#especially because my aunts and grandmother probably had no help

[cryptid-corpse]

I come from a long line of mentally unwell bitches

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not reacting/cheering for my aunt and her kids?

I (24F) am in an extended family groupchat. I usually do not have time to actually read all the messages, much less to write anything. I often open it and skim through the messages and everyone can see I've read them. Sometimes I do participate if it is a topic I can help with (I can usually help with plant related stuff, and I often jump right into a debate when I catch my aunties falling for facebook lies about ingredients or things like that)

Anyway, at one point my grandmother said that one of my aunts (35ish? I really don't know, sorry) was really sad I was not interacting with her messages at all. And while it wasn't intentional, it was true. I scrolled back to see what I've said to whom, and I never interacted with that aunt. But it wasn't because I did not like her, it was just... I had nothing to respond. I honestly do not care about her family having a trip to the zoo, what she had for lunch and I really did not watch 5 minute videos of her kid (2nd grade) playing football. So I just did not respond, because I had nothing to say and I wasn't interested. Besides, my other aunts interacted plenty with her, so I never thought I should be obligated to respond.

Anyway, I am usually fueled by spite, and my grandmother pointing that thing out had the opposite effect - I stopped interacting with the groupchat at all, even when I did have the time and something to say. I contemplated just leaving the groupchat, but I was tagged specifically one day to respond to something, so I stayed and tried to be nicer, just by leaving emoji's to that aunt's messages. However, life is life, and my efforts soon were forgotten because I just... don't have the energy.

However, one day, my aunt posted a facebook link to a post from a geography competition. And I was pretty sure my cousin (her son) won something, and I even opened the link, but there was a long list of kids and I just didn't bother to find my cousin's name there, so I, once again, did not react.

A day later my grandmother sent me the same facebook link and said my aunt would be happy if I reacted to the message in the groupchat. Which I think is ridiculous? Especially because the kid isn't even in the groupchat, and only his mother would see it? Anyway, I kind of got in a fight with my grandma about that, saying no one ever praised me as a kid for winning competitions, especially the same aunt who now feels bad for me not cheering her and her son on. So, I did not react to the message and once again went mostly silent in the groupchat.

But overall, I feel like I am the asshole for not being interested in the lives of my relatives and their kids. It really is not that hard to engage in groupchat conversations, right? However, I don't really want to act like I am interested, while I am not at all. Maybe I am cold hearted for not caring about their holiday trips, work/school events and minor health problems (eg someone having a fever).

However, to defend myself, I was actually very busy during the described events. I worked and studied full time (it is hell don't do it) (graduating soon though yeehaw), and most messages I read while walking from one point to another, skimmed through in the evenings before bed or when I was waiting in a queue for something. Moreover, the said aunt never has expressed any interest in my life, so I did not feel any obligation to be interested in her life. However, I never also said to anyone how I was doing, and no one really knew I was dying from exhaustion most of the time, so they probably assumed I was just... specifically being a dick.

So was I? Am I the asshole?

What are these acronyms?

[aria-ashryver]

Meet my MC - Luca O'Rinn

Name and Meaning: Luca — Bringer of Light / O'Rinn — Descendant of the Stars

Book: Immortal Desires Love Interests: Cas Harlow and Gabriel Adalhard Pronouns: He/they Birthday: 5th January 1997 Sign: Aquarius Born: Kinloch Rannoch, Scotland Raised: Inverness, Scotland Heritage: Scottish with ancestral roots in Ireland

More under the cut! 🖤✨

Family

Therese “Terri” O’Rinn (mother) Wayne MacAllister (father — estranged) John “Jock” O’Rinn (grandfather) Esther O’Rinn (grandmother) Morag O'Rinn (great aunt) Phoebe O’Rinn (cousin)

Skills / Hobbies

Dance, drums, butterfly knives, annoying ancient vampires with incessant questions and somehow not being murdered outright

Random Trivia

Luca has an avid curiosity (which often gets them into trouble) and is fascinated by how the world works — in every possible universe, they would have found out about the vampires in Crimson Beech.

He gets bored if he hasn’t learnt something new in a while.

Luca has Combined Type ADHD and frequently needs something to do with their hands — they can often be found flipping small items (pens, drum sticks, balisongs, etc, their phone, if they can’t get their hands on anything else)

...His phone screen is always cracked.

TERRIBLE at replying to text messages if they don’t do it then and there. Cannot make a phone call to save their life.

Has no problem biting ice cream, but sometimes sensory things ( unexplained sticky hands, clothes textures that feel suddenly wrong) with make them explode with sudden rage that comes on fast and goes away even faster. (It always alarms Gabriel whenever it happens. He tries to help and inevitably gets in the way and makes it worse. Cas knows to just ignore him when he’s having a moment.)

Loves playfighting with Cas (despite always losing and probably getting thrown somewhere)

Late. For everything. All the time. Zero time management skills.

Luca's first crush was Howl Pendragon of Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle

He takes his tea/coffee without milk bc he’s forever forgetting to drink it — there is always a small army of half-full, forgotten cups and mugs around his room.

Restless sleeper, abhors early mornings, can’t fall asleep unless he feels safe (which leads to a lot of falling asleep on Gabriel and Cas)

He despises math and still counts on his fingers. Numbers make his brain short-circuit.

Will absolutely eat food off the floor if they drop it.

Forests have always made him feel calm and want to dance.

Luca has had a habit since childhood where, any time they are walking alone through a forest, they’ll slow their pace and hum a gentle tune, trying to see if they can catch sight of any fairies or little fae creatures out of the corner of their eye. (Which seemed like a silly superstition until a few months ago, but now that they know vampires are real? Hey, maybe little Luca was on to something.)

Education (Scotland)

Rather than traditional schooling, Luca attended a specialised Arts school from the age of 14, in their hometown of Inverness, Scotland. Avalon Academy of the Arts is an alternative educational institution, covering both secondary- and tertiary-level studies in fields such as traditional arts and media, photography, music, theatre, and dance.

At Avalon, Luca trained primarily in ballet, lyrical jazz, contemporary, jazz funk, street dance, and urban hip-hop. Luca does enjoy ballet, but he found most of the ballet students too pretentious, cut-throat, and close-minded to consider pursuing a career in ballet long-term (especially as a non-binary dancer in an extremely gendered environment).

Luca’s main dance style tends toward a unique blend of lyrical, ballet, and street — though in recent years, there is definitely something of a K-Pop influence present in their choreography. They idolise Lee Taemin of SHINee, in part because of his expression and technical precision, but also because of the androgyny and power of Taemin’s dance style. They enjoy watching dance practice videos on YouTube in order to study other dancer’s body lines, transitions, and use of tension.

Education (USA)

In transferring to Crimson Beech High to round out their formal education, it became clear that Luca was very behind in some areas (math, physics, sciences) and very ahead in others (history, literature, anything pertaining to arts studies).

The semesters at Avalon do not align with traditional US schooling system (beginning in February and wrapping up in December to mirror their sister school in Avalon, Australia), so Luca is actually marginally older than many of his current classmates at Crimson Beech High.

(well. Those that aren’t vampires, anyway).

As at the first chapter of ID/SICSIG, Luca is 18, and will be turning 19 in January.

Hobbies

Luca could have taken music as an elective at Avalon, but he never did. Music is something that is purely for self expression and fun. While he did take drum lessons for about a year as a child, most of Luca’s musical ability comes from the school of fucking around and finding out — he is a kinaesthetic learner, so much of his drumming is self-taught.

Wayne (read: awful person) never really approved of Luca’s dancing and wanted them to quit when they first started taking lessons in primary school, but Terri put her foot down when she saw how happy it made them to have a form of self-expression that really spoke to who they were. As a means of compromise, Wayne suggested Luca take up drumming — something he saw as a suitably “masculine” hobby to “help him man up”.

A lot of the arguments Wayne and Terri had regarding Luca’s hobbies in their formative years were, in truth, veiled conversations about Luca’s sexuality and gender identity. Terri has never been anything but accepting of her child, and Wayne has never been able to get his head out of his own ass around Luca being gay, let alone non-binary. Though Terri tried to shield them from it, Luca often bore the burnt of a tirade of queerphobic verbal abuse, which escalated to physical violence in the years preceding Wayne and Terri’s separation.

There were a whole host of reasons why the O’Rinn household wasn’t the easiest or safest place to be growing up (which I have explored more in Starlight!); understandably, Luca had a lot of energy (and, in the years before Wayne’s arrest, a lot of anger) that he was able to take out on his drum kit.

Drumming on his own has turned into a really therapeutic space for Luca, wherein he can get into a flow state, lose the outside world, and work through a lot of his feelings. As much as Luca despises his father, he loves his drums — and knowing his father was the one to buy him his first ever drum kit is something of a sore spot. To this day, Luca still has mixed feelings about it.

Drumming with Viktor’s band, however, became a space of growth and celebration. Your Bisexual Awakening (as they are currently called — the band's name changes with almost every gig) is made up of other students from Avalon, and is unapologetically queer and in your face about it. They mostly play classic rock, punk, and grunge tracks, but ultimately do not limit themselves by genre.

Viktor, the band’s vocalist and frontman, is an OC (and will probably get his own "Meet My OC" profile!) (eventually); the other band members are Easter Eggs from other Choices books: WtD’s Angel on bass, NB’s Cal on keys, and ILITW’s Ava on lead electric guitar.

You can find out more about Luca via my masterlist, or read about them in my longfic, snow in crimson, starlight in gold on AO3! 🖤(direct link, fic is rated Explicit)

tagging: @choicesficwriterscreations

[jmagnabo92]

GGSB Fest 2024 Day 1 - Surprising Recipes

@goodgodfathersiriusblack

For Prompt 1 - Cooking Together

When Sirius can't sleep, he likes to cook. This time, he doesn't have to cook alone.

AO3

***

One of the things that Sirius dislikes about the Order living in his childhood home is that the cooking is always done by Molly.  It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate her efforts, especially since his skills are more than a little rusty after so many years in Azkaban, but he kind of misses cooking.  

Knowing that he can’t really sleep anyway, he figures that the only time he’d be allowed to cook is when everyone else is asleep.  Thus, heading down in the middle of the night, he starts taking out various foods and spices.  He’s not really sure what he’d like to make, but he does know that Mrs. Potter always said the best meals were made without a plan or recipe.  

He wasn’t always sure that he believed that, but she did make the best meals that Sirius ever tasted (not even Hogwarts could compete), so he tries not to doubt her.  He’s sure that it’s the labor of love that she always put into it.  

He begins with a pot, the base, and starts chopping up ingredients.  He doesn’t get very far before he hears, “Sirius?”

He turns and isn’t surprised to see that it’s Harry.  His godson, naturally, is awake because he can’t sleep either.  This makes sense given that he’s only a few weeks away from his most traumatic event – getting kidnapped at the end of the tournament and witnessing Voldemort’s return – and nightmares make sense.  

���Hey, kid,” Sirius states.  “Come on in.”

Harry doesn’t hesitate to move beside him.  “What are you doing cooking at one in the morning?”

“Oh, well, I appreciate Molly’s cooking, naturally, but I, er, I miss cooking myself.”

“I didn’t realize you cooked,” Harry says, eyes curious.  “Kind of figured that you wouldn’t have been much of a cook.  My aunt always said that cooking was not a man’s work…” 

He trails off as if there’s more to that than suggesting a stereotype but doesn’t want to tell Sirius what it is. 

Sirius hums and lets it go.  “Well, your grandmother always insisted that your dad and I know how to take care of ourselves, which included being able to cook for ourselves.”

“My grandmother?” Harry asks, eyes wide.

Sirius is aware that Harry probably doesn’t know much about his family, but it always jars him to hear it from Harry.  

He clears his throat.  “Yes, your Potter grandmother, Euphemia.  She liked to go by Effie, but I always called her mum since my mother –”

“Is a horrible hag?” Harry offers, before looking terrified that maybe he shouldn’t have said that.

Sirius laughs.  “Exactly.”

“So, you were close to her, then?”

Sirius nods.  “I was really close to her.  I love your grandfather, too, Fleamont – we called him Monty.  Well, others called him Monty, I called him ‘dad’.  Anyway, I spent a lot of time cooking with Effie since the first summer after first year.”

“What was she like?” Harry asks, as he reaches for some of the ingredients to chop up.  Clearly, he wanted to help cook with him as they chat.

Sirius hums as he, too, focuses on the gumbo that he’s starting to make.  There’re so many things that he could tell Harry about his grandparents that he clearly doesn’t know.  

Thus, Sirius just starts talking.

As they begin cooking, he tells him about summers at the Potters, learning how to cook at Effie’s side, and playing games with Monty.  He tells him about all of the things that Effie and Monty loved to do and teach him and James.  Including the recipes and cooking skills that they’re using right now.

He Interrupts the stories with directions when it comes to the dish their making, Harry follows the directions well and after a few false-starts with questions, starts asking for details of everything.  

“One of your grandmother’s favorite things when it comes to cooking is just letting things go with the flow, she always had ideas of ingredients, but never a recipe that she wanted to follow.  It made each dish a little bit of a surprise.”

“That’s so… different to what I thought cooking was meant to be,” Harry comments as he stirs the stew they’ve created.  

“Oh?” Sirius questions.  “How so?”

“Oh, er, my aunt always said that cooking had to be followed to the letter of the recipe, never altered.”

Given what little he knows about the Dursleys, and Petunia, in particular, he’s surprised to learn that Harry would’ve learned cooking from her.  

Oh wait.

It’s a woman’s work – not a man’s work.  

That’s what she had taught him.  Just another way to make him feel inferior.  Merlin, he hates the Dursleys.

He coughs.  He doesn’t want to ruin the comfort that they all have had tonight by getting intense about the Dursleys.  “Well, I like your grandmother’s methods better.”

“Me too,” Harry says, grinning.  “Especially since it was a lot smoother, just throwing things in as we like instead of watching the clock and being extremely precise with the ingredients.  Plus, it still smells good.”

Sirius grins.  “Of course it does because we made it with love.”

Harry laughs.  “Made it with love?”

“It’s what your grandmother used to say,” Sirius offers.  

“She sounds really lovely.”

“She was,” Sirius says, smiling softly.  “It feels so unfair that you never got to meet her or Monty.  They would’ve adored you.”

“Yeah?” Harry asks.  “You think?”

“Oh, of course,” Sirius as he turns the pot off and dishes out the stew that they created.  “They tried for many years to get James – he was a miracle to them – and James always teased about having a quidditch team of kids to give his parents a chance to dote on all of the grandchildren they’d have.”

“Dad wanted to be like the Weasleys?” Harry questions, eyes bright as they sit at the table to eat the stew.  “Ever since I met them, I wondered what it might’ve been like to be a part of such a big family.  To have brothers to look out for me and tease me… I’ve wanted it more than anything.”

“Aw, kid, I’m sorry that those dreams didn’t pan out – yours, theirs or your dad’s – but it is nice that at least you have been welcomed into the Weasley family,” Sirius states.  “They may drive me a little crazy at times, but I do appreciate that they care about you.”

Harry hums as he takes the first bite of stew and lets out a pleased sound.  “They’ve been great, honestly, but they’re not – not the same as mum and dad.”

Sirius smiles, softly at him.  “No, I mean, they can’t be.  It’s never going to be the same, even as your godfather, I could never replace your dad.  I wouldn’t want to, but saying that, I hope that you know that I love you as my kid, you’re my godson, you mean the world to me and I haven’t done the best job, but I –”

“You’ve done great!” Harry insists, eyes wet.  “You literally wrote to me every day and – and you lived in a cave and ate rats… everything at the Dursleys has been better since your first letter that I used to threaten them – without you, they might’ve locked me up again…”

“They might’ve done what now?” Sirius asks, dropping his spoon in his bowl.  “When – when did they –”

“It’s not important because they aren’t going to do it now,” Harry states, quickly, looking down at his bowl.  “You know that they haven’t been great – you were there, checking on me the night I ran away…”

Sirius opens his mouth to argue that it absolutely does matter, but Harry’s looking up at him, eyes wide and worried, and Sirius knows that getting angry isn’t the answer.  He takes a deep breath.  

“I love you, kid, you deserve better than that, but … I’ll let it go because, right now, you’re here with me and they can’t touch you.”

“Thank you,” Harry mutters, softly.

“But I want you to tell me if they ever even consider doing such a thing again.  I don’t care about using magic outside of school or not – I will teach you a new instant method to talk and I will be there fending off the ministry if I have to, alright?  You should never be locked up by your so-called family.”

Harry nods, solemnly and it’s quiet for a minute.

Sirius realizes that things got too intense, and he needs to dial it back.  “So, what do you think of our efforts?”

Harry looks up and smiles.  “It’s brilliant.  Best stew ever – you should make it for everyone one night.”

“You mean, we, don’t you?” Sirius questions.  “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Harry flushes.  “I just did what you told me to do.”

“Nah, you added your own spin to it, too.  Cooking is an art and you helped me create a work of art.”

He can tell that Harry’s quite pleased.  “Alright, then.  How about we make it again tomorrow night for everyone?”

Sirius grins, “Sounds like plan, kid.”

“Brilliant!”

“It sure is.”

[genderqueerdykes]

do i need a medical diagnosis to call myself intersex? my hormones are funky but idk if it's intersex especially since everyone on one side of my family is similar

you do not need one, as most people do not receive a concrete diagnosis other than "your hormones are fucked up. here's some birth control pills," or "you have low T. let's fix that"

my doctors never really diagnosed me with anything on my heath chart despite telling me i had a few issues. i never saw those health problems reflected anywhere else in any of my other doctor's health charts. they just kinda offhandedly mentioned pcos and hyperandrogenism, dont look forward to having kids because of infertility, something something i didn't understand, here's some birth control...

while i can't tell you if you're intersex or not, my best advice is to try to reach out to a doctor, obgyn, or endocrinologist who can help you take a look at your hormone levels, and see if there is something going on. if your hormones are consistently outside of the "normal range," then you could have an intersex condition. also i wouldn't dismiss it necessarily if everyone in your family is similar because these conditions can be and in fact are genetic for most people-

my cis sister started balding in her 20s because of super high T and low E. she deals with facial hair as well. my aunts, and grandmother also dealt with this, as well as very sharp and dense facial features, facial hair, (my grandma had a square jaw), strong dense upper body muscles, messed up menstrual cycles, etc. generally speaking High T bodies. i believe they all probably had something similar if not the same intersex condition, or at the very least, laid the groundwork for my intersex condition. genetics play a huge role so it's also a good idea to get genetic tests if your insurance will cover those. they can tell you a lot

your best bet is to attempt to see if you can speak to some professionals who can help you figure out what your hormone levels are like, if it's affecting any other part of your endocrine system, get some genetic testing done if possible and so forth. if you can't, i would say do as much research as you can into the intersex community and our experiences and make an informed decision after you've heard from pretty broad range of sources. take care, good luck, it takes a while but it's worth looking into, it can explain a lot

[cherienymphe]

OMG! CHERIE! Please I needed your advise about this because I just don't know what to do.

You see my dad died this year. During the time he was still alive, him and my auntie was planning for her wedding. It was supposed to happen this April 2023. Unfortunately, due to the sudden death of dad, it was cancelled and the last time I've heard about it was, it will be postponed and probably will happen next year. It did not, since they already paid the venue, I've heard it will continue this year. And this is where my dilemma started.

She dated her wedding two days before my dad's birthday. 🙃 She's going to be wed Aug 5. I did not ask why, she did not explain why either but I was so offended by it. Since Aug 5 and 6 were weekend, it was the only dates we can visit as a family (not included my aunt, just my mom and my siblings) to visit his grave. Yes, you can argue that we can visit him on Aug 6. Her wedding will be held on a resort far from our home so if you count the hours, we will probably be home around at night or mid-afternoon. 🙃 Also, mygod my gut instinct is telling me that, she did this on purpose so we will be forced to celebrate my dad's birthday with her. SHE NEVER PUT AN EFFORT TO CELEBRATE MY DAD'S BIRTHDAY WHEN HE WAS ALIVE.

I know, I know some may argue that I was overthinking this but this particular auntie I do not like. Especially, my mom. She hated her. When we were just kids, my dad compassionately let her sister live with us, you know what she did? She stole money and groceries then blamed it on us. My mom is not having it because this girl was known to lie and always wants to be the center of attention. She admitted to my dad that she indeed stole of it because the our neighbors, which we 100% trust, had seen her using the stolen money.

Also, when my grandmother got sick then died, this auntie never helped my dad at all with the funeral and the hospital bills even though she was the one who benefitted the most to her. My dad did not count it at all, until, my grandmother's pension was discussed. My dad told me himself that this auntie made it seems like he was trying to keep the pension money all for himself. So he gave it all to her. And just like Aang, she vanished. I trust my dad because he was too kind not to forgive, and he never forgave her for this incident.

Anyway, I really do want to just seen and block her but that's not me. I am thinking of politely declining her invitation. I don't care if she gets offended, she knew what she's doing. And I do really need help with this. I acted neutral to her during the funeral because my mom wasn't talking to her at all. And now, she's bugging me instead of her. I think she thought we do not know what she had done but all of us siblings, were close to my dad so we know everything about what she had done. 🙃

I'd decline tbh. Especially if it's important to you to commemorate your father's death on that day

[melodyalanaroster]

Update As Of November 3rd, 2023.

Hey everyone. The last time I updated ya'll was in September. I know, I probably should have updated ya'll like this last month, but its been a busy one.

If you're in the Otome Haven Discord Server, then you have been updated almost weekly as things in my life progress. If you're not and you still read my story, here's what's currently going on.

In the last update, I told ya'll that I had gotten engaged in May and that my fiancé and I were house hunting. Well, at the end of September, we found a house. On October 3rd, we signed the paperwork and became homeowners.

Moving sucks... Moving from a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment to a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house is a whole different brand of sucking. Especially when you're trying to do it in such a way that you won't need the movers for very long. And we managed to get it to where we only needed the movers for 2 hours, rather than the 6ish that they quoted us for. We had to make sure the roof and foundation were fixed. We painted almost every room (with the help of his mom and my best friends). We had to go through the shed in the back yard. We even had to buy a new fridge.

On top of that, his family is going through some shit, and he's caught up in the middle of it (since its mainly his parents doing the shit). Let's just say that his dad and his dad's mom are assholes... Both his dad and one set of his grandparents (his dad's parents) have come over to our house without warning, or invitation and we've only been in the house full time since October 21st. Oh, and his mom is driving both of us insane....

To keep the family drama to as much of a minimum as possible , we've cut contact with my family down to a trickle... Despite that, my grandmother and aunt don't seem to get the fact that they can't just invite themselves over to my house. As they don't have my address, they can't just show up... Yet. They're going to have a very rude awakening in the coming months (to put it lightly)... Especially when they try to bring my little cousin over to my house (because they will do this) and find out that my fiancé and I don't want kids at our house at all for now (and my little cousin is never allowed over). Even though we haven't seen my family since before we signed the papers, they've managed to do this over the phone... When all I did was text my grandmother an update on how things were going and to tell her that I love her...

We have his family, my family, his coworkers and all of our friends demanding that we have the mother of all housewarming parties, and we're not even gonna think of actively planning that until after the holidays.

As of 11/03/23 at, we still have 3 plushie nets to hang, and 3 boxes left to unpack...

Now, of course, the holidays are upon us. Our jobs are demanding the world from us. We have multiple Thanksgiving celebrations and Christmas events to worry about and attend.

And, while during some of the most horrible points in my life, I've managed to get multiple chapters of my story out in a year... This year is not one of them. I'd be lying if I didn't say that it would be a miracle if I managed to get a chapter out before the end of the year.

This is all the main reasoning why I didn't get together with my mods to do a fandom event in the discord server this year.

The Melancholy of Melody Alana Roster is not finished. It is going to be, eventually... But right now, its not a priority. It can't be.

[sunglowes]

I feel terrible that I haven't had a chance to write anything and I deeply apologize.

So... I probably should have an official hiatus status or something and since I'm not sure when I'll feel up to writing again, I guess that makes it an indefinite hiatus...

For those who joined my Ease the Pain Collab, you can still tag me whenever you post your piece and I'll add you to the masterlist. I'll still be here on the app, just not posting any writing for the time being.

If you'd like to read a little life update I'll put it below

Tw: mental health and stuff

I'm not quite sure I can pinpoint when it started but I've been having a bit of trouble with my motivation to write. At first I just assumed that it was due to my full-time job and just not having the mental energy to put towards writing.

Although, I did find out halfway through the year that I actually have adhd so not only does my anxiety and depression cause me to have issues with focusing, my adhd does as well...

Which totally tracks as to why the end of high school (and during college as well) we're pretty rough...

But I'm currently working with my doctor to find the right medication to help balance my adhd so that could also be affecting my motivation to write. I've also been having a bit of a problem with my creativity. Coming up with ideas to write about has been difficult. Which could be answered by the fact that I work in the creative field for 8 hours a day and by the end I'm just mentally exhausted. Especially with my new medication because of the drop you get when it begins to wear off.

I'm also dealing with other factors within my life right now that aren't directly just my mental health. The main thing being that my grandfather has been in and out of the hospital for the majority of the year. He was admitted again before Thanksgiving and has since been placed into a care facility that he's been to before. We learned that his heart is working at only 25% and that one of the arteries or valves (I can't remember) has calcified (hardened) and isn't working which causes the rest of the heart to work even harder. He's on medication for it and eventually will have a procedure, but it's his call as to whether he wants it and he's on the fence about it.

The part that has been taking a toll on me is accepting what's going on. I feel as though I should feel more empathetic about what's currently happening. That I should feel sad and worried that this may be the end and that he could pass within the next couple months.

Except, instead, I almost feel a sense of relief because I know he's been a big stress factor over my father and my aunt because they've been having to go and take care of my grandfather, who can be an asshole to them. I feel guilty because for the last few years, I talk back to him because no one else really does. I give him a piece of my mind when he makes a snide comment about my grandmother, but she's deaf and can't understand him when he yells so I defend her. While, yes I feel guilty, I know I shouldn't because that's just who he is. He's always been this way...

Anyway. Enough with that.

I hope at some point I regain my motivation to write. Until then, take care of yourselves 🧡

[titathepixie]

Story from X-mas celebration with my family, which includes 3year old niece:

She has been very excited about the presents, and enjoyed picking them, bringing them to either mom or dad to see who it's for, then impatient when it's unpacked. What is far more fun is, of course, unwrapping presents with mom or dad, especially when they're for her. She's practicing saying thank you. Sometime she gets it, sometimes not. It's held at her grandmother's, so there are some things that her parents want to keep in the packaging so it doesn't get lost, which is obviously frustrating.

Then there's a present for her (not yet a year old) little sister, whom she adores, and she has a breakdown/tantrum. Memorably, she cries about getting no presents, while literally wearing the dress she just got and was so happy about getting that she had to put it on immediately, despite also loving the dress she was wearing before. It's difficult to not chuckle at that. I may have been the only one trying.

How did her parents handle it? By understanding that this was a difficult feeling, letting her know that they understand that this was difficult, because right now there's a present not for her, but it's also okay that there are presents that are for other people. Softly reminding her that she has gotten presents.

This was late. The whole day has been a lot, and all the adults know that. Even aside from the excitement and attention around the presents (she's shy, and doesn't know all of us equally well), it's been a long day, and there have been a lot of long and excited days recently. A single tantrum that is quickly soothed? That's pretty good for a kid her age.

Every year, I give my nieces an ornament (one of the few things I like about Christmas or Christmas season, are the ornaments.) Before I hand them out, I make a point of checking in with the parents; do they want to do this now, or later? Maybe save them for tomorrow?

I don't see my brother or SIL often, but when I do, I see them working to raise children that have the tools to manage their own emotions. Children that won't be scared of small emotions and trying to shove away the big ones. They'll know what it is to practice consent, to get to say no and have boundaries. And I get to help, just a tiny bit, by asking if she's okay with a hug, or wants to wave instead. When the youngest gets older, I'll get to do that with her too. And, even as an aunt who doesn't want children, it's a little affirming, a little healing, to see my brother do what he can to spare my nieces the traumas I'm still healing from. He doesn't know everything, and probably isn't thinking about that. He's just a really dedicated dad.

This got very emotional and quite personal, but - don't shame kids. Please don't. You might think the kid needs it, think you're the first, but you might not be. You're probably missing at least a truck-load of interpersonal and interfamilial context. More likely a couple.

Therapists are writing about trauma-related gift-giving and receiving. People are chatting about present and holiday/celebration related traumas, stresses, and anxieties in forums online.

Please don't be part of a future adult's story about part of their childhood trauma.

"Look at this video of a child disappointed at their expensive gift! Children are so spoiled these days!"

That's cool. So, why did their parents upload their small child being upset online? In a public video, shared to the entire video? Why did they even save the recording?

Like. The kid in that scenario could be saying the most entitled nonsense in the world, and if their parents post it online to be publicly shamed, I'd still support the kid 100%. Thinking your child's life is a toy to exploit freely for #content is "spoiled"; when faced with mommy vlogers, kids should be demanding three PS5s and a new Bugatti, and we should be applauding them for it

[craigrsumter1]

I learned over the years though that:

1. My mother had always been completely obsessed with me;

2. This, her obsession, is probably what led her to sexually molest me;

3. She didn’t like anyone who liked me, spent time with me or helped me in anyway;

4. She would use guilt trips to keep me from visiting or seeing high school friends when I would come home to visit when I was in college, lived in New Orleans and lived in Atlanta;

5. She made up all kinds of rumors about me and other people to prevent me from having friendships or romantic relationships;

6. She also always seemed very jealous of any friends I had or even casual romantic relationships (especially ones of a sexual nature or ones that might lead to long-term or partner/permanent)

Well, when my aunt’s husband, Gene McKay, would go camping with my grandfather, they obviously developed a good friendship. I’m not exactly sure how it happened but at some point my grandfather worked a reciprocal agreement with my uncle Gene where he and my aunt would pay my grandfather and grandmother’s mortgage until they both passed away and my grandfather would leave his house, tools, boat, cars etc. to my aunt Pam and uncle Gene. This came from my own mother’s mouth, she is the one that told me back when I was approximately fifteen (15) years old. She was so mad about it but for what reason I had no idea at the time. She and my father didn’t need any money and my mother’s other sister own’s a global adhesives and sealants company based out of Chicago. In fact, my parents and my mother’s two sisters had been splitting three ways my grandparents’ health insurance premium each month for as long as I can remember (I think since at least 1989 or may be even longer). However, despite my parents offering to do this, they would bad mouth my grandparents behind their back accusing my grandparents of taking advantage of them. My mom’s other two sisters never said anything negative about them all paying my grandparents health insurance. My mother even told me the reason she and my father were doing this was because they wanted my grandparents to “enjoy what little money they had left.” You should also understand that my grandfather built my parents’ house for them, cleared the land, and supervised the contractors and literally built their house for them. All free of charge. My parents did end up giving my grandfather a few thousand dollars but he never asked for it. Also, my grandparents owned two houses located on the same piece of property and the entire time my parents’ house was being built, by my grandfather, he and my grandmother let my parents, my sister and I all live in their 2nd house completely free of charge (for about 3-4 months). Also, one other thing comes to mind. When my family (mom, dad, sister, and I) lived in Louisville, Kentucky (from 1986-1989), my grandfather came all the way up to our house in Louisville by himself and built a huge deck for my parents. He had been a contractor for many years and knew a lot about building. I mean my parents, and even I helped to nail nails into the deck but it was my grandfather and his knowledge that built the deck.

So, back to my aunt Pam. So, every Christmas Eve my aunt Pamela McKay would host a little get together at her house for my grandmother’s birthday. This is my mother’s mother, Mae Champagne. So after my family had psychologically and mentally abused my aunt Pam and she quit going to church and became an alcoholic and drug addict (she became addicted to Xanax) and she would host these Christmas Eve get togethers, she would be drunk and stumble over floor pillows and fall. She was so depressed and hurting. Well, my sister, Shalene Sumter, and her then husband, John Ryall, and my mother, Gloria Sumter, would just sit there and laugh at my aunt and make fun of her. All while they sat and ate all the nice food my aunt had spent all day making and drinking her wine and liquor. It was horrible. I am not the type of person that can do that, and I can’t stand to be around others that are either.

This of course was after about two (2) years or so of absolutely no family get togethers because my mom, dad, and sister wouldn’t have anything to do with my aunt Pam McKay (my mom’s sister) and they would do nothing but badmouth her. The whole time my family wouldn’t talk to my aunt and were nothing but cruel to her, I would always try to talk to my mom trying to explain that I’m sure my aunt Pam didn’t mean to do anything deceitful or underhanded. I kept telling my mom that all they were doing was hurting her and tearing our family apart and that they should talk to my aunt and move on so we could have family get togethers again and try to all be a family. For some reason my mom and my sister love to sew discord and to talk negatively about people and to start rumors. It’s like they have nothing better to do.

Well, all of these rumors and sewing discord comes back to the fact that I was sexually molested by my parents and they want to make sure that there was no one to help me in anyway when they started to do things to me. The reason my mom, dad, and sister were so mad about my aunt Pam and uncle Gene agreeing to pay my grandparents’ mortgage and in turn my grandparents leaving their house to them was because my parents wanted to be able to take what my grandparents had and to use it to finance their hate crimes. I only know this to be fact with some of my grandparents’ stuff and/or money and the reason I know is because one of the people they paid showed me all of my grandfathers’ tools that my parents had given him. They are very distinct Craftsman tools from (maybe the 70′s or 80′s) they are solid grey with the rectangular red Craftsman logo. They also used the selling of my grandparents’ house as payment to a female I went to highschool with as she is a realtor in Mississippi. Then my sister, Shalene Sumter, and her then husband, John Ryall, also had this same female sell their house in Vancleave for them also. Now, none of my family even knew this girl except for me knowing her in highschool and they all talked bad about her then. But, I guess some people have no integrity and will do just about anything for money as did this girl I went to highscool with.

[kimranmalhi]

Final Evaluation

The aim of this project was to apply the skills and techniques we learnt and refined from the previous projects in order to visually communicate a narrative that inspired us to utilise our creativity. We needed to choose a focus that we felt passionate about and what engages us to research and develop a final piece on. I was first conflicted when choosing my topic for this project. I hadn’t thought about what direction I wanted to take with this project and the freedom to choose was a bit overwhelming. I initially made a rushed decision of choosing murder mystery which is something I enjoy, however when I thought about it further I wasn’t inspired to create anything from this and it didn't feel very personal. When I gave it more thought, I realised I wanted to look at my role model, my favourite person which is my grandmother. She has had a big influence on my life because she raised me while my mother was working and she has taught me so much. It has been 5 years since she passed and dedicating this project to her meant so much to me as it's a way for me to honour her memory and pay tribute to her through my work.

I took primary images from my grandmother photo’s that I had on my phone and physical photographs. I gathered her Id some objects that I had in order to inform my work for this project. I also asked my aunt and mother for more imagery and items of my grandmother to develop my project. As this is a personal project about my grandmother I needed a lot of primary imagery to work from as I couldn't rely on secondary imagery because this was a more personal response. However I had a lot of pictures and belongings to work with so this was fine and I had a lot of imagery to explore.

While researching for this project I explored various things like the psychology behind relationships especially maternal relationships and how caregivers have stronger bonds with children. From this I learnt a lot about the attachment theory and I gained a better understanding of why my bond with my grandma was so strong and influential to who I am today. Along with this I also looked at artists and designers who have used motherly figures in their artwork and have explored these relationships in their work and how they have done this. I looked at the artist Frida Kahlo who has exploded various themes with family being one of them. Her work features a lot of hidden meanings and symbolism and there is probably more that only she knew and I found this interesting and inspiring. I wanted to have these little key elements that made the piece feel more personal and authentic. I also found Chino Otsuka’s work highly inspiring especially her work called "Imagine finding me" which features digitally inserted images of her adult self into her childhood photos, prompting us to reflect on time, memory, and identity. When working in the style of her, I found it to be a deeply fulfilling experience. These artists really helped inform and inspire me to create my own personal response and how I can create a piece that pays homage to a loved one and ways that I can make it more personal.

During my initial experimentation I tried some new techniques like dyeing with procions on a plain screen and exposing screens. This was fun and interesting as I had never tried this way of printing and it was very exciting and freeing. We also tried macrame and felting with the machine and this was different and intriguing to experiment with. However I found it difficult to effectively communicate my designs through these mediums as I couldn't get much detail and my work felt scattered.

After the initial research of my signature project, I explored various way to approach my work through this module. I delved into my grandmother's past by exploring her old photographs, clothing, hobbies and memories. However, as the project progressed, I realised that my research was too broad and scattered, making it difficult to create a cohesive response. As the project carried on I needed to refine and refocus my narrative. So I decided to focus on my grandmother's belongings and objects that held sentimental value to her. By incorporating these items into my project, I aimed to create a more meaningful and personal response that reflects my grandmother's life, legacy and what she meant to me. By incorporating these personal effects into my work, I aimed to showcase the story of each object; a story that intertwined with the journey of my grandmother’s life. These objects, which are seemingly normal to an outsider, hold a world of meaning and memories for me. I wanted to explore this refined narrative through print and embroidery and use this to create a wallpaper showcasing this story. So then I started to looked at interiors and wallpaper artists and companies and the books print & pattern by Bowie Style was very useful and helpful with exploring designs and layouts effectively. This helped me understand pattern layouts more and what I liked so I could try these in my own work.

While printing tried various techniques from linocut to monotypes however I tried a new heat transfer technique that worked really well with my motifs and I was able to create successful prints that I could scan in and work into. I think out of all of them those where the most successful they captured the detail in my drawing style perfectly and I enjoyed the effect it created. I also got chance to explore hand felting which I really enjoyed. I am very happy with the felting motifs they capture my grandmother’s objects in a new light and I like the texture of the fibres and how they combined together to create my piece. I was surprised at how these outcomes came out despite never having tried this technique. But I liked how it communicated my grandmother’s objects and gave it a cartoonish effect. It is quite different from the prints and it felt like they were coming out from the page and it will be nice to go along with my wallpaper as it has an authentic personal feel and it feels like the objects are coming back to life.

When I started to go digital I faced a lot of challenges that were hard to overcome. I felt that I went digital a little too late as I wanted to experiment with a lot of techniques and I let it bleed into my wallpaper development stage. This led to me not being able to experiment as much online and with wallpaper layouts. I tried combining elements of the objects together by taking apart pieces and playing around with them and adding different textures into the objects. I especially liked how this came out with the cardigans the lace elevated the piece perfectly. For some of the objects texture didn't work as well for example on the clock and the glasses. Texture on these didn't elevate the overall look it instead made it look a bit tacky and the texture overshadowed the print. To add texture to my patterns I tried various mark making techniques experimenting with ink, forks and sponges. I think the zipper prints were successful and I created this into a brush so that it was easier to move around and manipulate. I ended up trying a lot of different photoshop manipulation techniques like filters, defining brush precepts and transformations.

During my initial pattern trials I had issues with my USB and it ended up getting corrupted and I lost a lot of my experiments making my final wallpaper tiles delayed as I had to redothem. I felt really discouraged and disappointed and I found it hard to restart and get back on top from this, as I was really pleased with the lace outcomes and mark making. With my final prints I had minor issues with my backgrounds as they were very similar to one another. I found it really hard to push myself to try other stuff as we were getting closer to the deadline. However I managed to get support from the technicians and they helped push me to go out of my comfort zone with colour and my layouts.

During my initial mark making with the clock and the coin purse I had the idea to create a pattern with my grandmothers objects coming off the centre of the clock symbolising that that even though time continues without her, she remains in my heart. Her belongings still remain present, and this pattern will stand as constant reminder of her memory. To do this I replicated the rim of the clockface and I added the objects around it along with the mark making around it. This was my favorite pattern as it had the meaning, symbolism and story I wanted. I enjoyed how the mark making joined up to create this fluid piece with my grandma’s tattoo in the middle of the pattern. The visual hierarchy of this in the pattern as she was in the middle of the clock with the objects surrounding the objects she gave meaning to. I created a colour pallete along side this for my patterns and my work which was a more muted deep colour scheme as these are the colours she would confine herself in. She was a homebody and lived in homely beiges and greys with the occasional pastels so these are the colours I wanted to incorporate into my work. To further develop this pattern I ended up adding the clock face repeated and resized which reminded me of the cogs of a clock further eluding my work and symbolism I wanted. I used this to fill in the gaps as there was a lot of empty space and I also added texture into the background to add depth and make it less flat. When printing my final prints we experimented with various sizes and testers and I ended up liking scale 25 and 50.

While I was printing for my project I felt conflicted by everyone's opinions. I realised that I had forgotten that this project was my own. Many people were telling me that the pink colour was the strongest option, but I didn't feel like it reflected my grandmother's personality or the colour scheme I had used throughout the project. In the end, I trusted my instincts and changed the colour at the last minute. I'm much happier with the outcome, and I've learned the importance of not disgarding my own opinion. Overall despite facing a lot of challenges, I believe I have used the techniques and mediums we have learnt from previous modules effectively to present my own narrative. I have learnt a lot from this project and I believe that I have created a piece that my grandma would be proud of. For the final exhibition, I want to display my wallpapers on hangers and my motifs on a string for the final exhibition. This reflects the progression of my project, from the original objects to the prints, and finally to the felt motifs. It symbolizes the development and evolution of my work and showcases how things change over time. I would also like to put a picture of my grandmother on the board in the middle. As a part of the visual hierarchy of the page as she is what inspired this work and this project is for her. I initially said I wanted to incorporate these personal effects into my work, aimed to showcase the story of each object; a story that intertwined with the journey of my grandmother’s life. Despite the challenges I faced, I believe this project was successful and it was very fulfilling and meaningful to dedicate this project to the woman who means the world to me, my grandmother.

[evelynquack]

I  am Kelly, My family is in danger. They are trapped in a city in Gaza called Rafah. They fled there because my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and the only chemo treatment she could receive was there. Due to a militia that is increasingly taking over the country and bombing hospitals, all of the disabled, sick and elderly had to flea to Rafah to get medical treatment. Hundreds of thousands of Gaza people fled out of Rafah earlier this week after the militia overtook the Gaza military. My family was unable to flee because my grandmother is elderly and sick.

As of yesterday, my grandmother, disabled aunt, aunt who is sick with Malaria and my two teenage girl cousins were trapped at the top of an apartment building that has been overtaken by militia. They are helpless.

My aunts are sick and they have been injured. My two cousins are just children. Please help my family.

Probably bait. I’m especially suspicious bc they sent two asks, but copy and pasting Does kinda make sense? So?

Skimmed the account a lil bit. And either they’re dedicated enough to setting up a good facade, which is required for blogs like mine where we turn off anon asks, or they’re a new account.

But yknow me; even if it’s bait, I literally can’t Not share. Which like, FUCK. Bc that just encourages More.

[cheesy-che]

Hello there! You've been visited by the random question fairy! ~ ☆

How would your character describe their family? How 'conventional' was their childhood? Did they have a good childhood, in their opinion?

WOAH Hey I totally forgot this ask in my askbox and I'm so sorry :') . I'm just going to place the first part of the description I have on her Toyhouse, if you don't mind ~ Mizuiro was born in Saitama, Japan, from the union of two loving parents. She grew up in a small countryside house, surrounded by nature. She always had a very open minded education and a loving family. She lived with her two parents and her grandmother. Her mom was a brilliant biologist, and her father was an accountant who spent a lot of time at home, taking care of his frail mother. They were happy, even if they struggled a bit with money sometimes. Mizuiro used to watch the stars with her mom at night, and that's how she discovered a passion for astronomy. Mizuiro's curiosity was always celebrated and encouraged. When she was about eight years old, her mother got ill. Only two months later, she died of cancer. It left Mizuiro and her family in a very bad situation, considering how much they loved her and depended on her for most of their income. Even if he was suffering a lot, her father needed to stay strong for Mizuiro because she didn’t handle it well. After this event, she couldn’t perform at all at school and didn’t want to go anymore. They also lost Mizuiro’s grandmother a few months later. Needless to say, this family's grief was difficult to handle. Mizuiro shut down immediately. She had no desire to talk about it. She didn’t care about friends. She wanted her family back. Mizuiro was often bullied for being odd in her actions at school; she became the silent kid who didn't want to socialize, she liked to play with bugs and often preferred escaping reality by reading books or making up her own stories. Her father and her needed change in their life. During this difficult ordeal, he kept talking over the phone with his sister, who was living in New York. When Mizuiro finally opened up to his father about not being happy, he decided to move out. Everything around them reminded them of their missing family members. They moved in with his sister, especially because she was developing a form of blindness. It’s not that she have trouble living alone, but she wanted to be there for her brother and help him raise his daughter. He was depressed and needed help to go through this. Mizuiro’s aunt owns a flower shop and lived in a small appartment. With the money his father got from selling the house in Japan, he bought a condo on top of the flower shop for the three of them. Now, Mizuiro lives with her father and her aunt. Their relationship is great, and they are a good team. Mizuiro is probably the one who keeps the most secret from them because she wants her privacy and loved her independance. However, she knows that if something's important, she can talk to them. They are all very supportive of each other. TLDR : Great childhood until 8, very supportive family. Thank you for asking! 🙏

[whore-4-drewstarkey]

Fourth of July- Shawn Mendes x fem!reader

Summary: Y/N and Shawn go to Y/N annual Fourth of July party where Shawn gets judged.

Warnings: angst, lots of fluff, cursing, suggestive content. That’s about it lol

“Babe, it will be just fine” Y/N spoke to Shawn, as Shawn’s hand gripped her left thigh as he drove.

“Okay, baby, but like you literally just warned me that your great aunts are judgmental. And you know very well that I hate being judged, especially by people who are related to you. And oh my god your dad is who I’m the most scared to meet. He could fucking shoot me in an instant” Shawn continued to ramble on to his girlfriend of four months.

“My love, he would never shoot you for starters, and secondly, all I said was ‘hey, by the way my great aunts will probably say something about your tattoos’ I also told you only two of my great aunts are mean. Aunt Lucy is the nice one. Oh and please stay clear of my cousins so that they don’t drool all over you” Y/N said as she glanced over to her boyfriend who she’d already fallen head over heels for.

Moments later, Shawn had made a left turn and then a right, straight into the driveway of where they’d be staying for the weekend. Every year for the weekend of the Fourth Y/N family would get together at the inherited family’s mansion, where they’d celebrate.

“Holy fuck. Babe you didn’t tell me we would be staying in a mansion. It’s beautiful” Shawn spoke as he got excited by the old mansion.

“Baby, it’s not that big” she giggled as Shawn parked his white Tesla in the roundabout, pavement driveway.

“Hah, that’s what I said” he smirked just before opening his door to quickly run around and open the passengers side door, to help Y/N out.

“Shawn Peter Raul” Y/N raised her voice just before smacking her boyfriends chest, as a result to his dirty joke. “We’re at my family’s house, so you must watch what you say please” she continued, followed by a few chuckles as they continued to pull out their bags for the weekend.

As Y/N grabbed her bag, Shawn gently took it away from her to carry it. Y/N in response gave Shawn a gentle kiss to one of his rosy cheeks before continuing to lead the way through the backyard fence and through the back door. “Holy shit this is like a maze” Shawn exasperated as they continued to walk around the large house, trying to find Y/N grandparents. “Grandma! Grandpa! How are you guys? I know I’ve been gone in Toronto for awhile, but anyways meet my boyfriend Shawn” Y/N spoke to her grandparents as she clutched her boyfriend’s bicep.

“Well hello there, Shawn” Y/N grandma spoke to the tall, lean Canadian man. “Hello ma’am, he spoke sweetly to his girlfriend’s grandmother as well as shaking her grandfather’s hand.

“You guys can go up to your room. The third one to the left” Y/N grandfather spoke in his deep voice as Shawn and Y/N walked to the foyer, beginning to walk up the large spiral staircase. As soon as they walked into the room that they would be staying in over the weekend Y/N shut the door and locked it before turning around to smirk at her tall, and confused boyfriend.

“Baby why’d you lock the door?” He asked her as he sat on the end of the large king-sized bed, before laying down with a huff escaping his lips as he closed his eyes. “Because my love, I don’t want anyone to walk in on us, duh” she giggled out as Shawn opened one eye, glaring at her.

“Hey now, I’m telling you right now I will not fuck you while we are here. Okay? I can’t afford to have your whole family hear us” Shawn spoke as he grimaced just thinking about your family finding out or even hearing the two of you.

“My love, that wasn’t the plan. I meant we can make out…. Right? Plus I think we can help each other get changed” She asked innocently as she walked over to her boyfriend and straddled his lap, placing both of her hands on his broad chest, causing him to open both of his eyes wide. “Babe, why do you have to be so fucking hot?” He asked in a lower tone. “I didn’t know I was, my love” she spoke as her hands tan up to caress his broad neck before placing her delicate, plump lips onto the singers’.

“Mmmmhm, baby” he started to speak before kissing his girlfriend again. “I really like this idea” he continued again as he broke up their little make out session to speak again, before continuing again. “But you’re gonna give me a boner” he spoke shyly as his cheeks started to turn red. “Uh well.” Y/N smirked as she went back to kissing Shawn. She slowly ran her hands from his face, down to his chest, unbuttoning his white button up. She slowly pushed the shirt off of his muscular shoulders, giving a chaste kiss to his collarbone, causing him to shudder, releasing a sigh. Her small hands started to fumble with his belt as she unbuttoned his light wash jeans, ending the kiss to pull them off of his thick thighs.

“Babe, you between my thighs is a huge turn on if I’m being honest with you” Shawn groaned out to Y/N. Y/N started to make her way up from Shawn’s toned stomach all the way up to his collarbone, almost leaving a mark. “Baby, stop before you leave a mark because then your dad will actually kill me” Shawn chuckled to his girlfriend. “Oh, uh, about that. There’s still a few faint ones from like five days ago” Y/N cringed as she spoke, causing Shawn to freak out.

“Oh my gosh. It’s really the end for me. Your dad is going to murder me. Oh my gosh….” Shawn spoke as he sat up, eyes wide open as he began to worry. “Baby, it will be okay. I promise. They’re hardly noticeable. Now your boner on the other hand is very noticeable” she spoke with a stifled giggle, getting off of her beloved boyfriend’s lap, walking over to her bag. She dug through her bag, finding her tiny bikini she had planned on wearing. Shawn of course had insisted that she wear that specific one because, “it looks so good on you” were his exact words. She started to strip, feeling her tall, lanky boyfriends eyes on her as she got dressed in her bikini, pulling on a halter dress after as a coverup.

“Baby, I’m not sure you should wear those swim trunks” Y/N giggled as she turned around to see Shawn in his short, red and white vertical striped swim trunks. “Why not?! I like them. They’re quite comfy for me, actually” he exasperated, offended. “Because my cousins will start to drool all over you” Y/N huffed out in jealousy. “Oh baby, you know I only want you” Shawn cooed as he hugged his girlfriend, wrapping his large arms around her waist. “At least put a button up on before you swim?” She asked sweetly. “Anything for you, my love” he cooed back, pulling a crème colored button up long sleeve shirt on, undoing a few buttons towards the top. “Now come on, let’s go downstairs. Everyone is here” Y/N stated as she dragged her giant boyfriend out the bedroom door, and down the stairs, eventually ending up outside by the large in-ground pool.

“Oh my gosh! Hi sweetie! How are you?! And who is this?” Y/N great aunt Stacy asked in her sweetest tone, Y/N obviously knew what was next. “I’m good” Y/N chuckled before she spoke again. “This is actually my boyfriend, Shawn” “Is that a tattoo?” She asked, trying to be nice, but failing miserably, as she pointed to his collarbone.

“Uh, yes ma’am it is” Shawn spoke politely, clearly nervous as to what she might say next. He gently put an arm around Y/N waist, for security.

It’s kind of gross, you having a woman’s name on your body” she said disgusted in him.

“It’s actually my little sister’s name” he frowned as he spoke nicely to Y/N great aunt.

“Why does it even matter if he has a tattoo aunt Stacy?” Y/N chimed in, with a very angry glare.

“Come on, my love, let’s go swim” Y/N giggled out, as she thought about how lucky she was to have him as her boyfriend for the rest of her life. They walked over to one of the poolside lounge chairs, sitting their stuff down. Shawn sat down, patting his thigh, indicating Y/N to take a seat on it.

“Hun, I’m so sorry she was mean to you” Y/N cooed out to the brown, curly-headed boy, who she adored so much. “Baby, it’s okay” Shawn chuckled as he leaned his forehead against his girlfriend’s, as their noses touched. “No, you can’t kiss m-“ Y/N was cut off by her boyfriend’s soft lips. “Me” she spoke again as she smacked her boyfriend’s chest, letting out a small giggle.

“No fucking way, is that Y/N with the Shawn Mendes? There’s no way” Y/N cousin, Claire spoke to her sister Lia. “Uh, I think so?” Lia questioned as her sister Claire ran over to her cousin.

“Hey Y/N, there’s no way this is the Shawn Mendes” Claire chirped as Shawn looked her in the eyes, giving her his signature smile. “Hey hunny” Shawn spoke softly to his girlfriend’s cousin.

“Oh my gosh. Y/N how?! Also hiiiiii” Claire spoke excitedly. “I’m good Claire, how about you? Staying out of trouble at school?” Y/N chirped to her baby cousin. “You know it. Also, I hate to be one of those people, especially since you’re at a family event, but do you mind if I get a photo with you?” Claire shyly asked her cousin’s tall boyfriend.

“Of course you can hun” Shawn smiled widely, excited to meet yet another fan of his. Claire handed her phone to Y/N, as Y/N got up off of Shawn’s lap, as her cousin and boyfriend posed together. Shawn had an arm wrapped around her, smiling. Soon after they were done, Y/N went back to sitting on Shawn’s lap, pressing a gentle kiss to his delicate lips.

“Please take your shirt off” Y/N giggled nervously to Shawn who just looked down at her, laughing and obeying her plead. Y/N began to help her giraffe man of a boyfriend with the buttons on his white button-up. Y/N began to brush Shawn’s shirt off of his shoulders, leaving a chaste kiss to a faint love mark she had left there days ago, on his collarbone.

“Baby” Shawn whispered out into her ear before continuing, “stopppp doing that my love” he chuckled into her ear as she wrapped her arms around his neck, gripping the small curls at the nape of his neck, tugging lightly, earning a ever so quiet grunt from him. “But it’s fun to mess with you” Y/N pouted, jutting her bottom lip out. “If I started to mess with you, you’d punish me by having no sex for like a week” Shawn pouted to his girlfriend who still sat in his lap. “That’s because I can’t get embarrassed at a family event for MY family. Duh” she giggled softly, rubbing her hand up and down his large left, bicep. “That’s so not fair though” Shawn pouted up at his girlfriend.

Y/N leaned into Shawn’s ear, and whispered, “let’s go take a swim.” She stood up off of her boyfriend’s lap, pulling her halter dress up over her head, but struggled terribly. “Babe, will you help me?” She questioned to her boyfriend who still sat on the lawn chair. “I don’t know. It’s kinda adorable seeing you struggle. It reminds me of the time we first had sex and you struggled to pull your shirt off” he started to chuckle immensely at the not so long ago memory.

“Shut up and never speak of that again. That was only because I was a little drunk, but so were you so…” she began to pout again until Shawn came over to help her pull her halter dress over her head, only to overhear Y/N other great aunt talking to Y/N mother.

“M/N who and what is that boy well man doing to Y/N?” Y/N great aunt Cindy spoke in disgust at the tall Canadian man.

“Oh you mean Shawn? That’s Y/N new boyfriend!” Y/N mother spoke as she smiled, looking at her daughter who was smiling away, as she got lost in her boyfriend’s hazel eyes. “And it looks like he’s helping her take her dress off? I’m not sure” Y/N’s mom chuckled again, looking at her aunt.

“Really? He has so many tattoos. Does F/N really approve of him? Because I know how much your husband despises tattoos. And he has his ears pierced? Like don’t you two think he’s a little too much of a- oh my goodness. That is so inappropriate…” great aunt Cindy gasped as Shawn had turned just enough for Y/N’s great aunt Cindy to see the faint love marks Y/N had left all along Shawn’s collarbone days before.

“Do you not see those marks on his chest area? There are children here!” Great aunt Cindy exasperated to Y/N’s mother, who was a little shocked as her daughter had always been so innocent until she let her take that one trip for her 21st.

“Aunt Cindy, it’s okay. She’s an adult now. You have to remember that. And as for the question about F/N, he actually, surprisingly likes Shawn. Shawn treats Y/N very well. He’s very kind and down-to-Earth. F/N doesn’t really particularly like his tattoos but him being so good to Y/N makes up for it” M/N spoke smiling to her aunt.

“Baby, I can hear everything your great aunt is saying” Shawn, the pop sensation frowned as Y/N had sat back onto his lap. “Hey, my love, don’t listen to her. She’s always been like this. Even to me” Y/N smiled as she grabbed Shawn’s slightly scruffed cheeks.

“I love and adore you hunny” Shawn smiled as he moved his nose so that it was briskly touching Y/N’s, giving her an Eskimo kiss.

“Come on, let’s get in the hot tub and you can have a corona?” Y/N asked her beloved boyfriend, as he gulped. Walking over to where Y/N’s great aunt Cindy and her mother were sitting in the hot tub, Shawn climbed in, giving Y/N his hand, helping her in, as she took a seat in Shawn’s lap, earning a glare from her great aunt Cindy. Y/N leaned over, opening the cooler next to the in-ground hot tub, pulling out a corona for Shawn.

“Baby, do you want lime in it?” She asked as she turned in his lap to look at him. “Hmm nah. It should be fine. Remember, I’m a real man, who can handle any flavor of liquor. Unlike some people. Cough cough Y/N” he smirked at her, referring to the first time they had met. In response Y/N smacked his chest, causing Shawn to laugh even more as his cheeks began to turn pink, remembering that his girlfriend’s mother and great aunt were right across from them. “May I please have my corona” he whispered into her ear, kissing her cheek lightly. “Fine. Only because I love you” she said, handing him his bottle of corona.

“So, Shawn, I have a few questions for you” great aunt Cindy spoke to the tall Canadian, who looked back at her like a deer in headlights. “Yes, ma’am. What would those questions be?” Shawn smiled nervously at the older lady.

“So how did you two meet?” She asked with a dead straight face, making both Shawn and Y/N gulp. Y/N hadn’t told her family how the two really met. It’s not that easy to say you bumped into a pop star at a bar in Toronto, where you went to celebrate your 21st, spilling beer all over him, to him buying you a round of shots to help you celebrate, which then lead to you losing your virginity to a very skilled Canadian.

Shawn, then turned to look into Y/N’s eyes for a little bit of permission, as she gave him a reassuring smile. “So when she flew out to Toronto, last September, to celebrate her 21st, she went to this bar I liked to go to. But come on we all know how clumsy she can be. She ran into me and spilt beer all over my white button up. Which babe, by the way was my favorite Yves Saint Laurent shirt” he chuckled as he dove his head down briefly to capture just below her jawline. “She then started to cry and tried to dry it up. But then I tried to make her feel better by buying her a round of my personal favorite, tequila. So short answer, I met her at a dope ass bar in Toronto” he smiled, as he gripped both of her hips under the water, pushing her down onto his lap even further than she already was. Y/N let out a small giggle, rubbing her wet hand through his set of brown curls, giving them a little tug. Shawn in response just bit his bottom lip to keep in a groan, before leaning down to whisper into his girlfriend’s ear, “stop that, or else, I won’t play nice.” Y/N then glared up at her boyfriend through her long lashes as if to challenge him.

“baby, do you wanna go get like a gin and coke?” Y/N asked her tall, lanky boyfriend, so she could have a moment alone with him.

“oh uh yeah, sure. uh do you all have whiskey?” he asked shyly, worried her great aunt would make a snarky comment on his alcohol consumption.

“yeah we have whiskey. did you want a small glass of that or did you maybe want me to get you a few shots of tequila or even vodka?” she asked him softly.

“would it be bad if i did both?” he whispered to his girlfriend.

“just a tad bit. i’ll go get you some shots. how about that?” she smiled softly at her boyfriend.

“that sounds lovely. where to?” he asked the woman he was head-over-heels for. He put his hand out for Y/N to take as she climbed off of his lap and out of the in-ground hot tub.

“Just inside, in the kitchen” she smirked down at him as he stood up, walking behind her, eyes planted on her ass as she swayed her hips. ‘Wow she’s really going all in’ he thought to himself.

he quickly caught up to her as his hand snaked down her bare back, landing on her ass, giving it a small squeeze, earning an evil glare from her as they entered the large house, and into the empty kitchen.

“baby, stop doing that” the tall boy spoke in a low tone, as he trapped his beloved girlfriend between his large frame and the countertops. his eyes were now a dark, chocolate brown color, filled with lust.

“why should i? it’s really fun seeing you all flustered” she spoke innocently, which only turned the tall boy on even more.

“babe, i’m so fucking hard right now it’s not even funny” he grunted into her ear, only earning a giggle from her.

“hah that’s exactly what you said to me the night we met” she chuckled lightly.

“if I remember correctly, you spoke first saying how you wanted my dick” he smirked back down to Y/N. Y/N looked down, blushing, as she became even more flustered due to shawn’s member poking her hipbone.

“babe, for starters i didn’t just want it, i got it. also you better think of something gross to get rid of your stupid boner” Y/N chuckled lightly as she turned around, reaching on her tippy toes for the top shelf to grab the alcohol.

“you don’t think it’s stupid when it’s inside of you” he cringed as the words left his mouth, earning a gasp from his girlfriend.

“Shawn Peter Raul!” she yelled at him, turning around to smack his chest as both of their cheeks turned pink.

“What?! it’s true! you know it is!” he defended, raising both hands into the air. Just after he did that, the couple heard a creak in the old wooden floors, meaning someone was coming their way.

“hunny, what are you doing? your father is looking for you” Y/N mother asked as if she hadn’t heard any of the couple’s previous conversations.

“oh ma, i’m just making shawn and i a few drinks” Y/N smiled to her mom as Shawn hid behind her small frame, hiding his prominent erection.

“okay, well your dad wants to see you and shawn and get caught up with his little girl” Y/N mother smiled warmly as Y/N finished making her and her musician of a boyfriend’s drinks.

“okay, we will be right out!” Y/N smiled to her mother as her mom walked out.

“phew, that was a close one” shawn smirked as he dove his face into the crook of Y/N neck, peppering soft kisses, before biting down, causing Y/N to pull away.

“what the fuck shawn?” she growled at him.

“that’s for trying to turn me on earlier” shawn taunted back to Y/N.

“trying? more like succeeding. i love you” Y/N pouted you at her tall boyfriend, as he looked down into her sparkling eyes. “i love you too. i just had to mark what’s mine. i’m sorry i’m so possessive” shawn pouted, looking down at the ground. Y/N cupped his cheek making him look into her eyes.

“well, i think it’s sexy. i like it on you. shows me how much you really love me” Y/N smirked up at her lover.

“wait, did you just say you think my possessiveness is sexy? glad to know i’m doing something right” he smirked down to Y/N, leaning down to plant a loving kiss to her lips.

“come on my dad and mom are waiting” Y/N spoke as the two finished their drinks. “go find my dad, i’ll be right behind you. i just have to go to the bathroom to cover up this love bite on my neck” she teased shawn as he smirked down to her.

Y/N walked to the bathroom, fixing her hair, to cover the bite that was located in the crook of her neck. once she fixed her hair to cover it, she stepped out of the bathroom to find her mother in the kitchen waiting for her.

“hey darling, please don’t be mad at me, but i might have overheard your guys’ conversation earlier. i can’t tell you not to do anything because you are an adult now, but at least tell me you’re safe about everything” her mother spoke with sincerity and worry.

“i had a feeling you heard some of it. i’m really hoping you didn’t hear some parts of it but knowing you, you probably did. i guess it’s better you find out now than in an interview or something. but to answer your question, yes, we are always safe. i promise you. i’d love it if you didn’t tell dad, but you tell him everything” Y/N smiled to her mother.

“i did kinda hear everything. i’m sorry hunny” she cringed but laughed after.

“gross. now my mom knows my sex life” Y/N muttered to herself as her and her mother walked out of the house and the pool lounge chairs.

there, however we’re only three pool lounge chairs. Shawn’s long body lay reclined in one, as Y/N father lounged in the one beside shawn. Y/N mother sat in the third and last one which was on the end next to Y/N father.

“baby, come here. don’t just stand there hun” shawn cooed to his girlfriend as she hesitantly walked over to shawn’s lounger. she slowly climbed onto the lounger, curling up next to shawn’s tanned skin. shawn’s arm instinctively wrapped around his girlfriend’s waist, pulling her close to him.

“it’s so nice to finally meet you sir” shawn spoke to Y/N dad. they had already shaken hands before Y/N and her mother joined them.

“as to you” Y/N father spoke politely. However, shawn was certain her father could see the faint love bites all across his upper chest and neck that his girlfriend had left just days prior.

“all i’m gonna say is, please treat her well. she’s my baby girl. you know, the youngest of the two girls” F/N spoke with love.

“of course sir. i really love her. truly. i love waking up to her next to me every time she’s at my condo” shawn smiled at the thought. he remembers the first time he woke up, with her in his arms. it was the next morning after they had met the night before. clothes strung out all over the place. her eyes had fluttered open, making his heart skip a beat.

“oh Y/N is that where you stay when you fly out to toronto?” her father asked her with a chuckle, her smacking her boyfriend’s chest, after muttering a small “wow, thanks.”

“yeah, he always told me to just give him a text when my flight would arrive and he’d always pick me up. he’s the best daddy. trust me when i say i’m the luckiest girl in the world” Y/N smiled shyly, as she dug her nose into her boyfriend’s neck, giggling.

“i’m glad you’ve finally found someone. thank you, shawn, for taking care of my little girl” Y/N father spoke with sincerity to his youngest daughter’s tall, lanky popstar of a boyfriend.

•••••••••••••

“babe, you taking a shower?” Y/N asked her goofy boyfriend. they had just finished dinner and had set off fireworks with her family. they would be spending the night at her family’s inherited mansion and leave in the afternoon the next day and take the long drive back up to toronto from new york.

“yeah. wait, you wanna join?” he smirked down to his girlfriend whom he adored with all his heart. she giggled out, responding, “yes, but, not funny business.”

“aight chief” he whispered into her ear, leaving a small peck behind it.

as they undressed and began to walk into the shower, there was a knock on their bedroom door, causing shawn to groan in frustration; as he wanted a moment alone with his girl.

Y/N walked out, naked, to the door, but not without feeling shawn’s eyes glued to her backside.

“who is it?” she asked out, cringing.

“it’s aunt cindy. some of us are having some champagne and visiting. did you and what’s his name want to join?” she asked out, in a grouchy tone.

“uhhh, let me ask shawn. he might be a bit tired, but i’ll ask. he’s about to take a shower but once he’s done, i’ll come down and let you know” Y/N hollered through the door.

“yeah alright” great aunt cindy hollered back in her cranky voice.

Y/N walked back to the bathroom, as shawn started the shower, checking the temperature to make sure it was perfect for the two of them. they both got into the walk-in shower, as Y/N stared up at shawn through her hooded eyelids.

“hey, hunny, what are you thinking right now?” shawn asked his girlfriend while his hands caressed just above her waist as his back was hit with the water.

“i just hope my dad doesn’t think anything less of me after seeing the love bites all over your chest. like i’m supposed to be his innocent little girl. and i definitely hope he doesn’t hate you for being sexually active with me” she spoke shyly up to her boyfriend.

“how would he know that?” shawn smirked as memories of the other night ran through his head.

“oh yeah, my mom heard your big ass mouth while we were getting drinks earlier today” Y/N sassed back to shawn, causing shawn’s smirk to fade.

“please tell me she didn’t hear everything” he cringed at thought of his girl’s mother hearing intimate details.

“oh she heard everything alright. she even asked if we were safe” Y/N sassed back up to her boyfriend before continuing, “she tells my dad everything”

“hunny, it’ll be okay. stop thinking about it. okay?” he questioned her as his calloused thumbs rubbed circles around her bare sides.

Y/N ran one of her small hands up shawn’s chest, landing on his stubbly left cheek. she gazed into his dark eyes, falling in love all over again like she does every time she gazes into them. “you know i wouldn’t change anything about the night we first met. as a matter of fact it was probably one of if not the best night of my life” Y/N cooed to her popstar of a boyfriend.

“well, that was very random. but thank you hunny. you’re my queen. and i love you with my whole heart. never forget that. now let’s actually shower and cuddle, yeah?” shawn cooed back.

“anything for you. i love you with my whole heart too” Y/N whispered into shawn’s ear, planting a passionate kiss to his lips.

[kgosigadirebone]

In June of 2019 I was in the midst of mid-year exams, so obviously instead of studying I was catching up on The Commoner's Guide To Bedding a Royal by @olivieblake .

In my defence the reading was also helping to distract me from the fact that my aunt (who had raised me as much as my own mother) was in the hospital, incredibly sick with the doctors unable to tell us why. Eventually they identified that there was a mass in her uterus.

Maybe it was intuition or maybe it was a defence mechanism but from early on my brain told me to accept that she wouldn't make it. I knew the bad news would come in one day soon.

I remember reading this paragraph during that awful time:

"I am resilient; I know that now. If whatever happens next calls for the upper limits of my strength, then so be it. I've been through enough to know that whatever happens, I won't be alone, and for that I will come back stronger than before. When I open that door, whatever waits for me on the other side will not be too big for me to handle. It might be terrible; it might feel like the end of the world while I'm in it, and almost no matter the outcome, I understand that it's probably going to hurt. But it will not be bigger than me."

It gave me so much solace in that time that I sent Olivie an ask on Tumblr telling her how much "It will not be bigger than me" gave me comfort , how I would take it on as a new mantra.

The bad news came when exams were over and I was back in the little village my grandmother is from , while I was getting a driving lesson from my uncle. She was gone.

That first day I'd almost cast aside my new mantra because the pain felt so overwhelming. I felt like I was drowning in my and my family's grief. To this day I can still hear my uncle crying for his big sister.

But the mantra held true because here I am almost 3 years later, on her heavenly birthday and I'm smiling at her picture. The grief was not bigger than me. Our whole family can tell stories about her and laugh.

Of course it still hurts . Especially in March, the birthday month we used to celebrate together so today I was feeling really under the weather when I got this message from one of my best friends:

I've never been ashamed to tell people that my favourite quote in the world was from a Dramione fic because I knew if they ever got the chance to read Olivie's words they would understand.

And it kind of feels like vindication that the rest of the world is finally giving her her flowers.

From me not being able to even get Amazon to ship her books to South Africa to my best friends being able to walk into the local book shop and get a copy of The Atlas Six , I am amazed and so incredibly proud of how far she has come.

In essence this is my thank you to her for bringing me comfort once more with her writing.

I'm so excited for the thousands upon thousands who might get the honour of that comfort too.

[blu-joons]

When Their Family Loves You ~ Seventeen Reaction

S.Coups:

His smile grew as he walked through the front door and saw your eyes turn back to greet him, noticing his awkwardness. “You’re going to hate me,” he frowned, “but my parents have invited us round for dinner tonight.”

As your eyebrows knitted together, his heart sunk. “I thought we were going to go to that new restaurant in the city?”

“I know,” he whispered, “but they were so desperate to see you again, I just couldn’t say no to them. They really like having you around Y/N, as often as they possibly can.”

“It’s alright, I understand,” you assured him.

He reached across to take a hold of your hand, “I promise that we can go to the restaurant tomorrow, I really appreciate you making the effort for them.”

“If your parents like me, I have to make sure I keep it that way,” you smirked, “dinner can wait for another night, but your family definitely can’t.”

“You’re the best,” he smiled, “thank you for being so understanding for me.”

“It’s fine, I love time with your parents too.”

Jeonghan:

As his grandmother walked through the house ready to greet the two of you, Jeonghan opened up his arms ready to greet her, only for her to walk straight through to you. “Is your grandson invisible?” He questioned her.

She glanced back at him as she pulled away from you, “it’s just been a while since I had the chance o see Y/N, that’s all.”

“I’m your grandson,” he reminded her, throwing his arms around her fragile frame, “I better not be second best to Y/N otherwise I might have to break up with her.”

“Don’t you even think about it,” she scolded.

Your smile grew at how quick she was to leap to your defence, “are you really going to throw a tantrum about the fact that your grandmother hugged me first?”

“I’m always the one that she hugs first,” he tried to protest, although the two of you barely paid attention to what he said. “Would you prefer me to?”

“Don’t be silly,” she laughed, “you should be pleased that I adore Y/N so much.”

“Not when she becomes your favourite I shouldn’t.”

Joshua:

You knew from the second you met Joshua’s grandfather especially that he was going to keep a close eye on you and take you under his wing. “Does Joshua take good care of you; I hope that I raised him right?” He asked you.

Your head nodded instantly, smiling across at him, “you raised him perfectly, he takes very good care of me, I promise.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” his father grandfather cheered, glancing between the two of you, “but you know if he ever steps out of line, you come straight to me and I’ll sort him out.”

“I don’t think I need to worry about that,” you laughed.

His eyebrows raised quizzically back across at you, “I know what this kid can be like, he’ll act all innocent, but I watched him grow up don’t forget.”

“Don’t make me sound bad,” Joshua whined, pleading across to his grandfather, “the last thing I need is for you to scare her off.”

“Am I scaring you off?” He asked you, “please do say if I am.”

“Not at all, it’s nice to know I can turn to you.”

Jun:

The time of the week when Junhui called his family was always the most important to him, hanging onto their every word. “I don’t suppose Y/N is there, is she?” His mother suddenly asked midway through their conversation.

Junhui stared back at her on the screen in disbelief, “you’re supposed to be talking to me right now, Y/N’s in the other room.”

“Please,” she cooed, “I just want to see how she’s getting on. I’m still talking to you, it would just be nice to check in with Y/N as well, see how you’re doing as a couple.”

“You’re just digging a bigger hole,” Junhui called out.

As he walked into your office, you were surprised to see him stood in the doorway, telling you what was going on. “Are you sure she wants to see me?”

“She’s practically begging me to come and get you,” he huffed, “either she really hates talking to me, or she loves talking to you.”

“I hope it’s the first,” you teased, “I guess I’ve got five minutes to spare.”

“You’re a lifesaver, thank you for doing this.”

Hoshi:

When the mention of a family photo came, you quickly stood to one side, offering to take the camera and the photo of Soonyoung and his family. “No way,” a voice called out from the back, “Y/N, you are part of our family too.”

Your head shook as Soonyoung stared across at you, “I’m alright just taking the photo, I’m not really family just yet.”

“Yes, you are,” his uncle called out, stepping out from the family, “now, come on, we can’t take a photo without the whole family. Stand by Soonyoung and he’ll show you the way.”

“As long as you’re sure,” you timidly responded to him.

Soonyoung held his hand out to pull you into his side, “now do you believe me when I tell you that my family see you as one of our own?”

“I do,” you shyly laughed, “I never imagined that they’d be so quick to jump in and make me feel so welcome in your family though.”

“They adore you,” Soonyoung smiled, “which makes me adore you so much more too.”

“I’m just relieved they all like me too.”

Wonwoo:

As soon as he walked through the front door of his parent’s home alone, he could feel the stares of several members of his family darting across to him. “Is Y/N not coming?” His aunt called out in disappointment.

Wonwoo looked across the room at her, “she had something come up, so she wasn’t able to make dinner this time around.”

“The poor thing,” his other aunt added, sharing her sympathies. “I was really looking forward to catching up with her again tonight, you’ve found yourself someone great in Y/N too.”

“You can still catch up with me,” he tried to remind them.

Both of them nodded at his suggestion, “and we will catch up with you, don’t worry, but it would be nice to see the two of you, not just one of you.”

“Sometimes I really do feel as if I’m second best to Y/N,” he laughed as he walked further into the room, “do all of you wish that Y/N was here?”

“It would’ve been nice,” his mum smiled, “but we’re grateful to see you at least.”

“Grateful? I guess that does the job.”

Woozi:

Your attention was caught as soon as you walked through the front door by a delicious smell that came from the kitchen. “Hi,” Jihoon smiled as he spotted you walking through to see what was going on in the kitchen.

You peered past his shoulder to see what he was doing, “something must be seriously wrong for you to be baking here.”

“Blame my parents,” he smirked, “you shouldn’t have enjoyed my mother’s dessert so much because she’s sent me the recipe so that I can make it myself, just for you.”

“Well, that was really kind of her,” you noted.

Jihoon’s head shook in rejection to your comment, “she knows that I can’t bake, there’s no way that I can make it as well as she did for you.”

“Can I help you then?” You asked, reaching past him to place one of the aprons around your neck, “together we can replicate it, can’t we?”

“I’m supposed to do this by myself,” he sighed, “she’ll just tell me that I failed.”

“She doesn’t have to know we made it together, does she?”

DK:

You could tell that something was wrong as Seokmin pulled you to one side at the family dinner, letting go of a heavy sigh. “What’s going on?” You quizzed as soon as the two of you had found some space with no one else around.

He frowned across at you, rolling his eyes at himself. “I just feel like everyone is ignoring me and talking to you a lot.”

“That’s not true,” you assured him, “they’re just making the effort to get to know me, I’m sure that they’re not intentionally ignoring you, they’re your family Seokmin.”

“Which is why they should be talking to me,” he grumbled.

You reached forwards and took a hold of his hand, “you’re overthinking all of this, they’re doing nothing wrong, and neither are you, it’s all fine.”

“I know I probably sound stupid,” he admitted in a quiet tone, “I guess I just didn’t think they’d get on with you as well as they do.”

“Is it a good thing?” You asked, “that they get on with me so well.”

“Of course, it makes me very happy to see.”

Mingyu:

He’d heard murmurs of your name around the table for most of the night as he attended his usual family dinner. “Where is she?” His mother asked once he eventually asked why you were such a hot topic for the evening.

He frowned back across at her, “she wasn’t able to make it, I didn’t realise it would be such a big deal for you all.”

“We like her,” his mother defended, trying to keep Mingyu calm, “we like seeing the two of you together, it’s been a while if I’m honest since I last saw you alone.”

“I know that you’re all big fans of her,” he frowned.

Several heads around the table nodded, “you’ve done well for yourself Mingyu, you should be pleased that we’ve all taken such a liking to Y/N.”

“I am glad you all like her, but you all seem more disappointed that she’s not here than excited that I am her,” he informed them all.

“Don’t be silly,” his mum laughed, “we’re all thrilled to see you.”

“It’s about time you told your faces that.”

The8:

Minghao was unable to hide his smile as he passed you the card that had come through the front door a few moments prior. “What is it?” You questioned, unfolding the card to see that it was a wedding invitation.

He sat down beside you, “my cousin has invited us both to her wedding and written your name in massive letters too.”

“She must really want me to come,” you joked, “I have to admit your cousin was one of my favourites when I met them all. It means a lot that my name is even on the invite.”

“My family adore you; they want you to go,” he hummed.

You closed the invite back up, turning to face him with a smile. “Well, I can’t be letting them down, if you want me to go with you that is.”

“Absolutely, my family would kill me if I showed up to the wedding without you anyway,” he laughed, “I should probably send the RSVP.”

“I’m meeting her tomorrow,” you replied, “I’ll give it to her then.”

“I swear you see my family more than me sometimes.”

Seungkwan:

As you unwrapped the present that his parents had bought you for your birthday, you couldn’t help but stare down at it speechless. “It’s better than what I’ve got,” Seungkwan sighed as you lifted the jewellery from the box.

Your head shook. “That’s not true, I love what you bought me,” you quickly tried to assure him, “both presents are great.”

“They’ve never even spent that much on me for my birthday before,” he sighed, “my parents really must like you to spoil you as much as they have done.”

“Am I sensing a bit of jealousy in you?” You asked him.

His head shook, trying to keep himself together, “I just feel like my parents have even outdone me, I’m your boyfriend, I should buy you the best presents.”

“None of the presents matter to me,” you promised to him, “what matters to me is that I get to spend my birthday with you, and not the things you’ve bought.”

“You don’t have to make me feel any better,” he smiled, “I understand.”

“I’m being honest, I promise you, don’t stress.”

Vernon:

As you walked into his parent’s house, you were surprised when you saw a huge photo of you and Vernon up on the wall. “It’s big,” you whispered, taken aback by the large canvas you had no idea to expect.

“You’re not wrong,” Vernon whispered, equally confused as you were by the large print that was hung for all to see.

“You’ve seen it then,” his mother smiled, wondering where the two of you had gotten to, “what do you think? I just had to get the photo framed, it’s such a lovely one.”

“I’m sure all the visitors will definitely see it,” Vernon frowned.

His mother’s smile continued to grow beside the two of you, “I just wanted everyone to see how in love our son is and how great Y/N is too.”

“No one is able to miss when they walk into the house,” Vernon sighed, struggling to take it all in, “it really sends out a clear message.”

“That’s what I wanted,” she cheered, “people can see how happy the two of you are.”

“They’ll definitely be able to see that by the size of it.”

Dino:

When his father pulled him to one side, Chan knew he was in trouble, but he never quite imagined the trouble that it would be. “Your mother is gutted that Y/N couldn’t make it tonight,” he sternly told his son.

Chan could only shrug back at him, “I’m not really sure what you want me to do about that, Y/N’s just been busy.”

“She thinks you’ve fallen out,” his dad sighed, “maybe just go back in there and give her a bit of reassurance that things between you and Y/N are alright.”

“But they are, she doesn’t need assuring,” Chan groaned.

His father sighed, tapping his hand against Chan’s shoulder. “You know what she can be like sometimes, just humour me and calm her nerves.”

“Even if anything had happened between Y/N and I, it would be none of her business,” Chan fumed, turning back to walk into the living room.

“She loves her,” his father whispered, “it would break her heart if you separated.”

“It’s a good job that we’re not separating then.”

---

Masterlist