#bon has to get that pose from SOMEWHERE you know

[giftplane]

something about eggs and omelettes

[sohannabarberaesque]

Postcards from Snagglepuss

And Myrtle Beach goes Canadian!

Heavens to the Dionne Quintuplets ... it happens to be no less than that mid-winter spectacle of the Grand Strand, otherwise known as Canada Week, coincident with the Winter Halfterm Schools Break Week in Ontario, and probably Quebec, even! And if it's all the same to you, gentle fan and Old Hanna-Barberian, that oh-so-merry, chuckleberry even, Huckleberry Hound and yours truly are not just continuing our winter's sojourn here on the Grand Strand, but also using the opportunity to "meet-and-greet" the many Canadian fans and old friends of ours!!

Even though, admittedly, the Canadian Broadcorping Castration, and its commercial rivals, CTV and Global, has been under Canadian Government pressure to include more Canadian material on the box, in the interest of "promoting Canadian cultural identity," or so the patsy from Ottawa hath it ... but still, Teletoon Retro, the Canadian equivalent of the old Boomerang here stateside, can sometimes air the old Hanna-Barbera schtick.

=============

"O Canada! Our Home and Native Land!" ... and all that jazz!

And you just couldn't believe all the Canadian number plates on the cars of visitors, especially from Ontario and Quebec, and maybe a few from the Maritimes, on the South Carolina coast ... and trying to find one as doesn't overdo it on the Canadian equivalent of a "vanifesto" in its sheer tackiness of prolefeeding along Ocean Boulevard!

But still, with Canada Week on, many Canadians of an older generation couldn't resist spotting our presence as unofficial ambassadors of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera, and even posing for selfies to share back in Hamilton ... Etobicoke ... Parry Sound ... St.-Jean-sur-Richelieu, even! (Oh, and let's not forget Sault Ste. Marie; we can't forget Sault Ste. Marie....)

And for some reason, Canadians can't resist the old donuts and coffee as a stimulant to get through the day, caffeine and sugar in a somewhat quixotic energy boost--even if it's more likely to be Dunkin rather than that Canadian stalwart, Tim Horton's. In fact, a middle-age couple from somewhere near the Ontario Cottage Country stumbled upon us in a Myrtle Beach coffee shop early one morning, sharing donuts and coffee--and a couple of Nanaimo Bars (which, know, are named for the town of their creation--Nanaimo, British Columbia, on Vancouver Island even!)--as well as some conversation most unpredictable. Which, for some reason, had to include a French-Canadian wolf by name of Loopy De Loop.

"The whom," as I explained it, "was trying to correct all manner of negative publicity long directed at wolves by example."

Huck chimed in, "He liked to call himself 'ze good wolf.'"

"Only," I added, "to become his own worst joke. Getting the proverbial last laugh, even!"

Which had the couple asking what had become of Loopy of late, to which I noted that he had become one with a SCUBA-diving crew led by Peter Potamus. "You may have seen their videos," Huckleberry Hound remarked.

"I think I have, on occasion," explained the husband.

To which I mentioned where Loopy had become, along with Hokey Wolf and Mildew Wolf, "breakout" stars of the diving world, even with their own diving escapades. "As well as Loopy's somewhat cheeky nephew, Bon-Bon," added I, "and Hokey's stepson, Ding-a-Ling."

The wife of the pair was somewhat stunned.

But none the more so when "ze good wolf" "himself," Loopy De Loop, turned up in his trademark tuque and scarf, forever trying to look a little sophisticated for a wolf originally from the Saugenay-Lac-St.-Jean region of Quebec. And even Huckleberry Hound was quite surprised when such a crazy lupine sat himself down close to us, the Canadian visitors not even being scared at such a presence.

"So who did you expect exactly, Mildew Wolf?" was how Loopy made himself known. "Anyhow, care for a poutine party later on at my beach house?"

"Not a bad idea, Loopy" was how Huck replied.

"Likewise," replied I.

"The reason I decided to so invite you," Loopy remarked, "was for the sake of inviting you to join our motley little lupine diving company over spring break."

"And let me guess," asked I, "down in the Keys."

"However did you know?" was how Loopy rejoindered.

After shrugging our shoulders in suggesting that the guess was just dumb luck, Huck and I were glad to accept the invite. For which more will be laid on in the next such missive.

*************

@warnerbrosentertainment @restroom @theweekenddigest @railguner34 @archive-archives @themineralyoucrave @joey-gatorman @princessgalaxy505 @thylordshipofbutts @screamingtoosoftly @warnerbros-blog1 @jellystone-enjoyer @tallcharlie @xdiver71 @warnerbrosent-blog

[onestowatch]

19 LGBTQIA+ Artists You Need to Listen to This PRIDE

PRIDE is all about self-empowerment and self-determination. It’s about not just being comfortable with who you are but showing the world that there is pride to be found in being unapologetically you. And that’s why, this PRIDE, we wanted to shine a light on a small handful of our favorite LGBTQIA+ artists. Ranging from rapturous hyperpop, revelatory bossa nova meditations, romantic rave music, and everywhere in between, these are 19 LGBTQIA+ artists who deserve a spot on your PRIDE playlist and every playlist for that matter. 

girl in red

In her debut single, “i wanna be your girlfriend,” a teenage girl in red unapologetically sings of young queer love over a mesh of lofi production and jangly instrumentation that would come to define much of the bedroom pop genre. It is a standout moment of unrelenting honesty, and a serenely simple three-minute confession that would go on to strike a chord with millions who were afraid of what it meant to be something more than friends. Now, a few years later and following the release of her critically-acclaimed debut album, if i could make it go quiet, Ulven still writes with that same emotional honesty, putting forth every ounce of herself for the world to see. 

Meet Me @ The Altar

“the little lonely black alt girl i was in the 00s is living rn, she never even dared to hope she might see this 💖💖,” reads the top comment on Meet Me @ The Altar’s music video for their single “Garden.” It is a sentiment shared by much of the rising band’s fanbase, who are used to the mainstream alternative scene championing cis white males. Existing in the space between pop-punk and hardcore, Meet Me @ The Altar exists to challenge the notion that queer women of color don’t have a place in punk. And after penning a record deal with Fueled By Ramen, home to the likes of Paramore, Panic! at the Disco, and nearly every pop-punk band that made up your middle school playlist, chances are this is just the beginning for our new favorite punks.

THE BLOSSOM

For Lily Lizotte, better known as THE BLOSSOM, music exists as the synthesis and subsequent recontextualization of a host of past experiences. From the sound of their dad belting away in his home studio to stumbling upon niche Internet subgenres, THE BLOSSOM transforms all this and more into a sound that is instantly recognizable but impossible to perfectly place. The culmination of this host of influences takes sweeping sonic form on their debut EP, ‘97 BLOSSOM, a perfectly imperfect introduction to one of the most fascinating rising artists of recent memory.

BIMINI

You may recognize BIMINI as Bimini Bon-Boulash, the runner-up on the second season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. And now you should familiarize yourself with Bimini, brit-pop extraordinaire. Releasing their debut single “God Save This Queen” earlier this June, Bimini deftly channels late ‘90s brit-pop and punk to deliver a single that has us absolutely living for the ensuing chaos. Serving up multiple looks throughout its eye-catching music video, “God Save This Queen” is not just a non-binary anthem but a veritable 2021 lookbook.

Hope Tala

With a sound that falls somewhere between turn-of-the-century R&B and bossa nova, Hope Tala’s music is expectedly a dream given sonic form. Perhaps that’s why much of the UK singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist’s music is able to so deftly weave imagery of love, heartache, and teenage fistfights into tightknit tracks that feel simultaneously transcendental and deeply personal. And with the release of her 2020 EP, Girl Eats the Sun, Hope Tala poses one all-important question, “Why have a life if you’re not going to do something crazy and make a difference in the world?” 

chloe moriondo

For much of chloe moriondo’s avid fanbase, watching her transform from budding ukulele sensation to pop-punk phenom very much meant watching her grow up. Getting her start on YouTube, moriondo's fanbase witnessed her evolve as both an artist and person. Coming out in the aptly titled “a ramble about self identity, growth, and being a lesbian,” to be a fan of the artist often feels like trading secrets with a close personal friend. It is a sentiment that rings all the more true upon delving into her debut album, Blood Bunny. Grappling with coming-of-age at the axis of empathic pop and euphoric pop-punk, Blood Bunny sees moriondo taking yet another impressive step forward.

Godford

Little is known about Godford beyond what can be garnered from a handful of interviews online and his succinct Spotify bio, and chances are he’s happier that way. The anonymous DJ and producer aims to make non-binary music that exists outside of the confines of genres, overly-simplified classifications, and even himself. What is important are the emotions his music hold and what his listeners take away. Fusing romanticism and rave in his debut album, Godford: Non Binary Place, the anonymous artist does just that. He provides a space that exists simultaneously everywhere and nowhere, like an ephemeral night spent out on the dancefloor with a stranger or close friend.

Joy Oladokun

Joy Oladokun is at the core of her music. It may at first glance appear to be a painfully obvious statement, but as her sincere songwriting seeps into every corner of your soul, it is a notion that becomes undeniable. In her major label debut, in defense of my own happiness, Oladokun writes with an unabashed authenticity, never turning a blind eye to the world around her. These shared reflections and recollections of life are often heartbreaking and uplifting in the same breath, but in their candidness, we can begin to piece together what it means to be human, imperfections and all.  

Allison Ponthier

Allison Ponthier may only have a handful of singles to her name, but her unmatched potential is clear as day. Raised in the outskirts of Dallas, Texas, Ponthier’s moving songwriting and emphatic vocal prowess speak to her country roots. Pair that country sensibility with some of the most pristine pop songwriting we have heard in quite some time, and you begin to understand just how exciting Ponthier is as a rising artist. With only two singles to date, there’s not much else we can say beyond do yourself a favor and play “Cowboy” on repeat.

Rina Sawayama

It feels like no hyperbole to call Rina Sawayama an inevitable pop icon. First garnering critical acclaim with singles like “Cherry” and her 2017 debut EP RINA, the Japanese-British singer-songwriter staked her name on her immaculate ability to capture all the glamour and larger-than-life appeal of early ‘00s pop. Building on what was a nostalgic yet forward-thinking vision, Sawayama returned with her 2020 eponymous full-length debut. From nu-metal, club beats, to veritable pop anthems, SAWAYAMA emerged as a genre-defying showcase of an avant-garde pop star.

Arlo Parks

Listening to Arlo Parks’ music is akin to sipping on a hot cup of chamomile tea as you watch the world slowly pass by your living room window. It is a testament to the British poet and singer-songwriter’s subtle yet beautiful way with words, the way in which each lyric serves as a glance into a tightly-held memory or passing observation. These poetic musings come to life in her debut album, Collapsed In Sunbeams, which layers lyrical revelations over some of the most tender R&B of recent memory. Parks’ is more than a must-listen; she feels like the birth of a new wave.

Claud

Claud has spent the past few years making a name for themselves in the indie pop world, and the culmination of it all arrives in their debut album, Super Monster. The acclaimed album sees Claud reckoning with coming-of-age and love with an irresistible charm. Pair that with a penchant for grounded, affective songwriting and infectious, dreamlike melodies and you have one of the best debuts of recent memory. In case you somehow need any further convincing that Claud is one to watch, Super Monster marks the debut release from Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records.

UMI

Equally as inspired by R&B and neo-soul as she is by her generation’s penchant for blurring genre lines, UMI and her music exist as a form of spiritual healing. Half-Black and half-Japanese, her work explores everything from identity to self-introspection, such as on the aptly-titled Introspection. It is a fondness for self-exploration that UMI delves headfirst into on her 2019 EP Love Language, a sublime blend of identity struggles, love, and anime that tackles the issue of always feeling like an other, never Black or Japanese enough.

Joesef

Sad boy summer. It’s the simplest way to being explaining Joesef’s serene albeit somber sound. Emerging out of Glasgow, the quickly rising star often wears his still bleeding heart on his sleeve, even when the underlying sonics seem to be moving onto greener pastures. It is an exquisite balancing act that comes to life on his 2020 EP, Does It Make You Feel Good?. Blending elements of soft-spoken R&B, jazz, and ethereal pop, Joesef sets himself apart as an artist whose influences and appeal know no bounds.

Serena Isioma

At the top of the year, we named Serena Isioma one of our top artists to watch in the year to come, and for good reason. The self-proclaimed “nonbinary rock star” experienced a breakout moment with “Sensitive,” a track that is difficult to perfectly encapsulate but think along the lines of fusing modern-day R&B and woozy indie-pop with reckless abandon, and you’ll be about halfway there. It was an impressive standout track that was only buoyed by a pair of EPs, Sensitive and The Leo Sun Sets, in 2020, officially cementing Isioma as an artist like no other.

Khai Dreams

Khai Dreams’ music is effortlessly easygoing. With its straightforward guitar lines and understated production, every track from the Pacific Northwest singer-songwriter flows out as naturally as breathing. Maybe it’s that laid-back approach that begins to explains Khai Dreams’ universal appeal and millions of monthly listeners, despite releasing most of his music independently. A hallmark of the DIY generation and its massive homebrewed potential, it would be a crying shame if you didn’t let Khai Dream’s serene meditations transport you somewhere far from here.

Frances Forever

Like much of their Gen Z cohorts, Frances Forever’s exponential rise was not the result of a well-executed marketing plan but by the pure chance of a single song finding a home online. The song in question, “Space Girl,” was originally part of NPR’s Tiny Desk Content before soon blowing up on TikTok, and it’s not hard to see why. Short, sweet, and to the point, “Space Girl” is a saccharine love letter to that bubbly feeling of floating on cloud nine. Now signed to Mom+Pop and with their debut EP, Paranoia Party, due out later this year, this is the perfect time to get familiar with Frances Forever.

Dorian Electra

Unapologetically playing with gender norms and stereotypes while seeing just how far they can push the limits of pop, Dorian Electra has long maintained a cult following in the world of experimental, highly addictive hyperpop. And it’s not hard to see why. Having collaborated with the likes of Charli XCX, 100 gecs, Village People, Pussy Riot, Rebecca Black, and more, Electra’s music ranges from off-the-rails hyperpop to introspective pop slow burns. All of this and more reaches a fever pitch in their 2020 album My Agenda, a devious showcasing of one of pop’s most explosive figures.

MAY-A

Maya Cumming, professionally known as MAY-A, is no stranger to the hustle it takes to make it in the music industry. The Australian artist got her start entering numerous singing competitions in her hometown of Byron Bay and started busking on the streets at the tender age of 11. Now, she has a breakout single under her belt in the form of “Apricots,” an anthemic indie-pop ode to queer love. And since that breakout moment, MAY-A has continued to release impressive single after single—the latest being the collaborative “American Dream.”

[daydream-believin]

The Never-Ending Roadtrip (waffles)

summary: (part 1) or (part 5) <- reader joins douxie on his quest to protect nari. he’ll need company wont he. (part 6) do you like waffles? also appalachia and nj trollmarket fun. next-> (part 7)

warnings: swearing, fem! reader, maybe an alcohol mention, proof reading is for squares yo

word count: 3875

a/n: i’m sorry to anyone from PA but wtf. i also have no idea why this turned out the way it did. bon apetit.

no gif im trying to test something

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Y/n looked over at Douxie. The blue of his hair was starting to fade into a duller hue. While not as bright and bold as his personality, it was still very nice to look at. This muted blue was softer, almost comforting in a way. Y/n found herself running her fingers through it. It wasn’t just the color that was soft. Like feathers in her hand, she gently caressed the strands. The duller color made him look tired, older, and the permanent bags under his eyes didn’t help. She placed her hand on his face and ran her thumb over a said eye bag. He gave her a very subdued smile in return. His sunken eyes were so beautiful. Her favorite color. Or colors, one should say. They were like an earth toned opal. Y/n’s hand drifted down his face. She used her thumb to explore his cheekbones, tracing constellations in his freckles, and finally settled on his mouth, tracing his cupid’s bow. Douxie couldn’t help but break the stoic face he was trying to hold.

“As much as I hate to ask this, and I really do, but will you please cease what you’re doing, My Love. I’m trying to drive here.”

“Yes, I would also like to ask you to stop, miss L/n. Not wrecking the ship is worth you canning your pda for a while.” Archie added.

Y/n pulled her hand back and exaggeratedly pouted. She teasingly stuck her tongue out at Archie for good measure, but couldn’t help but dissolve into a snicker right after so it wasn’t very effective. But really, it wasn’t her fault that Douxie’s beautifully sculpted face was right there and demanding to be touched. She tried to distract herself by focusing on the scenery around them. North Pennsylvania was delightful, so it’d be a shame if she spent the whole time that they flew through it looking at nothing but Douxie. There was plenty of time for her to do that the rest of her life. It’s not like she didn’t have every freckle memorized already. Every single adorable little dot. Right, Pennsylvania. Appalachia. Y/n was a little disappointed they didn’t manage to go through West Virginia, being as north as they were. She really wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Country roads.

The mountains were hard to transverse through, so Douxie took the boat up high in the clouds. A little too high. The oxygen was thin. While this didn’t affect Archie the dragon or Nari the plant goddess, Douxie and Y/n were getting a bit woozy. Neither would get altitude sickness to the point of dying, thanks to that good ol’ curse of immortality, but their minds weren’t exactly operating at high speeds here. They passed through a low hanging cloud in a puff of fog.

Though they were over it, just being in the range of Appalachia felt odd. There was a presence that clung to the mountains. Even flying high up in the air, one felt as though they were being watched. Like the thousand eyes of the forest were upon them. Looking down below, hanging over the edge like Douxie hated her to do, Y/n saw a herd of deer that might as well be ants. Watching over the herd was a bigger, or maybe closer, stag on a peak of some sort. His antlers were covered in crimson. Y/n hoped he was just shedding.

There were pathways cutting through the trees below, some roads, some manmade trails, some rivers, some troll trails, and some deer trails. Some that wound around in endless curves, some that seemed to start from nowhere and stop at nothing, some that went round and round in a circle, and some that crossed over each other, effectively creating a maze of sorts. Y/n didn’t know why, but she was glad she was above the trees and not in them. Something within her gut told her that as beautiful as the scenery was, she did not wish to experience it first-hand. The deer below were beautiful, but there was something not quite right about them. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to turn down a game of ninepins either, and she could really go for a drink.

Douxie’s brain may have been foggy, but he could certainly see Y/n hanging over the edge again, tantalizing him. He couldn’t help but imagine 174 ways for it to end badly. He’d been pretty passive about this before but now that they were so high up, he had no choice but to be up front now.

“Y/n, My Love,” Y/n turned her attention to him, which also pulled her weight more towards the boat than the sky. Good. “do you mind being back near the center of the ship? I really don’t like you draping yourself over the railing like that.”

Y/n was getting sick and tired of people always trying to keep her away from edges, advising her not to climb the mountain, telling her to stay inside when there was only a light rainstorm. She could handle it. She wasn’t a fucking porcelain doll. She was not wearing a fancy gown that suffocated her, she could speak, her lips were not perfectly painted on. And she wouldn’t shatter. “Relax, Dewdrop. I’m fine. I’m not just gonna go skydiving for kicks. If anyone has had a penchant for falling through the sky recently, it’s been you, Hisirdoux. I can catch myself with anti-gravity spells, like you taught me. Besides, we walk across tall, crumbly, ancient non-osha compliant walkways all the time. You never had a problem then.”

“Well,” He huffed, “it would be one thing if I was there next to you, but I’m not, so could you please just try to stay safe when I can’t reach you?” Y/n was taken about at how quick his tone went from annoyed to desperate. She furrowed her brows. Doux sighed, “Look, it frightens me, okay. I know that nothing will happen, but what if it does? I can’t- I can’t lose you.” His tone got even feebler in his pleading. “And there’s so many ways to lose you. Especially with the Order on our tails. Please, just give me this peace of mind for at least one thing.”

Y/n stepped away from the railing, crossing over to Douxie. He opened his arm and she nestled into his side. Pressing her head against his chest, she mumbled, “Absolutely. I’ll just—I’ll just stay here then. Next to you. I’m sorry I worried you. That was the last thing I wanted to do.”

He leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. “Thank you, My Darling.”

~ ~ ~

The dipped down south to go through the top of Maryland and completely through Delaware to get to the south of New Jersey, in place of just going through Philadelphia. The city of brotherly love was not on the itinerary.  Philly, and the top of New Jersey, were just too densely populated to take a magic boat through. The airspace was filled with airplanes and skyscrapers. It was easier to go the roundabout way.

As they passed between Philly and Lancaster, they went by fantastically named towns such as Paradise the city, where the girls are pretty, Bird In Hand, Blue Ball, and Intercourse. Stellar. Y/n was starting to really like Pennsylvania. It was cursed ground. She made sure to get photographic evidence of every road sign. Douxie was happy to pose with them.

They took a pit stop in a town called Peach Bottom before leaving Pennsylvania. Y/n wanted to go through New Texas, since she was curious how somewhere in the original colonies could be a new Texas, but Nari could sense a river nearby, and wanted to seek it out. Peach Bottom. It was a cozy little town with a power plant that was dumping it’s waste into the riverside it was built on. Toxic river. Fun. Y/n made Douxie explain to Nari why she couldn’t get near the river or touch any of the water. Y/n wouldn’t have been able to stay as calm as Douxie could. There was nothing happening in the rural Pennsylvanian town. Nothing special about it unless you counted their countless nuclear admissions. The locals didn’t care for strangers, and that was alright with them cause they didn’t want to be here for any more than necessary for a restroom break. Dinner could wait.

The top of Maryland was great. Lots of rivers to make it up to Nari. There was just, an incredibly large walmart near the line. Just absolutely humongous whopper walmart. A leach whose name doesn’t even deserve to be capitalized, thank you very much autocorrect.

It took less than half an hour to fly right through the top of Delaware. Hi Delaware, bye Delaware.

Soon they were on the coast of south New Jersey, headed for a sleepy town called Monty. Monty was a town along the Cohansey, split across it with quite an impressive bridge between the two sides. As soon as the bridge became visible on the skyline, Y/n grabbed Douxie’s sleeve and tugged excitedly. She looked up at him with a big smile. Rest. At last, they were going to get to rest. Y/n made herself busy calling Jim to let him know that they were there so he could call someone else to let them know that they were there and to wait by the entrance for them. Neither Douxie nor Y/n had a horngazzle on them at the moment. Y/n had had one in her possession back in Arcadia, being book club buddies with Blinky, but alas that was destroyed along with their bookstore.

They hid that damn magic boat in the forest. While they did plan on staying with the trolls for a few weeks, Douxie didn’t put it back in its glass bottle quite yet, cause they were in fact taking it into New York not tomorrow but the next day. He covered the ground around it with a few more wards than necessary. Y/n threw up an illusion spell around it, as she had been all the other times they’d just left it in the woods, and thought the wards were overkill but didn’t say anything. They started on the trek to the base of the bridge.

The troll at the entrance greeted them cordially. He was a dark green color, with two massive horns resembling those of a longhorn cow, chiseled stone tattoos, and no clothes other than a tiny loincloth which made everyone but Nari uncomfortable. He let them in with flourish, as if he’d always wanted to do this and practiced it.

“Welcome to NEW JERSEY TROLLMARKET.”

Y/n was surprised at how well the town had come along within the two months the trolls had occupied the cavern. It wasn’t the Trollmarket she had known, there was no Blinky and no library, but still marvelous. The new hearthstone glowed warmly, very much alive and not making zombies. While looking pretty similar to the old Trollmarket, with a multitude of shops and homes carved into the mineral covered walls and formations, there was a sort of human touch to it now. Claire definitely had a hand in the planning and maybe the decorative features too. Or perhaps Jim. Y/n wouldn’t put it past the boy to be the one who designed the very elaborate crystal art flower bed she was looking at. Or that weirdly steampunk bridge. Funny thing, a bridge under a bridge.

Dictatious met them soon after they came in to show them around and to where they would be staying. The tour he gave them basically just included him walking them through the main street, waving his arms to various places and vaguely saying that they were shops but not what they sold, pointing out the pub, and then took them straight to their accommodations. Since the home that had been occupied by Blinky, Jim, and Claire was now empty, they’d be staying there, with the place practically to themselves. Dictatious also lived in said home, but rarely stuck around it for long now that his brother was gone.

“Alright, here’s your nest.”

Since Dictatious still slept in the nest that he shared with Blinky, he had given them Jim and Claire’s. The nests were just rocky bowls carved into the floor of the room, with a few comfort items. Thankfully, Jim and Claire had left theirs full of pillows and a couple thick cushions they must have taken from a couch. Unconventional, but better than sleeping on literal solid rock. Speaking of couches, there were way too many couches spread across the apartment. This entire place only had two rooms, a large living area and a nestroom, and yet there were five couches. Not to mention the extra-large easy chair Dic was currently lounging in. Okay, so one of said couches was technically a love seat, but still. There was no kitchen, which was surprising due to this being Jim Lake Jr’s home, and no table besides the one that three of the sofas were gathered around and a paper-covered work desk against a corner. There were glowing crystal lamps all throughout, lighting the house. All in all, interesting interior design decisions. The kids had definitely been trying to make it a more homey human dwelling but had limited options.

Nari nestled into the nest, happy that there were no blankets to smother her. Not even a minute passed and she was out like a light. Douxie and Y/n sat on one of the couches in the nestroom, watching the veggie lady snooze. Archie made himself comfy in Douxie’s lap, who absent mindedly stroked his familiar’s fur. They were underground now. Surrounded by inorganic matter. Some of that inorganic matter could fight, would be willing to fight, would probably be disappointed if there wasn’t a fight. The little devil on Douxie’s shoulder wasn’t really having to work hard. His stomach growled. They had opted to just not stop for dinner in favor of plowing right through their trip route. It was late, and dark, and Douxie really just wanted them to have a roof over their head before midnight. And now they did.

He looked over at Y/n. They had been a couple for an entire day now and he had yet to take her on a proper date. What a bad boyfriend he was. It’s not like Archie would want to come with them or anything either, since he filled himself with birds that didn’t know what hit them while they traveled. The dragon had even caught a hawk at one point, which wasn’t as impressive as it sounds, since Archie was a much faster flyer. He would be happy to watch Nari for them, surely. And Dic had given them a horngazzle so they could come and go as they pleased. It was settled then.

“Arch, watch Nari for us, please, we’ll be back in a pinch,” He grabbed Y/n’s hand to pull her off the couch, “C’mon, My Love, we’re going on a date.”

~ ~ ~

Turns out the only thing open past midnight in small town New Jersey was a waffle house. The perfect date. Y/n had thought it funny to watch Douxie try and deactivate all the fresh wards he had put around the boat. He had to be careful where he put his feet, and it was like he was doing a silly little dance. Ward trap ballet of his own barely thought-out design. At one point he stepped backwards to admire his work, triggering the ward behind him, and Y/n had to free him from the net. Lucky it was just a net one.

Entering the waffle house, they slid into the nearest booth, the one near the jukebox. They ordered what else but waffles. The food of kings and hungover college kids. Not just plain waffles, though. Douxie got chocolate chip and Y/ got strawberry, and they were going to combine them to make chocolate covered strawberry waffles. Everyone knows chocolate covered strawberries were the most romantic food, why else would they push them so hard around Valentine’s.

Douxie leaned in with his head in his hand. “So, tell me about yourself.”

Y/n laughed, decided to play into this bit. “Oh, I’m just a California lass, on her way to New York. Things have been crazy lately. Went to a very convincing renaissance faire, I’m harboring a fugitive, my roommate keeps hitting on me. Very stressful.  Sure am lucky I came across you, Mr. Handsome.”

“Lucky indeed.” Doux snickered.

Y/n pointed to the jukebox behind Doux, which he twisted around to see. “Have you ever heard ‘Last Night I Saw Elvis At Waffle House’?”

“No?”

“Oh, it’s a banger.” She got out of the booth and put a coin in the juke, making her selection. She slid back in with a Cheshire cat grin and Doux was kind of scared now, actually. As the current song ended and the song that they were waiting for began. Well, it was a song. About seeing Elvis in a waffle house. With a country tune he supposed someone thought was catchy in order for them to have recorded this. Douxie didn’t know what he had expected.

“Uh, wow.”

“Yeah, Ain’t it something. I loved this song when I was knee high to a grasshopper. All the waffle house jams really.”

“Your aunt let someone bring you to a waffle house? That’s not very proper.” Douxie chuckled.

“Oh, no, actually. Um, this was before my dad passed and my mother, ah, slipped.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Douxie rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m sorry I mentioned it.”

“No, no. I’m fine Dewdrop. I can talk about it, really. And, like you said the other day, I’ve been focusing on the Now Love.” The silly waffle house themed song was still playing despite the air of seriousness that had fallen over the duo. It helped keep Y/n from getting too sad and dwelling on the memories she had just brought up. It was comical, really. A waffle house song keeping her grounded. She rubbed the palm of Douxie’s hand. “I still mourn my family, but it’s been so long that the pain’s but a dull ache now. As long as I don’t think too hard about it. If anyone knows about mourning it’d be you, Doux. I can’t imagine meeting hundreds of friends over my lifetime just to watch them all grow old and die while you just have to go on living.” She paused, eyes drifting downwards, “But I suppose that’ll be my fate anyways.”

Douxie reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s actually not that bad, once you get used to it. You just have to enjoy every bit of time you get. That’s what makes other magic friends so valuable, there are some permanent players on your team.” He let his hand linger under her jaw, pulling her face closer to his, “You have me. We have each other. We’re family. We always have been.”

“So I hate to interrupt, but, waffles.” The server put the plates she had been holding down onto the table. Douxie and Y/n pulled away from each other quick as lightning, sitting up straight in their seats. “Again, sorry guys.”

“Thank you.” The two chorused to their fleeting form in embarrassment. Their faces were fire engine red. Archie was right, they did get a little carried away with the pda. It may have been 12:28am in a waffle house but they were still in public. Grabby hands needed to be kept to themselves.

After dinner, neither Doux nor Y/n could bring themselves to go home quite yet, despite the nagging feeling to return to Nari. They loitered around woods, unsure of what to do. Leaning against the parked boat, Douxie got an idea. He put on the music on his phone, turning the volume all the way up and positioning it so it’d put out a better sound the best he could. The playlist he selected was actually the one he had of songs that reminded him of his beloved. Copying what Y/n had done last night, he held out his hand.

“Come on, dance with me, My Darling.”

Douxie twirled Y/n around in the night breeze that blew through the trees. This song was much faster than the one they danced to last time, and there was more energy between them. Y/n’s laugh echoed through the forest. This was a lot of fun, she could do it all night. Honestly, she could do anything all night if it was with Douxie. He lifted her up, like she weighed nothing. Seriously, how strong was this noodle armed wizard. She threw her arms around his neck, looking down to meet his eyes, a rare thing. Y/n kissed his nose, eliciting a happy giggle from his mouth.

He should have put her back down by now. Instead, he still held her up, transfixed by her face ringed in moonlight, like a halo. She noticed the awestruck look on his face, kissing him properly, yet it did nothing to pull him out of his stupor. He had one thought running over and over in his mind. Marry me. But, he couldn’t say that. A proposal had to be special, not after a waffle house date. Their first date, mind you. He couldn’t possibly jus-

“Marry me, Dewdrop?”

Well apparently he couldn’t but she absolutely could.

It took him a moment to take in her words, shocked out of his overthinking. The biggest grin spread across his face as he giddily spun her around in his arms. He finally put her feet back on the ground, crashing his lips into hers. Y/n brought a hand up to drag through his hair and left the other to slide down his back. No battle for dominance, Douxie’s tongue was definitely the one leading here. He just couldn’t believe it. It was if she had read his mind. It was still hard for him to believe she wanted him in the first place, but this much? If this was the afterlife he must surely be in heaven. One makeout session later, Y/n rasped “So I’m guessing that’s a yes?”

“Let’s sign the papers tomorrow.”

~ ~ ~

Despite the uneasy feeling they had both had about leaving Nari alone for so long, she was perfectly fine. In fact she hadn’t even moved an inch form the spot they left her in. Like they never left at all. Archie was asleep on that couch, as peaceful as ever. They’d tell him the news in the morning.

Y/n climbed into the nest and dragged Douxie down with her. After getting comfy on the array of cushions, he opened his arms and she nestled into his chest. She could feel his hands rest on her back. Perfect. It was calming, listening to his heartbeat, being lulled to sleep with the rhythm that gave proof that her beloved was alive. A steady beat that reassured her he was there, he was there. He wouldn’t leave her again.

*** check notes for chapter illustrations lmao

[swiss-cheeze]

(The Candyman Can) Rainbow Connection || Spencer Reid

Request: YES/NO // a part 2 was requested but I was going to do a part 2 anyway so, yeah. (@l0ve-0f-my-life)

Gender: none, they/them // I don’t believe there is any description, I tried to keep it nonchalant, the Sunflower song may be slightly suggestive because it’s sung by a female and have the aspects of femininity but overall is a non-gender affirming song.

Warnings: uhhh, slow burn, awkwardness? I honestly don’t know SEASON 8 SPOILERS, very long; seven pages on google doc lmao

Description: ten months after Maeves death you’re still singing for Spencer to help him cope, what happens when Garcia’s Dia De Muertos party brings to light your feelings?

Part 1: https://snitchthewitch.tumblr.com/post/621248749527760896/the-candyman-can-spencer-reid

Songs used:

It’s My Life - Bon Jovi

Hey There Delilah - Plain White T’s

Sunflower - Sierra Burgess

Rainbow Connection - The Muppets

———

Ten months.

It had been ten months since Maeve had left, ten months since a part of Spencer felt broken, crumpled and gone.

Ten months since you entered his life in a different way then he would ever think.

After your singing sessions things started to look better, brighter, lighter and happier.

Currently yourself and Spencer were jamming out in his apartment to It's My Life.

“It's my life! And it's now or never!” you screamed and jumped on the couch, Spencer followed you with a laugh and shouted at the top of his lungs.

“'Cause I ain't gonna live forever, I just want to live while I'm alive” Spencer sang, you grinned as you hoped down from the couch, grabbed his hands and started dancing.

“My heart is like an open highway, like Frankie said, ‘i did it my way’!” you grinned as Spencer spun you around and stepped onto the coffee table.

“I just want to live while I'm alive,” Spencer sang as you hopped up and onto the table next to the Doctor.

“ITS, MY, LIFE!” you exclaimed together and posed on the table as if there was a crowd gathered and you had just danced your hearts out; which you did. Your breathing was heavy as you let out a large laugh and jogged over to the CD player to turn it down as the next song came on from your playlist, going from a room shattering volume to a whisper.

“Drink?” Spencer asked with heavy breaths as he pointed to the kitchen, you nodded as you held your back and sat on the couch, Spencer came back a moment later with two glasses of water and handed one to you as you sat in the blissful aftermath of a singing and dance off.

“Are you going to Garcias Day of the Dead party?” you asked after a moment, it wasn't very risky to ask but it was still touchy as you both knew the background to the question. Spencer nodded.

“Yeah, yeah I am, I'm meant to be helping her with groceries sometime, she said she’d message me when she was ready” Spencer smiled as he placed the empty cup on the table and laid back against the couch cushions, “who are you bringing?” Spencer hesitantly asked as you grinned.

“I can't tell you that Spence, it's cheating” you shook your head before putting your cup down on the table and opening your phone to look at the time; you were meant to be home 10 minutes ago, “shit, sorry Spence i gotta head,” you said as you quickly gathered your belongings.

“Do you have to leave?” Spencer asked, he sounded so sad that you needed to leave, you bit your lip as you opened the door.

“I’m sorry Spence, i do, i've um…” should you tell him? “I've got a date,” you said with a tight lipped smile. Spencer hoped his face didn't convey the emotions he felt and hoped you didn't notice his change in demeanor.

“Oh, yeah of course,” Spencer said tightly, “you head ill...ill clean up here,”

“Thanks Spence, i'll see you at work!” you said with a grin and waved the Doctor a goodbye. The retreating of your footsteps seemed to echo in the surrounding walls of Spencer's apartment and his mind, your smile was flashing in his and out of his head a thousand times over in bright flashes as the room suddenly felt rather lonely and cold without your presence in it anymore. Spencer looked around the room as he felt his shoulders sag, emotions came back to him as well as memories of Maeve, Tobias, Nathan and multiple other people who impacted his life in some way, in a way of his work and in a way that's personal.

Alex.

Of course!

Spencer scrambled for his phone and clicked on Blake's personal cell number. It rang three times before the woman's voice floated through.

“Ried? Is everything okay?” the worry in Blake's voice floated through the speakers as Spencer took a breath.

“I…” Spencer sighed softly and sniffled, god was he going to cry again? “I think im in love...again”

“Oh Spence,”

---

You smiled tightly as your date talked about...what was he talking about again?

“And that's how I found out my family was a part of the mafia group in the nineteen hundreds!” the date exclaimed, oh god had you forgotten his name already?

“Thats,” you gave a fake laugh as real as you could, “that's amazing Matt!” you said with a clap of your hands.

“My name’s Michael…” your date reminded you, you sighed and put your head in your hands with a groan.

“I'm sorry-”

“No it's...I can tell your head is somewhere else,” your date said with a smile, “did you want to talk about it?” he asked, you bit your lip before responding.

“One of my coworkers…” should you be telling a story that isn't yours to tell? “One of my coworkers lost someone close to them ten months ago,” you started the story, you can't stop now, “and to be a good friend I started to sing for him!” you said happily, using your hands to talk, “i started singing for him because it made me happy when i was a child and i thought it would cheer him up as well, in the end it did and it helped him get better and obviously he is better but...that was ten months ago,” you sighed, “Micheal it was ten months ago that he lost what could possibly be his only love and here i am...in love with him,”

“Oh doll,” Micheal said softly as he put his hand on top of yours, “what do you mean his only love?” the man asked, “just so i can get a better understanding and idea of the situation,” he smiled politely.

“Hes...he has an eidetic memory, can read 20,000 words a minute, he has 3 PhDs and 3 Bachelors, he doesn't get along well with women in the romance scene a lot of the time but he's just...he's just so smart and he's so lovely and kind and works well with everyone,” you took a breath as you wiped a tear from your eye you didn't realise had leaked, “he puts himself on the line all the time; he’s been shot in the knee, shot in the shoulder, he got kidnapped and drugged, poisoned with a worse strain of Anthrax then actual anthrax, he's such a good hostage speaker, he delves into every case with everything he has as if its his last which it could possibly be, he helped a young boy, Nathan Harris, when he believed he was going to become a serial killer an-”

“Woah woah woah baby slow down,” Micheal said as he looked to you, “you’re getting so worked up over this boy, i mean, he's just a boy,” Micheal said with a grin, “you sing for him don't you?”

“Yeah I do,” you absentmindedly smiled, “it's amazing, just today we sung It’s My Life before I came here,” you said with a large grin, the memory still fresh.

“Okay so, how about, instead, you lean it to more romantic songs? Slowly give him hints and open up to him more?” Micheal questioned, you never actually thought of that but as you mulled it over it sounded a lot better than any other plan you would have had brewed anway. You nodded.

“Thats...thats really good Micheal,” you said with a grin, “thank you,”

“It’s alright; if i can't be the one then i'll help you with him,” Micheal said with a joking grin. You ended the night with the waitress coming over to take your plates as you asked for the bill, split it, giving a lovely tip and Micheal driving you home. He planted a kiss on your cheek before handing you his number on a napkin, “for whenever and whatever you want or need,” he had said, you gave him a kiss on the cheek and a thank you before retreating into your house and mulling over the next few songs to sing for Spencer whenever he wanted.

---

A few days passed after your date and Spencers emotional outburst to Blake (which she kept to herself and Spencer of course), you had been given a case and hadn't had time to sing to Spencer; you could tell this was taking a little toll on the poor doctor as he became distracted easily as well as the far off gaze he had on his face a lot of the time now, however, the plane had just landed back in DC.

“Spence!” you called for the doctor, he turned for a moment and slowed his walking for you to catch up, “did you want me to call tonight?” you asked with a grin.

“Yes please (Y/n),” the doctor said, he seemed sad but also desperate.

“Are you alright?” you questioned as you stopped the doctor with your hand on his arm, “i'm here for you,”

“I’ll be alright after tonight (Y/n), it's okay,” and without another word Spencer left you, spoke to Hotch for a second and then headed out the door.

“Are you two okay?” Blake asked as she came up next to you.

“I think so, I think it’s just because we haven't had a lot of time recently for our normal sessions,” you said with a tight smile.

“He misses you (Y/n),” Blake said, “a lot more than you know,” the two of you dropped the subject pretty quickly after that as you walked to the parking lots and headed home, the road seemed to go in a blur as you drove, forming colours and paint strokes against the harsh greys of the DC city buildings.

---

Another few days passed and your singing sessions went back to normal, except this time you added more romantic songs, adding a more soft tone or even adding your uke like one of the first times you sang for Spencer, and right now you were finishing off Hey There Delilah.

“Hey there, Spencer,” you had changed the lyrics for the last ‘hey there’, you heard Spencer give off a little breathy laugh, “You be good, and don't you miss me, two more years and you'll be done with school,” you couldn't help but laugh slightly at the school part seeing as Spencer had...well you know what he’s got, “And I'll be makin' history like I do. You know it's all because of you…” you trailed the end of your sentence off slightly, “We can do whatever we want to…” you sighed softly, “hey there, Spencer, here’s to you,” you trailed off again as you felt tears well in your eyes as you spoke the last words instead of singing them, “This one's for you” and with that the song ended and you smiled into the phone, Spencer clapped loudly into the phone’s speaker.

“That was beautiful (Y/n)!” the doctor exclaimed with a smile, “I haven't heard that song before,” you laughed, of course he hadn't heard the song before.

“It's a classic but not the type of classic you know of,” you said with a smile as you heard Spencer laugh along with you too, “I’m sorry Spence but i have to get to bed,” you sounded so sad.

“Right, of course,” Spencer said as he finally glanced at the clock, god it was past 12 already? You'd been on a call together since 10, “goodnight (Y/n), i'll see you at Garcias tomorrow?” Spencer asked, shit. You'd forgotten about tomorrow completely.

“Y-yeah of course! I'll be there don't worry,” you smiled into the phone, “goodnight Spence” and with that you hung up the phone and got ready for bed. Spencer did the same in his apartment.

---

You smiled sweetly at Spencer as he placed Maeve's photo on the altar as everyone gave him a sympathetic look and then another person's photo.

“This is uh, Nikola Tesla,” he said, you couldn't help but smile, “i just hope he's still having fun inventing things wherever he is” Spencer said with the little smile and laugh he does every now and then as he stepped back from the alter; allowing you to place your photo. You gulped as you fiddled with the photographic paper.

“This uh,” you started, nobody actually knew who this was, you sniffled as Garcia held you hand and you smiled to her as thanks for the reassurance, you cleared your throat, “this is Gene Wilder,” you grinned as Spencer chuckled softly, of course it was him, “i don't uh, i don't really have any family that i'm close to that has passed but, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has always been my childhood, it was always close to my heart and when the movie came out i fell in love with it even more and the more i watched it the more i felt Gene Wilder become apart of me, my family and my life.” you took a breath as you placed the photo onto the altar, it was of his iconic Willy Wonka pose, “of course he has become a meme icon,” you laughed as everyone did too, “but i know for a fact he looks at everyone from wherever he is and he looks at them with such passion and love and admiration for whatever they're doing and i know he fills me with hope and confidence whenever i need it” you smiled as you finished and stepped back and the line continued.

You all gave your thanks, gave a blessing or a prayer depending on who it was, sent your respects and then went your way with drinks and conversations and music. Spencer smiled as he came up to you when Hotch walked away, your conversation about Henry becoming dwindled as the food looked more appetizing to Hotch.

“Hey,” Spencer said with a little wave as he held a cup of...cordial?

“Are you really drinking cordial Spencer?” you asked with a laugh as Spencer nodded.

“Believe it or not cordial is a lot healthier than wine,” Spencer spoke with a laugh as he stated the obvious, you smiled as well but it was tight, “are you okay?” you nodded.

“Yeah i'll be alright,” you said quietly, where was this sad emotion suddenly coming from?

“Considering the circumstances it's okay to be sad (Y/n)” Spencer commented as he saw your saddened expression but before he could say anything else you put on a fake smile.

“Spence i promise, im okay” you said with fake confidence, “promise” you held out your hand for the doctor and took his warm palm in his, you could tell Spencer didn't believe you but nodded anyway, but your whole demeanor changed as soon as the song did and you grinned, “dance with me Spencer?” you asked as you set down your wine and dragged the poor doctor to the ‘dance floor’.

“N-no i'm not really- i haven't ever-” Spencer stuttered but with your glowing smile and laugh he found himself not finding the words to excuse himself before nodding and placing his drink down on the nearest surface. You brought the doctor close to your body and rested your head in his neck as his arms wrapped around your waist hesitantly and yours wrapped around his neck, you danced in a slow circle as the rest of the team gave suggestive glances to each other.

“Rose girls in glass vases, perfect bodies, perfect faces, they all belong in magazines” your voice floated through the air softly and Spencers voice hitched, “Those girls the boys are chasing, winning all the games they're playing, they're always in a different league” you continued to sing and sway with Spencer, his grip tightened on you as he buried his face into your hair as Hotch pulled Alex in for a dance, Rossi with J.J. and Derek and Garcia all walked to the dance floor; slow dancing and holding one another softly as your voice continued, “Stretching toward the sky like I don't care, wishing you could see me standing there” god was that directed to Spencer? It was, wasn't it? Spencer bit his lip at the thought as he continued swaying as he looked up for a second and saw everyone else slow dancing, a smile gracing his lips as your voice flowed through the air again, “But I'm a sunflower, a little funny, If I were a rose, maybe you'd want me” your voice wavered as you buried your face into Spencers neck, “If I could, I'd change overnight, I'd turn into something you'd like but i'm a,” your voice came out a little stronger now as you looked up and saw your co-workers now switching dance partners; Rossi with Hotch (which made you laugh a little), J.J. and Derek, and Alex with Garcia, “sunflower, a little funny, if I were a rose, maybe you'd pick me” your voice sighed at the end as you broke away from Spencers neck to look at the beautiful man in front of you, wording the lyrics to him, “But I know you don't have a clue, this sunflower's waiting for you,” both of you leant in as your eyes darted to Spencers mouth, his eyes doing the same to yours as he licked his lips without realisation, “Waiting for you” with your mouths inches apart and your eyelids slowly closing, you could feel Spencers breath fanning over your lips...almost...almost…

“(Y/n) that's a beautiful voice you have!” Alex exclaimed, the song continued in the background as yourself and Spencer jumped away from each other, smiling awkwardly as you wiped your sweaty palms on your hips and thighs. Your teammates all broke away from each other; Blake must have been the only one to see and realise what was going to happen, you looked to Alex with a mix of emotions including anger and appreciation; anger because she stopped you and Spencer from kissing, appreciation because she stopped you and Spencer kissing in front of the others.

“Thanks…” you smiled as you scratched the back of your head with an awkward smile, “well i gotta start heading!” you exclaimed suddenly, the crushing feeling in your chest getting too much for you to stay.

“Ohhh what what what?” Garcia asked as she came forward, “oh come on i can get the blow up mattress, we can all sleep here, take tomorrow off; Hotch we can take tomorrow off can't we?” Garcia suddenly exclaimed, you all smiled as did Hotch but he didn't say a word; Garcia was tipsy, if not already drunk.

“It’s okay Penelopie really,” you said with a smile as you walked to the girl and hugged her close, “i'll see you guys tomorrow though,” you smiled as you hugged everyone, of course Spencer being the last.

“I’ll drive you home,” Spencer said quickly as he picked up your coat as well as his, you stuttered as Spencer opened Garcia's door but decided against it; instead blushing and thanking Spencer as the two of you walked out of the apartment building and to Spencers old timey wimey car.

“Think those two will realise?” Derek said off-handedly with a knowing grin.

“They’re profilers, they'll figure it out,” Rossi said with a grin.

-------

Yourself and Spencer had already discussed you would sleepover at his house in case you got drunk or tipsy off of wine, that and the fact you used public transport to get to Garcias rather than a car and Spencer didn't want you to go onto the tubes at this time at night.

“No, Spence, I already told you I'm not taking your bed!” you exclaimed with a laugh as you got a drink from Spencer's kitchen.

“(Y/n) please, my couch is complete rubbish and i know!” Spencer exclaimed from his bedroom where he was getting dressed in. You scoffed jokingly.

“Oh yeah Spencer, you've slept on your couch you germaphobe” you said with a smile as you walked to Spencer's bedroom.

“I did! When…” as you entered the bedroom the air turned cold as Spencers smile fell, you looked at him from across the room in all of his shirtless-and-low-hanging-pyjama-pants glory, he cleared his throat, “when Maeve…” he choked as his sentence drained off the way it does when Spencer is emotional and about to cry.

“Oh, Spence im...im sorry i didn't think,” you said softly, you stayed in the doorway unsure of what to do. Spencer cleared his throat as he threw his side of the covers back and started to get into the bed.

“Please?” Spencer questioned, you knew what he wanted as he bunched the sheets at his waist and played with his fingers while looking at the covers, you nodded. Whether Spencer saw you nod or not you weren't sure but you went through the same motions as you would when going to bed; brushed your teeth in Spencer's connected bathroom, tugged off your work clothes, put on your pyjamas as Spencer waited patiently in the bed, unmoving. Your feet padded on the floor as you brought back the covers on the other side of Spencer and sat on the bed next to him, the covers bunched up around your waist as you waited, waited for Spencer to lay down, hold your hand, something.

And then he did.

“Spencer i know-”

“Can you sing for me?” Spencer suddenly asked, his voice on the verge of breaking as he looked to you with teary eyes, you nodded quickly and began to smile.

“Yeah, yeah of course i can Spencer,” you said quickly, “did you want to get under the covers?” you asked softly, Spencer nodded and sniffled softly as the two of you maneuvered to lay down. You laid on your back as Spencer clutched onto you, his head rested on your chest as your arm wrapped around his back and to his shoulder, “what do we want tonight?” you asked in a soft voice into Spencer's hair.

“Anything, anything happy,” Spencer mumbled into your chest, you nodded and thought for a moment.

“Why are there so many, songs about rainbows, and what's on the other side” you started to sing, Spencer doesn't know the muppets very well but he has heard this song play in your headphone while on the jet home after a tough case once or twice, this was the second song you used to calm yourself down next to The Candy Man, “Rainbows are visions, they're only illusions, and rainbows have nothing to hide” your voice was soft and filtered through the air as Spencer closed his eyes, envisioning himself in a wonderful forest, just like Kermit the frog with you by his side, your uke in your arms, the cords coming through seamlessly, “So we've been told and some chose to believe it, but I know they're wrong wait and see” you squeezed Spencer softly as you started on the chorus, “Someday we'll find it, The Rainbow Connection” you tilted Spencers chin up from your chest and moved back from Spencer a little so he wasn't arched weirdly nor where you bent weirdly, “The lovers,” you pointed a finger into your own chest, “the dreamers,” you pointed a finger into Spencers chest as he smiled softly, his tears dripping into the creases of his smile, “and me” you cuddled back into Spencer as his arms tightly wrapped around you again.

“Who said that every wish,” Spencer's soft voice filtered in the air, you smiled and hummed the instrumentals, “Would be heard and answered, when wished on the morning star” you smiled and kissed Spencer's head again and joined in with singing.

“Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it, look what it’s done so far” you shrugged jokingly as if the ‘look what it's done so far’ was someone really saying it, a soft chuckle came from Spencer, “What's so amazing,” you shrugged again as you looked to Spencer, “that keeps us stargazing, what do we think we might see?” you brought your unwrapped arm up towards the ceiling and cupped it around as if you were cupping Spencers chin, “Someday we’ll find it,” you looked back down to Spencer as your arm came down as well, “The Rainbow Connection,” you cupped Spencers cheek as you moved forward, Spencer doing the same as he looked down to your lips like he did at Garcias before gliding back up to your eyes, “The lovers,” you cocked a small smile as the lyrics came out in a whisper, “The dreamers,” you tapped Spencer cheek softly as the gap finally closed and your lips pressed against Spencers for a short moment before you both pulled back slowly, “And me”

[bamon4bamily]

TVD 9x16 - What happens in Vegas... (part 1 of part 1) Enjoy!

Cut to - The Salvatore mansion family room, present day. Damon is watching Bonnie sleep. She wakes up slowly…

BONNIE: Ian?

DAMON: Ian? Who the heck is Ian? And tell me where he is, so I can kick his ass!

BONNIE: (Smiles) Sorry, had the craziest dream… And your name was Ian, for some screwed up reason…

DAMON: Oh, okay… then Ian is cool in my book! (Smirks and gives her a kiss).

BONNIE: What time is it?

DAMON: Almost 3pm…

BONNIE: What! Oh my god! I had to be at the airport an hour ago to meet Elena! Shit! Shit!

DAMON: Uhm… Bon… don’t you remember?

BONNIE: Remember what?

DAMON: About Elena…

BONNIE: What about Elena?

DAMON: Her flight got canceled; she got another one straight to Vegas. You don’t remember?

BONNIE: I do, I do… Told you, strange dream… I’m still a bit drowsy.

DAMON: Well, she won’t be able to help you bring all that “bachelorette” stuff. But the bachelor boys are heading the same way; I’m sure we can fit some of it; just promise me there’s nothing illegal in those bags.

BONNIE: (Mischievous smile) I can’t promise you that…

Cut to – Two days later, somewhere in the middle of the Mojave desert. Damon, who looks like hell, is dialing on his cell. Behind him, a crashed police car with Alaric, Iker, and Kai inside; also looking like crap. They are wearing nothing but their underwear.

 DAMON: Care, it’s Damon… Listen ...The bachelor party got a little crazy and, well...we lost Stefan.

BONNIE: Uhm…think we might have a problem of our own…

DAMON: Bon?

BONNIE: It’s me, I think… Anyway; the bachelorette got a little crazy too, and, well… we lost Caroline.

Cut to – A couple of hours earlier. A Sky Villa at the Palms Casino Resort. 

Damon wakes up confused, he is lying on the bathroom floor, drool coming out of his mouth, brain drilling headache. His vision is blurry, but he manages to recognize a familiar face, lying inside an empty bathtub, completely passed out. The familiar face is Kai, dressed in what seems to be a ballerina tutu. 

He stares at him for a minute, wondering why he is there… not in the bathtub, but in Vegas; he hadn’t been invited. Oh well, he’ll figure it out later. For now, he needs to do an overall casualty assessment. He gets up slowly, holding on to whatever is at hand. He eventually gains the balance to find his way out of the bathroom, and into the living room. The place is a war zone, the hotel bill won’t be cheap! Amongst the debris of the previous night, he searches for other survivors… 

Soon enough he finds Alaric, also passed out, half of his body hanging over the piano, which, to Damon’s surprise, a monkey seems to be playing.

DAMON: What the…  (shushes the monkey away from the piano, shakes Alaric to wake him up, no response��� He hears a sound coming from a mount of sofa cushions and clothes; someone is under there… it’s Iker, who slowly fights his way out).

IKER: (Looking messed up and disoriented) Hey, man… (looks around, grabs his head) What the hell happened last night?

DAMON: Beats me… I can barely remember my own name… 

(Alaric wakes up suddenly, holding his hands up in a cheer).

ALARIC: Jackpot, bitches!!!!!!!!!!! (He realizes he has no idea where he is, or making any sense). Hey, guys… where am I? What are we doing here?  

DAMON: (Sarcastic) Oh, boy… I have a feeling this is gonna be fun!

(Kai walks out of the bathroom, passes them by, but apparently doesn’t notice they are there, and goes into the master bedroom, throws himself on the bed. Just as he gets comfy, he realizes something is very wrong… 

There is an elephant in the room; literally. Jumps up, screams like a little girl, runs out of the room and shuts the door).

KAI: Holy shit! There’s an elephant in the room!

DAMON: I’d say you’re right, stalker boy. What the hell are you doing here?

KAI: … I have no idea, but I swear, there is an elephant in that room!

DAMON: Are you sure it isn’t Stefan? He can look pretty scary in the morning…

(Goes to check it out, vamps back about a second later) Nop, that ain’t Stefan… and there is definitely an elephant in the room... (takes a drink).

ALARIC: So, where is Stefan? And, why the hell is he (referring to Kai) here!

DAMON: Ric, I think we have more important things to focus on right now… Like, for example, there is a freakin elephant in the room! It’s a baby elephant, yes, but still, a freaking elephant! Those things are dangerous! Oh, and I’m pretty sure there’s also a loose monkey somewhere around here! What the hell did we do last night? Rob a zoo?!

IKER: The only thing I have a vague memory of, is a steakhouse, a casino… a strip joint?

KAI: That pretty much describes all of Las Vegas, so, not a lot to go on.

DAMON: Okay, okay, I’m sure we can figure this out.

ALARIC: Let’s just find Stefan and get the hell out of here, before they put us in jail.

DAMON: Fine. Shouldn’t take too long. Ric and I will check every corner of the villa. Iker, you and psycho boy check around the hotel… restaurant, pool area, casino, etc.

IKER: (To Kai) Think you can keep up, princess?

KAI: (He hadn’t noticed he was wearing a tutu until this moment; he looks at Damon) This was definitely your doing! (Takes the tutu off).

DAMON: (Sarcastic smirk) Probably… Okay, let’s move.

 (They search everywhere, Stefan is nowhere to be found. They teamback at the villa).

 ALARIC: Well, we’ve searched everywhere, he’s not here. (Sarcastic) This is great! The wedding is tomorrow, our plane leaves in a couple of hours, and we are missing the groom... 

We should call Caroline, maybe he ditched us and joined the girl’s party.

DAMON: And if he didn’t?

ALARIC: They can help us find him.

DAMON: Did you get brain damage last night?! 

No way we are calling Caroline! I’d like to live a long and happy life with my Bon-Bon, so, not an option!  Just chill, we’ll find him. He couldn’t have gone that far… it’s Stefan, he’s probably hunting bunnies. All we have to do is retrace our steps from last night, and we’ll find him.

ALARIC: The main issue being… none of us seem to remember anything about last night!

KAI: (Coming from another part of the room) Okay, I just called reception, they assure there is no Stefan Salvatore at any of the area hospitals, morgues, or police stations…

DAMON: No shit, Sherlock, he is a vampire! Of course he wouldn’t be in any of those places…

IKER: Wait… a police car… I remember we were in a police car!

DAMON: Ooh, that can’t be good…

KAI: Oh, oh, oh, no, no, no… (looks at his hand) This can’t be good either (shows them a very tacky ring).

DAMON: Come on, that’s just your daylight ring.

KAI: No, no… I don’t need a ring for that… which means this is … (takes the ring off, sees it’s engraved) most definitely a wedding ring!  

ALARIC: Who the hell would be crazy enough to marry you?!!

IKER: (Cracking up) Shit, this too funny…

DAMON: (Takes the ring from Kai, reads the inscription) “To my knight in shining armour, from your damsel in distress” - Cupid’s Wedding Chapel. Well, boys, I believe we have a lead… 

We need to go to this chapel, ask them if they remember us; and if Stefan was with us.

KAI: And who the hell I married!

DAMON: (Sarcastically) Oh, I’m sure she’s a lovely gal.

ALARIC: I’ll get us an uber…

Cut to – Cupid’s Wedding Chapel. 

As soon as they walk in, the receptionist recognizes them.

RECEPTIONIST: Oh, shit! You guys are back!? Please, just no stealing the “King’s” costume this time!

DAMON: You remember us?

RECEPTIONIST: Of course I remember you! You guys are crazy! Specially you, damsel (winks at Kai). Where are the other three?

ALARIC: What other three? We are only missing one…

RECEPTIONIST: Uhm, no you aren’t; there were seven of you. You four… the wolf man, the cop, and the handsome hero hair guy.

DAMON: So Stefan was here with us, that’s a start!

ALARIC: And, apparently, Matt and Tyler too… So, not only did we lose the groom, we managed to loose two members of the wedding party. (Sarcastic) Fantastic!

KAI: Listen, I really need you to tell me who I married last night...

RECEPTIONIST: Sure, you married Whitney Houston; you lucky bastard!

KAI: What!? I mean, I love me some Whitney, but, really? She married me?

RECEPTIONIST: (Looking confused, and a bit sorry for him) 

Well, an impersonator, obviously. The real Whitney has been dead for a while. Boy, your hang-over must really be screwing with you.

IKER: Don’t these places usually offer packages? Like photo albums and stuff…

RECEPTIONIST: We sure do.

IKER: Did we, or he (referring to Kai), buy any?

RECEPTIONIST: The whole nine yards. I thought that’s why you guys came back. (Takes out a box of wedding souvenirs and a photo album) Look… mugs, crystal balls, pins, key chains…

DAMON: Let’s go straight for the album… (They go through the photos. Some are “somewhat” normal...

Others, go along these lines…  Kai, dressed as a ballerina, and the bride dressed as a noble knight. Stefan, wearing an Elvis outfit, mastering every single one of his iconic poses. Iker and Damon playing catch with the bride’s bouquet. Alaric, sneaking about, in full Indiana Jones mission. Matt, riding an inflatable unicorn, role-playing to be the Lone Ranger. Tyler, on all fours, howling).

DAMON: (Terrified at the pics they just saw) Oh god… I don’t even want to know...

ALARIC: (Sharing the sentiment) Oh, fuck no... apparently, I was the one to walk Kai down the aisle… Those pictures really need to be destroyed….

RECEPTIONIST: I’m telling you… you guys are totally insane!

ALARIC: You don’t happen to know where we were heading when we left here, do you?

RECEPTIONIST: No. But you did mention something about settling a debt; getting Britney Spears back for something…

ALARIC: Britney Spears?

RECEPTIONIST: Yep; the hero hair guy kept going on and on, about her owing him big time; and that he was going to collect… And you (referring to Damon) kept saying “It’s Britney, bitch!” That’s all I got, hope it helps. (Alaric looks at Damon to see if he remembers anything from hearing that …)

DAMON: Sorry, man, I’m at a blank…

IKER: Wait… I think I’m getting a flashback… of you (referring to Damon), strip dancing to “Gimme More”?

DAMON: No… I’d never strip dance to that! Britney Spears? Nice try, but nop.

KAI: Oh, come on, everyone loves Britney!  

ALARIC: I think I remember that… God, please, take that image out of my head! Of all things, that’s what you chose for me to remember?! Have some mercy!  

DAMON: If I did… I probably rocked it (winks and smirks).

IKER: Okay, I’m definitely gonna need therapy after this trip.

ALARIC: Well, we got all the information we are going to get from this place; and I don’t think I want to find out more. So, what’s next?

DAMON: I say we pay Miss Spears a visit…

ALARIC: First, no one would ever let us be less than 300 feet from her. Second, that’s ridiculous; she is obviously not involved, aside from you stripping to her songs. What we need to find is that strip joint we apparently went to after, or before, this place.

IKER: (Who has stumbled upon a box of matches in his pocket) Maybe this can help… (shows them a very tacky match box, which reads: Mystic Divas.

Cut to – Mystic Divas strip joint. The place, given the hour, is obviously closed. Just as they are about to leave, a woman, wearing Whitney’s “Queen of the Night” outfit, spots them as they are about to leave.

 LADY: My princess! (Runs to hug Kai and kisses him) Why you bail on me last night?! Thought we were having fun!

KAI: Uhm… I’m guessing you are, my knight in shining armour?  

LADY: Sure am! Till death do us part… (Sees Kai’s terrified face and laughs) Don’t worry, it was only pretend, honey, nothing permanent. We were both really drunk and thought it would be fun.

DAMON: (Sarcastic) Aw…what a love story! (To the lady) Sweetheart, you think you can help us put some dots together?

LADY: I can, but there is no way I’m letting you on my stage again. And, don’t call me sweetheart.

ALARIC: So, we were here last night?

LADY: Physically, yes. But I’m not sure any other part came along. Y’all were completely wasted.

IKER: All, meaning us four; or were there more?

LADY: Shit! You really don’t remember anything?

DAMON: (Trying to avoid the whole Britney strip thing) Nop!

LADY: Well… you were all here; plus the other three dudes.

ALARIC: I’m assuming that was before “the wedding”?

LADY: Yes. This is where (looks at Kai) we fell in love. But we came back here after the reception. Well, only me, my hubby; you fine looking thang (referring to Iker), and you, the ultimate party pooper (referring to Alaric). Don’t know where the rest of you went. All I know, is that my princess here, pulled a runaway bride after he got a call, and you two (referring to Iker and Alaric), left along with him.

ALARIC: Do you know around what time that was?

LADY: I’d say three-ish? Anyway, I have to go (kisses Kai on the cheek) It was lovely being your wife for the night. Good luck boys! (Leaves).

IKER: Not bad, psycho boy, she’s hot!

KAI: (Proud smirk) Totally hot!

ALARIC: Kinda reminded me of…

DAMON: (Before Ric says the name, he knows he’s going to say, he changes the conversation) Kai, check your phone…

KAI: (Rubbing it in his face) What... she remind oyu of someone, Damon?

DAMON: Please, you wish! 

Now, check your freaking phone!

KAI: Fine, fine… (looks at his received calls; sure enough he has an inbound call, from an unknown number, at 3:13 am) Well… Yep; I received a call, clueless about the caller, but seems like we had a lot to talk about, call lasted 20 minutes…

DAMON: (Sarcastic) Gee, I wonder how we can find out who the mystery caller is?

KAI: We could try to hack into the local police system, they have a huge database. Except, we’ll need a computer, preferably a stolen one so it’s untraceable…

IKER: (Also sarcastic) Or, maybe just call the number?

KAI: Of course I was gonna do that first! I was just thinking ahead, in case we get no answer. Amateurs! 

(Calls the number…) What a surprise… no answer! Oh, wait… (someone answers: Rawson Neal Psychiatric Hospital, how can I help you? Hangs-up immediately).

DAMON: So, who was it?! Why did you hang up!!

KAI: Ooh, I’m getting a bad feeling…

ALARIC: Give me that (takes the phone from his hand, calls the number… Rawson Neal Psychiatric Hospital, how can I help you? Hangs-up immediately) Shit…

DAMON: So, who the hell was it?!

ALARIC: Not who, but what…

DAMON: Ric, I’m too hung-over to be playing guessing games.

ALARIC: Does anyone remember anything about a psychiatric hospital?

DAMON: Now, that’s definitely a place Stefan could be at…

KAI: Specially if he was found hunting bunnies…

DAMON: Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go one flew over the cuckoo’s nest…

ALARIC: I’ll get us another uber…

IKER: Wait… 

Uber! Of course! I can’t believe we didn’t think of that! Everyone, check your phones for any trips we took last night.

DAMON: Duh! Man, we are really out of it!  (They check their phones…) Well, I have one at 5:30, from the hotel to the Andiamo Italian Steakhouse, downtown. And another one at 7:40, from the steakhouse to the Bellagio… That’s it.

IKER: I have one, from the Bellagio to Mystic Divas at 1:06am.

KAI: As for me, one, at 3:33am, from Mystic Divas to the Rawson Neal Psychiatric Hospital…

ALARIC: I don’t have any from last night.

DAMON: Okay, so far, our best bet at finding Stefan is at that psych hospital. Let’s move.

 TVD 9x16 (part 2 of part 1) coming very soon! Hope you stop by, read, and enjoy! =)

P.S Had to split it into more parts otherwise it would be too long for one post per part. 

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[fairyhaven13]

This took seven hours and I am so tired, and it’s FNAF, but screw “cringe,” my hands hurt and I’m so proud of this picture. It’s based on QueenCookieMonster’s “draw the squad,” plus four extra poses I added. 

We have Funtime Freddy steering the bike (please ignore how small he is, he’s much bigger than that, he’s just... bent over. Yeah. Totally not a mistake), and hanging onto the handles is Helpy, who has been merged with Bon Bon via shenanigans. Funtime Foxy stands above them, with Micheal Afton (Eggs Benedict) clinging to his leg for dear life, Mostly-Ballora hanging onto his arm, and William Afton is tethered to the Plushtrap doll as Glitchtrap to keep him out of trouble. Puppet is kind of floating behind F-Foxy, and big, tall Scrap Baby is sitting on the actual bicycle seat, which is why poor Micheal is riding side-saddle.

If you want to know why they’re speeding through Silent Hill on a bike like a bunch of morons, please read under the cut!! I know it’s a long one, but this is the summary of a story I’ve been typing off-and-on for years, and like the picture, I am extremely proud of it!

So, this all starts years before Sister Location, somewhere around the first two games, when Millie (from the so-so book Into the Pit) is able to dodge Funtime Freddy’s decapitation, and to her surprise, he laughs and lets her go. He never explains why. Millie’s grandpa finds her down there, and she begs him to get rid of the robo-bear, and once again, to her surprise, grandpa obliges. She thinks it’s because he just cares that she’s so afraid of it. She finds out years later that it’s because her grandpa knew F-Freddy was a killer, and was working on him to “find answers.”

When Millie is grown, and well beyond her “I’m 14 and this is deep” years, she’s almost convinced this whole encounter was a dream. Then she goes to Fazbear Fright and sees Springtrap, and it all comes back to her, and she’s filled with a burning need to know why. Why was F-Freddy alive, why did he want to kill her, why did he let her go without explaining, and what answers was grandpa trying to get? It turns out, much the same answers she now wants, with a small addition: when Millie was just a baby, she had an older brother. On her brother’s birthday, they hired Afton’s company and brought out F-Freddy, who killed her brother. Grandpa wanted to know why, and Millie never knew she had a brother.

She promises to get answers, and years later, the Pizza Simulator diner is hiring. She signs on under the name Ophelia (because she’s still into macabre stuff), and tries to investigate. Micheal, who is the manager of the diner and part of Henry’s plan, sees through her immediately and tries to stop her. She ends up explaining her family history, and he empathizes, but still tries to warn her away. She refuses to leave. When the animatronics start being gathered, she shocks Micheal by actually trying to communicate with them.

She befriends Puppet first, who’s the sanest one. Then Molten Freddy arrives and remembers her, and thinks this is hilarious, and she demands to know why he spared her, but he still won’t tell. Baby is brought in and still thinks this is set up by her father, but is very curious about Lia and Freddy’s relationship, so she is able to talk civilly, if condescendingly, to them. Springtrap still tries to kill them, but he is kept at bay by Puppet, Helpy, and surprisingly, Freddy.

Then the diner is blown up. Micheal tries to warn Lia to leave, but she again refuses, and is burned with everyone else.

They wake up in Silent Hill. 

Apparently, in this particular pocket-dimension of the city, Fazbear animatronics have been appearing for a while, because they all require coming to terms with their pasts and that’s what the city’s all about. This means the city is full of killer robots. The city, in its transformative qualities, is turning each character either more monstrous or more human depending on their willingness to cooperate.

Micheal is just straight-up a purple ghoul. He’s the most human, aside from Lia, who is just herself. Funtime Freddy is ejected from the remains of Ennard’s body, but this means there’s no one to keep the last traces of Ballora, Funtime Foxy, and Bon Bon alive, so he begs the others for help. Micheal says absolutely not, not again, but Lia and Helpy can’t just leave him like that. Lia is able to take on some of Ballora, but there is so little left that it only changes her appearance, and her personality stays the same. Helpy takes on Bon Bon, and is made about half-and-half of each. No one will take F-Foxy, though, so they have to drag over one of the generic Silent Hill monster corpses, which, because it’s dead, takes on the entirety of F-Foxy’s looks and personality. He and F-Freddy are now whole.

In the course of this “mission” of the “game,” Lia is shown many flashbacks of her family, further and further back, and sees the day her brother is killed by F-Freddy. At first she’s angry, until she sees the way his eyes glow afterwards, and she understands; F-Freddy is her brother. He finally admits that he only remembered it when she dodged his decapitation, and the way she was crouching looked like the way her brother did when he killed him, and that brought it all back in a really uncomfortable way, so he’d just ejected her from his stomach and tried to forget it. Lia decides that’s ridiculous and insists on building a new sibling relationship with him, and they become besties.

This is rather painful for Micheal, whose sister, Baby, has not made any sort of effort to repair their relationship after zombifying him. She herself is having an existential crisis; all she knows is being other people, from being Charlie after the real Charlie became Puppet, to running away and taking other teen’s lives from them, to being dragged back to Afton’s workshop with the rundown F-Freddy and taking Elizabeth, to trying to act like her father just before burning. Puppet, however, is taking things extremely well, and it baffles Baby, who finally demands, “how are you so okay with everything when we don’t know what we are??”

Puppet goes, “I’m me, what else do I need to be?” And this is kind of an “oohhhhhhhh” lightbulb moment for everyone, but especially Baby, who has never tried to just be herself before. Unfortunately, while all of this was happening, Springtrap was off making a deal with another Silent Hill victim, Vanny, to escape the city. She agreed to take on qualities of his body in order to trick the city into letting them out of its bounds. When he did this, though, it turned out that she was working with Golden Freddy, who took William’s mind after Vanny merged with his body and Ultimate Custom Night’ed him.

The others realize this after the city makes flashbacks and illusions essentially telling them, “Vanny is out terrorizing the world, man, this sucks.” So they go to find William, and Micheal has a reunion with Cassie as Golden Freddy. He is only able to convince her to let William go by showing that Cassie’s actions allowed for another serial killer to go out and start the chaos all over again--Cassie finally sees through the hate and anger she’s built over the years, and feels awful for her part in making a new William, and lets the actual William go. This requires tethering him to the Plushtrap so that he’ll have a body, and she fades away in the process.

With Glitchtrap in Plushtrap, they have a connection to his old body as Vanny in the real world. So, the new mission? Find out how to stop Vanny from their positions in Silent Hill. Now that they’ve accepted who they are (and the traumatized William is temporarily not causing trouble, not that he could as an intangible glitch), the city is much more cooperative, and becomes their Spooky Headquarters to save the world.

[fantasy-pens]

United by Love, Rain and Forgotten Umbrellas

Her eyes as blue as the merciful drops from the heaven. His eyes as green as the happy grass enjoying the heavenly showers. A tale of how forgotten umbrellas in the rain bring together the four lovable sides of the Love Square.

Chapter 2: Chocolate with Chat (MariChat)

Summary:  Thunderstorms mean hot chocolate! Hot chocolate best served with whipped cream, marshmallows and....MARICHAT!!

(Kudos to Steyna Art for the bful drawing i found on the net <3 A link to the instagram post thanks to @khanofallorcs​  https://www.instagram.com/p/BqVH3TvhgoE/)

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“And there, all done!” the blond boy exclaimed, stretching himself as he got up from his chair.

“Phew! I thought that homework of yours would never end and I would have to stay up all night with you, kid!” complained the tiny, floating cat-god of destruction.

 “Plagg, is that another way to say that you would have been cheesily romancing your  sweet-smelling Camembert all night while I would have been smashing my head on the desk, pleading for you to stop?”

“Hey! I never complain when you are all flirty with Ladybug or Pigtails!”

 “I do not flirt with Marinette! She is  just  a friend, Plagg,” Adrien defended.

“Oh really? Then why have your cheeks suddenly decided to compete with Ladybug's superhero suit in colour, huh loverboy?” 

“Embarrassment! ” squeaked the part-time superhero, as he slapped his hands onto his cheeks and fervently tried to ignore the cheshire grin his cheese-loving friend was directing at him.

 Nope.  Nope  . Nope.

Marinette was  just a friend . Ladybug was the real love of his life.

Ugh! He needed fresh air! Now!

 Maybe Plagg read his thoughts, for he suddenly spoke up, “Nuh uh, kid. If you are thinking of going out for a run, not now. It is gonna rain soon.”

The kwami, sadly, was right. Dark clouds were looming in the sky.

 But what better chance to escape would he get than now, especially with Father and Nathalie out on a business meeting?

It would be a quick, short run. Nothing less, nothing more.

 The boy looked with his best kitten eyes at the floating furball, but he didn’t relent. And Adrien really couldn’t afford to buy the floating stomach any more Camembert. Not that he had run out of money, but bank transactions made for wheels of smelly cheese? Suspicious. (And no one certainly wants Gabriel Agreste’s secret agents skimming through their money matters. Nuh uh.)

 So, there was only one way left to get Plagg to agree.

 “So Plagg, are you afraid of getting drenched in the rain, huh?”

“Nope. What makes you think that, kid?” the kwami asked dismissively. 

 Internally the kwami thought, “ What is this not-so-smart chosen of mine trying to do? ”

“Well, I see no other reason as to why you would not agree to us going for a run. The rain hasn’t even started yet!  You are a cute little kitten at heart after all, right, Plagg?” As he said so, Adrien reached out and scratched the kwami lightly behind his ears.

  Oh heavenly Camembert! The petting felt so good! 

The kwami purred instinctively. “Aww, Plagg,” the blond said in a sugary-sweet cookie voice ( bleh! cookies! ), “who is a good kitty, hm?”

 “I. Am. NOT. A. Kitten!”

“Oh really? Prove it, then!

 Challenges were one of Plagg’s main weaknesses. (After Camembert, of course.)

 “Kid, I am NOT scared of rain!” With a grumble, the kwami added, “You know the magic words.”

“That’s the spirit! Plagg, Claws Out! ”

 One cool transformation sequence and scratch-dance later, Chat Noir stood where the model had been a few moments ago. Flexing and stretching himself like a feline, the superhero grabbed the baton clipped behind his back, and jumped onto and out of the open windowsill into the awaiting city.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jumping over rooftops with the cool wind blowing on his face sure was exhilarating. 

The black-leather-clad boy was enjoying his sprint when suddenly something wet hit his head.

  Wait, wet?

 Looking up, Chat Noir caught just a glimpse of the heavy, dark clouds before SPLAT! Another drop fell on his forehead.

Damn, it hadn’t even been half an hour and he needed to get home soon. It wouldn’t do him good to fall sick, especially when he  technically had not been out in the rain.

 Breaking into another sprint, Chat Noir prepared himself to scale the alley in front of him when he felt the roof under him move. Or rather, his foot was moving back faster than normal.

With a yelp, the cat lost his footing and slid down the slanted roof into the alley below.

  Oh god no! He surely wasn’t in the mood to be soaked-cat-pancake today!!

 Grabbing his baton, Chat pressed the pawprint on it just in time for the device to lengthen up and get lodged in between two open windows (truly the luck of a ladybug), leaving him hanging from it, badly shaken but safe and sound.

 As he tried to get his bearings back, he heard someone entering the dark alley.

“It surely is raining Chats and dogs today,” a familiar voice called out from below.

 “Purrincess!” Chat exclaimed, shrinking his baton back to normal and landing softly (and with normalcy) on the ground.”To what does this knight owe the purr-leasure?”

“Well, I was passing by, and saw you experimenting whether Newton was correct with his claims about gravity,” Marinette said, bursting into laughter. “Sorry  chaton , I just couldn’t help myself. Especially after that nerve-wracking study session I had with Alya.” The girl held her forehead in a dramatic manner. “Oh goodness! Woe is me!”

 The superhero-in-black couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, well, little lady. Have you secretly been taking drama lessons from my kwami in exchange for cheese danishes?” Chat added with a wink.

 Earlier, Marinette would have had to act all stupidly confused about what a kwami was. But now that Chat knew that she was Multimouse, things were a lot easier between the two. 

Ever since Chat had first appeared on her balcony an year ago, the two of them had struck a chord. Somewhere, maybe in the banters, puns or the heartfelt emotions shared under the starry sky, the two of them had grown close, becoming the best of friends.

 “Who knows? Maybe I am?” she said nonchalantly with a shrug, a hint of smirk visible on her face.

Striking up a mock thinking pose, Chat commented, “Well, well, mice love cheese. You two would have surely bon- ACHOO!”

The sneeze seemed to bring Marinette back to awareness that the teenage superhero was soaked head-to-toe in the rain.

 “Damn, Kitty, which wise sage gave you the advice to go patrolling on a day like this? Come’ere,” saying so, the girl pulled him in with herself under her umbrella. “Good thing I left Alya's place after the rain started and she gave me this umbrella, or else I myself would have been drenched by now. Forgetful me. But anyways, you," she said, shoving a finger in his chest and eliciting an “oof! ” from him, “are coming with me and getting all warmed up before you catch a cold. I won’t accept a no,” she added, making the cat hero close his mouth that he had opened in hopes of protest. Instead, he smirked and bent down in an elaborate bow.

 “Your wish is my command,  ma princesse .”

His comment was rewarded by an eye-roll and slight chuckle.

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Marinette ushered the young superhero in through the backdoor, away from the prying eyes of any customers, and especially her parents.

However, it seemed as though Chat’s bad luck had finally caught up with them (or more specifically,  her ) as she opened the door to the house only to find her dad standing there, in a position that clearly showed that he had been about to open the door just a moment ago.

 “Mon petit cupcake , welcome back! How were your lessons with Al...” her dad’s voice trailed off as he noticed the cat-themed boy behind her.

 Meanwhile, Chat was a bit….nervous? Queasy? Or was terrified a more appropriate word? After all, having seen and been beaten up by Weredad had NOT been a pleasant experience. And who knows what thoughts were right now running through Mr. Dupain’s mind on seeing his daughter (whose heart Chat had once broken) with him? It was extremely natural for him to feel self-conscious all of a sudden. But now that he had been noticed, well. 

 “Hi, Mr. Dupain,” the boy weakly offered, plastering a shaky, nervous smile on his face.

 The huge man kept looking at him blankly. Chat started mentally pep-talking to himself to deal with this awkw- WOAH!  All the air left the boy’s lungs as he was suddenly scooped up in a teddy-bear hug.

“My goodness, Chat Noir! Superheroing has sure made you go thin, my boy! And please, just call me Tom,” the baker said laughing.

“Su-sure….thi-thing, Mr. Dup-I mean...To-Tom,” the hero wheezed.

“Papa! Chat Noir will be able to call you Tom only when you give him some air to breathe!!” Marinette interjected, worried that the black cat might pass out soon from the lack of air.

 “Ah! Sorry young man,” Tom put the boy down, clapping his shoulders. “I must say, you are all drenched! I don’t know if that suit is designed to keep you from getting soaked, so get warmed up and stay here till the rain stops, okay?” He turned to Marinette, “Sweetheart, make sure to keep our guest cosy. We wouldn’t want our superheroes to fall sick, after all! In case you children need anything, Sabine and I will be downstairs. Have fun!” With a booming laugh, the guardian of the house took his leave.

“Well, that hug certainly warmed me up,” Chat said, breaking the silence. “I am glad he is not mad at me anymore. For the...uh, you know..”

 The ravenette smiled and placed a comforting hand on his shoulders. “It wasn’t your fault, Kitty. What I had was a fleeting celebrity crush. And what really makes me glad is that you truly adore Ladybug. Now,” grasping the blonde hero’s shoulders, Marinette turned him around, pushing him up the stairs, “go up and dry yourself up. You will find the towel on the chaise, if I remember correctly. I will make us some hot chocolate.”

 “Okay, okay, princesse , I am going up!”

 Saying so, the hero went away and Marinette busied herself in the kitchen. She had just put milk in a saucepan when...

“Wow! I must say, your room sure has some interesting decorations, purrincess!”

  Interesting decorations? Wait, she had taken off the Adrien pictures from her walls and..

GOD!! Did she leave her computer on??!! Oh, hell no!!!

 Dashing up the stairs, Marinette threw the trapdoor open, not caring about the banging sound it made. She COULD NOT let the sauve cat see the heart doodle background of Adrien on her computer!! Oh goodness, she would never hea-

 Her computer was turned off.

 Laughter attracted her attention, making her turn her head to see the teenage hero on the ground, laughing and struggling for air.

“Oh. My. Kwami. Tha-that rea-reaction...wow princess! HAHAHAHAHAHA! You just made my day!” He broke into another fit of giggles.

 “Not. Funny. Dry yourself up,  chaton ,” the girl deadpanned, giving him her best you-do-not-amuse-me look.

“Aww come on princess,” Chat said, putting up a mock pout as he literally crawled towards her, “don’t be a wet blanket, paw-lease?”

 “Wet blanket? What on earth are you- CHAT, NO! ” the girl screeched as all of a sudden, the hero shook his head, spraying water droplets on her.

Stopping the activity, the hero looked up at her flirtatiously through the wet hair that had fallen in front of his eyes, water still dripping from them. “Chat, yes, Purr-incess,” he said, winking at her as he flicked her nose.

 Damn. He looked so flirtatiously ho- 

NO! Bad Marinette! Your heart is reserved only for Adrien.

 Well, best to break the kitty’s smoulder.

“No cookies for you,” saying so, the girl smugly walked down the stairs, ignoring the mock wail of despair that followed her.

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So will our kitty get the cookies? Or is Marinette going to punish him for his tomfoolery?  With Marichat, fluff and fun are bound to happen! And so are the heart-to-heart talks. To know what happens next, continue reading the chapter on the links below!

Read on Ao3 here

Read on ffn here

Thanks for all the reviews, likes, reblogs, favorites, subscribes, follows, kudos and comments <3

[misssophiachase]

Here is it, part three! Unlike all my other stories each chapter is from dual points of view (divided into two parts) because I think this keeps the story moving faster and more fluidly. Let me know what you think of this format and the story so far : ) Read from the beginning at FF and AO3. 

Synopsis: She skipped bail and he’s tasked to track her down. As a seasoned bounty hunter, it’s a fairly routine job on paper for Klaus Mikaelson but then he meets Caroline Forbes and has no idea what to do with her.

Thrill of the Chase - Part 3 - I Shot the Sheriff

Cumberland County, TN (Interstate 40)

Caroline

"Interesting song choice," Caroline offered, unable to help herself as the scenery rushed past her window. She decided to blame it on her friend called guilt that decided to rear its ugly head at the worst possible time.

"Why? You don't like Bob Marley?"

"Who doesn't like Bob Marley?" She countered, trying to ignore just how good he smelled from this close proximity. A mixture of soap, mint and something else enticing she couldn't quite identify.

She was actually a little thrown by the fact this very song was on her fugitive track list and the guy who picked her up on the side of the road just happened to be playing it.

Oh, and for the record, she didn't get in his car that easily, it took at least nine minutes. Even if every fibre of her being was ready to hop into his passenger seat as soon as he strolled over in all his blonde curls and black henley goodness. Caroline decided to blame it on distraction, pure and simple.

She'd managed to fumble through what she thought was fairly standard small talk followed by outlining her current dilemma. Given he had neither a spare tire or cell service, Caroline either had to trust him to call for help after leaving her by the road still stranded or go with him to the nearest town.

She figured the second option, albeit one her parents wouldn't endorse, was more expedient. She had places to be after all.

Yes, he could have been a serial killer, but she certainly wasn't squeaky clean herself. Plus, she was starving and had run out of snacks and really needed to use the restroom. She wasn't the pee in the bushes type of girl so Caroline had no other choice. Well, that's what she kept telling herself.

"So, do you think he did it?" She asked, probably against her best judgment.

"Did what?"

"Commit the crime. It's one thing to shoot the sheriff, because you know maybe he deserved it, but to be blamed for the deputy too? That's rough."

What he did next, she wasn't expecting. He let out a rich and throaty chuckle and Caroline didn't think it could sound any better than that sexy, English accent. But it did. It was so mesmerising that Caroline found herself laughing along.

"So, you're ready to throw the book at the poor guy?"

"No, I was just amused by your analogy. Here I thought the song was about corruption and injustice in general but you seem to take it almost personally." She cursed inwardly thinking that playing it cool was not her best trait.

Who was she kidding? She was woeful. Mainly because Caroline was a nosey person by nature but by posing questions she was just asking for them to be returned. She also didn't think they'd be analysing lyrics about committing crimes. Caroline might as well have stamped guilty all over her forehead.

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for the underdog."

"Nothing wrong with that, love."

"I have a name you realise?"

"Yes, but you didn't feel the need to share it when we first met even if I told you mine," he offered, his eyes not leaving the road. Even housed under those aviators, she didn't need to see them to know they were rolling.

"You could be a serial killer for all I know, Klaus," she said, emphasising his name. It was unexpected for sure but the more they talked, Caroline started to think it suited him. "Not that, you know, I'm, uh, giving you ideas or anything," she rambled, unable to stop the words tumbling from her mouth.

First, she was talking about shooting law enforcement and now mass murder. Yeah, Caroline was dealing just fine with her current situation.

"Thanks," he shot back. "You know, for not giving me any ideas. If I hadn't met you god knows how many people I could have killed today at least."

"You're hilarious," she drawled. "So, why did you stop? By the road I mean, not your killing spree."

"My conscience," he began. "It has this annoying way of niggling at me until I do the right thing. Plus, maybe if I do something good the universe will return the favour."

"I'm convinced that's an urban legend."

"Oh, like the killer in the backseat?" Caroline couldn't help herself and turned around to inspect it. "Gotcha."

Maybe the universe was more in tune than she first thought given it was playing tricks on her and not the good kind. Caroline had a mind to right all of her wrongs then and there but knew that would take a lot more energy and will than she currently possessed. She'd said as much to her friend Bonnie and that was only a couple of hours into her road trip.

"Your dad sent his favourite henchman to my apartment," she joked through the phone. "He could have at least sent one of the cute ones."

"I'm sorry, I'll be sure to tell him to send Tyler or Jesse next time," she drawled. "How is the lovely Alaric?"

"Urgh," she groaned. "I had to take a shower afterwards, he's that creepy."

"I'm sorry to put you in this position, Bon," she apologised. "When I made the decision to run I guess I didn't think about the ramifications. I should have realised that my parents know no bounds when it comes to harassing people, my friends included."

"Stop right there, Caroline Elizabeth Forbes," she chided. "I mean sure you didn't tell me you were actually going to run away in the first place but given the circumstances I can hardly blame you." Caroline winced knowing that it didn't sit well with one of her best friends.

"I didn't tell you because the less you knew the better," she reasoned, knowing she had good intentions at least. "I was always going to get in touch, I just needed to put some space between me and the city first."

"Well, now that he's gone can you please tell me why you've decided to go all Harrison Ford on me?"

"Clearly someone's been watching too many movies."

"And clearly someone is living one."

"I didn't kill my wife," she argued. "Not that Harrison Ford killed his wife either but you know what I mean."

"Please just tell me you have a plan and blasting NWA's choice thoughts about the police in your car doesn't count." Caroline muted her latest fugitive track, not realising just how loud it was playing.

"What makes you think I don't have a plan, Bonnie," she scoffed, feeling a little offended, even if she knew her friend was right. "I brought snacks and everything."

"Because that's the most important thing," she groaned. "I know things are strained with your parents and…"

"Don't say his name," she interrupted. "He, who shall not be named, doesn't deserve it."

"He called me."

"He what?" She squeaked, almost driving off the interstate as she said it. "I thought you would have had him blocked months ago."

"I kept his number so I knew if the idiot had the audacity to call, turns out he did," she explained. Caroline couldn't really argue given she'd done the same thing.

"When did he call?" Caroline asked curiously.

"About a half hour ago."

"Does he know that I…"

"No, I don't think so. I only answered to get him off your back and throw a few of those choice insults I'd stored up the past few months. But he said he's been trying to call you for a few days now, something you didn't feel the need to share obviously."

"Lucky me. Look, I didn't want to make you any madder than necessary given that hot temper," she continued before Bonnie could argue back. "I didn't answer and have no intention of listening to the string of pathetic voicemails he left either. Those are right up there with my parent's incessant pleas to get me to come home."

"He said he wants to talk."

"Well, too little too late," she muttered, thinking that nothing could salvage what was irreparably broken between them. Now, he was just messing with her and she didn't want to play. "But idiot aside, just know there's somewhere I need to be and I'll reevaluate things after that, I mean what's another week?"

Sure, she was living in a fantasy world but Caroline needed the time alone to put things into perspective. She figured her therapist Camille might even agree with that part.

"So, where is Kat these days?"

"Wow, I really suck at this 'on the run' thing."

"No, I just figured if anyone was going to play the Louise to your Thelma it would be her."

"Hey, I could be Louise!"

"You and I both know that's laughable," she joked. "And remember Thelma did get to do the nasty with Brad Pitt."

Instead of buoying her, the comment only made her feel pathetic that the last time she got laid was forever ago and the person was her poor excuse of an ex boyfriend.

"Well, what would a fugitive road trip be without bedding a cute cowboy in some skeezy motel," she quipped. There was only one guy she planned to see on this trip and things between them were purely platonic and uncomplicated. "Look, I should really get going, Bon, but I'll call you soon, okay?"

"Be safe," she murmured into the phone and Caroline felt like she was going to cry. It had only taken a few hours and she was already turning into a ball of emotional mush. Some hardened runaway she was.

"So, where are you going?" Caroline asked, determined to block out all other thoughts that might make her regret this little trip.

"Says the girl who won't tell me her name," he shot back, finally turning to face her, albeit briefly. Caroline shivered involuntarily, it seemed so much easier to converse when he wasn't looking straight at her, even in sunglasses. "Why? Where are you going?"

"Oh you know, here and there to visit some friends."

"How extremely specific," he joked. "I've been here and there and I have to say it's not too bad for the most part. You must have been a geography major, right?"

"You enjoy teasing me."

"What can I say? It's been a long drive so far, it's nice to have some company even if most of our conversation has centred around crime and punishment." Caroline felt her face warm, hoping that the blush creeping up her neck wasn't going to completely envelop her and give the game away.

She turned to look out her window, the scenery hadn't changed all that much since she climbed into his car but then she noticed a green sign ahead.

Welcome to Crab Orchard, Tennessee - Population 673

Looks like they'd arrived, to what and who Caroline wasn't quite sure.

Klaus

"Twizzler?" Klaus looked up distractedly to see his new, blonde friend waving a bunch of the red candy in his face.

"No, thanks," he offered. "I try not to eat anything…" he trailed off, subconsciously stroking his abdomen.

"Fun?" She inserted the word in his sentence, but didn't miss the way her eyes travelled to his abdomen and took in every stroke he made. Looks like Klaus wasn't the only one slightly distracted.

"Let's just say I practice this healthy regime and sugar is pretty much enemy number one."

"Like I said, no fun," she reiterated, her eyes finally meeting his and proceeding to bite onto one of the strands, her pink lips enclosing around it.

Klaus didn't think he'd ever seen something supposedly so innocent look anything but that. He watched in interest, unable to look away if he tried. When she started to moan happily from the taste, Klaus had to look away while trying to contain the thoughts he shouldn't be thinking in the first place.

She was a skip - his- after all. And apparently he was here to apprehend her, not entertain untoward thoughts. It seemed as if his professionalism had flown out the window the moment he clapped eyes on Caroline Forbes. He'd been inwardly arguing with himself for most of the drive. She was sitting in such close proximity to him completely unaware. The most unbelievable part? She was in his car without any need for coercion or handcuffs. Klaus couldn't remember the last time one of his felons had been this easy to capture.

Klaus figured it had something to do with her innocence and seemingly trusting nature. Something which intrigued him from the outset. If she was his friend or girlfriend he'd be absolutely affronted by her willingness to jump into a stranger's car but she wasn't. Although, if Klaus was being honest, he wasn't unwholly upset she was by his side at that moment.

At the same time, he couldn't help but think how good she smelled, a mixture of vanilla and roses - post rainstorm. She also had this adorable habit of scrunching up her nose when she spoke, a nose with a slight dusting of freckles he couldn't and didn't want to ignore.

Klaus shook his head, trying to concentrate. He really needed to apprehend her and he needed to do it now.

They were waiting for the mechanic in the sleepy, little town of Crab Orchard to tow her car back to the gas station and replace her busted tire. Klaus had offered just to purchase it and go back himself but the guy, who seemed way past retirement age, had insisted and refused to relinquish the tire otherwise. Klaus knew it was all a money making exercise but didn't argue. Given the size of the town they probably didn't get much business as it was.

So, here they were. Caroline moaning over twizzlers and him trying to ignore just how much it was affecting his resolve.

Crab Orchard was only a couple hours out of Nashville and it would have been so easy to keep driving and deliver her directly to Lucien's agent at the airport who would personally escort her back to New York. But something stopped him.

Yes, she was beautiful. He thought so when he saw her picture and then when he pulled up alongside her on the road but after talking to her, Klaus was incredibly intrigued. And he wanted to know everything about her.

He knew he had places to be, his siblings hadn't stopped reminding him as evidenced by numerous texts and his recent call while she was using the bathroom and buying a year's worth of snacks inside the tiny gas station.

"So, what do you think the Wicked Witch of the West wants?"

"Hello to you too, Kol."

"Don't tell me you're buying into Rebekah's drivel about the urgent need for this family reunion and down south of all places?"

"Of course, not," he shot back, thinking this was no doubt one of Rebekah's usual attempts to make herself the centre of the universe, not that she had to try all that hard. "You know I like to keep my family time to an absolute minimum."

"I'll pretend we're still talking about sister dear," he drawled sarcastically. "I don't know why I had to leave Chicago in such a hurry, we can't all have broomsticks to ferry us from place to place on a whim." Klaus had to fight the urge to laugh. Kol, albeit the epitome of an annoying, younger sibling, always had that keen ability to hit the nail right on its head.

"I suppose we'll find out in just under a week," he sighed, wondering how much longer Caroline would occupy his time before that. "Have you spoken to Elijah and Henrik?"

"You know how Elijah bores me, Niklaus," he replied knowingly. "Henrik is on his way from Florida with a girlfriend, Lizzie someone."

"Can't say I'm surprised that he's the only one with a girlfriend." Klaus and Kol liked to joke that Elijah should have been in the priesthood; his love life was that stagnant.

"And how about you?"

"How about me what?"

"How about your girlfriend, Hayley isn't it?"

"She's not my girlfriend, never was," he growled, probably a little too fiercely given his brother's response.

"Wow, message received," he laughed. "Although, does she know that? Because last time I visited she was being extremely girlfriend-like."

"I never asked her to be," he grumbled. "It was casual, nothing else, and for the record she knew that, well apparently." For some reason it was his bail skip that came to mind at that very moment and not his ex-girlfriend, or whatever she was. He didn't want to analyse why either.

"So, Lucien tells me he has you on assignment in Tennessee?" Klaus wanted to admonish his younger brother then and there for the job but for some reason he wasn't altogether upset anymore since meeting Caroline.

"Yeah, just have to apprehend this skip and send her back to the City," he murmured, thinking that wasn't what he wanted to do with her at all. "Piece of cake," he lied.

"Well, I'll let you get back to your bounty hunting," he teased. "Don't be too hard on the poor girl, whoever she is."

"I'll try," he muttered, disconnecting the call before she proceeded to tempt him with twizzlers.

"So, it looks like we don't have the right tire for this particular, vintage model," their great-grandfather of a mechanic explained.

"But, George, you said…"

"I said I'd look at it first before making any assessment," the geriatric swindler not dissimilar to one of his distant relatives interrupted. "I can have something first thing tomorrow."

Klaus stifled the urge to roll his eyes. It would be cheaper and much quicker for him to travel to Nashville and back with a new tire. But then Klaus realised that meant less time together and given he needed to gain her trust that wouldn't work.

"And where would we stay?" Caroline asked, impatiently tapping her heel on the ground. Clearly this was messing with her plans and Klaus wasn't altogether unhappy with the development, purely for bounty hunter purposes of course.

"My wife Eileen runs the cutest bed and breakfast just down the road, she'll give you a good deal." Given George's price gouging tactics, Klaus highly doubted that. "And my brother Jack runs the local bar, best beer and steak in three counties."

Of course he did but Klaus wasn't going to complain. As they made their way towards his car, Caroline nudged him playfully.

"Bed and Breakfast? How utterly quaint and romantic, just don't get any ideas, mister."

"I can't help that we are responsible for propping up the economy of this town and all of George's family."

"Well, I suppose with great power comes great responsibility," she joked. "And given we're stuck here together, the name is Caroline." 

Even though he knew that from her file, Klaus had to admit her telling him felt nice. Klaus had no idea what she was doing to him but he wasn't complaining. Besides, what harm would one extra night do?

Lots as Klaus was about to find out.

[papermoonloveslucy]

IT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT: LUCY & THE BOMPS!

by Earl Wilson, August 19, 1950

Lucille Ball wanted to keep Desi home and off the road so she petitioned for him to play her husband on radio’s “My Favorite Husband”.  The network balked and Richard Denning got the role instead. When it came time to transfer the show to television, Lucy made the same demand. Now a radio star in her own right, she was able to convince the network - nervous about America believing an ‘All-American girl’ like Lucy would be married to a Latin bandleader - to give them a chance to prove it!  The Arnazs’ built a comedy and musical act and took it on the road. When the show got to the Roxy in New York City, syndicated columnist Earl Wilson tagged along and wrote the following feature, which appeared on August 19, 1950.  Coincidentally, the Roxy was also the theatre where Desi Arnaz was performing when he wed Lucille Ball in 1940. 

[NOTE: Although the text of Wilson’s article is repeated below verbatim, the photos and footnotes were added for editorial consideration.]

Lucille Ball has been one of our most appreciated movie actresses for quite a while, but it was seeing her do a bump on the stage that made me really come to realize how talented she is.

It was after she’d done her clever act with husband Desi Arnaz at the Roxy that I talked to the flamin’ redhead about it.

“Wasn't that a bump?” I asked her, as we got into a cab and pulled away from the stagedoor. I wanted to be sure, because some snooty actresses wouldn’t want it thought that they ever did a bump.“That was a married woman’s refined version of a bump.”

Lucille was sitting back in the cab, exhausted from several shows that day, and clamoring to be taken somewhere to see a show. She said she had been entertaining all day and now she wanted to be entertained for a change.

“Did you say refined?” Desi looked across the cab at her. I was between them. “Any harder you do it and you will knock my hot off,” he said in his charming accent. (1)

At Desi’s urging, she told me a story showing that doing the bump is for her not new. It seems that once she made a picture for Eric Palmer called Dance, Girl, Dance. (2)

“He was telling me, ‘Those bomps. Don’t do those bomps bad or the sansors will keep the picture.’

“So I was doing a very tame dance, not bumping at all. I had on a 27-pound dress, silver lame, with bugle beads, and it rolled from side to side when I shook.

“Durin’ a scene, Palmer jumped up and said, ‘Oh, oh, that was a bomp. I told you no bomps.’

“I went up to him and I said, ‘Mr. Palmer, that was not a bomp. THIS is a bomp.’  “And I bumped and I wrapped those 27 pounds of beads right around his neck!”

It’s a pleasure to talk to two such honest, earthy people after listening to some others who are always posing. A lot of people are astonished that they are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary because, as Desi points out, “Everyone said it wouldn’t last a month.” “And WE didn’t think it would last a week,” Lucille said. (3)

Being romantically inclined, I asked for the details which most everybody must have forgotten by now but the participants themselves.

“Where did you get married?” I asked Desi.

“The Byram River Beagle Club, at Greenwich, Conn.,” Lucille said. (4)

“Thank you, I can never say that,” said her Cuban husband.

“Yes, you can. Try it,” Lucille said.

“The By-ram River Bee-gul Club,” Desi said dutifully and slowly.

“Faster!” commanded Lucille. (5)

“The Byver Regal Civer Club,” responded Desi.

“Oh, my,” said Lucille, “We were married by Judge John J. O’Brien. He’s the one who married Tommy Manville so many times.” (6)

Although Desi missed a show at the Roxy, where he was then appearing, to get married, he remembers, just as vividly, how on his wedding night he woke up the bride about 5 A.M. and demanded that she get him a glass of water. The funny thing is that she did.

“About 9 o’clock she woke me up,” Desi recalls, “and she said ‘Listen, you—, the next time you want a glass of water you get it yourself!’” (7)

Desi explains that he’s never made such a request since.

Desi and Lucille have formed their own company which they call Desilu Productions, this being a combination, of course of their two first names. “First time I ever got top billing,” Desi says.

They plan to do concerts, radio, television and movies together. Lucille comes from Butte, Mont., and, as everybody knows, has red hair. (8)

Lucille made up a description of herself around which a movie will be made. The title which describes her so accurately is "Blazing Beulah From Butte," and we figure it ought to get the money. (9)

Never underestimate that Desi.

When they were getting married it appeared that she might not be able to because of a commitment to Harold Lloyd.

Desi called Lloyd from New York and defiantly announced to him that Lucille couldn’t be available that week, as he was marrying her. “Y-yes, D-desi, c-can she be back next k-weeek?” stammered Lloyd, who never does. (10)

Desi is pretty masterful; when he speaks, to Lucille he is her master’s voice.

FOOTNOTES

(1) The ‘bomps’ discussed are undoubtedly from the “Cuban Pete / Sally Sweet” number, where Lucy gyrates her hips while singing “Chick-Chicky-Boom Chick-Chicky-Boom.” The routine was repeated (with ‘bomps’ included) on “I Love Lucy” in “The Diet” (ILL S1;E3) in October 1951. 

(2) The article consistently mis-spells Erich Pommer as ‘Eric Palmer.’  Pommer was the producer of Lucille Ball’s 1940 film Dance, Girl, Dance at RKO. 

(3) Lucy and Desi’s marriage lasted twenty years, from 1940 to 1960, although Lucille divorced Desi in the mid-1940s, Lucy never signed the paperwork. After their second divorce was final, Lucy revealed that Desi was unfaithful and a drinker, and that they were no longer compatible. Lucy charged “mental cruelty” and told the court of Desi’s temper tantrums. Some years later, she described the reason for the split as “the same old booze and broads.” Both Ball and Arnaz remarried, although they stayed friends and later admitted that they had always loved one another. 

(4) Lucy and Desi married in Connecticut due to its shorter waiting period on licenses and blood tests. The Byram River Beagle Club in Greenwich was originally a Hunt and Kennel Club that became a speakeasy during Prohibition and after that a supper club. It was a favorite hangout of baseball great Babe Ruth. A single-family home now stands on the property.  In April 1952, “I Love Lucy” aired an episode called “The Marriage License” (ILL S1;E26) that was largely set in Greenwich and mentioned The Byram River Beagle Club, although no scenes were set there because Lucy purposely left Ricky’s wallet at home and they ran out of gas! 

(5) In “The Marriage License” Ricky also had trouble pronouncing the name. On “I Love Lucy” making fun of Ricky’s English was a usual source of comedy - mostly by Lucy - just as it appears to be here - in 1950.  

(6) Thomas Franklyn Manville, Jr., known as Tommy Manville (1894-1967), was a Manhattan socialite and heir to the Johns-Manville asbestos fortune. He was a celebrity in the mid-20th Century due to both his inherited wealth and his record-breaking 13 marriages to 11 women, which won him an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records. At the time of this interview, however, Manville was only on his 6th wife!  The termination of his marriages usually resulted in gossip, widespread publicity, and huge cash settlements. At the time of his death it was estimated that Manville spent more than $1.25 million on divorce settlements.

(7) This exchange (with slight variation) was later worked into “I Love Lucy”! 

(8) At the start of her career - and apparently well into 1950 - Lucille Ball purported to have been born in Butte, Montana, despite her actual birthplace being Jamestown, in upstate New York.  Ball (who then went by the name Diane Belmont) thought it sounded more interesting and exotic.  

(9) Despite the alliterative title, "Blazing Beulah from Butte” was never made, perhaps because shortly afterwards Ball admitted her true birthplace. “Blazing Beulah from Jamestown” doesn’t have quite the same ring. It’s also likely that this was a clever bon mot on Desi’s part to create a more colorful interview. 

(10) Comic actor and director Harold Lloyd had put Lucille under contract for his film A Girl, A Guy, and A Gob, to be filmed in 1940. There was some speculation that marrying Arnaz would interfere with the shooting schedule. 

TRIVIA

While Lucy and Desi were at the Roxy, the theatre was also showing Night and the City, which had premiered there on June 5, 1950. At this time it was common for a larger entertainment venues like the Roxy to present both a stage show and a first run film. Night and the City starred Richard Widmark, who Lucy and Desi later convinced to guest-star on “I Love Lucy” in “The Tour” (ILL S4;E30) in May 1955. 

In “Return Home From Europe” (ILL S5;E26), Ricky gets a long-distance telephone call from the manager of the Roxy, Mr. Rothafel, offering him a job, if he can get back to New York immediately. In reality, Rothafel was the name of the founder of the Roxy, Mr. Samuel ‘Roxy’ Rothafel. Rothafel died in early 1936, however, so this was probably Desi’s way of honoring him. 

Earl Wilson was mentioned on “I Love Lucy” in “The Fox Hunt” (ILL  S5;E16). While trying to wangle an invitation to Sir Clive’s country manor, Lucy makes up a story about the Mertzes meeting an Earl in the hotel lobby. When Sir Clive rattles off the names of some Earls to jog her memory, she fibs that he was just promoted from Assistant Earl, the Earl of Wilson, who canceled because he’s got the gout! Lucy’s imaginary Earl is actually a reference to Earl Wilson (1907-87), a journalist and television panelist of the time. His nationally syndicated column frequently mentioned Lucy and Desi. 

In 1974, Lucy strikes a pose for Wilson during her promotional tour for Mame.

[jamkookies]

Lost stars

Description :  A trip to Malta for the shooting of Bon Voyage seems peaceful enough until the moment things take an unexpected turn...

Word count : 2.3k

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You had never felt so frightened in your life since that particular day. You had tried to erase the memory from your head and failed miserably.

You felt the same as you had felt eleven years ago.

Maybe, you were overreacting, maybe he had just gone somewhere else, but you couldn’t get rid of the anxiety creeping up on you like a disease, making it hard for you to breathe.

Panic attack.

That’s what it was.

You were having a panic attack.

Trying to repress the overwhelming desire to curl up into a ball and rock back and forth, you force your legs to move.

You get into the water, the waves licking your toes, and you feel like the sand is disappearing under your feet every time they retract.

Come on.

You trudge through the water, legs feeling like lead with every step.

“JIMIN?” You shout.

The bodyguards catch sight of you.

You can see the distress on their face as they signal you to go back, but you ignore them.

Eyes looking in all directions, you scan the surroundings, trying to detect a blonde head.

“JIMIN!” You repeat.

Your heartbeats fasten their rhythm.

You’re hyperventilating, the air just not enough for your lungs -

“Y/N?”

You snap your head to the left, where the voice comes from and almost cry in relief.

Jimin is standing a few feet from you, knee deep into the water, some sea shells on his hands.

He looks at you with worry in his eyes and approaches you carefully.

“What’s wrong?” he says. “Why are you screaming?”

“Where were you?”

“I was just getting some sea shells on the shore. What happened?”

You are infuriated.

You grab the shells from his hands and throw them as hard you can into the ocean.

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO GET TOO FAR ! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED I WAS?”

Your hands are shaking and you’re breathing hard.

You slump into the shallow water, soaking your clothes all over, but you couldn’t care less.

Jimin is there immediately, enveloping you into his arms.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect for you to get so worried.Besides, the bodyguards are right over there…. Hey, shhh-”

A strangled whimper escapes from your lips, and you hug him tightly.

“If you get away from me again, I will drown you,” you say, halfway through tears.

He lets out a shaky laugh and pats your back.

“I won’t.”

* * *

“Are you sure about this?” you ask, still looking down at yourself in distaste.

Your clothes had been soaked thoroughly from the earlier incident, so you had been forced to go for some more shopping, the water dripping from your shorts leaving a trail behind you.

Jimin was no better.

For some strange reason, his own shorts were wet only at the front part, making him look like he had peed his pants.

You had barely held your laughter, constantly turning your head to the side so he wouldn’t see.

“It looks great on you. I rarely see you in a dress,” he says. “Besides, we don’t have time to check everything out, because if you’ve noticed, people are staring at me.”

Your eyes flicker to the giant stain on his pants and you accidentally snort.

Jimin narrows his eyes at you.

“ You weren’t so lively a while ago.”

The smile falters from your lips and you stare at the ground.

“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry.”

He squishes your cheeks in an effort to cheer you up and you can’t help but beam at him.

“Buy me a hat and we’re cool,” you say, grinning.

He grabs a straw hat hanging from a thread and asks the merchant.

“Hey, how much is dis?”

After paying up, he hands it to you and you put it on.

You both leave the shop, in search of some pants for Jimin.

He stops by another and has his eye on a pair of beige khakis. He goes inside to try them on and turns back a moment later.

“How do I look?”

“With your eyes, hyung.”

“You know what I mean.”

Your eyes are fixated on his sinewy legs, muscles tight against the fabric.

“What are you staring at?”

“Your thighs.”

He chokes.

“You look good,” you continue.

He gives you a pointy look.

“What?” you say. “I know how to appreciate good things.”

* * *

You are walking down the street, the flowy fabric of your long dress, light as a feather. It is a pastel blue, with thin straps onto your shoulders and it has a creamy quality to it. You had been used to wearing pants all the time but you had to admit, dresses weren’t that bad.

Actually, you felt very comfortable.

Both Jimin and you have your self - cameras out again, eager to film everything on sight.

He looks very energetic, causing the same effect on you too.

It’s almost sunset and the sky has turned into a beautiful pink color. The street lamps are lined in a perfect circle and right in the middle of the square there’s a huge fountain sprinkling water from all directions.

“Let’s go over there,” Jimin says and grabs you by the hand.

You approach the fountain and take turns taking pictures of each other.

He steals your hat from time to time, striking different poses and you’re surprised at the level of his creativity.

Then, you suddenly think of something.

You take advantage of him sitting on the ledge and gather water on your hand to splash him on the head.

He gasps, the coldness damping his face and hair and making his curls drip.

He presses his lips in a tight line and approaches you like a predator.

“Hyung, let’s talk about this,” you say palms up in front of you.

He only grins wider and slams his hand into the water in your direction and you are greeted with a wave right in front of your face.

It’s your turn to gasp now.

“Oh this is war”, you say, fists scrunched up in anger at your sides.

You begin a splashing competition, striking with every chance you get.

You both climb up on the ledge, circling each other.

Then he sprints, following you and you do the same trying to fend him off.

You are both running in a circle and it all goes down when Jimin stops, trying to get a hold of you on the opposite side.

You can’t slow down soon enough and you slam into him, making you both fall from the ledge and into the fountain.

* * *

You had both changed out of your clothes for the second time today, and you had to say it was getting kinda annoying.

The second incident had proved to be a total fiasco, with all the people staring after you, but despite all of that you were surprisingly having fun.

Heck, it was the most fun you’d had in ages.

“Y/N, can we please stop trying to kill each other from now on? I wanna keep my clothes intact for the rest of the night.”

“You’re still gonna have to take them off at some point, though,” you say with a wink. “ You know, sleeping…”

“Y/N.”

You tip your head back and laugh heartily.

“Where do you wanna go next?” he asks.

“Can we just sit down and have a drink,” you say. “ I’m tired of all the walking and running.”

“Let’s sit over there.” He points at a small café which has its chairs and tables outdoors.

You take a seat opposite from him and order two lemonades. Looking around, you see that it’s fully dark. The night has fallen and the air has cooled considerably, so you are grateful for the old beige tank top and shorts you had changed into a few moments ago.

The only thing different from your previous outfit is the straw hat, which has somehow managed to stay in one piece. It’s kinda funny, actually. Sneakers and a straw hat were not the best combo, but you loved the latter so you’d decided to keep it on.

You look in front of you and see Jimin watching you expectantly.

“So, are we gonna talk about what happened back at the beach?” he says carefully, with a weary expression.

You gulp, looking anywhere but at him.

“I overreacted, I know. Sorry about that.”

“We both know it wasn’t just that.”

You sigh deeply and finally meet his line of sight.

“I tend to get panic attacks quite often.

Today was no exception but the worst thing is that I have already experienced something similar when I was a kid.”

Jimin leans in, listening.

“We were at the beach with my family. My parents had left me in charge of taking care of my little brother while they went to buy something nearby.

When we were playing in the water, Hyun-Woo went farther than I told him to. One moment he was there, the next he wasn’t.”

You take a shaky breath, tears threatening to spill on your cheeks.

“He almost drowned that day. My dad took him out when I started screaming for him. That’s probably why I reacted the way I did with you.”

Jimin gives you a sympathetic look.

“You know, I actually feel sorry for the editors,” you continue, a hint of a smile on your lips. “ They’re gonna have to cut all of the part at the beach. And this conversation too,” you say, staring at the camera lenses.

“Don’t worry about it,” Jimin adds, eyes creased.“They’re gonna have plenty to fill it with. I mean…shopping? Fountain?

Fans are gonna have the time of their lives.”

You offer him an honest smile, grateful to his words.

You didn’t know what you would do without him.

Suddenly, you notice people cheering, louder and louder by the second.

You turn your head the direction they’re looking and see a woman in the center of the small clearing, wearing a belly dance costume. The sequin beads jiggle with every shake of her hips dancing to the rhythm.

Everyone rushes to take pictures or film her and you just gaze, mesmerized.

She then comes closer to your table, gesturing you to join her. You lift your palms face up in denial.

When she insists, you grab Jimin by the shirt and push him into the clearing.

His protests are drowned by the whoops and cheers he gets when the belly - dancer pulls him after her and leads him into the center again. She ties a belt full of coins and beads on his torso and nudges him to dance.

Jimin copies her every move, hips shaking from side to side and a huge-ass smile on his face.

You absolutely can’t miss this.

You take out your phone and start recording.

“YEAHHHHHH JIMIN-SSIII !” you shout and laugh your heart out.

After dancing passionately for about some time, he gives up and bows to the woman in thanks.

He sits down beside you, still smiling.

“You did great, hyung. I’m proud of you.”

“Why didn’t you join me?”

“No thanks, I have a reputation to maintain.”

He chuckles, head shaking.

His throat is glistening with sweat, proof of his intense dancing.

“Have some lemonade, hyung.”

You push the glass towards him and he takes a sip.

“Well that was different,” he admits.

* * *

After you’ve both finished your drinks, you get up from the table and go for a walk. There’s a balcony up the hill, looking out into the sea and it’s just something you can’t miss.

Pulling Jimin after you, you climb up the stairs until you reach the top.

The view is breath-taking. The moon has peeked its head along with the stars sprinkling the sky like morning dew on the grass.

You lean on the edge of the balcony lined with iron bars and take a look at the henna tattoo on the inside of your forearm. It’s barely visible on the dark, but you have already memorized every dot.

“Why didn’t you choose a heart and an arrow piercing it?” Jimin says, his eyes on the tattoo.

The corners of your lips twitch.

You had chosen that particular image because it reminded you of something important. Someone important.

It could never capture its true perfection, but you held it as a lucky charm, a reminder to your times of joy and happiness.

You have galaxies in your eyes.

Speaking of which-

Jimin’s phone vibrates and he unlocks it, reading the message on the screen.

“It’s Hoseok,” he says and raises his eyebrows, surprised. He looks straight at you.

“Jungkook’s busking.”

You both sprint to the location, as fast as your legs can take you.

You couldn’t miss this chance.

Passing by shops and buildings, you turn corner after corner until your ears catch a faint melody.

- in dreams and fantasies

You fasten your steps and turn right.

There he is.

Surrounded by a crowd, bucket hat on, clad all in black.

There’s a microphone in his hands and his eyes are closed, feeling every word and sound he produces.

-for someone I can’t see.

Take my hands let’s see where we wake up tomorrow

Best laid plans sometimes are just one night stands

I’d be damned Cupid’s demanding back his arrow

So let’s get drunk on our tears and

God tell us the reason the youth is wasted on the young

It’s hunting season and the lambs are on the run

Searching for meaning

But are we all lost stars, trying to light up the dark?

But are we all lost stars, trying to light up the dark?

The crowd erupts into applause, some even making a standing ovation, but you just stand there, frozen, not able to move your arms or feet.

Two droplets of tears escape from your lashes, sliding down your cheeks.

God damn it, you had fallen for Jeon Jungkook.

[rachelroams]

COVID-19 "ASK ME ANYTHING”

Are we permitted to share your story?

Go for it! I have made all posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter public so that sharing is easy.

Can you make your story shareable off-platform?

You got it. Because you’ve requested to share with people who are not on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, I’ve published this shareable, blog-style version of my experience: https://bit.ly/Covid19RRTumblr.

What do you think the incubation period was from when you got coronavirus to when you started actually seeing symptoms?

Tough to say. According to the CDC, symptoms can take between 2-14 days to appear, “with a median time of 4-5 days from exposure to symptoms onset.” My symptoms appeared on March 14th, but I could have been exposed anytime between March 5-12 during my travels on the East Coast. My incubation period was therefore somewhere between 2 to 9 days.

Do you have any idea where specifically you might have gotten Covid? Does anyone stand out as sick from your travels?

Unfortunately, I don’t know. I could have caught the virus as soon as I stepped off the plane in NYC on March 5th, or it could have been during my final flight back to PDX on Mar 12th. I don’t recall anyone appearing worryingly ill along the way.

Did you contact people you encountered to warn them you might have Covid-19, or was it too late?

As soon as I was administered the Covid-19 test on March 19th, I reached out to the colleagues I had worked with over the last week and a half to let them know of my potential exposure to coronavirus. This was perhaps the scariest part of my journey: informing people I know and love that I may have contracted the virus during our time together.

What supplies do you suggest people have on hand in case they get sick? // What essentials made you more comfortable?

To navigate my individual list of symptoms, I needed an ample supply of the following:

Acetaminophen for pain and fever relief

Daytime cough suppressant (dextromethorphan-based for dry cough)

Nighttime cough suppressant (dextromethorphan-based for dry cough + sedating antihistamine diphenhydramine or doxylamine for sleep aid)

Cough drops (natural herb with menthol)

Hydration (Gatorade, chamomile tea with honey and lemon, broths [miso and bouillon])

My husband and I noted my symptoms three times per day to watch for any changes—once in the morning, once in the afternoon, and once before bed. In order to keep detailed records, we needed:

Thermometer

Note pad

Pen

Due to my high fever, it was impossible to regulate my body temperature. I fluctuated between very hot and very cold, including sweating and shivering. Three things that made this experience more bearable were:

Stockpile of clean, dry changes of clothes (mostly pajamas)

Pile of blankets I could throw on or off

Occasional soak in hot water (standing shower avoided due to weakness and potential for dizziness/falling)

Did you change your eating and drinking habits while you were sick? If so, how? // What did you feel like eating?

I lost my appetite completely when I was sick, so the main concern became keeping hydrated. During that time, I subsisted on water, Gatorade, chamomile tea with honey and lemon, and bouillon and miso broth. I also nibbled away at the occasional cake cookie, inspired by bingeing The Great British Baking Show.

Once I began recovering, a friend sent me this personal account of Covid-19, which was published in Bon Appetit. I think it’s a helpful guide, and wish I’d read it before I fell ill:

“What I Wish I Did: A Guide to Getting Through Covid-19 Alone”

What was your favorite escape? A good book? Video games?

When I was sickest, there was little I could do but lie still and seek distraction from my condition. Reading, gaming, moving, and even talking presented too much of a challenge, so I spent my days catching up on shows and movies I usually don’t have the time to watch. Favorite escapes included:

Great British Baking Show, Love is Blind, Call the Midwife – Netflix

Counterpart, The Expanse – Amazon

Harry Potter, Hook, A Little Princess, essentially any content from happier times

Did you stay isolated from your partner the whole time? // What precautions did you take to keep each other safe? // Did your husband ever develop symptoms? // Was he able to get tested?

When I first got back from my work trip on the East Coast, my husband and I decided to self-isolate together for 14 days in case I had brought any illnesses home. We did not think I would actually get sick—we simply figured we were taking precautions to protect others “in case.”

Unfortunately, we did not start isolating from one another until I was already ill with Covid-19. In hindsight, we should have isolated from one another as soon as I got home, knowing that no matter how young and healthy we figured I was, I could still pose a risk in the days to come.

Thankfully, Todd never developed symptoms. As a result, he was not eligible for a Covid-19 test where we are. That said, we believe he was likely a “silent carrier” who contracted the virus but did not show symptoms.

Would you know if your symptoms would be classified as mild, medium or severe? I’ve read that 80% of people experience no symptoms to mild symptoms, but wondering what mild even means.

Based on the severity of my symptoms, my case would be classified as somewhere between mild and moderate. Severe to critical cases, according to the CDC, involve: dyspnea (difficulty breathing without assistance via supplemental oxygen or a ventilator), hypoxia (deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching tissues), respiratory failure, shock, multi-organ failure.

Did you get a flu shot last year?

I did get a flu shot in fall 2019. It did not prevent transmission of Covid-19.

Was there ever any thought or conversation about requesting hydroxychloroquine?

There was not.

In your opinion, what do you think happened to your test?

I wish I knew. Since sharing my story, I have heard from a number of people regarding missing tests across the country. Below are just a couple of those messages.

“I know someone in Texas whose test also went missing.”

“Sadly, you are not the first (nor would I guess, the last) person I have heard of whose test swabs went missing or got separated from documentation so that results will never come.” 

If your test got lost, does that mean you were counted in the statistics of Covid-19 cases?

Because my test was lost, my case is not counted in official statistics.

Did they not offer to re-test you after your test was lost?

They did not offer to re-test me. Since I was informed that my swab was missing 13 days after I took the test, new tests were being given to patients who needed them most at that time.

Have your doctors given you any advice on what to expect in the short and long term as you continue to improve?

This virus is so unfamiliar that no one really knows what to expect. I was advised to stay home, rest, and recover in isolation. Here’s a new NYTimes piece on the subject:

“We Need to Talk About What Coronavirus Recoveries Look Like: They’re a lot more complicated than most people realize”

Was there anything you did in terms of physical exercise that you feel helped with recovery, or did you feel that rest helped more?

Rest, rest, and more rest. It has been over a month since I first experienced symptoms, and I’m not yet back on the horse when it comes to exercise. Normally, I work out 5-6 days a week. Right now, I’m just doing my best to listen to what my body’s requesting, and that is time and space to recuperate.

Are you okay now?

I'm finding that my recovery ebbs and flows. Some days, I feel mostly normal again, and some days I feel so low on strength and energy that I just want to sleep for a couple days straight.  Whatever the day brings, I’m doing my best to trust the healing process, and remember how hard my body has been fighting to defeat this unfamiliar threat.

When you think about it, it’s amazing that the human form is figuring out how to fight something both brutal and completely new to our species. I find that inspiring.

Would you consider donating plasma for the Covid antibodies once you’re well enough?

Absolutely. I am already registered with the Red Cross to donate. They will contact me as soon as antibodies tests are available.  

Have you reached out to news orgs with your story?

I have not. My main goal with sharing my story was to help others feel better informed, or more likely to stay home, or even just like this virus now has a face and is therefore more real to them. That said, if any of you would like to share my story with outlets for further publication, please let me know. I am happy to consider sharing anywhere that my story can be of service to people.

Do you think it has influenced your lifestyle or approach to life in the coming years?

Fascinating question! It’s probably too early to tell what long-term effects this virus may have on a person’s life—mine included. However, I do know that this slowed-down moment in time has offered me the invitation to take each day as it comes. It has presented me the gift of perspective. And it has reminded me that joy lives not in what we accomplish each day, but rather how present we are while we’re living it.

************

RESOURCES & CONTINUED LEARNING

CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

WHO: https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus

JHU: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

[royalrastafariannaynays]

Laundry Pods (4/?)

continuation of my davekat merperson AU! content warnings are in the tags :)

----------

“Does it hurt?” Jade asks, worried. 

You can walk fine, now, but they found a chip broken off of your shoulder socket in a successive x-ray about a week ago. It had to be surgically removed, and that sucked. But it was a simpler surgery, so not too bad you guess. 

Your throat still hurts a bit when you breathe, and the neck strain hasn’t improved all the way. But your attending said that was normal. For now, at least. Naproxen was all they gave you for the pain, and strict instructions for bedrest, and a little pamphlet of physical therapy exercises. 

So you’ve got some papers and a sling over your shoulder and you’re staying in Hawaii, on Jade’s island, for the next couple of months. Maybe longer, who knows? You brought all of your things with you when you came here, except for some furniture, which you had moved into a storage unit just before you left your apartment. With John’s stuff. The storage unit is paid off for the next two years. 

Mom’s money. 

So you could stay here, for awhile. On this beautiful island.

It wouldn’t be so bad. 

After all, you don’t have a job back... “home”. You could clean up Jade’s house or do the laundry or weed her garden for her. 

She grows pineapples outdoors, here. 

“Yeah, of course it hurts,” you snap at Jade, as the pain spikes. Ow. 

She looks a little dreadful for a minute before straightening up, rolling her shoulders back, and fixing you with a glare. 

“I don’t deserve that, Dave,” she says. And.

Yeah. She doesn’t. 

You’re a miserable human being. Wouldn’t have been so bad if that fall killed you, huh? 

“My bad, man,” you mumble. 

Jade pats your shoulder. 

The sound of a slide guitar, and some of her Bon Iver-ass bullshit soft music, echoes from the basement. That’s where you were a minute ago, chilling in the dark and watching a movie on the projector she has set up down there. 

Trying to reach the TV antenna is what got your shoulder hurting. 

“You just need to heal,” she says. 

Two days ago, Jake left for his most recent expedition. He’ll be gone for a year or so. Rose left the day after, promising to return soon, but that she needs to speak with her editor and see her wife before Kanaya has to leave for the Big Fashion Season in Italy. 

“Maybe you could go out on the beach for a bit?” She suggests. “Dirk and Jane just got back from their jog.” 

That doesn’t sound too bad, but... 

Is she getting you to go somewhere where there are chaperones? 

So you make a face. 

“They’re gonna be doin yoga out there,” you say. Dirk and Jane, workout buddies. Roxy would have been jogging with them, but she won’t be coming this summer. Well, she did, but she had to leave already. Robotics conferences and government work and so on. 

She might be able to come out later. 

You miss Roxy. 

Jade squares you with a Look. 

Okay, you admittedly haven’t been outside lately. 

You could do with a walk. 

Thank GOD for spray-on sunscreen. 

It’s hard enough to get your tank top off without help, and your beach shorts on, but if you had to put on sunscreen manually without the use of your right hand? Jeeeeeesus. That would be beyond annoying. 

It smells a little artificial, though, you find. 

But eh. Keeps bugs off, too. 

The sand is warm under your feet as you walk along the little path to Jade’s lagoon. Yeah, her house has an entire lagoon all to itself. And not a particularly tiny one, either. It’s not big, either. 

Okay. It’s a small lagoon. 

Kinda like the one in that Ghibli movie with the pig. But yknow. Only in size. Not super high walls like that. Yeah.

You’re not the best at descriptions. Maybe it’s the pain meds. 

Dirk and Jane have some other soft acoustic shit playing as you walk out. When you pass them there, Jane is showing Dirk how to do the crane pose without falling. They say their hellos to you, and Dirk asks how you’re doing. 

You know Rose told him to watch you like a hawk, and prevent stupidity. And you know he agreed. 

You shrug Dirk off as much as you can with only one useful shoulder, and walk gingerly out to the beach.

The sand is still warm, even standing in shallow water. A crab scuttles across your toes, and you look out at the ocean. It’s so vast, and you’re so small. The line where it meets the blue, blue sky is almost invisible to your eyes. 

June, the nurse, said to take it easy. Even on your leg. So you decide on a short walk, out to where the lagoon spills into the sea at high tide. There’s always a flow there, minimal, and you know there are little tunnels that go in and out below the surface. But at the entrance there are a couple of tide pools. 

“I’m gonna go check out a starfish,” you call to Dirk, and you don’t wait for a response before you’re limping out to the land bridge. 

Maybe you should have brought your sketchbook. 

At the smallest tide pool, you sit, carefully. And you reach over with your good hand, and poke at a crusty little starfish. 

It doesn’t do anything except wiggle a little further out of your reach. 

Something sparkles in the sand, there, though. 

It’s... 

Glass?

It’s a pretty thick piece, and it’s bright red. 

It’s shaped into something with two loops, and two lines going off of it. Some kind of hippie horoscope shit. 

You pick it up, and admire the texture of it in your hands. Smooth, for the most part, and cold from the water. But warm on the top, from the sun. 

It’s etched with some symbols. You’re not sure what they are. 

More hippie horoscope shit. Probably.

At your curating job, you haven’t seen anything like it. Huh. Maybe a Lord of the Rings website could help you out. 

A cord is attached to it when you drag it from the water. 

Huh.  

Who wandered by Jade’s place at night or whatever? Or did it just wash up? 

Maybe a little animal got caught on it and brought it up. 

You pocket it, and poke at the starfish again. 

Prime entertainment. 

[first chapter] [previous chapter] [next chapter]

[cassburger215]

‘Til Death - Part 3

Dean x Reader

Summary: When the reader finds herself in need of outside help, she calls the Winchester brothers to cash in an old favor. A call that changes everything.

Word Count: 2100+

A/N: I’m so so so sorry that it’s been so long since I’ve updated this. It was a combination of work life, personal life, holidays, procrastination, and figuring out how to move forward on it. So I tried to make it long for lost time. Hope you enjoy and please comment!

P.S. Who’s waiting to see Danneel on SPN tonight?!

MASTERLIST

"Could you turn that down? My ears are bleeding," you yelled over the loud rock music. 

Dean turned to look back at you from the driver's seat, his head bopping and mouthing the lyrics. He gave you a cheeky grin in response. You glared, reaching forward to turn it down yourself instead. A sigh of relief left your mouth as Led Zeppelin became background noise. Now you could actually think.

"How much longer?" is your second question. You'd been on the road for at least eight hours already. Food sounded good right about now too.

"At least another four hours," Sam said. "There's a town not too far that we can stop in for fuel."

You nodded your head. You just hoped this worked.

It'd been two weeks since you left Indiana with the brothers and so far nothing had come of it. There was no hint of where Sara could be. Sam searched everywhere from online to public records in libraries. Nothing. It infuriated you that you couldn't remember anything about where she had been taken. The only information you had was the name of the agency that Sara was adopted through.

Which is why you were currently on your way to your hometown in South Dakota. A place you hadn't set foot in in years.

With nothing else to do, you let your hands fall to your lap and stare out the window. Not that there was much to see. Iowa was all flat land. Boring.

Your mind runs back through the past couple weeks.

The most prominent thing to happen was meeting Castiel. Because apparently, angels exist now. Your head was still throbbing with the revelation. Being an atheist, it was difficult to be forced into changing lifelong held beliefs.

Oh, and they could magically heal people. You placed your hand over the area that was once crudely stitched together skin. Now there wasn’t even a scar. Frankly, it creeped you out. But for the purposes of your mission it was helpful.

When you had asked Sam and Dean why they had an angel in their pocket, you didn’t get much of an answer. ‘Long story’ was the offered response. Then they were weird around you sometimes, doing their little silent conversations or whisper-arguing to each other when they thought you weren’t watching.

They were hiding something from you. Something big.

You decided not to push it though. You had Sara to worry about and you weren’t going to get far without the brothers’ help.

In no time, the impala was driving up to the entrance of Harmony Adoptions.

“Alright, what’s the game plan?” Dean spoke up, looking to me through the rearview mirror. Right. This was my deal.

“Umm... FBI?” you said uncertainly. You hadn’t really done anything like this before. Most of the cases you hunt don’t require posing as authority to get answers.

Sam shook his head. “I wouldn’t. Not with adoption agencies. They will be tight-lipped. You know, red tape and all. They’ll request a warrant before releasing anything to you.”

“Well, that’s all I got,” you shrugged. You all sat in silence for a moment, watching the place as you thought.

The front door pushed out to reveal a couple holding hands, speaking to what appeared to be an employee as they left. They looked hopeful, the man smiling widely before planting one on the girl’s temple. Then they departed.

“Lightbulb,” you suddenly said, pushing yourself up to the front seats. Dean crooked an eyebrow at you. You gestured toward the couple that just left.

“Pose as a couple wanting to adopt,” Sam finished your thought out loud. You nod. “That could work. It would get us into the building, get a tour of the facilities...”

“Exactly,” you said. “So... who’s the lucky couple? I personally think gay sells.”

Both screwed their faces up, a clear shutdown of the idea - which made you chuckle. Sam wagged his finger between you and Dean.

“You two go ahead. I don’t think me and Y/N would really pass as a couple.”

Dean quickly scrutinized you two. “Yup, you got that right.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Jerk.”

“Bitch,” Dean shot back with a crooked grin. He then looked straight to you. “Guess it’s you and me, sweetheart.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Your heart beat slightly faster. You cleared your throat before continuing, “It’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Make an appointment.”

With a plan in place, the impala pulled out of the lot in search for a motel. Something that had been interesting in terms of sleeping arrangements the past couple weeks. If there was a couch, usually that’s where you slept since neither Sam or Dean could fit comfortably with their large frames.

However more often than not, a couch was out of the question in motels. By then it’s a game of rock, paper, scissors for the floor. It made you feel slightly guilty because Sam usually got the short stick.

You would get your own room, but that meant more money that neither of you had. You tried not to use your fake card more than necessary. You know, keep the felonies to a minimum.

It took a minute to find one that wasn’t completely skeevy, but finally a small family owned place was found on the outskirts of town. Which was even better. Less likely to run into trouble.

After you all checked in, and Sam relegated to the floor once again, Dean announced he was going on a food run. Which likely included a bar stop, so we’d not see him for a while.

And now, during this down time with Sam, it was hard to ignore your growing thoughts about the town you were currently in.

Something else occurred to you too.

“Hey Sam, I’ll be back in a bit,” you said as you pulled on a coat. Sam was looking for something in the leather journal the boys always carried around. He quickly looked up after you spoke though, the journal closing as he raised from the bed.

“Woah, hey. Where are you going?”

“It’s not really any of your business.” You got defensive. You couldn’t help it, but the look on Sam’s face made you backtrack. “It has nothing to do with you, okay? I just need to check something.”

“Well, Dean took the car and the only thing within 5 miles of us is a quickie mart.”

You forgot about the car.

“I’m walking,” you declared. It’s not like you didn’t know how to get there from here. It would just take 3 times the amount of time. You gave a sharp nod to yourself, cementing the new plan into your mind.

“I’m coming with you.”

Ugh. You shook your head at him again. He was a cool guy and all, and he was helping you out big time with your sister, but sometimes you questioned how this kid hunted with his personality.

“I’m 26 you know. Just like you,” Sam said, his lips turning upward. You had muttered your thoughts out loud by mistake. “And as for my character… well, there’s a lot you don’t know Y/N.”

Again, you wanted to know what him and Dean had been whispering about behind your back. It unnerved you, not knowing. Yet, the way he said that made you think he was talking about something else.

Sam cleared his throat after a beat. You just stood there lost in your thoughts but snapped out of it when he spoke again. “So, where to?”

Deciding to give up on getting rid of the bodyguard, you let out a sigh and opened the door.

“Somewhere painful.”

Barren. The place was nothing but old walls and scratched floors. There wasn’t even a folding chair or an old lamp sitting in a corner. Just empty. Forgotten.

Kind of like how you felt.

You began to ask yourself why it was a good idea to come back to your old home. Wondered what possessed you to travel across town by foot to a place that held more bad memories than good.

Sam wavered at the front entrance, settling for leaning against the door jamb and staring at the opposite side while you trailed your hand along the wall of what used to be the den.

It wasn’t a big house. One story, two bedrooms, one bath. The tiny kitchen and  den shared space, then the rest was down a hallway. It surprised you, how much you remembered.

There used to be a horrid plaid couch that sat in the dead center of the room, facing the small window. You used to abhor that couch. The color, the smell, the texture. You hoped it went to a dumpster after you were taken away. Or lit on fire.

You could still imagine the bookcase filled with cheap board games and puzzles since you didn’t own a tv. The kitchen had a drawer next to the oven that would stick unless you banged on the counter. The leaky roof. The tire swing in the neighbor’s backyard. Your sister singing along to Bon Jovi with a hairbrush in hand and an air guitar that rivaled your own.

A sob left your lips.

“Y/N?”

With wobbly knees you eased to the floor. Sam had joined you, shoulders knocking into each other. He didn’t say anything as you felt a single tear slide down your cheek.

Suddenly you slammed your hand into the laminate flooring. The smacking sound that accompanied it made Sam flinch.

“I hate her,” you slammed your hand again. “I hate her for dying.”

Sam got more comfortable, spread his legs out. “Your mom?”

You nodded your head. Memories of your mother were bombarding your mind. Good and bad, but mostly bad. Like the nights she’d come home drunk at 2 in the morning or the time she sold your bed frame to make rent that month.

You wished there were more times like when you’d all played monopoly, or being taken to the park on a Saturday morning because mom insisted it was too nice to stay inside. 

Wished for more times when you loved her rather than resented her.

It didn’t matter much now, though. She was gone and left a shit storm behind for you and Sara to deal with alone. You’d resigned yourself to that a long time ago.

After a moment of silence Sam opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated.

“Just ask it.”

He blew out a breath.

“Your mom. Did she die because of…” he trailed off before gesturing to himself. ‘A monster’ was what he was trying to say. You gave a hard chuckle in response.

“Not even close,” you said with a shake of your head. “No, she died driving drunk and running right into a pole.”

Mom was a struggling recovering alcoholic. She would try so hard to stay sober, but never made it past a month or two. You remembered walking into the kitchen one night after she’d fallen off the wagon again. Saw her stare at the empty liquor bottle before bursting into tears.

I’m so sorry, baby. I’m not strong enough.

You looked to Sam again when he gripped your shoulder and gave him a grim smile.

“Why come back if you hate the place?”

“I had to see if it was still there, I guess.”

His eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. “It?”

“The light,” you replied softly. The good. The happy moments. You swiped at your now dry cheek. “And it is. Come on, I just remembered something. Then we can go.”

You hoisted yourself up and Sam followed you down the short hallway. You opened the creaky door to your’s and Sara’s old room. It was weird to see it so bare, but the walls were still blue and funnily enough the plain white sheet that acted as the partition to your closet was still there.

Walking over and pulling it back, you found what you were looking for with the natural light filtering in from the window.

Your hand brushed against the uneven surface of your name cut into the baseboard of the back closet wall. Right next to it, was Sara’s.

One boring night you two decided to immortalize yourselves and all you had that was sharp enough was your house key. It took forever with the dull edge, something you both groaned over after the fact. You had to have been fourteen at the time, making Sara seven. 

And now it was going to be the second thing you had of your sister.

“Help me take this out.”

An hour later and you were back at the motel, Sam in tow and the pried piece of wood in your hand.

TAGS

Forever/Everything: @deangirl-samcurious-0124-0502 @katsanders

Dean: @imissyoualittlemoreeveryday @dreamilysparklyenthusiast @nerdwholikesword @angelsandwinchesters @iwriteaboutdean

Til Death: @trexrambling @pokemaniac1 @quackerstheduck663057

[winterchild-loves-sunshine]

thanks for being realistic. the fact u think of the % of how many real ships we might have within 7 guys got me. honestly, i ship km really hard, but sometimes the reality hits me harder. like i know many shippers are actually overhyped a specific km youtuber, but for me, half of her stuffs might be a little reach. don't you think jm is a little hard to read. i totally down for jk, but sometimes jm makes me think he's doing fanservice, or maybe not, bcz he's such a tease and unpredictable.

hi anon~, welcome back (I guess you’re the one who asked about that particular ask) ^-^~I’m sorry for my late reply again, I’m so wrecked today too and I needed time to think about it.

Okay~, I dunno if it helps, but here is what I tell myself a lot (as much as I love them, ship them, basically root for them, want them to be happy together if possible of course): “My ship ain’t real until they confirm/say it themselves that they’re real”. And even until then, there’s still sth to consider, called “marketing strategy”, since this is the Kpop world we’re talking about (there have been idols dating simply for promoting their groups). However, with all my honesty, and my (biased) belief, BTS and Big Hit will never go that far. The members treasure the members themselves, and the members also treasure us fans.

This is getting so heavy somehow so lemme insert a gif to make things a little bit brighter 

Okay I’m good to go. So does that mean they don’t do fanservice at all? Of course not. But they’ve toned it down throughout the years. I don’t follow other members as much as Jimin (it’s the truth, I’m a Jimin stan afterall), so I can’t really tell you about it. But for Jimin, I agree with some other people, that the Jimin now we see is more like the real Jimin, not less than the Jimin back in 2013-2014. That, by no means, implies that he was fake either. He could’ve been himself, but at the same time, he had to push himself outside his own norms too. It’s nothing unusual, since they just debuted, plus he was young, they needed attention, they needed to be entertaining, as rookies, they needed to do a lot of stuff. 

Back to our babies Jimin and Jungkook, to be honest and realistic again, of course 100% things they do to each other can’t solely be on their own accords, without being driven by what we call fanservice. However, honestly again, has Jikook/Kookmin always been a popular ship? No, not until recently. Imo, the more popular ship has the tendency to do fanservice more. I think Sajeon-nim also talked about this somewhere in her asks. And one more important thing, Jikook/Kookmin is mostly known for being subtle (but probably not until recently, thanks to our Jeon Jungkook-ssi being so whipped and seems to have no intention of hiding it or toning it down. Well, not that I don’t encourage you, keep up the good work, baby bunny ♥). Like you really have to pay attention to it to actually know it, but once you notice it, you notice it all the time, it’s like a pattern, a series that never ends.

All the “I got my (heart) eyes on you” here, here, here and there:

Most of the time, there’s basically no reason for them to do fanservice at all, because it happens too fast (for a few secs, or not even 1 sec), and basically no one is really watching, they’re not in the center of attention etc. …

All the time Jungkook made fun of himself simply just to make Jimin laugh, and he even checked if Jimin actually laughed…

The time they got caught walking together in the back in Bon Voyage, ate with the same spoon (I’m sure they have plenty of spoons in airbnb houses) even tho Jungkook tried not to drink directly from the same bottle with others (no offense to any ship really, I just can’t find more examples in my rusty mind)

I mean, there’re plenty of Jikook/Kookmin shippers out there have talked about them being subtle much much much more better than me, so I guess I don’t have to go too deep into this. I suck tbh xD, but I do hope that you understand my point.

And yes, exactly as you said, I also think that Jungkook is like an open book, it’s all written on his face (pretty much) and in his reactions, but Jimin, yeah not so much.

Imo he’s one of those extra careful guys with whatever he does and says. I mean, can’t blame him when he’s got tons of shits for things he didn’t even do. And as much as an angel he is in my eyes, that angel is still dangerous. He knows what he wants, what he does that will make (most) people fall for him (those constant hair stroking, body rolls, shoulder flashing), and he IS a tease, as you said. Remember in ASC, he didn’t wanna say I love you to the fan so he said I liked you. In the Vlive when fans told him that his beanie was cute he just took it off… (Taehyung and Jimin are kinda similar in that perspective). But regarding our Jungkook again, like Sajeon-nim said, he has Jungkook wrapped around in his small hand. He triggers where it’s ticklish for Jungkook.

Who always exposes Jungkook? Isn’t it our dear Jimin? Saying all stuff like he comes to our room everynight, he brushes his teeth in our room, he doesn’t come when I call him etc. etc. Jungkook doesn’t expose Jimin in relation to himself at all, from what I remember.

It’d be nice if you could give me some specific moments when you think that Jimin’s doing fanservice, then we can discuss about them together. Since I have a memory of a goldfish, I can’t really remember anything TT_TT.

So my point is, and also what I do is, just for us to be on the safe side, I don’t take what they do on-camera too seriously. One example I can tell you is their part in 21st century girl. As much as I love watching it and await what will be next, I don’t put too much thoughts into it. Even tho it seems like it wasn’t planned on Jungkook’s side, it was still planned on Jimin’s side. As a perfectionist he is, he sure thinks carefully what he’ll do before carrying it out, even if it’s just a small tiny little action. On stage, he is a performer. So I strongly believe that he didn’t do it out of nowhere, spontaneously. However, no one, you or me can tell if it was fanservice, except for Jimin. But one thing I know for sure, he KNOWS us fans like it (and  perhaps Jungkook too xD).

Still cute tho…

Well, that doesn’t mean that we should disregard their on-camera moments either. So it really depends… But yes, to answer your question directly, I do think that Jimin and Jungkook do fanservice once in a while too.

However, one thing we can rely on without solely focus on our main characters, is looking at the other members’ reactions. Hobi is one of the most obvious (how quickly Hobi retreated his hand as soon as Jungkook turned around)

How Namjoon knows about Jungkook’s Ph.D in Jiminology so he asks Jungkook to confirm about Jimin’s facts instead of Jimin himself, one example is in the MAMA stage reaction

You can tell these aren’t scripted/planned at all.

And yes, about that specific youtube channel, I know exactly what you’re talking about, I feel the same way as you do. There are times I’m like omg that’s such a small detail how they noticed it adlasfdshfsgh yayyyy my ship is sailing and there are times I’m like oh…okay…okay…how did we reach this far? So yeah, *high five*. But we can’t control what others actually perceive and take in the info they’re given. 

The thing is this ship gained a considerable amount of shippers thanks to that channel. But I just hope some new shippers can be a little bit… chill (somehow stuff I’m talking about is always offensive, but I mean no offense). Yes we have every right to express our own opinion, but it’s sad seeing things like “Jikook/Kookmin is so real how can people ship …?” and start talking bad about that ship constantly… I mean, each person has their own preference. Just because you see it this way doesn’t mean another person will see it that way too. Lemme tell you an example, this moment to me

Jungkook closed his eyes leaning on Jimin’s shoulder is like it’s his most peaceful place in the world and he could forget about his surrounding just for a little bit, but to my friend who is a non-shipper, she told me he was just posing for the camera, there’s this type of pose that you close your eyes, and I’m like TT…

What I mean is that I don’t wanna see Jikook/Kookmin shippers become arrogant and aggressive when people don’t agree with us. We all know how Jimin got attacked and trashed by some shippers from a particular ship, and we really, really don’t wanna get there. So instead of wondering why people can ship other ships when our ship is so “real”, we can just sail our own ship and appreciate their moments, be flustered, fangirl/fanboy about it with other shippers, like try to be positive instead of being negative?

All in all, I’m sorry anon, for kinda going off-topic and can’t really give you a clear answer at some point. But I really did try my best. Just that my memory is really not as good as other shippers’, and I’m really not good at expressing what is going in my mind either. I hope that you can somehow understand me. Thank you so much for sharing your opinion with me, anon. Love 🌸🌺💜

🐥🐰💞