#animal-themed car mats

[holygladiatorfox]

Owl Car Mats Set

Artistic Owl Car Mats Set designed with vibrant colors and a non-slip rubber backing, perfect for car enthusiasts who want to add a touch of style to their vehicle interior. Relevant for owl lovers and those looking to decorate their car for road trips, daily commutes, and outdoor adventures.

giet it now from clicking her

[purplerose244]

Watched the third episode of LEGO DreamZzz: LOVE IT!

I discovered why I don't pace myself with shows anymore... because I get crazy with headcanons 😅 I got an idea for a fanfiction, What ifs with Mateo turning full nightmare from that one time, and the ships... I'M ALREADY AT SHIPS AND IT'S BEEN ONLY THREE EPISODES 😵😵

Why am I surprised I worked with less before

YOU GOT ME ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS (Logan and Mateo), FRIENDS-TO-LOVERS (Cooper and Mateo) AND LONE WOLF X AWKWARD KID (Zoey and Mateo) ON A SILVER PLATTER I'M SORRY OKAY?? 🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

Anyway no one cares about my delusions about ships, so back to the episode!

DREAM CHASED

I said it before, I'll say it again: THE DESIGNS ARE EXCEPTIONAL! Like look at this Nightmare King and his henchman! Love it, absolutely love it! 😍

Another troupe I like? TRIALS

It's silly and sometimes unnecessary, but there's something I love about seeing how the characters confront a challenge

Okay Logan is still a bit annoying, but it seems like he's mostly trying to look tough and he's not bothering Mateo directly... for now 😅 I feel like he should have another change of heart moment though

All hail Vincent for voicing another character I'm loving ❤️❤️❤️

THAT SAND FORGE MANIFESTING THROUGH LIKE LOOK AT THAT 😍 It is sand so yeah that's coherent, I like how simple yet intriguing it is

So the lil blondie is obviously the big important man right?

Ooohhh, so Cooper is into cars? Interesting!

Awww Mateo looks so insecure about the whole situation, come on baby you can do it! YOU GOT THIS! (aaaand I've now officially adopted Mateo as my child, it was inevitable from the beginning)

I FLIPPING LOVE IZZIE!!! Look at that anime girl go 😂😂 Also her theme song? Kinda banging honestly

Why was Mateo looking at the ladder?

Aaaaaand they all failed. Eh, next time

Is the burrito stand the home of the local wise person? This lady is the new Wu?

Also I just noticed that Mr. Oz got Brian Drummond as VA, just like Merlok in Nexo Knights. He's got a knack for voicing the master of the situation 😂

POOR MATEO MY GOSH 😭 Glad to see Logan wasn't joining that other guy insulting him, but wow are there many other kids talking like that to him? Is that why he's not very confident? ANOTHER FANFICTION IDEA DANG IT

Coop seems to get along with others, maybe he never had these problems

Did Mateo and Cooper fight before because Coop found Logan a cool and kinda good guy, but Mateo didn't like him (no blame given the mocking) and thought he was just like the other kids making fun of him?

... ANGST TRAIN EVERYONE I WILL WRITE FICS ONCE I'M FINISHED WITH THIS

What was Mat writing on that towel?

Heeeeyyy, look at Logan solving the riddle! I... would have never bet on him being the one to get it, I thought for sure Mateo was gonna be the one 😅

Yep the blondie is the boss

WHOA WHAT'S WITH THAT VOICE MAN 🤯😂😂😂 I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING

Ah, wow, so if they don't pass they go back being random people? How can you blame them for being reluctant, Mateo literally made a new friend thanks to this world and managed to reconcile with Cooper!

AND NO I WOULD NEVER RISK Z-BLOB EITHER THE SLIME SHALL NOT DIE 😭😭😭 (yes I adopted him too but to be honest Mateo and Z-Blob are a package deal)

Dang poor Nova girl, so many nightmares she's dissociating 😥 Yeah the effects of lack of sleep are no joke

Nuuuuu the drawing of Z-Blob falling, Mat why are you doing this to me 😭

...

Okay this one hits close to home 😅😅

I was the introverted one during school, I barely talked to my classmates, and I struggled making new friends. Most of all, I had ideas I thought were good but didn't express them out of fear. Then, if someone had the same idea, I felt regret

I'm not sure if this was supposed to be this impactful, but it is to me, and especially in middle and high school your insecurities are put to the test

I'm much more confident now, and I hope to see Mateo growing to do the same 😊

... OKAY TOO SERIOUS BACK TO SILLY 🤪

THANK YOU IZZIE FOR CAUSING MAYHAM AND GOING ON A DANGEROUS ADVENTURE TO SAVE YOUR FRIEND 💪

I don't know why but Mateo going "wasn't that a ship?" got me cracking 😂

MATEO IDEA TIME 🤩🤩

They see me rollin, they hatin~

Awww look at Cooper being impressed by his buddy! And honestly he's kinda right, they got on a rescue mission twice so far and they're two for two! Look at them go!

Yeeee, confidence boost!!!!

OMG STOP COOP CALLED HIM TEO, NICKNAMES ARE A HUGE WEAKNESS OF MINE AAAAAAAAA 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

Between Logan's Mattie and Cooper's Teo, I got shippy material for myself 😎

Although I'm still very curious about when Zoey will join or when will they meet her, she seemed to have some backstory and I wanna see how she interacts

I WANNA SEE THE FORGE TRIAL AAAA I'M SO INTO THIS SHOW!!!! 🥰🥰🥰

[bedforkid]

Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids: Double the Fun, Double the Learning!

Transform your child's sleep space into a hub of learning and imagination with Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids. Designed by Birdy Boutique, an award-winning educator, these bedding sets offer a unique and fun way to combine comfort and educational value. The blankets are reversible and double-sided, featuring two designs that provide learning opportunities. They are versatile and can be used as blankets, play mats, rugs, or wall hangings, making them perfect for learning at home, school, or even outdoor settings. With their gender-neutral designs, they make excellent educational gifts for both boys and girls. Key Takeaways: - Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids combines comfort and educational value. - The double-sided designs offer multiple learning opportunities. - These bedding sets are versatile and can be used in various settings. - They make a perfect educational gift for both boys and girls. - The blankets are reversible and double-sided, offering two designs for learning.

Engaging Learning Experiences with Reversible Educational Bedding

Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids offers a unique and interactive way for children to learn while they sleep. Designed to engage young minds, these bedding sets combine education and fun, creating a natural and enjoyable learning environment. With educational themes and fun facts incorporated into the designs, children can explore various topics and expand their knowledge. Whether it's learning about animals, geography, or the solar system, every night becomes an opportunity for discovery. The double-sided designs of the bedding sets provide multiple learning opportunities. As your child flips the blanket, they can explore different subjects and reinforce their understanding. This versatility allows for continuous learning and makes it easy to incorporate educational moments into everyday activities. Whether it's at home, in the car, or at the park, these bedding sets are perfect for creating engaging learning experiences in various settings. The portable nature of the blankets allows children to continue their educational journey wherever they go. Here's what makes Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids stand out: - Fun and educational themes that cater to different interests - Double-sided designs for multiple learning opportunities - Portability for learning on the go - Engaging learning experiences in various settings Transform your child's sleep space into a hub of learning and imagination with Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids. Let their nights be filled with excitement and exploration as they embark on new educational adventures each evening. “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” - Malcolm X

Versatile and Convenient Learning Tools

Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids offers a wide range of benefits, making it a versatile and convenient learning tool for children. With its innovative design and thoughtful features, these Kids Bedding Sets are perfect for promoting education and creativity. Ample Space for Learning The blankets in the Reversible Bedding Designs line are sized at 50" x 60", providing ample space for children to explore and learn. With this generous coverage, kids can fully immerse themselves in educational activities and comfortably engage with the vibrant designs and patterns. Portability for Learning On-the-Go Whether your child is homeschooling, attending preschool, or on a family outing, these Children's Bedding sets are easy to pack and take with you wherever you go. Lightweight and compact, they are ideal for creating a cozy learning environment outside of the traditional classroom setting. Enhanced Learning Experience The double-layered construction of these Kids Bedding Sets ensures legible and sharp printing, enhancing the overall learning experience. Each design is carefully crafted to offer educational value and promote engagement and curiosity in children. The captivating visuals stimulate imagination and encourage further exploration of various subjects. Multipurpose Use for Interactive Learning The versatility of these Reversible Bedding Designs extends beyond their primary function as blankets. They can also be used as play mats, rugs, or tapestries, allowing for a personalized and interactive learning environment. Children can actively participate in educational games, create imaginary worlds, or engage in sensory experiences. With their versatility and convenience, Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids serves as a valuable resource for both parents and educators. These Children's Bedding sets ignite a love for learning and provide endless opportunities for enrichment that extend far beyond traditional classroom walls. Benefits of Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids Ample space for learning Portability for learning on-the-go Enhanced learning experience Multipurpose use for interactive learning

Creating a Cozy and Educational Sleep Space

Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids not only offers educational value but also enhances the overall aesthetics of a child's bedroom. With their unique designs and prints, these bedding sets add a touch of whimsy and creativity to any sleep space. The gender-neutral designs cater to both boys and girls, making them suitable for any child's room. By combining comfort, educational value, and visual appeal, these bedding sets create an inviting and educational sleep environment for children. Key Features of Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids: 1. Educational Value: The bedding sets are designed to incorporate educational themes, enabling children to learn while they sleep. From alphabet and number recognition to animal and plant identification, these bedding sets offer a wide range of educational opportunities. 2. Unique Designs and Prints: The reversible bedding sets feature eye-catching designs and prints that inspire imagination and creativity. The vibrant colors and captivating illustrations make bedtime a visually engaging and enjoyable experience for kids. 3. Gender-Neutral Options: With their gender-neutral designs, these bedding sets are perfect for any child's room. Whether it's a pirate-themed adventure or a space exploration, boys and girls alike can enjoy the educational benefits and visual appeal of these versatile bedding sets. 4. Comfort and Quality: Crafted from high-quality materials, the bedding sets provide utmost comfort during sleep hours. The soft and breathable fabric ensures a cozy and restful sleep, allowing children to wake up refreshed and ready for a day of learning. Transforming your child's bedroom into a cozy and educational sleep space has never been easier. With Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids, you can create an environment that fosters both learning and relaxation. The combination of comfort, educational value, and visually appealing designs makes these bedding sets a perfect addition to any child's room. Watch as their creativity and curiosity flourish in their safe and stimulating sleep space.

Quality, Safety, and Easy Care

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-no3e2m1t0 Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids takes pride in prioritizing quality, safety, and easy care. When it comes to educational bedding for children, ensuring the highest standards is of utmost importance. Our bedding sets are crafted from high-quality, hypoallergenic materials that are gentle on a child's skin. We understand the importance of providing a safe and comfortable sleep environment. That is why our bedding sets are free from harmful chemicals, ensuring a worry-free sleep and play experience for your little ones. But it doesn't stop there. We know that life as a parent can be busy, so we've designed our bedding sets to be easy to care for. All our sets are machine washable and durable, allowing for quick and effortless cleaning. Spend more time enjoying precious moments with your children and less time worrying about laundry. With our commitment to quality, safety, and easy care, you can trust Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids to provide a cozy, educational, and hassle-free sleep space for your child. "Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids provides the perfect balance between quality, safety, and convenience. As a parent, it's reassuring to know that my child's bedding is made from hypoallergenic materials and free from harmful chemicals. And the fact that I can easily throw it in the washing machine makes it a lifesaver!" - Jessica, Parent

Elevate Your Child's Sleep Space with Reversible Educational Bedding

Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids offers a unique and effective way to elevate your child's sleep space. These Kids Bedding Sets combine comfort, educational value, and attractive designs to create a cozy and educational environment for children. With their versatility, these Children's Bedding sets can be used in various settings, allowing for continuous learning experiences. Whether you're homeschooling, setting up a preschool area, or simply looking to add a touch of creativity to your child's room, these Kids Bedroom Decor pieces provide the perfect balance between fun and education. Transform your child's sleep space into a hub of learning and imagination with Reversible Educational Bedding for Kids. Discover the wide range of designs and themes available and shop now to enhance your child's learning journey.

FAQ

What are the dimensions of the reversible educational bedding? The reversible educational bedding measures 50" x 60" in size, providing ample coverage and space for learning. Are the reversible bedding sets suitable for boys and girls? Yes, the gender-neutral designs of the bedding sets make them suitable for both boys and girls. How can the reversible bedding sets be used? The reversible bedding sets are versatile and can be used as blankets, play mats, rugs, or wall hangings, making them perfect for learning at home, school, or outdoor settings. Can the bedding sets be used in different learning environments? Absolutely! The reversible bedding sets can be used in a variety of settings, including homeschooling, preschool, or classroom environments. How can the reversible bedding sets enhance the learning experience? The double-sided designs of the bedding sets provide multiple learning opportunities and make it easy to incorporate education into everyday activities, creating a seamless and enjoyable learning experience for kids. Is the reversible educational bedding safe for children? Yes, the bedding sets are crafted from high-quality, hypoallergenic materials that are gentle on a child's skin. They are free from harmful chemicals, ensuring a worry-free sleep and play environment. How do I clean and maintain the reversible bedding sets? The bedding sets are designed for easy care and are machine washable. This makes them convenient for busy parents, allowing them to spend more time enjoying moments with their children and less time worrying about laundry. Can the reversible bedding sets be used as educational gifts? Absolutely! The reversible bedding sets make excellent educational gifts for children, combining comfort and educational value in a fun and attractive design.

Source Links

- https://birdyboutique.com/pages/learning-blankets - https://www.etsy.com/listing/763086847/dinosaur-species-learn-names-educational - https://www.target.com/c/kids-bedding-home/-/N-5xtyh Read the full article

[djparticle]

Not a General K-Pop Stan, Just a Lee Jung-Hyun Stan.

It's no secret that I used to be hooked on a different video game about 20 years ago. Back then, Dance Dance Revolution was my jam since I first played it in 2000. If I saw a machine in an arcade, I had to play it. I owned all the Playstation/PS2 games up to Supernova 2. Until 2007, I kept my Stepmania up to date with all the newest officially-released steps. I owned 4 heavy-foam insert dance mats for the annual DDR parties I'd run at Anime Detour, Anime Iowa, and CONvergence. I wasn't the best at the game, but I did have a couple 10-footers under my belt back when that was the highest level. Eventually though, so many new releases were happening that I couldn't keep up with the Stepmania updates, and between that and the resurrection of my old 1990s radio show, my fever for the game just waned around 2008-09. What drew me in mostly was the songs, many were hard-driving EDM, which still gets me today, but among the music, one artist stood out for me after I first heard one of her songs played on DDR4+... "Ba kkwo! Ba kkwo! Ba kkwo!...." -- hooked by the hook! Mall of America's first DDR machine in 2001 was a DDR3 Korean v2, which has all the tunes from the original DDR3 plus a selection of popular K-pop from the time. This was the first version of DDR that particular song appeared on, and about 3 or 4 K-pop songs from that version got their Japanese DDR premiere in DDR4+ later. Two of them were by S Korea's "techno queen" at the time: Lee Jung-Hyun. Her first 2 hits from 1999, "Wa" and "Ba Kkwo". They were two of the most amazing songs I had ever heard in my life... at the time. So I had to seek out more. This was 2001/2002, so getting my hands on an actual CD was pretty much out of the question. Luckily, Aimster existed, and I built a nice collection from that, transferred them to cassette, and looped them in my car nonstop (until I got my first iPod, that is) Dana deciding to recently order her first album from iTunes re-ignited my fire for this artist, and as for her image at the time, she kinda filled the gap of "artists of presentation" between Madonna before her and Lady Gaga after her, with outrageous outfits and elaborate choreographed dance moves. But my fave song of hers will always be that song of the gaslit lover who just woke up to the truth: "Ba Kkwo" (which translates to "Change"). It's angry. It's powerful. It needs to be played REALLY LOUD! And last night, I fell down the "Ba Kkwo" rabbit hole, listening to covers, and found one that had English lyrics, but it was a mashup between "Ba Kkwo" and "Wa" done in 2013 by Jason Ray. Unlike some other songs I could mention (coughQueenOfLovecough), these English lyrics actually fit the gist of the original lyrics, but rearranged and reworded for cadence, scanning, and rhyme. It's a process I call "WordFit", named after the same process Viz Media used to do for theme songs of anime shows. However, in the mashup, only the first verse and chorus of "Ba Kkwo" and the chorus of "Wa" were WordFitted. See, one of my holy grails of karaoke is to perform "Ba Kkwo" with full English lyrics. I tried my hand at a WordFit about 15 years ago to no avail. Jason Ray's mashup gave me impetus to try again, since now part of the work was done for me. I did it. Finally. And yes, I have obtained the karaoke track. --------------------------------------------

[Existing WordFits from Jason Ray] What do you want me to say to you? You drive me crazy with the things you do I don't believe your words, and don't know if you're telling me the truth. Quit tryin' to sell me all your dirty lies You know you're guilty and you can't deny Stop pointing fingers, and just think about the things that you have done.

CHORUS Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, ba kkwo, change everything Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, ba kkwo, change all the love Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, ba kkwo, change all the lies Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, ba kkwo, change all our world, ba kkwo!

[Official English lyrics] Thought it was a must to trust you, now I’ll crush you Analyzing my brain, feel nothing but pain The pain inside, I just can't take it no more Now I’ve got to let you go so just…

[Wordfits from me]

All you do now is bring up the past Can't I be forgiven for my acts? If you feel that way, then why did you think this was gonna last? Now I've changed because you hurt me so No longer the naive girl you used to know It's too late now to apologize for how you let me go.

CHORUS Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, ba kkwo, change everything Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, ba kkwo, change all the love Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, ba kkwo, change all the lies Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, ba kkwo, change all our world Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, ba kkwo, change everything Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, ba kkwo, change all the love Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, ba kkwo, change all the lies Ba kkwo. ba kkwo, it's time to make a total change, ba kkwo! ----------------------------------------------- EDIT: I just finished "Wa" too

[WordFits From Me] I didn't want it to end this way, no, my heart can't believe it's real Whatever could have gone wrong with our love, why did we change the way we feel? Although it hurts inside, I can't bear to look your way. 'Cause goodbye would only increase the pain.

[Existing WordFits from Jason Ray] CHORUS How could you play me like a game and walk away Tell me the reason why you act so strange You said you'd never ever play me like this way Now is the time for us to make a change Oh OhOhOh Oh Oh Oh Oh We're gonna change the way we play Oh OhOhOh Oh Oh Oh Oh I won't let you walk away

[WordFits From Me] Too often I've been betrayed by love, thought my bad luck was finally done I thought that you would stay with me forever, I thought that you'd be the one And now I'm all alone, left here crying out in pain I'll never heal from this, never be the same

[Existing WordFits from Jason Ray] CHORUS How could you play me like a game and walk away Tell me the reason why you act so strange You said you'd never ever play me like this way Now is the time for us to make a change Oh OhOhOh Oh Oh Oh Oh We're gonna change the way we play Oh OhOhOh Oh Oh Oh Oh I won't let you walk away

[Official English Lyrics] Back to my fantasy, My own legacy Let me dream on and so on, Let it go on and on Now take me back to my fantasy, My only legacy Let me dream on and so on, Let it go on and on

[woofblanketss]

What customization options are available for pet blankets? Tips for Making a Unique Dog Blanket

Crafting a snug blanket tailored to your beloved pet can be a delightful endeavor. There exist numerous innovative approaches to infuse it with uniqueness. In this article, we will guide you through the process of personalizing a dog blanket, ensuring it resonates with your furry friend’s character.

Creating a personalized dog blanket, or any pet blanket for that matter, serves as a heartwarming method to enhance the sentimental value of their space. These blankets can be fine-tuned to align with both your personal preferences and your pet’s tastes. You have the liberty to select the fabric, colors, incorporate your choice of words or phrases, add captivating images, or even engrave your pet’s name. This bespoke creation could serve as a cozy addition to their kennel, a stylish complement to your home’s decor, or a thoughtful gift for fellow animal enthusiasts. Custom pet blankets bring forth warmth, comfort, and a generous sprinkle of affection, all of which you and your companion will undoubtedly cherish.

Personalizing a dog blanket or any other pet blanket is akin to enhancing the cozy sanctuary of your animal companion. The possibilities for achieving this are abundant.

You can opt for hues that harmonize with your pet’s temperament or blend seamlessly with your home’s interior design. The color palette can span from vivid and vibrant shades, ideal for high-energy pets, to serene and subtle tones, perfect for cultivating a tranquil atmosphere.

The true enchantment lies in customization. A charming notion is to have your pet’s name elegantly stitched onto the blanket, making it a versatile accessory. It can serve as a travel mat or even a protective car seat cover, adding practicality to its allure. However, always prioritize safety, ensuring that any additions pose no harm to your beloved pet.

Invest in Premium Materials:

Commence your creative journey by selecting a top-quality pet blanket. Take into account the fabric’s texture, size, and durability. When it comes to personalization, there are primarily two avenues: printing and embroidery. Printing involves overlaying the design with ink on the fabric, while embroidery entails skillfully stitching the pattern directly into the fabric. Each method offers distinct advantages.

Embrace Seasonal Themes:

Injecting seasonal motifs can inject novelty into the mix. Consider a cozy winter blanket adorned with delicate snowflakes or a summer-themed one featuring beach motifs. Syncing the blanket’s design with the current season or a specific holiday can bring a dash of festive cheer. Opt for patterns showcasing reindeer and snowflakes for a wintry ambiance, or opt for pumpkins and foliage during the autumn season.

Play with Textures:

Adding patches or three-dimensional elements can introduce a tactile dimension to your blanket. Exercise caution to ensure your pet’s safety. Incorporating texture can be visually captivating and pleasant to the touch. However, it’s imperative to verify that any patches or 3D additions are pet-friendly.

Multi-Purpose Utility:

The blanket designated for your pet can serve a multitude of purposes. Transform it into a versatile travel mat or a protective car seat cover by incorporating convenient pockets for snacks or toys. A single blanket can evolve into a multi-functional companion. Consider this potential when customizing your pet’s blanket, always keeping their comfort and convenience in mind.

Catering to Your Pet’s Health:

Customize the blanket to cater to your pet’s specific medical needs. For instance, opt for a heated blanket to alleviate joint pain or select hypoallergenic materials to address allergies. Adapting the blanket to your pet’s health requirements can significantly enhance their well-being and comfort.

Crafting a bespoke pet blanket for your animal companion is a delightful creative endeavor, offering an array of imaginative options to make it truly exceptional. This article has provided you with valuable suggestions for personalizing your dog’s blanket.

To create a polished appearance for your pet, consider complementing the blanket with other accessories such as bowls, collars, and beds. Harmonize colors and patterns to curate a pet environment that not only feels welcoming but also seamlessly integrates with your home decor.

Tailored Comfort:

Since pet blankets are customizable, you can tailor them precisely to your pet’s preferences. Select the size, shape, and material that best suits your pet’s unique tastes. Choose from cozy flannel, plush fleece, or durable waterproof materials. The result? Your pet enjoys the epitome of comfort.

Infuse Style:

Beyond providing comfort, these blankets enable you to showcase your pet’s individuality. Embrace a vibrant palette of colors, captivating patterns, and even incorporate your pet’s name or a creative design. It’s essential to seamlessly integrate the blanket into your home’s aesthetics, making it not just functional but visually appealing as well.

Anxiety Alleviators:

Many animals grapple with anxiety, especially when left alone or during thunderstorms. A versatile pet blanket can serve as their sanctuary. The cozy texture and familiar scent of their blanket can work wonders in calming their nerves.

Ease of Cleaning:

These blankets are designed with the well-being of both pets and owners in mind. Most can be effortlessly tossed into the washing machine, saving you valuable time. Maintaining your pet’s blanket in a fresh and tidy state becomes a hassle-free task.

Furniture Guardian:

We are well aware of the mess that pets can create. A custom pet blanket can serve as a guardian for your furniture, shielding it from shedding, drooling, and occasional accidents. Your sofa and chairs will undoubtedly appreciate this protective layer.

Travel Companion:

These portable and lightweight blankets are ideal for accompanying your pet on trips. Having their trusty blanket with them, whether on a road trip or a day at the park, adds an extra layer of coziness to their adventures.

Versatile Marvel:

These blankets are true multi-taskers. They can serve as a cozy pet bed, a decorative throw for your couch, or even a protective cover for your car seat. The versatility knows no bounds!

Bonding Moments:

Crafting a pet blanket together can be a special bonding experience. Making choices regarding materials and designs with your pet by your side can deepen your connection even further.

Health-Conscious Choices:

Certain products may pose health risks to pets. However, with a customizable pet blanket, you have the power to make choices that promote your pet’s well-being, eliminating concerns such as allergies or discomfort.

In Conclusion:

Personalized pet blankets offer a multitude of benefits that elevate your pet’s quality of life and strengthen your bond with them. It’s a win-win situation, and these blankets also make thoughtful gifts for fellow animal enthusiasts. Personalize one with their pet’s name or a heartfelt message to demonstrate your appreciation for their furry friend.

[harrypotter-imaginess]

If you want to Commission a love letter from a character, info is here!

Bill

* He’ll give you a massage

* And not like a sexy massage, just a regular massage

* He doesn’t even realize he’s doing it most of the time

* He’ll just see you doing work, or hanging out, and stands behind you and starts rubbing your shoulders

* “Is that book any good?”

* Also Bill is oddly into nutrition, if he notices you’re feeling off he’ll start meal prepping a bunch of shakes and snacks

* “Bill, Babe what is this?” You ask, looking at the cup in front of you

* “it a mango, pineapple, papaya, ginger and turmeric antiinfamatory smoothie- drink up”

Charlie

* He takes videos of the dragons he takes care of so that he can send them to you

* Also- he’ll definitely try to take goofy pics with the animals/dragons at the sanctuary on his phone to send to you

* His snap score is probably like 800K, not for promiscuous reasons, but because he’s always sending you snaps at work

* “Oi Charlie get off your phone and come and help me!” His co worker shouts as Charlie tries to get a cute selfie with the dragon in the background

* “In a minute Seamus, I’m trying to take a picture!”

* Also if you have a robust hobby, like painting or reading your boy will get into it just so you guys have an activity to do together

* “Turn the page love” He’ll say

* you’re basically sitting on Charlie’s lap, his chin resting on your shoulder as he peers into the book in your hands

* “Charlie, I know you said you wanted to read with me, but I didn’t think you meant this”

Percy

* He buys you gifts

* Now before you get all excited- it’s not how you think

* With Percy it’s never something nice like flowers and choclate, or a teddy bear, or even a card

* It’s always something really obscure that he just happened to see, and that happened to make him think of you

* “Hey, I saw this and thought of you” He’ll say, handing you a wrapped package

* “Candles?”

* “Yeah, because they bring light, just like you”

* The dork isn’t even trying to make a joke, he’s being 100% authentic

* “You’re such a dork” you laugh, but he smiles when he sees you sniffing the candle with an approving expression

* So you like it, he grins

* It feels like he was in darkness until you, and then you just barged into his life

* And brought him so much joy

Fred

* Fred’s love language is words of affirmation

* He’s always very consistent with his compliments, telling you that you look good or that you’re smart, and that you’re killing it

* Another part of that is that he always, always makes sure to communicate

* Sometimes maybe a little too much

* “Hey Fred would you mind running to the store? I need tomato paste for the pasta”

* He’s already putting on his shoes

* “Sure love, any particular brand?”

* Kinda a weird question

* “No anything’s fine”

* “Alright what size?”

* “Um, the medium one I guess”

* He lets out a hum and you think he’ll be on his way

* “Do you want me to get more than one-“

* “Merlin Fred, would you just go!”

* He just wants to make sure he gets you the right thing, exactly the way you want it

George

* George’s love language is definitely acts of service, so he’ll do these little things for you

* Like if he notices there’s a certain chore you don’t like- even more than the other chores- like washing dishes or folding laundry, he’ll do it instead

* “George did you already finish that? I was going to do it later”

* You admit you were procrastinating a bit, you know you need to clean it’s just kinda time consuming, and- well, it’s not exactly your favorite thing to do

* “Ah yeah, don’t worry about it, it’s no big deal”

* George always opens doors for you, even the car door

* He’ll get out of his side of the car and jog over to your side, just so he can personally open the door for you

* One time he was in such a rush he slipped and hurt his knee

* You spent your date at the hospital instead because he wouldn’t stop bleeding and you thought he might need stitches

* It’s usually pretty cute

Ron

* Your boy is hella proud of you

* Like, even your own parents aren’t that proud of you

* And they made you

* He’s always bragging about you

* “There’s no one smarter than (Y/N), they would even give Hermione a run for her money”

* You wear a new outfit/try a new style and-

* “Ron what are you doing?” You ask as he pats your pocket

* “I’m just looking for who gave you the absolute Audacity to look this good”

* You laugh

* “I mean how’s anyone supposed to get any work done around here when you’re this good looking” he shakes his head in mock annoyance

* He’s your number 1 hype man

Ginny

* Ginny’s a jock, but she’s also really into music

* She makes you a playlist every few days, and the title is always an inside joke or based on a conversation you had

* “Ginny did you seriously name this playlist ‘snorting vanilla lattes in Malibu’?”

* She just shrugs, it’s not her fault you laughed so hard you snorted vanilla latte all over a Malibu themed place mat.

* She also leaves you little notes

* You reach into your coat pocket only to feel a piece of folded paper

* “You’re prettier than an avocado?” You read to yourself

* ....not all her notes are winners

* They still make you smile though

[heejinnien]

bts | roses chapter one

word count: 3.9k words

pairing: bts x reader

synopsis: y/n is a member of the seoul behavioral analysis unit. usually, she’s the cat in the typical game of cat and mouse played with the criminals they catch, but when a mysterious string of murders has her on edge, she discovers she’s caught the attention of one of a dangerous criminal — and he’s determined to make her pay for it.

or, not all attention is the good kind.

genre: horror, angst

warnings: yandere themes, descriptions of gore, descriptions of violence, murder, the reader carries a gun because they need to defend themself against bad guys, guns, manipulation, victim blaming, this is overall just a very dark fic

author’s note: this chapter takes place one month before the events of the prologue, and the prologue isn’t necessary to understand it. this chapter was originally 2k words before i did a deep edit. the “terms used throughout this fic” section of the masterlist was updated to include terms in this chapter. if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to shoot me an ask or dm, or just let me know your thoughts! i would be happy to explain things to you, and i would also love to hear your feedback or who you think is suspicious. as always, adhere to the warnings and do not read if any of those things trigger you.

roses masterlist

“Y/N! How have you been?”

The elevator doors open with a ding, revealing your best friend and coworker, Jungkook. He gives you a hug, squeezing you tightly. “I missed you so much, how was Busan?”

“It was great, Kook, thanks for asking.” Your lips quirk upwards as you smile at your best friend. “I’m ready to be back, though.”

“I’m ready for you to be back, too, Jimin has been insufferable with you gone. He keeps stealing my banana milk,” Jungkook whines, and you laugh, ruffling his hair playfully.

“Well, did you steal his jam? Again?”

Jungkook coughs, suddenly taking interest in the floor’s pattern, and you laugh. “I haven’t been gone that long and you’ve already managed to get yourself into trouble.”

“He started it — ”

“Y/N, Jungkook.”

Jungkook immediately ceases his accusation, and you both turn at the familiar sound of your team’s leader’s voice. Namjoon walks down the hallway towards you, air full of authority and pristine shoes echoing against the tile floor, giving you a nod in recognition. You recognize the grim set of his mouth and already know what he’s going to say.

“I’m sorry to cut the reunion short, but we have a case,” he says.

Silently, you and Jungkook follow your team’s leader to the briefing room. The rest of your team is already there — Hoseok gives you a friendly wave, Seokjin blows you a kiss, Jimin nods in your direction, Taehyung smiles, and Yoongi grunts, leaning back in his chair and looking as if he’ll fall asleep at any moment. As you and Jungkook take your seats, Namjoon turns and powers on the TV screen mounted in the room, pulling up an array of photographs. Three unfamiliar faces are positioned at the top of the screen, and photographs of the crime scene and what you assume are their bodies are displayed below.

“This is Soojin, Miyeon, and Soodam. Over the past month, Incheon police have been finding their bodies scattered in alleys cutting through the city. Soodam is the most recent victim and was found this morning, and that’s when the police contacted us. Yoongi has sent further details about the crime scenes to your tablets.”

You reach down for your bag, pulling out a thin, black device. Around you, your teammates do the same, and you power the device on, quickly bypassing the standard security protocol and pulling up the recent photographs. Instantly, the photographs of the crime scene make you reel back in a mixture of surprise and disgust. Although you are by now a decorated agent, the sheer brutality of each murder catches you off guard.

Stab wounds and lacerations cover each victim. Blood mats each victim’s skin, making their features almost unrecognizable, and a jagged, gaping incision at the neck immediately draws your attention. Each victim’s skin is ashy and waxen, and copious amounts of blood are spattered throughout each crime scene. Beside you, Yoongi, never one for gore, looks as sick as you feel.

“The coroner said that the cause of death for each victim was exsanguination,” Jimin says, reading the forensic report off his tablet. You quickly switch to that file, scanning through the official document.

“This definitely looks like overkill,” Jungkook adds, and his face is so calm and composed it is as if you are discussing the appearance of a floral arrangement. Looking around the table, the rest of your teammates’ faces are also indifferent. You suppose that’s what happens when you’ve seen as much as you have, but the sheer brutality of this crime still makes you uneasy.

“It says the unsub has been leaving behind white roses at each crime site,” Jin, passively swiping through the crime scene photographs. “They look staged, each victim was posed so that they’re holding the rose.”

“White roses typically symbolize innocence and purity, while red ones symbolize love.” Taehyung ruminates. “Maybe the killer is trying to make some sort of point about his victims?”

“Like they’re cheaters?” You suggest. “This could have a double meaning, maybe he sees them as tainted or impure.”

“Whatever it is, it’s clear he has a preference.” Hoseok waves his hand idly. “Each of the victims had black hair and brown eyes.”

Namjoon nods at each member’s point, face thoughtful. “When we get there, we should break up into smaller units and examine each part of the profile. Y/N and Jungkook, head to the crime scene. The leading detective on the case will meet you there, see if he can tell you anything else. Taehyung, begin a geological profile, Hoseok and Jimin begin the unsub’s profile, and Jin and I will begin victimology. Yoongi, start checking into each victim’s lives, we need to see if they had any overlap or somehow knew each other at all.”

You and your teammates nod at your assignments, standing and gathering your things. Yoongi gives everyone a lazy smile before slipping out the door, heading back to his computer lab.

Namjoon continues. “The unsub will strike again soon so the Incheon police need us down there now. It’s a half-hour drive down there, so wheels up in twenty minutes.”

“Detective Jaehyun.”

You and Jungkook slam the doors of your car shut, gravel crunching underfoot as you greet the Incheon police’s head detective. You give him a courteous smile, you and Jungkook both giving his hand a quick, firm handshake.

“Pleasure to meet you, although I wish I could say it was under better circumstances.” You jerk your head in the direction of the alley. “What can you tell us about this victim?”

“Agent Y/N, Agent Jungkook.” Jaehyun nods at both of you before waving an arm in the direction of the crime scene. “A random passerby stumbled upon the body this morning.”

“What were they doing in this alley? It’s pretty remote,” Jungkook asks, boredly appraising the empty lot around you that the alley leads from. “You said they were coming from this direction, too, right?”

“The other end opens up along a busy shopping street, and if traffic is busy sometimes people will park here and use the alley to get there.”

“Are there any cameras?”

“Here? Unfortunately not.” Jaehyun’s face is grim. “We’ve been asking the city for months to get them repaired, but with everything happening an old parking lot isn’t on their priority list. They would rather keep making the main city look more modern and impressive because that’s where all the tourists go.”

You hum, noncommittal. You step in the direction of the alley, soaking in every detail of the scene. Although you saw photographs of it, you still don’t ever think you could ever be truly ready for the gravity of it to sink upon you.

Blood coats the walls like a mural, pools on the ground like a shimmering mirror. The blood staining the concrete and brick is dark, while the liquid pooled on the ground still appears bright, fresh.

“This is a lot of blood.” You observe dryly.

“Yes, well,” Jaehyun purses his lips. “Recent lab results show that most of the blood doesn’t actually belong to the victim.”

You pause, head snapping up to look at the detective. “That wasn’t in the report.”

Jaehyun swallows dryly. “We didn’t think to check for it in our first few victims.”

“Did you not run toxicology on them?” Jungkook asks, voice hard, and if possible Jaehyun looks nervous.

“We didn’t think to; the cause of death was obvious.”

Jungkook exhales, closing his eyes for one beat, two, and then opens them, fixing Jaehyun with a look that could send him two feet under. “The report you gave us said that there was a one week window between when each of the victim’s was reported missing and when they were found. That means they were most likely kidnapped and subdued during that time. There are abrasion marks on their wrists and ankles from when they were held captive, but no blunt force trauma to the head, which rules out the unsub launching a surprise attack on them when capturing them. Did you not think to investigate how they were taken?”

Jaehyun stutters, unintelligible, and Jungkook scoffs. Glancing at Jungkook, you speak to the detective, voice soft.

“It doesn’t matter now. What kind of additional blood was found?”

Jaehyun’s eyes flicker between you and Jungkook, and he swallows hard. “We aren't sure, but the coroner narrowed it down to animal’s blood. He thinks it might be lambs.”

You silently exchange glances with Jungkook, recognizing the familiar furrow of his brows that signals he’s deep in thought. “What are you thinking?”

“Well, the killer definitely knew their way around the streets here,” Jungkook theorizes. “The use of lamb’s blood was probably to add to the terror of whoever finds the body.”

You nod in agreement. “This is a city, so there aren’t many farms or areas to house animals here. So if the animals aren’t alive, then they’re probably dead and the next likely answer would be a butcher. We should ask Yoongi to see if any butchers or any businesses who deal with animals, alive or dead, reported anything suspicious.”

Jungkook nods and steps out of the alley, pulling out his phone. You watch him go for a moment before refocusing your attention on the alley.

“Um, Agent Y/N.”

Jaehyun shifts from foot to foot beside you, looking as though he’ll vomit. When he speaks again, it’s as if the words pain him. “There’s something else we didn’t mention.”

You allow a beat of silence to pass before raising an eyebrow, waiting for Jaehyun to continue. He clears his throat, once, twice, before continuing.

“We found a note next to the latest victim, along with the rose.” Jaehyun wordlessly pulls out his phone, seeming to struggle under your scrutinizing gaze as he searches for something before he holds the device out to you.

Displayed on it is a picture of the bloody rose that you had seen in official crime scene photos, a pair of hands wrapped around the stem. You recognize the photograph from the report sent to you, and you open your mouth to ask Jaehyun about it when you spot a small piece of cream-coloured stock, poking out of the hand.

Your eyes flicker up to Jaehyun. “Why didn’t you include this?”

Jaehyun shifts uncomfortably. “I don’t know if you know much about us, but we’re a small force policing a huge city. If word of this got out, there would be panic — much more than there already is.”

“Lives are at stake here, Detective,” you say, voice firm but not unkindly. “You can’t play around with that.”

“I know,” Jaehyun says quickly, before sighing. “Listen, Agent. Both of our jobs are to keep the people safe. You may not agree with me or my decision, but this was the right call.”

You stare at Jaehyun wordlessly, scanning Jaehyun’s face to see if you can detect anything that will tell you what to say next when you hear a crunch of gravel and look to see your best friend approach. He scarcely saves Jaehyun a glance, focusing instead on you.

“Namjoon wants us back at the station,” he says. “The rest of the team is going to share their profiles with us.”

You nod, glancing at Jaehyun briefly before heading in the direction of your car. As you turn, you spot Jungkook staring at Jaehyun, expression unreadable, and then they are both out of your sight. You open the car door, sliding into the SUV’s passenger seat and waiting as Jungkook walks around the front of the vehicle, slipping into the driver’s seat.

“I don’t trust him,” he says simply, staring out the dash as you fasten your seatbelt and he starts the car.

“Jaehyun?”

Jungkook doesn’t say anything else, humming as he pulls out of the parking lot. The tune is eerily beautiful, and it sends chills down your spine as Jungkook pulls onto the main avenue.

“That tune is beautiful,” you confess.

From his profile, you see Jungkook smile boyishly. “Thanks, I picked it up from Jimin while you were gone.”

“What song is it?”

Jungkook’s smile vanishes. “I don’t know, he never told me.”

For some reason, an uneasy air settles over the car. You wrack your brain, trying to figure out if it’s something you said, when Jungkook laughs and the tension dissipates.

“Do you remember that time you got a pair of chopsticks stuck up your nose?”

You let out a string of expletives as Jungkook laughs, the sound light and cheery, and Jungkook’s suspicious behavior is pushed to the back of your mind, already forgotten, as you two trade sarcastic comments.

With the conversation flowing smoothly, it doesn’t take long for you to arrive at the Incheon police station. You quickly hop out of the car, a sharp wind that wasn’t present earlier biting at your exposed flesh. A shiver wracks its way down your spine as you hurry to the station’s entrance, pushing open the doors, Jungkook close behind you.

Inside, Taehyung is the first to greet you, standing near a desk and flashing you a smile as he jerks his head in the direction of the back of the station. “Namjoon and the rest are in the back, I’m just picking up some files from the detectives here.”

Jungkook nods, heading in the direction Taehyung indicated and you move to follow him when Taehyung’s hand shoots out and grabs your wrist, grip gentle but firm.

“I need to talk to you.”

He glances over his shoulder and then tugs you after him, scarcely giving you time to follow his words and react.

“What is it, Taehyung?” You ask as he drags you down an empty hallway. He stays quiet, stopping outside of a door labelled “break room” and pushing it open. It’s deserted, the door swinging shut with a soft click behind you, and Taehyung turns to you, expression is inscrutable.

He opens his mouth, speaking so quickly in a low, furtive tone you strain to follow along with what he says. “I was doing some research into each of the victims. Before she went missing, Soojin had red hair, and Miyeon had brown. I couldn’t find anything on Soodam, but…”

“You’re assuming her hair was dyed, too?” You presume.

“Yes.”

“Why aren’t you telling the rest of the team this?” You grab Taehyung’s wrist gently. “And I thought you were doing the geological profile.”

“Why are you telling me this now?” You ask gently, recognizing the fervent, determined glint in Taehyung’s eyes.

“I am, I mean, I was. I was going to, I just…” Taehyung groans and runs a hand through his hair. “I was, but something about the victims was nagging me so I called Yoongi to see what he had.”

Taehyung fixes you with an unimpressed look. “You know why, Y/N. Don’t tell me you didn’t think about it earlier.”

You swallow, remaining pointedly silent. You had thought about the similarities between you and the victims earlier, but had pushed it aside as your paranoia, a hazard of your occupation.

“Just promise me you’ll be careful, okay?” Taehyung pleads, voice soft.

“I will be,” you promise. “We’ll catch this guy, don’t worry.”

Taehyung smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes, and you can’t erase the sinking feeling in your gut.

“Detective Jaehyun, I just saw you a few hours ago.”

You release a pair of gloves, feeling the latex snap against your skin and give the Incheon detective a wry smile, flashes of blue and red lights illuminating his face. You and Jimin stand at the entrance of another alley, the lights of the police cars responding to the scene and flashlights from the other officers providing you your only source of luminance. “Who’s the latest victim?”

“Kim Jisoo,” Jaehyun says, holding up the police tape for you to enter the crime scene. You do so, Jimin following close behind you. “She was found by Kim Jennie, her roommate. She said she had just seen Jisoo this morning, and they often cut through this alley to get back to their apartment.”

You crouch by Jisoo’s body, nose wrinkling at the combination of death and copper that pervades your nostrils. Out of the corner of your eye you see Jimin cringe at the sight, and you can’t help but agree. Somehow, it looks more visceral, more horrifying in person.

Like the other victims, multiple stab wounds litter Jisoo’s body. Blood matts her hair and clothing, and a gaping, visceral hole is torn in her neck. Her hands are positioned so that they are resting on her stomach, a single rose clutched in between them. Your eyes seek out any hints of cream, but you find none and your eyes flicker up to Jaehyun.

He opens his mouth, hesitating. Ultimately he decides against whatever he was going to say next, staring at you wide eyed, and you gather the meaning perfectly well. There was also another note. You purse your lips, annoyance rippling through you.

Jimin reaches for the flower, gently tugging it from Jisoo’s grasp. “The flower is freshly cut,” he says, prodding carefully at one of the petals. “I’ll have the lab run the blood who or what it belongs to.”

“Most of the wounds on her body aren’t as deep as the previous victim’s.” You gesture to the victims’ body. “Maybe because she wasn’t kept as long as the others and the unsub couldn’t take his time.”

“That means the unsub is speeding up his attacks and most likely devolving,” Jimin says grimly.

“I’m willing to bet the victim was killed in this alley, the time frame was too short for the unsub to abduct her, transport her to wherever he kept the other victims, and dump the body.” You chew on your lip in thought. “Detective, are there any cameras nearby?”

“There are cameras positioned on the main street, but with the way they’re positioned none of them capture the alley’s entrance,” Jaehyun responds, grimacing.

“How many alleys aren’t covered by camera surveillance?” Jimin asks, handing the rose to a nearby officer to place in an evidence bag and standing, peeling off his gloves.

“I don’t know for sure, but I would say about fifty or so.”

Jimin swears, and Jaehyun flinches at the sound. “That’s fifty places the unsub could be heading next. This city is ripe with potential victims, too.”

“We should head back and let the rest of the team know,” you suggest to Jimin. He nods, and together you walk out of the alley. You pause by the entrance. “I’m going to get a ride back with Detective Jaehyun, there’s something I need to talk to him about.”

Jimin nods, unquestioning, and slips silently into the car. You stand, watching him drive away before turning to the detective. His appearance is ashen in the light, and you give him a dry smile.

“Well, Detective? Shall we?”

He nods stiffly, slipping into the police cruiser. You slide into the passenger seat as Jaehyun turns the key in the ignition, the car rumbling to life beneath you.

You waste no time, and as Jaehyun backs the car out you ask, “What did the notes say?”

“Agent Y/N — ”

“Listen,” you say forcefully, cutting the Incheon detective off. “I don’t agree with your reasoning, but I’m not going to fight you on it. But I need to know what those notes say.”

Jaehyun is silent. Finally, he sighs, keeping one hand on the steering wheel and, briefly pressing his finger against it, tossing you his phone with the other. “It’s in the gallery.”

You pull up the app, ready to chastise Jaehyun about why he has official evidence from a crime scene on his personal phone when you spot them.

It’s a basic photo, the cream paper the focus of the frame and resting on a desk, words typed on it in black ink. You swipe through them, quickly scanning the paper’s contents until you reach the most recent one. This photograph is different, blurry and dark, and you can tell it was taken at the crime scene you left moments ago.

“Do you see why I kept them hidden?” Jaehyun asks when you wordlessly hand his phone back to him.

“Let’s just say,” you begin, pausing to consider your words. “For your sake, I hope that your actions aren’t to blame for anymore deaths, Detective.”

You sit cross-legged on your hotel bed, idly scanning through case files and eating a carton of take-out jjangmyeon. Even though Incheon is not far from your residence in Seoul, Namjoon had still decided that the team would stay in a local hotel; in case anything happens, you can respond quickly.

Taehyung had shared his discovery about the victim’s hair with the team earlier, and you would have been blind to notice the glances that flickered between your teammates and the photographs of the victims and yourself. Luckily, Namjoon had chosen not to comment on it, instead instructing you all to focus on the results of your team’s earlier profiling.

Hoseok and Jimin reported their profile of the unsub (“upper twenties to early thirties, male”). Jin reported that he hadn’t found any overlap between the victims’ lives, and you and Jungkook reported what Jaehyun had told you about the animal blood. You had chewed on your lip earlier, unsure whether or not to tell your leader about the notes. Fortunately or unfortunately for you, that’s when Namjoon had received the call about the latest body, sending you and Jimin to check out the crime scene before you could say anything.

You pick up a photograph of Kim Jisoo, your latest victim. It is a recent picture of her and a group of her friends, given to the police by her roommate to help with the positive ID. In the picture, both are wearing a pleated uniform and holding up diplomas. Your heart wrenches as you realize that she was a recent college graduate and now will never have a chance to pursue her dreams. Another life cut short, just like that.

A heavy knock on your hotel room door causes you to jump, your hand knocking your noodle container aside. You curse, quickly scrambling for the napkins on the bedside table.

“One moment!” You say loudly, hoping whoever is knocking can hear you. You swear under your breath as you throw the napkins on your bedspread, moving aside the case files that were luckily spared and pressing down on them, hoping that can remove the dark stain that formed from the oily noodles. After a few frantic presses and a few noodles thrown off the bed, you rush to the door, hurrying to unlock it.

“Who is it?” You ask, sliding the lock open and pulling open the heavy door.

You are greeted with silence. The hallway is empty.

You frown, scanning the empty corridors for any sign of life but tacky, floral wallpaper is the only thing that greets you.

You glance down at the disjointed striped carpet and see a blank white envelope. Glancing down the hallway once more, you pick it up, retreating into your room and shutting the door behind you. You reach for your phone, tempted to text Jungkook about it, but you stop before you can press the call button, assuring yourself it is nothing. You plop in your desk chair, tearing the side and running your finger along the top of the envelope.

Peering inside, you are greeted with a plain piece of cream colored cardstock. Realization dawns on you and the stench of copper and rose wafts out of the letter as an image of Jaehyun’s phone flashes in front of your eyes.

You scream.

send me an or dm if you would like to be added or removed from the taglist!

taglist: @kassrole ​, @hoebii ​, @biaswreckme ​, @taegularities ​, @moccahobi ​, @scarlet2007 ​, @deepdarkdelights ​, @birbdae , @mieohmy ​, @samros95 ​

[blueskrugs]

Bright Lights | Mat Barzal

it’s Christmas Eve! I feel like an important disclaimer to include is that I have never been to New York. most of the houses described in this are based on actual houses my family and I saw in our neighborhood when we went to look at lights the other day. this is another one for an anon, I hope you like it! 

33. driving around and looking at (and judging) Christmas lights

length: 700 words

Mat threw your coat on you where you were sitting on his couch watching some dumb Hallmark movie. 

“Ow?” you said, but you were already standing and pulling on your coat. Mat was standing near the front door, swinging his keys around his finger impatiently as you turned the TV off.

“I want to go look at Christmas lights,” he told you, and there was no way you were going to say no to that.

Mat drove, carefully making his way through the quiet streets. It was late enough there weren’t many other people out who had the same idea as you two, but most houses were still lit up.

“Do you even know where you’re going?” you asked. Mat made a face at you. “It’ll be fine,” he said, which actually meant “no,” but he wasn’t going to admit that.

The first house Mat pulled up to had a front yard absolutely covered in inflatables. Seriously. There had to be at least twenty inflatables, and they were spilling over onto the neighbor’s lawn.

“That thing’s gotta be at least 10 or 15 feet tall,” Mat said, pointing at one of the nutcrackers that stood sentry near the curb. It looked like it was taller than the small one-story house, for sure. 

“Wonder how high their electric bill is,” you commented idly.

“3/10,” Mat declared, pulling away from the curb. 

“Oh? Is that how we’re doing this?” you asked. You twisted around in your seat to get one last look at the house as Mat drove away. “Yeah, 3/10. Bit overkill.”

Soon, Mat was pulling up in front of another extravagantly lit house. It was one of the ones where all the lights were set to music, and there was a brief scuffle as you and Mat both reached for the tuning dial on the radio at the same time. 

Mat smacked your arm. “Dude! The trees are singing!” 

Indeed, four little trees on the roof had lit up with faces, and they were singing along to “Jingle Bell Rock” in three part harmony.

“Hmm. 8/10,” Mat said. “Nice, but way too many lights.”

“Neighbor gets 10/10 for the ‘Ditto’ sign, though,” you said. 

Mat kept driving, and you both kept calling out scores for houses you passed.

“Ugh. -10/10 for the creepy waving Santa.”

“2/10. Uncreative and boring.”

“Is that a unicorn?”

“I appreciate the dedication to the theme, but all Nightmare Before Christmas stuff is kinda creepy.”

Mat seemed to be driving aimlessly, but after a while, his turns started having more purpose.

“Mat, where are you taking us?” you asked, looking out your window.

“One of the guys told me about this house,” Mat trailed off, carefully making a right turn onto a dark street. 

He never finished his sentence, but it didn’t matter because in another minute you saw the house in question. The house itself sat way back from the road on hill, but all the trees on their property were wrapped in lights, and there were all kinds of light-up animals scattered across the grass. 

“Holy shit,” you said. 

There was a sign inviting people to “Come on down!” so Mat pulled off the road and onto the long, looped driveway. The house had been decked out, too, you saw as you got closer.

“They have another one of those waving Santas,” Mat pointed out, and there he was on the top step of the porch. 

“Those things are terrifying,” you said.

Mat kept driving, and soon you were back on the road and headed home. Mat was quiet for a while, and the only sound in the car was the Christmas music playing on the radio.

“Whatcha thinking about?” you asked, poking Mat in the bicep.

“Can’t wait until we have a house of our own, and we can go all out for Christmas,” he said, grabbing your hand and holding it over the gearshift.

“No way, we are not becoming those people,” you laughed.

“What d’you mean? Are you saying you don’t want a 10-foot inflatable Santa on the roof?” Mat asked you, but he was giggling, too.

[serpentinesarang]

Familiar

pairing: chan (bang chan) x gender-neutral reader

genre: no smut, married!au, emotionally heavy, lots of plot build-up/context description, slow burn, fluff at the end, second-person POV

word count: 2098

content warnings: themes of death, depression/grieving, lack of eating, swearing; this is a SERIOUS piece that may make you cry. please proceed with caution and take a mental breather after. 

summary: your husband chan died a year ago, and life hasn’t been the same until you meet a peculiar stray dog whom you decide to keep.

a/n: partly inspired by the netflix anime film “a whisker away.” hint hint: australian dingo...

korean key:

⦿ sasaengpaen (사생��) = crazy spy-like super fans, sasaeng for short; pronounced “sah-seng”

⦿ annyeong (안녕) = multipurpose word that translates to hi/bye and no; in this story, it’s used in the hi/bye sense. pronounced “on-yawng”

♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

Preface

It happened a year ago. The crash. The sasaengs. The coma. The stroke. The doctors’ denial of life support. The funeral.

Your husband Chan had died tragically after a catastrophic car accident outside the JYPE building in Seoul when a group of sasaengs tried to take control of an already chaotic situation on the street. Chan had been rushed to the hospital, so bloodied and so internally fractured that he immediately fell comatose and incidentally suffered a stroke due to the bodily trauma. 

You’d begged with all your might for the doctors to put him on life support, but they refused, saying he’d be vegetative for the rest of your life. They even sent an insurance liason up to Chan’s ICU suite to speak with you about having to pay for his life support as long as you continued to live, and you were just so beaten down by all the hospital staff that you agreed to release his body to the funeral home his parents had flown in to coordinate with.

And you were destroyed. 

Your employer had given you three months’ bereavement, but you still couldn’t bear to go to work for four more months. You slept 12 hours on Chan’s side of the bed every night and only wore his clothes during those four months of intermittent crying. After you used up the remaining sick days and paid time off you’d accrued over the years, your manager finally terminated you for missing too much. The next two months were spent on the couch with no appetite and inconsistent sleep, the good memories of Chan continually flooding back to you at random times. 

This was when you’d decided it was time to get your shit together because the scale declared you 15 lbs [7 kg] lighter; the circles under your eyes scared you each time you dared to glance in a mirror; and your phone’s mailbox had filled to its limit with messages from anyone and everyone offering their condolences for your loss. So three months passed, and you were able to gain back most of your weight, sleep more consistently, and clean out your social media.

Those last three months were the cleansing your soul so desperately needed, and for the first time since the incident, you were starting to feel a level of normalcy again. You’d even pushed yourself to get back into the workforce, and thankfully, this new employer didn’t cause a scene about your 11-month gap in job history. 

The dominoes were falling back into place. Sadly, you’d felt compelled at one point to ghost the rest of Stray Kids because it was just too painful for you to act like you could handle yourself around them. Out of worry and compassion, they all individually sent you messages here and there, but you told yourself maybe in the future. After all, your life had disintegrated to less than dust, so you were your priority moving forward.

Now

Your phone’s alarm wakes you to another dreary November day. It’s a snippet of an audio message he’d left you long, long ago when he was away for a tour. “Good morning to you, [Mr./Mrs.] Bang, my beautiful angel. I’m thinking of you as always. Text me when you get this. Love you, honey.”

November 25th, to be exact: the one-year anniversary of Chan’s death.

You sigh, whispering to the ceiling, “I love you too, baby.”

You pick yourself up, go through all the usual motions, and head to work in the morning snow, trying to keep your mind as numb as you’ve been recently feeling. Perhaps you’ll do a little something once you return home, you resolve.

The workday passes; the snow continues blanketing the city; and nothing really good or bad has happened in the meantime.

You step off the elevator onto your floor of the apartment building. You’re freezing from the windchill, mindlessly deleting spam email on your phone while trudging in your heavy boots to your door.

Once you reach your unit, something at the edge of your eyesight causes you to freeze. You take in the sight before you: a large, tan and white dog lying on your welcome mat with its front paws extended toward you. Its deep brown eyes stare right into yours, and you feel all the air in your lungs disappear.

“A-annyeong,” you murmur softly, pocketing your phone. 

The dog blinks in response, not moving his gaze.

You crouch down in front of the dog slowly, trying not to spook it. “Are you lost, sweetie?”

The dog emits a barely audible whimper, and you can’t tell if it’s sad or relieved to have been found. It’s not wearing a collar, and its abundant fur looks clean, like an inside pet.

Feeling conflicted, you purse your lips. “You must be... I’ll tell you what: you be good and stay here for me, okay?”

The dog exhales sharply before closing its eyes.

Wow, well trained pupper, you think to yourself as you rise. You spend the next five minutes ringing the entire floor’s doorbells, even banging on the doors of the units that didn’t respond to the bell. Each and every neighbor of yours denies owning a dog that looks like a Shiba Inu, and they all claim to not know anyone else who might have one.

“Fuck,” you hiss under your breath after the last person closes their door.

Returning back to your unit, you find the dog hasn’t moved an inch, but it must recognize your presence because its eyes fly open, and its head shoots up toward you.

“I guess you’re mine for now,” you address it. You enter your passcode and push the door open, pointing expectantly with an approving facial expression for the dog to understand it’s okay to go in.

And it happily trots inside, sniffing around the entryway while you shuck off your boots, parka, and other winter layers. 

The dog seems to be waiting for you to finish because, once you turn toward it, it immediately turns around and saunters to the bedroom on the far end of the apartment. You keep up at its side and determine with a friendly visual inspection that this dog is a boy.

Approaching Chan’s old side of the mattress, he turns back to you and sits down in front of the nightstand, digging his eyes into yours once more.

Your brow furrows as you try to piece together what’s happening. “What? What’s up, sweetie?”

The dog replies with a heartwrenching whimper, angling his snout forward as if asking for you.

You pad closer and sit on the backs of your legs. “Will you let me touch you?” you ask him softly, raising a hand for him to sniff.

Oddly, he straight up disregards your hand and leans forward to lick your chin.

“Awww,” you gush at his sudden affection. “I’ll take that as a yes, then.” You stroke the top of his tan head, and again, the poor thing whimpers while leaning into your touch.

You scratch at the bases of his ears before cupping his jowls in your hands. “You’re such a sweet boy, you know that?”

The dog blinks rapidly, pushing forward again to gently lick at your unsuspecting lips this time.

Giggling and stroking his front shoulder areas, you say, “Ohh, thank you, thank you. I haven’t been kissed in a year, so I appreciate that, sweet boy.”

A moment passes, but you have to do a double-take when you notice the thick stream of fluid cascading from his shiny eyes.

You gasp. “Oh nooo, are you crying?” With your thumbs, you carefully wipe away his tears. “Don’t cry, sweetie. I did enough of that for nine months straight, and I can’t have you making me sad too,” you confide with the animal, stroking his head again.

He responds by standing on all fours and pressing the top of his head to your own forehead, and you go breathless again.

He’s so human-like... so emotional... you think, raising your arms over his body and hugging him. You stay there for a solid minute before he finally pulls back and sits again.

You sigh quietly, evaluating his expression. “I don’t know about you, but it’s been a long day.” You nudge your chin up to the bed. “Wanna rest for a while?”

The dog ever so quietly barks with its snout closed, as if in acknowledgement, and he waits for you to move first. So you rise and position the pillows on Chan’s side against the wall for you to sit upright. You spread your legs in a butterfly position, and without you having to beckon or give permission, the dog hops to the corner of the bed and situates himself between your legs. You notice then that he’s eyeing something on the wall above the bed.

The professional landscape shot of Chan with his arms tightly curled around you under a peony-adorned gazebo near a lake, the day of your wedding. You were looking into each other’s eyes with the sincerest of smiles.

You turn to glance at the framed photo. “Yeah,” you sigh deeply, turning back to the dog. “That’s Channie, my husband.”

The dog picks up on your change of tone and scoots forward as close as he can get, resting his paws on your upper thighs and his snout on your stomach. His gleaming eyes practically compel you to go on.

Placing your hands on his soft back, you continue in a strained voice: “He was taken from me last year, on this day actually, November 25th. He was so badly hurt in the accident that he went into a coma and had a stroke a couple days later.”

You pause, and the dog whimpers on your stomach, his sad gaze making your throat constrict and your eyes water. 

How can a dog be so in tune with me...?

You push that question away with a sigh and bring a hand to rest on his head. “I never left the hospital. The nurses had to kick me out of his room when he passed. And I cried my eyes out for almost a year.” 

Your eyes drift off, glancing at the ceiling and the walls while remembering your grieving process. “So now I sleep on his side of the bed... I wear only his clothes at home... and I shower with the same things he always did. He’s always with me, even when I’m not wearing my ring.”

Tears have started falling onto your cheeks, and you look back down at the quiet dog to find him crying again as well, his glassy eyes still intently watching you.

An uncontrolled sob escapes your lips before you mash them together, trying to keep it together.

“I love him so much,” you throw your head back against the wall. “I love him so, so fucking much,” you whisper, the hot tears falling faster now.

You hear the dog whine rather loudly, so you focus on him again as he raises his head. “He was my person, and now I have no one,” you blubber, using your hands to angrily wipe away the tears.

The dog replies with a seemingly uncharacteristic growl, its eyes still very soft in contrast.

“Okay, okay, now I have you,” you concede, catching your breath. “I don’t know where your parents are, and I’ve been alone for too long.” You pause, almost unwilling to continue. “Will you stay with me, sweet boy?”

He barks out a high-pitched yelp, spastically moving his paws against you so they’re digging into your abdomen now.

Cheered up by the dog’s responsive expressions of emotion, you burst into a brief laugh and scratch the underside of his snout. “You remind me of him, you know. Soft hair, gorgeous brown eyes, super caring.”

Again, he whimpers, very quietly this time. You tenderly kiss his moist nose. “I’ll call you Chris... because only I was allowed to call him that.”

Chris responds by licking your lips again.

Your random gasp makes him jump a little. “Oh my gosh, I bet you’re hungry or thirsty!” You try shifting on the bed, but Chris’s weight holds you firmly. “Do you want food?”

Chris lowers his snout, resting it on your chest now. He doesn’t make any noises, but you can guess what he means by this.

“Okay, Chris, I gotcha. We’ll stay here and eat when you’re ready,” you promise as you smooth his pointed ears backward.

...

I found them... if only they knew it’s me... I’m Channie, and I’m still yours, honey. 

[bleachanimefan1]

Oblitus Part 26 I.M.P

39 Days Left Until Extermination...

"Will all hotel staff come to the main lobby for an important announcement!" Charlie's voice echoed throughout the hallways. Everyone walked into the lobby to see the princess and Vaggie, waiting.

Husk eyes were red and blood shot, while his fur had several tangles and mats as Niffty tried to brush them out. He tried to shove her away as she did. Angel was half naked while he had on a very short shorts much to Alastor's discomfort while Husk on the other hand was flustered. Alastor was perfectly dressed as always, standing and waiting, with a smile etched across his face, although he had slight dark circles underneath his eyes. Anna, who was standing next to him, looked worse for wear. Her hair was a complete mess, not even brushed as if she just crawled out of bed. Her eyes were bloodshot as well as she let out a yawn wanting to go back to sleep. 

"What's the big idea calling so damn early at 6 o' clock in the morning?!" Angel questioned angrily still half asleep while holding Fat Nuggets who was sleeping in his arms.

"Since, everyone's been cooped up at the hotel for awhile. I thought that we should go out and have some fun. In celebration for Niffty's redemption, we are going to my dad's theme park, LuLu World!" Charlie explained.

��"LuLu World?" Anna asked, confused half asleep and dazed.

 "LuLu World!?" Niffty exclaimed, excitedly.

 "Lu Lu World!" Charlie shouted, happily.

 "I can't wait to tell Baxter!" Niffty said.

 Alastor glanced down at Anna. "Looks like this is a perfect opportunity for our date!" He said. 

 "Y-Ay!" Anna answered while smiling nervously. She did not the smile that the radio demon had on his face. 

The limo parked right in front of the park's entrance and everyone stepped out. Husk pulled Anna aside away from everyone and whispered.

"If he does anything weird to you, just scream." 

 "Got it." Anna nodded.

Everyone went their separate ways, Husk with Angel, Niffty with Baxter, and Vaggie with Charlie along with Razzle and Dazzle, Charlie bodyguard goat pets, as they left Alastor and Anna alone together.

"So what do you like to do first?!" Alastor asked leaning in far too close to Anna's personal bubble.

"Why don't you pick then I'll choose the next one?" Anna shrugged. Alastor hummed in thought before answering.

"Merry go round!"

"Are you serious?" Anna questioned.

"Why, yes, indeedy!" Alastor replied. He dragged Anna by her hand as they headed towards the ride. Some of the carousel were shaped like apples while some had a dark horse. Both Alastor and Anna, each, climbed onto the horse. The ride started up and slowly began to spin around. Anna held onto the pole as the ride began to pick up speed. It couldn't go faster could it?

It did... 

The ride went faster, and faster as it went around. Anna shut her eyes as she began to lightheaded and dizzy. Alastor on the hand was enjoying every second of it as he leaned back, raising his hands in the air as the ride went faster, hooping and hollering. Who knew he was such a big man child!I

As the ride continued to go faster, not too far off from the side, hiding in a abandoned booth were the three imps. Blitzo fired a couple rounds but missed mostly hitting some unfortunate demons and imps and shooting and breaking some of the carousel as well.

At the end of the ride, Anna found herself face first into a trashcan as she puked up the remains of the breakfast she had earlier. She glared up at the radio demon who was standing beside her, innocently, with a smug smile on his face. 

"Now, let's go on that ride!" Alastor suggested, pointing over towards a rollercoaster as it plummeted down to the ground fast, combustion in a fiery explosion. Anna whimpered as she stared at the ride with wide eyes. This guy is going to kill me! Alastor laughed but suddenly stopped as he saw something strange. 

 He noticed a red dot appeared on Anna's forehead. "You know what, I changed my mind. Let's go do something else instead!" He quickly insisted.

 "Okay? Up for a little shooting?" Anna asked. Alastor smiled.

"You read my mind!" He replied then linked his arm around Anna's, heading towards the stand.

Pop! A random balloon, that was held by an imp child, imploded, from out of thin air as it was shot, crying as it did.

The two walked straight up to a shooting stand. It had angels for targets as well as cherubs. There were an assortment of stuffed prizes hanging from the walls. 

"Step right up! Step right up!" The imp shouted. "Shoot the angels and win a prize!"

"Mind if I have a try?" Anna asked.

"Are you sure that you can handle it?" Alastor mused, teasing. Anna frowned. She wanted so badly to wipe that smirk off his face. She picked up the pistol and the imp started the targets. Anna turned to the vendor.

"Make them to faster." She stated. 

"Are you sure?" The imp laughed. "I think your at cream puff level at best." 

Anna nodded. "Do it." 

"Okay, don't say I didn't warn ya!" The imp exclaimed, pulling down the lever. "Cranking it up to God speed!" 

The targets began to move at an excessive alarmingly fast rate, hard enough for everyone who was watching to see. Suddenly, one by one each target fell as Anna fired each round. There was a stunned silence as no one made a sound as they stared frozen in shock. Alastor, with wide eyes and a frozen smile, standing rigid. Each target was down, not a shot missed. 

"Holy shit!" The imp vendor exclaimed in shock.

"I'll take the deer stuffed animal, thank you." Anna replied, blushing, a little, embarrassed from everyone staring. The imp still standing in shock handed the animal out towards her. Anna took it and gave it to Alastor who was along with everyone else still in shock, a deer in headlights.

"Let's do something else, shall we?" Anna suggested, quickly walking away. Alastor chased after her right at her heels.

Where did that come from?!" He questioned.

"What?"Anna shrugged, acting like what just happened was no big deal.

"THAT! What you just did back there!" Alastor pressed further.

"Well, I did tell you that my father was a hunter. Sometimes he would take me with him. It used to be a hobby between just the two of us." Anna explained.

"Why didn't you tell me that you can shoot!" Alastor shouted.

"You never asked." Anna answered.

Alastor laughed. "Fair point." 

 "I'm getting a little hungry mind getting some shaved ice?" Anna suggested. It wasn't what Alastor was used too or liked, but he agreed.

"Sound's like berries to me!"

Eventually, the two were now sitting down on a bench eating their shaved ice in silence. Alastor chose Cherry flavored while Anna went with Blueberry. Every once in a while, Anna would glance over at Alastor before looking away when he noticed her looking at him.

"Have your parents ever told you that it's rude to stare?" Alastor asked. "Something on your mind, darling?"

"Well, you know some stuff about me. But, I hardly know anything about you, besides your mom. Like did you do in your past life, when you were alive? How did you end up here?" Anna asked, curious.

Alastor tensed as the remains of his cone fell to the ground. "You are asking some very dangerous questions." 

"I still want to know." Anna insisted.

 "Why?" Alastor questioned.

 "Don't you want to be redeemed as well?" Anna asked. Alastor laughed.

"Darling, I'm far from redeemable!" Alastor said. "If you know of the despicable things I've done. You would be repulsed!"

"Try me." Anna replied. Alastor twitched, a little irritated. He sighed and started.

"Very well, then. I was a very popular radio star in New Orleans. I gave daily announcements about news and events. One of my most famous reports was a serial killer."

"Really? Did they ever catch him?" Anna asked.

Alastor laughed. "You can say that. You're sitting right next to him!" 

Anna's eyes widen and she nervously swallowed. "Y-You're a serial killer?"

"Yes. Now you know my dirty past." Alastor rolled his eyes. "Any more questions?"

 "Why?" Anna asked.

 "Why, what?" Alastor questioned.

 "Why did you do it?" Anna asked.

Alastor shrugged. "Well, at first for a while, it was abusers, rapists, anyone who were lost causes. But, soon I had a craving for more. Pretty much every other week there was a killing." He finished while Anna listened, taking in everything that he had told her. 

"Alastor," Anna said. "Most of those people were murderers. You probably saved a lot more lives than you took."

"You think so?" Alastor laughed. "Well, I hate to break it got you, my dear. But, you are wrong. It wasn't my place to judge for their actions." Even he couldn't believe the words that escaped from his mouth. 

"Surely, you must feel a little remorse?" Anna pressed. "Even a little?"

"No, not a bit." Alastor answered.

Then Alastor noticed the strange red dot again as it appeared on Anna. He made a strained smile. This was getting annoying! He briskly signaled his shadows, while Anna was looking away, that were hiding, to find out where it was coming from. His shadows immediately took off, darting away to the source. High on top of the ferris wheel, Blitzo was aiming a rifle at Anna setting it's scope on her.

"I got you now, bitch!" Blitzo shouted.

As Blitzo was about to squeeze the trigger, several dark shadows loomed over the three imps.

"Holy shit!" Blitzo screamed. The shadows lunged at the three terrified imps.

"They belong to the radio demon!" Millie cried out.

"This is not worth risking our lives over, sir!" Moxxie screamed out.

"OH HELL NO!" Blitzo shouted. FUCK THIS! SCATTER!"

The three imps desperately tried to get away from the shadows as they bailed out from the passenger car. Now falling from a great height and hurling towards the ground, landing right onto an inflatable bounce house. It began to deflate as screaming kids were trying to get out.

Then a thick blue book fell landing right in front of Charlie and Vaggie who were walking nearby.

"Hey, what's that?" Vaggie asked. Charlie's picked it up, examining it. Her eyes widened in surprise. The latin labeling on the cover gave it away. It was indeed the book. She glanced over at Vaggie who was looking at her, waiting.

"Uh, nothing!" Charlie quickly answered. "Absolutely, nothing!"

 "Hon,-" Then Vaggie stopped as she saw Alastor and Anna approaching as they headed towards them. The princess quickly hid the book behind her back. Vaggie walked over to them. Charlie looked behind her to see Razzle and Dazzle.

"Take this and hide it away for now." She whispered to them. Her two goat pets took the book and ran off heading towards the limo as everyone got ready to leave. 

A s everyone left, the three jumps crawled out from the popped deflated bounce house.

"oh, nice job, sir. You lost the book." Moxxie groaned.

"Shut the fuck up, Moxxie!" Blitzo growled.

[broadstbroskis]

surprises- pt 6 | mat barzal

part 5

Mat’s fingers are tracing patterns over your bump as he lies beside you in his bed and if he doesn’t stop soon, it’s going to be a problem. “Don’t start something you can’t finish,” You mumble at him.

He laughs. “Who says I can’t finish? I could go again.”

You turn to look at him, laugh on your lips. “Oh yeah?”

“Give me five minutes.” He says, but you’re not in a rush. Sure, you wouldn’t mind if he moved his hand down lower or if he’d pull you back on top of him like he had earlier in the evening, but since jumping back into bed with him a couple weeks ago, it’s been much each easier to spend time out of bed with him as well. 

Even though, at this moment in time, you are technically in bed with him. 

Mat’s hand stops moving, resting comfortably on your belly, which somehow, the cantaloupe in there seems to recognize as daddy and always takes as a calming influence. It’s one of the few times that they’ll seem to stop moving, when his hand is resting on your or his arm is wrapped around you or even when he’s just talking to you, and tonight is no exception. You can feel your breath start to even out and sleep start to take you, when Mat suddenly whispers, “You should move in with me.”

Well that wakes you up. “What?”

And he’s still quiet, more quiet than you’ve ever heard him, but he doesn’t back down, looking at you with a smile that matches the soft voice he’s speaking in. “You’ve been here every night I’ve been home for the last two weeks. It’s going to be easier for you after the baby to have me closer.” You open your mouth to protest but he continues. “It’s going to be way easier for me to have you close.”

“Mat-” You start, gently reaching out for him, resting your hand on his forearm.

“I don’t know what I’m doing in this.” Mat confesses. “And you just know-”

“I have no clue what I’m doing.”  You admit. “I’m just happy to have you to figure it out with.”

He smiles, that same soft one from before. “Will you at least think about it? Moving in?”

You nod, trying to settle yourself in a new, comfortable position as there’s a kick against your stomach. “Yeah,” You tell him. “I’ll think about it.”

But there’s no response from Mat and when you look over, he looks completely dumbstruck. “Was that-”

You nod, sliding over toward him, even though you can’t guarantee that there will be another one. “Yeah.”

“Holy shit!” He breathes, palm moving as he tries to chase that feeling.

“Baby likes your voice.” You tell him, which makes him beam so wide that it practically lights up the dark room. “You might not feel anything else tonight.”

He kisses you, so soft and gentle that you almost don’t even reciprocate, just barely managing to return it before he’s pulling away. “That’s okay.” He’s still grinning. “I’ll catch it next time.”

He doesn’t take his hand off your belly the entire night, but that does put him in prime position to catch it next time when the baby is up and kicking first thing in the morning.

-----

Following that one time though, Mat becomes increasingly bitter as the baby starts kicking up a storm when literally anyone puts their hand on your stomach except for him. Molly and Tito almost always feel a kick, every time they reach their hands out. Brian, still a little more hesitant than the other two to touch you, gets one pretty frequently. Your brother had visited and gotten to feel, Mat’s parents and sister had stayed for a long weekend and each managed to feel something every day that they were there.

But anytime Mat reached his hand out, his large palm covering like half your huge belly, it was instantly calm. The one time there was no kicking. You were certain that whenever the baby did come out, they were coming out with Mat’s athletic genes; it was a running joke between you and Molly.

“Baby hates me.” Mat whines, lying in bed some other night, his hand resting on your stomach again, after the baby had been actively kicking for Molly, Tito, and Brian at dinner that night. 

“Baby doesn’t hate you.” This is the best part of your day. When the coconut wasn't kicking your ribs or somersaulting around. 

“Hates me.” He insists.

“I told you.” You tell him, moving as close to him as you can, with the bump in the way. “Baby likes the sound of your voice. It’s calming.” That does get him to smile, just a bit. “It might be one of the only times that your child isn’t beating my ribs up.”

His thumb brushes softly over the curve of your belly. “Are you beating your momma up in there?” Almost as if they could tell, Mat finally gets the kick he’s been dying for, a gentle little thing that if he hadn’t smiled at, you wouldn’t have even thought he’d felt. “You should stop that. Be nice to her in there.”

You laugh at him. “I don’t think that’s going to do it.”

“Won’t know til we try.” Mat says cheerfully and you just shake your head, so much fondness for this absolute dork. 

-----

“I cannot believe you did all this.” You look around Grace and Anders’ house in awe, shocked at the baby shower that’s occurring around you.

“Oh come on.” Molly scoffs. “You can’t be mad we threw you a baby shower.”

“I’m not mad at all!” You tell her honestly. “This-this is incredible. Better than I could have dreamed.”

She beams, looping her arm through yours and resting her head on your shoulder. You smile, and lean yours against hers, watching the chaos around you.

There’s a room full of gifts, presented with tags and already unwrapped, as she’d stated she knew you wouldn’t want to sit around and waste time with any of that. One wall has two lines of pictures, one each of you and Mat, with a crowd of people studying each one, as they make guesses about what age you each were in the different pictures. At the kitchen table, Brian’s collecting money and running the pool for baby sex and date and time of birth.

But for the most part, it’s just a group of people-your friends, Mat’s friends, Mat’s family, your brother, some coworkers-just gathered to celebrate and you couldn’t have asked for a better baby shower from her. Or the rest of her accomplices. Grace is a perfect hostess, hushing you each time you try to thank you. Tito and Brian are proudly wearing those stupid Team Baby t-shirts, and what’s worse is that they did manage to get your brother one. Chris is rocking his under a flannel, showing it off to anyone who asks.

“I think they’re taking orders for more.” You mutter to Molly. Tito looks pretty suspicious over in the family room, surrounded by a few teammates.

“I don’t think you want me to tell you the real answer to that.” She says and you laugh, just as an arm drops over your shoulders.

“Does your brother have any idea how old you are?” Mat asks.

You and Molly both burst into laughter. “Probably not.” You admit and Mat gives you the most incredulous look. “He’s eight years older than me and he was gone once he left for college. Actually. A lot before then too.” 

“I was gone a lot too but I know how old my sister is!” Mat cries.

“That’s a lot of shade for someone who didn’t know what she was studying in school.” You tell him and he laughs, appropriately called out.

“Alright.”  He grins at you, a smile you instantly return. “Fair enough.” And then, immediately, he says, “You good, Moll?”

You turn, just in time to see your best friend’s face change from interested curiosity to a bright grin. “Yup. I mean, I’d be better if you two would have, say, given me a name, but I’ve settled. At least there’s a nursery theme.”

You and Mat both smile. She’d begged and pleaded- first, to be allowed to find out the sex, then when she’d given up on that, for you both to finally pick a nursery theme, and now, for you to just give her the name options. The only thing you’d given in on was the theme. Mat had dropped it to her one night and she had, quite literally, taken it and ran. 

But she’d done great with it, constantly sending you both pictures of animal and safari themed nurseries and incorporating part of it into the shower. There was a pile of stuffed animals in the corner that she said she “had a vision for” and you were leaving her to it. She hadn’t let you down yet and you knew this wouldn’t be when she started.

“Maybe there isn’t a name yet.” Mat grins at her and you bite your lip to keep back the laugh at the face Molly makes.

“Don’t test me on this, Mathew.” She huffs at him. “You are only proving my point as to why waiting until the baby is born is a terrible idea.” She unlinks her arm from you and pushes her way over toward Grace.

“I changed my mind.” Mat says, turning to you as soon as she’s out of ear range. “If it is a girl, we can name it after her if you want.” You burst into laughter, burying your face in his shoulder. “Solely just to see the reaction she’d have if we did.”

“Nahh,” You tell him. “I don’t want to risk the overdramatics. Just in case.” 

He laughs and you’re sure he knows exactly what you mean. “Cross it off the list.”

“We are doing a lot of crossing and very little adding.” You tell him, mentally thinking of the very short list of names that neither of you have nixed.

He squeezes your shoulders. “Still got time. It’ll come to us.”

“Yeah.” You smile softly at him, but that’s all you get to say about it for the rest of the party, as you’re being called away to tell the story behind one of your photos on the wall. Then it feels like it’s hours later before you get the chance to talk to Mat again, both of you pulled from person to person or group to group, eager for your attention, that you’re more than happy to share after this amazing afternoon they’ve pulled together for you.

By the time you do get to cycle back around to Mat, the party’s pretty much wrapped up, only a few stragglers left to help Grace and Anders clean up and you and Mat load up Mat’s car.

He’s actually standing outside, which is the only reason you find him. He’s out on the back porch, alone, which explains why you couldn’t find him at first and why he hadn’t responded when Tito had called out for him a few minutes ago. You slip out behind him, sliding the door shut after you and then immediately start shaking. “Mat?”

He turns, and then frowns. “What’re you doing out here? You’re shivering.” He holds his arm out, and you step into him, burrowing close. 

“Looking for you.” You poke his side. “What are you doing out here?” 

“Just thinking.” He says quietly, which you give a soft hmm to in response, waiting for him to continue, but he’s silent for a few moments longer. You’re just about ready to tug him inside when he takes a deep breath, and you know that he’s gearing up for something big. “Would you-” Another breath. “I know I said to take your time, and I mean that still, I do! But what would you think about moving out here?”

“With you?”

He laughs, gently. “Yeah, with me.” And it’s now that you see he’s looking around the yard and the neighborhood, checking out the space around you, compared to the building of condos you two live in. That this is likely what he’s been thinking about the entire time he’s been out here, why he disappeared in the first place. 

“You want to buy a house?” You look out at what he’s been looking at for...well, who knows how long now, trying to picture it.

“I want to buy us a house.” He clarifies. 

“You-” You trail off, unable to form thoughts or words or sentences.

“Look, still think about it.” Mat says. “Just-just know that this could definitely be on the table. If you want it.”

But-but it’s not just what you want, isn’t it? Isn’t that a whole thing of parenthood and adulthood and life? This is closer to the rink, closer to Mat’s practice facilities. You’ve already committed to working from home after maternity leave ends, so you’re not overly worried about the increase in time to your own work (which you are pretty sure is actually fairly small anyway). The schools are better our here- you know that was a big thing for a lot of Mat’s teammates, the whole reason they all settled out here. It’s a little terrifying, sure, to think that you’re old enough to be thinking of houses and commutes and schools, but everything’s terrifying right now. There’s another human growing inside you, for god’s sake.

You squeeze your arms around Mat. “Let’s look at some houses.”

[luamaya]

Songs I Like

People Ii: The Reckoning- AJJ

Sleepwalking- The Wild Life

Honeydew- Small Talks

Graceless- The National

Humans- Big Thief 

Sleepy Tigers- Her Space Holiday

Cafeteria- Frankie Cosmos

Two Beers In- Free Throw

Waves- Beach Bunny

The Move- Laura Stevenson

Cody’s Theme- AJJ

Lemon Boy- Cavetown

Motion Sickness- Phoebe Bridgers

I’m Already Gone- A Day To Remember

Lost Cause- Beck

I Am So Mad at You- AJJ

Neutral Spirit Hotel- Local News Legend

Lua- Bright Eyes

Here Comes the Anxiety- The Wombats

Dammit- blink 182

This is Home- cavetown

Fish Fry- Slaughter Beach, Dog

Brave as a Noun- AJJ

Sea of Love- Cat Power

Living Room, NY- Laura Stevenson

School Globes- Removebeforeflight

Prom Queen- Beach Bunny

The Girl- City and Colour

A Moment of Silence- Toh Kay

The Internet Is Everywhere- Jeff Rosenstock

Acolyte- Slaughter Beach, Dog

Barbie- Lili Trifilio

Mega Guillotine 2020- AJJ

is your bedroom ceiling bored? (feat. Cavetown) - Sody

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea- Neutral Milk Hotel

Bottle Rocket- Lili Trifilio 

Would You Be Impressed- Toh Kay

Better By Myself- Hey Violet

Emotional Anorexic- Svavar Knutr

First Day Of My Life- Bright Eyes

Shoegazer- Beach Bunny

Bad Bad Things- AJJ

929- Halsey

Nothing Gets Crossed Out- Bright Eyes

You Swan, Go On- AJJ

Headless Horseman- The Microphones

You- The Pretty Reckless

Hate, Rain on Me- AJJ

Break My Own- Taylor Bickett

6 Weeks- Beach Bunny

Garden Song- Phoebe Bridgers

Linda Ronstadt- AJJ

A.M. 180- PUP

Dear Sergio- Toh Kay

Saint Bernard- Lincoln 

when the party’s over- Billie Eilish 

Get Bummed Out- Remember Sports

July- Beach Bunny

Holocene- Bon Iver

Take Me To The Riot- Stars

A Line Allows Progress, A Circle Does Not- Bright Eyes

Nosebleed- Tigerwine

Suffice- Born Without Bones

Papercut- Linkin Park

Blonde Hair, Black Lungs- Sorority Noise

Satellite- Guster

This Charming Man- The Smiths

A Part of Me- Neck Deep

Timothey Leary- Wilco, Bright Eyes, They Might Be Giants

Favourite Tune- The Swellers

Tiny Vessels- Death Cab for Cutie

Counting Stars- One Republic

Situations- Escape the Fate

World- Citizen 

The Quiet That No One Ever Knows- Brand New

5 O’Clock- T-Pain, Lily Allen, Wiz Khalifa

Days Were Golden- Sunny Day Real Estate

R U Still There- Chris Farren

Samson- Regina Spektor

Such Small Hands- La Dispute

...For Anyone- Mat Kerekes

The Summer Ends- American Football

I’ve Set Sail- Toh Kay

Girls- MARINA

Bang On The Door- Jeff Rosenstock

Bad Day- Daniel Powter

Writing On The Walls- Underoath

The Memory- Mayday Parade

Cut Your Bangs- Girlpool

She’s A God- Neck Deep

Future Me- Worriers

Jet- Citizen

back again- flor

Call Me Baby- Beach Bunny

Calling All Cars- Senses Fail

2009- The Swellers

Breaking the Habit- Linkin Park

What’s at Stake- The Swellers

Out Like a Light- The Honeysticks

Swear To God The Devil Made Me Do It- The Front Bottoms

The Widow- As Cities Burn

Trap Queen- Fetty Wap

Baby I Love You- Ryan Adams

dragon eyes- Adrianne Lenker

Passion Fruit Tea- Retirement Party

Reptilia- The Strokes

Spare Change- Just Nick

Sarah- Alex G

Calendar Girl- Stars

Boss Bitch- Doja Cat

Haven’t Had Enough- Marianas Trench

Get Ghost- Mark Ronson

Poe- Stick and Poke

End of Time- Bad Moves

Beautiful Day- U2

June 21st- Jeff Rosenstock

Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous- Good Charlotte

Inside My Head- The Swellers

Sick Boy- The Chainsmokers

In Another Life- Ashlee Simpson

hope is a dangerous thing for a women like me to have- Lana Del Rey

Look After You- The Fray

Fall Right In- Beach Fossils

Don’t Let Them See You Cry- Manchester Orchestra

Animal- Miike Snow

Blood In Your Mouth- Colour Revolt

You Are a Memory- Message To Bears

Handclap- Fitz and The Tantrums

Stranger- Rarity

Sleepless- Girlpool

Bruises- Lewis Capaldi

Two High- Moon Taxi

Cattails- Big Thief

If I Tremble- Front Porch Step

When We Were Young- Adele

Look What You Made Me Do- Taylor Swift

Young Folk- Peter Bjorn and John

Where the Buffalo Sleep- Sik Oheso

Ripcord- Real Friends

Rearview- Beach Bunny

Do You Really Want To Not Get Better- Joyce Manor

Somewhere I Belong- Linkin Park

Don’t Let Me Down- The Chainsmokers, Daya

LTCTLYBP- Pet Symmetry

hate u love you- Olivia O’Brien

Black Cat- Mayday Parade

Alice and Gertrude- Nana Grizol

American Lies- Pennywise

Second Letter From St. Julien- Sorority Noise

Stale Device- Girlpool

Be Nothing- Beach Fossils

Can’t Stop- Red Hot Chili Peppers

Piece of Me- Britney Spears

Would You Be So Kind- dodie

buzzcut- lovelytheband

Better Than Revenge- Taylor Swift

She’s A Lady- Forever The Sickest Kids

Lessons- Beach Fossils

Here’s a link to my playlist if anyone is interested:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4jAli1LWjjPmehumgt52bY?si=HgM-dd04T9q_FEDsjqZTaQ

[culturedsociety]

Culture Talks with Carolyn Blackmon

Carolyn, in English meaning Joy and Song of Happiness.

Over the last decade she’s been on a journey of healing and transformation. It’s been Incredible to look back and see how beauty does actually flourish through the ashes. What happened in her life; most definitely was birthed out of struggles, hardships, loss, depression, despair, and hopelessness. Looking back at her experiences and being In complete awe because of it. Her faith and belief in God changed when she realized that “the Creator Is ultimately in control and has the ability to take what Is broken and make It brand new.”

Her life verse Is Isaiah 61:1-3 “The spirit of the sovereign Lord Is upon me because the Lord has appointed me to provide for those who grieve, to bestow on them a crown of beauty Instead of ashes, the oil of gladness Instead of mourning, and a garment of praise Instead a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the lord for the display of his splendor.”

In her early twenties, she was extremely lost. Battling a severe eating disorder, alcoholism, depression, and sadness. She worked and pursued many things to distract herself from reality and to try to fill voids. The more destruction that she caused to her body, mind, and spirit’ the harder life became. One day after a big awakening, she had to make the choice and ask herself the hard question “Carolyn Do you want to live?” She knew at that very moment; she was not living, she was just surviving. 

She made the bold decision to pack her car and move alone from WI to AZ. The land of the sun became a place of healing for her. She found yoga there. She began her vegan plant based eating, and learned to nourish her body again after starving it for so long of vital nutrients it needed to thrive. She found joy through volunteering and serving. She found god again and was re-baptized. But most importantly, found her self again.

Reflecting back to Fall of 2015 when she lost her best friend and mother to Cancer. It was as though her entire world and perspective changed about the value and gift that each day offers. She started to travel more and continued doing mission work that her mother supported the few years before she passed. She began seeking more and wanting more lead to healing the parts of her that were still broken.

In 2017, she traveled to Hawaii for her first yoga teacher training; which led her to step into a more passion and purposed filled path. This became a daily mission and allowed her the ability to circulate her gifts more responsibly. Her hope is to bless lives and help others heal, love, grow, and live their best life. To inspire them to live a life that brings an Abundance of joy, fulfillment, and higher purpose.

Take a deep dive into Carolyn’s mind:

RM: What is your Life’s Philosophy? CB: (Philosophy is an overall vision or attitude toward life and the purpose of it. Human activities are limited by time and death). I believe that we were all created in the image of God and we are each placed on Earth with our own individual and unique purpose. We are here to connect with nature, humans, animals, and to enjoy all of what God has created. We are here to not only soak in the beauty and light and spread it to others but to also use the darkness (whether it be our own struggles, lessons learned, trails, pain, suffering, etc) and use it to Glorify God? What does that mean? To use the wisdom gained, lessons learned, and the power of our testimony and story to shine the light of awareness upon all giving birth to Hope and helping others receive the healing power of Forgiveness.

RM: How has that philosophy evolved over the years? CB: Yes. I tell people that there was a line I drew that separated my old life and my new life. My old life included a long season of walking down the wrong path that ultimately was leading me down into hole. When I fell on my knees and surrendered and “woke” up. It hit me that I wasn’t living the life God planned for me. I was doing many things that I do believe helped me grow and get educated and led me to where I am today. I was drowning in depression, shame, low self esteem, and I didn’t practice self love.

Moving to AZ was the acceleration I needed to begin my rebirth process. I began serving others and finding joy in giving back for it made me realize that others had it harder than myself. I had a lot to be grateful for that I took for granted. Fast forward a few more years and I lost my Beloved Mother to Cancer. It made me realize that there is no time to waste. We are not promised tomorrow. We have a responsibility. Going through that loss changed my perspective on life and our time here on Earth.

I felt urgency. I felt my calling knocking on the door. I had to loose to gain so much more. I feel that my philosophy included being a good person, and working for what you want was so general….but over the years it’s evolved and things have been added and my life’s philosophy has gotten so complex. Creation. Calling. Service. Travel. Community. Collaboration. Healing. Purpose Filled Life

RM: How has your upbringing and circle of influence impacted the way you live and think about life today? CB: I grew up in a loving Christian home. My family members on both sides had good morals in their and the way they lived their lives was simple and consistent. I spent a lot of time in the Church. My parents Marketing business taught me so much as a young adult and I really absorbed a lot of it. My Grandpa Bood was my giver of Wisdom.

My circle of influence has really shifted in the last few years to be non-family members. Those that are where I want to be and who are doing what I am doing in their own way with their own talents. My circle of influence has been students, strangers, people I have met on travels, social media, and those that are in my tribe. It’s interesting to see how my relationships have changed and the type of people I have attracted and also been gravitated towards has changed as I have evolved and transformed and grown. My inner work has changed the way I function in relationships and I am still exploring how to have healthy boundaries as one who tends to be naïve, vulnerable, and who pours her heart and soul into everything.

RM: Do you believe that your line of work infects our society with positivity? How so? CB: When I am doing my work as a yoga instructor I try my best to step into the spaces where I am Leading classes and spread good energy that is uplifting and positive but I also know that people arrive on their mat with all different things that they are struggling with and going through and I never want to diminish that. I try to share themes that are relevant and helpful and inspiring because I really want everyone who interacts with me to leave with something that they can take with them. When they gain and grow and are blessed then so am I.

When I nanny and work with kids they give me an abundance of Joy and so I always try to pour back into the parents and thank them for the opportunity to enter into their home and spend time with them. I’ve worked jobs where felt like at the end of the day I was complaining about what I had to deal with or contend with and then I would wake up in a bad mood and that’s really a horrible cycle. I am thankful grateful that I am now an Independent Contractor and get to choose who I work with so that makes it easier but aside from that we all have a choice to make in regards to our attitude!

RM: How do you stay relevant, unique, and true to who you are as a person? CB: Let go of Comparison. It’s interesting because over the years as I became more at rest and confident in who I was and accepting of who God created me to be it made it easier to accept my path which is a lot different than many as well as accept my timeline which was not what I anticipated. I have started to become more of my own person….my tendencies and quirks have come to the surface unapologetically. Yes I am still Single…Yes I get excited over the Big Bowl Of Greens I eat everyday. My music selection changes drastically with my Mood. I could care less about TV and Material items….and I could go on and on.

The morning ritual I do sets the tone for my day. I tap into a passage or quote and scripture that I need to tell myself it’s like a treasure hunt and I get my coffee fix and take the time I need for myself and that way I’m more grounded and not shaken up or swayed or torn up by whatever may come at me and I feel that has given me the opportunity to respond better and hold my ground and keep healthy boundaries. I use to operate on not enough sleep and being stressed and hurried and then I would cave in to many things that ultimately didn’t serve myself or others well.

RM: Do you believe that the work you do everyday is aligned with your calling and higher purpose? CB: Absolutely and I want more and I am committed to continue to learn and grow and gain a deeper understanding and have more knowledge in the realm of yoga. The more spaces and places I enter and the more people that I connect and collaborate with the more lives I can touch and the more inspired I will be. This last year I started to share my content on a podcast and that was something I never imagined I would do and for a girl that use to be incredibly shy I never thought I would be on the stages I am on. It blows my mind and I am soooo appreciative.

What practices do you implement to stay grounded and divinely connected to self? CB: Guided Meditation. Yoga Nidra. Yoga. Nature. Travel. Writing. Music. Sharing wisdom with the world. Dancing. Music. Balance Healthy Clean Eating. Sharing Feelings and openly communicating with my support system. Spending a lot of time alone, while remaining connected with others.

Connect with Carolyn: Facebook Instagram

Collaboratively Written by: Carolyn Blackmon and Rebecca Muñoz

Grow this Channel & Circulate the energy of LOVE by donating: Paypal Cash app Venmo

[ldysa-blog]

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[alitheamateur]

The Grind-Chapter 9

Warnings: Mentions of violence.

Colton had offered to retrieve my car and park it on the top level of the parking garage, so the herd of relentless paparazzi outside wouldn’t catch a shot of me leaving the hotel in clothes from the night before, at 10 a.m the following day. The 16-minute drive back to my apartment had soothed me deeper into a sleepy trance, along with the settling smorgasbord from breakfast. A dizzy nausea was attacking me too, as the nerves for Colton’s fight in only a handful of hours kept growing, and growing. He liked to be the overly-confident big mouth when it came to the topic, but I knew there had to be a sliver of anxious stress somewhere in him. I knew because I’d heard him go on & on about how “important this was to his career,” and he “hated to admit it, but he really needed to prove himself across the world of MMA.” 

I gulped a swig of Pepto Bismol from the bathroom medicine cabinet, and stripped my clothes for a much needed power nap in my bed which suddenly felt like rocky ground after sleeping on the expensive pillowtop at the hotel last night.

Warmer days were more & more frequent in the city now, so I was able to wear a suede peep-toe bootie that night. I followed instruction and sported my leather jacket per Colton’s request, along with a loose-fitting black shift dress that rubbed at my mid-thigh. My makeup a bit more dramatic courtesy of the cobalt blue trace of eyeliner I added, and my hair left down, tousled with loose waves. I never usually let it get much passed shoulder length as it held more tangles in doing so. But, the man in my life had quite the attraction to my now very lengthy, ombre blonde strands. Any time he’d escort me to the shower, I was required to turn my back to him for a brief moment so he could observe the water cascading through my hair, causing it to paint slickly down to the bra line of my back. He combed his digits through the ends, tracing the flow of warm water down to the noticeable dimples indented in the small of my back. So, not quite ready to let go of that particular little habit he had developed, I indulged him with a longer style for now. Wrestling with myself after awaking from my nap, I texted him.

L: Thanks again for last night <3  I’ll be sure to pack my first aid kit in case you need some extra TLC tonight!

Fully expecting just to be left on “read” without a reply, I was all the more pleasantly surprised when I heard his designated text tone chime across the bedroom.

C: No. Thank YOU for last night. And if those medical supplies you’re talkin’ about include a tight fittin’ little nurse outfit then YES PLEASE!!!!! I love you, Livvy Caroline.  

After arriving at the Palumbo Center, I decided to park my Honda in the covered complex rather than on the street, figuring I’d probably be loaded up into the black Suburban that Colt had rented so he & the team could all ride together this weekend, to paint the town after his victory. I tucked my arm through the chained strap of my crossbody purse & adjusted the “L” pendant necklace that was nestled between my cleavage. I felt sexy; important even. No one else in the arena knew that I was the girlfriend of the lethal animal that would be headlining tonight, but I certainly did. And it made me high.

I strolled boldly into the side entrance, greeting one of the guards I had become familiar with throughout the countless other events I had covered at the Palombo. Emmett, a towering steel wall of unyielding strength.

“Pretty as ever, Ms. Liv. How you doin’?” he said with the polite tipping of his worn tan Ascot hat.

“Doing fantastic, Emmett! You ready for this one?” We always exchanged predictive play-by-plays of whatever particular event of the night was, and I appreciated the fact that he didn’t chuckle or mock when a woman such as myself chimed an opinion in regard to athletics. Something rare, but regretfully present at at least two hockey games I attended for work when I first moved here. One being from a coach I approached for a question post-game, stating that he was “sure I could give him pointers on how to improve the teams’ uniforms if he needed them, but otherwise he didn’t have time to speak with me.” That was the first instance I questioned whether the big city of Pittsburgh would ever be the place for me.

“Oooooooooh girl, you know this gonna be a brawl.”

Chuckling lightly to his animated response, I shook my head with a pat to his arm and moved passed to head to the main room and locate my seat. Since I had entered from the private entrance, I had to navigate through the hallways and locker rooms to reach the arena floor. Smiling blankly at by passers, I reached into the side pocket of my bag for the nude lipstick I planned to apply at my pitstop to the restroom. My pace slowed a bit in struggle to locate it, eyes looking down in search. When I finally grasped it tucked away under a wad of crinkled receipts, my gaze lifted again to push open the door of the ladies’ room. However, I couldn’t seem to muster the very minimal effort it would’ve taken to open it, due to the hooded man marching down the wide hallway.

Mac was leading the pack, and Colton tailed the end of the line with his hands settled into the front pocket of a sweatshirt, headphones adorning his neck. His thinned, focused eyes instantly found mine, rendering me unable to even blink. Just as he was strolling right past me, those very same eyes sank to the now heavy rise & fall of my chest, then traced down the span of my glowy, toned legs. Last on the list of body parts for him to make love to with his eyes, he locked his penetrating sights onto my sex, sucking his bottom lip between his teeth. He need not use words, because I knew unmistakably what those black pupils were envisioning. I watched his head turn then to face forward as he was escorted into what I assumed was his locker room. Now that my underwear were sopping for the evening, that was that.

 The profuse adrenaline spreading like a smoky vapor throughout the arena almost had me stimulated like a wave of lust. Not near as much as the very rated PG-13 encounter I had just had with Colton backstage, but stimulated, nonetheless. Black folding chairs lined the room, neon lights showing the stains of gum, spilled soda and ketchup splatters that covered the concrete floors. My seat was two rows behind the announcers table, and I was pleased with the exceptional view I would have for the fight. The jumbotron hanging from the rafters displayed a countdown clock reading 37 minutes until the match would be underway. I settled in, tucking my purse into my lap after removing my cell phone for some leisure social media catch up to aid in passing the time.

The crowd steadily poured into the empty seats, along with the television broadcasters at the booth in front of me. Luckily, I was able to eaves drop on the preshow now underway, hearing one of the suited men state that “Danny Mendez was in for a true contest with Colton Ritter.” An ounce of relief came over me that there were people other than myself and members of Colt’s camp who sincerely believed he had a very likely shot of stealing the belt tonight, but not enough relief to still the tapping of my toe, or erase the clamming of my twiddling hands. Suddenly the bulbs of the LED gym lights began clicking off row by row, and rap music began to thump from the mega speakers. 15 minutes running down the clock now. Short clips of Danny’s past battles flashed on the theater size screen, along with a few clips from Colton at the gym. Before I knew it, total darkness for a moment, followed by circling blue spotlights all around the cage.

Realizing it was indeed showtime now, whistles, claps and sporadic shouting ensued under the arena rooftop. Everyone began standing when the chords of “Let’s Go” by Run The Jewels struck up and a single white light aimed towards the tunnel entrance. Colton had left me with the daunting responsibility of selecting his song of introduction, so I knew any moment he would emerge into sight when I heard the tune begin.

Colton came trudging into view wearing the same sweatshirt he’d been sporting earlier, only now changed into his red fighting trunks. Mac’s logo, along with several other local business names were stamped as sponsors down the sides of his shorts. I was shocked at how many fans of his were revealed by the off-beat chants of his name, and of course the army of female admirers hooting like retrievers in heat. He didn’t waste any time making his way to the waiting referee, offering no high fives or fist bumps to hecklers swatting over the steel barricades of the aisle. He stripped the sweat absorbed shirt handing it to Mac, raised his arms to be patted from top to feet, then pulled back his lips to reveal he was wearing his required mouthguard. I always loved the way the chunky plastic made his lips fatten out when clenched between his teeth.

Next, the black latex gloves of the official smeared a thin layer of petroleum jelly onto each cheek bone, along the bridge of his nose, then across his perspiring forehead, and granted him entry into the cage door. Colton took one of the three steps entering and proceeded to jog two laps around the perilous steel playpen, rolling and stretching his bulging neck and trap muscles. He continued familiarizing himself with every square inch of the octagon mat taking in deep gulps of air through his nostrils, then exhaling gradually out his mouth. From what I could see, he gave the impression of a man prepared, focused and dangerously hungry for blood. The boom of Danny’s theme song didn’t seem to faulter Colton’s bluish eyes. Clear eyes, just like I had told him.

The second fighter followed his own pattern of flashy introductions kissing the cheeks of two women and a baby along his journey in, then aiming a single middle finger towards Colt during his examination from the same ref. When the door was latched behind him, both warriors stalked their opponent.

The suited announcer took his mark in the center, microphone in hand. “Ladies and gentlemen, good evening and welcome! The following match up is for the Professional Fighter’s Federation Middleweight Championship. Introducing first in the left corner your challenger weighing in at 184 pounds in his PFF debut, Colton Ritterrrrrr.”

“And in your right corner, the current undisputed Middleweight champion with a weight of 181 pounds Danny “The Matador” Mendez.”

I wanted to join the thundering “boo” at the mention of his name too, but refrained professionally. Mendez had fans, but many of them boastful douchebags such as himself.

I felt as if I needed to bury both hands over my heart to trap it inside my chest, and I can only imagine the feelings that were swarming Colton’s body. Tyson O’Brien, the preferred ring official across the circuit was passed the mic and motioned Mendez and Colton to step to him.

“Alright fellas, we’ve been over the rules. Protect yourself at all times, and you will follow my instructions. We’re gonna have a clean fight tonight. Touch gloves.”

Neither seething man extended a hand, instead retreated to their labeled corners with no interest other than drawing blood.

Tyson addressed Colton, “you ready?” Receiving one single nod in answer. After the same reply from his opponent, he dropped a hand to begin the time. The clock began ticking on potentially the most sickeningly vexing 25 minutes on my sheltered life.

 Round One

Twenty-five seconds in, and a fist had yet to be thrown. The two danced gracefully barefoot around each other, faces hid partially behind gloved fists. I could tell by the unsteady breaths from his nostrils that Colt was holding back a brutal eruption. Mac coached him to pace himself, because Mendez had a reputation of exhausting an opponent to the point of break, then he would unleash. So slow and steady would most likely win this race.

Colton would be the first to stretch forth in assault, however only connecting with Mendez’s thrown block. I swear I could hear a wisp of power cut through the air. The instant combo of left-right-right he threw next though, tagged his opponent just below the right eye. Danny smiled at the pain, now extremely ready to get things started indeed. Colton seemed to have a bit of an advantage with a reach much longer than Mendez, resulting in explosive strikes to the reddening body of the predicted victor.  His head movements strategically executed to clear any blows to the face in the first 2.5 minutes, but the leg kicks from the current champ were connecting painfully to his thighs. The handsome combatant carried a slight limp on his left leg for a moment, babying it from the strike. One leg lift however played in his favor when he was able to grab Danny’s calf and manage a powerful takedown that sent his back crashing to the ground.

Before he was pinned under Colt’s powerful legs, he managed to turn on all fours on his elbows. The attempt to escape was lost nevertheless when my red shorted fighter wrapped one arm around his torso, crushing with the force of a vice grip. He had evidently done his homework for this match up. His hands pounded like concrete blocks against the cauliflower ear and exposed temple of Danny, one blow he connected on the corner of his brow even resulted in the first blood secretion on the mat. He was like a great white in the open water inhaling the sent of a wounded seal. His right-hand imposed fist after fist, and Mendez was visibly shook.  37 seconds remained on the timer.

Shortly thereafter the time keeper smacked together his wooden blocks to notify now only 30 seconds left in the round. Dan wormed his way out of the hold to stand to his feet, placing ample space between the two of them for a brief instant before charging Colton with a swift roundhouse kick, thankfully missing. A blow horn shrieked, and the men retreated to corners joined by training staff members. I thought I may need medical attention next when I released a breath of momentary relaxation and noticed the half moons of nail marks I had pushed into the inside of my thigh. This round undoubtably belonged to Colton.

 I was suffocating the urge to dart straight to the concession stand for a generous dose of nerve settling liquor. Was I cut out to be the girlfriend of a fighter? Could I really stomach watching him suffer blow after blow to the head, or have to spend the weeks after a match nursing a concussion? Driving him around the city in search of an oral surgeon to repair the teeth that had been forcibly removed from his gums? Was I thick-skinned enough to tarry that journey? The answer is no. The idea of it all made me want to projectile vomit the lavish breakfast I had with him that morning. The daunting apprehension that even every day mundane tasks like choosing where to get gas, or what facial cleanser wouldn���t cause a rash literally sent my brain into unnerving override. I didn’t have the thickened skin for it. I wasn’t designed for dramatic unraveling’s. But, he was like a computer technician rewiring a hard drive from the inside out when it came to my old habits. Colton Ritter was reviving me, rebuilding me into the daring, strong and ultimately better version of myself, and I would forever be grateful. I could feel myself developing the depth of not only headstrong, flourishing journalist, but loyal, passionate life partner as well.  So, if nursing contusions or taping broken fingers was necessary to my repertoire, then so be it.

I dialed in on the announcers again in effort to gather expert opinion on predictions now that the first round was in the books.

“I’m gonna be real honest with you, man. This is not at all how I saw this going. Ritter came out explosive! The kid ain’t the slouch that most of the locker room had expected. Matter of fact, Jake, a few guys for Danny’s camp have been callin’ him a ‘pretty boy’.”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard that little nickname floating around too, Brett. But it seems to me that so-called pretty boy is doin’ some serious punishing in that cage right now. Solid fist round for the newcomer.”

Pretty boy? Colt would roll over if he heard these guys refer to him that way on the radio. It absolutely suited him on the outward appearance, 98% of the heterosexual female population would agree. Still, it lacked the desired malevolent intimidation factor for the nickname of a mixed martial artist.

How can you spin this, Eliiot? Make it work…hmmm… Pittsburgh Pretty Boy? Ew no, too WWE. Pretty boy.. pretty boy. Pretty Boy Punisher? Oooooh, that’s got a ring to it. The Pretty Boy Punisher.

I would definitely add that to my article. Anything to deter the entire world of cage fighting from calling him a pretty boy, and taking him for a joke.  

The coaches scurried suddenly to the outer walls of the cage, clearing out water bottles and folding black stools before the next round began, and inhuman beasts attacked each other once more.  

TAGS: @torialeysha @eap1935

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: YumeTwins April 19

“The cherry blossoms are blooming, the weather is getting warmer, and our furry little friends are out to play! This time of year motivates us to get outside and enjoy the magical season that is spring! We absolutely love having picnics in the park during cherry blossom season and watching all the cute pets run around. Beautiful scenes like this inspire us to get creative and sketch, paint, and write so we can share it with our friends and loved ones. That is why for this month’s theme being Fluffy Pen-Pals, we’ve filled this box with kawaii animal friends and spring goodies that will allow you to get creative and inspired! We hope you enjoy these kawaii goodies as much as we enjoyed putting this box together for you!“

Yume Prize

This month, inspired by the fluffy theme we have goods featuring Rilakkuma and Pochakko.

Photo Contest

Meanwhile, cuddly Kuromi is the focus of the photo contest.

Pets Lunch Mat

Purrfect for a picnic during spring, or just on the go or at the table, we get this adorable cloth mat covered in various dog and cat prints and colors. You might recognize these designs, as I’ve gotten a few past items featuring very similar shiba.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

No, there isn’t much to it. But it’s pretty cute isn’t it? It adds a fun touch to meals and would probably be a suitable item for messy or young eaters, or suitable for those moments when you’re not at a table. You could probably use it for crafts too, and I assume it’s easy to wash. . .

Shiba and Neko Strawberry Plush

To go with the puppies and kitties in the previous item, we also get an adorable fluffy companion. Each plush is 25cm and there are three different colors of both the cat and dog. I got the light grey shiba, but I would have loved to have gotten the pink kitty~ It also has a pink button (by that I mean... the thing Pompompurrin has), which I think is kind of cute.

Their strawberry hat is also removable! According to the booklet, you can also wear it, which I think is a fun little idea.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The plush is very mochi marshmallow squishy like, but it doesn’t have as much stuffing. It’s very soft and stretchy, but I feel like it could have used a little bit more stuffing, because to me the paws look kind of weird and shriveled up. The strawberry hat is the same, and again I like how you can remove it, so you could put it on other things, or just take it off to change your animals look. However, the stem pieces are made of felt and as such one of the leaf on mine is bent and I can’t fix it. 

Cube Toothbrush Stand

Now for something a bit different, we have an adorable little cube used for holding a toothbrush. These come in a large variety of Sanrio characters, and Doraemon, Snoopy, and Kirby characters!

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I kind of went over this in the previous review from DokiDoki Crate, but I don’t really have much use for a toothbrush stand due to the ones I use. But I do have various “teeth tools“ I could use it for instead, or holding ear cleaners... or or or as I discovered, it’s perfect for holding a pen!

It makes a great pen holder and I’ve been having fun using it for that, it almost gives it a fancy look, like those pens you find in offices or banks attached to the ball chain.

I can guarantee that’s probably what I’ll be using it for~

Plushie Magnet

(sorry for bad lighting, I took the picture but somehow it didn’t save so I had to re-take it.)

Our next item once again features the various cast of Rilakkuma and Sumikko Gurashi, but this time in the form of a semi-cuddly magnet :D This adorable magnet is very fluffy and plush-like, and on the back is a small rounded magnet (which can be shifted around as I discovered). It’s cute pastel tones make it an adorable spring accessory (although mine kind of gives me winter vibes you know~) for hanging up papers, photo’s, or just decoration.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I don’t really have much to say about it, but I really like it. It’s so cute and adorable. My only annoyance is that I’m not sure I’ll actually get to use it, because I was informed it’ll probably collect dust and hair, and in having it un-packaged I noticed that this was indeed true. Kind of annoying. But I still want to use it, so I’ll probably end up finding a place for it after we move...

Pokemon Pen & Kawaii Notepad

Now some actual stationery, our first item is an adorable Pokemon-themed Pen. There was 4 available in 2 different styles, a basic pen featuring Pikachu and various foods, available in brown or black- or there is a thinner, sorta fancier looking pen in either pink or white featuring Eeevee.

I feel like there’s no real point in giving the pen an in-depth review. It’s a typical pen, but it has no trouble writing, dotting, or anything. The ink lasts a long time without dropping or becoming faint, I think it’s a pretty good quality pen and would recommend it.

-------

Our final item is an adorable, pastel colorful notepad based on the recent trend of drink science and the unique containers people are coming up with to put them in for an instagram worthy pic. There was 9 variants (one of which was Yeastken, so I’m glad I didn’t get it twice...) and I think out of all of all the options, this is the one I’d have wanted. I’m very happy I got it!

There are 2 different styles of paper in this pad, one facing vertical while the other is horizontal. The pages feature designs from the front, which have a clear cover over it to help keep it clean.

Again, I feel like there’s no real actual point in rating this. Notepads are notepads, it’s pretty much like the Yeastken one I just got (they’re by the same brand). Paper is fine, it is written on very smooth and cleanly. I think this is very very very very very cute~! I love how shiny the spine seam piece across the top is.

♡ Cutie Ranking ♡

Content - 4.5 out of 5. I feel really content with this box. I’m not sure I’m in love with it or anything, but the quality of each item was great, and everything had variety and is practical, which as you know is very important. I sort of felt like there wasn’t much of an evenness in terms of the size of items though, but it’s probably for obvious reasons.

Theme: 3.5 out of 5. I felt conflicted over this one, because it was very similar to the previous box in that it features cuddly animals. I mean don’t get me wrong I adore animals and kawaii goods, obviously, and because of how the box carried itself the items had a different feel about them. However, I kind of wish the box actually played up the fluffy part of the theme more (the Photo Prize and Yume Prize did excellent in improving that but not everyone gets it...), and given the description I feel like they should have given the box more of a spring vibe. I can see the pen-pal part, but only a little...

Total Rank: 7 out of 10. I liked the content and I would recommend this one. But I did have a little concern that due to how small a majority of items were, I’m not sure this box would cost as much as we pay. But I don’t really have any way of finding that stuff out, so I could be wrong due to being name brand and all. 

♡ Cutie Scale ♡

1. Cube Toothbrush Stand - I might not have gotten my first choice but I do like Rilakkuma, so I’m not complaining either. I’m obviously going to use this as a pen stand more than its intended purpose, but I also like how fun it is in general. If I could I’d buy the rest of the collection just to decorate with :P

2. Strawberry Inu/Neko Plushie - Even though I am a cat person, I can’t resist how sweet this doggy looks~ He’s so squishy soft, he’ll make a great bed time companion; I’m kinda looking forward to dressing him up a little too~

3. Notepad - I have several of these so I can’t say it was a necessary item either in my case, but I love how cute it is! I love stroking the textured spine seam thingy on top, and admiring the adorable drawings all over it and in it~

4. Pokemon Pen - It’s so sweet looking, the pastel colors and drawings are adorable. I kind of wish I got the sleeker pen with metal accents but I’m very impressed by how smoothly this one writes. I really like it so I’ll probably keep it nearby.

5. Lunch Mat - Not a necessary item, but I do like it. It’s pretty neat to use, and I’ll probably end up folding it up and bringing it with me, so if I end up eating in the car or somewhere else, I’d have it just in case.

6. Plush Magnet - As cute as it is, I’m not sure if I’ll end up using it. I’d hate to have to clean it all the time due to pet hair or dust snagging it.