#at least school was cancelled so i could get it done today

[puppyeared]

TWO!!

[yesimwriting]

Hi there!

If you accept requests, could you write a Halloween themed fic about y/n, Billy and Stu?

Like them going out to choose their costumes and decorating Stu’s house for a party, stuff like that

Hope you are doing well! Thank you very much ☺️

A/n omg i loveee holiday fics and halloween <3

----

You're staring down an aisle of plastic faces etched into neon bases. The differences between them are superficial, just a variety of colors and two or three alternainge expressions. Nothing distinct enough to warrant this level of analysis and yet...

You decide on one from the top shelf. Orange with simple triangle eyes and a double toothed smile. A classic.

You place your chosen plastic pumpkin into the cart that's slowly but surely being filled up by Halloween decor that's only somewhat cheesy. Okay, to be fair, the contents of your pile range in their levels of cheesiness...but still, mostly non-cheesy and perfectly fitting for a classic Halloween, high school rager.

"Really?"

There's nothing about Billy's voice that's worth getting. No soft lilt to indicate teasing or harshness to imply actual judgement. It's the factualness of the statement that leaves you doubting your choice, even though nothing about this is that deep. "What?"

Billy lets out a partial sigh, irritated by the way that fondness pinches his chest. There's something soft about your question, like his opinion on your choice of decorations could actually crush you. It soothes that part of him that's always searching for a reason to believe that those around him are flighty. "You just--you spent so much time looking and then you picked the orange one."

Shrugging, you place a hand on the side of the cart. "I was deciding."

"You picked the poster child of pumpkins." A pointless stance for a pointless argument. You beam at him and Billy starts to feel a little less ridiculous for entertaining this.

Still smiling, you start, "Pumpkins have poster children?"

"Hey, sweetheart." Stu appears halfway down the aisle.

You blink, instinctually squeezing the side of the cart tighter in your shock. For someone so larger than life, Stu can move quietly when he wants to. "Stu." Carefully, and only somewhat halfheartedly, you try to shrug him off. "Did you at least find the cups?"

Stu lifts his free arm, showing you the plastic covered set of solo cups. "You give me a job, babe, I get it done."

Billy rolls his eyes, "Since when?"

Stu scoffs, fingers pressing into your upper arm a little more firmly. "Since Y/n asked." His hand shifts up and down your arm. "Maybe if you looked like her, I'd listen to you."

There's nothing inherently wrong with the gesture, but there's an undertone of stiffness in his touch. That paired with the way Stu's attention remains on Billy makes you feel a little more like a prop than equal participant in the conversation. Deciding to shake off the feeling, you poke Stu's side.

"Ouch." A sound that's forced out much too harshly. Stu retracts immediately, like he's in agony. "What? I was complimenting you."

You roll your eyes. "I barely touched you."

"I'm wounded." He makes a show of clutching his side. "Kiss it better?"

Billy sighs, shifting his attention towards you, "We can't take him anywhere."

You nod understandingly, "We really can't."

Stu scoffs, offended, "Fuck you guys."

"We're kidding." Your concession comes quicker than usual, but you really don' mind giving in to keep the peace right now.

Today has been fun in that simple way that people forget about around middle school. Stu had called last night and mentioned something about wanting to up his party game for Halloween and a few things about decorations. He insisted that he couldn't go with just Billy because Billy has the decorative taste of someone that's color blind. Even though that's the strangest insult you've ever heard, it made you laugh and you agreed to tag along to cancel out any potential color vision deficiency.

They picked you up the next morning, swinging by your usual coffee place before stopping by a grocery store and then finally, the Halloween pop up store.

"You can't be mad," you mumble, "I need your held defending my pumpkin." Stu blinks, a little too surprised and confused to know how he wants to react. You gesture towards the cart as if that should answer everything. "Billy called it basic."

"I said you spent a long time looking at different pumpkins just to pick the orange one."

Stu turns his head, giving you a look that makes it clear that he has no idea how you've been putting up with this. "It's a classic."

"Thank you."

Billy's eyebrows pinch together. He's aware that there are few things you could say that Stu would publicly disagree with, but there's nothing to oppose. "I didn't--" He sighs again, giving in, "You should get a friend."

You tilt your head slightly in a way that's hard to read. "I'm not eight." Even though your tone leans towards argumentative, you walk towards the shelf and grab another orange pumpkin. This one's eyes are ovals, not triangles, and its dark smile is more lopsided and smaller. A variant that sticks close to the source material. "Two does look better, though."

With the pumpkin debacle settled, Billy begins to push the cart forward. You and Stu remain about two steps ahead of it, pointing out different decorations from time to time, most of them unserious suggestions.

"What do I have to do to get you in this?"

That sentence, coming from Stu, is enough to make you scared to turn around. The only reason you eventually do is because you can't justify staring at the wall that's stocked with costume add ons--fangs of both the glow in the dark and regular variety, cellophane wings, horn and halo headbands. You're also painfully aware of the fact that the more you resist and fluster, the more Stu will commit to his bit.

So you force yourself to remain casual as you look behind you. He's holding up a prepackaged angel costume that makes you feel like you're offending some religion by just looking at it. A corset top, small, frilly skirt, and white fishnets. It's not so much that makes the costume feel like something that belongs on stage at a failing Vegas show, it's the material and the styling.

"Uh..." In a way, you're glad that he decided to make the joke about something so blatantly not an option, because there's no way he's serious. It makes joking back easier, a little safer. "...Have a roll of one's ready?"

He doesn't miss a beat, "Deal."

Now that sounded a lot more genuine. You blink, struggling to hold your ground. Instinctually, your attention flits towards Billy.

"You should've known what he'd do with a stripper joke."

It's only a partial out, but you appreciate it greatly, "I have no one to blame but myself."

Stu scoffs. "I'm not that predictable."

You and Billy exchange a look. Stu pouts, turning enough to hang the plastic packaging back on its metal hook.

Instead of reminding him that if anyone should be offended about that last joke it should be you, you decide to shift focus. Your attention falls on the consistently growing contents of the cart. It might be a little much, but Stu's house is large. You'd need this many things to make the whole space feel decorated.

"You think we're good or are we missing something?"

Billy tilts his head downwards, taking an unofficial inventory of the cart's contents. It's more for your sake than actual interest. "You didn't get the lights. The twinkly ones."

There's something about hearing Billy say the word twinkly that's more entertaining than it should be. You smile despite yourself. "Say twinkly again."

He glowers, "No."

Billy starts pushing the cart, nearly running over your toes. You bounce back quickly, holding onto the side of the cart like a little kid as you follow him forward. "Why not?"

"The way you asked."

Rude. "He's no fun."

Stu turns his head just enough to look back at the two of you, "Billy?" His hand latches onto the front of the cart. Now, all three of you are clinging to the shopping cart like pre-schoolers that use those plastic rings to stick together. "He's moody."

The comment is meant to dig at you. "I didn't say that."

You'd never say that. If anything, oversimplifying Billy like that is one of your pet peeves. He likes to come off as a little closed off, but it's not such a basic teenage boy thing on him. You've never said anything explaining your defensiveness...you don't even think you'd be able to put it into words, but with Billy, any pretext of angst feels like a type of shield.

"He's just above entertaining me now."

Billy's eyebrows draw together sharply. "Now?"

Reaching the end of the aisle, Billy starts to turn the cart. It's a little awkward to make it around the corner without anyone releasing the cart, but you manage. "We all have to out grow our friends at some point."

"Mhm," he hums dryly, "Especially the dramatic ones."

Eyes widening, you turn on your heels to glare at him. He keeps his head angled downwards, a few strands of hair falling forward to hide the brunt of his reaction. That doesn't stop you from seeing part of his smug smile. If Billy's casualness wasn't always welcomed, you'd likely be a little more annoyed.

"The you that corrected the barista that misheard my coffee order before I could would have never spoken to me like that."

"That was this morning."

You shrug off his response, deciding that a comment about simpler times would over extend the bit. You're in the right aisle now, anyway, shelves full of decorations that require hooks or nails or something else to keep them attached to the wall.

Stu wanders away from the cart, picking up a cardboard box that displays a picture of purple lightbulbs strung up on a suburban house. "These?"

You shake your head. "Too bright, I think they're meant for outside." Stepping towards the shelves, you pick up a rolled up cord of smaller, darker purple lights and another set of boxed lights. "You need... mood lighting."

The cord for the boxed ones are way too long for a living room or kitchen and the bulbs seem way too bright and project a harsh, unflattering orange in their picture. The label on the other set says that they alternate between dark blue and purple and the bulbs are shaped like stars. Definitely a winner.

You look up, ready to say as much, but the words cram their way back down your throat before you can. Stu's closer than you realized, a lot closer than you ever expected him to be.

"Mood lighting?" You know that dropping your head and backing away would only make this worse. Stu likes to know when he's getting something. "What's the exact mood?"

He's grasping at straws in an attempt to fluster you. While mood lighting may hint at something suggestive, it's obvious that you meant the kind of chill, dim lighting that makes people comfortable yet energized. Party lighting. You should say that, laugh off his proximity and his energy. But for whatever reason, you can't quite think.

You press your lips together. "Exact mood," you repeat, still a little unsure, "I had more of a general mood idea."

Stu takes a partial step forward before extending his hand. He takes the wound cord, gently pulling it from your fingers. Slowly, he undoes the thick twist tie holding the cord together. You watch, more curious than you'd like to admit as he unravels it. With no warning, Stu pulls the string of lights over your shoulders.

He takes his time adjusting the string of lights over your shoulders. "I get what you mean."

Warmth you don't get crawls up your neck. It has to be about looking weird in a secluded, but still public, aisle. You tilt your head, trying to ignore that feeling you can't name. "You're tangling them."

"They're fine," he dismisses easily, twisting a part of the cord between his fingers. "We'll get Billy to untangle them later."

You laugh at that. Stu frees you from the confines of the string lights. Billy throws a look at Stu as he halfheartedly rolls up the lights before dropping them in the cart.

"So I'm un-fun and the light de-tangler."

You walk towards him before Billy can fully start pushing the cart again. "I take it back." You reach forward and squeeze his forearm without thinking twice about it. "You're fun." Billy briefly stiffens, gaze trained on what's directly in front of him. "Sometimes."

Billy hates the wave of fondness that that's trying to crawl its way out of his chest. "Like when I'm untangling string lights?" It's meant to be sarcastic in that biting, casually detached way.

If the shift in tone bugs you, you give no indication of it as you smile at him. "And some other times."

[pollymorgan]

Oh my God, how embarrassing... I did it and translated my German fanfiction into English... into bad English! Don't be too harsh on me, but rather make suggestions for improvement: So now a little phone sex with Coach Negan. 🙈😌

Warnings: arrogant Negan, frustrated woman, explicit phone sex

Today is one of those days again, where nothing seems to work as it should. Just like so often lately. Why couldn't I transfer those damn photos to the laptop? I've never been very tech-savvy, but the modern world practically forced me to. I'm actually a cookbook author and used to be quite successful with it. Some of my books were bestsellers and I even had my own cooking segment on a nationally broadcasted morning show. But then I was suddenly replaced by a younger, "cooler" colleague and ever since then, I've been struggling to keep afloat with social media, more or less. If only the technology would cooperate..

Even in my personal life, I have been replaced. Four months ago, my husband left us. By us, I mean my three children and me. After 19 years of marriage. But love goes where it goes, right? Nothing can be done against that. At least, those were his words when he got into his Porsche with a blonde woman who could be his daughter and disappeared.

Since then, he has managed to do something with his children exactly twice. But in exchange, he has already disappointed them seven times by canceling the meetings at short notice. Yes, I'm keeping count. At least for now.

My oldest daughter Penny is 15 years old and fully immersed in puberty, and it seems that this situation is hardest on her. She and her father were always a unit, his little princess. But there's no trace of that at the moment. Most of the time, he doesn't even bother to answer his damn phone when she tries to reach him.

I see her suffering. She's lost interest in school, and her circle of friends is dwindling visibly. I would love to help her, but how? At the moment, I just can't seem to reach her. Our communication mostly consists of doors slamming.

But back to my current problem. These damn pictures! The article is supposed to go online today. I cooked an Indian dish and had to drive halfway across town to get these damn spices. Thursdays always bring an international post, and now, of all times, nothing is working again. My laptop doesn't recognize the memory card, and the camera won't connect either. I keep plugging and unplugging the cable, hoping the error will magically resolve. Which of course it doesn't. Suddenly, I glance at the small display in the lower right-hand corner. Damn it! So late. I won't be picking up the kids on time again, the second time this cursed week. Annoyed, I close the screen. Grabbing my purse, I walk quickly to the garage. Where's the damn car key? Nervously, I rummage through my chaotic bag, spilling half of its contents on the floor. Finally finding it, I get into the car and speed out of the driveway.

The first stop is the kindergarten to pick up my youngest. She's a real bundle of nerves, but so sweet that you can forgive her anything. Of course, she throws a tantrum right at pickup. It's a real struggle to get her into the car. Like a madwoman, I drive on to the elementary school to pick up my 9-year-old son. He is the calm one in our family and thankfully waits with his best friend relaxed in front of the school. At least one who's not mad at me. Lucky me. And off we go, heading to my daughter's high school. From a distance, I can see her and immediately know that - once again - something is wrong. She stands all alone and pretty annoyed on the street, looking out for me. When I park the car right in front of her feet, she angrily drops onto the passenger seat.

"Penny, I can explain, you know what a loser I am when it comes to technology..." I try to justify myself.

My eldest rolls her eyes in annoyance. "Mum, this time, for once, it's not your fault..." I see tears forming in the corners of her eyes, and automatically, I feel a lump in my throat.

"Mister Smith... he..."

She doesn't need to continue speaking; just hearing that name fills me with such anger again. Right from the start, there have been issues with her physical education teacher, Negan Smith.

I've only seen him twice so far, at parent-teacher conferences, but Penny's stories are enough for me to know that he's an absolute failure as a teacher. He has his favorites whom he praises to the skies, while the less athletic students suffer under his authoritarian ways. My daughter already feels uncomfortable in her own skin, and that jerk doesn't even realize the impact his remarks have on the young girls.

A few years ago, his wife passed away from cancer. A terrible tragedy, but apparently that did not make him more empathetic; quite the opposite.

I'm currently looking in the rearview mirror to avoid hitting anyone in the chaos outside the school. That's all I need on this crappy day. Then I catch sight of none other than Penny's physical education teacher.

"Isn't that him?" I ask excitedly.

My daughter buries her face even further into the backpack in her lap. "Yes, Mom, it's okay, please just drive..."

The anger that had been building up recently had just found a good release.

With the words "Nothing is good...", I yank open my driver's door and head purposefully towards my daughter's physical education teacher, who is just stowing his bag in his car.

"Who do you think you are?" I stand behind him with arms crossed, eagerly awaiting his reaction.

Confused, he turns around to face me and suddenly a big grin spreads across his face. "Negan Smith, nice to meet you, and who do I have the pleasure of speaking with?"

What a cocky jerk!

"The mother of a rather offended young girl, because of you..."

Can't he just drop his arrogant smile for once? Quite unimpressed, he closes the door of his car.

"Penny has so much potential and she's wasting it on the damn bench..."

Such an idiot, he clearly knows who I am.

"Maybe you should listen to the young students as well, instead of just spouting off random remarks at them?"

Amused, he shakes his head. "I did... her excuse for skipping today's P.E. class was menstrual cramps..."

"And in your opinion that's not a valid reason or what? How dare you even pass judgment on that? Your students' bodies are going through changes and such discomforts should be taken seriously..." I respond a bit too loudly, causing some students to turn towards us.

Resigned, he raises his hands. "Of course, but not every damn other week. Maybe you should give your daughter some biology lessons again and explain to her that her P.E. teacher isn't completely from another planet."

Oh God, what does this man think he is..

"And you should work on your teaching skills... Otherwise, maybe I should consider contacting the school board!"

„Oh wow, you're actually a bigger drama queen than your dear daughter!".

Did he really just say that? Did he just seriously insult me? My daughter's teacher. I look at him in disbelief, but he just grins.

"And now she's quiet... I really have to go now, but I'm pretty sure we'll meet again soon." With these words, he jumps into his car and drives off.

Completely perplexed, I walk back to my car and am greeted by my daughter with the words "That was soooo embarrassing.."

7 hours later

Finally peace! Why does it always have to be such a struggle to get the kids to bed? Isn't it unfair that you are a thousand times more tired than the dear little ones? What a crappy day! I'm glad to be freshly showered in my bed and finally have some time off. Just me and my phone, no one else. No more whining, arguing, and crying. As much as I sometimes curse technology, I also love being able to connect with people over the internet. It's fun to respond to comments, the direct exchange with like-minded people is the only positive thing about social media. As I scroll through Instagram, I suddenly see comments coming in at a rapid pace. Confused, I open them. From "Do you always look so good when you cook?" to "Can you cook that for me sometime?" to heart emojis, and they all come from the same account. As I read the name, a shock runs through me. Can this be for real? "Coach Negan" is he not only a tactless asshole, but also a real psychopath? Excited, I click on his account, but apart from a profile picture where he is clearly recognizable, there is no further information.

I quickly open the messaging function and type "What is this???" into my phone. It only takes a few seconds and I receive a response.

"I am a fan 😉"

For a while, I stare at the screen, unable to believe what is happening here.

Suddenly, he sends me a picture. I open it and see a photo of me from my highlights, showing me from my post "Valentine's Day." I had cooked a three-course meal and written a pretty cheesy text back then. It's one of my most liked posts.

"Red lipstick suits you. Matches your fiery nature.." he writes.

What does he want to achieve? Did the confrontation before school hurt him so much that he is trying to provoke me? But to be honest, it seems like he's the one giving me a warning. Well, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that the best defense is a good offense.

"Oh, do you think so? Most men say I look better without wearing anything...I mean, without lipstick, of course.. 😉".

"Are you already in bed?" he asks next. What a bizarre situation? Why does my daughter's teacher want to know where I am? The same teacher who called me a ‚drama queen‘ just a few hours ago.

I keep trying to type a suitable response on my phone and then delete it again. Finally, I write briefly, "Yes, and you?"

"Yes, and I'm studying your profile. Do you realize how crazy you can drive a man with these pictures? Why am I even asking, of course you do. 😉"

The feeling of small electric shocks runs through my body. The whole thing feels strangely forbidden. Maybe what I'm doing here is damn wrong, but right now, the consequences seem pretty irrelevant to me.

"How mean, you can look at my pictures, but you don't have any online yourself."

"That's true, but how about you hear my voice instead?" Attached to this message was his phone number. Okay, this is all moving pretty quickly, in a pretty strange direction. I'm so excited that I can feel my heart pounding wildly in my chest. But what do I have to lose? I haven't felt like this in the last 20 years. Okay, it's a damn bizarre situation, but I'm an adult and single. So I can finally talk to whoever I want. Even with the biggest jerk I've come across lately.

Feeling totally tense, I dial the number and as it rings, it gets even worse. I take a few deep breaths, and suddenly the deep voice on the other end answers with a "What took you so long to decide?" and I can practically feel his grin.

"Well, I had to think for a moment about what would be so sensible about calling my daughter's narcissistic gym teacher in the middle of the night," I say calmly.

"And what would be sensible about that?" he asks with interest.

"I haven't really found a solid reason yet, but maybe you can tell me?"

He thinks for a moment, and I imagine him lying in his bed. A slight tingling sensation spreads in my stomach, which is intensified by his response.

"Well, I can make sure you feel a little better... forget all the everyday crap that's weighing on your pretty shoulders right now."

I briefly close my eyes to focus more on his voice, which really manages to relax me a bit with just that simple sentence.

"And how do you plan to do that?" I ask softly.

"When was the last time you were really well fucked?" As soon as he says it, my lower abdomen tightens, and I automatically press my legs together.

After I take a moment to collect myself, I honestly respond, "That was much too long ago..."

"Oh, poor girl," Negan provocatively replies, but instead of getting upset about it, it triggers completely different feelings in me. "Tell me about what you imagine when you stroke your lonely pussy at night."

I have to swallow briefly to get rid of the extremely dry feeling in my throat.

"I can tell you what I think about when I do it in a moment..." I say softly but firmly.

And his tone changes too. His breathing becomes heavier. "Then tell me, come on," he commands.

"I imagine it's your fingers running over my body and finally sliding my panties to the side and penetrating deep into me..." My cheeks feel like they're glowing. I've never talked like this with anyone before, and now I just did it with a man who is actually a stranger to me.

"Come on, sweetheart... touch yourself for me and tell me if you're wet," he interrupts.

Without thinking, I click on the speaker icon on my display and place the phone next to me on the pillow, then I slide my right hand under my nightgown into my panties and I'm surprised at how aroused I already am, how swollen my clit is, and how sensitive my whole intimate area has become. I sigh softly.

"Fuck, the sweet little sounds you're making... they make my damn cock twitch in my hand with joy..."

Just the thought that he's so aroused by me on the other end sends waves of pleasure through my body.

"I'm already so wet because of you, Negan..." I admit breathlessly.

"You dirty, pretty lady, if I were with you right now, I would slowly penetrate deep into you... you need that now, don't you?"

"Yes!" I can only whisper.

"Okay, now do everything exactly as I tell you, understood?" he demands.

"Yes, please tell me what to do.." I focus solely on his voice, completely tuning out everything else.

"Take off your panties. Use your index and middle fingers to gently stroke over your mons pubis and then slowly over your outer labia, but not more, just right there.."

Immediately, I follow his instructions. The air feels cool on my bare lower abdomen. I feel strangely exposed, even though I am alone in my bedroom, but it's not uncomfortable, quite the opposite. I begin to caress myself gently.

"How does that feel?" his voice breaks the silence again.

"Good, but I want more.." I plead.

"I already knew that.. Bend your legs and spread them wide.. as far as you can.." He gives me a brief moment to comply with his instructions. "Now push your pelvis even further forward.. Imagine I'm between your legs and you want to present me with your beautiful pussy, you would like that, wouldn't you?"

"Yes.." I say and nod vigorously, even though no one can see me.

"Such a good girl.. and now run your index finger through your slit, spread your juices.."

I can't and don't want to hold back my moans now. There is silence for a while at the other end, then I speak heavily.

"Are you also pleasuring your cock for me?" I ask as I continue to touch myself.

"Oh, sweetheart, so your thoughts are currently only about that.." he says snappily. "Yes, I am, and if you keep moaning so sweetly into the phone, it won't be long, so it's time for you to start massaging your clit, but don't be too timid, circle it with two fingers and use some pressure, even if you're very sensitive now, you can take it.."

Oh God, that was exactly what I needed right now. My body felt like in ecstasy and I could feel the orgasm slowly building up.

"Don't come yet," he commanded, and on cue, I immediately removed my fingers from my most sensitive spot.

"Now, bring your knees close to your body!“

"Yes," I replied, completely exhausted. "You're doing it perfectly, how much I would love to see you in this position right now, just the damn thought!" I could clearly hear him softly moaning. This sound made my body twitch with excitement.

"Penetrate yourself with two fingers... nice and slow. Focus entirely on the feeling of stretching your pussy wide... Tell me when you're all the way in!"

"Now," I whispered, already quite spent.

"Then add your ring finger, once you've done that, you can come intensely as a reward, I promise."

Slowly, I press the third finger into me, which initially causes a bittersweet pull, but I'm so wet that it's not a problem.

Without me telling him, Negan knows that I fulfilled his request.

"So perfect, sweetheart! And now, pleasure your clit! Bring yourself to climax and don't hold back any sound, I want to hear every sweet noise from you."

With the first gentle touch, my body twitches like crazy.

"Negan, please come with me," I stammer into the phone.

"Yes, I promise, beautiful," he replies breathlessly.

And these words are enough for me to come as intensely as I haven't in the past years. My thighs tremble uncontrollably and my heart almost jumps out of my chest. My lower abdomen contracts in waves and I can barely breathe. It feels like I am weightless for a few seconds.

"Do you feel good?" he asks after a short pause.

"Perfect.." I reply and can't gather my thoughts yet.

"Okay, then I expect you tomorrow at 3:30 p.m. for a parent-teacher meeting at the school, and, by the way, without panties.. Good night!" After these words, I only hear a beep on the line.

[life-is-unreal]

Watching from afar {Twisted Wonderland x Reader}

(Also published on Wattpad and Quotev, maybe ao3?) (the plot is similar but not the same) (updates=???) (shit grammar)

Prologue 0.1 - Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

"I swear to god, if there's another essay due today." You hissed, tapping away on your computer.

"I can't believe he set three essays without even telling us in class. Like bitch- WHAT THE FUCK THERE'S TWO MORE?"

You threw a slipper across the room, resisting the urge to chuck the computer, "It's expensive, it's expensive... I can't afford shit right now." You muttered, your hand clawing on your scalp.

"Brrrrrrringgggggggg. Briiiiiiiiiiiiing."

The sound of your phone ringing sounded heavenly compared to your ten hour grind on finishing all your essays due tomorrow. 

"Hellllo?"

"Hey Y/N! You wanna go to the amusement park that just opened up near school? By the way, 'no' isn't acceptable. I'm at your house so head down bitch."

"Annnnd she hung up."

You sighed. At least you had a reason to tell your parents on why you failed, you could blame everything on your dearest friend Marie.

"Heeyyyyy Marie." You slipped into the uber, shoving your best friend away as she tried to tackle you into a hug.

"Girlie, you look like those ghosts. Of course, you look as beautiful as ever but still." Marie flicked your forehead.

"Girl. I legit had to do three fucking essays in a day and there's two that I haven't done yet."

"...Wait. I have the same classes as you rightttt?"

You snorted, your half dead expression going away as the smile vanished on Marie's face. What's that saying? Smiles don't disappear, they just move to someone else's face.

"WE HAVE FIVE FUCKING ESSAYS DUE TOMORROW? SCUSE MOI?"

You clamped your hand over her mouth, pushing her down, "Bitch, we're in a fucking uber."

"Keugh, keugh. I mean, I can cancel the ride and send you guys back?" The uber driver said awkwardly.

"Sorry man, it's fine. My parent's have like, no hope on my studies so I'll be fine." Marie muttered, her soul sucked away from her body.

"Um. We're here now?" The uber driver, keeping his eyes straight ahead tapped the window.

"Uh, yeah haha. Uh, Y/N get your ass off. Let's go." Marie laughed awkwardly, pinching you hardly.

"Bitch what the fuck." You whisper-yelled in her ear.

"Shush, this shit awkward as fuck, now pretend you have a stomach ache." Marie elbowed your stomach hardly.

"ASFTEGHWGEU WTF?" You screeched, almost flinging her hand off you when you clutched your stomach in pain.

"Sorry girly pop, take one for the team y'know. SORRY MATE, MY FRIEND HERE SEEMS TO HAVE SOME STOMACHE PROBLEMS! GOTTA DASH!" Marie took hold of your hoodie and almost yeeted you towards the direction of the entrance.

"Bitch you owe me a popsicle." You snarled when the two of you had gotten inside.

"Heeeeey, I bought your ticket! It was hella expensive you know!" She whined, using her puppy eyes.

"I- eugh. Let's go then." The thing about Marie was that although she could be a hella insensitive and bitchy person, she was probably one of the top five best looking people in the school and other than being a bit two-faced she was a person with great personality, that is when she isn't bitchy and overly clingy. 

You and Marie's friendship began when she moved in to your neighborhood and the moment they moved in, it was made very clear that Marie's family was absolutely loaded. The first time you met was in high school. You had moved in a few months prior so the two of you began chatting as the two of you were the only 'new faces'.

Marie's problems shined through quite quickly when the two became more and more popular. You had gotten popular through brains and pretty looks whilst Marie had gotten popular because of her down right stunning looks.

Halfway through the first school year together, Marie had became friends with everyone under the 'popular' tag. You being her one and only "bestie" had hear all her remarks on other people.

"OMG Y/N, you know Sarah? The blondie? Like she's literally sooo toxic to her friends and everyone. Like bitch called me 'bestie' like noooo. Her? To be delulu enough to think that she's my bestie? Fuck no! Why would I want some ugly, stuck up, two faced bitch being my bestie. Girly pop, stick with me more. I don't want people like her bothering me."

"Hey bestiiiieeee. Did you see what happened in the cafeteria today? That new boy. That nerd. No? Eughhhhh, why don't you know any of the latest gossip??? Anyways, he got his ass whooped by one of the upperclassmen because he was talking to ThEiR GiRl. Like how cringgge is that shit?"

You had compared Marie to Regina from Mean Girls before but you decided that it didn't fit Marie that well. Marie was just as popular, just as two faced. But there was one thing for sure, she wasn't a total bitch. 

"Y/N! You wanna hang out today??? Pleeeeeaseee, you know that you're my only bestieeee. Come onnn. Let's go shopping, and yeaaaah I know you're broke and all that but that's why you need a rich bestie right? There you have the all so wonderful and fantastic me!"

"Y/N! Guess what! You know those bitchy girls from Year 12? I called some of my ahem, friends. Don't worry, they won't pick on you any more! Ain't I just succcch a wonderful person. By the way! It's your birthday this week right? I'm bought you that limited edition bag from that store you were eyeing. Uhhh, don't mind the price. You don't need to know about that. Ehe!"

Marie was clingy for sure and she gets angry easily contrary to how she acts in front of the popular people. She never gets angry because of you but you could see when she starts to get annoyed. She always gets annoyed when you hang too close to other people which is probably one of her toxic traits but you were pretty much fine with that as you found that she was fine with most people as long as they don't start calling you "Bestie".

There was also, one thing that Marie entrusted to you, and only you. Her deepest, darkest secret.

"Hey! Y/N! You listening to me?" Marie frowned, flicking your forehead. "You're zoning out again!"

"My baddddd. What you saying again?" You rubbed your fore head. Yeah, Marie's strength was also quite good.

"You wanna go to that mirror thingamajiggy room?"

"The what? Never mind. Let's go." You blinked wearily. 

"Did you actually grind for ten hours for those essays? It's not- Eugh. You being your top student. Your the fav student, they won't fail you as long you give a good enough reason you know?" Marie ruffled your hair. 

Hmmmm. Marie grew a few centimeters again. You sighed, you and your unmoving height.

You let the taller girl drag you through the crowd until you've reached the Hall of Mirrors, or as Marie calls it, the "mirror thingamajiggy room".

"Y/N girly pop. Stay here for a second. I think I saw those ice cream trucks nearby, I'll get some scoops, don't wander off like you always do. I'm not finding you for two hours again like what happened last year." Marie tapped your forehead. "You listening? I- Why do I even bother?" She rubbed her temples. "Stay put!" she called out, jogging towards the ice cream truck as she was hidden by the flowing visitors.

"What did she say?" You muttered. You removed your blue tooth headphones.

"Whatever, she probably went to the toilet or something." You raised your eyes, glancing at the entrance. For some reason, there was a smaller tent that had no queues next to the gigantic crowd going to the Hall of Mirrors.

You glanced weirdly at the bustling crowd. "They all blind or smth?"

Looking down at the weight that was leaning on your leg you rolled your eyes, "Marie really left her bag for me to carry." You slung her tote on your shoulder before trudging towards the little tent that was pretty much hidden in the shadows.

"Cold nights be like." You grumbled in annoyance, "What the hell did she put in her bag for it to be this heavy man? Gold?"

Ah, my lovely Lord,

"Sound effects? Seriously man?" You raised your brows as you entered the tent.

The noble and beautiful flower of evil,

You are the most beautiful, number one in this world.

"Whyyyyy. Thank you." You yawned sleepily. "Why am I here again?"

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the most..."

"For thee, guided by the Mirror of Darkness," You read off from the plaque in front of the mirror in the center.

Follow thy heart and take the hand of the one reflected in the mirror.

"Yoooo, these effects are kinda cool." You leaned forward, seeing black mist forming in the mirror.

Flames that turn even stars into ashes,

Ice that imprison even time,

Great tree that swallow even the sky,

"How poetic. I would applaud if this was in English class."

Don't be afraid of the power of darkness,

Come now, show your power.

Mine, theirs, and yours,

Your brows furrowed slightly as you felt yourself walking towards the largest mirror.

"Am I so sleepy that my brain and my body ain't working together. I've done that before I mean..." You wondered out loud.

There's only little time left for us.

Do not let go of that hand, at all costs.

Your sleepy eyes widened when your hand, completely out of control, started to reach for the hand that was appearing in the mirror.

"Marie? Are you doing this shit?" You screamed, at this volume, people outside would surely hear you and start rushing in right?

"Marie?" Your voice faltered.

"I- should've waited for Marie..." You whispered, your consciousness fading away as the hand in the mirror grasped yours...

"Marie...find...me"

To be continued...

[ben243s-transformation-stories]

A harmless prank

Ah, you’ve got to love our educational system. School was canceled because of a teachers strike. They claimed they were striking for better pay, or training or some other such nonsense that was supposed to make out lives as students better. Of course, most of the time actually being in school and learning would have been better than sitting around at home goofing off. But it’s all for the kids. Yeah right.

So anyway, I had nothing better to do with my day than hang out with my friends and get into mischief. Everyone should know it’s never a good idea to leave teenagers unattended for long periods, but my parents didn’t have the luxury of taking off every time the teachers decided to go out on strike

I had just spent the morning with my friends, and was feeling kind of amped up and was in the mood to see what kinds of things I could get away with.

The area of town I lived in was fairly quiet and rural. There weren’t really any good places to go, or even a mall to hang out in, so I found myself lying on my bed tossing a ball in the air while i tried to come up with some kind of plan.

I was never one to get into too much trouble, and generally stuck to the rules. Today, though, something must have been in the air because I was especially restless and ready to see how far I could push my luck.

I couldn’t think of anything else to do, so I decided to have a little fun online and started searching for interesting websites. I scrolled for nearly half an hour before one finally caught my eye.

I’m not entirely sure what drew me to it, but I landed on my city’s government website. I had never really had cause to browse it before, and I was amazed by how many options it had, and the array of things that you could do totally online. Most would have taken the full day to do in person, but could be completed in minuets on the new site.

I couldn’t help but be amazed as I scrolled through the options. I stared to get a seed of an idea forming in my head. I should pick something and fill out the form and see what I could get to happen. At the very least I would waste some bureaucrats time, At best I could maybe cause some huge scene with the police or fire department. A grin spread across my face.

I browsed the site for a while longer, but nothing really met my requirements for my masterplan to cause havoc. Most of the options were fairly mundane and boring. Nothing worthy of my time. Except………

I clicked on the link for their new online pet registration page. Something felt right. This was the page I had been looking for. I decided to set my plan into action, Granted it wasn’t well thought out, but hey what do you expect from a bored 14 year old boy?

I brought up and read through the forms. Nothing too complicated just basic details. it looked straight forward enough. I started entering my real details in the fields, age, height, weight, etc. I even listing my parents as my owners, and uploaded my recent school photo. Under species I checked canine, and chose yellow lab for breed. I decided to list my name as the nickname my parents used for me “Sammy”.

I looked over the completed form and smiled. No way they would accept it, and at least it would waste some poor bureaucrats time reading and deleting it. Oh boy, I am such a reprobate now.

Satisfied that I had done something awesome, I clicked submit. A few seconds later I got an email confirmation that the form had been received. I waited a while to see if I would get some error notice, but nothing came. Oh well, maybe they have a lot of submissions to go through.

I gave up and decided to boot up my playstation and catch up on my games. Before I knew it it was time for dinner. After a good meal and little conversation with my parents I headed to my room to watch tv. Before I knew it, I was drifting off and decided to head to bed.

I forgot all about the form until about a week later. My mom had grabbed the mail and brought it into the dining room to read. I noticed the envelope for the one she was reading was from the city, but I didn’t think anything of it until she looked over at me.

“Samuel Benjamin Waldorf?!?!?! What have you done?” She asked me. You know you’re in trouble when they use your full name. I gave her a quizzical look, not exactly sure what she was talking about.

She turned to my father and started to read the letter out loud. “Thank you for submitting your registration for your dog “Sammy”. It has been approved and ….” She read on for some time and rattled of a bunch of legal jargon I had no hope of understanding. The bottom line was that I was now fully registered and classified as a dog in their system.

And to make matters worse,The letter said my “owners” had Just 72 hours to get me the required vaccines and license or there would be fines and penalties. My parents spent a number of those 72 hours yelling at me for being stupid, and how could I do something like that, all the typical parental things.

Once they had calmed down, they found a customer service number, and celled. The person they talked to tried to be patient and polite with them, but had to keep telling my parents that all registrations were final. Defeated my parents discussed what they should do next.

Since the deadline was looming, and there didn’t seem to be any way to resolve the issue quickly, they decided that I should comply with the mandate.

My mom called the vet, and explained what had happened. After a fairly awkward conversation, on both sides I’m sure, I had an appointment for an exam and shots in the morning. I always hated going to the real doctor, and this wasn’t anymore appealing to me. I tried to get some rest, but I kept tossing and turning.

I must have fallen asleep for at least a few hours, because my mom came into my room, shaking me to wake me up and make sure I was ready in time for the appointment. I was still half in a daze, but I managed to throw some clothes on and make it to the car.

My mom drove me to the vet hospital, which we hadn’t been to since our last cat passed away a few years ago. We went inside, and mom told me to grab a seat while she checked me it.

Mom talked to the receptionist, pointed at me a few times, and was given a clipboard with a stack of forms to fill out. She brought them over to where I was sitting, and sat in the chair next to me.

It seemed like it took her hours to fill out the forms. Every once in a while she would ask me for some detail or other she needed for the form. While she worked I idly look around the office. It hadn’t changed much from the last time we had been here.

When she was finally done, mom took the forms back to the desk and we were led back to an exam room. I was told to disrobe and sit on the examining table. I looked at my mother, and she gave me that look that every kid knows means “don’t you dare argue- just do it.” So i quickly stripped out of my clothes and sat on the table. I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything as cold as that exam table in my life.

A few minuets later, the vet came in a greeted us. He looked at me as said “this must be Sammy.” The vet spent a few minuets looking over the forms and talking to my mother. it felt a little strange to have my medical history talked about like I wasn’t in the room, but I guess that was standard practice for a Vet. Most of their patients didn’t talk back.

It wasn’t long before he stared the exam. He poked me and prodded me all over. He examined my ears, eyes, and mouth. I tried to keep my privates covered and maintain some modesty, but it was no use. He drew several vials of blood for tests, and even used a rectal thermometer to get a temperature. I never felt so humiliated in all my life.

Remember when I said the table was the coldest thing I’d ever felt? Well it was nothing compared to the stethoscope. He most have kept that thing in a liquid nitrogen freezer. I drew in a sharp breath when he put it on my skin and could barely handle it while he listened to my breathing and heart beat. He even reached down and palpated my testicles.

When he was done, he told my mother everything looked good, and he would let her know when the blood work came back. He, jokingly i hoped, suggested neutering me.

He then proceeded to fill several large syringes full of various vaccines. When he was done, my mother, worrying about me as she always does, asked the vet to include a microchip. I never liked needles and almost fainted at the sight of them.

Luckily the Vet was skilled, and I barely noticed as he plunged each one into my skin and injected the liquid. The vet grabbed the microchip and inserted it under my skin between my shoulder blades.

The Vet filled in all the forms and gave them to his tech, who took them to be entered into the computer. He told my mom we could head up front in a few minuets and his receptionist would have the proof of vaccinations and microchip forms ready for us. She thanked him, and he left so I could get dressed.

When we got to the front, everything was ready for us. My mom paid the bill and received a stack of forms i would need for my license. They event threw in a puppy kit with some food, treats and other essentials for me.

Mom took me back to the car, and had me sit in the back. Something I hadn’t done since i was little. She said it was where dogs belonged.I was still sore and embarrassed by the whole thing, so I didn’t feel like arguing. I hopped into the back seat and just enjoyed the ride home.

Once we got home, I gave my parents the passwords and login I had used on the city website, and they sat down to submit the forms and paperwork to get my license. I will give the site this, it may have its flaws, but it sure made the process easy. It only took them about 15 minuets to get everything entered.

They were even able to print out a temporary confirmation until the official form and tags arrived.

I was now officially licensed and registered as my parents pet dog. I thought the worst of my problems were over. Even if we couldn’t get the registration reversed, what harm could it do? Just renew the license every few years, and i would be good right?

It turns out it could do a lot of harm. What had started out as a joke was having serious consequences. My dad had gotten a call from the school district while I was at the vet. They informed it that since I was no longer classified as a human, I was not eligible to be enrolled in school.

Apparently my registration had spread through the other databases connected to the city system. Now all of my official records, even my birth certificate listed me as a canine. Not only was I licensed and registered as a dog, I was legally classified as one as well.

We sat around the table and had lunch, then my parents sent me to my room while they had a little “talk”. We all know what that means. I was in some serious trouble. I sat in my room trying to overhear what they were saying, but it was no use.

They talked for quite a while before I heard one of them leave. I glanced out my window and saw Mom heading to her car. I wondered where she might be going. I didn’t want to make my Dad angry, so I sat on my bed and watched tv until he called me down.

“Sammy”, he said, “Seems like you have gotten yourself into quite a predicament. Since you seem to want to be a dog, and now thanks to your little prank, you are one legally, your mother and I have decided that your role in the family should shift to that of the family pet.”

I couldn’t believe what i was hearing. Did he actually expect me to live as a dog? Sure I was one. legally, for now anyway. We could have that fixed right? this seemed a little extreme.

I took a look at my father. Every kid knows when it’s not worth arguing because your just going to lose and make things so much worse for yourself. Begrudgingly I gave in and said “OK, if you think thats best.”

Dad looked pleased and said “Good boy. Now lets get you out of those silly clothes” I started removing my clothes slowly, but Dad came over and pulled them off a little roughly. Then my Mom stepped over carrying a few bags. I recognized them from our local pet store. She pulled out a collar and fastened it around my neck. She then attached an Id tag that read “Sammy” with our address and their names as my owners.

My mom produced a dog bed from the bags and placed it in a corner of the living room. She then pulled out a pair of metal dog bowls, showing me that she had engraved my name on them. She took those into the kitchen and told me I would be fed there as long as I was a dog.

She had also purchased a few other things every dog needs, Some toys, and a variety of flavors of food, along with a few other essentials. I could tell they were serious about this and I would be filing the role of family pet for the foreseeable future.

I spent the next few days getting used to walking on all fours, being naked, using the bathroom outside, and being taken for walks. They even used some youtube videos to help them teach me basic tricks.

I wasn’t allowed to see my friends, play video games, or watch tv. I spent a lot of my time outside exploring the back yard and the little wooded area behind it. I was never one to spend a lot of time outside before, but I was oddly fascinated by every little thing I found.

After about a week, I decided that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. My parents were spending more time with me, and I enjoyed the attention, and much to my surprise I enjoyed being petted. It was certainly better than going to school.

The more time I spent in the role, the more comfortable I became as a dog. I hardly noticed as my thoughts and behaviors started shifting and becoming more dog like. If my parents noticed, they didn’t say anything.

After about a month, I had fully integrated myself into the role of family pet. I was thinking and acting just like another dog most of the time. This role felt so natural to me now and i decided I wanted to remain my parents dog.

One evening I told my parents that they could stop trying to reverse the registration. Little did I know they had given up weeks ago, and had agreed that they were enjoying having me as a dog, and could see how happy it made me. It was settled. I was now permanently the family pet.

My parents packed up all my human belongings and put them into storage, and hey converted my old bedroom into an office. I was kind of sad about that, but I hadn’t been using it. I had been sleeping exclusively on the dog bed in the living room for weeks now.

Over the next few weeks, something amazing happened. I’m not sure how to explain it, but my body started to change. I began to notice my fingernails turning black and getting longer. My fingers started to shorten, and I developed pads on my hands and feet.

I showed my parents what was happening to me, but they didn’t seem concerned in the slightest. They said I was being silly and told me to go play.

The changes made it so much easier for me to walk around on all four. Soon instead of using my knees I was on my hands and feet. Each night I was eager to head to bed so I could see what changes would happen over night.

The next morning I noticed some new changes. I had started to grow in some yellow fuzz over my body, and my ears seemed to be getting longer. My privates changed shape and attached them selves to my stomach in some kind of sheath.

Over the next couple of days, my fur grew in fully to cover my body, and my ears were long enough to flop over, and had moved up a little on my head. Next I noticed a nub of a tail protruding from my spine. My nose also started turning black.

It wasn’t long before I had a full tail that I could swish around when I was happy. I also developed a full muzzle. I caught a glimpse of my self in the mirror, and marveled at how much I looked like a dog. Some of the proportions were wrong, but It was unmistakable. I was becoming the yellow lab I had registered myself as.

One night I tried to sleep but I couldn’t get comfortable. I kept tossing and turning all night, until finally I felt kind of a snap as my ribcage and other bones shifted and made their final changes.

When I awoke in the morning, I made my way to the mirror only to see a fully transformed yellow lab where a human boy had been not that long ago. I stared at my reflection just long enough to watch my eyes fade from blue to brown and the transformation ended.

I was now fully a dog. I was so happy that i raced to find my parents. It wasn’t hard, my new nose was flooding me with all kinds of information. When I walked into the kitchen, my parents stopped what they were doing and looked me up and down. They looked very happy, and said “Good boy, Sammy”

They seemed to think all this was normal, and that I had always been their dog. Hadn’t i though? I was having trouble remembering that i used to be anything other than their pet.

Oh well, it didn’t matter. I was a good boy. I could feel the memories and thoughts of my former life slowly fading away like melting icebergs, but I didn’t care. I knew I was their faithful dog and that was all that was important.

A little later, my former parents attached a leash to my collar and took me for a walk. I loved the explosion of input from my new senses and the feeling of the grass on my feet.

We spent the day playing fetch and going to the dog park. I was loving life. Of course it wasn’t all fun and games. I still had to go to school. Obedience school that is. I was top of the class and learned each new trick quickly.

The other downside is that my former parents decided to neuter me. Oh well. I wasn’t going to be out dating much anyway. And it was for my own good they told me. Sure I believe that one. It wasn’t so bad except for that cone I had to wear. I swear the other dogs were laughing at me.

I never did find out exactly why I transformed, or even why I registered in the first place. Maybe it was the universe trying to fix a mistake. Maybe it was a sinister AI the city has that can somehow manipulate people. Now I’m starting to sound like a conspiracy theory.

Ah well it really doesn’t matter, I am much happier this way than I ever was as a teenage boy, and my parents seem really happy to have me as their pet.

[paranormal-peri]

heyyyyy!

Not tryin to pressure u but…….

are you okaaaay?! Cuz u we’re working on it and then just stopped everything even posting here for a while!

I hope you’re okay! 🫶

Thank you for asking. I am still working on it, just slowly. School has gotten in the way and made me absolutely exhausted. I wanted to post the new chapter today but didn’t get to finish it.

The fic is by no means cancelled, I am just taking longer to get things done. Expecially since it is October, I tend to get very very busy around this time of year due to a lot of things being planned. I might not post a new chapter till early November because I need to spend any extra time I have to finish my Peri cosplay before Halloween.

HERE IS A TEASER WHILE YOU WAIT:

The fairy braces himself to stand up against the cage walls. He grasp onto the wire, more so than before. Holy Molly Rolly Poly, gravity has hands today. Maybe he could’ve had a better fighting chance if he could have some food.

His struggle was so obvious this time around, there was no hiding it.

“Do all fairies have weak legs or are you just a defect?”

Defect? What? Is he not the “perfectly manufactured collectors toy” for him? Oh, the things he would say to this guy if he didn’t grow up with a filtered mouth.

“When I say to speak, you speak, answer the question.”

“Uhh… You know what? I’m not out of the cage yet, so your rules don’t apply.”

Peri hesitated for a moment at the opening.

He stared down at the table, and then at the floor below it. There was an awkward length parting between the cage base and the table. They didn’t roll it right up against the cage, but it was juuuussst close enough for him to jump on if he pushed himself.

“Here, let me help you out!”

An excited hand reached in.

Slapped away

“No touchie! I can jump out on my own! No need to pick me up like a cat!”

He’s fine, he doesn’t need to be touched or handled anymore than he already has been. This one thing he has the opportunity to do in his own, without force or touch or drugs or shocks. This was his moment.

One two three go!

Face hit metal,

metal of the table, not the floor, a small win, but a performance failure.

He looked up to the audience.

“See? Perfect landing.”

God, His face hurt.

He was out of the cage

with a clear mind.

Boy, did it feel so freeing.

This building pressure from his chest was released.

Released.

Sigh of release- relief.

Oh boy, this is so good! He couldn’t believe they had actually agreed to all this! Oh boy, luck must be on his side today. What else could he get away with?

“Awesome! So uhh… any chance I could have my wand back too?”

“Don’t push it.��

“Fudge cakes. Okay, let’s just get this over with”

The fairy sighed, this time in disappointment.

He shifted to a more comfortable sitting position in the center of the table.

He steadied himself as he the table was moved to the center of the room.

This place felt familiar.

Cake.

He twitched.

They are just going to clean the wound, right? It shouldn’t be too bad.

Same table, same spot.

Bread.

But he wasn’t held down this time, at least not physically.

Keep your cool, Peri, it’s all cool here.

[myveryownfanfiction]

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

tags: @illiana-mystery

chapter 3

warnings: swearing, divorce, suggestive jokes, Roman makes self deprecating jokes (mostly about his weight), smoking 

I tapped my pencil on the desk, staring at the clock and counting down the seconds until I could go on break. A school tour walked in as the clock chimed and I shot out of my seat. Waving to the other receptionist, I headed towards the employee's only door.

"(Y/N)?" I turned when I heard my name called. Roman waved with a smile and I changed direction. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he lifted me off the ground in a hug.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." I whispered. Roman pulled back with a frown. "Bad day. Like really bad. Boss is a jerk. Anyway." I waved it off as I stepped back from him. "What are you doing here?" Roman chuckled and looked behind him. Two little girls were staring at him confused.

"Uh well school trip. I managed to get permission since Kate didn't want to go and they needed one more chaperone or they would cancel." He shrugged, turning back to me. "Figured it would give me some time with my girls." I nodded with a smile.

"I'm happy for you." I said, squeezing his arm. "They'll have fun. Make sure they check out the Ancient Egypt wing. It's really cool. If the girls are as much like me as you say, they'll love it." Roman chuckled.

"Cheap school." He said conspiratorially. "They didn't pay for that." I nodded and looked over at the girls. They stood slightly off from the rest of the kids, watching their dad. "We had to drive the kids down here on our own too. Pay for lunch."

"What time is everyone leaving?" I asked, tearing my eyes away from the girls. Roman smirked.

"Technically, the school says the trip is over in two hours." He said. I nodded, a smile forming. "But they are hosting today as a half day for the kids. They don't have to go back to the school after this."

"So technically speaking you can spend the whole day in the museum if you wanted." I tacked on. Roman nodded. "What are you doing after the tour?" Roman's smirk grew into a smile.

"Nothing." He said. "I have the girls all day. At least until I have to go to work. Then their uncle is going to watch them until Kate can pick them up. But I mean I can call off work if I need to." Roman shrugged. I smiled at him and grabbed his hand.

"Come with me." I said. Roman followed me, checking on the girls and motioning for them to wait a minute. "Hey Shelly. Eric running the school tour?"

"Yep." Shelly answered. "Why? What's up?" She looked at Roman behind me and gave him a small smile.

"When he's done, can you block out some time for me to take Mr. Craig and his girls through whatever they missed? Including the Ancient Egypt wing." I asked. Shelly gave me a look. "Please Shelly. It would mean a lot to me." I let go of Roman's hand to put mine together.

"You know what happened last time." Shelly said. "We both got in trouble." I pouted and leaned over the desk some.

"Come on Shelly. I'll cover you next time you and Eric wanna sneak off." I said. "I'll buy you lunch. I'll pay for your next date. I'll even clean Eric's car. I'll go to one of his gigs. Come on. Please?" Shelly sighed.

"Fine. I'll take the date money and you coming to a gig." Shelly said, typing in the schedule. "But it's your ass on the line. You're never going to get into archives like this kid." I leaned fully over the desk and hugged her, pulling Shelly dangerously close to her computer.

"Oh thank you!" I squealed. "Thank you!" Shelly pried me off her and laughed.

"Alright. Alright." She made a shoo motion at me. "Now go enjoy what's left of your break and I'll let you know when Eric is done." I nodded eagerly and turned back to Roman. He was trying not to laugh as I took his hand again and pulled him away from reception. "You got your hands full with that one Mr. Craig I tell ya!" Shelly called, winking as Roman turned back to look at her.

"You told her about me?" He asked. I nodded, stopping back by the employee door.

"Yeah. Well I mean..." I trailed off. "I don't have many other friends so who was I going to tell about the handsome waiter who was hitting on me?" I shrugged, feeling my cheeks heat up. Roman ducked his head as he blushed.

"Yeah. Well." He chuckled and turned to look at the girls. "I should uh let you get to your break..." Roman looked back at me, cheeks still dusted pink. I nodded and bit my lip.

"Yeah. I'll be at the desk when you guys finish up so..." Roman nodded, glancing at the girls again before smiling at me.

"Ah fuck it." He said, wrapping his arms around my waist. Smiling to myself, I slipped my arms under his and gripped his shoulders. I closed my eyes in bliss as he held me close. "I didn’t want the girls to meet you this way. But I’m glad that they are going to. Doing what you love.” Roman pulled back and cupped my cheeks. I smiled at him and nodded.

“I’ll do my best for a good first impression.” I promised. Roman nodded and leaned in to kiss my forehead.

“I have no doubt you will sweetie.” My cheeks heated up as he gave me another quick hug and ran off to join his girls. He pointed over by me and the girls nodded. Roman waved as Eric led them off and I ducked into the staff room for the last few minutes of my break. After my break, I dived into my work. Eric tapped the top of my computer. I looked up slowly and frowned when he smiled at me, dangling the keys to the ancient Egypt exhibit.

“your cute waiter is waiting for you.” He teased. I rolled my eyes and took the keys from him. “So the kids…”

“don’t bother me.” I said. “Besides mom sounds like a deadbeat. He’s trying his best.”

“hmm so you’re saying if this works out you’re gonna want Shelly and me to hang out a bit more?” Eric added. I gave him a shy smile.

“yeah?” I offered. “Just so they can see a stable relationship and what they should look for.” I said. Eric nodded.

“You two are still in the honeymoon phase.” I nodded. “And you’re worried they might think that’s normal, which it isn’t, or they’re gonna see their mom as…” I nodded, seeing Roman coming over. On either side was a little girl, holding his hands like their lives depended on it.

“thanks Eric.” I squeezed his hand before meeting Roman in the middle of the lobby. “Hi.” I smiled brightly at the girls, watching Roman gently urge them forward. Kneeling down I held out my hands. “I’m (Y/N).” The girls turned to look at Roman and he nodded, a smile on his face. Both girls shook my hand before going to hide behind Roman. He sighed, defeated and shook his head.

“so much for that.” He muttered. Looking at me, his smile returned and he reached down to put his hands on the girls heads. “The one climbing my leg is mara. And the one who thinks she can disappear into my coat is Cara.” Both girls looked up at him, faces scrunched up at being caught. I smiled softly and nodded. “Girls this is the person I told you about. That’s going to give us the tour? That I…” Roman trailed off and looked at me, cheeks turning pink.

“is this the person you keep talking about at the diner?” Cara asked. “The one you think is the most attractive person you’ve ever seen?” Roman turned red before gulping and nodding.

“Yep.” He said. “Even though that was between me and your uncle Chet. This is them.” Mara looked up at me with her eyebrow raised. I bit my lip to stop from laughing. It was like looking at a miniature Roman. The smile had returned to his face as he watched me fight the urge to laugh at him.

“you girls ready to see some cool stuff?” I asked. I held up the keys. “Some mummies and the inside of a tomb perhaps?” The girls perked up and moved away from Roman. I stood up and nodded towards the hallway behind reception. Roman took the girls' hands again and followed me. "So this is all on loan, which means we don't own it. Another museum is letting us borrow it for another week or so." I turned around so I could talk to them while still walking. The girls nodded and I gave them a small smile. I kept my eyes on them as I continued talking. "Some of it will be here permanently since it was donated like the inside of the tomb and a few pieces of jewelry. But those are going to be moved so they don't get sent out by mistake." Roman chuckled.

"That happen before?" He asked. I nodded, pretending to look sheepish.

"Maybe." I said. "Maybe not. I'm not telling. But there's a reason Eric is a tour guide."

"I heard that!" Eric called as he closed the staff door. I sent him a wave and the girls laughed.

"Anyway..." I trailed off as I turned around to unlock the exhibit. "Be very careful girls. From what your dad has told me, there's enough places for the three of us to get in trouble in here. So stick close to me and we'll be just fine." Roman's eyes went wide.

"Uh I think maybe they..." I turned around and gave him a smile.

"It'll be fine Roman. Promise." I said. Roman looked at me then the girls before furrowing his eyebrows.

"I think maybe..." He looked at me again before closing his eyes and nodding. "Alright. You listen to (Y/N) girls. And keep her out of trouble." Gently pushing the girls towards me, Roman took a deep breath. The girls reached for my hands and I smiled a them. I gave Roman a look before entering the exhibit.

"Alright!" I cheered. "So what first? Mummy? Tomb? Jewelry?"

"Mummy!" The girls cheered. I laughed and nodded.

"That's my favorite too." I said. "We've got him in the sarcophagus. But there's a window where you can still see him. And we've got some pictures." We walked over to the sarcophagus and I let go of their hands. Mara tried to jump to see into the window while Cara turned to look at the pictures. Roman stepped up and picked up Mara. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned forward to get a better look.

“(Y/N)?” Cara called. I looked at Roman and he nodded, smiling at Mara as she pointed at something in the window. I walked over and knelt down by Cara. “This picture…” she pointed in front of her. “Why are there things sticking out of him?” I looked over at Roman and he raised his eyebrows. There was a smile on his face as he looked at me. I bit my lip and opened my mouth before closing it. Roman nodded at me and I took a deep breath.

“well uh that’s because they’re…” I chewed on my lip, trying to think of a way to explain mummification to her. Roman laughed and turned back to the mummy with Mara. They started talking as I shot him a glare I knew he could see in the reflection. “Well. When someone chose to become a mummy…uh…Roman help me out.” I turned towards him and frowned. Roman chuckled as he put Mara down and walked over.

“they ripped their guts out and put them in jars.” Roman shrugged. My eyes went wide and the girls nodded, walking off to look at the jars in question. “I’ve always just been up front with them. Kate didn’t like it but they are smart for their age so…” he shrugged again.

“I mean…” I stood up and blinked at him. “It’s not so much that you just flat out told them. It’s more…” I looked over at them, happily inspecting the fake jars we had on display. “You don’t hide much from them do you?” I asked, turning back to Roman with a smile. He shook his head.

“not really. I mean I hid you for a bit. But apparently not well.” Roman agreed. “And hey, I’m sorry for barging in. I had a chance and I took it. It slipped my mind you worked here. I got so excited…” I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

“Roman, I understand. More than you think.” I said, patting his chest. “They’re worth it.” Roman blushed.

“thank you.” He whispered. He took my hand and squeezed. “And if you want to just meet up at the apartment I can still take you to dinner tonight. After Kate picks up the girls.” Roman looked so hopefully that I could help but smile.

“of course.” I said, squeezing his hand back. “I can’t wait.”

[justagalwhowrites]

Bestieeee congrats on 500 followers!!!! 🥹 I’m so happy to have come across your work, it’s been the highlight of my past few months 🪻🪻🪻

could I please request something fluffy / smutty for Joel & Doc - prompt 143 🥺 “Are you trying to turn me on or are you really just that oblivious?”

Love you!!!!

OMG Hi Bestie!

Thank you so so much! I'm so glad these stories have made your life better!

Thank you for sending in this prompt, I hope it's exactly what you're looking for. It's starring pre-outbreak Joel and Doc - AKA the fluffiest, smuttiest pair.

Love you!!

Date Night

You decide to make a nice dinner for Joel. Things don't quite go as planned.

Written from Prompt 143: "Are you trying to turn me on or are you really just that oblivious?"

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader (couple from Lavender)

Warnings: Smut :D Oral (female receiving), unprotected PIV sex (wrap. it. up. kids.) No use of Y/N. Minors DNI 18+ Only.

Length: 1.9k

Late October, 2000

For some reason, everything was going wrong. 

It hadn’t started that way. It had started going really well, actually. Your last class of the week got canceled; Sarah was going straight from school to Lizzy’s house for a slumber party so you and Joel had some alone time; the weather was beautifully cool and crisp, making it the perfect day to spend hours in the kitchen. It was the perfect excuse to have Joel come over for dinner. If that dinner just so happened to be so delicious he took you to bed and fucked you until you couldn’t think straight before you finished eating it, well, so be it. 

But everything after that had steadily gone down hill. You picked up apples to make apple pie, brought them home and found that worms had gotten into three of them so you had to run back to the store. Then, your favorite burner on the stove died. And your apartment lost power for about 20 minutes while the potatoes au gratin were in the oven - though at least it was after the pie was done and you weren’t trying to adjust baking times for your notoriously fussy pie crust. 

You’d intended to have everything just about done by the time Joel came over after work, had planned to have time to get changed into something that didn’t have a flour handprint on the pant leg, had meant to do your makeup. Instead, you were in the kitchen, apron on, hair in a pile on top of your head when he let himself into your apartment. 

“Smells fuckin’ amazing in here,” he said, carrying a bottle of wine into your kitchen. You groaned and he frowned as he pressed a kiss to your temple. “You don’t sound happy to see me, I do something?” 

“No,” you sighed and scrunched your nose. “I’m just way behind, I’ve run into nothing but problems, it’s been just a comedy of errors starring me and my kitchen today…” 

“Here,” he said, setting the wine down and looking around your small kitchen for a moment. He went to the cutting board where you had set out the vegetables for the salad. He unbuttoned the cuffs of his shirt, rolling the sleeves up to his elbows and washing his hands before picking up a knife. “I got this unless there’s somethin’ else that would be better.” 

You just looked at him for as he started chopping a carrot. After a moment he frowned and glanced at you. 

“Really startin’ to think I did somethin’ that I don’t know I did,” he said, looking at you skeptically. 

“Are you trying to turn me on or are you really just that oblivious?” You shook your head and smiled. He smirked. 

“Well, wasn’t trying to but I’ll take what I can get…” 

You went back to getting the green beans ready to go into the oven next to the roast chicken, looking over at Joel cutting vegetables, his forearms looking far better than anyone’s forearms had any right to. 

“You like that thing where you only cut off part of the skin of the cucumber, right?” He asked, glancing over at you. 

“That’s it,” you yanked at the apron tie, the towel you’d tucked into it falling to the floor before you pulled it up and over your head, leaving it on the counter before you grabbed Joel and kissed him, pressing your body against his, your fingers tangling in his hair. He dropped the knife with a clatter to the cutting board as his hands went around to your ass, pulling your hips against his own. You pressed him back toward your bedroom and his hands slid lower, down to your thighs, tugging you up until your legs were wrapped around his waist. He carried you back to your bedroom, setting you on the bed before unbuttoning your jeans and pulling them and your underwear down your legs, tossing them on the floor. 

“Got me starving, Baby,” he kissed up your calf to your knee to your thigh until he reached your slit, his tongue teasing your seam. “And you taste fuckin’ delicious.” 

He flicked your clit, his brown eyes looking up your body to your face until your head dropped back onto the mattress with a desperate moan. You felt him smile against you as his tongue parted your lower lips, plundering your tight, wet hole. 

“Fuck, Joel,” you groaned as his tongue sank into you, his nose pressing into your clit. Your hand went down to find his head, grabbing at his curls as your hips rocked against his face. You couldn’t help it, he felt too damn good. He looped his arms around your thighs, tugging you closer, pressing his tongue deeper into you, devouring you and your wetness, making your back arch and your core tighten around him. 

“C’mon baby,” he panted for breath, thrusting two fingers deep inside you and hooking them into the soft place inside you that he’d made his own. He put his lips to your clit and sucked, making you squirm, your body wound so tight it felt like you were about to snap. He pressed a kiss to your clit and licked it before pulling back ever so slightly. “Want to feel you cum for me…” 

His tongue was back inside you, working in tandem with his fingers as his nose brushed your clit. Your hands flew to the bed, fisting your quilt as you pressed your hips against his face and your orgasm took hold, the urgent, pulsing heat flooding you. He ate you through it, unrelenting, moaning as your slick fell on his tongue. 

When your body went limp, he slid his fingers and tongue from you, wiping his mouth before he pulled off his shirt and unbuttoned his pants, shoving them off his body before kissing up your stomach to your chest to your throat to your mouth, unbuttoning your shirt as he went, his weight settling between your thighs. His hard length was weeping against your slit, the head of him brushing against your swollen clit. 

“Did so good, cummin’ all over me,” he said, kissing you deeply. You could taste yourself on his tongue, mixed with the mint of his toothpaste. You smiled a little at that, that he’d brushed his teeth before coming over. “Want you to do that again while I’m inside you…” 

His lips brushed yours when he spoke and you nodded against him, still needy and desperate. He kissed you as he parted your inner walls, aching and tight in spite of your orgasm. 

“Fuck, Baby,” he groaned as his head met your back wall, your pussy stretched around him. “You feel too damn good…” 

You rocked your hips up against him and he moaned, dropping his head to your chest as your channel gripped him. While he was distracted, you pushed off the bed and rolled him onto his back, keeping him deep inside you as you settled on top of him, straddling his hips. His hands went to your ass, fingers digging into your plush flesh as you pressed yourself down on him. 

“Still don’t know what I did to deserve this,” he said as you tugged off your shirt and cast it aside before unhooking your bra and freeing your breasts. “Fucking hell, Baby…” 

You just smiled down at him, putting your hands on his stomach to balance yourself as you started to rise and fall over his cock. You started slow, coming up far enough that just his head was inside you before taking all of him back into you again. Every stroke stretched you to just shy of the point of pain, his cock making room for him inside of you. You paused every few thrusts, grinding your hips down against his, pushing him almost impossibly deeper, his head catching on the place in you that made your body tighten further. 

His hands went to your waist and he guided you as you rode him, thrusting up against you as your clit pressed down against him, moving faster and harder over him as your orgasm built. 

“Fuck, Baby, you’re fuckin’ gorgeous,” he panted below you. “Fuckin’ perfect, Jesus…” 

“Want you to cum,” you moaned, your cunt gripping him tight. “Want to make you cum…” 

“Just keep doin’ that,” his grip on you tightened. “Won’t be able to stop myself, you keep doin’ that…” 

“Good,” you ground down against him, making his hips stutter below you. “Don’t want you stop, want you to fill me up…” “Fuck, I’m gonna cum,” he pulled you down tight against him and you felt him come apart inside you, his pulsing triggering your own orgasm, making you moan. “You feel so goddamn good.” 

You collapsed on him as your orgasm eased, panting for breath as you kissed him, his spend combining with yours inside of you. He put his arms around you and rolled onto his side, keeping his gradually softening cock within you. 

“Gonna need you to give me some specific notes about what I did to get you to do that,” he teased, his fingers tracing the curve of your hip to your waist. 

“Don’t act like you’ve ever had to try that hard to get me into bed,” you rolled your eyes. 

“Yeah but I’d kill to get you to jump me in the kitchen again,” he kissed your nose. “Sexy as hell…” 

You giggled and pressed yourself closer, kissing his throat, enjoying the afterglow when your smoke alarm went off. 

“Shit!” You all but jumped away from him and grabbed your robe from your bedpost, throwing it on as you ran to the kitchen, waving your hands to try to clear the air around the smoke detector. Smoke was pouring from your oven, the smell of burning chicken thick on the air. You turned off the oven and opened the door, grabbing your oven mitts and pulling out the food, putting it on top of your stove, feeling like you were about to cry. The chicken skin was charcoal black. So were the potatoes. Joel, his jeans back on and his hair a tangled mess, slipped an arm around your waist, tugging you back against him as he pressed his lips to your temple. 

“I’m sorry,” you said, voice thick, oven mitts still on your hands as they hung limply at your sides. “Ugh, I’ve just fucked up everything today…” 

“Definitely didn’t fuck up everything,” he said gently. “C’mon. I know you’ve got some dress I’m gonna want to rip off you the second you put it on, go get changed and I’ll show you off. Make all these other men think I sold my soul to get you on my arm… We’ll get dinner, maybe find a place to hear some music. Promise, it’ll be fun.” 

You laughed a little and looked over at the pie sitting on your table. 

“Well, at least we’ve got dessert,” you sighed, leaning your head back onto him. 

Joel nipped your throat. 

“Damn right we do.” 

You smiled a little and kissed him before going to get changed, picturing Joel with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows again, his cum dripping down your leg. Definitely worth it.

[onstrangerthighs]

I'll Find You (Today, Tomorrow, and Yesterday)

For @billyhargrovebingo

TW: suicidal thoughts

--Chapter One: The Funeral--

He stares anywhere but at the framed picture of a clean-cut Billy Hargrove, dressed in a white button-up shirt, something Steve is sure he wouldn’t have been caught dead wearing. In the photo, Billy’s all teeth, his face pulled taut like a rubber band at its limit. A fake smile if Steve ever saw one.

Did he ever see Billy with a real smile?

Yes. Shirts vs. Skins, that day in gym class. He had worn a tired but cheeky grin, cerulean eyes locked on Steve; a famished lion hungry for a challenge, and then some.

He picks at a loose blue thread— the same shade as his eyes.

Steve’s parents had flown in two days earlier when word reached them about Starcourt. Nothing about what really happened, just the official cover story everyone agreed to tell. The last words Steve spoke before going completely mute were “Billy saved us.”

“That color suits you, son,” his mother said as she straightened his collar, something she hadn’t done since he was ten. They’d actually sat together as a family back then.

He’d looked in the mirror on his way out and couldn’t place why, but he’d gotten a little choked up. Yeah, blue looks good on me.

It looked better on Billy.

“Quite the turn out, huh?” Tommy’s voice is the quietest it’s ever been.

Steve scoffs. School had been canceled so everyone would be able to attend the service, so majority of “grievers” were just happy to get a day off.

“He-uh-liked you.”

The program scrunches up in his tightening grip.

“He asked a bunch of questions, wanted to know all about ‘King Steve’,” Tommy laughs hollowly. “He... really came alive around you.”

A lone tear rebels against Steve’s dry eyes and onto the paper.

“If Billy were here right now, ya know what he’d say?”

You only knew him for a few minutes. Then again, Billy did have this strange effect on people, himself included, where he made such an impression that it was like you’d known him forever. He left you breathless, always wanting more of him.

Tommy goes to hug Steve, but instead settles for a shoulder pat, leaving a space that doesn’t stay empty for long.

Was that what happened when people died? Did they just… get replaced?

As Nancy would say, bullshit. Some holes can never be filled by anyone*.* Billy was a tough act to follow. He wasn’t meant to be replaced. He wasn’t meant to die.

It’s far too sunny for a day like this.

“Max is trying to get her mother out of the bathroom,” El - oh, that’s who’s sitting next to him- says. She holds a tissue box close to her chest and squeezes his fist. “Billy was special to me, too. He was a hero, Steve.”

Look what that got him. He died for a town that didn’t give a shit about him when he was alive. He should be here.

“Sometimes I think he should’ve let the Mind Flayer take me. But that wasn’t who Billy was. He was the hero we all needed, and he never got saved. Mike says I’m one a lot… I don’t think any of us are.”

This girl really is much too wise for her age. If anyone knew the real Billy, it’d be El, who had started calling him her big brother.

“You met him. During basketball. You-” El pauses, looking at him sadly before continuing, “you were one of his happy memories. He didn’t have many.”

If he were alive, maybe I’d be brave enough to tell him he made me happy, too. At least I put a smile on his face, even if it was only for a couple of minutes. It was special to him. Was I-

No. No use in going down that road. If only… I’d known sooner how cruel summer could be to stars in Indiana.

“I’ve got you,” Max assures her wobbly mother as she half-drags her dead weight to their seats. When they pass by Steve, they don’t look at him. Susan smells like she drank an entire liquor store in preparation to face her dead stepson one last time, and when Jonathan leaves his own torn family to offer some help, Max hisses at him, “Help? A little late for that, don’t you think?”

Jonathan opens and closes his mouth, because he really can’t argue otherwise. Neither can Steve. Nancy watches the tense exchange from a distance with haunted eyes.

“We… we didn’t kill him, Steve.” She’d whispered over the phone two nights prior, sounding just as guilty as he felt all the same.

“Yeah? Well, we sure as hell didn’t try to help him, either.”

Before Billy’s coffin is lowered into the ground, everyone gets in line with flowers to lay on it… him. Max goes first, barely holding back tears as she sobs her goodbyes. El abandons Steve’s side to hug Joyce, which is understandable. He’s not exactly the warmest person.

“I can’t do this,” Susan cries loudly, dropping her flower.

“Mom! You promised! You said you would do this for him!” Max pleads, hiccupping.

“None of us should be here.”

“Mom, what are you-”

Susan pulls away from her and kneels down beside the coffin, trembling. “I failed him. He was so young! It’s all my fault! All this damned town’s fault! We killed Billy!”

We killed Billy.

As soon as they arrive home, Steve runs to the bathroom and vomits his breakfast. His parents don’t bother checking on him. They’re probably already gone. Now it’s just him and his guilt. He counts sheep until eventually falling asleep. Every few hours he wakes up screaming for Billy to run. To get back in his Camaro and keep driving.

At 12: 00 am, his own screams scare him awake, and his nailed bat isn’t by his bedside like it usually is.

2: 00 am… he pretty much gives up on getting in the mandatory 8 hours. He hasn’t slept since this whole mess with the Upside Down, when he learned that monsters were real. He stares holes through his ceiling. Billy died not even knowing what the fuck was going on. Why didn’t we tell him? So what if it was supposed to be a secret? He deserved to know.

And yet…

You punched him. Your last words to him were “get out.” You could’ve opened the fridge! You could’ve shown him the creepy ass demo-whatever. You never say the right thing, do you? You’ve wasted words and started fights. So many mistakes.

Oh, and you lied to him about his sister. He looked at you like you were a freak. Now you’re feeling sorry for yourself while he’s seven feet under? Typical.

If I could fix it, trust me, I would!

Gifts won’t bring me back, Harrington.

I know.

2: 45 am, and Steve finally dozes off, praying for the first time since his first communion… begging God to kill him.

[foster-the-world]

Why do I get my hopes up

Remember how I thought they found a special ed provider? Well I was wrong. I signed the authorization form but now there is no start date. Lots of emails, phone calls, no response except "I emailed and haven't heard from them."

Now I have to do the due process hearing tomorrow. I'm glad I had the foresight not to cancel. But I would have prepared a great deal more. Dreading every second of it. Taking unpaid leave off work since I haven't earned leave, yet. Which adds insult to injury.

Also, baby boy had a big outburst yesterday. Knocking over chairs, not listening, etc. He's high energy but this is not normal. He's been doing well in school. Had his parent teacher conference last week- nothing like that mentioned at all. All good reports on his benchmarks - letters, etc. Teacher said "she loved him." A week back she told my husband intelligence wise he's "#1 in the class." Probably not appropriate to say but not bad to hear. Last night we made a big deal out of his bad behavior. Not much we can do but talk to him but we talked a lot. Today we got our first call home about the same bad behavior. He was climbing on the book shelf, running out of the class, threw a milk bottle down. He hasn't done this all year. Nothing at all has changed at home. It's daylight savings time but he still got his normal 12 hours of sleep last night. At a loss for what to do. I told the teacher I could come get him but I'm afraid it would make him do it again. He likes school but his preference is always to be with me. She said they didn't want that. Tonight we tried not mentioning the bad behavior at all. We are wondering if making a big deal out of it somehow perversely makes him do it again. Talking about it certainly didn't help. Not saying its a good idea we just don't know what else to do. He was an angel at home and the playground. Sharing his toys, making new friends, etc, etc.

Emailed the school assistant principal, counselor, teacher, etc. Said we would love to work together to come up with a solution. Cc'd the special ed lady who is supposed to find him providers. Explained in the email they haven't found him providers and hoped that she would provide insight. No response so far. Blah.

If he keeps acting like that at school we will have to pull him out. Its a public school so they can't kick him out (or at least not easily) but we aren't going to let him make his teachers/classmates miserable. They deserve a safe, calm classroom. I guess we would try to find a daytime sitter. We have a few options.

Before that we are thinking we will pay the crazy, insane amount of money for a special ed provider out of pocket if the hearing does not go our way tomorrow. Ten hours per week will cost roughly the same as my take home pay as a full-time nurse. We had talked about paying for four hours - which was more manageable in our budget. But with this kind of behavior that won't be enough. In theory, it will only be for three months.

If I had a really stressful job I would be considering giving it up, if this behavior continues. It seems like a full time job trying to get these services and he could stay home with me until we figure it out. Financially, we could afford for me to stay home another yearish based off the money we made selling our home. However, this job will eventually be a really good job as a parent. There will always be time for me to do some family logistic stuff during the day. At some point I can work from home two days a week. Once sick leave/PTO kicks in I'll have a lot. FMLA benefits are generous. I have a union. In the long run I'm sure I could negotiate time off to figure out his needs if it so requires. Its just a shitty time for all of this to be going down because I only started six weeks ago. Not to mention I want to work. I went to nursing school for a reason. So far, I really like the work. I started trying to get him services last May. How in the world does he still only have a half hour out of the 13 hours he is assigned? Its all so depressing.

[onceuponaloonatic]

misahyo update time! if you haven't caught up on this au, i updated the masterlist for this one (here) so please try to read it in the order it was posted in (at least the misahyo stuff)

tw: anxiety, bullying, anxiety in children

Jihyo sighed as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket again. While she normally tried to be on top of answering her phone, now was absolutely not the time.

“These are our main components of aspects and form when considering sustainable designs, now as you may remember from the assigned reading last night, we have many other considerations in architectural design…” Jihyo willed the persistent buzzing in her pocket. She never really considered herself an overly anxious person, but she could feel her impatience and irritation slowly raising while she lectured. What if her father was hurt? What if Nico had an asthma attack at school? What if Mina was having a bad day? What if Sana was having an anxiety attack? All these thoughts swirled around Jihyo’s mind as she scribbled on the board. Truthfully, lecturing to a class of thirty completely checked out students was about the last place she wanted to be. But, this was her job. And she had to stay on track with her lesson plans.

She just wished the time would go by faster.

Eventually, the buzzing stopped. At first Jihyo was relieved, but that quickly turned to stress as her thoughts got increasingly darker. What if Nico was in the hospital? Her asthma could be quite severe, especially when she was sick. What if her dad was in the hospital? He had no one else to look out for him, and being more than an hour drive away meant that Jihyo wasn’t able to check in on him as much as she would like. What if Mina was pushed to a breaking point? What if Sana was?

Jihyo just wished the words would come out faster, and wished the time would tick by faster. She just wished to be out in the hallway, lecture done for the day, and checking her caller id for whoever was blowing up her phone with calls.

She holds it together through the rest of her lecture, answering questions as best, and as quickly, as she could. The minute Jihyo answers the last question, she starts gathering her stuff. She immediately grabs her phone out of her pocket, and her heart sinks when she notices the calls have all been from Nico’s school. The thought of Nico getting sick, or hurt, or worse just made her feel even worse. Thankfully, she didn’t have any panicked texts from Mina or Sana, but considering they also had classes at the moment, she expected they also hadn’t had the chance to check their phones.

As she’s processing her call history, another call comes through. She immediately answers it, her anxiety peaking as the line connects.

“Hello?”

“Hi, is this Mrs. Park Jihyo?”

“Yes.”

“Hi, I’m Lee Seungmin from Sunshine preschool, and I’m calling about an incident your daughter Nico was involved in today.” Nico wasn’t normally the type to act out, so Jihyo was confused at the call. “We would like for you or another parent or guardian to come by as soon as possible to come speak about her behavior and to come pick her up.”

“I can come now, but it should take me about twenty minutes to get there.” Jihyo checked her watch. It was almost one in the afternoon, which meant she had another two hours before her next class. She could cancel it, but she did worry about keeping to the course schedule.

“Okay, perfect. Could you also possibly bring Nico a change of clothes?” Jihyo became even more confused with the question, but given Nico’s age, she chalked it up to a simple spill or mess. Thankfully, she kept a spare outfit for Nico in her car. It had come in handy more than once, and keeping extra clothes around was one of those parenting tips she refused to thank Nayeon for.

“Sure. Talk to you later.” After a pleasant greeting from the other end, Jihyo settled her stuff and set out. It was a bit of a hike to get back to her car, and her mind spent the entire time coming up with possible reasons Nico would be in trouble. While normally a little angel, Nico could get quite grumpy when she was woken up too early in the morning or from a nap. She could also get a little grumpy when she wasn’t allowed to play outside. She could also be a bit antisocial if Jihyo was honest. Her teacher had expressed concern over Nico multiple times, saying she was struggling to form friendships in her class, and that she was quite shy for her age. But, Jihyo’s dad told her that her teachers said the same thing about her at Nico’s age, so she tried not to worry about it too much.

The entire drive to Nico’s school, Jihyo thinks about all the scenarios Nico could have gotten herself into. Nico seemed normal that morning, so that ruled out the sick possibility. Nico had never gotten into any fights before, but Jihyo supposed there was a first time for everything. It could be another child's fault, and Nico could have just gotten caught in the crossfire. Jihyo really hoped that was the case.

When she got there, Jihyo's finds anxiety weighing heavier on her than usual. She always tried to be the calm one in these kinds of situations, tried to be the one Mina and Sana could rely on. But truthfully, she was just happy they weren't here to see her at the moment. She was barely holding herself together, and that was a terrifying feeling.

Jihyo gets quickly ushered into Nico’s classroom the minute she gets there. Nico’s teacher is there, but her daughter, and all the other kids for that matter, are suspiciously absent.

“Hello Mrs. Park, please take a seat.” Jihyo nodded at the instruction, sitting at the only other adult sized chair in the room. “I’m sorry to have to call you like this, but unfortunately, there was a bit of an, incident, today.”

“An incident?”

“Well… It all started when Minji took Nico’s stuffed polar bear she brings from home during playtime.” Jihyo immediately knows this story is not going to have a good ending. “And well, Nico did not take kindly to that. So she asked for it back, and when Minji said no, she tried to take it back. I was dealing with another student at the time, so I didn't notice it until it had already escalated a bit, but they got into a bit of a physical altercation. I could tell Nico wasn't the aggressor, well at least she was being less violent than Minji, but she was trying to fight back and she did push Minji to the ground. This led to Minji retaliating and she got a pretty good scratch before I could separate the two of them. After, I had a talk with both girls to see what happened and while I was talking to the office about calling their parents, Nico somehow ended up in the little pool of water we set out for the demo one of the teachers was going to do for the kids today.” Well, at least that explained the extra clothes. “Anyway, I wasn't personally there to witness what happened, and Minji said she didn't do it. Nico didn't say anything either, but she’s been quiet since the incident earlier.”

“Thank you for letting me know. I’m sorry she acted that way, she’s never done anything like that before.”

“I tried to explain to her that pushing people wasn't nice, and if someone was doing something she didn't like it was best to ask an adult for help, but I think in this particular case, Nico just felt cornered.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well Minji has always been a bit… Mean to Nico.” Oh no, Jihyo thinks, did her three and a half year old already have a bully? “It's never been physical before, and I’ve tried to step in when I see it happening, but I’m not watching every single child all the time, so there could be incidents that happen behind my back.”

“Wow okay, she's never mentioned anything about it at home.” Jihyo sighed.

“It's been a somewhat recent shift. Minji is fairly new to the school.” The teacher explained. “I have talked with her one on one about being mean to Nico, but she had never done anything. to warrant parent involvement until today. Even then, the school's policy states that any child that hurts another must be disciplined. And since Nico pushed Minji…”

“Yeah, I understand.” Jihyo sighed. “So I need to take her home?”

“Yes, that's the policy. She can return tomorrow, but please bring her in a little early so I can have a discussion with her and Minji about today.”

“Sure.” Jihyo nodded.

“I would like to talk to her with your present a little bit before you leave. I had her wait in the hallway, all the other kids are at recess at the current moment. Let me go get her.”

“Of course.”

Jihyo was not prepared for how absolutely wrecked Nico appeared when the teacher brought her in. Her clothes were soaked, and she had a little towel wrapped around herself to keep her from dripping all over the ground. Her arm had a large bandage around it, and she refused to even look at Jihyo. Once the teacher sat her down next to Jihyo, Nico buried her face in her towel, absolutely refusing to look up at either adult.

“Nico, can you please tell your mama what you did today?”

“Was bad.” Nico muttered it so quietly, Jihyo was surprised she was able to hear it. Her teacher certainly didn't.

“Nico, can you please look at adults when they are talking to you?” Nico nodded, burying herself further into her towel. Jihyo wasn't sure if it was her mom senses, or just a general understanding of how people act when they are upset, but she was immediately alarmed with Nico’s behavior. Nico had never acted like that, even when she was mad or upset, she never refused to look at them. “Nico…”

“Hey buddy.” Jihyo rested one hand on Nico’s back, whispering to her daughter. Nico was trembling under her hand. Jihyo felt the alarm bells get even louder. “Nico, sweetie, it's okay. We just want to talk.” Nico’s shaking got worse, and Jihyo could hear barely contained sobs from her daughter. “I think it's best if I take her home right now.” Jihyo addressed Nico’s teacher, who seemed to have noticed Nico’s distress.

“Yes, I… Do think that's a good idea.” The teacher nodded. “Nico, we can talk tomorrow.” Nico stayed in her little cocoon while Jihyo went to collect her stuff. Once she had Nico’s belongings, she addressed her daughter.

“Nico, it's time to go home.”

“Don't wanna.” Nico mumbled.

“You don't want to?”

“M’ gonna be in trouble.”

“Well maybe a little bit, but not until you are feeling a little bit better.” Jihyo knew she could just pick Nico up and carry her home, but she was scared that would cause Nico to get even worse. “Right now, I promise you won't be in trouble.” Nico didn't say anything, but opened herself up enough to take Jihyo's hand. Jihyo led her first to the bathroom, changing Nico out of her wet clothes as quickly as possible. She left the towel with the other dirty ones, and when she turned back to Nico she had pulled her sweater over her face. Jihyo didn't say anything more, taking Nico’s hand again and guiding her out of the school. Once they are in the car, Nico curls into her car seat, her sweater still on her face as Jihyo starts off home.

Truthfully, she has no idea how to handle this. Nico being unresponsive was new, and she seemed genuinely terrified of something. Whether that was punishment, or her parents, or Minji, Jihyo wasn't sure.

What she was sure of was that something was very very wrong.

When she gets home, Sana and Mina’s cars are both there. She's surprised to say the least, but she guessed they had also gotten calls from Nico’s school.

“Alright buddy, we're home.” Jihyo unbuckled Nico as best she could, gently picking her up to carry her inside. Nico didn't seem angry about it, but she didn't say anything to Jihyo as she carried her inside.

Mina and Sana are both on the couch, worry spelled across their faces. It only intensifies when they see Jihyo.

“Nico?” Sana ran up to them the minute she spotted them. Jihyo could tell she also sensed something was wrong. Mina was right behind her, her beautiful face marred with worry and dark circles. “What happened? Is she hurt? Why is there a bandage on her arm?”

Nico started shaking again as Sana talked. Jihyo’s heart sinks when she realizes they are at least a partial cause in Nico’s distress.

“She’s going to be okay. There was a little incident at school today.” Jihyo made a mental note to explain the situation more later, when Nico wasn't shaking in her arms. “Nico, you aren't in trouble. You can come out now.”

“No!” Nico buried herself further in her sweater.

“Sweetie, are you scared we are going to be mad at you? Cause we’re not, I promise.” Sana gently rubbed Nico’s arm.

“Nico, we just want to help you feel better.” Jihyo added to Sana’s comment.

“I was a bad girl.” Nico muttered. “I was bad and now mommy mama and ka-san and going to get rid of me.”

“What?” Jihyo feels her heart shatter at Nico’s statement. She absolutely never wanted Nico to feel unwanted, and the fact it was coming from them made it even worse. She watched Sana’s face fall, and she could feel Mina tense next to her. “Nico, we are never going to get rid of you.”

“Yes you are.” Nico muttered. “Mommy, mama, and ka-san have a lot, Auntie Momo told me that you guys are busy and I have to be good, and I wasn’t good. I was bad. So I have to go away.” Nico cried. Jihyo heard her breathing get shallower, and immediately handed Nico’s backpack hanging on her arm to Mina. Mina immediately understood, digging into Nico’s backpack for her inhaler.

“Nico, please take a deep breath. We are not going to get rid of you.” Jihyo gently pulled on Nico’s sweater, trying to get her to pop her head out so she could get more air, but Nico resisted.

“Nico please, just look at us.” Sana rested one hand on Nico’s arm, just trying to comfort her. “We would never get rid of you.” Sana’s tone was extremely serious. Jihyo rarely heard her wife that serious, and she was sure Nico wasn't used to it either.

“Even when I’m bad.”

“Yes Nico, even when you are bad.” Jihyo responded.

“We’ve never even thought about it.” Mina added, holding Nico’s inhaler in one hand, tensing when Nico started coughing. When Jihyo tried to pull Nico’s sweater down a second time, she didn't resist. Her face was a mess of tears, and her breathing was shallow, but Jihyo, and she suspected her wives as well, poured all of their love towards Nico.

“We will never ever in one million years get rid of you.” Sana whispered, gently kissing Nico’s forehead. “We love you so much, we will always, always be here for you.”

“Take some deep breaths okay?” Jihyo whispered as Mina moved closer, Nico’s inhaler in one hand. Nico struggled with her breath, tears trickling down her cheeks. Mina moved Nico’s inhaler closer, and the little girl immediately opened her mouth.

“In.” Mina whispered. Nico did as instructed as Mina used her inhaler. None of them could speak as Nico slowly got a better grip on her breathing. Jihyo didn’t know what to say, what to do. All she really felt like was a failure. As a parent, her main job was making sure Nico was safe, healthy, and knew how loved she was. Jihyo felt like she had failed at that. Here her daughter was, panicking that they were going to get rid of her over some minor dispute.

They were all silent as Nico slowly became even again. Jihyo moved them all over to the couch, rubbing a hand on Nico’s back as she slowly calmed down. Once Nico was calm, she laid against Jihyo, utter exhaustion written all over her face.

“Baby, I know your tired, but we just want to know so we can tell them how wrong they were, who told you we would get rid of you?” Sana whispered as she gently drew circles on Nico’s back.

“Minji was telling us that her brother was bad, so her parents had to get rid of him. And she told me that if I was bad, mommy, mama, and ka-san would want to get rid of me too.” Nico explained. “And since mommy, mama, and ka-san are busy, they don't have time to punish me so they are gonna get rid of me if I’m bad.”

“Oh baby.” Sana had a heartbroken look on her face as she tried to comfort Nico. Jihyo felt just about the same. “We are never ever going to be too busy for you. And we would never want to get rid of you.”

“Never ever?”

“Never ever.” Sana confirmed. Nico nodded, seemingly comforted by the reassurance and she settled into Jihyo’s arm. “Why don't you take a little nap, and we can have katsu curry when you wake up.” Nico nodded, her head resting against Jihyo’s shoulder as her eyes closed. It wasn't long until she was asleep, and Jihyo carefully carried her to her bed. Once Nico was settled into bed, Jihyo gave her a kiss to the forehead before leaving to go talk to her wives.

“That was rough.” Sana was the first one to speak up, her head curled into Jihyo’s side as Jihyo wrapped one of her arms around Sana and the other around Mina.

“Your telling me.” Jihyo muttered.

“I-I had no idea she felt like that.” Mina muttered. “Did we do something wrong to make her feel that way.” Jihyo knew Mina well enough to know the unspoken follow up question to that. Did I do something wrong?

“No, I think this Minji girl was the one who got the idea into her head.” Jihyo reassured.

“It does expose some greater issues though…” Sana trailed off. “Well, first, I think we need to take Nico to a therapist. Her reaction was, rough to say the least. It was like she was terrified of us. And while she's always been a sweet girl, I think she has a fear of punishment in general, like worse than most kids. The second is, we need to spend more time with her. Maybe she would have told us about Minji before if we had been around her more often.” That is easier said than done Jihyo internally added to Sana’s statement. She had spent plenty of time with Nico, and she had never mentioned Minji. But, then spending more time with their child was always going to be a good thing. She just hoped Mina and Sana don't start forcing themselves to spend time with Nico when they aren't emotionally ready.

“I do agree about the therapy.” Jihyo left her thought about spending time with Nico out for the time being. Her feelings were too complicated to talk about that at the current moment. “I can ask Nayeon Unnie who they sent the twins and Zumi to. I know they had a lot of success, especially with Jae. I know they were all around Nico’s age when they started.”

“Sounds good.” Sana cuddled closer to Nico. “And Mitang?” Mina looked at Sana at the question. “You did absolutely nothing wrong. Do not blame yourself for this.” Sana spoke before Jihyo could, and all she did was gently squeeze Mina to show her agreement. Tears came to Mina’s eyes as she cuddled closer to Jihyo. “Thank you…” Mina muttered.

“We love you Mitang.” Sana kissed Mina’s hand, holding it across Jihyo’s stomach.

“I love you too Satang, Hyo.” Jihyo smiled, kissing Mina’s head before Sana whined. Jihyo tried to give her the same, but Sana jerked her head up for a kiss on the lips, though it landed more on her cheek. Sana giggled, before moving for a proper kiss. Jihyo pulled away before she could get her tongue in.

“Hornball.” Jihyo teased. “Nico could wake up at any minute and here you are, trying to slip some tongue into an innocent kiss.”

“Guilty as charged.” Sana had a devilish grin on her face. “You know I can't help myself when you are all dressed up for work.”

“Well, save your horiness for later.” Jihyo gently pinched Sana’s nose, causing Mina to erupt into laughs beside her at the interaction. “We have a special dinner to make for a special girl.”

“Boo, you know I’m banned from the kitchen.” Sana poured. “Mitang you want to come upstairs to help me grab… Something?”

“Nope. Not falling for that one.” Mina grinned at Sana, giggling even more as Sana’s kisses started trailing up her arm. “Hey, come on. I’ll temporarily lift your kitchen ban.”

“Really?” Sana asked excitedly. “I get to help Mitang and HyoHyo cook?”

“As long as you don't call me HyoHyo.” Jihyo muttered. “Come on, we have to hurry if we want to be done by the time she gets up.”

xx

After a nice dinner, and a long night of reassuring Nico how loved she was, Jihyo finds herself alone on the balcony. For all Sana’s bravado earlier, she fell asleep quite quickly after Nico is asleep. Mina wasn't far behind her, and while Jihyo had laid with them as they fell asleep, she found herself unable to join them. It was already late, almost midnight as she sat on the freezing cold balcony bundled in her parka, but looking at the night sky was calming her mind, at least a little bit. She was also calmed by the single can of beer she had brought with. She wasn't one for drinking her sorrows away, but she did enjoy a nice drink from time to time.

Jihyo knew the alcohol was the only chance she had at getting to sleep.

She honestly wasn't sure what possessed her to pick up her phone, but she finds herself holding her phone to her ear while the other line rings. She can feel her nerves building, and half of her is tempted to hang up before the other had a chance to answer, but instead she found herself stuck listening to the ringing sound.

Just as she was about to give up, the line connected.

“Jihyo?” Nayeon's voice was quiet, Jihyo’s guessing she was in bed already. “What could possibly need right now?”

“Hey Unnie, could we possibly meet up tomorrow, to… Talk?” Jihyo tried to convey the seriousness of her tone. Nayeon would understand her. She knew she would.

“Is something wrong?” Nayeon’s voice took on a concerned tone. “Do you need me to come over now?”

“No.” Jihyo sighed. “No, we can do this tomorrow with Jeongyeon Unnie.”

“Okay.” Nayeon seemed reassuring. “Yeah, how about lunch tomorrow? I’ll get Jeongyeon to come.”

“Sounds great.” Jihyo nodded. “I’ll see you then?”

“See you.” As the line disconnected, Jihyo stared at the night sky. She had no idea how much longer they could all last like this, but it seemed like the cracks were already starting to show.

[amar-bell]

I ALWAYS COME BACK CHAPTER 9

Gregory jerked out of bed, sweat running down his entire body as he gasped for air. He felt relieved. It had only been a nightmare. He ran a hand through his hair as he let out a small exhale. It had only been a nightmare.

His phone buzzed, and he picked it up to see who texted him, and to also check the time since he didn't have an alarm clock anymore (he could thank Cassie for that).

The message was from Cassie. 'You aren't bunking school today Greg. I'm coming over in ten minutes.' The message had been sent half an hour ago.

'I'm so dead aren't I?'

"GREGORY RAMIREZ!"

'Yup.. I'm dead..'

The door burst open, Cassie walked in, hands on her hip, Vanessa close behind. "I tried to calm her down-" "NOPE." Cassie moved over to him and grabbed his hand in an attempt to drag him off the bed. "I'm done seeing you mope. Done I say! You and I are leaving the house today, and that's final." "I'm not going to school today." "Today is Sunday doofus." "Well, I refuse to leave the house!" "I'm not giving you a choice in the matter!"

Cassie yanked his arm and sent the two of them tumbling to the floor, Cassie on the bottom and Gregory on top. The brunette blushed visibly, giving him a wide-eyed look, while Gregory was sure his face most definitely resembled a tomato. His heart was pounding in his chest, he could feel Cassie's breath on his face and her lips were so close he just wanted to kiss it oh lord-

"So like, when's the wedding?" Gregory was sure he was going to go-kart Roxy in the face for Christmas this year. He groaned quietly and got off of the girl, who was fiddling with her brown hair.

He looked at the doorway where Vanessa, Freddy, and Roxy were laughing, Ness and Freddy had the decency to hide their faces at least, Roxy lacked that entirely.

"We're going out to the zoo." Cassie suddenly declared. "We're going out to the zoo. Period." "Cassie seriously-" "NOPE. WE'RE GOING. PERIOD." "So it's a date?" Roxy asked from the doorway. Cassie simply hid her face and left the room, closely followed by a giggling Roxxanne Wolf.

"Yeah, it's a date," Vanessa said smugly. "Something you'll never get unless you pluck up some damn courage Mom." Luis had never ended up coming the day Cassie came over, Vanessa had canceled the meet-up with him and had never called him back since.

Vanessa flushed as well, before leaving the room with Freddy, leaving a very flustered Gregory behind.

~

"Gregory, come on. She's been waiting for an hour! Certainly picking an outfit can't be that hard?" "How would you know?! You've never been on a date!"

Roxy snickered from outside his bedroom door. "Two comments on Vanessa's dating life, back to back? Someone's in a bad mood."

Gregory wondered which go-kart would be the most optimum choice to break Roxy's face.

"Ugh! Greg, just hurry up!" Vanessa called out, groaning at his indecisiveness. He sighed and looked at the shirts he had laid out, it seemed like he had every color of the rainbow, except purple. (Vanessa had banned purple from this household).

Eventually, he chose a light blue shirt with some dark jeans, paired with a similarly colored jacket. It seemed casual for a trip to the zoo.

Finally, after brushing out his hair, he left the bedroom and went downstairs. Cassie was waiting in the living room, listening to something Freddy was explaining, (who knows, maybe he's explaining to her about fountains).

When she saw him, Cassie stood up and grabbed his arm. "Come on! Let's go!" "Wait! I didn't eat anything-" "We'll eat breakfast outside! Now let's go."

The door shut with a loud BANG.

-

They had stopped at a burger store, after debating for twenty minutes on where to go. They had seen a pizza parlor, but both of them agreed that that was the last place they wanted to go.

Cassie had got some money from her parents to buy some food for herself and Gregory, and so they sat down on a bench together and ate peacefully.

"I've got the whole day planned out. We're going to spend some time at the zoo, and then go to the store to get groceries on Vanessa's request, and then come back home and do homework, because I know you have a lot of backlog." Cassie rambled after finishing her food and tossing the container in a bin.

"When you're sure you're going to die sometime soon, the last thing you have on your mind is homework, Cassie."

"We aren't going to die! We'll find a way out. I'm sure." Cassie stated firmly, before getting up and pulling Gregory up with her.

"Come on. Let's go." "But I haven't finished eating!" "The walk to the zoo will take us fifteen minutes you can eat on the way Greg."

~

(I'm back from my Hiatus! There will be weekly updates of this story, and the next one will be from Cassie's POV!)

[jewwyfeesh]

Please Teach Me! Ritsu-senpai

Writer: 日日日 (Akira)

Character(s): Suou Tsukasa, Isara Mao, Sakuma Ritsu

Translated by: jewwyfeesh

Disclaimer: I translated this story from the CN version of the game, which means that it has been double translated (JP > CN > EN).

Tsukasa: In addition, I overheard some Classmates saying that their grades really did improve when they asked their seniors to tutor them~ or something… like that…

Season: Summer Location: 2-B Classroom

Tsukasa: Senpai! Kindly teach me how to complete my homework!

Ritsu: Eh… I don’t wanna.

Tsukasa: I would never count on you to teach me anything, Ritsu-senpai!

Eh? That’s weird, is Narukami-senpai not around? Isn’t this 2B’s classroom?

Ritsu: Ah~ Nacchan~? …I think they ran off with Secchan for some modeling job.

The both of them are heading home right after work, so they won’t be coming to Knights’ practice later today.

Tsukasa: E-eh? I guess there’s nothing that can be done since it’s for work, but at the very least I should have been notified!

When you all treat me this way, it makes me feel like I’ll forever be regarded as some mere follower or as if I’m looked down upon by the rest of you!

Ritsu: Huh? Did they not tell you about it?

For you to say that… I think there’s been a misunderstanding~ Because when it comes to reporting, contacting and discussing, Secchan’ll see these through till the very end – even to the point of being a pain in everyone’s necks.

Suu~chan, is there a possibility you forgot to check your SNS?

Tsukasa: Erm… I… don’t think so…?

Aahh… there really is a message in there. “Sorry. Today’s practice is cancelled!”

Uuuu… I had turned off my Smartphone during class earlier on, and didn’t notice it as a result! I can’t believe I’ve made such an oversight!

Ritsu: Though, Secchan’s also in the wrong for telling everyone the day of.

He seems to have been forced to take up modelling again recently… Maybe that’s why he’s a lot busier now?

Back to the topic at hand – you said you wanted some help with your homework, right? What happened?

I’ve also said this multiple times – ‘don’t bring trouble here’.

Suu~chan’s always like this… just like the previous ‘Duel’ and the like~…

Without fail, you’d bring something very unnecessary, something troublesome, and or work over~ to be frank with you, it’s bothering me a lot.

Tsukasa: T-that’s because you seniors haven’t been putting in much effort, that’s why I’ve been running after all of you! If you really want me to say it, Ritsu-senpai, then I think you ought to reflect on yourself!

Mao: Hey~ I don’t know what happened, but stop fighting, you two. Aren't both of you unitmates? Y’all should be getting along.

Tsukasa: Uwah!? Y-you’re Trickstar’s… M-Maa~kun? Senpai?

Mao: It seems like you don’t even remember my name clearly… we are kinda like competitors, so please pay more attention to us…

I’m Trickstar’s Isara Mao, I’ll be in your care~ ♪

Tsukasa: I-I can’t be taking care of you! You all are our enemies! Enemies, I’m telling you!!

Ritsu: Hey… Suu~chan, you’re not allowed to talk to my Maa~kun with that kind of tone.

Tsukasa: W-why did you pull a 180 and scold me? Whose side are you actually on, Ritsu-senpai?!

Ritsu: Huhuhu~ It doesn’t matter when, where, why or how, I’ll forever take Maa~kun’s side… ♪

Mao: Let’s not talk about that for the time being.

Yo Suou, you mentioned something about homework earlier on, right… Which parts are you unsure of? If you don’t mind, I could try to help you out?

Tsukasa: E-eh?? Even though I did come here to request help with my homework…

But I’m not in such a dire state that I’d need to go begging our arch-rivals for assistance!

Mao Hm~ We’re currently not in the midst of a performance, so how about we set that aside for now? After all, we’re senior and junior from the same school~

I’d be more than happy to help you out with your homework.

After all, wasn’t there a story about helping your enemy out by giving them some salt[1]?

Tsukasa: Mhm, I know that story. It’s Bushidō, the way of the warrior [2], and shares some similarities with our Knights’ code of chivalry.

But… mhhghfmmg~…?

Mao: Ahaha, if you’re still that unwilling to have me tutor you, then how about letting Ritchan teach you? He’s pretty smart too.

Tsukasa: Ah? Really?

What a surprise… I’d thought that all of his braincells have already died due to his excessive sleeping habits!

Mao: The reverse is true, actually~ He sleeps the whole day away, which often resulted in him playing truant – but to everyone’s surprise, he was only forced to repeat a grade. So, it’s just proof that his grades are up to standard.

Not only is he an outstanding idol, his grades are good too. Isn’t that right, Ritchan~ ♪

Ritsu: Huhu. Being praised by Maa~kun makes me happy ♪

But please spare me from having to teach anyone anything. Because I think it’s too much trouble, and hence I don’t like it.

Mao: Don’t be like that~ You should take care of your adorable juniors every once in a while.

We ‘Trickstar’ are all from the same year, so I’m kinda envious of people who have juniors to dote on.

Ritsu: Be as it may… it’s because your biggest hobby is taking care of other people, Maa~kun…

But I really can’t find any motivation in myself~ I don’t wanna waste unnecessary effort on Suu~chan…

Mao: ……If you’re going to say that, Ritchan, I’ll end up hating you.

Ritsu: Uuuu… Maa~kun’s about to get angry… Why, though? I didn’t do anything wrong…

It’s all your fault, Suu~chan. Tch…

Okaaay, I got it. Even though I think it’s too troublesome, I’ll tutor you. I’d be really sad if Maa~kun really hated me, after all…

Which parts are you unsure about, Suu~chan? Aren’t you better at studying?

Tsukasa: You are correct. If we’re talking about the first year… I am confident that my grades are on the higher side of the spectrum. However, I am unwilling to stop there, and wish to aim for greater heights.

Because the Suou clan has always used ‘Full Speed Ahead’ as our Motto.

In addition, I overheard some Classmates saying that their grades really did improve when they asked their seniors to tutor them~ or something… like that…

That… Um… How do I say this… Hearing everyone talk about their experiences made me a little envious.

That’s why I, too, decided to be a little shameless and ask my seniors to tutor me.

…So, am I still troubling you, Ritsu-senpai?

Ritsu: Uuu~… Don’t do that~ Don’t look at me with those puppy dog eyes… it’s one of my greatest weaknesses… Ugh… Vampires have so many weak spots, it’s really irritating…

I guess I have no choice. I can’t keep on shoving all of my tasks over to other people, and step up every once in a while.

Though lemme warn you — I’m not as gentle as Secchan, so you’d better do some mental preparation.

Tsukasa: Okay. I can’t wait. I’m sure that my hard work will pay off, and that there’ll be a glorious victory awaiting me at the end of this arduous road!

Please don’t hold back. Teach me sternly, Ritsu-senpai ♪

Translator's notes: [1] The original CN term is "敌人送盐，帮助对手一把", which most likely came from the JP term 「敵に塩を送る」.

"敌人送盐，帮助对手一把" literally translated means "Sending salt to the enemy, giving your opponent a hand" -- it comes from a an anecdote during the Japanes war period, where salt, an important raw material, was in short supply. The TLDR of it was one of the enemies (A), upon seeing that their opponent (B) had their supply of salt cut off and was suffering, decided to send some salt over on the grounds that they (A) would rather defeat their opponent (B) in a righteous manner on the battlefield, rather than forcing them in between a rock and a hard place.

There's a CN article about it here.

[2] Bushidō (武士道, "the way of the warrior") is also known as the Samurai code of chivalry; it is a "moral code concerning concerning samurai attitudes, behavior and lifestyle, formalized in the Edo period (1603–1868)" (wiki), and "promoted the importance of loyalty, honor and martial arts. The Bushido philosophy refers to not fearing death and dying for valor." (MAIKOYA)

[fulcrum46]

Fulcrums Comic Reviews, Part 1

I have an addiction, and one I’ve been struggling with for years. It all started a little over 10 years ago, when my aunt bought me my first comic. Since then I’ve had a hunger, an insatiable appetite for what can only be described as men, women, and the third one in spandex doing things no human could or, perhaps, should do. Now, because I am once again bankrupt of ideas, I decided to pull the old “do a Letterboxd but for books in an evil way”, a move that no one has ever done or even thought of before, so there’s no reason to call it old. This one’s gonna be known colloquially as tonal whiplash cause I’m gonna go from saying things I actually sincerely enjoyed to utter and complete nonsense. It’s up to you to decide which is which. Review time!

New Mutants Classic - Chris Claremont, Bob McLeod

The New Mutants were a team I had long been intrigued by, though one that I wanted to read from the very beginning, which, for the uninitiated, is hard to do, at least if you want to do so physically. However after seeing it in a comic shop one day it was an instant get for me. To my surprise, the book immediately became a favourite of mine. The writing feels shockingly unaged, especially considering it was released over 40 years ago. The struggles of the teens in the book felt relevant to today, be that Dani Moonstars issues with grief and trying to stop vaping, Sunspot being bullied by the kids at his school for his skin colour, mutant ability, and his Fortnite account having no skins. The one that resonated with me the most, however, was Cannonball struggling to fill the role of leader as well as trying to quit always being on he dang phone. However, New Mutants is not without its flaws. Its age shows in the last 3 issues, which consist of the new mutants taking a backseat in favour of Marvel editor in chief at the time Jim Shooter being illustrated into the comic in an off puttingly realistic art style with far too many wrinkles and pleading directly to the reader to “please buy these stupid action figures of characters that we made up only to make action figures of them, they aren’t selling and if we don’t sell 80,000 units we’re gonna have to cancel one of Chris Claremont’s 8 books that he’s writing simultaneously” a move that despite my praise for the book, even I can’t defend. That said, I all of a sudden really want to buy an action figure of hit character R. U. Reddy and play with him till I can’t no more.

Batman: Hush - Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee

Despite being (to my recollection) the first Batman comic I’ve read, Batman Hush immediately shot to the top of my ranking of Batman comics and DC comics. It pulls from every corner of The Batman mythos, his childhood and origin, his rogues gallery, his complicated relationship with other heroes, and whatever he’s got going on with Catwoman and serves as a fantastic introduction to the character and the world around him. There is a glaring issue however. When someone whispers in comics, the speech bubble becomes a dotted line and the text inside of it becomes small. Now, I respect a dedication to an artistic vision, but significant text alteration makes me irrationally mad. The choice to have every character whispering was one that should have been vetoed by the editor, despite the name of the book being Hush. It undercuts emotional moments, when Batman is chasing down the Joker after he believes he’s just murdered *redacted for spoilers*, his thought process behind letting the Joker live after everything he’s done is truly one of the best written moments I’ve read, I just wish I didn’t have to break out my magnifying glass and do a Sherlock Holmes cosplay (because how else would one use a magnifying glass) to read it. The art in this book is another thing cementing it as an all time great to me as Jim Lee has long been a favourite artist of mine. In this case I’m almost glad the text is so small, as it allows for a greater appreciation of this art. It’s a double edged sword though as when I was marveling at this art, I absentmindedly held my magnifying glass too close to a sunbeam and it lit the page on fire, resulting in that page being destroyed, so I suppose I’ll never know why Bruce Wayne became Batman because I refuse to google it and there is no other media in which his origin is depicted.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight - Jed MacKay, Alessandro Cappucio

Marc Spector is dead in this one, though the messages and tone of his solo series are continued in an exemplary way in this follow up book, which revolves around the now beloved new Moon Knight supporting cast. All the characters that were written so well and often even introduced in the 2021 series are maintained here. I struggle to even mention standouts as all the characters are written exceptionally well. Even Soldier gets something to do. However, as I mentioned, the aspects of this story that I enjoyed so much originally are emphasized here. With Marc gone, Tigra takes on the role of the self pitying character who won’t ever be loved (by the way she’s got a kid that hasn’t been mentioned in like 20 issues is he like ok?), Reese the one avoiding her feelings and most importantly, like Marc, all the characters depicted come to the realization that therapists are evil and are either supervillains or being paid by the government to spy on you. I look forward to volume two where we will be getting an entire issue dedicated to 8-ball, the former supervillain with a literal giant pool ball for a helmet who Marc almost killed but gave a second chance, the grieving fourth incarnation of Marc’s archnemesis, and Marc’s sentient house that tried to eat him. Only one of those isn’t real. You can guess which one but I’m not spilling you have to read Moon Knight 2021 yourself cause it slaps.

Canary - Scott Snyder, Dan Panosian

I read the last few panels of this with The Ecstasy of Gold from the good, the bad and the ugly score playing and it was transcendental. The way the artist on this one draws skies was weird cause every time it’s a solid colour and is never blue which I just think is a weird thing to do. Very Blood Meridian coded, if you like cowboy time or horror time I highly recommend this, severely underrated

Wonder Woman: Earth One - Grant Morrison, Yanick Paquette

Too woke.

Spider-Man: Kravens Last Hunt - JM DeMatteis, Mike Zeck

Why is it called Kravens LAST hunt if he has a hit movie that comes out after this comic in the SPUMC (Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters) that provided us such hits as Madame Web, Venom, and Morbius in which he will presumably be hunting? Is DeMatteis stupid? This cemented Kraven as a top 3 Spider-Man villain for me and when Sony inevitably bungles that movie I’ll never forgive them.

Wowee! I’m not even done with my stack of comics so there’s gonna be another one of these, hope you’re excited! Also the last part in the New Mutants one is like barely a joke. They derailed the last 3 issues and put in a motorcycle gang called Team America who went off and fought people who hadn’t been in the book up till then cause editorial mandated a crossover story with them to sell more action figures. It didn’t work and the action figure company went out of business. The New Mutants appeared once every five pages or so just so they could still say it was their book. Jim Shooter was a weird guy. R. U. Reddy is also the actual name of the main member of Team America.

[pixeljade]

Man. Looking at the state of the TV animation industry these days sends me into an irrational rage as someone who grew up in the 90s and 00s.

I mean that was an era with two stations dedicated almost entirely to animation (Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network), 3 if you include Toon Disney later on, not to mention original animated blocks on WB, ABC, ABC Family, Fox, and Disney proper; plus you had several preschool stations too. Both Nick and CN had systems where they created small shorts which could turn into bigger series and *put them on the air so viewers could help decide*! Add onto this that you had the massive boom of experimentation brought on by the development of digital animation tools, AND the fact that Anime was being imported all over the place, injecting new ideas into animation, AND you had Adult Swim creating the first dedicated adult animation block...there were COUNTLESS series which are still impacting the zeitgeist today! Even the series which got canceled early became cultural icons, Invader Zim basically built an entire subculture! Animation was EVERYWHERE, and it was new and different every fucking year!

Now TV animation is basically a wasteland. Most animators are saying nothing is getting picked up unless its a reboot or a sequel or a tie-in (even Craig McCracken said his new shows werent getting picked up iirc), and animation studios are shuttered left and right. Even the shows I loved most from this year, Fionna and Cake and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, were rehashes of previous franchises. Even great shows from the horribly short streaming boom are getting deleted unceremoniously from existence! I want to beat David Zalsav to death with my bare fists for what he's done, but he's hardly the only fuckstick CEO who's decided animation 'isnt worth it'. Even Disney feels less and less focused around animation every year, shoveling more franchise slop into our mouths, and cancelling great shows because they're even a little gay. Netflix is still making SOME stuff, but its hard to get excited when its probably not gonna get more than an incredibly short season or two. There's also indie projects here and there, but those are still slow to produce because there's no studio backing most of it.

Idk. Its just extremely upsetting to think that I saw what was probably the peak of the animated industry (at least, for now) come and go. And now so many folks I know and love who went to school for this will be stuck churning out more Spongebob content and never get their own ideas picked up. I do support the indie works to the best of my ability, because I do think that whether you like Hazbin or TADC or not, they're at least healthier for the animation ecosystem than Corporate-Approved Animated Program #201836, BUT i am not exactly missus moneybags over here. Idk. I just miss the old days I guess.

[atinylittlepain]

A note on line graphs, spit, and take and bake croissants

If you couldn't tell, I don't know what I'm doing. Right now, in this liminal space between graduating and Whatever Is Next, it's never been more clear to me how very much I don't know what I'm doing.

I've been out of college for three weeks now, and I've been so depressed for all of these three weeks that my days have turned into a string of small bargains with myself. I feel like there's a fine line between wanting to censor content to protect folks from what could be triggering, and calling a spade a spade. So, a note to take care of yourself, because I'm about to talk about depression, and I'm going to do so in a truthful, and therefore ugly way.

The truth, I've been depressed for a while. The other truth, the last three weeks have brought on a weight and depth of depression I have quite literally never experienced before. On the bad days, I only feel half-real and end the day saying nonsense words out loud to myself to make sure I still have a voice. I get angry and cancel plans and say awful things to people I love. And on the good days, I feel like a child who just got in trouble, all soft and smarting, all raw skin. I speak and I don't like what I say. I write and I don't like what I say on paper either. I've been crying, a lot, all the time, usually in the evening and in bed. I wake up with my eyes crusted shut and a headache most mornings and yes, I think, it makes sense to look as miserable as I feel.

Another truth, I almost backed out of my graduate school admission because I convinced myself I would fail miserably and completely, almost backed out of moving to Austin, the move that is happening in four days, because I had swallowed so much fear that it was, and kind of still is, all that I breathe. That's how little faith I have in myself right now.

Today was one of the better days, a clarity that I haven't had in a while, and I guess that's why I'm writing this, to try to pin that clarity down. Another truth, I don't think it's depression. I think what this really is is mourning, done very shittily.

Mourning a place, sure. Bye, Colorado. Mourning a couple relationships too, friendships that have run their course always sting. But I think more generally I'm just growing out of something right now. My bones hurt and my skin feels tight and I'm growing out of something - a particular time in my life that looked a particular way that is starting to rot, frankly, with how I've tried to cling to it. I don't want to be here, in whatever this is, anymore, and at the same time, I'm afraid to let go of it - does that make any sense? I don't know if it does, I really don't. Something is passing away, that's all I know, and if I don't let it, I'm going to wither with it.

Last week I walked onto my empty undergrad campus and I stood on the steps of the chapel within which I planned the memorial service for my dead friend only a year ago, and I looked around to make sure no one was watching, and I spit on the holy threshold. It didn't feel as good as I thought it would, marginally amusing at best, and then I left. Something got let go of, at the very least.

Today I bargained with the oven - all I had to do was stay for the twenty minutes it took to bake one of those shitty croissants you get in the freezer aisle, and I could do that, and it was simple for those twenty minutes. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've been struggling with time, and how to keep up with it, and how to stop asking for some of it back. I had a therapist who I wanted to throw a lamp at because she was always telling me that my problem is that I get stuck in the past or the future, which, what a fucking therapist thing to say, right? I'm afraid she was right though.

I still don't know what I'm trying to say here - maybe just that things are changing, and I'm trying to let them, and that is easier said than done.

And listen, I don't like being a bummer on here - but also, lately, I don't like being on here, period. I thought I wanted to write fic again and it turns out that was more of me clinging to the corpse of something that just makes me feel sick and shitty. I liked when this space felt like my own and it doesn't feel like that anymore, and maybe that's what I'm trying to accomplish by writing this, just to assert that there is some kind of space somewhere that I can make my own, that doesn't require any bargaining. Who knows, I'll have probably changed my mind by tomorrow morning, but I'll keep you posted, pfft.