#but the way they don’t have a COMPLETE LIST of his appearances in HoM is unacceptable. what the FUCK that’s wiki 101!!!

[blorbowhereartthoublorbo]

All Mortimer appearances in House of Mouse **UPDATED**

because it’s been half a year, and i’m STILL hyperfixated on him. thanks to @yume2kwaves’ video, i decided to take another look through the series.

i now have more extensive knowledge on mortimer than his wiki page.

enjoy <3

(appearances that can be found in HD will be in orange text)

Ep 01 The Stolen Cartoons (cameo, ~1:55 mark)

Ep 02 Big Bad Wolf Daddy (segment, “Pluto Gets the Paper: Mortimer,” cameo in crowd, ~14:35-14:37)

Ep 04 Goofy’s Valentine Date (cameos throughout, ~1:18, ~2:46, ~10:46, ~13:44-14:06)

Ep 08 Gone Goofy (cameo, ~10:26)

Ep 09 Rent Day (segment, “Big House Mickey”)

Ep 11 Donald’s Pumbaa Prank (segment, “Mickey’s April Fools”) (fun fact, in the HD airing of this episode, they took out the part when mortimer thinks he killed mickey lmao)

Ep 12 Thanks to Minnie (cameo in the segment “Mickey’s Big Break”)

Ep 16 Clarabelle’s Big Secret (cameos throughout, ~2:09, ~2:23, ~21:28)

Ep 17, The Mouse Who Came to Dinner (central role, also appears in the segment “Mickey’s Mix Up”)

Ep 19, Everybody Loves Mickey (central role, also appears in his segment “Mickey’s Rival Returns”)

Ep 22 Where’s Minnie? (cameo, ~11:45)

Ep 25 Ladies’ Night (cameos throughout, ~1:26, ~9:37, ~10:20, ~19:17, ~21:29) (also he has a SONG number that he was given the okay to perform at the house of mouse??? but he was kicked out before he could perform it 😭 even tho he was scheduled beforehand to do so 😭😭😭)

Ep 26 Dennis the Duck (segment, “Mickey and the Goat Man,” cameo directly after)

Mickey’s Magical Christmas: Snowed In at the House of Mouse (cameos in crowd, ~8:19, ~9:54, ~33:44) (despite them going through the effort of drawing mortimer into the crowd (this one special being the most times they’ve done so), they removed his portions of the interview)

Ep 32 Goofy’s Menu Magic (cameo, ~9:52)

Ep 33 Music Day (cameo, ~1:10, cameo in crowd, ~7:42)

Ep 45 Pete’s Christmas Caper (cameos throughout, ~1:41-1:56, ~3:02, ~12:30, ~21:04, cameo in crowd, ~19:24)

Ep 46 Clarabelle’s Christmas List (cameos throughout, ~2:55, ~11:26, ~19:12, ~20:52, ~21:33, segment, “Mickey’s Christmas Crisis”)

Ep 51 House of Genius (cameo, ~2:24 (EXCUSE ME. WHAT))

Ep 52 Mickey and the Culture Clash (central role in the final ep :,))

[octopus-reactivated]

BTHB: Worked to the exhaustion - Werner

It's been a while since I wrote something for this part of Werner's journey. Idk why, it's so fun to see his smart defiance >:]

Tw/cw: Pet whump, humiliation, cruel Whumper, starvation, beating, bruises, let me know if i missed something.

__________

At least, he left those annoying white rooms. Werner was going insane there, and that probably—correction—that for sure was their purpose. 

The Man who bought him had an unpleasant appearance. Probably twice Werner’s age and seemed like he was cruel.

 Werner was labeled as a chore Pet, so he hoped he wouldn't have much attention on him. Just give him tasks to do and let him be in the back.

That probably won’t happen. But it was nice to hope. 

The Guy grabbed him by the collar and dragged out of the car to his house, dropping him on the floor. Werner fixed himself into a kneeling position (and he hated that). “Alright, listen up Pet, because I'm going to say this only once” he looked like he had an inferiority complex and needed to make himself feel better “Here are the rules: You refer to me as Master. You don’t speak unless spoken too. When I have guests over, you don’t show your ugly face to them, unless I call you. And when I call you, you come immediately. Each morning you get a list of chores, and you finish them the same day. Do your chores in a way that won’t disturb me. Walking upright is allowed only when a chore requires it, when not, you will crawl. If there will be a need to buy cleaning products, you will note them down. Is that understood?” 

“Yes, Master”

 “Go do your work then” 

__________ 

To say that the list he was given was long, was an understatement. 

“Were the tasks so hard?” Master said.

 “Not individually, Master…” he tried to explain himself, kneeling on the floor, eyes down.  He knew it was futile, and yet he spoke in his defense. 

“Well then, do them individually then”

 Werner hated how the Man looked down on him. If the chores are so easy, do them yourself, idiot. Oh no, you can’t because your wife was the only one maintaining the household and when she divorced you, the only solution you came up with was to buy yourself a chore slave.

 He couldn’t say that out loud. Well, he wasn’t even sure if that was true, but he wouldn’t be surprised if he hit the spot. That type was common. 

And he couldn’t explain or defend himself. 

__________

The punishment wasn’t the worst he ever received, but it may get troublesome if every day will look like this one. 

He earned a few bruises and was sent to sleep on a cold floor in a small utility room. Apparently, if he ‘behaved’ he could get a dog bed, but Werner doubted the man even bought one. If he ever completes a full list, he will find out if his assumption was true.

 He curled up on the floor.

 It was just temporary. He will escape this, he just needs to be patient.

 __________ 

Master quickly realized that making an impossibly long list will only make Werner lose motivation to do his tasks if he’s going to be punished despite the efforts he puts in. So he fixed it by basing end-day punishment on a number of uncompleted tasks.

Ten missed chores meant ten canes or ten minutes waterboarded. 

Werner hated to admit that it worked. And he worked hard to avoid another cut or another bruise.

 He will escape and go home, he just needed to make his Master let his guard down. 

And until then he worked, and worked, until one day while dusting his hand appeared to be distant and the world seemed to spin around and everything became black.

 __________

 “What do you think you’re doing?” Master was towering over him, frown on his face. It was not a frown of concern.

 Damn.

 He got up and dropped on his knees.

 “Sorry, Master, I… I must have fainted” 

“Huh? Did I get myself defective?” 

Werner grinned his teeth. This was so humiliating. 

“Do you want to be thrown out?”

 Oh yes, please. Remove his chip and let him go free. He will wander around cold streets for a while, but eventually will contact his family. Please, let him go home.

 “No, Master” he answered, “Please, let me correct myself”

Endure it. It would be too suspicious if he didn’t beg for forgiveness. 

“I guess…” Master looked down on him, “I don’t want to go through hustle of getting new one”

 __________ 

He got kicked so hard that he flew into the storage room he used to sleep in. His breath turned into a series of coughs and wheezes. 

This was on top of his already bruised body. The owner slammed the door in his face, just after he announced that Werner won’t be getting any food for three days.

But that wasn’t the greatest problem. 

He was just scared that if he would be overworked like that, he wouldn't have the strength to go home.

__________

Taglist: @heathenville @myst-in-the-mirror @icyheart-and-friends (though you might enjoy??)

also @whump-blog thank you for proofreading!

[rainbowwing251]

Hey I just found your blog but I must say, you’re very talented😁. I’d like to make a request tho. Maybe some headcanons for Terry from fatal fury? It’s optional of corse.

I’m sorry for making you wait all this time, but I have finally finished my list of headcanons for Terry!

I haven’t played any of the games in the Fatal Fury series, nor have I played any of the games in the King of Fighters series. Nonetheless, I’m going to do my best. I think I have some good headcanons for Terry.

Terry is a ler-leaning switch that is on the border between a ler-leaning switch and a pure ler. Given this information, and his appearance, most people would assume that he hates being tickled. However, this isn’t entirely true. It all depends on who his ler is, and whether or not he is in the mood.

His worst spots are his knees and his underarms. Terry does a very good job with protecting these spots, but if you can get around his defenses and tickle him in either one of these two spots, he’ll quickly crumble under your hands.

Even so, you will likely struggle with keeping him down on the ground. No matter who his ler is, he will try to fight them back. Sometimes, this is due to genuine discomfort, and he’ll try to get his ler to stop tickling him. This is only the case if you  are a complete stranger to him. If he knows you, you better watch out. He’ll try to turn the tables on you while you are tickling him.

After he recovers from a tickle attack, he will occasionally feel a sudden twinge of sadness. Don’t blame yourself for that, though. You didn’t do anything wrong. Sometimes, tickling makes him think about his adoptive father, Jeff Bogard, and how he would tickle him and his brother, Andy Bogard, on rare occasions. This wouldn’t be a bad memory for Terry... if his father hadn’t been murdered right in front of him while he was 10.

How does this memory not resurface every time you tickle him? I don’t know for sure, but it can happen from time to time. If it does happen, don’t try to tickle him again. He might get upset with you (though he’ll never get mad at you. He’s knows that you are not trying to hurt him on purpose).

Terry only has two lers in his world: Andy and Rock Howard. Unfortunately, he doesn’t get tickled by them all that often. Andy’s spends most of time in Japan, and Rock doesn’t really care about tickling. In Smash, it’s a different story. Ken, Little Mac, Ryu, and Pit are Terry’s main lers, and they all target him on a regular basis. Unfortunately for Pit, Terry can easily turn the tables on him.

As a ler, Terry is rather fatherly! Perhaps that is a weird way to describe Terry’s ler side, but the upcoming headcanons will explain this a little bit better. At least, I hope they will.

Similar to Mario, Terry will target those who want or need to be cheered up. Instead of targeting the sides and the bottom of the ribcage like Mario does, Terry will lightly tickle the lee’s stomach instead.

If no one needs cheering up in his world, then he might go and target Rock. As his adoptive father, Terry wants to give Rock the love that he deserves, not wanting him to suffer from the same kind of loneliness that he and Andy once suffered from.

If he is in Smash, then he will target the younger fighters of Smash. These fighters won him over rather quickly, as he is very protective towards children and young teenagers. He doesn’t want the younger fighters to suffer like he did (though for fighters like Ness and Lucas, it’s a little too late for that), and he definitely doesn’t want them to feel unloved. If any one of them needs a reminder that they are loved, Terry will drill that message into their heads by tickling them silly.

He does target the adult fighters of Smash as well, but he isn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of tickling them. There are a few exceptions, but I’m not going to go over that now. I’ll talk about in Terry’s list of lees.

He prefers to use lighter tickles, knowing that heavier tickles could potentially result in injury if he is the one doing the tickling. He’ll only use heavier tickles if his lee asks for them.

He’ll give you plenty of breaks so you won’t be at risk for passing out due to a lack of oxygen. You don’t have to ask for a break, he’ll make that decision himself.

Despite his looks, he’s a bit of a silly guy on the inside, and this is demonstrated by the way that he teases his lees. He teases his lee like a father would tease their child (I know Terry doesn’t have a biological son, but in my opinion, adoptive fathers can be just as good as a biological father). The only other person who could compete with his ability to turn a lee into a giggly mess via teasing is Chrom.

In his world, Rock is his main lee. Andy is another one of Terry’s lees too, but he doesn’t get the chance to tickle him all that often, since Andy spends the majority of his life in Japan.

In Smash, he will go after the younger fighters, as I have previously stated. Out of all of them, Lucas, Toon Link, and Young Link are his main targets. These three have all gone through some horrible shit, and Terry wants them to know that they are safe and secure in Smash. If they ever feel scared, he’ll be there for them. And this doesn’t just apply to them, it applies to all of the young fighters.

As I mentioned a few paragraphs ago, Terry isn’t entirely comfortable with tickling the adult fighters. However, there are a few exceptions. Those exceptions are Marth, Chrom, Little Mac, and Shulk.

Terry has a bigger soft spot for Shulk than he does for the rest of the adult fighters. Don’t get me wrong, he has a soft spot for everyone, but Shulk is a bit more special to him than anyone else.

When he first got into Smash, he somehow mistook the young Homs for Rock. Upon realizing that he wasn’t his adoptive son, he got slightly embarrassed, and apologized to him for the mix-up. Shulk didn’t see anything wrong with that mix-up, so he quickly forgave him. After a few days had passed, Terry realized that he had developed a soft spot for the guy. He reminded him of his adopted son.

When someone told him that Shulk was ticklish, he immediately wanted to test his ticklishness. He talked to him about this, and he eventually got the okay to tickle him. Needless to say, Shulk quickly became one of Terry’s favorite lees.

That’s all I got for Terry! Once again, I apologize for making you wait for these headcanons. I got nervous about the quality of these headcanons once I got towards the end of the list. That wasn’t going to stop me, though.

P.S Me? Talented? Of course I’m going to take that as a complement, but wow. I was not expecting that at all.

[xenobladehistorian]

Xenoblade Chronicles DE: Future Connected

Alright, here is my long-overdue list of what has been revealed and what I can deduce about Future Connected!

Story

1.) Tyrea and other High Entia NPCs make a return appearance, along with some Machina as well. There is at least one new Machina NPC.

2.) There is a new antagonist, a half-Homs High Entia man in black and violet robes. This image I pulled from Reddit, but the poster got it from a Japanese trailer. 

3.) Alcamoth and at least parts of Eryth Sea (the seal islands for certain) are connected to the Left Shoulder. Most likely, this is all on the carcass of the Bionis, and many refugees have retreated to the Left Shoulder since Alcamoth has been overrun by this shadow enemy. You get to explore Alcamoth and the Left Shoulder.

4.) The entire story is centered on Melia. Perhaps it’s her gaining confidence to lead her fractured people. Perhaps it’s more. I wouldn’t get hyped up for a massive crossover with Xenoblade 2 or even X, however. Supposedly, the story doesn’t reveal anything extremely massive regarding any other Xeno- game; however, the Twitter user who got to pre-play the game has remained very vague about this.

5.) You travel with two Nopon, Nene and Kino, Riki’s children, says Gamexplain.

6.) There are shadow figures that are similar to Xenoblade 2′s Guldos, only orange and slightly different. They’re very spectral-like, much akin to the laser eye in Alcamoth.

7.) Jenna Coleman is Melia.

8.) The story literally begins with a flashback of Zanza’s and the Bionis’ death.

9.) The story may be at least 15 hours long, but that’s based on one person’s screenshot. It doesn’t give the answer of it that file was 100% completed or just the plot of Future Connected.

https://twitter.com/DeniosTheGamer/status/1261263143990439936?s=20

Gameplay

1.) Any armor, including the replica Monado, is transferrable into your main game save file upon completion of Future Connected.

2.) Shulk, Melia, Nene, and Kino are the only playable characters. You still have a party of three, and you begin with Melia as the default character in control. However, you don’t have to play her, you can switch who you control just like normal.

3.) Melia’s arts are more clearly depicted so using her is a little easier--and easier to understand, or at least, this is what Reddit claims.

4.) As you travel the Left Shoulder, you encounter 12 Nopon who are surveying the land. You gather them, and they give you different battle effects--buffs, healing, et cetera. You can choose which effects they give you when your chain attack bar fills; however, there is no more chain attack, this is the new chain attack.

5.) You can pull Shulk’s hood up to make him a punk rebel and make Melia goth.

6.) The Left Shoulder’s wildlife is the same as much of the Bionis’ and reuses the same enemies.

Theories

1.) The mysterious new villain could be some spurned member of the royal family. I say that because his outfit is different in style than many of the Alcamoth citizens.

2.) With Tyrea there (I’m assuming protecting the other High Entia refugees), there could be more with the Bionite Order. If there is, that makes me very excited!

Concluding Thoughts

I know at least one reviewer was pretty harsh on Future Connected. He said that it didn’t feel like a Xenoblade story, the dialogue had none of the charm of the original, and it was boring. However. The reviewer admitted that Melia isn’t his favorite character. He does have a bias against a Melia-focused story, which will lead to a different opinion. And I watched another reviewer who was much more favorable toward it and actually did show footage of them playing Future Connected. 

Yes, there is a high chance the dialogue isn’t quite the Xenoblade we know. But this is natural; it’s been 10 years since the original. Being able to match the dialogue tone perfectly for every reoccuring character and just in general is hard. It’s very difficult to achieve a perfect tonal match, especially with such a time gap. Do not expect it to feel exactly like the original--that way, if it does feel like it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised versus disappointed! 

The gameplay is just like the original. The exploration, the arts. The only change is the chain attack. I know some information floated around from a Japan preorder card that it was a new combat system, but it’s not.

All in all, go into this with an open mind and the knowledge that the world we’ll be leaping into is a new Xenoblade location with more story regarding Tyrea and Melia!

I’ve decided to start it first rather than obsess over what it could be about while I play the main game. That way too, I have some other armor options. What will you guys start first?

[dolcetters]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; mun & muse - meme.

TAGGED BY: @hyaciiintho​ ( ;-; AAA THANK!!! )

TAGGING (don’t feel obligated to do it!): @forsakenflora , @avadite , @yinseal , @inseparabilum , @reigningsniper , @tsume-awase​ , @canisfuria​ & YOU if you wanna!

FILL OUT & REPOST ♥ this meme definitely favors canons more, but i hope oc’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. multi-muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

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

MY MUSE IS:   CANON / OC / AU / CANON-DIVERGENT / FANDOMLESS

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES  / NO / IDK (he’s fetishized a lot; thanks, i hate it)

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK (i’d lean more toward no)

Are they underrated?  YES / NO

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO / MAYBE (stares into the abyss)

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO / MAYBE

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL (true neutral, my boy)

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON? ♠ || i have an ongoing joke that “canon is a slab of meat that we slow-roast at 475 degrees and carve for the juicy bits” but at the same time it’s not a joke at all, i’m being perfectly serious. i’m definitely a lot less strict than when i started for writing canon characters way back yonder, but i also DO like to keep within an array of canon boundaries because i’m not writing for an OC in this instance, i’m writing for an established character. ...it also doesn’t help that my character’s handled differently in the 4 types of media he shows up in but. i grew up reading DC comics and writing for beast boy, so i’m kind of used to “multiple takes existing for singular character”. 

that being said, my take on dol is clearly canon divergent (since... he’s alive and my default verse takes place after the nest raid) but it pulls primarily from brotherhood/manga with a couple dashes of 2k3 series (since that’s the only media that gives us a length of time that he was in the labs). but given that i follow along with just about every scrap of information provided in the manga on this clown, i’d say i follow canon fairly strictly... but there ain’t a lot to go off of, so my reins are pretty loose no matter how you look at it. my city now.

SELL YOUR MUSE! AKA TRY TO LIST EVERYTHING, WHICH MAKES YOUR MUSE INTERESTING IN YOUR OPINION TO MAKE THEM SPICY FOR YOUR MUTUALS.   ♠ || (*￣3￣)╭ well, hello, there. aware of dog? yes. this is he: dolcetto mcgrouchyboots, and he is not happy to be here at all. he is traumatized, sassy, wants to throw hands with teenagers, has no sense of self worth, and will absolutely use himself as a meat shield in order to protect any and everyone he cares about. he is spliced with: dog. his favorite weapon: sword. if you listen carefully, you might hear dog-song rising on the east wind as he approaches (don’t tell him axel taped a cassette player to his back). he comes from a found family of complete and utter morons with a lot of damage, they live in a partially underground bar, work as information brokers, and are all DEFINITELY fully functioning adult people. they say gay and trans rights. if you like angry boys with a sense of humor semi-on-par with griffin mcelroy, this is the boy for YOU!!! 

NOW THE OPPOSITE, LIST EVERYTHING WHY YOUR MUSE COULD NOT BE SO INTERESTING (EVEN IF YOU MAY NOT AGREE, WHAT DOES THE FANDOM PERHAPS THINK?).   ♠ ||  he’s only featured in a handful of episodes/chapters across all media, doesn’t have a significant amount of dialogue, and we only ever see him lose to the protagonist(s) despite that he seems more than capable of fighting anyone else. easy to brush off as a “aw he died and that’s sad but we didn’t really know him, moving on”. from what i’ve seen in my years, people are more interested in him being a cog in the machine of “greed is sad” and less interested in... HIM. which is fair, i guess, but hhhhhh

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?   ♠ || i don’t know if i can pin-point any ONE thing, but i’ve always been drawn to characters with some sort of connection or bond with animals (example, once again, being beast boy from teen titans). i also have an IMMENSE weakness for the found-family dynamic. so when the devil’s nest appeared during my first watch through of brotherhood, i was pretty much... hooked. immediately. and devastated. immediately. as for what drew me to writing dol, specifically... probably his loyalty, his drive, the fact that he WOULDN’T FUCKING STAY DOWN no matter how many times someone knocked him flat on his face. i vibe with that. grew up very much in the mentality of “fall down 7 times, get up 8″. also, he had a sword... which always beats guns on coolness factor. and i loved his fire. ...and that he was a complete fucking idiot who’s really bad at kidnapping i mean HOLY SHIT THAT’S HOW YOU TRIED TO GET HIM TO COME WITH YOU, DOLCETTO, ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING--

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING? ♠ ||  dol has always been a great source of ...venting for me? <xD ever since i started writing him, i’ve always found his muse--specifically--to be extremely cathartic and comforting. i dunno if it’s because he lets the more... jaded side of me come out, even when we’re both trying to be optimistic? 

because i’ve been in 2 emotionally abusive friendships. i definitely have some left over hurt, pent up anger that hasn’t been given closure, a hell of a lot of underlying bitterness that i never got the opportunity to confront those people, BUT i still try to be. y’know. welcoming, friendly, supportive, despite a voice in the back of my head being paranoid?? i think dol continues to give me outlets to expressing that. somehow. not that i use him as an excuse to do it, more so i have more opportunities to do it when i’m writing him as opposed to writing someone like beast boy, who’s usually more on board with keeping the peace than picking a fight. i’ve also invested SO MUCH TIME and ENERGY into his background and headcanons and things that i kind of can’t quit him now, nor do i want to.

... and aside from that i just want him to have a happy ending god, fucking damnit. 

SOME MORE PERSONAL QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN.

give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO ( or i certainly hope so )

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES  / NO

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO ( definitely have moments but eh! ) 

Are you a sensitive person?  YES  / NO ( kind of... varies. i’d say i’m more hyper aware)

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?   ♠ || i definitely like to think i do when it comes to pre-established things in canon. but when it comes to what i’ve built on my own over my years of writing for dol (and the nest members as a whole), it’s kind of my sandbox and i’d appreciate you not stomp around in it. 

unless i need to be learned a thing, like... one of the nest members, vi, is a trans-woman. i’m a cis-woman and i try to do as much research as i can and educate myself, but if i ever fuck something up please tell me, i’m doing my best but i’m more than willing to listen. i want to grow.

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER?   ♠ || pretty sure everyone does! >xD but yeah! i FUCKING love it. especially since i’m writing for a minor character. =//o//= it shows people are interested in him despite his overall lack of content.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?   ♠ || i’d definitely be curious as to why but i doubt i’d be offended or take ... any personal harm from it--y’know? it’d be more of a “let me hear your perspective and maybe it’ll expand my own understanding, or i might not agree after the explanation and that’s cool”! 

an exception would be for an obviously shitty one that’s shitty for no reason, like... acTUALlY, he’s TOtaLLY hom///o///pho//bic, to which i’d be like “bitch, no, get away from me; no one in this bar is straight, die mad”.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT?   ♠ || again, it’s cool! there’s not a lot of canon material so you can take his portrayal a variety of places. if we don’t jive, it’s pretty whatever. 

my one exception to this is probably people who, in the past, have told me i write him being “too mean”. which will never cease to confuse me. because even after al straight told dolcetto he was 14, dol was still like “I REALLY WANNA SMACK HIM but i’d just hurt my hand so you’re off the hook”, he’s angry like 85% of his dialogue in the manga... i’m just confused. where are you seeing the “uwu pupper~” persona. you can write it, that’s fine, i don’t care, just don’t get irritable when i don’t write him like a cute puppy. because here he is. suggesting we just kill izumi because she’s being troublesome. yeet. ...he’s an asshole.

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?   ♠ || whatever, just don’t be a dick or speak badly about me or him in my presence because, flawed as he is and while i won’t make excuses for him, i’ll stand up for him. go somewhere else, my dude. i, personally, don’t have the energy for your negativity. nor do i have the patience.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?   ♠ ||  i’m more okay with people correcting my spelling (gently). because of the way i taught myself to read, i’d be FUCKED if auto-correct or spell-check didn’t exist. i also google correct spellings constantly. so spelling, yeah, i already know that i’m terrible at it so feel free to correct type-os or spelling mishaps, it ain’t no thang. 

grammar i’m a bit... pickier about. because sometimes i’ll purposely do a “grammatical error” because the punctuation or otherwise further drives the pacing or mood i’m trying to give my writing. i may not know ALL the rules but i break them from time to time... FOR THE ART.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?   ♠ || i wanna say i am?? while i definitely do want to seriously explore and flesh out and grow dol as a muse and character, i’m “not above” goofing around, poking fun at him, or just being plain silly on the dash. RPing is escapism for me and i strive to keep my blog a peaceful safe haven on the dashboard, both for myself and my followers. 

i try to communicate to the best of my ability and despite my anxieties, and while i may not be able to follow or RP with EVERYONE (for obvious reasons) i’m open to interacting with ... pretty much anyone who throws me a bone. i’ll speak up if i’m not down for a plot or interested in a certain relationship or interaction, but i’m certainly not going to be rude or dismissive about it. i know what that feels like. i’d say yeah, though! i think i’m pretty chill. e-e you tell me.

[treasure-my-aurora]

One More Night. Pt 9

Pairing: Kim Hongjoong / fem!Reader

Chapter: 9/14

Genre: Mutual pining, canon compliant, fluffy af, angsty af, suggestive, teasing and filled with that good shit that everyone loves

Words in this chapter: 6520

Out of all the songs on the new album, Aurora was my favourite. Not because I was biased since Hongjoong had poured his heart and soul, tears and sleepless nights into it. Perfecting it, over and over and over again until he was happy with the result… Well ok, maybe that was the main reason why. But the other reason was simple. It was a song for his first love; Atiny. The fans that sometimes travelled across the world to watch and cheer on the boys. Supporting them through thick and thin, even though they didn’t know them personally. It fascinated me. The amount of love and respect they had was out of this world. There was some bad eggs in the bunch, obviously, which fandom didn’t have its share of toxic people? But Aurora was for the real ones, the loyal ones. It was a Wednesday morning, the day after their comeback. The Seoul weather was mild, comfortable, cloudy but not on the verge of rain and the whole day was dedicated to filming. Me and Hongjoong had discussed his main outfit previously and I only nodded approvingly when I picked the boys up in a company owned van at their dorm just as the sun went up. “I’m impressed” I said, and he winked at me while taking his usual place just behind me, “What can I say, my artistic talent and your eye for design. Boom” He placed his chin in his open hands in a ‘flowering pose’ and San snorted out a chuckle underneath his breath while Seonghwa looked at him with a wrinkle between his brows, repelled by the action with an expression only he could pull off. The first location was a bridge over the Han river and the boys were immediately sent to make-up, before they were ready to record the ‘looking emotionally into the distance so that Atiny can swoon over our visuals’ part. Hongjoong and Wooyoung stood as number three on the list and the younger of the two sprint away to latch himself on San’s side as soon as they were finished, telling him in a singly voice that he looked so good with his cool clothes, expressing the most impressive aegyo I’d seen all week and I chuckled slightly when San gave him a look of confusion, puzzled by the action but loving the attention, sticking out his tongue at him teasingly. “How do you feel?” Hongjoong reached out to touch my arm in an innocent and friendly gesture, wary of the amount of people around us, both from the company and complete strangers who just happened to walk by on the bridge. “I’m fine?” I answered, thoughtful as I met his cautious eyes, but it sounded more like a question and he took a step closer to me, whispering. “You don’t regret yesterday?” He asked and I furrowed my eyebrows, “No, why would I” “I dunno. I just hoped that the enticement between us hasn't changed now when you’d gotten a taste of me” He shrugged, a bit unsure and I shook my head, sad that he was feeling so insecure about himself, “I’m glad… sorry that I act weird” He frowned, “I didn’t sleep well last night, kept dreaming about you. That you changed your mind after our kiss, telling me that you hated me, quitting the company and that I never saw you again… I kept waking up, reaching out and expecting you to be there. But you weren’t… and the feeling was so real that I feared you’d never show up this morning” I fought to keep my face natural but after him dropping a bomb like that, but it was hard, and I clenched my jaw as I fought the need to reach out for him. To hold him tight and kiss him until the feeling of dread in his chest would go away completely. I reached out to fix his clothes instead, aligning the collars of both shirts and pulling on his necklace softly to drop it down lower on his chest, simply to make it an excuse to touch him and his breath hitched softly when he felt my touch, as if he expected not to feel anything at all, “I’m not going anywhere. I wish that we’d be alone at this moment so that I could show you how much I mean it” I said, my gaze fixated on the leaf shaped pendant in my hands and he placed his hands in his pockets to prevent himself from reaching out towards me, like he’d do if we’d be alone. We sighed at the same time, deep and mellow and I refused to meet his longing eyes and the sweet smile I saw in my peripheral, not knowing what I’d do if I did. .. I watched him an hour later when he read the script for the day, the schedule, the routine, what times we were going to eat, the new locations etc. talking to the camera that would follow them throughout the day, a female director, (not the one from the other day at the ‘Dazed’ photoshoot, thankfully) was filming and I sighed happily when Hongjoong nodded and smiled with approval, bright and amazingly beautiful, talking about the process behind his reformed shirt before San came to join him and the subject changed to the 'Power Rangers' in a heartbeat, flowing in a way that a conversation could only move forward when you really knew each other. They did the choreo for the song, wrapped it up nicely and then we headed off into the forest for the second location. Everything was already set up with some tech guys there preparing and working the camera angles and my eyes widened to the beautiful setting. A green large meadow opened up in the foliage and the whole group, both staff and members held their breaths when Hongjoong paused, pursed his lips to think for a moment before he nodded with a content smile and everyone went back to their business. “I’d love to go to spend a day in a place like this with you” He whispered a few minutes later, standing close enough for only me to hear but still far enough away to not draw too much attention to us, “Why?” I asked, knowing that he didn’t enjoy sharing his space with creatures that had more than four legs for any longer amount of time than necessary. “We’d be all alone, we could do anything we wanted, maybe even spend the night and watch the stars, nothing else on our minds than each other. No one would bother us. Trying to separate us. No one would care, because they wouldn’t know” My heart flipped happily in my chest, cheeks flushed pink from the wonderful picture he painted, and he winked at me when he was called over to get a small retouch before they started filming again. .. “Is it supposed to be like this” Hongjoong asked as I buttoned up his clothes a few hours later. We stood away from the others, in a portable changing room that the staff had raised up before our arrival. It was a tight squeeze with only one square meter to move on, but we didn’t mind, revelled in the fact that we could stand closer than we’d been able to do all morning. “Yeah, you all wear basically the same clothes… you don’t like it?” I asked and bit my lip, unsure if I’d taken the right direction, actually questioned myself if I knew him well enough for the first time in months, since it had been my final decision that made the hammer hit the gavel when it came to the style that’d been picked. “No, I love it. It’s perfect for the vibe I wanted. It’s just so…” He raised his arms over his head as I sighed with relief, and if it wouldn’t be for the white shirt underneath, his whole chest would be showing, “Sexy?” before giving me an unsure smile and I nodded, a smug expression on my face, “I know, I wanted to give Atiny a treat” I said while shrugging and he blinked fast, as if he couldn’t believe what I was saying, “You’re willing to share me just like that?” He asked, trying to sound serious and a bit hurt but I heard on his tone that he was only teasing me, so I scrunch my nose at him while doing the finishing touches, “Yes, I am… but only as long as you share my bed, and no one else’s” “Wouldn’t dream of it baby” He said and gently cupped my face and my breath hitched with surprise as he pressed his lips on mine in a sweet peck, only brushing against them really, to make it as silent as he could to avert suspicion but it still made my heart race. He kept the position, even after his lips left mine with his hands on my face, longer than necessary, just watching me. Like he never wanted to part from my side, like every moment away from me hurt his soul. Or at least I hoped it was the case, because that’s what I felt. “I’m glad you’re here with me. You’re a part of this, of Aurora as well” He said and I looked away, flustered as he placed me on the pedestal I’d reserved for him, “You know…” his hands traced down to lock around my waist instead, “Atiny is my aurora, but you…” He swallowed and pressed a gentle kiss on my forehead and the knot in my stomach when he talked to me like he did right now, twisted and turned and I gulped when he kissed the same place again, stalling a little, “You… you are my light… and while the aurora makes its appearance sometimes, and it’s intense and breathtakingly beautiful... you… you’re my stars. So bright, especially when I'm with you and always there, in my sky, even if I can’t see you. Always showing me the path in my darkness, as soon as the aurora goes away” - 20th of June and tears streamed down my face when the host shouted out Ateez. Hongjoong made eye contact with me for a split second where he knew I stood, at his right a few meters away from the stage together with some more staff and I smiled through the tears, clapping my hands happily as they received the trophy for their first win. .. Hours later and we sat on the sofa at the boys’ dorm. Still in disbelief of what had happened that evening. They had done a vlive as soon as they got back to the company, thanking the staff, friends and family but we still didn’t seem to realize what had happened. I’d offered to take them home when it was time, subsequently writing myself up as responsible to get them back to the company the following morning. It was late, the clock was nearing midnight and I knew that I should go back home and sleep but had a hard time separating myself from Hongjoong’s side as we mindlessly watched a programme on TV, cuddling with the air conditioner like a white noise in the background. San and Wooyoung sat there as well, but at the other end of the sofa, huddled together almost as close as us and the thought of them having something special between themselves, something similar to what Hongjoong and I had crossed my mind, like it had done so many times before. They were focused on their phones, scrolling down on twitter and fan cafés, giggling and showing each other posts about the evening's event and I glanced over at them with a smile before I looked at the clock that rested heavily on my wrist and the smile that’d lingered faltered as I sighed, letting go off Hongjoong’s hand and he looked up on me with surprised eyes as I stood up and stretched. “Don’t go” He said, halfway between a plea and an order while he reached out his hand towards me again and I paused, a sad smile tensed my jaw, and I furrowed my brows at his longing eyes, a pout on his lips and feet resting on the floor, ready to run after me if I walked away. “I have to, I need to be up early to make sure that you’re all up and ready in time for tomorrow's schedule” I said and bit my lower lip, already dreading the coldness of my home, even if it was the middle of summer. “Then stay?” He suggested and stood up as well, taking one hand in his and placing the other on my lower back. I could feel the boys’ eyes on us, silently watching, and I looked over at them just as San reached for the popcorn on the table, like he got ready to watch an epic drama. I gave him a short, disapproving look but he only stuck out his tongue before stuffing his mouth full, some of the popcorn fell back and Wooyoung looked from him to the bowl, a wrinkle between his brows before he looked away again, a mix between disgust and amusement on his face as he shook his head, too used to San’s proneness of being a sloppy eater. I sighed and focused my gaze on mine and Hongjoong’s clasped hands instead, fighting off the feeling to melt into the touch of his hand against my back. He was so comfortingly warm against me, and the familiarity of his body made me sigh. A silent war of logical reasoning tried to fight some sort of sense into my head… but my feelings for him, my need to keep him close, made my mind go dangerously blank. My brain kept pushing on the fact that I should go home. Deal with the accessories that needed to be mended, go over the schedule for tomorrow again, just to be sure and fully prepared but it was a war that were lost within seconds as the recklessness of my heart won. “Ok” I said, still a bit hesitant but Hongjoong smiled bright, nose scrunching before he softly cupped my face and pressed his lips against mine, happily kissing me and taking my breath away. My heart skipped as I immediately melted to putty into his touch, closing my arms around his midriff, my eyelids fluttering shut and the feeling of him pressing up to me, flushing his body against mine hard, arching my back slightly in his hunger for me made my breath hitch, still not used to this new development in intimacy, even though it’s been a few days and I quickly realized that I wasn’t the only one when a loud scream erupted from the sofa. “Are you two fucking kidding me, when did this happen?” Wooyoung asked, his eyes wide as saucers and it looked like he was ready to jump out of his own skin from excitement. “A few days ago” Hongjoong said after breaking the kiss and looked at me with eyes so full of love that I had to break our gaze, getting almost shy from the intensity he showered me with. San had been quiet so far and I watched nervously when he nodded to everything that just happened, stood up and walked up to us with slow but determined steps, his face neutral and I braced myself as Hongjoong let me go. But the fist that I had counted on, was an open hand, pressed onto Hongjoong’s back as San placed his arms around him in a bear hug, lifting him off the ground slightly and I could hear a hushed, “Congratulations… you better treat her right” Being whispered before they let each other go and Hongjoong nodded, and held out his pinky to wrap around San’s, a promise I knew he’d keep silently being uttered between them. The feud finally settled after months of slow but steady healing and I wet my lips, feeling how my heart swelled as they gave each other a big smile. My eyes flicked to the TV, the programme we’d watched had ended and I stifled a yawn behind my hand, suddenly feeling how tired I really was. Hongjoong gave me a smile, placed his hand on my back again and didn’t have to ask to know that it was time for bed. We said goodnight before he led me to the room he shared with Seonghwa, who was seated in his bed at the right and looked up from the game he was playing, eye brows raised with curiosity as his eyes flicked between us to out laced fingers and he sighed, took out his headphones, unplugged his charger, grabbed his pillow and said with an impressively calm voice, “If you fuck on my bed, I’ll rip your spine out of your mouth” “Noted” Hongjoong answered with a smirk and closed and locked the bedroom door after his hyung before he went over to his wardrobe and pulled out a washed-out tee, which he handled to me. “I have clothes with me, Joongie” I said, talking about my usual prepared bag of a change of clothes and hygiene articles but he smiled sweetly, “Yeah, for tomorrow… but you do you. I’d prefer it if you slept naked too” He made a motion as if he was going to put it back and I quickly held out my hand, and he gave me the shirt, snickering slightly under his breath to my sudden resolution. I grabbed the hem of my shirt, expecting him to turn around but he didn’t, and I cocked my head to the side, my eyebrows rising but he stood his ground. “Hey, I’m just as curious as you” He said and I could feel my cheeks burn as I rolled my eyes and turned around instead, pulled my shirt over my head and bit my lip as he let out a soft gasp which turned into a whiny exhale as I unhooked my bra as well, let my clothes fall to the floor and fought the need to cover up as a soft breeze from the small open window at my right made my skin prickle and nipples harden. “You’re beautiful. You know, that right?” He asked and I quickly cupped my boobs anyway when he took two steps towards me, reached out and left ripples across my skin where his fingertips softly caressed down my right shoulder, followed the line of my spine until both hands rested comfortably around my waist and he flushed his chest against my back. I swallowed hard and he placed a butterfly light kiss on the nape of my neck, making me shudder and the hair in my neck stand up. His left hand gently stroked up my side, between my boobs, over my breastbone to my throat and he tilted my head back, to rest on his shoulder, fingers pressing against the skin under my chin and a surprised gasp escaped my lips from his controlling behaviour. The kisses continued over my neck and he nibbled gently on the sensitive flesh over the big artery there, my pulse picking up right next to it and he cursed under his breath, softly bucking his hips into my ass and I gulped, my heart skipped a beat and my stomach did somersaults when I felt his cock prodding against me through his sweats. “You can feel what you’re doing to me, huh? How much you’re turning me on?” He gasped, slightly out of breath as he inhaled sharply, like he’d held it as he touched me, but I couldn’t answer, my voice lost to the feeling of arousal pooling between my legs. One hand travelled down to stroke over the curve of my ass and I pushed back onto his touch, wantonly. Needing, craving more of him. He nudged me forward slightly, towards his bed, bending me over the mattress and I choked on my breath when he bucked his hips forward, into me again. “Do you trust me?” He asked, so sweet and innocent, like his cock wasn’t pressed between my asscheeks that I swallowed nervously and choked forth a small, “I do” Before his hands were on me again, sweetly gripping my waist, hooked his fingers under the lining of my gym shorts before pulling them off and I felt exposed when I stepped out of them, dressed in only my panties now and with my ass in the air. Hongjoongs eager hands touching me, fingers slipping into the lining of my underwear as if he wanted to pull them off as well but stopped himself from doing so, flushing his chest against me again instead, placed kisses over my naked back and I shuddered against him, letting go of my boobs as I didn’t need to shield them from his eyes anymore when he pushed me down harder, almost sandwiched me between him and the bed and I panted against his sheets, sharply inhaling the mixed smell of him and washing detergent and my mind clouded over as his fingers brushed over my clothed cunt with butterfly light touches. “God, babe. You’re dripping wet” He moaned and I whined out something incoherent, too far gone within my own lust to make any sense, “I need you, need something, please” He begged, respecting the boundaries that I’d set up but still in need of the release that had begun to hurt us both. “Fuck my thighs” I choked out, and Hongjoong paused, unsure if he’d heard correct, my sudden forwardness surprised him and I tried to make a point as I raised myself up slightly and pushed my thighs back against him, making him slip between my them slightly and a growl erupted from his lips as he took control again. My heart hammered hard in my ears as I heard how the fabric of his clothes rustled when they hit the floor and I buried my face in my arms, refusing to get a glimpse of his naked body and spoil myself of the sweet surprise. He spit in his hand and the slick sound of him as he closed his hand over his cock, a low moan escaped his lips between hard panting, had my legs quivering and I inhaled sharply, feeling how my eyes rolled back when he separated my thighs with a gentle hand, fingertips wet from saliva and pre-cum and my breath hitched when he brushed against my cunt again, his deep loud groan made me clench around nothing and I swallowed hard as he spread our fluids between my thighs. “Are you sure?” He asked again and I could only nod, gasping as I finally felt his unclothed cock burry between my slick thighs, pushing them apart slightly from the size. I’d been dreaming about this for months now, fantasizing about how he would feel against my body, completely naked, the girth of his cock, the length, based only on what I’d felt when he woke up, pressed against me, softly dry humping my leg or the contour of it in his tight pants when he got a boner as I dressed him. Nothing could prepare me for the real deal though and I cried softly into his sheets as he reached forward to lace our hands together, his cock sliding in and out between my thighs hard and fast and my eyes rolled back as I clenched around nothing again, imagining how good it would feel when he would finally be inside me, stretching and filling me up completely. “Fuck baby, you feel so good” Hongjoong cried out and nibbled hard on my skin, marking me with red blooming flowers, rutted against me with no plan on stopping and I fell forward slightly from his hard thrusts, landing flat down on my stomach instead, but he didn’t stop. Quite the opposite, and I gasped as he pressed his body weight against me, his hips bouncing off my ass and teasing the lips of my clothed cunt. “Touch yourself baby, I need you to come undone before me” He gasped out, voice throaty and I imagined that his head had fallen back, eyes closed as he revelled in the feeling of us together. I comply without a word, and he lifted himself slightly so that I could slide my arm underneath me and I almost flinched when I felt the movement of his cock pushing in and out between my thighs as I pressed down on my clit, circling around it and Hongjoong moaned when I helplessly clenched my thighs together as pleasure shot through my body. “Do that again” He cried and rested his head against my shoulder, his hot breath made me shudder as I pressed down hard on my clit and clenched my thighs again, gasping as he shuddered against me and I felt that he was close. The thrusting irregular and his breath uneven and I slid my other arm underneath my body as well, to join my already wet fingers, moved my panties to the side to slip two fingers inside me, moaning to the feeling and Hongjoong stopped his movements suddenly, panting hard, “Sorry” He choked out and breathed for a couple of seconds before he began to move again, much, much slower than before, “I don’t want to come just yet” He whispered and pressed a soft kiss against my shoulder blade. I inhaled sharply, supporting my body on my chest and the side of my face as he leaned down, over me to capture my lips, holding the kiss for a few seconds and the moment that had been so hungry for release turned sweet and loving as he placed his hands on my waist, pushing my body back to meet his thrusts. “Come for me baby, and clench hard. I wanna cum on you” He whispered and I cried out softly as I worked my fingers faster, pressed them up against that sweet spot inside of me and he growled, leaned back and began pounding against me, his cock gliding between my pre-cum slicked thighs without restrain, and I bit back a loud moan, imagining how wet and nasty it would finally be when that pre-cum would rest happily between my walls as he slid in and out of me instead. I was on the edge, on the very verge of falling over when Hongjoong leaned down to press a kiss between my shoulder blades, “Fuck, you feel so good against me babe, so warm and wet. I love you… I love you so much” He exhaled, hands gripped my hips harder and his voice so full of affection that I felt tears forming in my eyes as I came over my fingers, gushing the wetness of my cum down the sides of my thighs and a guttural moan escaped his lips as he followed, thighs tensing up as he pressed himself as close as he could against me and the wet feeling of cum spreading over my lower stomach as he came hard, riding out his orgasm with a deep exhale, made me sigh hard and I slumped against him. Warmth spreading through my body. “I love you too” I whispered against the mattress and he pressed a sweet kiss on my cheek. “I know. I’ve known since you began looking at me differently after we got home from Saipan” He said while walking off and I heard rustling from tissue paper and clothes as he cleaned himself up before changing clothes and my heart beat hard in my ears. “How?” I asked and quickly covered my chest as he gently turned me over to lie on my back instead, a soft, “Oh” escaping his lips and I opened my eyes. He’d put on new underwear, just as I’d guessed, but his chest were still naked, and I bit my lips as I watched his post-orgasm face. Eyes hooded and glazed over, sheen sweat on his template and glistened his body, cock still half hard, twitching happily as he looked down on me and the mess he’d created on my stomach and I averted my gaze, cheeks burning from the diabolical fire in his dark eyes. I inadvertently kneaded my boobs in my hands, a bit uncomfortable, feeling bare under his gaze and his head tilted to the side from the sight, hand reached out to touch the wetness between my thighs where I laid, legs rested off the bed and I couldn’t help but clench them together slightly, still too sensitive. He groaned, deeply and closed his eyes. An ongoing war in his mind as he fought the craving to just spread my legs and bury himself in the hot wetness between them. “I can’t, I just…” He sighed, voice cracking and I knew what he meant, feeling the burn of desire working up my body again as well again. “Look away” I said, and he inhaled sharply before he closed his eyes and I scrambled with the shirt he’d given me, pulled it over my head to cover myself up and inhaled deeply, smelling his cologne on the neckline of it. Never wanted the feeling of him around me to stop. Hongjoong surrounded my senses, making me swallow hard as he gripped my thigh harder after opening his eyes again and seeing his shirt on my body. The need to dominate ruled his system and I motioned for him to come closer as I scooted up, placing my head on his pillow instead and he followed, enclosing my body with his as he towered over me on all fours. He sighed, brows wrinkling, and he placed his hand on my cheek as he leaned down to taste my lips again. “I love you, I love you, I love you” He said in a mantra, kissing my lips between the words and I choked as he took my breath away with every press of his lips upon mine. My heart beating hard, and I wet my lips, tasting him and swallowed as he laid down, pressing his body weight on me, softly bucking his hips against my heat and I bit down a moan as I separated my legs further, the soles of my feet on the bed and I could feel my blood boiling as he humped against me, thrusting his once again clothed hard cock against my wetness. “I need to feel you” He choked out and I nodded, closed my legs around his waist and pressed him closer, the tip of his cock pushed against my entrance as he dipped in, the fabric of my panties stopping him from going much further than half a centimetre or so but it was enough to send him into a frenzy. He pushed his hand into his underwear and I bit back a cry as his facial expression fell when he closed his hand around himself, so far gone already that he immediately started to thrust against me again, using his hand for the part that didn’t reached inside me and I slip my hand between us to circle around my clit again. The obscene sound of slick wet skin against each other as we moaned quickly got me drunk and my lips found his again, meeting his tongue halfway as it flicked out to taste me. His appetite out of this world and I groaned when he pushed his body against mine, making me writhe and my head to fall back against the pillow. The stretch from the head of his cock against my burning heat made me blind with wanton need and I thrusted back against him, falling from the edge before I even realized I was standing at it, still sensitive from my previous orgasm and he gasped as my face contorted and I squeezed around him, eyes falling back in my skull and his hand closed around my throat, nibbling at my lower lip possessively, "You're mine baby, just mine" He growled and I took a shaky inhale behind his enclosed fingers, swallowed with some difficulty, “My body, my noona, only mine” He continued, black eyes meeting mine, as he snapped his hips against my body, eyelids heavy and his tongue between his teeth, biting down in concentration. Head tilted to the side and watching me with dark intensity, like he didn't want to miss a thing I was doing. Just as lost in my eyes as I was in his, loving the expression I was doing as my oversensitivity made my body writhe under his, wanting to escape the burn between my legs but loving the feeling of him against me. I placed my hand on his chest, feeling how hard his heart pounded underneath the ribcage and swallowed deep, my heart sang with his and he quickly fell as well, buried his face in the crook of my neck when he did so. Sinking his teeth into the flesh of my skin and I whined with satisfaction when I felt his cum coating the outside of my already wet panties. We breathed together for a few seconds before he sat back up, cursed loudly, jumped up and basically threw tissue paper at me. “What are you doing?” I asked, sat up to lean on my elbows, feeling drunkenly sleepy from our session and he walked on wobbly knees, pressing the tissues into my hand. “I almost came in you, clean up, hurry” He said, voice panicky and I looked at his stressed out expression for a few seconds before my clouded mind realized what he was talking about and I fell back on the bed again, rubbed my eyes and a small giggle fell from my lips, “Stop laughing, this is serious. I’m not ready to be a dad at all” He cried out and slipped his fingers underneath the lining on my panties, but I stopped him quickly and waved a hand in front of me to try and calm him down. “I’m on the pill, darling. It’s fine. You’re not gonna be a dad and even though I wouldn’t be on birth control. I’d take the measurements needed to not get pregnant before this would’ve happened. Some tissue paper is not going to stop any sperm to keep on swimming” I said, and his face changed from worry and concern to hurt and confusion. “What do you mean you’re on the pill?” He asked and sat down on the bed next to my resting body, pouting and I realized that he must think that I slept with others as well since the first sexual thing we’d done, when we were so close that our bodies touched, happened a little less than two months ago and so far, he hadn’t even been close to cumming near my cunt until well, now. “Don’t misunderstand, darling. You’re the only one for me. I’ve said that so many times, and that’s the truth. I love you” I reassured, “I’ve taken the pill since I started having sex... it’s more than a birth control for me. It’s more than that for many women” I said, and his upset face softened as he pursed his lips at me, puzzled at this new dose of information and I smiled at his sweet unawareness. Still not used to the fact that he was born 98, years after me and in November non the less, technically not even twenty-one yet. Not old enough to drink in many countries and I frowned as a disruptive feeling laid over me like a heavy suffocating blanket. “I’m sorry” I said and sat up, flinching slightly at the feeling of dried up cum on my tummy and he looked at me, his frown mirroring my own as he laced our fingers together, gave my hand a squeeze, sucked on the inside of his cheek and looked up on me from long lashes. “Why?” He asked and I looked away, swallowed hard, and shook my head, embarrassed to speak my mind. “Darling… you’re a leader, a father in all ways but physical, with qualities of someone that knows what they’re doing and sometimes I just fail to remember your age” “Are you calling me naïve?” He asked and coiled back, slightly offended but I shook my head again, “No no, the very opposite. You’re so mature and… I dunno… I just wanna tell you that I’m sorry. Sometimes it feels like I’m…” I trailed off but he still picked up where I left off, “What, like you’re using me?” He asked with a chuckle and I shrugged, a pout on my lips, “I think we can both agree on who’s being used in this situation, noona” He said, a bright smile still tugging on his lips as he went back to using formal honorifics in a heartbeat, more to mock me because of the topic than actually being polite and I sighed at his antics. Knowing fully well in my heart, just as him, that he’d been the one holding the strings, playing with me like a puppet and pushing me further and further towards the edge until I finally fell, unable to stay in my own lane anymore, just as deep into him as he was into me. The both of us welcoming the development of whatever happened between us, as time went on. “You’re still young though” I added softly, “I just…” I sighed and clenched the fist that wasn’t holding Hongjoong’s, “I just don’t want you to regret the decision to be with me. I understand that your job is your life and I feel the same about mine. It’s not something you’d back away from just because you’re in love. It’s your life’s blood and your livelihood and I…” I inhaled sharply and met his eyes again, “I need you to be sure because I won’t be able to handle a no from you. Not after everything we’ve been through. Not after the purgatory we will be forced to go through when this relationship is finally uncovered, be it by media or the company” He nodded and said a simple, “You’re right. I’m not ready to risk anything” and my heart fell in my chest, but he quickly picked it up again when he placed a hand under my chin and forced me to meet his gaze again, “But neither are you. We’re going to go through this, everything that will happen, together. Just like we’d done so far. When I met you, so many months ago, I’d never expect to sit here with you, afterglow clouding my senses and you sitting here in front of me in my cum stained shirt, looking like a wet dream and more gorgeous than I could ever imagine… and I’ve imagined, a lot” I chuckled when he punctuated the last words extra hard, feeling how my heart fluttered at his sweet words as I squeezed his hand in mine.

[kurasmaniac-blog]

#it needed to be more violent, I’m going to burry you, you don’t have magic.

In the hospital

daddy dropped me

there are historical figures and concubine queens

they chose me as martyr for my workout regime and as reward for my honesty

little girls resemble solid black babies who try and eat your face openly

tried to fix their dented heads when they got dropped from their cribs

syringles full of things slightly acidic

they opened my trachea

i was unconcious and interrogated

i begin smacking them around

TELLING them how stupid it was to do a thing like that

still managed to tell them a few things they didn't know

at home

finger nail clipping troubles

black widow bites

white python with yellow rings

they think they can abandon me if not completely financially

put hom outside

generaly not there very much

where?

pedophile

brother

no tv

on and off one way then the other

they refuse to feed me

two faced talking to kids who would have been my frinds

i don't get hurt very much i guess

tee ball

pedophiles

dented a kids head for harassing me

coach thinks he can fuck my little butt

i knocked half his teeth out

one swing

no damage initially but as he tries to go back to get my poor little butt hole

i was three

they all talk to eachother about what a bad little shit i must be

pedophile kids in day care #1

moved on to a second

fought every kid who asked me

knocked a kids teeth out for being a little mexican and trying to give everyone HIV

teacher knew the two intruders and tried to drug me

one single cop shows up somehow tries to break one of my wrists

i can see he is full of crying and try to assist him mentally

i continue fighting kids relentlessly

residual growing from the drugs

in and out seeing it all conciously

people try to break my legs

their wish dreams begin manafesting showing me broken memories and arguing that they had done what they said

im still 100% in tact

my grandmother on each side trys to rape me

assorted shit they try and feed me

elementary school starting with kindergarten

i rip a little girls broken arm off basically

a few more kids say they have fought me

little girl tries putting paper clips in my head

i bend her jaw with two punches

she loses her mind and says "i just got that off"

my soul smiles up at them openly

first grade second grade the cops had already seen me

i loved jumping off swings

but i had hurt so many people god came down and put my face in the ground

as high as the roof landing solely and flat on my face

i bled crainially

a puddle of clear liquid on my face and desk they would have licked me

stop defending yourself you're fucking the kids up

kid thinks he is hercules and wants to help everyone by trying to break my nose

i lie to him like they had lied to me

my nose is clearly not broken

i lose more of the kids its like they're just not there

i lose the ability to run without pain

dentistry

teeth filed

suppposidly removed for breaking the coaches face

second set is given to me

i had only walked into school twice even at that point

ultra decked a kid because a girl said he was a little fucker "stop raping me" they said

more drugs for beating so many of their children

kids who had been to my house lose it and go after things pets and family

there was supposed to be a funeral at some point they tried to kill me

i broke a toe walking down to the kitchen for a drink

i was sent back home from hell and scared the shit out of everyone royaly

im no longer capable of hearing them try and explain their reasons to me

one night i woke up having to remind myself to breath

brother and girlfriend kill parents

they go after me

putting cigarettes out in my nose

trying to cut

and failing horribly

the girl was daughter of a police officer whose face i had also broken right after his daughter

at a friends house other dad and second son come hope after going to the hospital having tried teaching the boy fighting and yanking his neck breaking the spine they

they had refused treatment and his head falls off in my arms

i had still only used violence defensively

i refuse to take karate for fear of perminantly damaging a student then instructor in that order

on anotyher night the dad of the dead boy tries to fuck my poor little butt hole

my only explanation is i simply don't and can't have the fucking of my butt magically

loss of memory

cop dughter girl has doctors try and cut off my arms and legs leave a for fork in my chest and chain me to my bed

the chains are broken i manifest new arms and legs which i use a bit to grab the girls face a bit and i notice they urge me to not hurt the girl by fading in and out

there are too mny things in my list here for me to just be full of shit believe me

sixth grade camp for 2 of the 7 day week a proctor dissapears for judging me and another kid and trying to put shit on at least my ear

he dissapears

my pants and broken belt fell off in front of a girl and i notice she has trouble not noticing my nuts

jr high first new friend trys to hold me under water but i didn't like it and shattered one of his testicles he has one

at a girls party somehow i overstayed my welcome so they try and cut my face off paint it with tatoo ink burn bitch at then shun me

before i can get out i find myself inside the house and the girl freaks out she wanted me to leave because my mother followed me in and i had to bitch slap her

drugs

i make a big scene talking to my mom on a cell phone they don't like me

the girls dad carrys me outside by the shirt and puts me directly into mothers car

pipe bomb

met tiesto he lived there i guess

the girl was rape/fucked because people knew my parents thinking of them poorly

i would have to have at least one of these mentioned having this many

havent done homework since second grade

little herculese still thinks of bending one of my arms so i shove a foot right up under his girlfriends butt in a class

on an extended field trip a fat kid drugs me and i hear i defiled a sanctuary but don't have memory of crying myself to sleep much less living with it like a mistake at all actually

kids had put shit in their pockets and thought of me

i don't get to go to the girls second party

on the final days of school field trip i miss the buss call but find some kids who stayed also find myself out by a buss and rape a police officer to get myself put home

i had robbed a crain game and grabbed at least 15 stuffed toys

i was punnished for not doing the monkey bars right and dislocate a sholder but still manage to get to the top the climbing pole

teleport frisbe

a bee flies right up into my shorts and didn't seem to want to leave

im debating not going back to add in all the other things for elementary school typing this is tiresome in itself

high school

staying late after school eventually turns to my brother throwing my dad a surprise party where i had died in the bathroom party girl put magnesium on my hed and it melted its way right through me

the bathroom is a mess and my dad watched me die

i pop back up and walk out into the living room naked not having clothes some mexican kids tried to piss all over my room

there must have been something wrong with my dad for refusing reason like he did i hear i knocked teeth out of his face for my poor little butt holes honor

barbeque injector to the heart

huge trap door spider made a snack of me

people tried to kill my cat

loss of vision but there were people who tried talking to me

the police had investigated the corpse in the bathroom and say it wasn't me

i smiled

stabbing for my method of provocation

soemthing fucked me

someone cut the skin off my left arm and tried to wear it

the next day i walk back to the hangout just fine

people threw rocks at my mother i didn't make it all the way home conciously

i thuroughly haunted a school performance and broke a girls face for their indirectivity

my bend in my jaw is still there

i don't go to my fathers house anymore after that party

find myself at my mothers and know not much more than that her housband breathes heavily when hes angry

when im at another house with one of his kids i end up staying for a week strait

when they wre drinking they poison me

on another night i make it too the bathroom after drinking heavily and think of it as a victory

i wake up in the bathroom with my left hand clutched around a puking girls pony tail shes screaming WAKE UP WAKE UP don't put my head in the toilet

as i take it off my hand responds slugishly with each finger prying itself off individually starting from the left pinky

i clutch my hand and call back to sleep

residual

i have a few short visions one of a neck readjustment i enjoy pranoidly

another of my mother and her housband trying to get me to leave that house why not just put me outside

i get a car

i drift around this same turn in my city 10 times having looked at the reason and ignoring my good way out i slam one front left axel into the curb breaking it loose then take a right turn and make it to a spot to park

the tire stayed on and they cannot police me

im gifted a few dips in the road and scrape part of a plastic under carrige piece off partially but being half an inch thick it cannot have happened

i was smoking at a church and let a guy try my manual car without me i hear a loud crash but the car seems fine later i realize he must have tried to blow the transmission seeing how the car acted just after

the car now runs on me

another set of people tests me at first mostly with steroids in a single spot cutting drugging

when someone threatens me i still just tell them to hurry the fuck up

drugs

a few long trips drugs found a girl with "tongue fur" which i cant have because earlier i was given a yellow funguns that was "if you're not dead in a week that's not what this is" i lived and the fungus formed a line around the horizontal rim of my tongue

there is a tackle box on every corner and everyone is on a foreign telephone netowrk

one night i appear just in front of my drive way pull in and am followed throught the door shot up and left unconcious

earlier there had been mexican workers broght from a separate city so many that step father is shuned "you never bring them back"

if a person fails it is clearly their fault or literal mind rape possibly

i made the girl who showed interest hot and for a while she thinks of it as raping me until she gets HIV

the last mentioned group of people one night summon me with wishes to go and have a rave far away and by the end the only thing i can say is they couldn't afford what I bought them by being there

a girl of them is kidnapped and raped supposidly

i tried many times after being shot up maybe 10 times taking pills and not smoking to pull her ass back to my car but the best i can do is offer my sholder for stabbing

the brakes became clogged with sand

we were moved and i took people home

the girl is recovered by one of the group and her authority father she had jondis

the now hot rape girl and a guy had given HIV to many people including both their families

i got a job

i somehow broke the computer system at that restourant but i had been driving my car with parifanalia and a broken tail light for long enough to get the idea i should use this chance to continue my high school work of being there weather anyone liked it or not

the cop whos sons head had fallen off in my arms tied to put a harpoon slug in my left eye

one morning on the way to school my windows had been rolled up and the frost was heavy on my windshield

i back out at a point of defrosting thinking it would clear up but find myself in the same place as before looking right at the answer clearly but not able to act

i passed throught a pillar my mother having been pushed into the drive way and proctor on the corner of my mountain rode street where there were some kids waiting for a buss i had never noticed

hercules had killed one of my cats for raping his home and i end up running over a kid who was playing in the street

the proctor pulls a boi knife and puts it through my face i have a vision of POW soldiers being hydrolically injected so i say no

one of the kids starts yelling about how a little gir had started crying and i pull off to make more magic

parts of the kids body were stuck to the bottom of my car and i took all of it strait to the closest parking space at the school to the school

there were police waiting but they just shoot so i vanish again losing memory not really knowing

the puddle was hercules' little cousin and my cat was at home

i did mushrooms up in the mountains and played car pinball all the way down to a friends house

the police showed up there but i had already fallen asleep from eating too many mushrooms

at the school graduation there was a special surprise for me in the form of some guy holding my diploma who the just ran thinking i didn't have it but did

father was there and tried to rip it in half i vanish again

my year book had been handed around the whole school

i didn't see it at all i'll make some wish for that later as long as not too much is a staged story

many people have HIV at this point

one final night after work i had been drugged for a week or so by the guy who brought the HIV back from cuba

i cant do anything but hurt people

she stood there in the hall unable to call me a bitch without explanation and I finally understood psychology

that part of their face is bent, so is mine but if it actually matters i wont ever care

i don't have HIV but i like to think that maybe some had been let go

i don't know how much of that acid they gave me but i drove home parked turned the music up as my brain dried out

if anyone had an objection i didn't hear of it right then

brother and the second cop had the second cops dad take drills to my teeth at a party i was summoned to

the damage wasnt immediate but later and just some

if that kid was hercules then my tee ball coach was zues whose lack of teeth have fucked my head up for years

i went to the planned parenthood and almost was raped but found myself outside

i was taken to two 5150's where by the end one had missing people the the other had seen me inside a secret wall room

i end up in the mountains one night and a kid with heppatitis shoots me up

everyone has a fucking needle

historical figures all around along with a zues and herculese makes me think there once was an after life but they refused to take responsibility and leave it there before showing up here to rape little boys

i raped and took a walk through the rave in LA one night on invitation apparently party girl told me i was a fagot

i didn't pay but i still even got inside after tiesto himself had failed to just walk up and beat me

once inside i was split into five went everywhere then took a seat up in the top section

they asked me to leave twice played me part of a song saw my brother and floated down to a door across the crowd from where I was

ruffles?

i landed on the other side near the enterance to the VIP section but just walked out into the fog

oh

went the wrong way and found myself home turned the music up and began wrenching around my bent faw right side

finally once i headed around to the back drive way it was loud again but i had a magic barrier that kep the high school kids away and the kids kept the other people away

my head started screaming at me and i was alone with it to beat as time went on

my psichiatrist heard me once say that the human trafficing people couldn't do anything about me either so they decided t kill me

one night i was sick with the flu had a heart attack

another day i went out to mow the lawn but i had gotten so clogged by the medications there was some pain

a while after i see my drivers license picture looks just like the kid from terminator two after he beat that hooker

on walks i found things i had never seen a mushroom that reminded me of a lamp shade red fat butt spiders like a black widow and small tube scrap that looked like it had been cut

i was going to use it as a blunt crutch but thought it might be metal lit one end and held it at the other

it was hot in less than 1 second and probably cold before i dropped it

i think about it having the mark of being cut and a piece left from it being broken off but i don't think people have anything like it

i threw it away thinking nobody would ever give a fuck who cares i found it on a walk no you don't have it

i have the kings crown magnet still

on the way i had broken kids cops an fbi agent but who gives a fuck i was born in a hospital

the phich meds were good for a while and i had gone back to laughing then suddenly it turned drastically to extreme discomfort the word for which people still don't acknowlege

it was that way for at least a year of painful discomfort not being able to sit still or stand

until one day i decided to give a bit and stop taking the medication

then the drugs quietly gently turned back a few different attempts later

but the yelling i had done in my room and the music had attracted me attention again i didn't hear of any of it from a person at all

nother guy dances down my hallway uninvited bounces into my room and tries to flip the light switch but the bulb breaks and im sitting there blinded by the light of my computer screne

they cant hear me thinking

someone got the little girl at the end of the street the tongue fur right the fuck up in the top end of it

i herd some people outside my window even my land lord so i guess they cant get the fuck out of my house either

i got my new house of my own in a mobile home park and in the first few days someone had assigned a hagared lady to try and do "something"

once the pandemic hit in the first few days there was a guy in a truck and not knowing well enough to stay away i talked to him

my casual manerisms concerned the people from down the street

but after the builders tried to crack the house in half and the HIV kids spitting at my father

[tragicbooks]

Setting the record straight on what it's really like to host a refugee family.

<br>

Last October, in response to the worldwide refugee crisis and general encouragement from my church, my family and I signed on as volunteers with the Refugee Services of Texas. We were assigned to furnish an apartment for a refugee family of four, pick them up at the airport, bring them to their new home, provide them their first meal, and stay in contact with them.

These are 10 things I learned from the experience so far.

1. Helping people is rarely glamorous.

It’s very easy to imagine a romanticized meeting at the airport, something you’d see in a movie. The family walks out into the reception area. They see us holding our "Welcome to Texas!" sign and smile brightly. We shake hands. Then embrace. Everyone’s eyes are misty.

But the truth is they trudged through the security doors. They were tired, hungry, and confused. They were concerned about their little boys wandering off and didn’t know where their luggage would be. Their English is about as good as my Arabic. Which is to say, not. Our drive to their apartment was mostly silent due to the language barrier, jet lag, and the general awkwardness of being in a car with complete strangers.

2. Helping people is rarely convenient.

It’s nice to be helpful. Charitable. Magnanimous, even. It’s another thing to give up a couple of perfectly good weekends to spend sweating in an apartment where the air conditioning hasn’t been turned on, assembling book shelves and bed frames with Allen wrenches and hex keys.

It’s not the Peace Corps, but it’s also not writing a check to charity and getting a feel-good bumper sticker in return.

3. Most Americans can’t begin imagine what most refugees have been through.

A Syrian family waits after being escorted into the harbor by the Greek Coastguard, who found them drifting offshore in June 2015. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.

The family we were assigned to help was coming from Syria. Actually, they were coming from a Jordanian refugee camp, where they’d been living for two years. Two years. In a tent.

Originally, they're from Homs, Syria. I’d never heard of this city, so I googled it. Homs is a 4,000-year-old city that until recently had a population of more than half a million and was a major industrial center. In 2011, it became a stronghold of the opposition forces in the country’s civil war. Homs was under siege for three years. It has since been almost completely destroyed, with thousands dead. The population is a third of what it was a decade ago. This is the equivalent of Austin, Memphis, Baltimore, or Charlotte being reduced to rubble, the population decimated by our own military.

I found myself asking, "Where would you go? Where could you take your children?"

4. Most Americans are incredibly generous.

The Refugee Service of Texas gave us a list of what this family would need upon arrival. It included everything from mattresses and chairs to cleaning supplies and deodorant. My wife created a registry at Walmart, and we posted it on Facebook. Within a day, 80% of the items were purchased by generous friends from across the United States and even a handful from overseas. By the end of the week, everything had been purchased, and friends were asking if they could continue to make donations in other ways. Most are good people who want to help. They just need to know how.

Our front room, loaded with donations from generous friends around the world. Photo via Greg Christensen.

5. Most Americans don’t know the difference between refugees and immigrants.

In our current political climate, refugees and immigrants are frequently confused or lumped together for expediency. More often, both are simply labeled "foreigners." And not in a good way.

Here’s a simple truth to keep in mind: Immigrants come to this country of their own accord hoping to make a better life for themselves. Refugees flee from their homelands to any country that will take them because their lives are in danger for religious or political reasons. An immigrant hopes to move into your home. A refugee shows up on your doorstep bleeding.

6. Technology is amazing.

Although the wife and mother of the family is fairly conversant in English, her husband and I communicate with Google Translate. I type in an English sentence, the app renders it in Arabic, and I show him my screen. He types in something in Arabic, it’s rendered in English, and he shows his screen to me. It’s very "Star Trek."

7. This is about their kids.

The father, admittedly, would return to Syria if he could. It’s his home. It’s his culture. His people. But he knows his family has nothing to return to, and he knows his children can thrive in the United States. He’s willing to make that sacrifice for them.

8. This is about my kids.

My children helped assemble furniture in their apartment. They were there when the family arrived bleary-eyed and hungry at the airport. My kids have seen their gratitude and sensed their anxiety. Most importantly, my kids know what it’s like to extend a hand to another human being in need.

9. The refugee crisis is real.

A refugee family walks through a field toward the Greek-Macedonia border. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.

Today, we tend to equate refugees with Syria because of the civil war — because we’re told ISIS will exploit the refugee camps. But leave theory and politics aside for a second, and consider the fact that there are persecuted Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo currently seeking refuge. There are hundreds of thousands of refugees from countries nowhere near the seven listed on the president’s current travel ban. While many refugees come from Afghanistan and Somalia, there are also refugees from places like Vietnam, Eritrea, and China who are tired, poor, and yearning to breathe free.

10. Fear and ignorance breed apathy and inaction.

After posting updates on Facebook about our refugee family, I’ve received comments about the need for our country to be safe, for our borders to be secure. I don’t argue that, but these are stock answers. I’ve perceived a swelling refugee villainization birthed from understandings that are over-simplistic at best and ignorant of facts at worst.

When we can rationalize not helping others because of a platitude, it gives us permission to do nothing. When we hastily claim we are for safety, we should ask ourselves if we aren’t really saying we are in favor of not leaving our comfort zones and doing the hard work of being useful.

Refugees are human beings. Treating them as such is a necessity.

Syrian refugees have their portrait taken in the basement of a community center in Hamburg, Germany, where they are living. Photo by Astrid Riecken/Getty Images.

When we took the family to their new apartment, they had friends waiting for them. They were other families they’d known from the Jordanian refugee camp where they’d spent the past two years. They were former denizens of a crippled and shattered city. The women kissed each other. The men kissed hugged each other before kneeling to hug the kids. We got to see their children literally jump for joy.

We didn’t understand their language, but we understood a little better what it meant for people to have hope.

This story first appeared on Medium and is reprinted here with permission.

<br>

[socialviralnews]

Setting the record straight on what it's really like to host a refugee family.

<br>

Last October, in response to the worldwide refugee crisis and general encouragement from my church, my family and I signed on as volunteers with the Refugee Services of Texas. We were assigned to furnish an apartment for a refugee family of four, pick them up at the airport, bring them to their new home, provide them their first meal, and stay in contact with them.

These are 10 things I learned from the experience so far.

1. Helping people is rarely glamorous.

It’s very easy to imagine a romanticized meeting at the airport, something you’d see in a movie. The family walks out into the reception area. They see us holding our "Welcome to Texas!" sign and smile brightly. We shake hands. Then embrace. Everyone’s eyes are misty.

But the truth is they trudged through the security doors. They were tired, hungry, and confused. They were concerned about their little boys wandering off and didn’t know where their luggage would be. Their English is about as good as my Arabic. Which is to say, not. Our drive to their apartment was mostly silent due to the language barrier, jet lag, and the general awkwardness of being in a car with complete strangers.

2. Helping people is rarely convenient.

It’s nice to be helpful. Charitable. Magnanimous, even. It’s another thing to give up a couple of perfectly good weekends to spend sweating in an apartment where the air conditioning hasn’t been turned on, assembling book shelves and bed frames with Allen wrenches and hex keys.

It’s not the Peace Corps, but it’s also not writing a check to charity and getting a feel-good bumper sticker in return.

3. Most Americans can’t begin imagine what most refugees have been through.

A Syrian family waits after being escorted into the harbor by the Greek Coastguard, who found them drifting offshore in June 2015. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.

The family we were assigned to help was coming from Syria. Actually, they were coming from a Jordanian refugee camp, where they’d been living for two years. Two years. In a tent.

Originally, they're from Homs, Syria. I’d never heard of this city, so I googled it. Homs is a 4,000-year-old city that until recently had a population of more than half a million and was a major industrial center. In 2011, it became a stronghold of the opposition forces in the country’s civil war. Homs was under siege for three years. It has since been almost completely destroyed, with thousands dead. The population is a third of what it was a decade ago. This is the equivalent of Austin, Memphis, Baltimore, or Charlotte being reduced to rubble, the population decimated by our own military.

I found myself asking, "Where would you go? Where could you take your children?"

4. Most Americans are incredibly generous.

The Refugee Service of Texas gave us a list of what this family would need upon arrival. It included everything from mattresses and chairs to cleaning supplies and deodorant. My wife created a registry at Walmart, and we posted it on Facebook. Within a day, 80% of the items were purchased by generous friends from across the United States and even a handful from overseas. By the end of the week, everything had been purchased, and friends were asking if they could continue to make donations in other ways. Most are good people who want to help. They just need to know how.

Our front room, loaded with donations from generous friends around the world. Photo via Greg Christensen.

5. Most Americans don’t know the difference between refugees and immigrants.

In our current political climate, refugees and immigrants are frequently confused or lumped together for expediency. More often, both are simply labeled "foreigners." And not in a good way.

Here’s a simple truth to keep in mind: Immigrants come to this country of their own accord hoping to make a better life for themselves. Refugees flee from their homelands to any country that will take them because their lives are in danger for religious or political reasons. An immigrant hopes to move into your home. A refugee shows up on your doorstep bleeding.

6. Technology is amazing.

Although the wife and mother of the family is fairly conversant in English, her husband and I communicate with Google Translate. I type in an English sentence, the app renders it in Arabic, and I show him my screen. He types in something in Arabic, it’s rendered in English, and he shows his screen to me. It’s very "Star Trek."

7. This is about their kids.

The father, admittedly, would return to Syria if he could. It’s his home. It’s his culture. His people. But he knows his family has nothing to return to, and he knows his children can thrive in the United States. He’s willing to make that sacrifice for them.

8. This is about my kids.

My children helped assemble furniture in their apartment. They were there when the family arrived bleary-eyed and hungry at the airport. My kids have seen their gratitude and sensed their anxiety. Most importantly, my kids know what it’s like to extend a hand to another human being in need.

9. The refugee crisis is real.

A refugee family walks through a field toward the Greek-Macedonia border. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images.

Today, we tend to equate refugees with Syria because of the civil war — because we’re told ISIS will exploit the refugee camps. But leave theory and politics aside for a second, and consider the fact that there are persecuted Christians in the Democratic Republic of Congo currently seeking refuge. There are hundreds of thousands of refugees from countries nowhere near the seven listed on the president’s current travel ban. While many refugees come from Afghanistan and Somalia, there are also refugees from places like Vietnam, Eritrea, and China who are tired, poor, and yearning to breathe free.

10. Fear and ignorance breed apathy and inaction.

After posting updates on Facebook about our refugee family, I’ve received comments about the need for our country to be safe, for our borders to be secure. I don’t argue that, but these are stock answers. I’ve perceived a swelling refugee villainization birthed from understandings that are over-simplistic at best and ignorant of facts at worst.

When we can rationalize not helping others because of a platitude, it gives us permission to do nothing. When we hastily claim we are for safety, we should ask ourselves if we aren’t really saying we are in favor of not leaving our comfort zones and doing the hard work of being useful.

Refugees are human beings. Treating them as such is a necessity.

Syrian refugees have their portrait taken in the basement of a community center in Hamburg, Germany, where they are living. Photo by Astrid Riecken/Getty Images.

When we took the family to their new apartment, they had friends waiting for them. They were other families they’d known from the Jordanian refugee camp where they’d spent the past two years. They were former denizens of a crippled and shattered city. The women kissed each other. The men kissed hugged each other before kneeling to hug the kids. We got to see their children literally jump for joy.

We didn’t understand their language, but we understood a little better what it meant for people to have hope.

This story first appeared on Medium and is reprinted here with permission.

<br> from Upworthy http://ift.tt/2oNbjfd via cheap web hosting