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vinnyhongnsfwgurl · 1 year ago

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1st Vinny Hong FanFic? I literally have no idea what this should be LOL

Hello all Windbreaker fans and Vinny Hong lovers. This is my first Vinny Hong x female reader fanfic. I hope you enjoy and comments/feedback is always welcome! Thanks :3

So, I didn't realize what kind of fanfic this would be after I finished writing it LMAO. Complete despair and heartbreak hahaha. I just chose to write and not think to hard. tbh I'm pretty happy with it. Let me know what you think :) .... also I did not proof read haha I am lazy.

I think I'll do a part 2 to this one!

"y/n? ...... y/n?"

"Y/N?!"

You're head snaps up to look at your mother sitting in the hospital bed next to you. She looked at you slightly worried.

She tilted her head as she asked "Are you okay? I called your name multiple times."

You sat up straighter in your chair and nodded. "Yes. Sorry. I, uh, just got lost in my thoughts for a moment." A lot had happened in the past couple of weeks. My mother got very sick and ended up in the hospital for a second time, nearly dying due to a brain aneurysm. It had put a lot of stress on every part of our lives, mostly financially. We weren't poor, but we certainly did not have the luxury to not work and stay in the hospital for extended periods.

I had thought about picking up extra hours at my part-time job, but I knew it wouldn't help much and I knew my studies would suffer. I was already struggling to keep my grades up. Besides my part-time job, I had to train for the upcoming final race of League of Streets. I was a part of Hummingbird and it was amazing but like my personal life, it was a mess. So much had happened with our team.

The most recent event was Vinny leaving our team deciding to ride with the Ghost crew. He started doing small races for money, which were broadcasted online. I had seen a few. Everyone was confused and upset including me. The whole reason we created Hummingbird was to compete in LOS and win the price money for Vinny's mother but I guess he had different plans in mind.

"It'll be okay honey" my mom said as she reached for my hand. I let let her hold my hand. It was warm and reassuring.

I smiled. "I know mom. I'm glad you're alright .... I was really scared actually." I could feel the pressure behind my eyes build up.

My mom started tearing up. "I know. I know y/n. but it's okay, I'm okay." She squeezed my hand.

I just nodded. "yeah."

After a few minutes and making sure my mother didn't need anything, I hugged her goodbye and started making my way out of the hospital. I took a seat on a bench that was stationed right next to the entrance of hospital. I had taken a bus here and planned on taking it to get back home. It only took me ten minutes to get to the bus stop, so I had a bit of time before I had to leave. I was really tired and too stressed. I found myself looking for more quiet moments out of my day.

I looked out toward the street across from the hospital. It was already dark out, but there was quite a bit of traffic. Honking interrupted the empty, docile night every now and than.

I heard footsteps come around the corner that ended abruptly once they caught up to the bench I was sitting at. As I turned my head to see what or who it was, I hear a familiar voice.

"What are you doing here?"

Vinny. It was all I thought as my eyes met his. His red eye seemed strikingly brighter than it usually was. Maybe it's just because I hadn't seen him in awhile.

"Oh. I was visiting my mom. She recently had surgery." I explained. ".... Are you hear to see your mom?" I asked.

He was quiet for a second before answering my question. "Yeah, she's staying here."

"MMm that's good. Glad to hear she is getting treatment" I said.

"What about your mom? Is she okay?"

"oh yeah! The surgery went well, so everything is good." I gave a sheepish thumbs up. I always became painfully aware of how awkward I felt when interacting with Vinny. I was a fairly shy person and it didn't help how handsome I thought he was. It took time in the beginning for us to get along and establish a relationship. It wasn't hard for me to figure out soon after that I was falling in love with him.

There was a lot I learned about him after Hummingbird was formed and the more I learned the more I desired to be near him. He was hot headed and pretty reserved, but it never really bothered me. I always went out of my way to greet him at practice and I chat with him when I could. I never cared if it was just small talk.

He just stared at me for a moment before saying "Good to hear that."

I knew what what was coming next, or what wasn't. This would be the end of our conversation. I didn't want it to be.

"How have you been?" I asked.

"I'm fine." He said plainly.

"And Jack?" following it up with a smile.

"He's fine too."

Man of few words I thought. I was used to it but I always wondered what actually behind those words: I'm fine.

"Are you really doing fine? I know I'm probably not the first person you think of when you want to talk to someone, but you're my friend. I'm here for you." I blurted out without much thinking.

When I had mentioned how confusing and upset I was when he left our crew, it was an understatement. I was sad and hurt. I also felt so helpless. He left us all behind and had no desire to return.

I looked down at the backpack I held in my arms. There was so much I wanted to say, but none of it seemed enough.

"I'm sorry for everything that's happened. I know you're having a hard time. I wish you hadn't had to leave the team."

"I don't know why you're apologizing, y/n. You don't need to." He replied.

Vinny walked up closer to me until he stood just a few inches from my feet. I looked up and he gaze had softened just a bit.

"You don't need to worry about me. Just focus on yourself. You have a lot going on."

"Yeah."

There was a moment of silence as Vinny and I held each other's gaze.

Then Vinny turned to leave. "I'll see you later y/n."

Before he took another step, I reached for his hand. It was a light grasp, just enough to stop him.

"Come back to Hummingbird ..... at least, at some point. We'll wait for you. It's nothing without you"

Vinny just stared at me before pulling his hand away from my mine.

"Y/n."

"It doesn't matter if it's not tomorrow, or the next day, or weeks from now! J-just come back. Please." I could feel a increase in my heart rate and the pressure behind my eyes building up again.

Vinny sighed and turned away from me.

"There's no reason for me to come back." He said sternly. "There's nothing you or the others can offer me." He continued has he started walking away.

Something warm slid down the right side of me cheek. I blinked and more came out. I was crying.

I just stood there as I continued to watch him walk away. My crying only worsened and I could feel a lump form in my throat.

I can't give up on you Vinny I thought as I recollected the memories of us together and how much our relationship progressed.

I just can't Vinny. I won't. I love you.

After he was well out of my sight, I finally left for the bus station. I cried the entire way.

For once, I wished it wasn't so quiet out.

#windbreaker #vinny hong x reader #vinny hong #webtoon #jay windbreaker #fanfic #heartbreak #windbreaker x reader

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enha-roza · 1 month ago

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JANUARY 1ST

Hyung line x 8thmember!oc

synopsis : Roza's Boyfriends miss her after she and Sooyoung go on a girls night out.

wc : 1k

It was January first and both girls had been invited to Winter of Aespa’s Birthday party. Roza and Sooyoung had been in their rooms getting ready. It would be the first time the girls would be going out with the boys. Roza was in the middle of deciding what earrings to wear when Heeseung appeared at her door.

“Do you have to go?” Roza almost laughed as he hung onto the door, a pout decorating his face. “Yes, Hee. it's Minjeong’s birthday, it would be rude not to go.” “Okay, but not for long, right. You and Sooyoung don't have to be out long.” “I don't know how long we'll be… but I promise to won't be super late.” As Roza put on her shoes, Sooyoung appeared behind Heeseung. “Unnie, are you ready?” Heeseung upon seeing Sooyoung's short dress immediately went into big brother mode.

“Hold on, you're not wearing that are you?” “Yes I am, why?” He whipped his head over to Roza in disbelief. “Can you believe her? You are not wearing that… it's way too short.” “That's kinda the point, Oppa. I wanted to look nice.” “I get that sweetheart, but isn't it too short? Don't you have longer dresses. I'm just concerned, that's all.” Sooyoung expression softened at his words, noting his genuine concern for her. Roza watched Sooyoung contemplating changing her outfit.

“Fine, but only because I don't want you to worry.” “You'll look just as good in a longer dress I promise.” Sooyoung smiled as she went to change once more. “Didn't think you cared about short dresses.” Roza smirked as she stood up and looked over her makeup in the mirror. Heeseung standing behind her, hands wrapping around her waist. “You're my girlfriend, of course I love you in short dresses. When I look at Sooyoung I see my precious little sister.” Roza smiled at Heeseung's protectiveness.

Suddenly Heeseung was pushed aside as Sunghoon walked into the room, his own hands now replacing where Heeseung’s were. “What the fuck, dude.” “Shut up, I'm having a moment before she goes and I weep because what do you mean our girlfriend is going somewhere without us.” Heeseung stood in the view of the mirror, Roza watched as he protested once more. “See you can't go, it's not fair for you to leave us.” “Oppa, I already told you I'm going. Plus I don't mind one night for us girls.” “But you always have girls' nights here.” “That's different, one night out won't hurt. Plus I will be back before midnight, I promise.”

Sooyoung reappeared in a new longer dress. “Unnie, we gotta go or we're gonna be late.” “Okay, let's go.” Roza grabbed her bag as both girls said goodbye to the members. “Back before midnight.” Jay said. “Yes, dad.. Okay bye.” Sooyoung said as she dragged Roza out the door. “Text us if you need anything!” Jake yelled. “Yes I will, Bye!” and they were gone.

The girls hadn't even arrived at the restaurant when messages from Heeseung started flooding Roza’s phone.

“What's he moaning about now?” Sooyoung joked as they walked through the entrance. “Says he misses me..” Roza smirked as Sooyoung rolled her eyes. “Nothing new.” Soon the girls made their way to the private room for Winter’s birthday. “We're here!” “Thank god, I almost thought you weren't coming.” “Sorry, Heeseung made me change. Apparently my dress was too short.” Sooyoung laughed. "You know he's just being an older brother right.” Giselle jokes. “Yeah, yeah, let's eat I'm hungry.” Roza and Sooyoung sat down and everyone ordered, not long after the food arrived. While both girls were finishing up their food Roza’s phone started buzzing.

“Who missed you now?” Sooyoung jokes. “Jake..” ��they really can't go a couple hours without you?” Karina questioned. “Nope and it's even worse in person.” Sooyoung moaned. “I don't wanna even imagine it.” Ningning laughed. “Okay everyone ready to leave?” Winter questioned. “I think so. Let's go.” The six girls stood and grabbed their bags. The girls later arrived at the bar and all sat down at the table ready to have some drinks and gossip.

A few drinks in and the girls were letting loose. Winter and Sooyoung were dancing together while Roza sat with Karina, Giselle and Ningning. “Drinking makes me so sleepy…” Roza said as a yawn left her lips. “Me too, i just wanna sleep.” Ningning smiled as she leaned her head on Roza's shoulder. “why don't you two go back to our dorm, we'll bring Sooyoung and Winter back later?” “I like the sound of that!” Ningning said, standing up. “Okay, we'll see you guys later.” Roza said hugging Karina and Giselle before going to find Winter and Sooyoung to say bye to them.

Roza and Ningning waited outside till Aespa’s manager showed up to take them back to their dorm. While on the drive home, Roza looked over and noticed Ningning had fallen asleep. She decided to pull out her phone, when she got a message from Jay.

Just as she closed her phone the car pulled up to the Aespa dorm. Roza nudged Ningning awake and both girls headed inside. “Come on, let's go to sleep.” Ningning pulled Roza into her room, both girls pulling off their shoes and climbing into Ningning’s bed. Not long after the room was filled with the quiet breaths of both sleeping girls.

Almost an hour and a half later the door opened as the other four girls arrived back from the bar. Roza woke just as Sooyoung poked her head into the bedroom. “sorry did i wake you, Unnie?” “No it's okay, did you have fun?” she watches as Sooyoung nods her head. “I was talking with Karina, she thinks it's best if we just sleep here tonight?” “Yeah, that's probably a good idea, then heading home now.” “Ive already messaged our manger and he knows, you might wanna message the members so they know.” “Okay, I'll do that.” Roza once again watched as Sooyoung left to go sleep in Winter's room. Roza looked over at the clock and noticed it was 10 minutes till midnight, the members would be wondering where the girls were.

And with that Roza fell asleep with a small smile on her face.

a/n : first post of 2025!!

#kpop oc #enhypen female oc #enhypen scenarios #enhypen ff #enhypen reactions #enhypen x oc #female!enhypenmember #8th member of enhypen #enhypen oc #enhypen recs #enhypen imagines #Lee heeseung #Heeseung imagine #Park jeongseong #Jay imagine #Sim jake #Jake imagine #Park sunghoon #Sunghoon imagine

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aroreiel · 10 months ago

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So I started writing this initial one shot POV a long time ago, I think in October. I know, right now, I'm not in a good headspace to write at the moment so I haven't done anything with this in a little while. So I've decided I just want to post what I've got now anyway for you all to read and, hopefully, I'll try and complete it some time in the future. So here it is. The gif accompanying it was my inspiration for it. Hope you enjoy it. ❤

Joseph Quinn x 1st person (minors DNI! Not overly smutty but close references. Swearing, fingering, heavy flirtation etc. I can't remember what else.)

Risky Distractions

The interview seemed okay. I mean it was more engaging than the many interviews before it. With questions that Joseph hadn't been asked a million times already. This time they were relevant, they were thought through. The interviewer was even listening to his answers, fucking hell! Not like others who were itching to spit out the next scripted blurb before he could finish. This was rare. And yet, he was different here. I could see in his eyes he was distant, like he wasn't in the room. He was looking at the interviewer and nodding, smiling with a warmth that spread across his face and into the creases of his eyes. Those deep eyes that just lit up. He was honest, he was earnest. It was adorable. It was perfect. HE was perfect. I'm glad I was sitting down. I was exhausted.

So what wrong with him? I could see it and yet no one else could. He seemed distracted. Is something irritating him? I was supposed to be keeping notes, but I'm hugging my notepad like my life depended on it. His eyes suddenly flicked towards me in such a flit, it would almost be impossible to the naked eye if I wasn't already looking at him so intensely. There were plenty of other people in the room, but that gaze was straight at me. I felt it. It made me nervous. But then he always made me nervous. He also made me shake and shiver and...anyway, it didn't seem like anyone else was even paying attention to what he...

...Oh my god, he then did something with his tongue. It almost protruded through the inside of his cheek. Shit. Now this made me panic. What would that look like from an audience perspective? The interviewer didn't notice, thank god. Did anyone else? No, it was just me. This seemed deliberate. It appeared to look like he was just pondering on her latest question, which he could have been doing. I then began feeling that this was all in my overactive imagination...until his eyes did that flit in my direction again. This was for me. My face flushed. The corners of my mouth went up into a wry smile, as I looked around to see if anybody was now looking at me. They weren't. My heart started to beat a little faster now. This isn't what I think it is.

Oh god. This was dangerous. I needed to know. I wondered if I could get his attention without interrupting the interview. I unhooked myself from my papers and then began scribbling on one piece. As I finished I held it in front of me.

'What are you thinking, Quinn?'

Biting my bottom lip, I waited for him to notice. Oh, he knew how to be coy, he'd been so good at it up until now. So I knew he'd have no trouble letting me know what was going on in that beautiful head of his. I waited for an answer. Not expecting what was coming next.

Without even interrupting the flow of the interview I saw those dark eyes subtly shift in my direction. As he tried not to engage me, his hand then went up to his face and slowly his slid fingers over his mouth and continued up to his nose...and inhaled. Inhaling as if it was invading his senses. Then as quickly as it started, his eyes reverted back to the interviewer, but not before he sucked and pursed his lips on the way. He was back in the room. My heart stopped. I crumbled inside.

Oh god. Our morning secret. In the back of his taxi, waiting for the driver to return to take us to the studio. We'd been resisting each other for weeks, the tension would build every moment we were in the same room. But that taxi was where it all, for lack of better words 'came to a head'. For some reason I was more nervous this time, but we couldn't ignore the tension any longer. I'd uncrossed my legs and shuffled in my seat. Staring straight ahead, trying not to look obvious, he'd had placed his hand on my thigh, caressing it gently as it then crept its way up my loose, conservative skirt. It was too slow. The driver would've been back at any moment. So I guided his hand more swiftly to its destination, and he knew what to do next. Massaging, kneading, then slipping his fingers into my now wet folds, he worked his magic, back and forth, then in and out. God, he knew what he was doing. I felt every nerve ending in my body shake. My panic set in as I noticed the driver heading back. "We need to stop." The smirk on his face as he noticed him too...his thrill as he picked up his pace, faster and faster until my head flipped back and everything became a blur. "Just in time, baby." He uttered, as the driver seat door snapped open, and I'd sat back up straight as I adjust my skirt and crossed my legs. Both of us trying to behave like nothing had happened. But I couldn't help but notice a subtle look of complete satisfaction on his face. Bastard.

That was only this morning. I hadn't even had time to change my underwear. We got on with the day as if nothing had happened, focused on the tasks that faced us.

I awkwardly began pulling at the dress material that was sitting just in between my thighs. Trying to release the heat that I could feel spreading there. Again. I felt a shake through my body. Looking around to see if anyone could see it. I then caught a glimpse of Joseph in my peripheral. One corner of his mouth twitched slightly upwards. He saw it.

Well two could play this game. And I didn't care if anyone saw. I wasn't going to make this easy for him. Just thinking about what he did with those fingers earlier that day... it had wrecked me. And we nearly got caught. I'd been trying to keep myself composed all day. But just this one dirty move from him in front of these cameras undid all of that. Everyone now began moving around as if things were about to wrap up. I looked at the time. One minute left until the interview would draw to a close. One minute to make him squirm.

The faces around me were too busy now to care. I kept my eyes locked onto his and, with a smirk, I lightly pressed my hand into a fist and began squeezing slowly. Then my first finger flicked up as if it sprung for attention. I placed in it my mouth and suggestion took over. His eyes did that flit again.

Nothing else. No other sign, no other flinch. He carried on answering the final, now mundane question that the interviewer posed to him. He had that same bright smile, same thoughtful response. Professional. Endearing. He was so fucking good.

This will do it. Immediately a tremble travelled through my body as I carefully, slowly slid my hand down and under the hem of my dress, and began adjusting myself there. Well it wasn't like I didn't need to. I hitched the hem up higher so he could see what I was doing. Biting my bottom lip, my eyes watched for any sign of awkwardness, fidgeting, annoyance...hunger. Anything.

Nothing. Maybe I wasn't so good at this after all. Disappointment and embarrassment washed over me as I straightened my dress and calmed my now redundant trembles with subtle, slow, deep breaths. I just wanted to find the nearest dark corner and hide there until he'd left the room. I knew I couldn't avoid him for long. But right now, I felt so fucking stupid for falling for it. While looking around almost frantically for that space, Joseph now pushed his long frame out of the chair, politely shook hands with the interviewer and was ushered over to a brighter spot of the backdrop for photos with her. I stopped and watched as the interviewer wrapped her arm around his back, as if she'd be eager so to do it from beginning. I couldn't blame her. Bitch. But he never wavered. He lightly rested his wrist on her small of her back, his hand not touching, only hovering. God, he was so respectful, so...

"You'll need to show him back to his private room so we can set up the next interview." a voice from behind me jolted me back into the room.

"Sure, that's fine." It really wasn't. Not now.

"I never asked if it was okay." they snapped, walking away.

Taking a deep breath, I took my steps forward in his direction. Then I froze on the spot as I saw him walking towards me in what only could be described as brisk and purposeful. The expression on his face, his eyes were dark and they were latched onto me. I swallowed the heart that just leapt into my throat. I couldn't tell whether he was annoyed or angry. Not sure I wanted to know, but I was about to find out.

"How long before the next interview?" he was quick to ask.

"Twenty minutes."

I felt a grip tighten around my bicep. "Well you better be able to keep up with me." Just as I realised that grasp was his, he swiftly ushered me out of the studio door, taking care to make sure nobody noticed the brisk pace we were going at. I was struggling to keep up as we made our way down the chilly corridor, which felt like a relief cooling down my now flushed face.

He was through the private door first, with me trailing along behind. It was like whiplash as I'd barely even stepped through the door, when he spun around to face me and, with his arms stretched over my shoulders, slammed the door shut behind me and forced his body weight into mine, pinning me against the door. He found my stare and his eyes bore into mine, a dark wanton expression spread across them. It didn't take me long to realise my pulsating heart had now sunk to the depths in-between my thighs.

"Did you think I didn't notice?"

My breath hitched with his whispered words as his lips lunged, finding a sensitive part of my neck, nipping a tugging at my skin.

"Hitching up your dress like that, in a room full of people? Fuck, you're a bad girl, you know that?"

I felt my legs shake underneath me, as I reached forward and gripped his waist to steady myself. Tingling coarsed through my veins. I was already out of breath. "And what about you? The stunt you pulled during your interview. Don't think I didn't see that."

"Oh that was intentional, and all for you sweetheart."

"Fifteen minutes." I breathed, reminding him of his next interview.

He suddenly grabbed my hands from his waist and wrapped them around his neck. Then tucking his hands under my thighs, lifted me up and carried me over to the table furthest from the door and settled me on it.

TO BE CONTINUED

#joseph quinn #joseph quinn fic #joe quinn #joseph quinn pov #joseph quinn x reader #i love him your honor #joseph quinn fanfiction #first person

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tbhimnoteasyonmyself · 2 months ago

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15 Day BL Challenge - DAY 5

I watched THK Ep.3 yesterday and I'm very much still processing that (I was very uncomfortable at the end, dunno what to do about that rn)... BUT WE SHALL CARRY ON!!

Biggest Flop

If you know me well, you know what's coming and you're being very disappointed about it. (ESPECIALLY if you're Naga, I'm really sorry if you're reading this, Naga, bb, you know I love you and respect your opinions very much, you have my full support). If you don't know me, you're about to:

Hello, my name is Dante, I'm 22 years old and I hate:

The Eclipse & Dead Friend Forever

Listen... The Eclipse is such a fav amongst my Tumblr dash, people always told me "nah, bc, the EMOTIONAL SCENES!!! they served, they serve!!" So, naturally, I was super fucking pumped to get to watch this series, like, I wanted to know! Plus the premise seemed genuinely interesting so I was curious as well but then... Oh, god... The boredom I was made to endure...

The plot is ??? all over the damn place:

Dead uncle;

Ghosts, for some fucking reason, but not really;

First has to cry in every series he's in, it's mandatory;

It has to be a high school bc reasons ig;

Home of phobia;

Gays outing gays bc that surely makes sense;

Unexplained random unearned forgiveness;

Feminine gays getting ridiculed for no reason whatsoever;

Old man yaoi plot twist ??.

Then, there's the terrible sound quality, literally everything ECHOS for some reason and there's no ambient sound, all spaces are acoustic voids; Neo and Louis had 0 chemistry...

In the end, what do I like about it? Khaotung's face, ig, he looked very pretty. Everything else is a no by my standards.

And DFF... I feel like most people didn't watch it. And it begs the question if it even is a BL, all things considered. But I have to express my frustration with it somewhere and ain't no better place than here.

The premise was everything. And before the flashbacks started coming, it was so much fun! My discord GC was only created BECAUSE of DFF, bc we wanted ppl to analyse and comment on the eps with!!

So to see that nothing that was that ending... With so many loose ends and unsatisfactory conclusions... Where nothing made sense and nothing was fulfilling... It was super disappointing.

If there's one good thing about it, Ig, it's the fact, at least, we didn't suffer alone, we did it together sdkjskdskdj.

(DIS)HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Until We Meet Again & Last Twilight

The only reason why UWMA is not there with The Eclipse and DFF is simply bc right when I started I knew the premise hadn't spoken to me and, more importantly, I had been warned by @squishyteri (I'm tagging her bc, unlike Naga, this post will not break her heart) that I would grow to hate it. And, lo and behold, she was absolutely right!

Still, the 1st episodes were fine bc the double suicide makes an impact on you and I thought, "well, maybe I'm actually gonna beat the odds here", but then... It became just a bunch of clichés and dragging the story around for no reason and P'DEAAANNNNN and I had to take a few days after watching it to go out and touch some grass and realise life is better than the boring things I watch sometimes in order to recover from the torture.

Now Last Twilight... I was watching it with one IRL friend of mine and we were so, so incredibly pumped!! The show was everything, the characters, the plot, the everything... It was so, so good.

When the scene at the top of the mountain happened I CRIED, OKAY??? That was so beautiful, that was glorious, that was FUCKING CINEMA.

And then everything else happened. Good lord, why did they continue that series beyond that point? WHY DID THEY BRING THAT CURE PLOTLINE TO SUCH A BEAUTIFUL STORY????

I wanted to punch my screen and I'm not even joking. One of the biggest disappointments of my life.

NEVERTHELESS, the points in which this series succeeded were very much great and, for that, I cannot consider myself as disappointed as with the others. I still think there's a lot of quality in there. And I still cherish it very much.

#BLChallenge2k24 #not gonna tag anything this time #bc I'm speaking ill of everything in here #and I don't wanna rot the tags with my bad vibes #sdksjdkjdk

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carewyncromwell · 6 months ago

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Day 3 (Stargazing) for @hphm-ship-week

"A look in somebody's eyes To light up the skies, To open the world and send it reeling... A voice that says, "I'll be here And you'll be alright." I don't care if I know Just where I will go 'Cause all that I need's this crazy feeling -- A rat-tat-tat on my heart -- Think I want it to stay..."

~"City of Stars (cover)" by Kenzie Nimmo and Harris Heller

x~x~x~x

2007 was an exciting year in Wizarding Britain. The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, was named the new Head of the Auror Department; a biography about war hero Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody was published in time for the tenth anniversary of his death; and in the Quidditch world, the Chudley Cannons made it to the League Finals for the first time in over a century, though they did still end up losing to League favorite the Montrose Magpies.

For the Magpies' Star Chaser and Captain Orion Amari specifically, however, 2007 was also an emotional year -- for it was the year that his daughter Eos was set to start her Hogwarts education.

When Eos received her letter from Deputy Headmaster Neville Longbottom, she tried to hold in her excitement. She had always been rather soft-spoken, and her hands were shaking with nerves, but she also couldn't stop herself from showering her father with eager questions. Even as she and her father sat out on the roof that night, looking up at the stars like they always did before bed, she couldn't stop talking about the letter still clutched in her hands.

"Right here they say no broomsticks..." Eos mumbled, pointing out the postscript on her school supply list as she looked up at Orion imploringly, "...but they still have brooms at school I can borrow, right? I can still fly if I want to...right, Dad?"

"Of course," said Orion serenely. "Their thought is to protect those students without the flying education you've had. It would be silly and pointless to ask a bird not to use her wings."

This calmed Eos down significantly. "Oh, good. I really hoped they wouldn't stop me from trying out for my house team..."

"They would not. But be aware that Hogwarts's house teams rarely consider first years for their roster, Mooncalf. Even Skye and I had to wait until our second year to be considered."

"Really...?"

Eos visibly deflated. Orion brought his hand down onto his daughter's head.

"Do not take my caution as discouragement," he said gently. "I merely wish to set expectations for you. I would be delighted if you defied the odds and earned a spot on your house team in your first year -- but I would be just as proud, just knowing that you chose to fight those odds to your utmost...or that you wanted to train up before trying out next year. Even if you ultimately chose not to try out at all."

Eos looked appalled. "Not play Quidditch? Why would I do that?"

"However like Nifflers we both are, Carewyn had a different kind of gold to chase at school than I did, and I never resented that," Orion said in amusement.

Eos bit back a grin at the mention of her father's romantic partner.

"I thought Carewyn was your Abraxan, Dad, not a Niffler."

"We are all akin to Nifflers in a way, so long as we have a goal we pursue fearlessly, little Mooncalf."

"Well, my goal is to play Quidditch! Just like you."

Orion chuckled as he lightly ruffled her dark hair.

"If that is what your heart desires, then don't let that go, for an instant. Listen to your heart...and I will always be proud of you."

Eos's face lit up like a silent sunbeam. Beaming from ear to ear, the skinny dark-haired preteen threw her arms around her father's chest and gave him a big hug. Orion cradled her for a moment, looking up at the sky. It was only when he was sure his daughter wasn't looking at him that he took that breath he'd been holding, but truly hadn't wanted her to see him take.

x~x~x~x

The two hugged once again, just that tightly, on Platform 9 3/4 that September 1st. Eos then turned to Carewyn and silently swept over to give her just as big of a hug. At age 11, Eos was quickly catching up with Carewyn height-wise, so her face landed right beside her honorary "stepmother's" chest.

"Write to your father or me if you need anything," Carewyn told her quietly.

Eos nodded. Carewyn's twenty-two-year-old son ward Erik Apollo brought a hand onto Eos's shoulder from behind.

"Don't worry so much," he said with a smirk. "I'll see Doe-Eyes in the halls almost every day -- I'll keep an eye on her."

"Don't think I don't notice you're not promising to keep her out of trouble like I asked you to," Carewyn said very coolly.

Erik gave a bark of laughter. "Hey, I'm a TA, not a fuckin' babysitter."

Carewyn whacked Erik on the arm with her purse while Eos burst into stifled, girlish giggles. The group's banter was cut short, though, when Hogwarts Express gave a loud toot.

"That's our cue, Doe-Eyes," Erik said stridently. "We'd better get moving."

Picking up Eos's trunk, he hoisted it up onto the train, climbed up, and then helped Eos up onto the train as well.

Eos turned around, back toward Orion. Her father gave her a small smile.

"Look up at the stars tonight, Mooncalf," he reminded her.

Eos bit her lip. Swallowing back the lump in her throat, she gave the bravest nod she could. "Mm-hmm..."

The train gave a lurch and Eos had to grab onto the railing on the edge of the door frame to keep from falling over. Erik brought an arm around to support her as the Hogwarts Express began to inch out of the station -- Orion raised a hand in a static wave goodbye, and Eos waved back more actively, even as her big black eyes began to flood with tears.

It was only after the train finally left the station that Orion very slowly lowered his arm and his smile faded. He stared at the opening the train had left through for a very, very long time in silence. Carewyn stood beside him, her shoulder resting beside his before her fingers enclosed gently around his wrist.

Orion looked at her. The red-haired lawyer was likewise looking out at where the Hogwarts Express had vanished rather than at him, but her hand on his wrist was warm and reassuring. She even tried to match his breathing -- as if she was trying to quietly take the heavy weight on Orion's shoulders partially onto hers as well.

Orion's face softened as he exhaled. He leaned in to place a kiss to the top of Carewyn's head, grateful for her support. Carewyn looked up at him.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked softly.

"Yes," Orion said with another heavy sigh. "Yes, I believe so."

Carewyn turned to him. Bringing a hand up to run over his cheek, she held it in place so she could place a soft peck to the side of his chin. Then, securing her arm around her partner's, she walked with him out of the train station.

x~x~x~x

Carewyn and Orion walked through London that afternoon, stopping by Diagon Alley to pick up a new Broom Compass at Quality Quidditch Supplies and some flavor-changing mood tea at Rosa Lee Teabag. They then stopped into Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes briefly to visit Carewyn's old friend George Weasley. Orion ended up taking to the one lone black Pygmy Puff in the cage by the front desk, though once he'd gently scooped it up, he somehow attracted all of the remaining pink and purple Puffs up onto his arms, shoulder, head and clothes, and Carewyn and George couldn't fight back laughter as they worked together to "rescue" Orion from the overly affectionate bundles of fluff.

"Pygmy Puffs are supposed to be very good pets," Carewyn said later, as they strolled back through London together. "Maybe we could surprise Eos with one for Christmas."

Orion glanced away. "...Yes. Hopefully our new furry friend would like our woods as much as we do..."

Carewyn could sense slight melancholy coming off her partner. She knew how close Orion and Eos had always been -- she figured Christmastime had to feel so very, very far away, in that moment.

"...I'm sure they will," she said gently.

She unlocked the door to her flat and headed on inside. Once Orion closed the door behind them, she took his hand.

"Come on," said Carewyn. "There's one more thing I have planned, before we settle in for dinner."

Orion cocked his eyebrows. "Oh?"

Carewyn avoided his eyes as she led him into the center of the room with both hands. Their matching gold partnership bands glinted in the light of the side lamp.

"I'll have to use Side-Along Apparition," Carewyn said bracingly.

Orion ran his thumbs along the back of her hands. "I shall go where you go, my Abraxan."

Carewyn's red lips curled up in a comforted smile as she gave his hands a light squeeze.

CRACK.

In seconds, Orion had been yanked through space after Carewyn, and suddenly the two of them were on a hill just outside of London.

Orion looked around. The view was impressive -- London by night glittered with thousands and thousands of tiny lights, akin to stars...and just above them, twinkling down from above, were the actual stars, blending in with the city below.

When Orion looked at Carewyn, she was smiling self-consciously as she looked out at the view too.

"You always have such a beautiful view of the stars, back in Montrose," she muttered. "I knew I couldn't give you that in London, but...well, I thought at least this way, it'd be easier for us to look at the stars together. ...To tell Eos that we saw the same stars she did."

Orion watched Carewyn as she stared out at the night sky rather than him.

"I missed Erik so much, when he first left for school. I missed him even more when he moved out, remember? And you were there for me then. ...I want to be here for you now. Even if I'm happy for Eos, and I know you are too...that doesn't mean I don't understand how hard it is...knowing that she's growing up. That soon she's going to be her own person, separate from you...and she won't need you so much anymore. ...That's why I want to be there. Because I know it's a happy time, and it will only be happier as time goes by...but that doesn't mean it isn't also scary."

Little by little, Orion's expression melted.

"...Carewyn..."

He brought up his hand to rest under her chin. With his pointer finger and thumb, he gently coaxed her to look at him -- then, swooping in, he kissed her fully. When he broke the kiss, he remained right beside her, their foreheads and noses touching.

"My dear Abraxan...your presence will never fail to give me courage."

Carewyn smiled. Leaning in to peck his lips again briefly, she then brought her head down beside his shoulder as she looked above them.

"Your constellation wouldn't be out tonight, would it?" she asked.

"No," said Orion. "Orion appears in the spring. But Cygnus is very bright tonight -- see? Those are his wings."

"Oh! Right, Cygnus is a swan," recalled Carewyn. "I see him. That really bright star is his tail, right?"

"Yes. That is Deneb. His name is even derived from the Arabic for 'tail.'"

"Hmm..."

Carewyn looked up at the constellation thoughtfully. Orion raised his eyebrows at her.

"Does Cygnus trouble you?"

Carewyn shook her head. "No...just a bit disappointed I can't think of any songs about swans right now."

Orion's black eyes softened. "Ah."

He brought an arm around her as they looked up at the sky together.

"Well...if you think of any, we can enclose the lyrics in our letter to Eos."

Carewyn smiled up at him and nodded. She looked back up at the sky, resting her head back on his shoulder. Orion leaned his head gently beside hers in return.

"I could reach out to my old friend Pitts," Carewyn suggested. "He's a house elf who works in the Hogwarts kitchens. He's Disapparated in and out of the school before...he might leave our letter on Eos's pillow in her new dorm tonight, if I ask him nicely. And reassure him that Eos is a good girl who never gets into trouble and loves sandwiches more than anything in the world."

Orion chuckled. He loved that idea.

#hphmshipweek24 #hphm #hogwarts mystery #my writing #fanfiction #orion amari #carewyn cromwell #eos amari #erik apollo #pitts

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sunshine-on-marz · 5 months ago

Text

Here’s my short story “Knowing Ace” (written by me, I don’t consent for it to my translated, reposted, altered, or claimed) (Srry if formatting is bad, this is copied from docs)

I’ve been working on it for a couple weeks now and I’m very proud of it I hope you enjoy it (also this is heavily inspired by outsiders if you couldn’t tell)

Knowing Ace

July 1st, 1964

“So he’s dead?” I didn't like hearing it from my own mouth any more than I would’ve liked it coming from the doctor, but I figured asking would make him cut out all the medical talk. I felt sick. The doctor just nodded, with a small “I'm sorry”. I didn't care much that he was sorry, sorry doesn’t bring people back.

Ace was the best type of person, not perfect, but the best. His real name was Angel, which I always thought was real fitting, but he hated it, so everyone called him Ace (except for his mom. He never had the heart to correct her).

He was my best friend, or is, it’s not like anyone’s replaced him. He died real young, a month before his 15th birthday (and a month after mine). He wasn't sick or anything either. Well, he was sick, but not like cancer or that type of stuff. We thought it was just a bad flu, but the doctor said it was pneumonia. Ace always thought pneumonia was fake, he never did explain why, but Ace thought lots of stuff was fake (like yellow apples, and the White House). He wasn’t dumb though, he was real smart if you showed him stuff, he just wasn't too good at understanding stuff he couldn't see. That's why we got along, me and Ace. He’d do my math homework, and I’d write his English papers. We got along with more than just school work though, we made a good team in everything we did, and we did everything together.

No one ever really expects good people to die. You expect bad people to die because you kind of want it to happen, but when you like someone, you try not to think about it. It’s not so fun when you do have to think about it, because if you have to think about a good person dying, it usually means they're dying (or, in this case, already dead).

I hadn't realized I'd been talking, but I must’ve said something out loud because the doctor asked me if I could repeat myself, I just shook my head and put my hands in my jacket pocket. The jacket used to be Ace’s, a nice denim patchwork, but he outgrew it. That’s how I got most of my nice clothes, because Ace’s dad has a decent job and Ace was bigger than me.

The doctor looked around the room then back to me and asked “Angel’s parents, are they here?”. I shook my head, I wasn't sure I’d be able to make a sentence that made sense, so I didn’t try. The doctor told me to head home, but I didn’t, I couldn’t leave Ace. I sat down on the floor of the hospital room, and I cried.

I still hadn't calmed down when Ace’s parents showed up but I doubt they minded much, they were both crying too. I’d never seen his dad cry before that. I had never seen anyone’s dad cry, now that I'm thinking about it, but I wasn't thinking about it then.

His mom gave me a real tight hug, and the three of us cried for a while. Eventually, his dad asked me what happened (a pretty understandable question considering his sick, dead son is also covered in bruises). That's what I was scared of. I’d told the doctors what happened, no problem, but the doctors took the easy answer.

“A fight” I said, just barely making it audible, hoping he’d leave it at that. “Why was he in a fight?”. His dad had always scared me a bit, but he scared me extra in that moment. “Some guys wanted money” I told him, but he knew what I meant. Me and Ace had been gambling since we were little, started with spades for an extra dime at lunch in 4th grade, and it was poker and pool at the local bar before we even got to high school. We had quite the reputation. I expected his dad to swing at me, to yell that I got his son killed (me and Ace were a team, but everyone liked Ace, so I got in more trouble), but he didn't. He just looked at Ace (Ace’s body? It feels weird to call alive Ace and dead Ace the same thing) and pushed the hair from his forehead.

“Robert, do you want his necklace?” his father asked, I nodded, and so he gave it to me. A gold cross that Ace had worn every day since he got it for Christmas when we were 9. Ace wasn't a religious guy by any means, he thought church was a waste of time, but he’d loved that cross. When someone questioned it he’d say “God ain't what makes it lucky”, and that was all he’d say about it.

Another thing about Ace, he was always talking. If he wasn't talking, it was because someone had stopped him, or he was waiting for his turn to talk again. It’s not that he was a bad listener, he was just better at conversation. I think the quiet is the weirdest part of not having him around. When you do everything with someone, you don’t really need anybody else, so suddenly, there was no one to fill the silence. Even when I was in a big crowd and everything was too loud for my liking, it still felt silent, because noise and conversation are two very different things.

Now, I'm an alright-looking guy, I wish I was a bit less lanky, but that's life. Ace, though, was attractive. No one could deny that (not that they wanted to, like I said, Ace was fairly well-liked). He was tall with bright green eyes and curly brown hair that fell right at his eyebrows in the front. Guys that didn't like him called him “pretty boy”, which he and I never quite understood because being pretty got him out of a lot of trouble.

It never did get him out of a fight though.

June 28th, 1964 - 3 days before

Walking home after a good game is always a high, Ace and I were up 15 bucks. Ace was going on about a comic he’d read, then we got stopped.

“Boys!” Charlie’s voice scared both me and Ace, I almost hit him. Once we caught our breath, the three of us burst out laughing. Charlie is a friend of ours. He’s older, not sure how old but I know he’s in college. He’s a cool enough guy, but he’s more Ace’s friend than mine, all I really know about him is he has a car and a girlfriend (because that’s all he ever talks about). “Blondie, man, I saw you talking to Nancy, she’s a looker” Charlie laughs and claps my shoulder. Blondie is my nickname because I'm the only brunette in my family and people think that's funny. “She gave me 3 bucks to write her English essay, that's all,” I tell him, and I can tell from how Ace is laughing that I'm turning red. “Yea yea, alright man” Charlie rolls his eyes and shoves my shoulder which makes me stumble forward. “Oh leave him be” Ace says, stepping between me and Charlie. Charlie’s a bigger guy and doesn't always realize it, I wouldn't be surprised if he broke my arm one of these days.

Charlie walked with us all the way to Ace’s house, then left to go do whatever people like Charlie do on Wednesday nights. It was just past 6, which means Ace’s mom would just be finishing dinner. We were rarely home for dinner unless it was a Sunday (Mrs. Nicole makes baked chicken on Sundays, so we always tried to show up), but it was cold and we didn't have anything better to do.

I practically live with the Scotts, my mom works nights at the hospital across town, and I’d much prefer being with Ace than alone staring at my bedroom wall, plus his mom always wanted another kid, so she says she likes having me around.

Mrs.Nicole smiles at us as we walk in “Hi boys, you're home early”. Ace nods and shrugs off his jacket, asking her “How was work?”. His mom tells us all about how one of her 1st graders “lost his very first tooth” and a million other things I wouldn't remember in 15 minutes (Ace got his always-talking trait from his mother). Dinner went real well, and by that I mean Ace’s parents didn't ask where the two of us had been, and the food was good. Ace and I went up to his room after clearing the table, a semi-cramped number that’d have a whole lot more space if Ace hadn’t insisted his dad put a mattress on the floor for me. He sat on his bed, and I sat on mine.

“You think you’ll ever split, y’know, get out of this place?” he asked, which shocked me because usually Ace isn't the hypothetical type. I got my bearings pretty quick though and answered “Not sure man. I’d like to live out in the country someday.” I tried to shrug it off like I’d never thought about it before, but I have. I really would like to move to the country, but I don’t know how I’d survive on my own, and I’m not sure Ace would be good with all the quiet. Ace nodded, he hadn't moved from his spot slouching against the wall, “You’d do good out in the country.”

We didn’t talk much for the rest of the night. I wanted to ask him why he’d brought it up, but I was too tired to get into life planning, so I decided on going to sleep instead.

June 29th, 1964 - 2 days before

I woke up at the sound of the shower running in the next room, which is how I woke up most mornings (I’m a morning person, sure, but Ace is an up-before-the-sun type of morning person). Ace has a real strict morning routine, wake up, watch the sunrise, shower, brush his teeth, do his hair, get dressed. The problem is that these things take a different amount of time everyday, and it’s past noon by now.

“How long does it take to shower?” I know good and well my complaining won’t change anything, but what else was I supposed to do?

“Today? 2 hours” Ace says plainly as he pulls a crew neck over his head. I roll my eyes, we don’t even have 2 hours of hot water (Ace would much rather a long shower to a hot shower, which I just can't understand). “I could’ve wanted to shower too, y’know?” I say (even though I never take morning showers), he looks at me with one of those “don’t lie to me” looks he learned from his dad which shuts me up real quick.

Ace and I don’t really fight. We disagree, then we move on. I guess when you care about someone more than you care about everything else, there's no use in fighting.

The rest of the day is about as normal as it can be. We met up with some kids from school, who I honestly didn't like all too much, a bunch of rich kids who spent way too much money trying to look poor (I have no problems with rich kids, if I’m real honest, Ace could be called a rich kid. My problem is that they're air-headed). Ace seemed like he was having a ball, though, so I played along.

We were out walking with them for hours, but eventually we decided to go off and play pool, just the both of us. It was going great, Ace and I were up 10 bucks a piece, then it happened. Some guy, who must’ve been at least 25 (and who’d lost 3 rounds in a row to us), threw a punch at Ace. A nasty one too. Before I could react one of his friends, another drunk, was shoving me backwards. I don't know how much time passed between that first punch and me dragging Ace out of the bar, I only had one thought in my mind. Get Ace.

I had a realization, somewhere between that first punch and collapsing on the cold, damp, concrete a few alleys over from the bar. I am nothing without Ace. I’m Angel Scotts’ best friend before I’m anything else and I like it that way. I had another realization right after, Ace was bleeding. Bad. I hadn’t seen a blade, but blades are an easy thing to miss when you're being hit by a guy twice your size.

“Ace?” I could hardly speak, my lips were busted and my cheek was bruised and it felt like I had a pile of bricks on my chest. I reached over and tried to grab his hand without moving to look at him. I settled for a tight grip on his forearm.

“Blondie- oh god..oh jeez. Blondie somethings wrong with my leg” His voice wasn’t trembling like mine, but it was quiet, and he was scared. I looked over and sure enough, his leg was bent in a way I’d never seen. I also got a real good look at the gash on his side. A weeping red line from the middle of his ribs to the top of his jeans.

“You’re okay, it doesn't look bad” I was lying through my teeth, but I didn't want him to panic the way I was. We needed help. Ace needed help. I need to get up. I need to get up. I need to get up.

And I did, or I tried to at least, I got to my knees before I hit the ground again. I don’t remember anything after that.

June 30th, 1964 - The day before

I woke up to a bright light in my face. I was sore and my head was pounding. My eyes adjusted when the cop turned off his flashlight.

“Where’s Ace?” It was gravely and shaky and desperate, but I didn't care. I just wanted an answer. It was probably only a second between my question and his response, but I swore I was gonna be sick with the way my stomach was turning.

“He’s in the ambulance. We’re taking you both to the hospital.” He sounded far too calm for my liking. I know it’s his job to be calm, but Ace was hurt. How could he be so calm when Ace is in the back of an ambulance?

“Blondie? Kid what happened?” Charlie’s voice echoed through the alley and I’d never been so grateful to see him. He knelt down beside me and ignored the cop telling him to back up.

“Ace is in the ambulance, go to the hospital” I told him. My head was pounding so bad, and talking only made it worse, but someone had to be there for Ace. To my surprise Charlie just nodded and left.

Ace and I had been in plenty of bar fights, it’s just a part of it. You hustle pool and you either go home with 20 bucks, a bruised ego, or a black eye – but this felt different. It was never this bad, and if it was, I wasn't this scared. I was scared last night, and I was scared when I woke up and I’m scared now. I’m used to being scared, Mr. Scotts scares me because he's tall and muscular and expects me to make something of myself someday, and being alone scares me because I’m not used to it, but I’ve never been scared like this. I just want to see Ace.

And I do. A few hours later (just after 10pm, it turns out a cop found us during his evening patrol) the doctor says I’m fine, I’d passed out from stress and shock mostly, but that I also had a minor concussion and to “take it easy for the next few days”. Yea right. He also told me Ace is in the room next door and that his parents and Charlie had just left, so I ran straight there once the doctor left my room.

“Ace!” I was nervous and excited all at once, but the excitement was gone as soon as I saw him. Now, to someone who didnt know him, Ace would look fine. Good, even, considering the situation, but to me? He looked like hell. Ace never let anything get him down, even when he was crying he could crack jokes, but not now. He was staring at the wall with a look I can only describe as empty until he noticed me.

“Blondie, you’re alright?” He asked, he didn’t sound shocked, just like he needed me to tell him I was okay. His voice is weak and nasaley like it always gets when he’s sick, just worse.

“Yeah, I'm alright, are you alright” I ask him, I can tell he isn't, but I ask anyway because what else was I supposed to say.

“I’m fine, just banged up” he shrugged, then winced, so I figured he was a little more than banged up. “You know there’s a ‘nam vet next door? Got my nurse to tell him thanks, doubt she actually did it though” he talks with his usual cadence, which is a bit off putting.

“That's cool” I, if we’re being honest, couldn't care less about a Vietnam veteran in the room next door, there's probably a dozen of them in the hospital and I’ve been trying not to think about how Ace and I are only a few years under the draft. Plus I’m pretty preoccupied trying to figure out just how ‘banged’ Ace got. “That hurt?” I ask him, gesturing to his side.

“Not as bad as it did last night” he hums, “they numbed me up pretty good.” I silently hope that that’s why he's acting so off, that the medicine will wear off and I’ll get regular Ace back. I just nod.

“What’d the doctor say?” I ask him as I sit on the chair at his bedside. I almost hugged him, I desperately wanted to, but I didn't. We’d never been too touchy, always close, but rarely touching beyond a pat on the shoulder or a high five.

“Said I don’t look good, then started goin’ on about how I’m sick and my body isn't healing right, I don't know. I wasn't listenin’ too good” he said with so little care you’d think he was talking about the crossword in the paper.

“What were you doin’ then?” I tried not to sound too upset, it ain’t right to fight with someone in a hospital, but I really wanted to be mad. I don't know why, it’s not like I've been paying too much attention to what the doctor’s been telling me, but I was mad at Ace for not being able to give me every last detail. I just want to know if he’ll be okay, I thought he was going to bleed out in some alley and now he can’t even tell me if he hit his head? I realized pretty fast that I wasn't mad at Ace, I’m scared for him, and I didn’t like that he isn't as worried as I am.

“I was tryin’ to see you, no one would tell me anything but ‘sit back’ and ‘don't talk’” he says, mimicking the nurses, and suddenly I felt bad for ever being angry at him.

“Well I’m alright” I tell him, pulling my knees up to my chest in the chair. He holds out his hand. “Y’need somethin’?” I ask.

“I mean could you get any farther away? C’mere” he moved over on the bed, leaving it half empty. I quickly fill the space, but don't quite touch him (which is quite the feat for 2 guys in a twin bed), he leans his head on my shoulder.

“You’re my best friend, you know that?” his voice is barely above a whisper.

“Yea, I know. You’re mine too” I tell him, I wanted to say more, but I didn't know what else to say after that.

“You should go out to the country” he starts fiddling with his cross.

“Maybe,” I shrug “would you come with me?”

“Man, I dont think im goin’ anywhere” he says, and with that we fall asleep.

`July 1st, 1964 - The Morning Of

He must've known.

I woke up to being yanked out of the bed and a group of doctors and nurses crowding around Ace and yelling. They weren't panicking though, I was, but they weren't.

“What’s happening?” I tried to shout over them but no one answered. So I shouted it again, and again, and 2 more times after that, but it was no use. So I watched, catching quick glimpses between the nurses. I saw them try CPR, and I saw them put an oxygen mask over his face, I saw them stop CPR, and I saw them take the mask off. Then I realized what had really happened, I saw Ace die.

I didn’t move for a long while, just sitting on the ground as the nurses filed out the room. Then a doctor walked over and crouched next to me, but I hated how childish I felt having a doctor leaning down to talk to me, so I stood up and he did the same.

“Robert, I’m very sorry you had to see that” he said, I didn't answer so he kept going, “Angel was sick, you see. We believe he caught pneumonia at some point over the past few days, which resulted in a pulmonary edema that, with the state his body was in, caused him to suffocate.” It took a second for what he’d said to really hit me. Ace had stopped breathing, and now he was dead, and our last conversation would be our last conversation,and I’d never see my best friend again. Ace hated ‘what-ifs’ but it felt like that was all I could think about. What if I hadn’t brought up pool that night? What if that guy had cut me instead? What if I’d been able to get help? The more I thought the worse I felt. I knew what Ace would say, if I could talk to him. He’d give some hippy “it’s my time” answer, but there’s no way thats true. He wanted to do so much more, he would’ve done so much more. He wanted to be a math teacher, and he wanted to fix up his parents house one day, and he wanted a family even if he wouldn't admit it, and now all he has ahead of him is a burial. There are so many things I should've told him and now I’ll have to talk to a headstone? I had so many questions left for Ace, and so few for the doctor standing in front of me, but I asked one anyway.

“So he’s dead?”…

#writing #the outsiders #creative writing #ocs #original character #original writing #original story

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sheriiam · 2 years ago

Note

Sherliam submission: modern au of sherly making a cake for Liam's birthday to surprise him but he puts the frosting too soon out of excitement while the cake was still hot and it starts to melt

(i know sherly is a good cook but is he a good baker?) (also i just have this thought of him sitting in the kitchen early in the morning with a pout trying to put cream back on the cake as its melting off and then ba boom liam wakes up and enters the kitchen)

Omg marry me thank you so much for the submission! Well, I can't promise a full fledged au but maybe you'll have some care for this one-shot. Your idea is lovely btw! Thanks again!

Request: modern sherliam one-shot where Sherlock bakes a cake for Liam and paves way for a melting disaster― he's a good cook but is he a good baker?

Melting in your love~

Sherlock woke up as soon as the first rays of sun started gently seeping into the walls of the room. Their room, he thought with a fond smile as he looked at the lean, petite figure of his boyfriend lying next to him, impossibly cocooned in the sheets. There was a thin, glistening layer of sweat on his forehead― a natural consequence of being so covered in all those sheets (he had snatched Sherlock's too, not that he minded much though).

Ultimately, after turning the fan's speed to full, Sherlock quietly entered the kitchen. There, he opened the fridge and pulled out a bowl of cake batter that he had prepared the previous night. He winced at how cold it was compared to his bed-warm hands.

It was his boyfriend's, William's, birthday today. Well, official birthday, Sherlock thought. April 1st was the date of birth on all his legal documents, and that's the date he liked to celebrate on― Liam never told Sherlock his true birthdate; Sherlock never questioned.

He slowly removed the plastic wrap from the bowl and transferred the batter to a round, baking container. Later, after putting the whole thing into the microwave oven, he took out the frosting-bowl from the fridge and whisked it for good measure.

Would Liam like it? Sherlock thought as he cut evened the warm cake surface with a knife. He had just taken it out of the MW oven and his chest fell swollen with pride of how golden and moist the cake seemed. "Leave it for about half an hour to cool properly before covering it with icing," he read from an online recipe. The sun was rising up in the sky. No matter Liam's bizzare sleeping hours, Sherlock didn't have much time at hand.

"Ugh dammit, let's get done with this." He put portions of frosting on top of the cake with a large spatula and began spreading it evenly. The smell of vanilla filled the kitchen as Sherlock covered the curved side with icing too. He smiled proudly as it all came together.

Until―

"Huh, stay in place," he mumbled while quickly fixing the frosting that kept dolloping down from the side. It had only been a moment since he kept down the spatula when he saw how the icing kept running down slowly, leaving botches of areas from where the cake bread was visible...

The room was bright with sunlight when William woke up. He'd have preferred sleeping a bit more if the rays hadn't directly hit his face and made him dream that he he was burning in flames. With a sigh, he threw his sheets away and kept lying on the bed for a while. Eyes still closed, he remembered what day it was today. More than that, what actually made him smile, were his thoughts of Sherlock running around the house, making coffee or eggs for them. Probably both. Hopefully.

He dragged himself out of bed, making much more noise than necessary to make Sherlock aware that he was finally awake. He left the room after turning off the fan and strolled around the house. A mindless tugging at heart drove him to the kitchen. There he is, he thought when he looked at his boyfriend sitting on the dining table with his back facing him. "Good morning love," he said dreamily.

Sherlock got up to face him, and William noticed how his index finger was covered in pale blue frosting. He titled his head fondly and said, "Aw, you made me a cake―" he clasped his hand to his mouth― "did I ruin your surprise?" Sherlock looked at him and gave a tiny, sad smile. "I was trying to. But I guess I ruined the cake and now I'm thinking if I should start all over again. Sorry, no surprise today," he said, shaking his head.

"I know it's April Fool's, Sherly, but you could lie better than that," William chuckled. But then Sherlock stepped towards him and embraced him with a heartbroken look. "Sherly," William whispered and held him tight. He peeked behind Sherlock's shoulder― he could see the cake. The icing had also disappeared from the top of the side and was now pooling at the bottom in a tray Sherlock had placed below it. Surely, it didn't look that ba―

"I'm sorry, Liam," Sherlock mumbled in his shoulder and William realized he was crying. He quickly stepped a bit away and cupped Sherlock's face in his hands. "Hey," he said with utmost fondness, "it's fine, really. I know how much effort you put into this. And I'm surely it'll taste great, you don't have to make a new one. It's perfect." He placed a finger on Sherlock's lips when he began trying to explain how he should have waited for the cake to cool before putting the frosting.

"Have you invited anyone?" he suddenly asked. Sherlock looked at him for a moment before answering, "I haven't, it didn't seem right to call anyone this early. There's no plan." A lie. Sherlock was supposed to take William to his home in the evening so that his brothers could surprise him― and to a restaurant afterwards― but he wouldn't admit to it just yet. "Then, since it's just the two of us―" William pecked his cheek― "let's cut the cake, shall we?"

It took some effort to drag Sherlock to the table and get him to grab a knife and candles but once that was done, Sherlock seemed to have returned to his usual self. Once he was done placing the candles― and a single cherry― where he wanted to, he stepped back and wrapped his hands around his boyfriend. "Cut the cake, Liam."

William blew the candles, and Sherlock gently sang happy birthday right next to his ear. "Have some," William offered a tiny piece of cake with a smile. Sherlock, in turn, made him eat it before having some himself. "Is it any good?" Sherlock asked nervously. "It's amazing, Sherly. And it allows me to do this―" William broke off to scoop some melted frosting with his finger and dab it on Sherlock's nose. "Glad to know you're having fun in my misery," he said and in return coloured William's face with icing at which the latter screamed.

"Happy birthday, Liam," he said.

William thanked him with a kiss.

#yuumori #yuukoku no moriarty #yukoku no moriarty #william james moriarty #sherlock holmes #ynm sherlock #ynm william #sherliam #louis james moriarty #albert james moriarty #sherlock x moriarty

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sk8termikey · 9 months ago

Text

Chapter 5 of 21 Questions

better interface on wattpad

Lily and Alex were now finding themselves in Jade's living room, where they all gathered there with Lucas to play board games. Following their shifts, it was some well-deserved quality time together beyond the workplace.

While playing, there was some food on the table and as Lily took a nugget, she couldn’t help but think about Matt. For the past few days, she hadn’t been able to take him off her mind, thus leaving her friends curious about the cause of her distraction – they knew not to ask her as she would definitely tell them at one point. Lily had never been used to making friends so this was a major change in her life as she never expected to feel attached to someone so quickly. It had only been a month and a half since she and Matt started talking, but the feeling of creating a bond with someone was honestly special to the girl.

~~~

Following several hours of Uno – and Alex winning almost every round, they grew somewhat weary of the game and collectively agreed that it was time for everyone to depart; especially since they all had work scheduled for the following day. The only exception was Lily, who had chosen to take a day off. Consequently, the two girls bid farewell to Lucas and Jade before making their way back home.

As Lily was driving, she observed Alex who had fallen asleep in the passenger seat – it was to be expected given that it was nearly midnight, and both of them were drained from their long day at work. As they neared their destination, Lily received a text message but chose not to divert her attention from the road. Instead, she decided to wait until they reached their destination to check the message since they were almost home.

When they arrived home, Bernard was waiting for them. The cat couldn’t care less about where they had been – it is a cat – but the way he was sitting right behind the door made the girls giggle a bit as Bernard looked like he was scolding them for coming back so late. After petting their beloved pet, Lily and Alex both went into their respective rooms to have a shower and get changed.

A dozen of minutes later, Lily was finally able to check her phone and saw that she had received a text from Matt – it being so late was usual for them now as they were both free mostly during the evenings. As it often happened recently, a text from Matt was enough to make a smile appear on Lily's face. She reminded herself that it hadn't been long since they started talking, but their blooming friendship was already cherished by Lily, who was enjoying the unusual change in her life.

Matt

Lily

Matt

Good you're awake

Guess which pokemon i caught today

Ooh it should be a good one

Sounds like a good one

IT IS

Do I even get some hints??😭

Like its type at least

Yes my bad😅

1st hint: water

2nd hint: it's huge

That's what she said-

Sorry

Anyways

I have gyarados in mind

I know it's easy to find one in the DS games but maybe pokemon go is different

Drum rolls

It is…

A wrong answer

I wish i could have one tho

Wait i know then

Wailmer??

Those were my only 2 thoughts tbh

YES

I CAUGHT A WAILMER

THAT'S AMAZING!!!

I know wailmer is also easy to catch on DS lol but ig they changed all the capture rates

Probably bc some pokemon as hard as hell to catch and they don't look like they should be

I'm just glad I can catch them while driving because I don’t actually have that much free time to go wander outside everyday

I still can't over that thing of yours

If i ever play pokemon go, I might have to buy one

It's honestly the best gift my mum has given me

But if you ever play, please tell me

Ofc!!

I should find my 3ds and flex some of the pokemons I have. Some you'll never have for example👀

That's a bit mean

But I do kinda want to see rare pokemons even if they’re not mine

Yayy I'll let you know when I find it

Expect to cry from jealousy in the next couple of weeks haha

Oh that reminds me

I'm leaving tomorrow on vacation

For a couple of weeks actually

Might not reply often…

Bro it's fine dw

Is it like school holidays rn?

I honestly have no idea how school breaks work nowadays

I finished school almost 2 years ago???

You do remember I'm 19 right?

Ye ofc but maybe you're in uni idk

Which you aren't obv

No I'm not, I'm working full time

It's just a vacation to celebrate my friend's birthday

🤝🏻🤝🏻

That's so cool to do smth like that

I hope they have a great time!!

And you as well ig

I really hope as well, she's one of our closest friends and she's turning 18 so major celebration

Wait

The emojis

You also work?

Yes, with my best friend!

Uni isn't your thing either?

Nope :))

I had thought ab going at first bc of social pressure yk

Society telling us to keep studying for 10 years then having a job until we fucking die😃

But then I realised I should do my best to find what I actually wanna do

And I'm pretty happy now

That's great

I'm the same way I'd say, my brothers and I knew we wanted to work together and none of us was really keen on going to college

I love that for you

Can I ask what you guys do?

Shit

Unsent

Damn fuck what do i say

Unsent

Ig we're in social media?

You sound unsure😭

Sorry if it was too personal

No no, it's fine I think

You?

I work at a café/bookshop

Literally my 2 passions united

Sounds real good

Look at us being fulfilled adults

Yayy

Omg I just remembered

I have an anime to watch

What is it?

You want to stop talking to watch it?

Oh no dw!

I can watch it tomorrow honestly, I’m off

And it’s demon slayer, one of my faves<3

The episode was out on sunday so i’m already late to it lol

Do you watch anime?

Not really, but I may have watched a couple as a kid

Couldn’t tell you which ones honestly

But on the same subject, i’m quite a nice cartoon fan

OMG ME TOO

Children cartoons >>>

What would my life be without them

Pokemon and cartoons are now our main common points

Which are some of your favourites?

Hmm lemme try and make a top 3

I feel bad to have an actual order bc they’re all my babies

But

Star vs the forces of evil

Idk if I ever heard of it but it sounds nice

IT’S AWESOME

Then I have miraculous ladybug

Wait i think i know that one

Is it like the french heroes?

YES

It’s still made for 7yo kids so the plot goes w that but they’ve been trying to appeal more to young adults now bc we’ve all been watching since middle school lmao

Bonus is I keep my french up to date

You speak french??

That’s such a talent

I’ve taken classes in hs and ig i liked it enough to keep learning by myself

But i know I’ll have a hard time if i ever manage to go to France

I’m sure you’ll do great!

Will i keep discovering talents of yours?

Obv

I have lots😎

That’s not true lmao but yeah we’ll learn more ab each other

We have time :))

Good to know :)

I need to know the last cartoon tho

Might be a good rec for me

Oh yes ofc

Gravity falls

And special mention for shera and the princesses of power

Those 4 hold an important place in my heart

Ok rewind

???

GRAVITY FALLS??

GRAVITY

FALLS

YES??

Should i be worried ab your reaction?😭

Omg no

I just wasn’t expecting you to mention it

I LOVE gravity falls

Dipper my man

I’m so happy

My friends like gravity falls as much as an average person haha so it’s so cool to have someone who’s a big fan like me

Mabel my girl honestly

Her collection of jumpers>>>

She does have an awesome closet

Dang i want to rewatch it now

Me too bro

Gonna open disney+ tomorrow

Fuck if i wasn’t on the plane tomorrow i would def suggest we watch it together

Noooo :((

Another time🤞🏻

Still gonna watch a few ep tomorrow tho

You’ll tell me which one you watched

Ofc i got you bro

Not wanting to be rude but my brothers made me realise I need to pack💀

I kinda need to leave

No worries!

Have fun on your trip and I hope your friend will enjoy it as well

Thanks, talk to you soon

Yess, bye :))

Thank you for reading. Votes and comments are always appreciated if you like this story :) The story is co-written w @/little_grapejuice on wattpad

#chris #christopher sturniolo #chris sturniolo #matt sturniolo fanfic #matt sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #matt #nick stuniolo fanfic #nick sturniolo #nick #sturniolo triplets #sturniolo #sturniolo fanfic #fanfic

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lazypanartist · 2 years ago

Text

Chapter 3

---

A Rose By Any Other Name

Would Feel As Frigid

Warnings: mentions of violence, other questionable activities, theft, and the American school system

Notes: a little over half of you said to name Reader, so that's what we'll do!

SO chapter 2 finished up the 1st Belle Reve visit. Here we're starting round 2!

---

"And all you did was interview them."

Adam, our yearbook drag-along, seemed annoyed. "Some psych kids can only DREAM of seeing into thoughts of criminals like these!"

Rachel bumped her brother's shoulder, setting her lunch tray down next to his. "Big whoop. The staff, here AND at Belle Reve, don't want us to keep being delinquents or whatever."

"They're sick of us already," I offered. "Guards don't wanna see us, school doesn't want to deal with the fallout if we get arrested. And the inmates probably don't want us locked up with them, for the most part."

Adam scowled at me. Typical maneuver from him, really.

"Yeah? I'm sick of seeing you, too."

I smiled at him, watching as his scowl deepened.

"Feeling's mutual, A. Get any good pictures of Ray and Shimmer? Or did you get to everyone but me?"

"I'm getting student-inmate interactions next time. The guards gave me a small tour of the prison yesterday - it's massive!"

"No kidding.." My mind floated back to the giant gate we had gone in by. "Absolutely huge."

"Next visit's next Thursday." Rachel reached across her own tray, grabbing something off her brother's. He gave her a withering glare, but she only smirked in response.

Adam sighed, turning his attention back to me. "The guy in charge - Mister Strange, I think - said that you guys are doing something a little different next week. Apparently everyone's getting a guard this time around.. not just everyone but you."

"Huh." It was the only intelligent response I could find.

"Yeah," he filled in. "Must be bad if there aren't any exceptions."

I nodded. "What do you think it is? Pairing us off?"

He shrugged. "Good question. Whatever it is, it'll probably get into the school paper."

Rachel sighed. "So everyone knows how much trouble we're in?"

"Nope." Adam nudged his sister's arm gently. "Not if they don't already, of course. School's painting it as an excursion for the inmates to get outside interaction."

"Oh." Rachel perked up slightly. "Because they don't want to spoil their own name?"

"Probably." Adam shrugged. "If it was up to me, it'd be a chance for you guys to learn from your mistakes and see what you could become. Which it is, of course, but that's not what the school's saying."

"Right." I nodded. Rachel copied the action, grinning when our eyes met.

"Good thing, too," she giggled. "I'd hate to have everyone know my sins or whatever."

Adam rolled his eyes. "You were just dragged into it, Ray. You'll be fine."

"Yeah.." Rachel mumbled. All I could do was silently agree with her hesitation.

–

Cameron seemed excited the next time I went into the interview room. I noted in the back of my mind the lack of cuffs, and Bob stepping into the room behind me.

"Casey! Welcome back."

"You seem.. hyper?" I was wary, of course. He hadn't seemed this openly emotional the last visit, and the sudden presence of his demeanor..

His eyes widened, and he looked past me to the guard. "You didn't tell them?"

Bob huffed in what was probably contempt. "Nope. Get up." And with that he passed me, heading towards the door behind Junior.

I eyed the inmate questioningly, and he grinned.

"You're getting a tour! Of course you probably don't want to, but if you keep on your "current path" or whatever you're here for.." he trailed off with his air quotes before motioning for me to follow. Bob was holding the door open on the other side, a similar hallway to the civilian side laid out in front of me. I could see Lainey and Devastation, flanked by two guards, down the hall already.

"Psst."

She glanced back, and I waved. Lainey smiled, returning the gesture before rounding a corner I hadn't seen previously.

Oh.

"So, today's agenda." Junior slowed down, walking next to me in the hall. "Is of course, the tour. From what I hear of my dad's chat with the director, Strange, you're sticking with me all day." He put emphasis on the "all", dragging it out. "That means bunk check, lunch, rec time, everything."

"Fun," I offered. "So, like 60 days in without the jumpsuit."

"Exactly!" He grinned, nudging my arm. I could hear Bob huff in front of us, but he obviously wasn't bothered enough to react further.

We rounded the corner, passing through a door (Bob was behind us now, holding it open.)

I must have gasped. All I know for sure is that the size of the intake was massive - probably to contain some of the larger incoming inmates.

We ventured through a few more hallways, Junior talking the whole way. Things about "two inmates per room", "twenty rooms per side of the hallway", "two sides per hallway", and a few more things about the bunk check. Something about the lifting and shaking of mattresses and bedding to check for stashed contraband.

It's been a while, so I don't remember for sure. I wasn't listening much anyways, instead taking in the concrete surroundings.

It took a minute before I noticed that we weren't following Lindsay and Devastation anymore.

"Hey, Junior?"

His nose wrinkled. "Please, Cameron's fine."

"Sorry.. Cameron. Where'd the girls end up?"

"Oh!" He gestured towards our left. "They took the left hall in intake. Whole place's segregated by gender except intake, outgoing, and interviews. I don't know why we took the long way to bunks.." he glanced back at Bob, who merely huffed as his answer. Cameron turned back to me and shrugged before taking an abrupt right, down another hallway.

"And.. here!" He stepped into a cell, turning around and spreading his arms. "Ta-da!"

I glanced around. It was.. space. Four concrete walls, a metal bunk bed that looked older than Bob.. there wasn't much bedding either. A small toilet took its place in a far corner, a blanket strewn beside it.

"Huh."

He glanced behind me before chuckling, eyes falling slightly. "Yeah. It's not much, but until I'm 25, it's home."

My eyes widened. "Oh, wow."

He nodded before motioning me closer. I hesitated and he rolled his eyes.

"He can't check my bunk until one, you're out of the doorway." I stepped to the side, and Bob walked past me. "And two, my bunkmate's here."

I blinked before taking a step towards Cameron and the bunk. "Who's your bunkmate?"

"Oh, not a big name or anything." He smirked. "Just Mister Freeze."

I blinked. "Oh."

He looked quickly between Bob and I before rolling his eyes. "Oh, come ON! Do we even really have to wait for him?" When Bob didn't answer, he sighed. "He's still shadowing my dad! There's no way he'll get here in time for Case and I to finish the tour!"

Bob thought for a minute before huffing again, passing between Cameron and I. The other teen's eyes widened before meeting mine again, flashing a grin and thumbs-up as Bob struggled up the bunk's ladder.

We kept glancing between Bob and one another while we waited, Cameron offering a smile every time our eyes passed. I started returning them after the third.

Finally Bob came back down the ladder. I could hear footsteps coming down the hall as he painted quietly.. quite a few sets, actually.

"Congratulations, Junior." Cam's nose wrinkled again. "You're set. I'll walk you 'n Casey back t' the chow hall - if it 'as up to me, they'd fully integrate for the tour." He rolled his eyes before turning. "You two'll have plenty of supervision without me there too, but Director Strange made it clear that you," he turned momentarily from the door, pointing at Cameron, "should have another set of eyes on you."

Cameron chuckled. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Like I said." Bob finally got the door back open - he must have jammed the lock - and started back down yet another hallway. "If it 'as my choice, they'd all be in suits with the same restrictions as you inmates. If the school's plan is to scare you kids straight, they need a better strategy!"

I sighed, rolling my eyes when Cameron shot me a confused look before smiling.

"Right. Guards want us here for real? Can't blame you."

I could tell that the previous day's sentiment was true - most people at Belle Reve were sick of us already. Cameron, though?

He offered me another smile in return, nudging my arm. "Please. It might actually be bearable if you stick around."

"For eight years?!" I laughed. "I don't think I'd make it!"

He shrugged. "Hey, if you and me stick together, you'll be okay."

I could tell, even back then, that he was right. Even if I didn't know what it was about..

---

WHOOH finally finished this chapter! So much brain fog rn! Chapter 4 coming asap, love y'all, ciao!

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acefaun · 2 years ago

Note

Can you please write a comfort fic where mc is stressed about her exam, which is in two months. Please write it from Tauxolouve's( did i spell his name right?) pov. I am new to this fandom and thankfully there are many fics, but i want one specifically from you. You don't need to write it now, please take your time. Thank you.

Tauxolouve~ Exam

Synopsis: You’ve been so focused on studying for this exam of yours that it takes a little coaxing from Lou to realize that you need to start focusing a bit more on yourself as well. So don’t worry, Lou’s going to help make sure you have nothing to stress over.

✨Masterlist✨ Female goldfish!

A/n: Welcome to the fandom, beloved! 🥰 I hope you enjoy your stay! You're more impressive than me for a newcomer, you got his name completely right! When I started in this fandom I stuck with calling him Lou. Not to mention a few of the other gods also had to put up with my horrifying attempts at spelling their names. And I wasn't sure if you meant his POV as in Lou’s 1st person POV or just his perspective in the 3rd person, so I settled with his 3rd person perspective. 🤔 I haven't played around with POV too much with the gods so I hope this is alright.

–Word Count: 3,163–

Your room was quiet, the only noise was the sound of your feet pattering back and forth across the floor. It was some time after lunch, a meal you skipped in order to go over your study materials. There was quite a bit you had to look at from the last school year and you realized—quite apprehensive—that it was a lot of material, more than you anticipated.

This was it, you needed to formulate a plan of attack. You had more than enough time to create a good strategy. Well… You felt like there was enough time, but two months would go by like nothing! It felt like just yesterday you had started school and yet here you were about to cram nearly a whole year's worth of studying into two months. It was time to get serious!

***

Tauxolouve hummed as he watched you sitting across from him. It was typical for him to ask to join you for a meal, if only to spend extra time together before he either had to return to work or you had school. So, he took you out today to have a cute lunch at a picnic table under a tree. Only… you were too preoccupied to comment on his choice of a date spot. In fact, rather than looking at him, your eyes were glued to a familiar book that seemed to have been following you for the past few weeks.

Originally, he hadn't noticed the book or two that you carried around with you, but it was hard not to notice your lack of attention. Your eager voice met his ears less and less as you placed your focus on these books. He wondered how entertaining they must have been. Well, he only had to reach over and snatch it from you to ascertain its contents, but he wasn’t that cruel.

Instead, while you were busy fixing your meal, he took the opportunity to ask you a question while you were—he assumed—listening. “So, what kind of book has stolen my lovely lady’s attention this time?”

You hummed quietly, and he thought you hadn’t heard him for a moment as you hesitated to answer. But your mind was clearly just elsewhere as you finally replied, “It’s just a school book. I have to study for a test. It’s not too interesting, so I won’t bother you with what it’s about.” It was a simple yet blunt answer. It didn't provide Lou with much to comment on, but he wanted to try and strike up a conversation with you while you had the time.

“A test,” he repeated in question, his eyes flickering over to your books to try and grasp what the test could have been on. “Well, based on how hard you’ve been studying, I think you’ll pass with flying colors. I noticed you’ve been studying diligently the past few weeks. Is your exam soon?”

“I’ve got,” you paused, and Tauxolouve watched your eyebrows furrow as you wracked your brain for an exam date. “I’ve got about five weeks left.” You hummed, your nose scrunching up—which Lou thought would have been cute if you weren’t so clearly frustrated with something. Though, he didn’t speak up. He waited patiently for you to spill your woes to him, which you did not a moment later. “Only five weeks? There’s no way that’s enough time! I thought I planned better than this to get through all the material… I didn’t realize there was so little time to study.”

“Love,” he called out to you, trying to ease your panic. He wasn’t entirely sure what he could do to help, but at the very least, he was there for you. “Hey, what’s the matter? Isn’t five weeks plenty to familiarize yourself with the material?”

“No,” you whined. “I need to master the material in five weeks, not just know what it’s about. But it’s not just these books, I need to search more.” Your eyes scanned frantically over the two books that you had on the table, making Lou wonder what you could have been searching for now. But he figured if there was anything you needed, you would ask him—your loving and most caring boyfriend. “I’ve gone over those already as well as the previous books… Right, so I have a few more to go and then I can start…” You trailed off, leaving Lou in the dark about your study methods.

He hummed, offering quietly, “I could always-”

“I’m sorry, Lou,” you suddenly apologized, surprising him and leaving him confused. As far as he was aware, there was no need for you to be apologizing to him. Well, you interrupted him, but that was no problem. You’d done him no wrong. But still, you looked guilty as you packed your books into your bag. “I have to go back to the library. There’s no way I can wait to study this. The sooner I get the information in my head, the easier this exam will be.”

Of course, you always cared so much about your studies and Lou admired your dedication. Even as you rushed to leave your date with him, he couldn’t fault you for prioritizing something above him when he so-often had to prioritize his Wishes work over you. So, he offered you a smile, and helped you gather the few materials you had on the table. “Please, don’t worry about it. I don’t need you to stress about me when you’re clearly already worried about these exams. I’ll just have to plan an even better date for next time. I’ll always be here to support you. Do you want me to go to the library with you?”

The slight wince on your face told him that the answer was no long before you uttered a second apology, “Sorry… Well… It’s not that I don’t want you to come, but… I think you know what I mean when I say I’d probably be too distracted by you if you followed me to the library.”

A quiet chuckle left his lips, but he wasn’t offended by your rejection. In fact, he more than understood what you were saying. “Of course. It’s for the same reason Karno prefers that I don’t bring you along when I have a pile of wishes to grant, I suspect. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your studying and we can always spend all the time we want together after you’ve gotten through your work.”

The smile that spread across your face was something that made all of his efforts worth it, even if your time together was short today. The way you put your bag down on the bench to hug him was just a plus as you wished him farewell. “Thanks for understanding, Lou. I’ll definitely have to treat you to a date once all of this studying is behind me.”

“I think that’s the other way around,” he mused as he snuggled you closer to his chest. “I’ll have to reward you for doing your best. I’m really proud of you, (Name). I love how you give everything your all.”

You hummed, nudging his chin with your head. “I love you too, Louie.”

“Well,” he added fairly dramatically, making you look up at him with those precious, curious eyes of yours. “Since you love me so much, and I love you so much… Surely you wouldn’t mind if you at least finished your meal before running off to the library?” Seeing the way you faltered, he quickly explained his reasonings. “I don’t mean to keep you, but I’m only looking out for your health. I want you to eat something before you get lost in your books for hours on end. So… can you at least have this one meal for me?”

You sighed, but he grinned. He knew he had already won with the face you were making. There was no way you would deny him when his reasoning was so pure and well-intentioned. “Fine… But only because you asked nicely.” Of course it was only because he asked nicely. After all, he’s Lou. He only ever asks nicely.

***

Maybe… Maybe he should have tried to make that request a little differently before he let you go off to complete your study mission. It seemed his request for you to have that one meal with him was taken literally. From what he could tell, all you’d been doing since then was eating small snacks here and there; you were completely disregarding your health and it was making him worry.

He thought you might’ve asked for help if you were having trouble with your studies, but you didn’t seem to be doing that either. Well, he hadn’t been getting any new wishes from you in the reflection pool. He would know, he checked it very frequently as a way of checking in on you without showing up and distracting you.

To be fair… it had only been a few days since you requested a break with him to focus on school. It was concerning how quickly you deteriorated on your own with nothing to make you smile or laugh. Even your few showers were filled with youtube videos of what you were studying.

He pursed his lips as he watched you turn over in your bed once more. You were even losing sleep over this stupid test of yours. Usually he respected your decisions and let you take these challenges head-on. But this time… he couldn’t obey you. He just had to step in; it was for your own good.

Your reaction was sure to be one of surprise, but he kept reminding himself why he was doing this as he connected your room to the mansion’s door, walking through. He was only doing this to help you. Though, he knew you had the ability to be stubborn. Lou would just have to show that he could be stubborn too. He wasn’t going to leave your presence until he was sure you were taking care of yourself in addition to your studying. He’d be your personal life coach and tutor if he had to; he wasn’t going to let you suffer alone.

Closing the door softly behind him, he walked forward in the quiet room, pausing at the foot of your bed. His determined expression softened as he gazed upon you. You were so perfect to him, even when you were sleeping. The only thing that distracted him was how uncomfortable you looked. The blanket was only half-way on the bed; it was barely covering you! It was as if you tossed and turned so much that you’d just completely discarded your object of comfort.

Quietly, he picked up the fallen end of the blanket, only flinching back when he heard a shriek. Bolting up from where he was crouched, he noticed that you were now upright in bed, your wide eyes glued onto him. “L- Lou?! You nearly gave me a heart attack! Why are you creeping on the floor of my room? I thought you were some kind of boogie monster. I thought I was having a bad nightmare…”

“Your blanket fell,” he answered as though it were obvious as to why he was on your floor. But then again, he did enter your home without permission and that had to have been the reason you were screaming. Gently, he placed it back on the bed with you, making sure it was in a position where it wouldn’t fall off again. “Sorry… I know that’s not a reason for me to be in your room at this time of night. Truthfully,” he hesitated. “I was worried about you. So, I was checking up on you through the reflection pool and I’ve decided to help you.”

You blinked, and for a moment he thought you were just dazed by what time of night it was. But that wasn’t the case. “Help?” The singular word was voiced in confusion. You tilted your head as he sat beside you on the bed. He was determined to be there for you and help you through this, but it didn’t seem like you were understanding him or what he was there to do. “Help me with what?”

For one, he was there to help make sure your blanket didn’t end up completely on the floor, leaving you cold in the night. But more than that… “You’re having trouble with your studies. If you weren’t, then you’d have time to eat actual meals and take full relaxing baths. You don’t have time to enjoy yourself—even when you’re sleeping you seem completely restless.”

“Oh,” the vowel left your lips as you rubbed your tired eyes. Lou felt bad for having interrupted your sleep, but he was desperate to be by your side through this struggle. He wasn’t going to let you suffer alone. Sighing quietly, you muttered, “I’m okay… It’s only going to last a few more weeks. What’d I tell you…” You trailed off. “Five weeks? A month?”

Reaching his hand out, he carefully passed his fingers through your messy bed hair, doing his best to soothe it out. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes. If it takes us five weeks or more, I’m going to be here, taking care of you and helping you learn what you need to know for this exam.”

Now, your eyes were open again, the same as they were when you first caught sight of the intruder in your home. You gazed at him with a tired weariness. “But you have work… You can’t just drop that to help me. I promise I can get everything done on my own. And… And if you’re here because you’re worried about me passing, I promise I will! I’m studying really hard. I have a study plan. I know everything I need to have memorized before the exam–”

“(Name),” he interrupted you with a kind smile, leaning closer to you to completely take in your attention. “You might be able to memorize what you need to know. But I’m here to help you do more than memorize useless things. I’m going to help you understand what you’re studying. Understanding something is much easier than memorizing hundreds of notes, don’t you think?” His kind smiles always made you relax.

He could see the worries in your eyes fading. Though, he couldn’t tell if you were feeling relieved by his promises or if you were simply tired. Still, if he wanted you to put your complete faith in him, then he was going to need to know what you needed to know for this exam. After all, it would be pretty embarrassing to make such a bold claim and then not be able to help you at all with your studying.

A content sigh left your lips and he was surprised when you grabbed his hand that was previously trailing through your tangled hair. He didn’t resist as you pulled him down beside you as if he were your own personal stuffed animal. Well, he deserved as much for causing you to nearly have a heart attack…

Your fingers gently caressed his hand as you said quietly, “Thank you… I was determined to do everything on my own at first, but… your idea sounds better than mine. Plus,” you paused. “I like the idea of spending time with you. It’s only been a few days, but I miss having you around. I think that was only adding to my stress.” You glanced up at him, shyly meeting his gaze. “I don’t think I could’ve lasted a whole month like this.”

He gently smiled, relaxing on the bed beside you, resting his head on the shared pillow. “You lasted longer than I did, if that makes you feel better. I did come barging into your room late at night…” He trailed off, but he didn’t really feel bad for having invited himself into your room. In fact, your acceptance of him made him feel glad that he made the choice to show up. “I’ll always be here if you need me—even if you turn me away because you think you don’t need me. We’ll get through every single challenge together.” With his free hand, Tauxolouve reached up, his fingers gently caressing your cheek. You were always so soft to him—it made him happy to have you so close.

He was going to keep you close and he was going to make sure stress couldn’t creep up on you again. He was sure most of your worries stemmed from this exam and that as soon as it was over, you’d be back to your usual happy self. But until then, he’d have to do his best and be your sword and shield. Tauxolouve would make sure you understood everything you needed to know, even if he had to go to Huedhaut for explanations on what the heck you were learning.

Other than that little bump in the road, ensuring you were eating, sleeping, and taking care of yourself properly were easy tasks. Well, he considered them easy, but that’s because those were all things he could easily do along with you. Even if you didn’t have time for any fun leisure activities, his main goal was to make sure you were happy while reaching your goals. Overall, it sounded like a perfect plan that would suit the both of you. Humming quietly to himself, he nuzzled closer to you, his smile brushing lightly against your skin. You were his darling to care for and love.

#star crossed myth #department of wishes #my asks #zodiac gods #scm tauxolouve #star crossed myth fanfic #voltage fanfiction

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alanshee-keeper-of-realms · 1 year ago

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Three Toons and a Baby (Sneak Peek)

Synopsis: It's hard being the world's most beloved mascot, but toss in a new divorce and a baby, even for the Mickey Mouse it's too much. Having a breakdown, he goes to the only other two he knows will understand his predicament after all they're all Overworked Mascots. One incident away from it all crashing down,

A/N: Welcome to the 1st chapter that I am working on, setting things up ect I just love the fluffiness and couldn't wait to share

Also if you don't think Daffy would be a good parent The Looney Tunes Show Episode That's My Baby, when he took care of Tina's Nephew, he even went to Mommy and Me classes to better bond with the kid,

Daffy Duck hilariously would be the best parent out of all of them.

The mouses mind tunneled as he scooped Marian up, putting her in the backseat of the car and getting in speeding off, he felt so tired yet so awake, he laughed to himself as he drove around not knowing where to go

Not to Goofys he had the Grandkids this week, Donald was off in Europe for some Disney Paris thing, can't even think of Minnie the reason he was like this. His mind continued to spiral as he laughed again,

Minerva had up and disappeared, tossing the baby at him and taking off, leaving him to juggle a new baby along with the rest of his responsibilities, two toons popped into his mind and he instantly started heading to their place

I hope they're home, please be home his mind begged,

Marian suddenly started crying in the backseat. As he whipped around the corner, he slammed a hand into the steering wheel, snapping

“Be quiet!” it just made her cry more

Focus don't focus on her focus on getting there focus, relief filled him as he saw the drive, stopping at the security booth the woman gave him a look, before just letting the mouse in, not wanting to ask questions as he drove up to the main house, stepping out of the car walking up and ringing the bell as his daughter cried from the car, he felt frustration at the end of his rope, as he covered his ears

She was another responsibility, another thing he had to care for this would shatter the stay perfect mindset Disney had about him, oh how much trouble he might be in, he was so caught up in his frazzled thoughts he jumped at a gentle hand on his shoulder Daffy must've heard the child screaming, he was over by the car, meeting the worried eyes of one Bugs Bunny he croaked

“I can't I can't-” he felt his throat tightening, his breathing picking up as everything tunneled, he grabbed his ears again,

“Woah Mick, come here cinderfella,” he didn't register himself even being picked up by the rabbit, let alone the look of deep concern that Daffy and him had shared, or the whisper of,

“He drove her here with no car seat just laid in the back” the mouse felt like everything was spinning and before he knew it the world went black,

“Oh Tex” Bugs caught the mouse as he about fell out of his arms fainting, the baby was still screaming, face somehow red,

Daffy was ever patient and with the strongest parental streak Bugs had ever seen in a toon, the duck marched into their home murmuring only comforts as he headed to the kitchen to get he a bottle, while his husband took Mickey to one of their guest rooms,

“Oh Michael dear, what have ya gotten up to?” the rabbit asked the unconscious mouse as the toon laid him onto the bed before tucking him in,

Bugs was concerned at the dark rings underneath his longtime friends eyes like he hadn't been getting enough sleep, the hair that normally was neatly swept back and held down with an obscene amount of gel was miskempt and frazzled. Bugs deciding to watch the other until he woke up, he sat in the armchair in the corner,

He wasn't sure when he'd dozed off or how long it had been, but a groaning made him jolt up as the others' eyes fluttered open,

“There's those beautiful ambers,” he gently teased as the Disney toon tried sitting up but he forced him to stay down,"Nuh uh doc you lay right there, what ya pulled last night needs explained before you get more shut eye, ye look worse then Kim Kardashian without her self tanner,”

“But I have work” he tried protesting as the rabbit shook his head, not amused at the workaholic attitude of the mouse, however Daffy with a smug look on his beak walked in tossing a phone on the bed, judging by the case that was Disney themed he knew who's it was,

“Should really not have yer pasthword as yer daddies birthday, but I called Iger for ya, tried yellin at me bout getting you back in but I stuck it to em! Ye got a week,” He preened as Bugs kissed him on the cheek, the mouse looking stunned,

"They've never agreed, how- before interrupting himself looking around a worried and horrified expression on his face,

“Oh Dad, Marian!” He tried scrambling up, Bugs pushing him back as Daffy again was grinning, he turned to show the baby mouse tucked in his arm sound asleep,

“So that's this little cuties name,” he tickled her under her chin as the baby yawned kicking a foot out, the rabbit smiling towards the pup before whipping around to the mouse with narrowed eyes

“Ye are starting to have a track record with kids Mick an I don think I like it, you drove up here with her not in a carseat” he hissed dangerously,

To the Rabbits surprise, the mouse rolled on his back, tears pricking in his eyes as he began crying, breaking down again,

“I fucked up Bugs, I fucked up with Eleanor and now Minervas dumped Marian on me and just left, I thought I could handle it but I have just so much, so fucking much! And when Disney finds out about her,”

His breathing was picking up again as he spiraled once more, his hands flew to his eyes as he rubbed them with the heels of his hands,

” I am so dead, this will shatter everything, everything they built around me. At least Eleanor they could write off as my niece, in the modern era there's no way! People would sniff it out so fast,"

Instantly, Bugs gently tried to pull the mouses hands away from his face, especially as he began scratching,

“Easy Mickey, 5 things remember”, taking a deep breath trying to get the other to follow, he was about to say it again, when he heard

“I hear you” croaked out,”I can't taste anything, I feel your glove on your hand its a soft yet course texture, I smell the perfume that Daffy wears”

“Good” he coaxed taking a deep breath in ”In and out,”

He felt relief as the other took a deep breath and copied him, the rabbit looked to his husband as the Duck signed

Going to the kitchen to get Marian her bottle, love you

He nodded, signing back

Love you too

Before turning back as finally the toon's hands fell away from his face, worry definitely flashed through Bugs mind as he spotted bloodshot eyes, he'd seen the mouse at his worse before but not to this level, as he croaked,

“I'm surprised Eleanor hasn't marched in here to kick my ass out.” making the rabbit snort,

“Even if she was here, I wouldn't let her Doc, but she's off for 2 weeks over in Japan for some modeling and tour around gig. You are in a state of mental crisis ye haven't been getting sleep, you did something so unbelievably outta character as endangering Marian like that. You are taking the week to relax,"

"But Marian needs-" the Warner snorted interrupting,

"Daf thrives off taking care of the kids, you just focus on yerself Mick, even parents need a break. Please just sleep," the mouse didn't know why, he wanted to fight to keep pushing but the toons gentle pressure on his chest to keep him laying down was soothing and he found himself feeling the exhaustion,

"Alright but just 5 more minutes" he trailed off slipping back into sleep almost as soon as his eyes shut,

The Warner pulled up the blankets and gently patted his friends back before standing up, he pulled the curtains shut and walked out closing the door behind himself, going towards the kitchen he was amused to find Daffy playing with Marian in the living room as he came down the stairs

"And this little piggys name is Porky and he owes Daffy 50 dollars" Bugs rolled his eyes fondly as he snorted, making the duck look at him,

"What's so funny rabbit? it's the truth, and if he doesn't pay it, he is gonna go wee wee wee,"

"Sure Doc," he replied as he sat next to them smiling as Marian turned her head, he offered a finger and she gripped on,"Hi, little mouse, whatcha up to scamp?"

She kicked her feet out yawning as she let go and brought her splayed hand to her chest looking around with wide eye

"She's so curious, always looking around,"

That made the lagomorph smile,and say in a baby voice

"Maybe wonder mouse is just in awe of the big wide world," As he playfully tugged on a foot causing her to whine,

"I know he's a bully," he heard his husband quip, the rabbit giving a teasing glare towards him for it

She began to whine, mouthing her hand Bugs stood knowing from their own kids what that meant,

" Getting hungry, aren't we Doc? Dont worry, I gotcha kiddo" he walked into the Kitchen pulling open a cupboard, "Now we should have Yep!"

He pulled down the can of open formula they had from when their Granddaughters Max and Yakkos daughters Lillian and Blair stayed over, along with a bottle

Daffy rushing in holding Marian out as he finished up, he went to ask what was wrong when he smelled it,

"Oh dear" he sat the bottle down in the warmer, reaching under the sink to grab the bath basin, as his husband tackled peeling the infant out of her now soiled onsie and the absolutely decimated diaper,

"Oh Tex kid, you really tried showin up our Eldest with yours," the baby just whining and fussing uncomfortable as the Duck laid her down in the basin"Yes Yes we know, one second sweet mouse,"

#overworked mascots #bugs bunny #daffy duck #mickey mouse #it takes a village am i right #Marian is just a doll #mickey would never put her in danger like that in his right mind

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fanboys-anonymous · 1 month ago

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#IFTTT #Blogger

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nihilstsim · 1 month ago

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Not So Berry update

Jasper, our Gen 2 Rose heir starts his journey to college.

And let's just say that this shit is rigorous. 5 whole sim days of grinding in major classes at the very least 3 terms is not for the weak.

But Jasper? He came here to grind. Though, not before immediately finding his roommate attractive.

Coming into Britechester and applying for a dignified History degree meant the moment he could get on the debate team, he would!

He didn't win his first ever debate, but he felt good about going up against the competition.

At the end of the semester, Bridget came to see him, and it was perfect for her to drop by right when he could give her the good news! He's nearly made all A's!

Orson, Jasper's founder, and our NSB challenge founder dropped by for a visit as well! Jasper joked that it was just about time for the old man to retire! Originally, he's apologized for not coming back home between semesters. There just hadn't been enough time. As soon as the 1st semester ended, 2nd semester's first class was the next day. They ended up having dinner together before it was time for Orson to head back home.

After a grueling week, Jasper figured maybe he could start trying to meet people.

A woman named Anaya had come over before to his off campus dorm, a friend of one of his roommates and well...they hit it off. After learned two of her traits, one being likable and the other genius, well...Jasper had a thing for smart folks.

He'd originally fell in love with his bestfriend back at home, Aarush, in part because not only was he good looking, but he was smart as well.

But for some reason, they never got passed just holding hands and Jasper wasn't sure of his sexuality to begin with. What could really hurt trying out new things?

(Spoilers: his grades, that's what.

What is not pictured here is the fact that Jasper had failed an entire class in his 2nd semester because he was distracted.)

Autonomously, when Anaya had left the bar Jasper was at, Lilith Feng immediately began flirting with him.

He was a little stricken after that sudden display of affection, but more torn than anything. Lilith was aesthetically what Jasper might look for in a girl, but Anaya kind of had the whole package. She was fun, pretty, and smart. He slept on it, and decided to ask Anaya to be his romantic partner.

Going into 3rd semester slightly embarrassed, yet more focused not that he wasn't so romantically pent up, Jasper once more put his nose to the grind stone. Breezing through his homework and staying on top of classes, Jasper finalized his presentation with two days still left in the week of the semester.

He couldn't wait to kick this semester's ass.

However...

Things were about to become....difficult emotionally..

Orson, our founder, and Jasper's father, passed away while he was in his 3rd semester of college.

It wasn't something that Jasper had even thought possible. (And even I was a bit sad to read that message.)

He had to remind himself of what his dad would do if he were still here; maybe tell him that he couldn't quit. He needed to go ahead and finish out the semester strong, even if things wouldn't be the same.

So that's what Jasper did. And things really weren't the same for him.

After completing all his final exams and giving his presentation, Jasper had a lot of time to think about where he was headed and how the death of his father was changing his perspective.

There was one thing that his dad had told him once upon a time that he didn't dare tell anyone else - not even his mother knew. When Orson was his age, and he had just started in the science career, he met a man that made him question everything about who he thought he was. Falling head over heels was an understatement, yet, Orson had fallen for Summer after being rejected by that man, but there were times were he had wished Jasper would have had two dad instead. He loved him, his bestfriend from work.

That secret had eaten his father up until he died, but Jasper was determined to take it as a life lesson. He would live to have every romantic experience he ever wanted and college wasn't going to be the one stop shop where he hunkered down immediately.

So, he called Anaya over, and broke up with her. She didn't take it well, but they were still friendly with eachother after Jasper explained that his dad had just died and he needed the space to grieve and figure things out.

Soon, he'd be going back home to visit his family before 4th semester started.

#the sims 4 #ts4 #ts4 simblr #ts4 gameplay #sims 4 #sims 4 challenge #sims 4 gameplay #notsoberry #not so berry

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multimagical · 2 months ago

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The Ghost of Melbrew

Book 1 of 12 in the Multimagical series by Lillian R.S.

Masterlist

Chapter 5 - "A Strange Book"

Word Count: 3,800

Wattpad / Main: @lillianrs

Friendly criticism welcome

Continue reading below the cut and enjoy! <3

●●●

The next day, It was Wednesday, and I woke up to my alarm blaring at 5am as I went through my usual morning routine. Cameron and Dominik had given me their phone numbers the night before. That morning, I awoke with a text from Cameron.

He texted me at like, two in the morning, to tell me to bring the book they gave me to school that day, and to be careful with it... Well, his exact text was:

"Yo dude u need 2 bring the book tmrw I wanna read that shit w my eyes at lunch n kai ll be back cuz he told me n he never read the whole thin he has his own vers but that aint important rn yea thx m8 b careful bc if u ruin that bk kim ll be mad bc she ws the 1 who had the guts 2 steal it in the 1st place ok ye that it thx"

...I really hope Dominik is the one who types out those reports they were talking about.

I placed the book safely into my backpack, said goodbye to my parents, and headed down the road to school. The morning announcements were as follows:

"Good morning Melbrew students. Today is Wednesday, September 28th, 2016. For lunch today, the cafeteria will be serving hamburgers, tomorrow will be pizza. The breakfast for tomorrow will be French toasts sticks. If you are going on Ms. Hogg's field trip this spring, your permission slips are due before Christmas break. Sign ups for the book and history clubs will be tomorrow, and they will be meeting every other week. Have a good day, Melbrew."

I went about my mundane day, and then lunch time finally came. I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to anyone yet, as the classes were busy, and the teachers were talkative. I was eager to start up a conversation.

"Wassup my dudes!" Cameron said as a greeting as he practically threw his tray on the table, making a loud sound. He slammed it down, causing some of his food to fly off the tray, making a few people to look towards us due to the sound.

"Jesus, dude. I thought you said the school's food was poisonous or something?" I said, Gesturing at his tray of lunch food.

"I like to live life on the edge, gambling with death is my favorite hobby! And if I do get sick I can sue them. They actually stopped giving out broccoli because all of it always had mold on it. It was like that for a few months until the kids decided to start speaking up about it and became persistent. They literally did not care, like it wasn’t a big deal."

"God, that's gross. They really didn't care?" I questioned.

"Nope. Don't get it, never will. Blows my fucking mind, dude." He said, and changed the subject, "Did you bring the book like I asked you to?"

"Yes, but you should be thankful. Trying to decode that message after just waking up gave me a headache!" I said, and pulled the book out of my bag. Dominik took it out of the case he gave me and flipped it open.

"So, what did you think?" He asked.

"It's pretty crazy, but definitely interesting. It feels like I'm in a mystery novel, but maybe that's just because I fantasize about it, like, all the time."

"Well, you're definitely in the right town for a mystery!" Cameron said, "This book is full of all sorts of things. A lot of it is anonymous re-writes of people's experience while being on the property, or in the graveyard right next to it. It's like you're reading some kinda ghost documentary, but it takes place where you live. It’s fucking cool, dude."

There was the gentle sound of a tray hitting the table right next to me, the complete opposite of Cameron.

“Is that the book?" Kai asked, monotone as always.

"Yes! It's here in all its glory!" Cameron said, and slid it over to him.

Kai flipped through the pages, a blank expression on his face. "I've never read this properly. You said it's pretty much a collection of stories, right? The ones that we have, but with a professional analysis?" His voice still monotone, not even changing pitch when he asks a question.

"Yup." Cameron said, "What about you? You bring yours?"

He said nothing, and pulled a book out of his own bag, the same one that he was reading in the library on Monday, on my first day. He placed the book on the table, "Kimi took this from the library a while ago. I only found out about it recently because she didn't want me to know."

The book looked incredibly old. Its grey, hardback cover was peeling back, and I could tell that it was a faded black, worn away over the years. Its thick pages were ripped, brown, stained, and wrinkled. It had scratches, and burn marks, and what even looked like blood stains. The previously golden accents of metal were now dull and bronzed. In the center of the book was the faded lettering of "Lord Lutho" both engraved and written over in black ink.

We opened the book, and were greeted with an unfamiliar language. And when I say unfamiliar, I mean I've never seen it before in my life. It was in some kind of language we couldn't even try to read, it looked like the same alphabet we use, but not exactly, it was slightly different. It almost looked as if the person writing just took a keyboard and just began spam typing nonsense, but with a pen and their hand... while also not knowing what exactly letters look like.

As we flipped through the old dirty pages, there were black ink drawings of different kinds of creatures, and what I assume to be a description of the magic they have, but we couldn't read it. There were pages on what I’d assume to be multiple mythical creatures, different kinds of aliens, different sections of angels and demons, it was weird. There was one page in specific that caught our attention, though. There was a drawing of two conjoined twins, holding a conjoined cat. The title read:

Sah Heirfix Gdrmhz: Prinsezzhz Noctis a Umbra Papilio. Lu sah mrtsg, drgs hszwvhz lu gris, za shadow dzh xzhg, a gsviv dvi gdrmhz.

"The something something, princesses Noctis and Umbra Papilio? Is that what it says?" Cameron asked.

"That's a good guess," Dominik said, "the only word I can make out in the second sentence is Shadow... isn't Noctis, Umbra, and Papilio Latin for Night, Shadow, and Butterfly?"

"Bro who do you think I am, someone who speaks Latin?" Cameron said, "You're lucky I speak English!"

"Are you sure this is real?" I questioned, skeptically.

"Mayhaps." Cameron said. "Don't you believe these creatures can exist? Because if you don't, you're gonna have a hard time here, mate."

"Who wrote this?" Dominik asked Kai.

"Someone named Lord Lutho, I don't know. That's the only name on the book. Just the words Lord Lutho." Kai went and looked the name up on his phone, but strangely nothing came up.

We didn't give the book much attention, it didn't seem real. Something like a fantasy book written to seem real for fun visuals. Couldn't quite figure out why it wasn't written in English though. Or any other known language for that matter. Or why there wasn't some actual name on it somewhere. Guess it was just for visual aesthetics, like an art book or something.

The rest of the day went on, and the dreaded biology class came about. Veronica was very vocal about how much she didn't want to work with me, and how gross and disgusting these projects were. She said she would pay me to do the whole thing for her, by myself, which actually sounded like a good idea to me.

This girl was a bitch, and an even bigger bitch to work with. She offered me 500 whole dollars right then and there if I would agree! You're telling me I don't have to work with her, and also get 500 bucks? Sign me the hell up! I took the deal. I decided to do the plant project, where I have to collect 15 different plants. That seemed like the easiest to me.

Once that God awful class period finally ended, I went and exited through the back doors as I do. Cameron and Dominik met me, but today Kai was with them as well.

"Hi, Emmy." Dominik said, exiting with Cameron and Kai.

"Kai's comin' wit’ us today," Cameron said, "he just told us he's got some good ass story from when he and Kimi were gone from school yesterday. Ya wanna come with? We're going to the apartments again."

"Pfft, you kidding? There's no way I'm NOT coming!"

"Great!" Cameron said, "The more people in on this shit the better! Kimi doesn't seem to agree, though."

"We ditched school and found something," Kai said, "we have to get Kimi now."

He, Dominik, and Cameron began to walk down the street to the middle school, and Cameron gestured for me to follow them. I quickly finished up with texting me mom. I told her I would be going to the apartments again, and then quickly ran to catch up with them.

"So what do you mean you found something?" I asked Kai when I reached them.

He shrugged, "We looked around the woods and found something."

"Okay but WHAT did you find?" Cameron asked, barely able to wait, voice laced with impatient, annoyed excitement.

"We will tell you when we get there."

We walked to the middle school, where Kimi was waiting. She immediately punched Cameron in the arm, gave me a dirty look, and went off down the wooded road leading to the apartments.

I stood confused for a moment, "...Why did she do that?" I asked.

"She fucking hates me, dude!" Cameron said, then laughed. We continued on and I followed the group down the streets, all the way to the apartments.

"Hey Mrs. Johnson." Kai greeted Cameron's mother as we entered their apartment room.

"Hello Kai! Hello Kimi!" She said, "And hello to you too, Emmy!"

"Hello!" I said back, and followed the group into Cameron's bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

"Gimme that juicy ass scoop, it should be illegal to make me wait this long!" Cameron said, crashing down on a blue bean bag chair, "Yo, Dom, pass me the cheese-its! Imma needa snack for this one."

Dominik rolled his eyes a bit, but grabbed the box off a shelf and tossed it to him.

Kai sat at his desk, while Kimi sat on top of it. Dominik took a seat on his bed, and I did, too.

"Well," Dominik said, gesturing to the room, "go on, tell us!"

"Kai and I were out skipping school at the baseball field yesterday. We were taking turns at hits until I got bored of it. We decided to go out and look in the woods around the place, but then we found something weird."

Kai pulled out his cracked old phone, "I took some photos, but the quality isn't very good." He said as he flipped his phone to us. Through the cracks and bad quality, some sort of strange hole could be seen. "We got stuck in the rain so we couldn't stay very long."

"Yo, dude, that looks like a portal to Hell or some shit." Cameron said, taking the phone from him. “Oh my God, I hope it’s a portal to Hell, that would be so fucking sick!”

"I threw a stick down it. It's really deep." Kimi said.

"That's not the only thing that's-" Cameron started, but Dominik threw a pillow at his face before he could finish.

"What do you think it is?" I asked.

"We have no idea." Kimi said, "We wanna go down and check it out this weekend if anyone wants to come with us."

"Aw hell naw." Dominik said.

"AW HELL YEAH!" Cameron yelled.

I scoffed, "Oh, absolutely!"

"Anyone except for you." She said.

"Nope. She's comin' whether you like it or not." Cameron said.

"Can confirm. I'm coming, no exceptions!" I said. "I've wanted this for ages."

"I don't like her." She said, blatantly.

"Well news flash, kid, you're not the person who gets to decide who's a part of this group or not." Cameron said.

"I volunteer to not go in place of Emmy." Dominik said.

"How about after school on Friday?" Kai suggested, changing the conversation.

"Yeah, that should be good." I said.

"I'm down to fuck with death any day!" Cameron said, punching his palm with his fist.

"No." Dominik said. "I'm actually very busy on Friday, how about we change it to uhhh, to..."

"Okay then, so Friday?" Kai asked for confirmation.

"Yup." Cameron and I said.

"I- no! I did not consent to this." Dominik said.

"Friday!" Cameron and I cheered, while Dominik looked defeated. We continued to chant, "Fri-day! Fri-day! Fri-day!"

We all went on to relax a bit. I properly introduced myself to Kimi and Kai, and we got to know each other a little bit better. Neither of them were really big talkers, so it was mostly me, but Kai was much more friendly than Kimi, even though Kimi was much more talkative than Kai.

We all officially decided to come back to the apartments on Friday, after doing a bit of convincing with Dominik. We were going to take the nature trail that's down on that same road and follow it.

Kimi and Kai said that they remembered where it was located, and that it shouldn't be a problem to stray from the path a bit to find it. That way it'd be harder to get lost. At five o'clock we all went home. The next day was Thursday, the day for the club sign-ups.

The speaker beeped, followed by the typical static, "Good morning Melbrew students. Today is Thursday, September 29th, 2016. For lunch today, the cafeteria will be serving pizza, tomorrow will be ham sandwiches. The breakfast for tomorrow will be waffles. If you are going on Ms. Hogg's field trip in the spring, your permission slips are due before Christmas break. Sign ups for the book club, and History club, will be today in the cafeteria, and they will be meeting every other week. Have a good day, Melbrew."

It had brushed over my head for the past few days, but I noticed it now. What was Ms. Hogg's field trip? She hadn't mentioned it at all during class, not even once.

The day was average. I went and asked Dominik, Cameron, and Kai about the field trip, but they said they didn't know what it was for, either. Kai and I both had her as our biology teacher, but he said he didn't care enough to pay attention.

I wanted to ask her myself, but approaching that teacher felt like it was a death sentence. Unfortunately, I didn't have any other ways of finding out. I was curious about it, and if I wanted to know, I would just have to find the guts to do it and ask her directly... oh boy, time to mentally prepare myself, I suppose.

At lunch us four signed up for the history club, and a few other kids did, too. Kai snuck angry glances at them. Because of the presence of other kids, we'd have to hide the true nature of the club from them with a fake meeting. Once ninth period came to be, I took a few deep breaths as I walked down that silent, eerie hallway, thinking about what I was gonna say when I had to face that unsettling teacher.

"Um, excuse me, Ms. Hogg?" I asked, walking into her classroom, then over to her desk. I felt so nervous, which rarely happens to me... yet it's happened constantly since moving here, and it's not even been a week yet!

"What?" She said, voice lightly coated in annoyance, not looking up from whatever she was writing.

"I noticed on the announcements this morning that you are going to be having a field trip this spring, may I ask what it's about?"

She grumbled and mumbled a little bit before speaking, "I'm gonna be taking' everyone down to the ocean by the Pacific to look at all the different critters, but yins gotta pay for it. Ain't taking no one fo' free."

"Oh, how much is the price?"

She mumbled something under her breath, and went to dig through her desk before shoving a paper in front of me, "jus' take this and go sit down."

"Oh, uh, okay, thank you!" I said, and took the paper to my desk. Veronica came in soon after and scoffed at my paper, disgusted.

"Are you really thinking about going on that gross field trip?"

"Huh. It's almost like someone is paying me 500 dollars to do the project." I said, "I think it would be a wise investment to get all the help I can with it." She rolled her eyes at me, the bell rang, and Ms. Hogg got on with her class.

I thought a field trip to the ocean would be pretty cool! It also said the pay fee was only $20! I tucked the paper away into my bookbag, and walked home once the school day had ended. Completely opposite to Tuesday's pouring rain, it was a sunny sky with warm air and cool winds.

"Wow, look hun! She's home today!" My mom said when I came inside.

"Holy cow! Does she actually like us?" My dad said from the kitchen, preparing dinner.

"Of course I like you."

"Really?" My mom said, surprised, "You like us better than those boys?" She winked.

I internally cringed and laughed awkwardly, "Yeah, okay. Is it okay if I hangout again tomorrow, though? We all have plans. Cameron, Dominik, Kai, Kimi, and I."

"Of course you can, sweetie!" Mom said. "As long as you don't talk about murders or ghosts."

"Okay thank you," I said, and ran up the stairs to my room. I rolled my eyes when I was out of sight. Oh, the cringe. I was ready to hit my head off the wall for three consecutive hours now.

I changed into pajamas because I didn't have any other plans that evening. I decided to turn on the little television in my room and see what was on. All of my social media timelines were dry and I didn't feel like reading at the moment. I didn't have the mental capacity to actually do anything… maybe I should've went and hit my head off the wall for three consecutive hours?

I began flipping through the channels, watching for a few seconds to decide if I wanted to stay, but nothing was really catching my eye. That is until I got to the local news station. How strange that the news is the only interesting thing on TV.

I've watched the local station before, but usually it's nothing good. Just a dry old story of, "Wow, look at this beaver dam in the river!" Or, "This squirrel forgets how to climb! #funny" and small town stuff like that.

This news story, however, was very different from the usual local reports. It was about this woman whose house was allegedly being haunted, according to her at least. I flipped to the channel when they were inside the house talking about the supposed spirit. She said that that she'll wake up and find the magnets on her fridge in different orders, or will hear strange bumps in the night. She said everyone in her family denied getting up and doing it.

I wondered who she was, exactly. Her name was Laura Nova. I noticed that she lived in a house down at the base of the hill, by the library and mansion. The same side of town I was on. One of her daughters then came on screen, her name was Ava Nova.

I knew that she was ten years old, and I think that was the age of a fourth grader. She showed the camera her scars on her neck, saying that she'll wake up with them randomly. They were in the shapes of scratches, but they didn't break the skin. Just red marks that seemed to stay. They then brought in a priest and were blessing the house and all that stuff.

They went on to talk about how they found a mysterious little key that they hadn't seen before. Well, actually, it was anything but little, it was two feet long! Ava found it in the basement while she and her older sister, Nora, were cleaning up. It was old, gold, and didn't go with any lock in the house, obviously. They said it was weird but they weren't sure of what else it could be, that thing was huge! Because of that, I assumed it was just a decoration.

Once that story was over, I got out my phone and went to text the chat I was added in. I didn't notice until now, but Cameron had named it, Stupid Name for a Group chat. I rolled my eyes and opened the empty chat.

You: hey first text

You: anyways

You: do you guys know Ava or Nora Nova?

Cameron: yuh ik nora y

You: Ava, Nora, and their mom were just on the local news station. Ava has scars all over her. They think they're haunted

Cameron: YO DUDE DAY SICK

Cameron: DAT

Dominik: I was watching that, I'm casual friends with Nora, she's a girl in our grade. Don't know her that well, though. It's been going on for a few weeks now, but the paranormal activity has only just started recently

You: I think she's in my gym class now that i think about it???

Cameron: u shld tlk 2 her

Cameron: in gym

You: I will

Cameron: Gud I gtg c u tmrw its sleepi time

You: It’s… five in the afternoon????

Cameron: i was up til 3 am yestefr day dont judge me

The conversation ended there, and I turned off the TV. I decided to continue reading my book. I was still relatively at the beginning of the book. I started reading when I got here, called The MMR. It stands for Multicolored Monochrome room. It was about a 9 year old girl named Crynn who could see things that others couldn't, which led the cast somewhere strange, with even stranger people. It was a good book to put me in the mood of strange discoveries.

As I slept that night I wondered if what those two found in the woods could be my world's MMR?

●●●

#lillianrs #the ghosts of melbrew #multimagical #writers on tumblr #tgom #tgom C5

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fanilys · 6 months ago

Text

Ordering from the TOBE Store + first time using EMS

I've made a post about my experience buying jpop stuff from CDJapan and DHL. I wanted to buy Number_i goods too but currently, they're only available on the TOBE official store which only ships through EMS. I wanted to share my experiences in case it might be helpful to fellow international fans (especially those from the PH like me) who are new to this kind of thing. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes 😂

1st purchase: delivered straight to PH address

My first purchase included the GOAT standard edition and 1 photo. I would've gotten the limited editions as well, but they were already sold out. This was after the preorder period but about a month before the release date. I got a confirmation email after placing the order, and then nothing more until the package got shipped around a month later.

I received the shipment email with the tracking number a week after the release date. The tracking number couldn't be found on the shipping company's tracker provided on the email (Sagawa), but I was able to track the package on parcelsapp after a couple of hours or about a day after. This website shows the status of the package across all the services where it can be tracked. In my case, it was on Japan Post, PhlPost, EMS and Universal Postal Union.

One concern I had with EMS is that I wasn't sure whether they'll be delivering to my address or if I will have to pick it up at a post office. I also wasn't sure how much the additional fees were for receiving the package. I found this reddit thread that explained the process for EMS and it helped clear some things up for me.

A couple of days (less than a week) after I started tracking the package, the status updated to "Letter Courier enroute to delivery", which as the thread says, means that the package will be delivered to my address.

I was asked to pay 212 PHP before getting the package. I wasn't issued a reciept, but I didn't question it since it was also stated in the post. But upon reading other people's comments online and a lot of digging through PhlPost's pages, it seems that the correct amount, called the Presentation to Customs Charge (PTCC), is only 112 PHP for all EMS packages. I tried to contact PhlPost through email and messenger to confirm this, but never heard back from them.

In summary, I ordered the CD after the preorder period and got the shipment email about a week after the release date. It arrived at my address about a week after it was shipped.

2nd purchase: had it delivered to JP address but didn't get it in time, reshipped to PH instead

My second purchase was quite troublesome. I was going to stay in Tokyo and was hoping to just get my package there to lessen the shipping fee, and more importantly, to avoid PhlPost since I had issues with them.

I ordered the Numbering bundle after the release date, as well as 1 photo. I would've ordered more photos but again, the ones I wanted were sold out. The expected shipping dates for each item are indicated after you add them to cart. The bundle was to be shipped as soon as possible, while the photo was to be shipped after early June.

The place I was staying at allows packages to be sent to them as long as they meet certain conditions. I thought "after early June" meant that my package could be delivered during my stay (3rd week of June), so I placed my order around 2 weeks before my flight to Tokyo, and hoped for the best.

I was actually concerned that the package would arrive before I do, so I emailed the accomodation before placing the order to confirm if this was okay, and they promptly replied that it was fine. If I had known about this much earlier, I would've ordered everything, including the Ariake Arena concert goods, beforehand. Unfortunately, the presale period was already over that time.

While in the middle of my stay in Tokyo, I still hadn't received the shipment email. I sent an inquiry to TOBE store to ask if my order can be delivered before the end of the week and if I can cancel if it couldn't, since I won't be at the address anymore. I didn't say that I will be overseas by then.

They replied a few hours later, only saying that they can't change my shipping information since the package has already been prepared for shipping and that I should coordinate with the shipping company specified in the shipment email.

I was a bit confused since I still haven't received any shipment email at this point, but I didn't reply anymore and just hoped that I could still get the package before the end of my stay. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and I left Japan without receiving it.

I only received the shipment email a few days after my flight back home, around 4 weeks after placing the order. I contacted the shipping company (Yamato) immediately to cancel the delivery.

The next day, I saw on their tracker that the package was on the way to the delivery address. I still haven't heard back from them, but I contacted my accomodation to inform them to just disregard it, which they acknowledged right away.

After the delivery attempt, the status on the tracker said that it was under investigation. I waited for a few days, but neither Yamato or TOBE store contacted me.

I sent another inquiry to Yamato, this time asking if they can just forward it overseas. This time, they responded right away, saying they can't. They asked for the original delivery address (my accomodation) and processed returning to sender once I sent them the details. I contacted TOBE store again to inform them that the shipping company could not forward the package overseas, and asked if it was possible to get a refund instead.

They sent an email on Friday of that week, saying they will confirm the situation first. The package was returned to sender the following week based on the tracker. TOBE store emailed me within that day, confirming that they received it. They apologized for the refund request and asked for the updated address to resend the package instead.

I don't know what would've happened if I insisted on getting a refund. I just agreed and sent them the details needed since I felt like that was the fastest way to be done with this issue. I also updated my details on the store website as per their instruction.

They said that they would send the payment instructions for the additional shipping fee in mid-July or later, but I received it on Friday of that same week (1st week of July). There was nothing to pay yet, they only advised what I would need to do once I receive the actual email for payment.

The next week, I received the invoice for the additional shipping fee and paid it right away. Then I got the shipment email on Friday of that week (2nd week of July).

I tracked the package again on parcelsapp. It was the same as last time until the status updated to "Item for Customs examination" on Monday night of the following week. I was worried since I don't remember seeing this status last time.

My package didn't have anything out of the ordinary and was below 10,000 PHP, so there shouldn't be any problems. Thankfully, the status updated to "Returned from Customs" and "Letter Courier enroute to delivery" at around Tuesday noon. Seems like the status was updated late, though, since the timestamps say that it was already for delivery at around 9 AM, but I was frantically refreshing the tracker all morning and it didn't appear until around noon.

The package was delivered to my address a few hours later and I was asked to pay 212 again. I told the delivery person that EMS packages are 112 as per PhlPost, and they apologized and said they forgot that that was the fee for EMS. I think the PTCC depends on the type of package, so maybe it really was an honest mistake, or maybe it wasn't. I also wasn't issued a receipt again. In any case, I paid 112 this time and finally got my package after about a month since my stay in Tokyo, around 1 1/2 months since I placed the order.

To recap everything...

TOBE store ships via EMS and the package can be tracked on parcelsapp a few hours to a day after you get the shipment email. It may take a while from the time you purchase before the package actually gets shipped. The estimated shipping period for each item can be seen when you add them to cart, so take that into consideration if you wish to receive the package within a certain timeframe. If multiple items with different shipping times are checked out together, the package will be shipped based on the latest shipping time.

For any modifications (such as change in delivery details, request for cancellation or refund, etc), you will have to contact TOBE store. They may not always be able to accomodate to your request, but they were responsive to my inquiries and were able to have my package reshipped to PH after a failed delivery to the place I was staying at in Tokyo. For changes in orders within Japan, you can contact the delivery company indicated on the shipment email directly. Reshipments will incur another shipping fee.

For PH deliveries, when the tracking status updates to "Letter Courier enroute to delivery", that means the item will be delivered to the address you provided within that day. I've only used EMS twice and my packages were delivered to my address both times.

From what I've read, you may have to pick up the package from the post office yourself and pay additional taxes in certain cases, such as when the package: exceeds 10,000 PHP (including shipping fee), is too large, contains restricted or suspicious items, or contains more than 6 discs. I'm not sure if this information is still accurate or up to date, so it might be good to do more research online or try to contact PhlPost directly if you need more clarification. Though in my experience, they're not responsive to emails or on messenger. This reddit thread may also help explain how EMS works.

When the package arrives, the receiver will have to provide their name and signature. You will also have to pay 112 PHP for the Presentation to Customs Charge (PTCC). PTCC is only 112 PHP for EMS packages as stated on PhlPost's page. If you get charged more, you can inform/remind the delivery person that it's only 112 for EMS, or at least ask for a receipt if they insist on a higher price.

Opinions, other options I've looked at

The actual process from purchasing to delivery is quite simple overall, but for me there are a lot of factors that complicate it. Buying items overseas costs a lot, so I want to include all the products I want in one package to reduce the shipping fee. The problem is that some items may already be sold out by the time you're ready to order, so it can be hard to time it right.

Right now, there's no option to specify your preferred date of delivery. TOBE store will ship your order based on the timeframe stated on your cart.

Preorder items have an exact delivery date, but they will arrive after this date if you're outside Japan. When I ordered a CD after the preorder date but before the release date, it arrived around a week after the release date.

For other items, there is no exact delivery date stated. Some items can be shipped as soon as possible, while some items may just have a broad delivery date such as "will be shipped after early/mid/late July" or whatever month is indicated.

I ordered a package scheduled to be shipped "after early June". I thought it could be delivered within the 3rd week of June when I was staying in Tokyo, but it only got shipped on the 4th week. It was delivered the day after I got the shipment email, but I wasn't there to receive it anymore. I coordinated with the delivery company (Yamato) to return the package to sender, and then with TOBE store to have it reshipped to my PH address.

TOBE store currently only uses one delivery company for overseas orders, which uses EMS. EMS packages will go through the post office, which I personally think can be a bit of a risk in itself in the PH. To be fair, both my packages were delivered in good condition less than a week after I got the shipment email. But you will have to do some resrarch in order to make sure the delivery goes smoothly. I found it difficult to find a comprehensive and updated guide regarding overseas packages from PhlPost themselves, but a few helpful articles and reddit threads came up during my searches. It's helpful to know what you can, can't, or how much you can include in a package, as well as the corresponding fees when you receive the package. Sad to say, but some post office employees may try to scam you, so it would be good for you to have some knowledge about the process too.

Obviously, I ended up spending more than originally intended, but at least I know better now. If I have the chance to go to Japan again, I'll have a better idea on what to do and how to time my orders.

Maybe some time in the future, TOBE products will also be available in physical stores or other online stores that have other shipping methods. I think having different options can make it more convenient and enticing for fans to buy the goods they want. But it's times like this that I remember that TOBE is still a relatively new company even though their artists have been in the industry for a while.

There's also the option of using package forwarding services, where you can have multiple packages shipped to one JP address, which can then be combined and sent overseas as one package. Before you can start using the service, you will first be required to submit an ID or document to verify your identity. There are also additional fees depending on the specific website you use. I opted not to try it at this time since I didn't want to make things more complicated for myself, so I can't give any insight on how it works.

Right now, I'm just waiting on one more package. I decided to try CDJapan's proxy service for the first time and preordered the No.I album bundle though them. They will be the one to purchase it from TOBE store, then they will ship it to the customer's address after it arrives at their warehouse.

The advantage of this is being able to select other shipping methods, which can offer more flexibility for the customer. Of course, the downside is that there are additional fees per proxy item. Aside from the service itself, some shipping methods like DHL also recently started charging an additonal fee of 430 PHP for items below 10,000 PHP. This fee is currently not being charged for EMS packages. Proxy orders on CDJ also can't be cancelled or modified as stated on their terms. Despite all this, I thought to try it anyway just to see how it compares.

After that, I think I'll be taking a break from buying any more merch for now. Aside from the costs, constantly tracking the package and making sure it gets to you can also become stressful. I might just buy again if there are a lot of goods I really like and can order at one time, or if I'm able to go to Japan again and can plan it accordingly.

As much as I wish I could buy everything I want without a second thought, I'm not rich nor carefree enough to do that 😅 I'm still thankful though that I'm able to spend for these things at all, and I'm satisfied with the stuff I do have.

So yeah, if want to buy merch abroad then it's always good to know how it works, but I think the most important thing to remember is to be mindful of your purchases. I love Ni, but I really don't need to buy everything they put out. Spend according to your own budget and if you do choose to buy something, consider if it's really worth it to you. I've spent a good amount on merch and I don't regret my purchases, but I'm still mindful about how much I spend. This is a hobby after all, and being a fan is supposed to be an enjoyable experience. It's okay to not buy everything or anything for whatever reason.

Hope this post can be helpful. Thank you for reading, especially if you read through this entire thing!

#guide #jpop related

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