have nothing better to do)

I realised I needed to gather my thought's on everyone's drip so here are my humble opinions (with numbers and pictures)

Disclaimer: I took this very seriously, but you probably shouldn't. This is based on my personal opinion, which, while undoubtedly correct, may not align with your own. And that's okay.

14 - Titan's Vengeance (Harding)

That is definitely an armour. One of the armours ever, perhaps!

While I understand that it's meant to evoke the image of the dwarves as we see them in DAVG, I simply do not vibe with this outfit. Like, at all. It got an honest chuckle out of me when I saw it in the game, but I would never put Harding through the torture of wearing it. Which is too bad because I'd pick her embracing the Titan's anger over its compassion any day. A pity the fashion doesn't keep up.

13 - Rivain's Legacy (Taash)

Putting my opinions on certain aspects of their questline aside ("yes, you can be non-binary, but we draw the line at being multicultural"), this outfit doesn't even seem to be based on Taash's model. Anyone who has seen their romance scene (I have <3) should be able to tell these are not their legs. Their gorgeous calves wouldn't fit into those metal things. Bioware should be ashamed.

12 - The Qun's Honour (Taash)

That outfit doesn't make a lot of sense to me personally. I can live with the fact that most companion outfits are reused assets, but why is the Lords of Fortune armour of all things meant to represent Taash pursuing Qunari culture? Did no one at the office stop to think how weird that was? Like for real.

11 - Grey Benefactor (Davrin)

This outfit belongs in the "He Would Not Fucking Wear That" category. It also commits the cardinal sin of making Davrin look smaller (in my eyes), which not even the essence of Mythal could help to find redemption for. A shame after a shame.

10 - Crow's Tenacity (Lucanis)

This outfit is... a lot. Why is there so much metal, aren't assassins supposed to be silent 'n sneaky n' stuff? What are those patterns? Is that a FUR COLLAR??? I fell in love with a man with a horrible fashion sense

9 - Crow's Poise (Lucanis)

Marginally better than its counterpart, this outfit still leaves me with a lot of questions. I won't ask what is up with the feathers (I get it. they are crows) but I still find feather pauldrons to be a crime of fashion.

If Harding's Titan armour brought me a chuckle, this caused a groan because it took me 70h~ to reach the end of Lucanis's questline on my first playthrough and my reward was THIS?

(why did I have to fall for that guy of all people)

8 - Archivist's Mail (Bellara)

This simply does not scream Bellara to me. Even her glove and the scarf aren't enough to make that armour look like something of her own. It's definitely missing the flair (bits and baubles!!!) from her other armours, which may not be a fashion crime, but is still deeply regrettable.

7 - Wild Benefactor (Davrin)

This is like. It's a bit better than his other one, okay. It even started growing on me over time, in a way I can't comprehend yet also can't deny. Maybe he would fucking wear that, I don't know.

6 - Investigator's Robes (Neve)

I was originally tempted to rank it higher because I liked its description mentioning that Neve wearing robes (which she normally doesn't do) is a statement. It's cool thematically.

But I shall not let Bioware gaslight me into forgetting that it's just a Shadow Dragons robe conveniently recoloured to suit that narrative. Try harder next time.

5 - Graven Vestments

It's nice (especially compared to some other armours), but not Emmrich-y enough in my opinion. It lacks the personality present in his starting outfit. Peepaw deserves something more special for overcoming the greatest fear of his life, wouldn't you think?

4 - Threader's Plates (Neve)

This armour gets bonus points because it actually took me a while to recognise it was a recoloured Defiant Plate. Neve really makes it her own!

Other than that, it looks good, but is it *great*? It is *meaningful*? Not really. It would also look cooler if Neve's hair was down (the same applies to any other hatless outfit).

3 - Lich's Vestige (Emmrich)

That outfit is just so fucking cool. The exposed ribcage? The high collar? Black and gold? Now that is Emmrich Volkarin. And I do have a special appreciation for companion armours being, you know, *unique* models.

However, while undoubtedly stylish, the armour leaves behind a question: was it worth it?...

2 - Inquisition Spotter (Harding)

I may be an Inquisition hater deep down (sorry), but this armour still prompted a lonely tear to run down my cheek when I first saw it. It's such a nice callback to the past in a game that's so different from all previous DAs that it melted my cold, cold heart.

I was especially touched by the embroidery representing the members of the Inquisition. Harding carries her memories of them wherever she goes!!! :)

1 - Reborn Leathers (Bellara)

Is this biased? Yes, of course, this is biased. Bellara is my favourite girl, everyone else stood no chance. Like, she literally has a crown on her head - who else deserved the first place, if not her?

Jokes aside, this outfit is everything I would expect from a reward for completing a companion's storyline - a completely new outfit that retains the spirit of the original design while bringing new elements to it.

Sometimes what you need to make a good experience better is to see your fave in a cool outfit. For this one, Bioware has my sincere thanks.

[iamnotoriginalphil]

Hey! I love your writing. I’ve been wanting Kate Stewart fics for years now so I’m glad you started writing for her!

Could you write a Kate Stewart x Reader fic where the reader is insecure about how she looks and doesn’t feel like she’s good enough for Kate so she becomes distant and Kate gets worried, and it ends with Kate finding out why she’s been distant and ends up reassuring and comforting her?

How can I not write for her when I love her so much?

CW: self-esteem issues, boss/employee relationship, hurt/comfort, angst

You weren’t hiding. That would be childish. You’d just retreated into the quiet corner to get on with your paperwork. You had reports to write, and some labs to finish up. It was normal. Nothing odd. Nothing to raise concern.

It just also didn’t hurt that it was far enough from Kate that she couldn’t see you.

The feeling had been creeping up on you for a while now. Small things that led to the dread and anticipation sitting heavy in your stomach. Even before the entire thing had started, you’d known it was too good to be true. It was only a matter of time before Kate realised it too. 

The longer it went on, the worse it became. Every morning, rolling out of bed, staring in the mirror, the list of reasons for why Kate shouldn't be with you just grew longer. It was easy to forget when her lips turned your thoughts hazy and her hands made you forget your own name. But the cold harsh light of day just highlighted the truth.

“There you are.”

You looked up from your laptop. Kate was in the doorway, leaning one hip against the frame, arms crossed over her chest, backlit by the light in the hall. Her annoying habit of knowing every corner of the building seemed to have done you no favours. The soft glow made her look ethereal, like an angel come to save you. 

“Hi,” you said, turning your attention back to your work.

“What are you doing in here?” she asked.

“Darren kept humming and I needed some peace and quiet to get everything done,” you replied, still not looking at her.

It was only the sound of her heels clicking against the floor that let you know she was approaching you. Something soft brushed your elbow and you glanced over at her from the corner of her eye. She was sitting beside you, leaning back on the wall, legs straight out in front of her. 

“You couldn’t ask him to stop?” she asked.

“It was easier to just remove myself,” you replied, refusing to turn your head towards her.

“For who?” 

“Can we not do this right now?” you said, finally looking over to her. 

There was a grim smile on her face and she looked tired, shoulders slumped and shadows under her eyes. You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose, not able to stop yourself. It was stupid, to so obviously show your frustration when she’d come looking for you, obviously tired, and you were only adding to her plate. And yet you couldn’t help it. 

“You’ve been working a lot of late nights lately,” she said.

“I’ve been catching up on stuff,” you said.

“You’ve been staying later than me,” she said, “I didn’t know that was possible.”

“Yeah, well, my boss is a real arse,” you said, turning back to your screen.

She chuckled, leaning towards you. Her shoulder pressed into yours more firmly and you wanted to shuffle away from her but knew she’d notice. There was no hiding it behind another excuse. Nothing else to blame it on. 

Still, she must have felt you freeze.

“I know you haven’t had weeks worth of work to catch up on,” she said, voice more quiet than before, but not soft. 

“I have,” you said, “you know how much work comes with the job.”

“I feel like I’ve barely seen you. You leave before I’m up and come home after I’m asleep. When I do see you it’s like you’re not really there with me. Or we’re not talking because your mouth is otherwise engaged,” she said with a sad little huff on the end, “I’ve been missing you.”

“You know where to find me,” you said, “clearly.”

“I’ve scoured the building for you. You hardly wanted to be found,” she said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you said.

“You’re sitting in the dark.”

You sighed, closing your laptop, plunging you back into proper darkness. She took it from you, gentle as she lifted it off your lap. She put it to one side. You looked over to her, finding her already watching you. 

“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” she asked.

“Nothing,” you sighed, “nothing is going on.”

“Surely you can’t expect me to believe that.”

You gritted your teeth, jaw clenching. Her fingers were soft as they brushed over the curve of your jaw, featherlight, as if she was scared to touch you. You took a deep shuddering breath in, surprised at the way your heart beat too hard, almost painfully, bruising against your ribcage. 

“Are you looking to end things with me?” she asked, voice soft as she clasped her hands in her lap again.

“What?” Your voice was sharp in the silence.

“You’ve been pushing me away for weeks now, avoiding me, hiding from me. It doesn’t take a genius to work out your issue is with me. So, will you be moving out?” she asked.

“My issue isn’t you,” you said, “you’re… perfect.”

“Well, now I know you’re lying,” she laughed.

“No, really. You’re amazing and beautiful and wonderful. I’m the one letting the side down,” you said.

“What do you mean?” she asked, shifting closer.

“I’m not amazing and beautiful and wonderful,” you said. 

“What on Earth are you talking about?” she asked, sounding a mixture of baffled and offended. Which was pretty much exactly what you didn’t want to happen. 

If you pointed out all the ways you weren't good enough for her you’d be signing your own marching orders. Once she realised there would be no chance she’d stick around with you. You had assumed she’d come to the realisation on her own. But to be the one to tell her…

You pressed the heels of your palms into your eyes until colours burst behind your eyelids. A strong grip grasped your wrists, pulling them away until you were looking into the warm brown eyes of the woman you loved.

“Talk to me, darling,” she requested, sounding heartbroken.

“You know, every morning I wake up and wonder if today will be the day you realise you can do better. If you’ll realise what I realised when we got started. That I lucked out and tricked you into thinking I was worth your time but of course I’m not. It was just a matter of you noticing too,” you said, pulling your legs up until your knees were under your chin and your arms could wrap around them. 

Her hands found yours again, ignoring the way you’d pulled out of her hold already. Her skin was warm against yours, her touch familiar. You knew the feeling of her hands better than anything else. It hurt, to be touched by her, in that moment.  

“There is nothing to notice.” Her voice was firm and it made you flinch, “or at least, not the kinds of things you’re implying.”

“You’re just saying that because you haven’t yet,” you whispered.

“Tell me.”

“Tell you what?” you asked.

“The things you think I should be noticing,” she said, keeping her voice soft, coaxing you, the way you’d seen her do in the field when she was dealing with a scared fugitive. 

“You want me to tell you all the reasons you should break up with me? Fine. Do you want them in alphabetical or chronological order?” 

“You’re being flippant,” she said, sounding less than impressed.

“Wouldn’t you be?” you demanded.

“Darling, tell me,” she requested, cupping both of your cheeks, refusing to let you out of answering.

“Look at me,” you said.

“I am,” she said.

“Then you can see it. I’m not beautiful like you. I’m not smart like you. I can’t do half of the things you can. You can do so much better than me. I’m nothing compared to you. And I think you’re so amazing and I know I can never measure up. And so yeah, maybe I’ve been a bit distant but it’s because I’m trying to make sure I’m not too hurt when you wake up and realise you can do better and end things with me.”

You watched in real time as understanding bloomed over her face. You braced, tensing with every muscle for the blow that you knew was coming. Only then her face was softening and you were sure she was going to try and be so nice about it. 

“Oh darling,” she sighed and there was the pity coming in strong.

You pushed against her shoulders, trying to get her away from you. Gasping for breath, feeling a sob bubble up in your chest, you needed room. It was too much with her right there, right in front of you, staring at you, watching you so closely there was no room for you to fall apart. 

“I wish you could see yourself through my eyes,” she sighed, her thumbs running along your cheekbones.

“Stop being nice to me,” you said, snapping if not for the broken moan of pain your words turned into. 

“Not until I know you’re hearing me,” she said, “because I happen to think you’re bloody brilliant.”

You scoffed but her hands were still on your cheeks, not letting you look away from her. 

“Darling, the first time I saw you, you stole my breath. You were, and continue to be, the most beautiful person in the room. And it’s only grown more true the longer I’ve known you because I know who you are now. I’ve never seen anything that I’ve found disappointing. Unless you’ve been lying to me or hiding things from me, I think I have a pretty good sense of who you are,” she said, her voice growing firmer, the kind of voice that didn’t allow for arguments, “are you listening to me?”

You nodded, a small thing, but with her hands on you and those eyes refusing to look away there was no chance of her missing it. She lent forward again, her grip tightening.

“You are what I want in every possible way. There is no part of you I don’t want. I am proud to have you by my side and more than that, I’m proud to love and be loved by you,” she said, “I apologise if my actions or words have ever made you believe otherwise. Hear me now. You are beautiful, and wonderful, and everything I have ever wanted.”

Her fingers brushed away the tears as they fell until they came too fast to catch them all. Your arms were still around your knees, a barrier from her body and yet the strong steady warmth of her palms was seeping in where they met your cheeks. Your chin dipped towards your chest, not wanting her to watch as you fell apart, spine pressed into the wall, shrinking back even as she stared at you, drinking in every moment. 

“You’re only saying that because you don’t realise-” you tried to say.

“I do. I do realise. I see you. All of you in your entirety. I have seen every single part of you including your flaws, and I still choose you. Every moment of every day I’m choosing you. You’re the one I want. The only one I want,” she said, interrupting you before you could begin again. 

Her hand slipped from your cheek and she pressed closer, her hand on your knees, pushing them down until she could get as close as possible without being in your lap. Your own hands were twisting together and you couldn’t look at her. If you did you were worried it would crack you open, leaving you a vulnerable mess in front of her, ripe for the hurting. 

“Darling, I can’t do better than you. You’re it,” she said.

You were slow to drag your gaze back up to her, finding her already broken open in front of you. Her own words had splayed her skin back, showing you her beating heart, waiting for your soft touch to stitch her back together. Reaching out, a trembling hand crossing the distance, your fingertips brushed over her lips, whisper soft. She caught your hand, pressing it more insistently to her mouth as she kissed your fingertips, your palm, the pulse point in your wrist. 

“I love you so much,” you whispered on broken breath.

“That’s a relief,” she said with a small smile, “I was hoping after my little speech you wouldn’t turn me away.”

“I could never,” you said.

And then you were falling forward into her arms, letting her catch you. Her arms curled around your body, gathering you close, surrounding you in every way. Your face pressed into her shoulder and she let the tears soak into the fabric of her blazer. Hand splayed between your shoulder blades, the other on the small of your back, she kept you pressed against her and a part of you wondered if she needed you to steady her as much as you needed her. 

“I love you, darling,” she murmured in your ear.

You sought out her lips, blind in your need. She sighed into your mouth, her hand coming up to cradle the back of your head, fingers threading through your hair. You did what she hadn’t and climbed into her lap, not caring you were at work or that someone could walk in. You just wanted to sink into her, to let her knit you back together into a person. 

“Please don’t pull away from me anymore,” she whispered, her lips brushing against yours, “please.”

“I won’t,” you promised, mumbling into her mouth, “I won’t.”

It was soft and slow, both of you taking your time now you knew you had the rest of your life. There was no hurry, just the feeling of needing to know she was with you and wasn’t leaving. She held you tight, keeping you pressed to her, as if trying to absorb you into her being. You would let her, if it was possible.

“We should go home, darling,” she said, drawing back just far enough to share breath, “I think you’ve put in enough late nights to make your boss happy.”

“Can we get a take away?” you asked.

“Of course we can,” she said, gently pushing some hair behind your ear, “as long as we can also take a long hot bath afterwards.”

“That sounds nice.”

You clambered off her lap, helping her to her feet. Her arm looped around your waist, keeping you close, as if worried you’d do a runner if she didn’t. You pressed yourself to her side, not wanting to stray too far from her either. 

You were never going to stray far from her again.

[xxchumanixx]

i’m begging for some john nolan fluff.

Night in

John Nolan x reader

Warnings/Tags: Just pure fluff

Word count: 619

Authors note: Hey love, thanks for the request! You want some John Nolan fluff, you'll get it!

Enjoy!

It was finally your day off, and you couldn't wait to get some rest.

You and John hadn't seen much of each other in the last few days, the timing never being right.

Now, that you had time for yourselves, you were on your way to him.

Your car smelled like a whole restaurant, given the amounts of food you had bought.

You just couldn't decide on one thing to eat, so you had taken everything you liked.

Which was a lot.

But you knew John and you knew, that he would eat everything that was left over.

Parking in front of his house you got out, gathering the bags - a few on each arm - before you slowly walked towards the house.

Ringing the doorbell with your elbow, the bags slowly started to slide down. When the door opened you pushed John out of the way, stumbling inside.

You really shouldn't have bought that much food.

Putting the bags down on the table with the last bit of strength, he huffed, shaking his head at you. "Wow, who would have thought that you could order that much at this place?"

Chuckling, you turned around to him, arms finding their way around his neck, tugging him closer. "I didn't know what to get, so I bought everything." "Wow..." he mumbled, before his lips met yours.

Kissing him back, you sighed, leaning more into him.

"What do you say, we have a movie marathon, eat all of that takeout, die because our stomachs exploded from all the food, before we have a bath?" he suggested after your lips parted, smiling down at you.

Chuckling at his exesparation, you nodded. "That sounds lovely." you gave back. "I know, it's my idea and I'm lovely." he quipped, a smirk playing at his lips.

Huffing, you pushed him away, smiling as well.

"Be lucky that you are." you told him, smiling even wider, as you began to sort the takeout boxes. "Because if not, I wouldn't share the food with you."

Now he huffed, looking through the various things you had bought. "You could eat a week from this, if you were alone." he told you, looking back up at you. "Luckily for you, I'm lovely and I will help you to eat all this food."

Rolling your eyes you nodded. "Yes, I have to thank you then, kind sir."

Laughing, he went to gather plates and stuff.

He really was lovely.

Sitting down beside him on the couch you each took something to eat. It didn't stop him from stealing food from your plate, though.

Huffing you held your plate out of his reach, as he cocked a brow at you. "Just take your own food!" you argued, trying to bite back the smile that threatened to split your lips.

"But I want yours!" he gave back, pouting. Tilting your head you lowered the plate. He used the opportunity, grabbing a handful of fries from it.

"Hey!" you shouted, giggling, as you tried to reach for his plate in return.

Holding it out of reach he mimicked you.

Laughing you straddled his lap, his arm holding the plate losing its balance, causing a few of his nuggets to drop to the floor.

Eyes widening he looked after them, before his gaze fell on you. "Nugget muderer!" he shouted, putting the plate and yours aside, before he started to tickle you.

Laughing, you tried to break free of his hold, but he pressed you against his body. His hands stilled, as his breath fanned over your face.

Kissing you his hands went further down, gripping your ass.

"I want a revenge." you told him inbetween kisses.

"And I want my nuggets back."

[woahiwrite]

I like your writing so far ! Wish you good continuation ! Can I ask for how would Bi-han confess his love and how eventually ask for marriage? Thank u ❤

Bi-Han Confession/Asking for Marriage HCs

Warnings: None that I can think of, went on autopilot and wrote a lot, Gender Neutral Reader!

Hello Anon, thanks for enjoying my writing! Hope you have a good day/night ❤.

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

• Bi-Han seems like the type of guy to me to not really pursue love unless it was already arranged, he just has too much on his plate

• Especially the closer you get towards the actual story, between wanting the Lin Kuei to get more powerful and the more personal stuff he's got clinging to him, he is not really worried about love from anybody, just loyalty

• But I will try my best to do something different, perhaps the childhood friend route?

• Bi-Han simply won't immediately fall head over heels, he feels like he'd just be really confused with how to handle his feelings

• Once he realizes he is starting to feel...different, around you, he might start off giving a cold shoulder, only interacting with you just so he can make sure that you're alright

• Kuai Liang and Tomas realize this quite quickly

• Honestly you should thank Kuai Liang because he often was the one to encourage Bi-Han to actually put some effort into pursuing you

▪︎ "You shouldn't always turn them away, brother. A strong marriage would benefit both you and the Lin Kuei."

• Like Bi-Han didn't know that

• But marriage, the both of you? Impossible

• Real talk, the big reason for the disconnect was that he didn't know what he was supposed to do

• He didn't want to hurt you, or completely turn you away from him, so he just decided not interacting was the best option

• A neutral ground, so to speak

• Honestly, Bi-Han thought it would continue like this for the rest of time, the thought exhausted him

• Like he wasn't the main reason for his own exhaustion

• He couldn't even tell if he really liked you or not

• At least he couldn't until he had gone on a mission that had gone out of hand, being gone from the compound for a little over a month without communication

• He didn't realize it at first, but whenever he had a moment to think, all he could think about was you

• And all he could recall was your more solemn expressions when around him, because what did he give you lately that was worth smiling about?

• Even like that, though, even saddened by the situation with your friendship, Bi-Han found himself thinking you were beautiful

• You held yourself as he thought you should, you knew your strengths, knew your weaknesses, and you were loyal

• Even as Bi-Han gave you nothing to work with, nothing to look forward to, you remained by his side, always greeting him when he returned from missions and always there to wish him farewell when he was to leave

• Those thoughts were what drove him to think, maybe I should put more effort into this

• When he finally returns, he is almost shocked to see how genuinely shaken you looked

• How your hands fail to remain steady as you clasp them together, your eyes running over his form searching for any injury that might be causing him serious harm

• His brother waited diligently by your side, and Bi-Han doesn't miss the way Kuai Liang also seems to relax upon seeing him

• Bi-Han didn't suffer anything serious, but he still requests

▪︎"Join me at the healers?"

• You don't decline

• The check-up was quick, and Bi-Han could see how much steadier you are after seeing that he really was unharmed

• You think maybe you've overstayed your time with him, but Bi-Han doesn't seem to want you to leave his side

▪︎ "Accompany me to check in with everything?"

▪︎ "Watch over the new recruits with me?"

▪︎ "Join me for a walk?"

• It wasn't for a little while longer, but Bi-Han finally got the feeling that he could confess his love for you

• You smiled more often around him, you opened up to him, and you only got more beautiful than you already had been to him. Like a flower that had bloomed to grace his drab world with color

• The confession would happen on a walk

• He'd stop and softly call your name, drawing your attention to him

▪︎ "Bi-Han, what's wrong?"

▪︎ "I haven't been the friend I should be. I found that, that is because I want to be more."

• You are clearly confused, if the furrow of your brows and slight squint didn't say enough

• Bi-Han almost grows nervous, but instead he reaches forward to take your hands into his

▪︎ "I turned you away because I couldn't understand my own feelings. I like you, more than just a friend."

• Your silence nearly kills him, but at least you didn't look confused anymore

• He could feel himself growing tense as he looked at you, awaiting your response with bated breath

▪︎ "I had thought you hated me."

▪︎ "Obviously you know now that that is not the case."

▪︎ "Yes, obviously."

• You smile at him, not turned away by his bluntness, and Bi-Han felt himself relax

▪︎ "Well, I like you too."

• Things are easier after that

• Bi-Han doesn't openly show his affection for you, but it is easy to notice he isn't going out of his way to avoid contact either

• He just isn't one to make his love life public

• Go on walks with him, he might hold your hand, but more likely he'll walk so close to you that your arms brush together with every step

• He'll spar with you, not just to spend time with you whilst also being productive but so that he knows you can protect yourself

• Marriage crosses his mind faster than he had been able to come to terms with his feelings

• He trusted you, after all

• You had been friends with him your whole lives, even when he had began to turn you away you didn't leave his side

• Don't get me wrong, though, it still took him a bit to ask for your hand in marriage

• Like, three to four years

• He was just so busy, especially since, during that time, he had been given even more responsibilities

• The tournament was drawing near, the candidates would need to be recruited soon

• That meant the Lin Kuei had to train even harder in preparation to defend from a possible Outworld attack if Earthrealm were to lose

• Still, he found time for you

• Despite not being wed, it was often you shared his bed, not for anything explicit in nature, but because he found comfort being beside you

• Especially during such a stressful time

• He would probably confess during the night, after a long day of Grandmaster duties

• Nothing fancy would be set up, it would just be he and you enjoying tea you had made to help him relax

��� It would be silent, save for the sounds of nature and the clink of the tea cups against the table

• I don't see Bi-Han as one to make some long speech, like, I really think he's more of a 'show don't tell' kind of person

• (He's not the best with words I'm living by this)

• So it'd come out of almost nowhere when he just

▪︎ "Will you be by my side forever?"

▪︎ "Of course."

▪︎ "Then, would you allow me to have your hand in marriage?"

• Very simple

• But he's trying his best

• He makes sure his voice sounds softer when he asks, just to show that

• He may not say it often himself, but Bi-Han really, truly does love you

• It shows in everything he does

• He'll hold you close when you sleep, protecting you from the dangers of the world around you

• You won't be left without a kiss on the head before he leaves in the morning, or before he falls asleep at night

• Calls you "my wife"/ "my husband"/ "beloved"

• You are the reason he finds himself being less irritable earlier in the day

• When this man loves he loves with his whole self, he will not do wrong by you

• That, you are always sure of

[cowgurrrl]

Hello! Would it be possible to get some rockstar!joel and actrees!reader proposal/wedding stuff? Absolutely in loveee with the story!!

Yesssss!! I’m so excited to write this!! Thank you for the request 🫶

I Want To Marry You

Pairing: rockstar!joel x actress!reader

Author’s note: Dedicated to everyone who ever loved me enough to try again. Let’s get coffee sometime.

Summary: Joel asks you The Question [3.3k]

Warnings: mentions of anxiety, family fluff, things coming full circle, oh god I love them

Joel's been acting weird the past few days. You're not in a fight. You're between projects right now, and he's always plunking music in the home studio. Everybody's healthy and happy. You can't pinpoint exactly why he's being jumpy or disappearing into the garage to take phone calls, but you trust him to tell you if something's happening. Still, it throws you off.

When you tell Carolina about it, she reassures you it's probably nothing. "Maybe he's going to surprise you with a romantic getaway or something like that." She suggests, and you laugh as you fiddle with Daisy's collar. She also seemed to sense the shift in the house because she's gotten especially clingy recently. 

"You have kids. You know how hard it is to get away." You say, shaking your head. 

"Yeah, but my kids are seven and three. Not seventeen and twenty-one." 

"Still! Ellie's in school, and even though Sarah has her own apartment now, I don't like going super far in case she needs one of us. That's why we stagger our schedules like we do." 

"Did your mom worry about you this much when you were twenty-one?" She asks. You laugh because she knows the answer. She knew what you were like in your early twenties, and somebody definitely should've been worrying about you.

"My mom didn't even know what borough I lived in at twenty-one." You say. "It's not a bad thing to want to be close. Do you remember when I dropped a plate and cut my foot open on the broken glass and had to take a cab to the hospital?"

"God, don't remind me." She shudders. Carolina had come home to find your tiny apartment in Hell's Kitchen empty and covered in blood. For exactly twenty seconds, she believed you'd be axe-murdered and dragged away by the killer until you called her and told her what happened, resulting in a ten-minute-long conversation about how many people in Manhattan realistically own axes. 

"All I'm saying is I don't want Sarah to be bleeding out in the back of a stranger's car if Joel or I can be there instead."

"You worry too much." She says. "But, then again, all the best moms do."

"Not their mom." You say quickly as if she’d thrown you a ticking bomb and you’re trying to pass it right back to her.

"Yeah, but you're the closest thing they have to one."

"That's true, but I don't want to put that kind of pressure on the girls. They shouldn't have to call me anything they don't want to, and I'm not going to replace their moms."

"Of course not, honey, and nobody would accuse you of doing that, but you'd be lying to yourself if you said you didn't love those girls like they're your own."

"I know." You sigh. "I just worry."

"I know you do." She says. Carolina has been there for all your worrying over the years. Worrying about how you were gonna pay rent, when your next job would come in, and whatever stupid boy you were seeing at the moment. She knows how to calm you down and take your mind off things. "Why don't you get out of the little worry hole you've dug yourself into and come with me and the girls to get our nails done? It'll be fun, and you'll get to hang out with your goddaughters." 

"When?"

"Tomorrow?" She says, and you mentally flip through your calendar. 

"I think I can do tomorrow. Send me a time and place, and I'll be there." You say as the front door opens and closes. You furrow your brows and walk to the top of the stairs to see what's happening. A smiley face greets you with a wave, and you hurriedly hang up on Carolina.

"Sarah! What are you doing here, bug?" You ask as you rush down the stairs to hug her. Joel beams as he watches you embrace her for several long seconds, not pulling away until she does.

"Just missed y'all." She mumbles into your shoulder, and you kiss her temple. She's twenty minutes up the road, but it feels like a lifetime away. 

"Sarah!" Ellie yells and joins in on your hug without hesitation. The three of you dissolve into a fit of giggles, and Joel just stands there, watching the madness unfold. Joel has never been good at hiding his emotions, and you've always been good at reading him like a book. The look he gives you and the girls is full of love and pride and something deeper, something more meaningful. You raise an arm to pull him into the group hug, and he pretends to be annoyed, but he snuggles in with the three of you, kissing each of your foreheads. 

You spend the night making dinner and chocolate chip cookies with the girls and Joel (and Daisy ever so graciously cleaning up the remnants of a food fight Joel started) before curling up on the couch with them and watching a movie. It's just like every other time you've sat and watched whatever movie the girls have been dying to see, but as you rest against Joel's chest, something pricks in your brain. This feels different. He feels different. His hands run a nervous course from your shoulder to your wrist, and his head occasionally dips to kiss at the juncture of your neck. It's like he can't sit still. 

"You okay?" You whisper, glancing at him. He gives you a confused look but nods anyway.

"Why wouldn't I be?" 

"I don't know. I'm probably just anxious for no reason." You shrug. He pulls you close and kisses your temple, keeping you close as the movie continues. At the end of the night, Joel carries both the girls to bed even though he's forty-three and could've let them sleep on the couch. You didn't tell him this, of course, because who are you to pull him back from Dad Mode? So, you cautiously walk in front of him, kicking stray clothes or backpacks out of the way so he doesn't trip. Once Sarah and Ellie are safely tucked into bed, Joel scoops you up by your waist and throws you over his shoulder to carry you into your shared bedroom. 

You laugh the whole way in, and when he plops you down on the bed, you wrap your legs around his waist and keep him close. Your fingers reach up to tug the necklace out from under his shirt collar and play with the pendant as he stares at you.

"What're you thinking about?" You ask.

"Thinking bout us." He says, and you raise your eyebrows at him.

"Oh, do tell."

"We've been together a long time." 

"Sick of me already?" You ask, making him laugh, but he shakes his head and kisses you, traces of chocolate and cinnamon lingering on his lips. 

"Never." He says. "I was just thinkin' bout it." Technically, it's true. You guys have been together for a while. This year, it'll almost be four years since you walked into that office in Beverly Hills and met him. You remember thinking you would finish out the contract and never see him again. Little did you know Joel Miller would become the man making you dinner most nights and carrying you off to bed. Or that he'd throw you the best thirtieth birthday party in the history of birthday parties. Or that you'd move in with him and his daughters. Or that you'd love him more than you've ever loved anyone. 

"It's weird to think I went so long without knowing you." You mumble, your hold on him tightening like you're scared he'll fade away if you don't cling to him. He rests his forehead against yours, sensing your anxiety spiking, and you're overwhelmed by him. Your legs are still locked around his waist, and your chests are touching, the points of contact sending little butterflies fluttering through your veins. You can't see, taste, feel, or smell anything that isn't Joel.

"'M not goin' anywhere." He says, and you nod. "Ever."

"I'm gonna hold you to that, Miller." You joke, trying to ease your brain out of your spiraling and lighten the air between you two. He laughs, and the room brightens as he does. 

"Do your worst, darlin'." 

When you wake up the next morning, Joel isn't there. You reach for him and find a piece of paper on his cold pillow. How long has he been gone? How the fuck did you sleep through him rolling out of your arms? You squint in the early morning sun as you read the note.

You sigh and grumble into your pillow. What kind of psychopath runs errands at nine in the morning? The kind of psychopath you love, that's who. You lay in the too-big bed for a few more minutes before finally getting up and checking your phone. Carolina has texted you with the address of a nail salon and told you to meet her at eleven, but other than that, your phone is radio silent. Not that you're complaining, but normally you're bombarded with notifications from when you wake up to when you go to bed. It's nice, if not a little unnerving, to not have five million people to respond to the first thing in the morning.

When you walk downstairs, you expect to see Sarah and Ellie sitting at the table and eating, but no one's there. You call for the girls, but the only person who responds is Daisy, who dances in front of you. You crouch down to pet her and give her good morning kisses. "Just us today, huh?" You ask, a little sad, but nobody is more excited about one-on-one time quite like Daisy Mae. You give Daisy breakfast before letting her run around the backyard and making yourself something to eat.

You scroll aimlessly through your phone until it's time to leave and meet Carolina and the girls at the nail salon. Elizabeth and Victoria launch themselves at you the second they catch sight of you, and you spend the better half of your appointment with a child on your lap and listening to the latest drama from Elizabeth's first-grade classroom. You have the girls help pick out what color to paint your nails, and they each land on a pretty ballet slipper pink. "Good taste, guys," you praise as you show the nail technician what color you want. "Just like your mama, huh?"

"I mean, I wasn't gonna say it," Carolina says, and you laugh. Caro, like usual, is right about needing to take some time for yourself to stop worrying. You can actually relax in the big, plush chairs and talk to the girls like nothing could be more important than what they had for breakfast. Carolina hugs you tighter than normal at the end of your appointment and says she'll see you later before ushering the girls into their car seats. You barely have time to react before she's driving away like nothing happened. 

Did you make plans with her and forget about them? It's happened before, so you wouldn't be overly surprised if it happened again. But if that's the case, why didn't she say anything? You shake your head as if it'll shake out all your racing thoughts and get in your car to drive home. When you pull into the driveway, everyone's cars are back where they belong, and you selfishly get really excited about seeing them. Except, the exact second you step through the door, Joel is putting Daisy's harness on her and has his running shoes on.

"Where are you going?" You ask, your mood dropping at seeing him ready to leave again. He looks up and smiles despite the pout on your lips.

"There you are! We were waiting on you so we could take Daisy for a walk." He says, breathless as he wrestles with your pitbull. You look past Joel and see Sarah and Ellie standing there with shoes and sunglasses on. 

"We really need four people for a dog walk?" 

"I wanted to show the girls the new route along the beach we found." He says. "Is that okay?" You nod.

"We just might look crazy, but, of course! Let me change my shoes!" You call as you take the stairs two at a time to get up to your bedroom. You decide to wear the pink tennis shoes to match your cute pink nails before ambling back downstairs and walking out the door. When you first rescued Daisy, she didn't let anyone but you hold her leash. However, after years spent with Joel and the girls, she can be walked by just about anyone as long as you're there. She's as much of your comfort dog as you are her comfort person.

Taking your hand in his, Joel walks Daisy with the other and swings your hands through the air as Sarah and Ellie walk behind you. It's a little silly, but you'll take all the affection after waking up without anyone else in the house. Slowly, the five of you make your way toward the sound of the crashing waves and the smell of salt in the air. The cliffs hang ominously above the empty beach and boardwalks, but you love it. You once told Joel when you walk out this far, it feels like you're the only person around. Something about being near the water makes you feel even better. A pop of color near the sidewalk catches your attention, and you break off from your little ragtag group to see what it is.

"Joel, come look at this." You say, leaning over the rope to look down at the wildflowers dancing on the cliffside. It's gorgeous, and the wind perfectly balances the blistering hot day, but he doesn't immediately appear at your side like he normally would. You furrow your brows and turn to see him down on one knee with a ring in his hand. Your breath catches in your throat, and you immediately cover your mouth with your hand. Joel smiles with watery eyes as he reaches for the other and pulls you close to him. 

"Did you know about this?" You look past Joel to see Ellie and Sarah standing there, Daisy's leash wrapped around Ellie's wrist as Sarah records on her phone, and they laugh. Their smiles and teary eyes are all the confirmation you need, and you look back down at Joel. "Is this why you've been acting so weird?" You ask, and he laughs.

"Yeah, this is why I've been actin' so weird," he says. His Adam's apple bobs as he says your name and your legs shake under you. "I love you, and I fall more in love with you every single day. There's not a single moment I've spent with you where I've not wondered what the fuck you see in me." He's crying now, but you can't stop the laughter from bubbling out from your chest. He squeezes your hand and takes a deep breath before continuing. "And you don't just love me, but you love my girls. You make them feel safe and cared for. You've given them somethin' I've been tryin' and failin' to give them for years, and I will spend the rest of my days tryna repay you for that."  

"Will you marry me?" He finally asks, and you sniffle. Tears stain everyone's face, and even Daisy is crying next to Ellie, and you'd laugh if you could see past the tears in your eyes. You nod and drop to your knees with Joel.

"Yes." You say as you grab his face and kiss him. "Yes. Yes. Yes. Of course, I'll marry you." You repeat over and over again as his arms lock around your waist. Sarah and Ellie cheer, suddenly no longer annoyed at your PDA, and you smile against Joel's lips. He adjusts his hold on you to give you a good look at the ring for the first time, and all your breath leaves you in a huff. It's gorgeous. A simple oval-shaped diamond on a gold band with an engraving on the inside. 

"What does this say?" You ask, and he smiles as he holds it so you can read it. You immediately start crying when you read and realize what it means. He wrote inside your engagement ring, "And one day, we'll get coffee & try again." You said it to him before you left for Ireland when your heart was broken, and you didn't know the future could ever be this soft. He slips it onto your left ring finger and gathers you in his arms, both of you still on the ground and crying like crazy people. You don't care. You hold him so tight you almost miss him whispering into your skin.

"Thank you for trying again with me." He says. Ellie, Sarah, and Daisy join in on your crying in the middle of the sidewalk huddle, and you're completely surrounded by love. After a few minutes, you calm down enough to stand and kiss Joel again, making people cheer from the beach below. When you look over the rope, down to where the wildflowers are, you can see a group of your favorite people on the beach. They must've been hidden until Joel could propose, and now they're all making their joy well known with hoots and hollers. 

Joel holds your hand as the girls lead the way down to the beach, where there's a makeshift bar and picnic set up with a giant banner reading "CONGRATULATIONS" with a little ring in the middle. "This is what the errands were this morning," Joel tells you quietly, and you smile. 

"You're pretty good at keeping secrets, Miller."

"Not really. Everyone here knew I was proposing before you did," he says, and you laugh. "Besides, I'd watch it with the Miller thing considering you're becomin' one." 

"I guess that's true." You sigh happily as Ryan ambushes you, picking you up in his arms and spinning you around. You squeal until he puts you back down and immediately demands to see your ring. Carolina comes up behind him as you show him, her eyes popping out of her head at the sight.

"Damn, Joel!" She exclaims, and Joel laughs. 

"Only the best for my bride." He says. My bride. It rings in your head like a bell, echoing through your mind like gospel. You look around at the faces of everyone you've ever loved. Your manager, Sierra, and her partner, Bianca, are talking with Lili and Peter. Sarah and Ellie are running up and down the beach with Daisy, Elizabeth, and Victoria, struggling to keep up. Hank and Lucia patiently wait their turn at the bar next to Tommy and Maria. Your beauty team, Alexa and Jenna, laugh together as they talk to a handful of other costars they've also worked with. The beach is crawling with family, both of origin and found, and you wouldn't want it any other way. 

As you make your rounds with Joel on your arm, showing off your ring and trying not to cry as people tell you how happy they are for you, you wish you could show your past self this moment. The girl who packed up all her shit and moved across the world after breaking up with the love of her life. The girl who spent countless nights crying herself to sleep and going to therapy and trying to create a better life for herself. The girl who almost backed out of a coffee date three years ago because she was so scared the man on the other side of the table wouldn't like what he found. You wish she could see this and know she did the right thing. You wish she knew things ended up okay. You wish she knew she got to try again, and it changed her entire life. Wherever she is, you hope she knows she did good.

"What're you thinkin' bout?" Joel whispers in your ear as he hands you a glass of champagne. You smile and shake your head.

"Just… someone I used to know."

[strawberrykisseslia]

sweetness

♡ pairing: ada wong x fem!reader

♡ cw: pure fluff like too much, ada being softer with reader, also im not sure how to write ada js yet so bare w me, not proofread

♡ i love ada sm i dont get the hate also i got sick :D

♡ wc: 700

“oh, fuck!” you gasped and looked down at your finger which had a cut. some blood dripped down onto the floor and onto the broken plate. you thought it would go okay to make dinner after having a long night shift the other day. you couldn’t really sleep. all you did was think about Ada if she is alright.

you knew she wasn’t really the one who was used to text so much but it made you worried that you haven’t heard from her in days. she never told you about her job but you knew it was important and dangerous.

the reason Ada never talked more about it was because she didn’t want you to get involved in it. it could put you out to danger, it was already risky she had someone so important to her.

you sighed and put your hands down on the counter and leaned against it. you took a big breath in and out before starting to clean up the mess but first you cleaned up your cut and put a bandaid on it.

as you were deep into cleaning you heard the front door open.

“i’m home.”

you quickly got up and ran towards the door. it was your loving girlfriend.

she put down her stuff on the small table besides the door and put her coat up. she looked extremely exhausted but when she saw you coming out of the kitchen a smile creeped up on her face.

“hey love.” her voice was quiet and soft. you hugged her around her neck and she held you closely by the waist.

“hey, it’s nice to have you back,” you said as you stepped back. “i was worried about you.” you gently carried her cheek, she leaned into your touch.

"i missed you a lot." she whispered to you. Ada took your hand and noticed the bandaid. "what happened?" she asked and tilted her a bit.

"oh, just wanted to make you some dinner but dropped the plate and it broke," you laughed a bit at the accident. "it's nothing deadly." you teased Ada a bit. she always cared if something happened to you. even if it was the smallest paper cut. she was there to help you even after you told her countless times that you are fine.

"you shouldn't. i know you had a night shift yesterday, i know your schedule," she continued talking as she took her boots off. "you should be resting. i make something, okay?"

she didn't wait for your answer and walked into the kitchen. luckily you were done with the cleaning when she got home so you could freely walk in the kitchen.

you crossed your arms and leaned against the door frame and smiled at your girlfriend who was walking arouned the room. "aren't you tired? you should also rest."

she chuckled and shook her head. "never tired to make food for you— i already ate on my way home. i thought you'll be sleeping." you nodded. "i see, well, do you need any help?" you walked over and hugged her around her waist.

"you could sit down on the couch and put something on, i'll handle the rest." she smiled and brushed your arms. "okay!"

-

after some minutes she was done and brought the food in on a tray. she sat down next to you and handed you the freshly made pasta. you thanked her and she nodded. "is it good?" she asked you as you took your bite.

"yes, oh my god!" you nodded. "i love your cookings." you smiled and continued to eat. she put her arm around your shoulder and started to gently brush your arm. "i'm glad."

you were finishing eating when you saw you Ada fell asleep on your shoulder. it's rare to see her relax or in a comforting position. her body is always in a 'go' state, never really resting at all. it's nice to see her finally at peace.

you put your food down on the cafe table and put a blanket over you and her. you held her closely to you, never wanting to let her go away again and just have her for yourself only.

[boyfhee]

DISTANT MEMORY · pjs

synopsis · jay seems like a stranger, you wish you were dreaming ( ~ 1k )

genre · angst :/

notes · for my lovely @homelycat bff again. btw im still on hiatus i just wanted to drop this promised jay angst, i hope u all read this suffer a lot

silence fills your kitchen, a wisp emerges from your coffee and vanishes into thin air. your fingers tip press a little harder around your cup; there's something wrong with jay today.

you notice the way he hasn't looked at you since you've sat at the table for breakfast, you've been noticing for a while; his actions— antics, watching him do things he usually doesn't, making decisions he generally wouldn't, say things he doesn't mean otherwise. you've been noticing for over a month, and it feels that the jay you knew has simply became a distant memory. the more you think about it, the further it drifts away, morphing into ancient history.

sometimes, you think you're dreaming.

"jake asked if we're down for movies this saturday, with everyone else," you break the silence, but your eyes are fixed on the ceramic plate in front of you. "told him we have other plans for the day, you know, my highschool reunion, since you're supposed to join me,"

"i see," he nods, and those words mark the end of your small talk. frankly, you miss the days none of you would shut up, no matter what time of the day it was. it doesn't matter now, not really, jay talks about whatever he wants, whenever he wants, and other times, it's just silence communicating with itself. "are you done shopping for the reunion?"

just like now.

for some reason, the empty plate in front of you seems more tempting than the question he asked. you remember winning the whole crockery set at a couple game around two years ago, or three, maybe. you're not sure, the timeline is getting blurry inside your mind. you leave his question unattended like the coffee in your cup, to see if he cares about a response.

a second passes, then another, one more, jay grabs the newspaper kept on the further right corner of the kitchen counter. it's as if the question doesn't mean anything— your response doesn't mean anything, perhaps, would be a better conclusion. you hope you're dreaming, because the jay sitting in front of you doesn't seem like the person you fell in love with.

"you know, i think we shouldn't attend the reunion either," you give in either way, putting your plate aside, leaning on the counter with a forced smile in an attempt to make yourself feel better.

and jay looks up. "oh," but, he's looking somewhere else. your hair, shoulder, the paining behind you, anywhere, but your eyes. there's a certain look in his eyes, grief, guilt— remorse, and you want to ask him, what is it that turned you into someone so unfamiliar?

his eyes shift back to the newspaper. "suit yourself. i have a few other stuff scheduled for that day, either way,"

you wonder if he cares, you realise he doesn't.

and you can't take it anymore.

actually, there's a question you've been wearing on the tip of your tongue for days now, finding the right moment to ask him. it would be a lie if you said life didn't give you any opportunities, you just weren't able to bring yourself ask it. you aren't brave when it comes to such things, never were, never would be, talking about love scares you. you never know how the conversation would turn out. there are too many risks.

falling for him was the first one you took, confronting him would be probably be the last one with him.

"i think you don't love me anymore,"

a pause; you notice the hesitation laced in his expression, it doesn't faze you anymore.

jay nods faintly. his eyes don't leave the sight of the empty cup in front of him, as if it's staring back at him. his lips press into a thin line as the unsaid words intoxicate the silence spinning in the air. he sighs; the empty cup reminds him of something, of himself, his heart,

and so, jay finally musters up the courage to look into your eyes. "i know, i've noticed."

[not-a-space-alien]

K&J x MMSS 4: Valen & Jim Part 11

Part eleven of the fourth crossover with @whumpsday!

Bam!!! Back to back!! Once again again an XL chapter because I couldn't find a good place for a chapter break. lol... You can clearly tell these were written as RPs 😅 Hope you enjoy!

K&J masterlist

MMSS masterlist

K&J x MMSS crossover masterlist

To be added to the taglist, contact @whumpsday

Warnings: Aftermath of torture

In this chapter:

***

The next day, Jim comes down when Liz is set to arrive soon. He feels a lot safer in the daytime, making breakfast for himself.  Valen follows behind.

The bookshelf is undisturbed. Jim says, "Liz is gonna be working on the basement, installing silver stuff on the door. Kane can come up here? I can't move that bookshelf."

"Sure, that sounds fine. Just so you know, I had Kane demonstrate yesterday how strong he is as of now, and he could barely lift twenty pounds. The bookshelf was far in excess. Maybe that will put you at ease. I'll probably have to go to vampire territory tonight to pick up more blood, but I won't leave until Liz has made things secure so that you feel safe with me out of the house."

He walks over to the bookshelf and lifts it bodily, books and all, effortlessly and sets it where it belongs. He unlocks the door and cracks it open. "Kane, are you awake?"

Kane pokes his head out from the blanket cocoon he's encased himself in. "Yes, sir. I mean- yes." It's the best night of sleep he's had in a very long time. Already, he looks a lot better, the burns on his face having healed significantly. "Am I... needed?" They said they wouldn't hurt him, he tries to remind himself, but it's hard to internalize.

"Jim wants you to come upstairs. His sister is coming over today and will need to be in the basement. Shall I help you come up?"

His sister must be Liz. The hunter. Great, just great. There's no way he's going to escape that encounter unscathed. At least he has blood now, so he'll heal fast, but he's still dreading it.

"I, I can handle it." Kane wraps one of the blankets around himself, shuffling up the stairs to meet Valen. "Is it okay if I take it with me?"

"Of course." Valen watches Kane come upstairs, then has him sit down on the couch, then pokes his head into the kitchen. "Jim, dear, Kane is in the living room. Come out when you're ready. What would you like us to do until Liz gets here?"

Jim comes out with a plate of peanut butter banana toast. "Uh, I dunno. She shouldn't be long. Hey, K-Kane." Jim isn't supposed to use his name. He's supposed to use Master. He hates that his voice wavers. "How'd you sleep."

Kane eyes him fearfully.  "Very well. Thank you." Kane is trying to be as polite as possible, extremely tense. "And yourself?"

"Good. Hey, relax. Still not gonna hurtcha." Jim reminds him.

"Yes. Thank you." Kane barely calms. The hunter is almost here.

"I figure I'll go out and buy some stuff for him at some point today, before you go for blood. Clothes and stuff." Jim tells Valen. "That okay?"

"Sure, that's a lovely idea.  And while you're out of the house, maybe Kane can help me with my research project, since we're out of real blood.  I finally have a second test subject."  He winks at Kane.

Kane's face falls even deeper into fear. "What?" he squeaks, clutching the blanket tighter around himself. "What- research project?"

"Oh dear," Valen says with a laugh.  "I just realized how that might have sounded if you don't know anything about it.  I'm working on trying to develop artificial blood.  So far I've been the only one around to drink it.  You can help me taste test it.  You needn't worry; the worst that will happen is we sit around drinking shots, and one of them happens to taste bad.  Obviously you don't have to if it makes you nervous."

Kane relaxes. That's the worst that can happen, and the best that can happen is he gets more blood. "Yes, I would love to. That sounds, that sounds wonderful. Thank you for including me."

"Aw, I wanna do fake blood shots." Jim whines. "Stupid toxic mushrooms."

There's a knock at the door, and Kane jolts like it's a gunshot, whimpering.

"She's not gonna hurt you." Jim assures him. "Liz's just gonna make the basement secure and get you some restraints that don't hurt. That's all."

Restraints that don't hurt sound good. Kane nods, sinking further into the couch as Jim answers the door.

Liz is wearing her hunting gear and a stormy expression, carrying a bag of vampire restraints in one hand and a bunch of silver under the other. She glares at Kane with burning hatred.

Kane shoots Valen a desperate, pleading look.

Valen comes over and stands next to Kane, reaching down and putting a comforting hand on his back.  "Liz, it's so good to see you.  Kane, this is Liz, Jim's sister.  She and I have been good friends for years.  Liz, there's something Kane would like to say to you."  Valen leans down and whispers very, very quietly into Kane's ear, such that only vampire hearing would let him hear, no eavesdropping.  "Apologize to her, and try to make it sound like you're not doing it just because you're afraid of her."  There's no way it's going to mollify even a fraction of Liz's anger at Kane, but Valen thinks that addressing the elephant in the room up-front might ease some of the tension that he's sure is going to happen.  And maybe, just maybe, if Kane is polite and deferential and sincere right off the bat, it will help Liz see that he's different.

Kane focuses on the grounding hand on his back. Valen has been safe, so far, and unbelievably kind. At the very least, he's a vampire too, and the least threatening of his new wardens. He hesitates a moment before timidly speaking up. "I'm s-sorry, ma'am. What I did to Jim was- was cruel, and I'm glad he's safe now."

Jim's eyebrows raise at the apology. Kane's said I'm sorry many times already, but this feels different somehow. It feels weird.

"I know that it was cruel." Liz snaps. Kane cringes back, expecting a blow that doesn't come.

"Liz, he's already really scared." Jim says. "Please?"

She sighs, putting the silver down and approaching with the bag. "Arms out."

Kane extends his shaking arms. Liz fastens padded cuffs onto his wrists, and similar with his ankles. "Don't touch the keys, they're silver." she tells Valen, her tone much softer with him.

She tosses the bag to Jim, containing the keys to the cuffs and one other mysterious item. Jim peers inside, then closes the bag again with a frown.

"Thank you, Liz," Valen says.  "I know you have every right to be upset with Kane, he's just simply trying to demonstrate he knows what he did was wrong and behaves differently now.  He has been a perfect gentleman so far, nothing like how he used to be.  It's very kind of you to come over to help Jim and not hurt Kane."  It's a thank you, but also a warning to back off, a reminder of how they'd said it would go.  "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help with the basement."

"I get it, okay? That is what I came over to do." Liz rubs her temples. She gives Jim a quick hug before grabbing the silver. "Thanks, Valen. For everything. But... I think you're the last person who could help with this." She does offer him a lukewarm smile before going to work on the door.

Valen wilts as soon as Liz turns her back, desperately hoping he hadn't made a huge mistake and made things worse.  "Of course," he says vaguely.

Kane relaxes a little once she's out of eyeshot. "Thank you." he murmurs.

Jim fishes the keys out of the bag, stuffs them in his pocket, and throws the bag and its remaining contents in the trash.

Valen comes over and gingerly picks it from the trash.  "Hold on, Jim, dear, it sounds like there's still something in there."

"It's trash." Jim insists, taking it out of Valen's hands and putting it back in the garbage. "I'm gonna put the keys upstairs and head out to shop while you and Kane do shots or whatever. Unless you want me to stick around?"

Valen stares at Jim, then averts his eyes.  "I thought it might be good for you to stay here while Liz is here also, but I think I can handle it if you'd rather not be here."

"Yeah, you're right, it can wait. 'S why I asked." Jim takes Valen's hand, threading his fingers through Valen's. "And seriously, just forget about the bag. It's nothing we'd ever use."

"Jim..." Valen says.  Surely Jim must know that Valen is going to open the bag to see what it is as soon as he gets an opportunity when Jim isn't around?

"It's a muzzle." Jim mumbles. "Like I said. Trash. Prolly just came with the cuffs from whoever Liz got them from, which was why she didn't try to put it on. I'm not putting that shit on him." As afraid as he is of Kane's bite, the memory of Valen in a muzzle still haunts him.

"I don't mind wearing a muzzle if, if it doesn't hurt." Kane says. "I'll be good. Won't resist."

But Valen's skin crawls at the thought of a muzzle.  He understands Jim's instinctual reaction to it.  He tries to hide the look on his face.  Objectively, a muzzle is not such a bad thing, if it won't hurt.  He nods, trying not to look shaken.  "All right.  If you don't think you'll need it, we can get rid of it.  Kane says he wouldn't even mind, I assume it's padded.  I don't think Kane will try to bite you anyway.  I just want you to feel safe."

"I don't want it in our house." Jim cups Valen's face, running his thumb over Valen’s cheek. Soft skin that was locked behind a muzzle for three days during horrible trauma. "I'd feel safer with it gone."

Kane modestly averts his eyes.

Valen nods.  "I-I would also feel safer with it gone.  Thank you."

Valen takes Jim's hand and goes over to Liz, examining what she's doing curiously.  "So, Liz, what all are you planning to do while you're here?"

Liz has already replaced the door's hinges with silver, and is now installing a flat silver grating over it. "Just silverin' up this door. Obviously don't touch any of this, or wear gloves if you gotta. Assume that touching any metal within a foot of the door isn't fun. Gonna put a deadbolt on the outside next. All that should definitely be able to hold him. But both of you keep in mind it'll also hold anyone, human or vampire, so don't get stuck down there."

"Good to know." Jim says quietly. The idea of a prison inside his home makes him feel hollow. It reminds him uncomfortably of the human quarters back at Kane's.

Valen, by contrast, seems fine with this.  "Thank you, Liz."  He walks over and sits on the couch next to Kane.  "How are you doing?" he says quietly.

Jim talks with Liz for a bit, their conversation consisting of Jim chewing her out a bit for bringing a muzzle, Liz confirming what Jim thought about it just coming with the set, Jim asking where she got those anyway, and Liz saying she knows a hunter who did a hostage exchange once.

"I'm okay. Good." Kane confirms. "The cuffs don't hurt. I'm fed. I'm healing. You p-protected me from the hunter. Thank you. I'm... I'm actually okay." He's still scared, his fate uncertain, but he knows his life has at least had a major step up. 

"Good," Valen says, patting his knee.

"Um, can I ask... what did people say about me? After I was assumed dead, as I'm sure I was?"

"Um, unfortunately I don't really know.  I pretty much isolated myself from any other vampires a long time ago.  I moved out here to be with Jim not long after the last time we saw each other, and I don't keep in touch with my family."

"Oh. I see." That would have been years before Kane was captured, then. He hadn't even heard about Valen running off to human territory. It's scary how someone could just...disappear, and no one cares. He wonders if anyone cared when he did.

Suddenly, he smiles wryly. "He was still in your apartment, wasn't he. When I came by. I'm just realizing that."

Valen smiles, half-embarrassed, half amused.  "Yes, he was cowering at the bottom of my bedroom closet.  I've never been a good liar, so I was terrified you'd see through it.  At the time I was nervous I wouldn't be able to fight you off if you didn't believe me and decided to shove your way in and look around."

The implications aren't lost on Kane. If Valen hadn't done what he did, Kane never would have gone through this horrible mess. But it's an incidental consequence, not a purposeful one. He didn't even get captured until five years later.

And he really did plan on crushing Jim's ankles if he found him. And Jim doesn't deserve that.

"I'm glad you got him out. Thank you." Kane says.

"The poor thing was on the brink of death out in the wild," Valen says sadly.  "I couldn't just leave him there."  He wrings his hands.  "I'm glad you think this way, now, I was afraid when we came to get you that you'd--you'd be even angrier, and more violent."

Kane imagines, for a moment, a world in which he'd found Jim's corpse out there in the woods. He'd still have gone for a second human, probably in the same timeframe, and still been captured by the hunters. Except this time, there would be no Jim to save him and take him away. It would be forever. Neither one of them would have a happy ending. He's more thankful than ever for Valen.

"I've been subject to the other side. I couldn't possibly go on with my stupid fucking- s-sorry. I don't mean to be impolite." he says nervously, hoping that doesn't count. Just be polite, and you'll be fine. "With my views."

Valen smiles and pats his hand.  "You're all right.  Still, I'm very glad, it's making this all a lot easier.  I think in the long run this might be better for Jim's healing, too.  To stop thinking of you as some bogeyman that could swoop in to take him at any time."

Jim comes on over, only catching the last bit. "Yeah, not so much of a bogeyman now. So, shots? I can grab some cranberry juice and play along."

Kane perks up. He's going to get more blood, even if it's 'artificial'. He's never heard of anything like it, but he very much likes blood.

"Jim, dear, are you sure you don't want to wait until Liz leaves?" He hesitates, then more quietly: "And are you sure you want to see Kane feeding?"

"It's not like- it's just the mushroom stuff, out of a cup, right? No, like, biting anything?" Jim clarifies. "If I chicken out, I'll just slink off. We can wait if you wanna, though, and you can do it while I'm out. Doesn't matter."

"Yes. Okay, that sounds good. I do think we should wait until Liz is gone, though." No sense doing anything risky if they didn't need to, and having Kane do anything other than the absolute bare minimum to get through interacting with Liz is definitely risky

Kane is glad for the stalling. Drinking blood is bad behavior, and he doesn't want to do it in front of the huntress, even if it's not real blood and he has permission.

Jim puts the TV on for a bit. It's about 40 minutes until Liz is done. "Alright, that should do it." she announces. "If we really wanna test it, Valen can put some gloves on and give it a good knocking, but I get that might be uncomfortable and I'm confident it'll hold."

"I'm certainly willing to do that, but I'm confident in your work, Liz. Jim, up to you."

"If... you're really sure it's okay, could we maybe test it?" Jim asks sheepishly, embarrassed of his fear. "Just to make sure."

Kane wants to insist that he won't try to escape, but that could be taken as him wanting to leave the basement less-secured, and he doesn't want to imply anything like that, especially in front of the hunter.

"Of course! It'll be a fun activity."

Valen dons his protective gear, the things he uses to go out during the day, to be absolutely certain he won't touch any of the silver. He then has them lock him in the basement and bodily slams the door multiple times, demonstrating that even a full frontal assault with a running start from a healthy vampire is not enough to break it down.

Kane watches with wide eyes, listening to the pap-pap-pap-BOOM of Valen running into the door. He wasn't planning to escape anyway, he's behaving, and it's been good here so far, but the demonstration of just how trapped and helpless he is makes him feel small. He looks down at his feet, trembling a bit.

Jim unlocks the door. "Thanks, Vale. Think that about covers it."

Valen had, truthfully, enjoyed the activity just as he'd said. It'd been ages since he'd had any reason to unleash his full strength. He is panting a little when he comes out. "You're quite welcome." He catches sight of Kane. "I'm sure this is far in excess of what's actually necessary, considering Kane isn't going to try anything like what I just did, but I'm happy it will make you feel more secure."

Valen looks so hot, panting when he takes his mask off. Jim would eagerly comment on it if the other company in the room weren't his sister and Kane. "Yeah. Super secure."

"I'll leave you guys to it, then. You know I'm always a phone call away." Liz gives Jim a hug, and Valen a hug, and goes to leave. Before she does, she hesitates at the door before stomping over to Kane.

"Hurt my brother ever again and you are done." she snarls. "Are we understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." Kane says, cowering away from her.

"Thank you, Liz," Valen says dryly. "Drive safely."  Jim is similarly displeased with Liz's choice, even if he's glad for the protectiveness.

Valen watches Liz depart, and then turns to Kane. "You did very well, thank you for staying calm." 

"C-calm." Kane agrees shakily. He's relieved he's done well, at least.

Valen grins at Jim. "Drinks now, then?"

"Hell yes. I'm getting my c-berry." Jim heads into the kitchen.

"One moment, Jim, I have a great idea that will make this fun for you as well!"

Valen runs into the kitchen and mixes some shots of various kinds of alcohol, with red food dye, in with Jim's cranberry juice shots. He also makes Jim look away to keep it secret and adds a few prank shots, like straight pickle juice, vinegar, dredges of food leftovers that he's seen the human dump down the drain to discard, anything that's safe to ingest but strong in taste and can be passably disguised as cranberry juice. He also adds one shot that's the formula for artificial blood without the parts that would hurt Jim--he imagines it will just taste really salty, but he knows Jim will be delighted to taste a safe version of it.

He then pours little sample cups of his various concoctions, paired so that he and Kane will always be drinking the same one. He's had years to work on it at this point, and while it's certainly not real blood, not even as good as the imported stuff, it's much more tolerable than it had been in the early stages. He's currently working on trying to replicate the specific tastes of various blood types. He is getting closer to being ready to do something with it, although he's still not quite sure what his plan of attack for actually launching it will be, now that he's burned his bridges with the country's biggest distributor of blood.

Valen comes out with the shots, all labeled with some scribbles only decipherable to himself. "Okay, Kane, we're testing which of these taste best, which of them are stinkers, and as a bonus let's label each as to what blood type they taste most like."

"Haha, oh man. This is great." Jim laughs. "This is so cute. I'm so freakin' excited."

Kane eyes the not-blood curiously. It doesn't smell like blood, but it looks like blood. He hopes it sits in his stomach and sates hunger like blood. "Okay! This is... I've never seen anything like this."

Jim grabs the human-safe artificial blood first, the only one visually distinguishable from his cranberry shots. Kane grabs the shot opposite the one Valen grabs.

"Cheers!" Jim exclaims.

Valen clinks his glass against Jim's, then Kane's, then tosses the shot back.

All three of them make faces like they'd just tasted something bad. The first cup of artificial blood was definitely a bad one.

"Um," Valen says, smacking his lips. "Hm, I'm marking this one down as a no.”

It definitely tastes bad, but it really is blood, almost. Kane licks the remnants from the inside of the shot. "It's okay. I don't hate it." he decides. How could he hate something that would sate hunger? Just yesterday, he would have licked this off the floor and been grateful.

"I'll write it down that a starving man finds it tolerable."

"Ugh." is Jim's only comment on his own drink.

Valen grabs the next shot glass and downs it. He licks his lips. "Mmm.  Oh, this one is pretty good. I'd say it's AB positive.”

Kane agrees. "AB positive, yes. This is good." But maybe his standards are low, like Valen said.

Jim gets pickle juice, his face scrunching up again. "Pickle."

The next one, Jim gets a nice cranberry vodka shot. "Now this is a shot. Finally." he says with a smile.

"B negative. Really good." Kane says immediately after drinking his.

The smile drops off Jim's face and he looks away. After seeing Jim's reaction, Kane's mood similarly seems to drop as he shrinks back.

"Ah," Valen says. B negative is, in fact, Jim's blood type.  He discreetly makes a few notes in the ensuing awkward silence.  "Shall we take a break, then?"

"S-sorry." Kane says quietly.

"Nah, s'all good. You were doing exactly what Valen asked you to do." Jim takes another shot. "Bleh. Pickles." He motions for Valen and Kane to continue.

Valen wordlessly slides his notebook and pencil over to Kane, so he can directly write down what blood type he thinks they are, so as to avoid a repeat of what just happened.

The next blood shot is a whole lot of nothing. It doesn't taste bad, but it doesn't taste good either

They go through all of them like this. Jim is pretty giggly by the end, the B negative shot forgotten. Kane looks at him strangely.

"He never let me driiink." Jim complains to Valen. "Said it'd taste bad, in my blood. Boo. No fun."

Kane's experiences with humans and alcohol have been very different up until now, due to selection bias: the only hunters who would bother visiting him drunk were the ones who wanted something to hurt. He's never seen a reaction like this before.

"Oh, Jim," Valen says, giggling and giving him a smooch. "You're so cute when you're drunk. You can have all the fun you want now. Oh!" Valen goes red. "I-I forgot that you were supposed to drive to the store after this!”

"Well that's not happening. Don't wanna go to the stupid store anyway. Wanna stay here with you." Jim nuzzles into Valen's shoulder. "We got clothes here. It can wait a day. C'you wait a day, Kane?"

"Yes. I, I can wait. Thank you for going at all." Kane agrees.

"See? All fine." Jim says happily.

Valen decides to also put off leaving the house to go get blood until Jim is sober, imagining it wouldn't go well for Jim to be drunk alone with Kane, or to wake up alone with Kane in the house.  They have the artificial stuff to tide them over, which is in fact the whole point of making it.

After they're done drinking, Valen insists that Jim "makes" Kane watch Jim's favorite movie.  After it seems like Jim's had enough of being conscious on this mortal coil, Valen takes him upstairs and puts him to bed, then comes down to put Kane in the basement.

He apologetically asks him to go downstairs, and asks if he'd like anything to keep himself entertained.

"...Music?" Kane asks. "If, if it's convenient. I don't need anything. Thank you for the blood."

"Of course!"

Valen comes down with a radio, as well as some notebooks and pencils, which Kane didn't ask for, but Valen suggests to him to keep a journal, as Valen has found it good for his mental health.  He also brings down books and extra pillows and blankets, adding them to the outrageously large pile of blankets already on Kane's bed, because he thinks it's just so dreadfully cold down here.

"I'll see about getting us some real blood soon," Valen says on his way up the stairs.  "Sleep well."

"Thank you. So much, for everything. You too." Kane says with a small smile. For the first time in a very long time, he's actually hopeful about the future.

Valen locks the door, then goes upstairs to the very drunk and sleepy Jim, barricading the bedroom door once again and crawling up beside Jim.  "How are you, my dear Jim?"

"Good. Sleepy. M'not even scared." Jim proclaims proudly. "Valen. Guess what. I love you sooooo much."

Valen's face splits in a smile so big it hurts his face.  "Awww.  Well guess what.  I love you more!"

Jim breaks into a gigantic smile. "Yaaaaaay." He buries his face in Valen.

Valen strokes the nape of Jim's neck as they both fall asleep.

***

@barebarb

@cc1010foxy

@emcscared-whumps

@gt-daboss

@hurtpluscomfort

@jakersdaboss

@lolrpop

@melancholy-in-the-morning

@pigeonwhumps

@secretwhumplair

@some-thrilling-heroics

@starfields08000

@t0rture-me

@thecyrulik

@thejinglingcourtjester

@vehan-tikkun-olam-and-stuff

@whuarri

@whump-cravings

@whump-my-heart-away

@whumpycries

@wolfeyedwitch

@whump-addict

@why-not-ask-me-a-better-question

[annakie]

FIXING THE HOUSE Chapter 10: Rooms With No View

Part One: I Do Not, In Fact, Have the Power

Part Two: Let’s Spend Lots of Money!

Part Three: All These Things That I’ve Done

Part Four: I Really Want to Stay At My House

A little interlude.

Part Five: Power Down

Part Six: You Will Leave Some Paint

Part Seven: Backwards to go Forwards

Part Eight: Master of Bathrooms

Part Nine: Within a Room, Somewhere

Part Ten: Rooms With No View (YOU ARE HERE)

Part Eleven: Big Bang Room Part A and also Part B!

Part Twelve: We Can Make It On the Outside

Part Thirteen: Mauve Haze Symphony

Part Fourteen (A) - In the Kitchen

Part Fourteen (B) - Copper Green

So we've dove way too deep into the master bedroom and bathroom. Today we're getting through two (or maybe three-ish) rooms, but tbh they're the least exciting rooms so it shouldn't take ridiculous amounts of time and pictures.

*edit* -- I lied. It's long.

THE GUEST ROOM!

Yep, that's an ugly room, with cheap furniture, not long after moving in.

I mentioned before that my first couple of years I had roommates, just to afford the mortgage.

The first roommate I had was only there a couple of months. We… did not hit it off. She was loud and annoying and her boyfriend was always over. I was also not the best roommate and the house was... really not great anyway. Not a good fit for either of us.

Also she did this to the wall. She painted that much, and then stopped, and never started again.

Hey you can see the comparison between the original offwhite and the cream I ended up painting everything there though. Oh also where she DID paint to the ceiling she smooshed the paint on the ceiling.

I got a second roommate and told her I'd paint the room before she got there, she said no, she'd like to paint the room herself.

She was here about two years and never did paint the room, lol. We got along just fine but she worked all night and I worked all day so we didn't see each other much, and she really just stayed in her room and watched TV and interneted in her free time. I tried to drag her out a couple of times to hang out with my friends, to just go to a movie, and she seemed to have a good time but never really initiated much. I wasn't sure if I was annoying her by getting her to have more of a social life but she seemed to really latch onto life here or take initiative to do more.

When she moved out, she moved back home, but we parted well. She left a bunch of stuff here, a few things like a floor fan and some plates I still have.

So then a friend-at-the-time was going to move in. She DID paint the room.

She painted it dark brown on the bottom, THEN a stripe of grey, and THEN aqua on top.

It was, tbh, hideous. I hated it a LOT. Then she never moved in.

I hated this, a lot. But it still took me probably a year or two to repaint it because I didn't want to offend my friend. I shoulda anyway. :p

We had a falling out and I immediately repainted it when I realized I could just stop giving a shit about what she thought, finally.

Why yes, I DO intentionally pick pictures with my cats in them. That's my dearly departed Jim. <3

And hey, the white carpet, right after it went in. Regret.

Yeah this green, called Sanctuary, was a nice, comforting color I really liked, but it was pretty dark. It's been that for the last 15 years or so.

My mom sewed me curtains for the room, too. The problem was… they blocked almost no light out, though I do love them.

That was the state of the room for many years. Mostly empty, but hey, kept pretty tidy since I rarely had people use it. TBH the last time a guest stayed in it was… 2019 even now lol. Mostly my mom had used it when she came to visit before this, but since my parents moved closer, she only stayed in it a couple of times when I was really sick and needed her.

I sometimes call it Fry's room because Fry would use it more than anyone else.

When the new flooring went in in 2019 it got a light makeover with a rug, new bedding, and a few details to make it a little more welcoming to any guests (or, just the one guest who's stayed in it since haha.) I was pretty happy with it.

So! As you had seen the dining room was yellow. But it isn't anymore. Also there was… this.

This painting, by an artist whose work I love (and you've probably seen here on tumblr) Leonid Afremov.

But it really did not work on that wall with the pink... nor would it work with how the room currently is.

So I decided to move the painting to the guest room and theme the entire room around it.

So with that, I set out to find the perfect shade or two of yellowish, that wouldn't be too much like the copper/orange of the master bedroom.

I settled on golden yellow tones, and in a theme that would repeat several other places in the house... same card, different shades.

Yeah, like two tones from this card! This looks great!!

The paints I decided on were sent to Arturo. A few days later I heard they were painting the guest bedroom while I was in a meeting in the living room. An hour or two later I excitedly went to go check, annnnnd....

Oh... Ummm... errrrrrr... well the light color is right! Enjoyable Yellow, the top color on the card above where my thumb is covering the name. And I love it!

But the accent wall... that's not yellow. That is decidedly brown.

For a minute I thought that someone had picked up the Llama Wool paint and painted that color, but it was wasn't. It was a whole new brown called Yarrow.

I called Arturo in and we discussed it and discovered... that when I'd texted him the colors, I'd swapped the two middle numbers in the color. Totally my bad, and I paid directly for the right gallon of paint and part of the guy's time who was doing the painting that day when Arturo went back and picked it up.

TBH, we both really liked the brown, and if it went with the Yellow Painting at all, I would have just kept it that way.

And yes, the room is the new Laundry Mountain. It literally still is, so this next picture is a MESS and I have no energy to go fix that situation yet, like we've discussed. That will come when everything else is done, but there's still a lot to do elsewhere.

The RIGHT COLORS! Olden Amber! And the painting hung on the wall!

It's currently centered over the bed but looking at this picture, maybe that's a mistake. I'll think about it later.

But I absolutely love the colors of the room. Yellow is such a welcoming color, but I wanted it to also be warm now, and the slightly orange yellow does that so well and fits into the autumnal picture so well.

Sorry mom's custom curtains... I slept in this room for over three weeks while renovations were happening and the light coming in in the morning is killer. New blackout curtains were bought and hung with a new curtain rod. The old blinds had long since gotten cut down but the bar that had been holding them up was still there, but now removed.

Of course that's the new window but uhh... you can see the view out of the room though. It's... just the fence now. Before it was the neighbor's backyard and that wasn't much to look at unless their pitbull was outside. But also if the pitbull saw or even heard me it would set off barking and now with the fence it's both a little less noisy and she's not set off as much anymore. The new window helps with that so, so much.

I do have a vague plan to turn that area outside of the Guest Room/Living Room windows into like a mini-garden at some point, when I have money again. Hang or lean some trellis against the fence, or buy fake ivy fencing cover or something, maybe some no-work groundscovering, maybe even a little table and chair set to make it a bit of a secret hangout spot? I just don't have the cash right now, at all.

Back inside!

Like every room, new trim was installed, the closets and doors painted white. New oil-rubbed bronze hardware on the closets -- plus the doors actually open and close/stay on the tracks now whereas they very much did not before! New vent cover, new outlets and light switches and covers. Ceiling fan and doorknobs we've talked about.

All and all its the full room that probably got the least amount of attention AND the one that currently needs the most work done in it. It's very not done yet, but all of Arturo's work is done, and looks just like I wanted it as far as renovations go.

The rest is up to me.

Oh, that poster you're seeing there that you're like why the FUCK would you still have that? was in the closet for the last 10 years or so and it was set out so I could throw it away. It's not there anymore.

This closet btw has been the cats daytime home basically every day since the renovations started. There's a nice space for both of them in one of the corners, floorspace for Pemily and a long but narrow-ish box where Fry perches next to her. Especially since all my dresses and jackets are in that space so they're well tucked away and hidden and happy. They just run in there as soon as workers show up, they want to stay hidden and it's probably pretty quiet in there, too.

One of the guys who is here a lot, Antonio, has a truck that has a beep-beep-beep sound when in reverse, and the cats actually recognize that sound now and make it into the closet on their own when they hear it.

Honestly I think they may just like it in there because sometimes I find them in there days they don't need to be.

Honestly I think they've enjoyed when the workers leave and I call them out, they both prowl around the house finding out What's New. Sometimes I call them over and point out the New Stuff to them, sometimes they find it on their own for thorough investigation. Even more on that later.

OK. That's really about all there is to see here. Let's move on.

The Living Room

Again, my living room is the smallest bedroom of my house.

It wasn't always.

Yes, the "I just moved in and cannot afford anything nice." pic. That computer desk probably was the second nicest thing I owned after my expensive bedroom furniture. And that chair was SUPER GROSS. I threw a sheet over it and still sat on it for a couple of years as a gaming chair. TBH, it was pretty comfortable and was like a $5 goodwill find.

Yeah, see? You can barely tell how gross the chair is!

Only the best stuff $20 in 2004 could offer. And a coat of beige-ish Peacan Sandie paint on the wall.

The second roommate I had, the one I got along with, had a futon that wouldn't fit in her room so it went in the office, just behind my chair there. So that turned the office into the Guest Room for the time she lived with me. I kind of got used to having the futon, so when she moved out she took the frame but not the mattress. I bought a new frame, and have had a futon in there ever since. This was my favorite pic taken on it right after I put it together. Jim and Leela, just hangin' out napping together.

The thing about what-was-the-office is, it's a 10x10 room. It has a tiny vent and was always hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

And I spent like 80% of my waking hours at home in that room.

I didn't really think much about it for a long time, just kept a fan half-in and half-out of the room going on me all summer and a space heater for the winter.

On the other hand, I had a living room that just rarely got used. I was always either in the office or bedroom. Even when I got some pretty nice living room furniture instead of a hand-me-down couch that the cats ruined... just didn't go in there much.

The cats (tbh, just Leela) ruined the really nice set of furniture after a couple of years, too. I talked about my struggles with her in her farewell post.

After a few years, I ended up paying someone to haul the living room furniture away and the room was kinda empty for a few months.

In 2017, when my awesome company (see: The Master Bedroom post) got bought out by the shitty company, and they decided we all had to move to another office, they also decided we'd all sit in shitty cubicles instead of our huge, awesome and expensive desks we absolutely loved at our current office. This is all talked about in excruciating detail here, with some pictures.

They basically told us we could just take our desks and $1000 ergonomic amazing chairs home if we wanted them, otherwise they'd probably just get thrown out.

Almost everyone in Dev came and took their desks, including a lot of people who'd quit in the last few months, and a few people who'd quit years before came and got some.

Of COURSE I wanted mine, but I couldn't really fit this desk with a 9' wingspan in a 10x10' room, with the futon, and TV.

So of course THAT'S when I had the idea to just stop living my life with a living room where it's supposed to be and spending most of my waking hours at home in the smallest room.

I finished cleaning out the "living room" and when my work buddies delivered my desk and chair (and a few other pieces of furniture) to my house, they set it up right by the front door.

The small former office room sat pretty empty for like almost two years, NGL. The room, especially the carpet, was pretty gnarly for awhile and I just shut the door to figure it out "later" because it didn't feel good for anything in its current state.

When a friend decided to visit in 2019 it was time to take action, it was the main reason why the 3 bedrooms got new flooring.

So new flooring went in, the futon and other furniture got rearranged, a few new things bought like a 47" new TV that got wall mounted... and suddenly... holy crap I had a living room!

I got a recliner chair I was SUPER happy with for... about a month. When the "vegan leather" started flaking off.

Mom also made the curtains in this room many years earlier. It was fine when I had computer monitors that were placed facing the same way as the window. Especially since they were an inch or two short. I soon came to realize that the glare against the TV really sucked.

In 2021 during the Great Freeze, this room was where I camped out. I kept warm via candles and nailing a blanket over that window.

I never took that blanket down, until last month. It looked terrible, but it stayed warmer/cooler in the room and no TV glare! Sorry mom. I also covered up the TV console better since that pic, since I chopped the top of it off when the TV got hung.

Honestly, the room really worked for me. I thought about getting a real couch instead of a futon but slapping a memory foam topper over the newer thick futon mattress was pretty comfortable for sitting, laying watching TV, and not bad for sleeping, either.

And hey, also if two people ever come spend the night at my house, the futon means I still have two guest bedrooms! I've done that before, actually, two or three times in the past when a couple of people visited. The room is too small for a sleeper sofa.

It's just worked really well for me, aside from the peeling recliner. Fry loved laying in it, though. I tried getting it out of the room a couple of times but I couldn't get it to fit by myself. It had come in two pieces and I couldn't get it apart, so I endured, just sweeping up the peeling flakes every week or so.

Until last month.

---

There's only one thing about the entire renovation that I'm Actually Mad about and needles me every day.

I picked this Starry Night lightswitch plate up on a trip to Disney with my mom and Aunt my mom paid for. I LOVED that Starry Night lightswitch place. And I do mean loved.

It was just one of my favorite little things in the house.

I didn't even think about it in relation to the rewiring.

When the old lightswitch plates came off... this one disappeared.

I didn't even realize it for a day or two because of the whole AC saga.

When I asked Arturo about it, a Tuesday had came and went, meaning the trash was gone, and my lightswitch plate probably got thrown out in the process.

Like... who the fuck would see this and think it's trash and I wouldn't want it anymore!? It's obviously a custom little thing, not some shitty plain old plate!? Most of the other lightswitch and outlet plates in the house were copper plates, and a lot of them got thrown out, too. They're in great condition despite being 20ish years old... the fuck!?

I mean, I didn't even think to tell Arturo to tell his guys to save the obviously still good and non-shitty plates, but I wouldn't think I would have had to... ESPECIALLY THIS ONE.

I kept hoping it would turn up as I moved stuff around and decluttered... but nope. It's gone. I'll always be a teeny bit pissed about it.

Anyway...

One of the things I paid Arturo for was to fix the cracks and imperfections in the walls and this room probably had it the worst. Part of the drywall was a bit rubbed away from where I would lean against it in my gaming chair (I did get a real office chair a year or two after moving in that I had until moving into the front room), just lots of marks on the wall etc.

So much of that work was needed that eventually I was like ah screw it, let's just repaint that room in full. It was the first non-bathroom room I decided to repaint totally and it cascaded into all the other rooms.

I'd been talking to a friend of mine and she somehow mentioned she liked blue rooms. I knew at that point that the hall bath was getting completely redone so I just went... ya know what... let's make the living room blue.

The color I picked was called Favorite Jeans and I decided that it would be the entire room because I wanted it to feel super cozy.

I also mentioned in the earlier post linked above that I got Arturo to get the flaky recliner OUT. Ah, so much more space.

...except that this room also became the de facto storage room to move stuff to when redoing other rooms. Especially... well... you'll see. Next post probably?

It got worse than this for a bit, too, haha.

Eventually other rooms got put back in order and thus so did the Living Room. It has served as the cats food room since I got to move back into my bedroom, I plan on fixing that maybe this weekend.

So here's the current, mostly done state.

New vent plate (we had to buy 3 to find the right one that fit this weird size), closet doors repainted and stay on the track now, oil rubbed bronze hardware for both doors, door stop, trim installed...

It's still probably the ugliest room in the house, tbh, but it suits me fine. That little side table has bounced around to every room in the house, filling multiple purposes over the years, and its finally back next to the coffee table where it belongs.

And yes, it's also decorated mostly with TAH posters. Even if it's been a few years since it was my everything fandom, it's still great memories and a lot of cool art.

New black blackout curtains for the blackiest blackout and no-glare TV watching. We've talked about the window and view and ceiling fan. Should probably do something to pretty up the futon-couch better but meh.

It's my cozy TV-watching and sometimes Steamdeck (I can cast it to the TV!) or Xbox360 playing hidey hole, and I love it.

-----

OK just going to hit on The Hallway real quick to wrap this up and finish up with the "Boring" rooms.

It is a hallway. Yep. Hallway.

In the last 21 years it has changed little, except the flooring twice, and the light got swapped to an LED light.

I've posted this one before, but here it was on the first day of the electricity going in. The biggest change to it ever -- a hole cut in the ceiling for easier attic access. There's an access in the garage but because of some weirdness Arturo explained to me and I forgot, it's actually super annoying to use to get to the rest of the house. So they cut a hole in the hallway ceiling.

Annnd here it is, just now.

First real look at the new flooring, which I'll talk about a lot more next post. New trim to go along with the new flooring (next post will also talk about the trim a lot more haha). Doors painted. The first door on the left is the furnace access. New hardware on the linen cupboard at the end there. And Arturo closed and framed the new attic access nicely.

The only bit of trivia I'll add is that it's the ONLY room in the house that is still the same color as before. Silver Trophy. First, because when I decided to actually paint the rest of the house, the hallway had already gotten a full repaint because there was a lot of scraping on the walls due to all of the people walking through, it just needed paint and had gotten dinged up a lot more from all the work. I didn't want Arturo to have to paint it entirely a second time when it was done.

Second, tbh, I really just love the color. It's somewhere right at the intersection of Blue, Silver and Purple. It's a color chameleon. It's nicely neutral and goes with everything. It's the perfect hallway color and I'm glad it's the Same. It anchors the house together and the way it is now anchors the past and the new.

So there it is. A hallway. Not exciting, but refreshed and an added feature of attic access I guess. :)

Okay!

Next time we go to the BIG ROOM. I mean, it's the biggest room in the house, and finally, it's only one room instead of kind of two. So excited to show this one off. :)

[bluekat12345]

He's my son, not yours! Part 2

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

I promised drama would come, and here's where it'll truly start! Enjoy reading! Another shoutout to @gelu-the-babosa-multiversal

Sorry for taking so long with this, things have been busy in real life.

The next day...

Steve Rogers was taking a ride around Griffin Rock that afternoon. He was starting to feel a little cooped up at their base, so he figured he could use some fresh air. After dressing in civilian clothes to try to not draw unwanted attention to himself, he got on his motorcycle and went for a ride.

Eventually his ride took him towards a school building, and from what he could recall, that was most likely where Cody went to school. And remembering the time, he knew Cody was probably done with his classes for the day, and his father, Chief Burns, would be picking him up along with his partner robot.

"Maybe it wouldn't hurt to say hello to them." He thought. Driving towards the school, he was able to see Cody sitting on a bench outside by himself.

"Afternoon, son." Steve greeted as he approached the boy.

Cody smiled in surprise. "Hey, Captain. What are you doing here?"

"I was riding around Griffin and I'd come say hello to your and your father." Captain America explained. "Speaking of which, where is he? I assumed he and his partner would be here to pick you up. Chase, right?"

Cody nodded. "Yep. They had a quick emergency to take care of. So, I figured I'd wait for them. They shouldn't take long, Mrs. Neederlander needs help with her cat."

"Ah." The Captain responded. Then he sat on the bench beside him. "Well, you shouldn't be here alone. How about I keep you company while we wait for your father?"

"Are you sure?" Cody asked. "I don't want to waste your time."

"Nonsense, it's no trouble at all." Steve assured.

Cody smiled at the older man. "Well, if you really don't mind, then thanks." Then he started going through his backpack. "While we wait, can I show you some stuff from class today?"

Steve nodded with a grin. "Sure. What have you got, son?"

"We had a guest speaker come to our school today. She said she was part of an art museum in the mainland" Cody explained. "She was a bit of snob, but we got to make plates out of clay. And they even glazed them, so they're waterproof and food safe."

"That's impressive." Steve commented.

"And check this out." Cody added as he took a dark-blue plate from his bag. In the center of it, was a silver drawing of a police badge. Specifically, the same badge Chief Burns wears. "I made this one for Dad. You think he'll like it?"

Captain America smiled. "He'll love it.

Cody put the plate back in bag. "I also made a few more. Let me show you."

"Thanks for coming with me to pick up Cody, Dani." Chief Burns said to his daughter as they drove to Cody's school.

"No problem, Dad." Dani assured him.

"Chief, if I may ask, why is Dani here with us?" Chase asked. "While I do enjoy her company, I admit I do not understand why she is here when she usually doesn't accompany us when we pick up Cody."

"Appearances." Chief explained. "I need to go back to the Avengers' base for another meeting, so I need Dani to be in the driver's seat to make it look like she dropped me off and took Cody to home. We can't have the world seeing you drive without a driver yet."

"Ah. That makes sense." Chase commented.

Then they arrived at the school entrance. Charlie and Dani got out of Chase's vehicle form and walked up to the entrance. They didn't see Cody, but they did see a well-dressed woman in front of the school, texting on her phone.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Chief Burns announced as he approaches the woman. "Have you seen a blond boy? He was supposed to be waiting here for someone to pick him up."

"Huh?" The woman looked up from her phone for a moment to glance at Charlie and Dani before going back to her phone. "Oh, yeah. He and his father were sitting on one of the benches."

"His father?" Dani asked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Over there." The woman then pointed. They say Cody sitting on a bench, and with him was Captain America. The man was dressed in casual clothes; he sat next to Cody, nodding as Cody rambled on about whatever they were talking about.

"Is something wrong?" The woman asked. "Are you the boy's grandfather?"

You could practically here a record scratch.

"G-Grandfather?" Charlie stammered, insulted and embarrassed. "I'm, he's, uh, I-"

"He's the boys actual father." Dani explained to save her father from more embarrassment. "That man is a family friend."

"Really?" The woman looked back and forth between Steve and Charlie a few times before shrugging and walking off, still texting on her phone. "Never would've guessed."

"Excuse me?" Dani demanded.

"Let's just go." Chief declared, wanting to keep the situation from getting worse. He gently dragged his daughter away.

"Rude." Dani grumbled. Then she calmed herself before getting Cody and Captain America's attentions. "Hey guys."

"Oh, hey Dani." Cody greeted. "Hey, Dad. How's Mr. Pettypaws?"

"What?" Chief asked. Then he remembered the 'emergency' he had to deal with earlier. "Oh, same old." Then he turned to Steve. "What brings you here, Captain?"

"I was going for a ride around Griffin Rock, then I noticed I was driving by Cody's school." Captain Rogers explained. "I figured I'd come here to say hi to you both, but saw Cody was by himself, so I figured I'd keep him company so he wouldn't be lonely."

"I wasn't that late picking him up." Charlie commented, not liking how that sounded.

Steve frowned. "I wasn't suggesting anything, Sir. Cody told me you were taking care of something."

Charlie frowned, more at himself than at Steve. "I know. I'm sorry, its just...been a long day."

"Are you okay, Dad?" Cody asked, concerned.

"Oh, hey, Cody, how was school?" Dani asked, hoping to change the mood. She figured she knew what had their Dad in a bad mood, and she hoped to distract him from that.

"Yeah, Cody, why don't you show your father what you showed me?" Steve added, probably understanding what Dani was trying to do. At least Dani hoped so.

Cody then held up a plate. It looked liked Captain America's shield. "We had a guest speaker come into class today and we got make plates. I made this one like Captain America's Shield."

"You've got a creative genius here, Chief." Steve complimented. Then he ruffled Cody's hair, getting a small laugh from the boy as he put the plate in his backpack.

Usually, seeing Captain Rogers ruffle his son's hair like that didn't bother Charlie, but now, something about it made his stomach sick. It felt wrong now, like Steve no longer had a right to do that. Like he shouldn't be doing that at all.

"No wonder that woman thought he was Cody's dad." Chief Burns thought, rather bitterly. "Why does he always have to act like that to Cody? I'm his father, not him."

"Oh, and I also made others" Cody went on, unaware of his father's inner turmoil. "I made-"

"We need to go, Cody." Chief quickly declared.

Cody frowned. "What's wrong, Dad?"

Charlie forced a smile. "Nothing, son. We just need to get home. You have homework to do and I'm pretty sure Captain Rogers needs to get back to base soon." He hoped he didn't sound annoyed as he addressed Steve.

Fortunately, the veteran didn't seem to notice. "He's right, I should probably get back before the others wonder why I'm gone for too long." Then he smiled at the Burns. "A pleasure seeing you all again. Hope to see you at the base soon." Then he nodded at Cody. "Maybe we can work on the motorcycle. Tony said he was working on upgrade and he thought he would appreciate it."

"Noble." Cody exclaimed. "I can't wait."

"If we have time, we'll see." Chief interrupted. "Have a safe trip back to your base. Let's go, Cody."

"Bye Captain!" Cody said as he followed his father and sister.

"Welcome back, everyone." Chase greeted as everyone got in their seats. "How did it go?"

"Fine." Chief Burns grumbled.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Cody asked. "You've been acting a bit off."

"I'm fine." Charlie assured, quickly and rather weakly.

Cody looked like he wanted to say more, but Dani shook her head at the boy. Cody didn't speak up. They just sat in a rather tense silence as they drove back to the Firehouse.

I think I might be a bit obsessed with this crossover/AU. Please forgive me. And forgive me if this seemed a bit weak to what you guys wanted, I guarantee it will really pick up in the next part.

[applepi-1]

enemies to lovers- Tendou

"Hmm, let's see what's for lunch." You looked forward sighing. "Ick, Ick on a bun, Ick on a stick. Jeez."

"You should be use to it, they've been serving this stuff for years." Your best friend told you as she patted your head.

"Yeah, just thought today would be different." You sighed leaning back making your other friend laugh. "But at least today there's some variety."

"Hm, he looks tasty." You turned your head seeing her talk about your crush.

"really tasty." He looked over at you two and you quickly moved your eyes to his plate. "I was talking about your food."

"I wasn't." You shot a look to your friend.

"I sweet talked the cafeteria lady. Told her, her hair net really brought our the sparkle in her eyes."

"Aw, so sweet." You turned your eyes to Tendou as he walked over.

"Hey, I got her to make me a rack o'lamb. Man, I love lamb!" The boy stopped squinting his red eyes at you. "Y/n."

"Tendou." He looked at you with a glare, which you kindly returned.

"Anyways..." C/n spoke up causing you two to break the eye contact. "We should go, practice will start soon."

"Let me guess, practice til you puke? Maybe it'll make you look better."

"Let me guess, slack off til it pays off? I'm sure they'll love that."

"At least my game brings joy to people."

"At least we get people." You two hold another glare.

"Wow, what's going on here?"

"Nothing."

"It's beyond nothing." You snapped back at him.

"It's certainly nothing to be late over. We have practice to get to, right after lunch. Y/n."

"Tendo." You watched him leave before turning back to C/n and your friends.

"You know for something that you said was nothing, that sure seemed like something."

"Oh, well, um, it's -it's you know, a day to day something."

"Sometimes hour by hour." F/n jumped in rubbing your back.

"It's complicated."

"He's complicated." G/n spoke up.

"Well, I'm not." He winked before walking away to his friends.

"Don't do it." G/n spoke turning to face you.

"Why not?"

"Yeah, why shouldn't she?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because...My best friend dated him and he dumped her. It wasn't pretty. Her face broke out and she started wearing polyester pants! Look." She took her phone out showing you a photo.

"I doubt anything is gonna happen between C/n and me."

"I'm just warning you."

"I think she can handle herself." F/n told her.

"Fine. Don't listen to me. But when your heart is broken into a million pieces and scattered all over the floor, just remember, I don't vacuum. But then again, it's not like she's gonna talk to him."

"I just did."

"Boo, you talked to him about Tendo."

"Ugh. Whatever."

"Why do you got to be such a bitch." F/n looked at you as G/n walked away. "Well, he always wants what he can't have, right?"

"Right?"

"So let's make you what he can't have!"

"Meaning?"

"You're gonna need a fake date."

"Ohh. A fake date."

"Hmm."

"Well, I know just the fake to date." You walked over to Tendo smiling softly at him. "Tendo."

"Y- Why are you smiling?"

"We need to talk."

--

"You want to what?"

"Fake date. I don't know it was F/n idea."

"Trying to get someones attention?"

"It doesn't matter. Will you help me?"

"Why should I?"

"Please..."

"Fine, under one conditon."

"Great. What do you want?"

"I want to know why you hate me."

"Seriously."

"Y/n. I'm genuinely asking, why do you hate me?"

"you really don't know?" Tears began to fill your eyes at the memory, you shook your head at the boy., "You... called me fat. I know I was a chunky kid growing up... but hearing the words leave your lips... I don't know it just snapped something in me.."

"You heard that? That's why you hate me? But your hot now! I mean... skinnier."

"You think that justifies your words?"

"No... I'll help you, I'll pretend to date you."

"Thank you."

--

You started off as holding hands in the halls by your lockers, people stopped and did double glances to make sure they were seeing right. "When did this happen?" Your friend came over looking at you two questionably.

"Last night, I confessed my undying love." Tendo told her, her eyes widen along with yours.

"You confessed?"

"Yeah? What's weird about that?"

"I realized that all I was doing was hiding my real feelings by taking them out as anger towards him. Who couldn't love this face." Tendo looked at you with soft eyes as you spoke the truth, you grabbed his chin and shook his head softly, like a grandma would do with their grandchildren.

"You couldn't literally yesterday. Look is this because you realized C/n would never go for you? I mean sweety about time you opened your eyes, but Tendo? You guys hate each other, this is so fake." Tendo smirked at her before grabbing your chin, silently asking for permission. You gave a weak nod, as he bent down capturing your lips with his. It was a slow kiss one that made you question everything you felt about the boy. Your friends eyes widen at the sight. Tendo pulled back smiling at you with such care, it was weird.

"Would I do that if it was fake?" She rolled her eyes and walked away. "I think she's jealous of you?"

"Pfft, of me? Yeah, no way. G/n has it all she doesn't need to be jealous of me."

"I would, like I slipped out yesterday, your hot. You got this cute sexy thing going on, she couldn't even come close. And then you have this aura around you that just draws people to it. Plus, you taste like strawberries." Your eyes widen and face became red at the last remark, he kissed your cheek quickly and took off running down the hall. You closed your locker as a ding came from your phone.

also wear something cute around 6ish. Date tonight, I heard C/n will be there.

You didn't understand why Tendo was helping you, but then again you didn't understand why you still have him saved under Ten-Ten &lt;3.

You did as told and got dressed after reaching your home. When 6 rolled around you were looking down at your outfit it was a simple one. You wore a cute red shirt with blue jean shorts and thigh high leggings, you were caught up in your head to not noticing the tall lean figure against your door. "You look adorable." You turned around shocked to see him.

"Hi? How did you get in?"

"Relax, I remembered the key under the gnome." You grabbed your jacket and purse before walking over to him. "You seem ready."

"I'm more nervous, because even if this is a fake date.. it's my first." You mumbled turning your head to the side, but he heard you.

"Then I better make it promising." He cupped your chin and pulled your lips to his. You sighed into the kiss grabbing his shoulders to balance yourself. He moved his hands from your chin to the back of your neck pulling your closer. You let out a little whine as his other hand wrapped around your waist holstering you up a bit. Your face was definitely red as he pulled away, that damn soft smile on his face.

"What was that for?"

"In case it's the last time." You smiled lightly as he placed you back on the ground. "Let's go do this." He grabbed your hand and dragged you out the house, before walking in the direction of the arcade. You two sat down making small talk until your friend showed up.

"G/n, what are you doing here?"

"Heard you two were on a date so thought we could double date."

"Excuse me?" C/n made his way to the table and smiled at you two.

"Ah so the nothing became something."

"How about you and I partake in a friendly game of Air Hockey?" You asked your friend smiling at her.

"Eh, it's not really my- ow! " You dragged her away from the table leaving the boys alone.

"Why are you trying to ruin my date?"

"I'm trying to protect you!"

"From what, having fun?"

"From getting hurt! Now, as soon as this game is over, and I have no idea when that is. You will get a toothache and I will take you home. You're on a date with Tendo. Tendo. You two hate each other."

"Why are you trying to protect me, you're never this nice."

"I will tell you who's not nice. Tenod."

"How do you even know so much about him? Wait.... why do you know so much about C/n? All this time of me asking you for advice, you knew just what to say."

"Just pick a side for your toothache!"

"You were that "friend" who dated C/n and ended up wearing polyester pants!"

"I would never wear polyester pants."

"Hah, I should've guessed it. Who's G/ns best friend? G/n! Hah! So you came here to ruin my date because you're jealous!"

Tendo looked at you with such care, he wonders if your okay. "So, you, uh, having a good time on your date?"

"I was, until it was rudely interrupted."

"Yeah, G/ns a piece of work, right?"

"Tendo is a jerk!"

"He's not a jerk!"

"Oh, she is so cute when she's angry." Tendo looked at his friend then you, watching you puff out your cheeks, something he's seen you do when you two have a stare off.

"Pfft, Y/ns always cute. She can't do anything without it being cute. Stupid cute." G/n took off behind the boys going to the soda machine making you follow.

"No dude, I am talking about G/n!'

"I'm sorry, I thought you just said G/n."

"I did."

"I'm telling you, Tendo is a jerk!"

" Oh, she hates me so much. Ah, I love it!"

"You know what, why don't you take your girlfriend and get out of here. Give me and G/n some time alone." You and G/n stopped hearing the conversation unfold between C/n and Tendo.

"Wait. So all those times you've brought up Y/n, was because of G/n? What about the times you'd talk to Y/n?"

"Becuase G/n was there too. I was too nervous to talk to her myself. Needed a middle man."

"Does Y/n know she's your middle man? Dude your playing with her feelings."

"Why does it matter? You hated her guts yesterday?"

"I never hated her. I mean yeah, we fight. But it's mostly just because I think she's cute when shes angry. Shes.. I never hated her."

"Good for you dude, but seriously hook me up."

"No. I'm not your middle man, and neither is Y/n. She liked you, you played with her feelings to get a girl. Her friend at that. And you're okay with it? No dude, she has feelings. she's not someone you can use until you find someone better. You know what, I am taking my girlfriend and leaving. You're also off the team, douchebag." Tendo got up and turned around to see you standing their with wide eyes. "Y/n..." Your friend looked at you slightly shocked as well.

"Shall we go...?" Your voice was so small he barley heard it.

"Yeah, come on, something smells in here." He wrapped and arm around your shoulder leading you out the place. He sat you near a bench on the side of the street rubbing your arms softly. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I should've known... you really don't hate me?" He looked at you with a soft smile.

"Of course not.. look the reason I agreed was because you were right. I am an asshole. I should've told those kids I liked you instead I call you a horrible name for that I am sorry. Then you began hating me, so I buried those feelings. But I missed you terribly. I missed the girl who cried on my shoulder when we watched a movie, who'd come to me when someone said something. The girl who stuck up for me when people called me names. And I chased that girl away. I miss the girl I loved."

"Ten... we were 8 when you called me that... how could you possibly know?"

"I'm the guess monster remember? I just knew."

"I'm sorry, for leaving your side... I never wanted to. But hearing those words escape the lips of someone I trusted."

"I know. I know. I do love you." You looked up at him, you really looked at him, he was the same boy you knew. All these years, he's still the same. You shuffled closer, if possible and leaned up to kiss him. It was slow like the first one, but full of love. Tendo cupped the side of your face as he used his other hand to draw you in closer.

"I love you, too..." He smiled down at you pulling you into a bone crushing hug, but you didn't mind. "You smell like flowers."

"And you taste like strawberries."

[fanfictiongirlie]

Marvel: Honey, Superheroes Don't Exist Where I Come From - Chapter Three

Parings: Unsure x First Person Reader

Description: Y/N wakes up, and Bruce Banner is standing there, but wait, he is from a movie.. She falls into the universe of Marvel, and needs to work out how to get home.. but does she wanna go home?

Rating: Unrated for the moment.

Warnings: Swearing, Alternate Universes - Everyone lives, Maybe eventual smut?

Words: Currently 2,248

Okay, so this is a fic I started writing in 2020. And I wrote three chapters for it, and that's it, I lost interest, but I don't wanna lost interest in things I write. So I thought I'd post it, see what people think, and maybe get some motivation to continue writing it. It's a weird idea, and I'm not sure if I want my main character to end with Loki or Bucky. (Maybe I could do a poll) Also, maybe I could challenge myself and write for a different character. Like Thor or something. I just don't know. I think this is such a cool idea for a fic, and I'm just stumped xD

" I heard there was a newbie" A voice suddenly spoke, I looked up to see Loki, sitting opposite me on the couch with a book in hand. What the fuck. 

"And you're in my room because?" I ask, he looked at me and raises his eyebrow. Maybe I shouldn't insult a god?

"I was curious" He spoke, I really liked his accent, it was calming. "Also I wanted to know if there was a version of me in your world?" He asked. 

I shook my head to say no, then stopped. 

"You're not a being in my world, but you are stuff of legends, like mythology, you're still seen as a god" I explained, confusing myself in the process. 

"I'd love to hear more darling, but I was sent here with a purpose" He smirks, the book in his hand disappearing. It shocked me, I had yet to see magic. 

"And what's the purpose?" I asked, he stood up and extended his hand for me to take, I didn't. 

"Dinner is ready" He said, and then disappeared. I rolled my eyes, I would not get used to that. I was almost disappointed I couldn't do magic however. 

I placed my book down on the coffee table and then lefts my room, not forgetting my key and walked towards the dining room, I was anxious, I'd be meeting more people, I was sure. 

My stomach growled as I neared the dining room, I could smell the food too. It smelled amazing. I walked in, and looked around the room, the long table was crowed, there were so many people, some I had never seen before. But the ones I recognised were:

Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Tony, Thor, Loki, Wanda, Vision, Bucky.. I had met them so far. 

"Hi Y/N" Someone said excited waving their hand at me, I looked to see who, it was Spiderman, I smiled and blushed, he was so cute. 

"Here, you can sit in-between me and Bucky Y/N" Steve spoke politely. My breath hitched, as much as I fancied Bucky, he made me feel nervous. I walked over however and took my seat, a plate of food was already in front of me, and a empty wine glass. I frowned, I could use a glass of wine right about now.

"Would you care for some wine?" Loki asked, obviously he had seen my frown at my lack of wine. I nodded and watched my glass fill up with a deep red liquid. 

"Could I have white instead please?" I asked, Loki nodded and with a flick of his wrist the red liquid became the colour of white wine. I smiled taking the glass in my hand. 

"Wait!" Steve stopped me before I could take a sip, a sip which would of maybe been drinking the entire contents, after the day I've had. 

"Are you even of age to drink?" He then asked, I rolled my eyes and chuckled. 

"Yes, I'm 23, so well over the age limit" I assured him, and brought my focus back to my drink, I did down the entire glass, and Loki refilled it for me. I could defiantly get used to that. 

I downed the second glass too, but decided to take my third slowly, I did not want to be drunk in front of these guys. 

When I had finished the second glass I heard a quiet laugh that came from Bucky, I turned to him and our eyes met again, causing my heart to flutter. I wasn't sure why. He smirked at me, quickly and then turned back to his food. 

I smiled and started to eat watching the others joke and talk to one another, it was bizarre, I still couldn't believe this was real, it wasn't the same universe I knew though, it was different from the movies. Then again Doctor Strange had said there could be thousands, endless realities. I wonder if I was going to meet Doctor Strange too, I'd love that.

I chuckled to myself, I was slowly meeting all of my Marvel crushes, I suppose there could be worse places to be stuck. Imagine if I was transported into the Supernatural universe, pretty sure I would of been eaten by a vampire or something by now. I was so caught up in my thoughts of different universes to be stuck in, I didn't notice Peter asking me something. 

I looked up and everyone was patiently watching me, I laughed nervously and smiled. 

"What did I miss?" I asked. 

"We're going to have a little movie night later, I asked if you would like to join?" Peter asked again, I nodded. 

"Yeah sure, that sounds fun" I smiled, relax tonight and then tomorrow I was going to go back to Dr Banner's lab and find out how to get home..

[purifycantyouhelpme]

Before He Cheats | Duff Mckagan x Reader | Chapter 2

A03Link<3

Word count: 1,440

Duff's P.O.V

Today was a pretty fun day. I kinda wish it lasted longer. I walked in my house and I turned on the light. I shut the door and locked it.

My house was a mess. There was clothes on the couch and dirty plates on the dining room table. Since everyone is busy, I might as well play the bass. My bass guitar was on the couch. I got it off the couch.

I walked over to the amplifier which is next to the dining room table. I pulled out one of my dining room chairs and sit on it. I was playing on Another One Bites The Dust. It was going alright until I was playing the verse. It sounded really off and wonky. Why does it sound so bad? I stopped playing the bass guitar to figure what the problem was. "Oh wait, one of my bass strings is broken." I said to myself. Three of them are actually broken. Dammit. "Now I gotta walk all the way to the Guitar shop." I groaned. I didn't feel like walking there but I had to.

Skylar's P.O.V.

Going to the Guitar shop can be pretty fun sometimes, especially since Izzy works here. There weren't that many people here. I thought going here early means that more people would be here. Guess it's a slow day today. I was here pretty early because Duff embarrassed me earlier from the whole Tunnel of Love thing and I needed a break from that. I was looking at the bass guitars. All of the designs look so pretty. I've been wanting to learn how to play the bass guitar for a couple of months now.

"Hi, Izzy." I heard Duff's voice. Duff is here? I turned around and I saw Duff talking to Izzy.

"Duff, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be watching TV or something?" I asked Duff. I walked closer to Duff. He set his bass guitar on the countertop. It looked pretty messed up. "I came here because my bass needs to get fixed. Three of the strings are broken." He explained it to me. "I kinda forgot that you play the bass. You barely talk about it." I said.

"I know, Skylar." He rolled his eyes at me and he crossed his arms. He wasn't being serious, I know that Duff was being sarcastic. I put my hands behind my back, I was a bit nervous, especially from earlier. Duff was tapping his foot on the ground. "You know what? Let's go for a walk." I said to Duff. Duff looked pretty confused when I said that. "By the time we come back, your bass guitar will be fixed." I asked him as I turned my head a little to the right. He smiled at me. "Yeah, let's do what you said." He said, I love hanging out with him. "When you guys go out, pick up the giving out guitar lessons sign. People keep on knocking it over." Izzy told us. Okay, Izzy.

(Y/N)'s P.O.V

I was chilling in my bed, watching a movie called Lost In Translation. It's pretty funny and sad so far. Someone opened the door, it was Steven. "Sorry, I keep on forgetting to knock." Steven apologized. He laughed a little. "Hey Steven." I smiled a bit at him. I was happy that he was here. I haven't seen him for a long time. "What are you watching?" He asked me.

"Lost In Translation." I replied. He sat on the floor, looking at the TV. "I haven't talk to you guys in a while. I was busy dealing with some personal stuff. I hope things can go back to normal." Steven explained to me.

"I was walking around the neighborhood and I saw Slash hanging out with--"

"Claire. I know. They're friends, Steven. They're just hanging out." I told him. "Oh, okay." Steven looked pretty confused.

"Are you about to leave?" I asked him. "Yes, I'm going to leave." He got off the floor and walked to the door. "Did you want me to stay here or something?" Steven asked me. I was embarrassed when he asked me that. "Yes. I am feeling a little lonely." I said softly.

Duff's P.O.V

Walking outside with Skylar while my bass guitar was getting fixed felt pretty nice. I hope she doesn't remember that Tunnel of Love incident from earlier because that was embarrassing. As we were walking, we saw Slash and a girl at the duck park. I dec

Skylar followed me. The girl wasn't (Y/N). I raised my hand up and said, "Hey Slash, what's up?" One of the ducks was quacking in the background. Both Slash and the girl turned around to face me. "Who is that?"

The girl had long wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. She had diamond earrings studs on.

She was wearing a white jacket with some black jeans and red converse shoes. "I'm Claire. Nice to meet you." Claire introduced herself by shaking my hand.

"Hey Claire." I said. "She's my friend. We have been friends for a couple of months now." Slash explained to me. Then how come he never talks about her? "Hi there, what's your name?" Claire asked Skylar who wasn't in a good mood. Skylar didn't respond, she just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. I don't know why she did that. She seems nice. "You look really nice, Duff." Claire smiled. "Thanks Claire." I put my hand on my neck and smiled. I looked at Slash and I noticed that he had his work clothes on and they were pretty dirty. "Why are you in your work clothes?" I asked him. "I just like wearing them, Duff." Slash replied. I don't believe Slash. Who likes wearing work clothes? I don't like wearing my work clothes, they're uncomfortable. "Yeah right. No one likes wearing work clothes." Skylar agreed with me

but she said it in a rude way. Slash was getting mad at her. "Duff, can we go somewhere else? They're wasting my time." Skylar was getting impatient. She was tapping her foot.

"Skylar!" I yelled at her. She scoffed and started to walk back to the Guitar Shop. Why is she being so rude? Both Slash and Claire looked pretty mad. "I'm so sorry about that, Slash and Claire. I'll see you guys tomorrow." I walked away from them and I tried to catch up to Skylar.

Slash P.O.V.

It was 5:15 PM. The sun was about to set. I was at home. Thank God, that date with Claire ended. Why did so many people see me and Claire hanging out together? I slowly walked to the bedroom. My feet were killing me from walking all day. They hurt so bad. I opened the door, I held onto the doorknob and door. "Babe, I need some help." I raised my voice so that she could hear me.

She got off from her bed and helped me. She hold no I sat on the bed. "Thank you." I thanked her. I really meant it. I took off my work clothes and sunglasses and set them on the floor. I was in my tank top and basketball shorts. What is (Y/N) watching?

"How was work, honey?" She just had to ask. "It was exhausting as always." I lied to her.

"Steven hung out with me today. He left like 30 minutes ago." She told me. I kinda forgot about Steven. I haven't heard from him in a long time. He's always busy.

"What's with you and Duff?" I asked her. She turned her head and she was shocked.

"I'm just curious. It looks like you guys are getting a little close." I said in a serious tone.

"We're just friends, babe. N-Nothing more." She stuttered a bit. I don't believe her. I know that Duff likes her, it's so obvious. Duff always tries to hide it. "Anyways, do you want to watch a movie with me and cuddle?I know that your feet hurt--" God, she is so annoying sometimes. She won't stop talking. "No, I'm actually feeling pretty tired." I said. "Oh, okay." She said sadly as she looked back at the TV. She looked really upset that I didn't hang out with her today. "It's okay, honey. I'll spend time with you tomorrow, I promise." I leaned in and I kissed her on her forehead. She looked a little happy. "Good night." I pulled the covers on me and adjusted the pillows to my liking.

[touhoutivations]

80% Reflowering

Hello everyone, giving an update that I'm hopefully going to be on track soon.

(Cw for ableism, abuse, suicidal thoughts, etc, maybe it's a bit too personal but if it helps someone?)

A lot has happened in the past month, ended up getting a kidney infection, realising (again......again again again......) that someone who was trying to "help" me was abusing me, and starting group dbt therapy.

For a while I felt like I had completely given up. Thinking about the future had given me complete static and paralysis. Whilst I wasn't actively thinking of ending things, I was tired and despite wanting to, my soul had just completely given up on trying, and I was just a husk that woke up and fell asleep because of biological processes. It messed with a lot of my relationships and I just. Couldn't care physically.

And now? Well, it seems gross and repulsive, I don't want to do it, but...there -is- a future for me. I really can't enjoy it, and it seems way too hard for my lazy self- but I'm being dragged, but I'm still here. It's begrudging, but it's something- which is infinitely more than I had previously.

I've been trying to do stuff I enjoy more, rhythm games and infodumping about stories- and it feels very...manufactured, I'm not sure if I'm enjoying these things or I'm getting "better" or adding more things on my plate, but...it does give me some things to keep going for at least. Allow yourself to sing silly little songs and make silly little doodles. I've been wasting time doing mediocre doodles, maybe I should post them? I haven't been doing the difficult things I actually need to do, but maybe that's okay- eating crackers is better than eating nothing.

I've been beating myself up for so long about how I "should" be, and how I feel and what I do, waiting for myself to become "normal". But it's not going to happen. I might become "okay" but ultimately, I've """wasted""" so much time these past 6 months waiting and shaming myself to get over things, and be normal because I shouldn't be taking this long. And maybe there's some truth in that last statement, but ultimately I was hurting myself and being my own worst enemy, running away from uncomfortable emotions into the arms of my abuser who tried to validate how I felt and then proceeded to use my struggles to out me to other people to isolate me so she could have me to herself and I would be programmed to how she wanted me.

I want more joy in my life. So I want to start this again. I love telling my thoughts and thinking about different characters from different angles and perspectives. I want to lower pressure on myself, but want to post maybe once every two days of varying quality- as opposed to big ol essays, and maybe rbing other things to keep it more active.

Thank you for your reassuring words, they do mean the world to me- I will bloom again, and I'll probably falter again- but that's okay.

[morgan-weston]

you're a true friend, you're here 'til the end || bree & morgan

WHO: Bree Brown @blckbarbree & Morgan Weston

WHERE: PSU Cafeteria

WHEN: The 13th of October

WHY: Bree checks up on Morgan on the first day of the lockdown.

NOTES: Unfinished

BREE:

At least there was one person in the god forsaken place that she trusted, that she felt safe around. Wallking over to the cowboy, she placed her hand on his arm and offered him a weak smile. "Were you able to get ahold of anyone before the cell service went out?" She asked and looked at her own phone to see if there was any change. There wasn't. "I tried texting Bonnie and Jake but none of my texts went through..." she trailed off, trying not to sounds to worried or upset by the lack of communication to her loved ones. "Have you been abole to get through to your sister or you staff or- or Puck or Eva?"

MORGAN:

Sitting on a table in the empty and dark cafeteria, Morgan checked his phone continuously, going between text messages to make sure if they'd been sent you; to no luck. Looking up when he felt a soft touch on his arm, Morgan sighed and put his phone away. "No. There's nothin'," He said, defeatedly. He didn't know where to begin with his worry. His family, his horses, his...people. "It's stressin' me out, not knowin' what's goin' on with my family, or the horses. Or anyone, I guess."

BREE:

"Me too." She said in a voice much softer than she would normally showcase in a public setting, but this was an extenuating circumstance and it wasn't like she was two seconds from a breakdown in front of some random stranger. It was Morgan. "I think the city got the worst of it, you're Ranch might be far enough out that the vibrations didn't do more than spoke some of the horses and your sister is a strong and capable woman, she's okay." Setting down a water bottle and a plate of food, she offered it to him. "It isn't quite as nice as a well seasoned steak but it should keep your body strong."

MORGAN:

Morgan could feel the way that Bree was letting him in. She didn't appear this sensitive around other people, she was normally very stoic - as seen earlier in front of the other people in the cafeteria - and the cowboy figured it was based off of all the crap that her parents had made her do throughout her childhood. Nodding along, she was giving him a lot of reasons why he shouldn't be worrying. "And y'know Jake's capable of lookin' after himself, right? He knows what to do, in these cases - he's very independent," Morgan reasoned back, before seeing the food and drink she'd sorted out for him. "Thank you," He smiled softly and lifted the plate, taking the first bite. "Have you eaten anythin'?"

BREE:

The thing was, she absolutely knew the people in her life were fully capable of surviving if that's what it came to. But that's isn't what she wanted for them. She wanted them safe and easy to reach. "What if he's stuck somewhere, injured and alone?" She asked in a small voice, doing everything she could not to envision Jake like that. Instead she chose to remember he's hard headed and nobody but him us going to decide what happens to him. And he's far too stubborn to just give up. Smiling back at the cowboy, she shook her head. It hadn't even occurred to her to eat. It was the last thing on her mind and she wasn't sure she could without knowing her loved ones were okay. "I don't think I have it in me to eat right now, but I'll try later." A part of her wanted to hug the man, but it seemed... weak, so she didn't.

MORGAN:

It was breaking Morgan's heart, hearing the worry in Bree's voice. Inside of him, he was panicking about his family, Andy, Puck and Eva. Where they were, what had happened to them, if they were safe, or in worse shape and injured. But a part of him also couldn't think about that stuff too much, or linger on the mental images that his brain was creating, because it would break him down, and what good would that do him, here? He chewed on his food as he listened to Bree, nodding along. He appreciated her bringing him food, but he wasn't exactly eating for the pleasure of it. Setting the plate down as he swallowed, Morgan stood up, and instinctually reached out for Bree, pulling her into a tight hug. She was like a sister to him, and this was what his brain was telling him to do. "It's gonna be okay. We'll be out of here in no time, alright?"