#hi hello anxiety i remember you! i'm so excited to see you again

[brenna]

my boss threw me under a bus/accused me of things at four pm today, and i'm having a normal time about it. give me something else to think about please

[lovejongseob]

Hello dear, could I request a Keeho x reader interaction where she feels embarrassed because she gained a little weight in the past few months and feels insecure about it, especially about her thighs and belly, but Keeho doesn’t mind — in fact, he’s actually loving her thick thighs.

Keeho x Thick reader

Thank you so much for requesting !! 🩷

As silly and hilarious as he can be, Keeho is seriously aware of small details and picks up on specific behavior some might not. I don't think he'd suddenly notice the change, he was subtly complimenting you about it and excited the entire time during those months.

The only slight contention I could see happening is maybe him being a little too lighthearted about it at first. He genuinely thinks you look gorgeous, he can't understand why you'd be embarrassed about being pretty. He's of course complimenting you, praising you, giving you extra kisses to all the places he loves the most, especially your thighs and stomach as of recent. But he might not be as reassuring as someone who's embarrassed might need, simply because he doesn't get why someone so beautiful would even have doubts about it.

However, I think this period of time would last for an extremely short period. Again, he notices things very quickly, and he can tell a certain tone in your voice isn't changing when he says or does these things. He immediately amps up the love. Unless you're extremely aware of other people's actions or he mentions it later, you might not remember that it even happened.

Keeho would think of all the times hes felt insecure, or unhappy with a certain style choice, and how much better it made him feel when you let him know you still thought he looked handsome. Of course a part of him knows you'll always love him, but he starts to better understand the anxiety that comes with change.

Hes wrapping your thighs around him all the time, hands constantly tracing over your belly, would write his name with his finger on it, or a heart with both of your initials. Hes telling you how pretty you've looked these past few weeks, especially now in this moment. Sitting you on his lap, just telling you "I like it, I wouldn't mind more." If you complain about your weight. Rocks you against him, wraps his arms around your belly and pulls you against him.

Stomach sleeping king, always napping on you. Your thighs are NOT safe either (nothing is really, if he can sleep on you, he will, but he definitely prefers those areas), when he wakes up he softly bites you and leaves kisses around the area. When hes feeling particularly playful, hes sucking on your skin and leaving faint love marks.

Even if you guys are doing something completely normal, hes finding an excuse to get your thighs around his head. Usually sounds a little crazy in most contexts but it's sweet. When you're sitting next to each other, hes grabbing your upper legs and placing them on his lap. Usually ends up just placing you entirely on his lap, but he likes seeing your adorable shocked face.

First request !! Yay !! Thank you so much for the ask, I hope you enjoyed. 💕 I tried my best, and I'm open to criticism to be better !!

[howlingmod]

Hello mod, may I request something cutesy for Skateboard x reader?

summary - skateboard x reader, reader is from blackrock and is described as being a little bit messed up from it (not detailed)

misc - hi i seen this request and got so excited i love skateboard ... 1million tripmine attack go

-Skateboard hadn't really been looking to make any new friends when he'd stumbled onto you. It'd been late at night and he was dead tired, having spent the entire day in the blistering heat of day. He was really just looking to go home when he'd seen you.

-It wasn't uncommon to see people lost in Playground, especially people from other regions. It was less common to see someone frantically pacing back and forth with a stuffed full suitcase and what was very obviously a Blackrock-style uniform talking about getting hunted for sport.

-Initially, the uniform had put him on edge. He phights Subspace and Hyperlaser all the time and he's seen plenty of people from there pass through Playground, and it wasn't often they had good intentions. There was something different about you, though, your panic didn't seem manufactured to draw someone in, it felt unnervingly genuine. Blackrock isn't exactly known for letting its residents easily slip out whenever they want. if you really were some kind of runaway, you definitely had reason to be freaking out.

-Against his better judgement, he approached you.

"Hey man, are you ok?" Skate asked cautiously, taking a few steps closer to you. He kept his distance, he wasn't sure what kind of gear you might have and he wasn't looking to phight right now. Your head had whipped towards him the moment he'd stepped into the alley, wide eyes darting over his figure. He certainly didn't look like the type to be affiliated with the faction. Besides, to be entirely honest, an alley was a pretty terrible place to hide. For any Blackrock authority with an itchy trigger finger (most of them, you noted bitterly), it was the perfect place to solve a runaway. "Hello...?" You blinked, remembering he'd asked a question. "O-Oh, um... Yeah I'm- I'm fine," you stammered, hastily smoothing yourself out and ripping your eyes away. Any attempt at looking casual was soaked in anxiety. "Right, Right," he didn't believe you at all, "You mind telling me what's up then?" You kicked at the ground a few times, scuffing up already worn workboots out in an attempt to shake your nerves. You couldn't meet his eyes for more than a glance. "I'd rather not." Skate paused for a few moments. Maybe it's exhaustion talking, but you really didn't seem like much of a threat. If you were trying to bait him into getting close, it seemed counterintuitive to be acting so guarded. This didn't feel like an elaborate scheme, it just felt like a genuine moment of crisis. Before he could say anything, you spoke up again. "Listen I just- Do you need something? I really don't know why you're talking to me." You were struggling to keep your voice firm, but you couldn't afford to let your voice wobble over the edge and into tears. "Hey, just calm down. I wanna help you, ok?" This could have been a stupid move, but he took another few steps closer, one arm holding his board and the other raised in a show of pacifism, "I'm sorry if I was freakin' you out with all the questions. Do you have anywhere to go?" You bit the inside of your cheek, mentally debating if you really wanted to put this onto a stranger. On one hand, it was just humiliating for you. On the other, it was a risk, he might be playing nice now but he could sell you out in a heartbeat. "No." "Alright, well how about you come with me?" He was quick to clarify when you glanced at him, "You can stay with me until you find a place! Or, I could try and find some hotel nearby, I guess ..." He trailed off, talking more to himself than you. Part of you was screaming to run the other way, as far as you knew this guy had you totally figured out and was ready to use the situation to get whatever it was he wanted. He could blackmail you, rat you out, ruin every chance you have at a new life. You can't just pick up and keep running if he tries anything, this guy was clearly from here, far more familiar with the bustling city than you were. Despite all this- "Please."

-It was a pretty long adjustment period. Skate was a little too casual and open for your paranoid mind to comprehend and you were a little too guarded and mysterious for Skate to trust you fully. You were so unfamiliar with Playground's culture, the lively and crowded atmosphere was a stark contrast to the utilitarian lifestyle you were accustomed to. There was little you could do other than try and bully forward.

-It was the little things that made Skate warm up to you. You always insisted it was out of politeness whenever he'd confront you about how nice the place looked or how there was leftovers for him when he got home. You would get wrapped up in something and you would start talking to yourself, walking through all the different steps and alternatives in a long ramble under your breath. Despite the exterior you were putting up, there was clearly some life to you yet.

-Sometimes he would tease you about it, but he was surprisingly strategic. He'd annoy you just enough to get you to glare at him and then back off for a while, returning the favor by bringing home snacks and takeout for the two of you in an effort to draw out more of that humanity. Besides, you could really use the food. The day he noticed most everything you made for yourself was just whatever used the least amount of resources was the same day he shoved most of his portion over to you without a word.

-Neither of you really noticed how you opened up to one another. Slowly you two stopped sitting on opposite sides of the room until you spent nights laying on one another watching bad tv. Admittedly, he might've gotten the first hint at his crush for you the first time you fell asleep on him. Sure, it was just plain cute, but it meant something more knowing it was you, the same person who used to run off to go eat by yourself every night and stuck to the corners of a room.

-He noticed your quirks become more apparent, little references and phrases he'd never heard before suddenly littered your every word. You spoke more openly, though you still had a tendency of not talking unless he said something that absolutely called for it. He didn't mind, he was usually the more chatty one in his friendships anyway. He just liked getting an excuse to tell you about all the phights he's been in and all the (more lighthearted) things his gang was up to. At some points, the lines between fabrication and reality in his stories blurred for whatever reason. He didn't mind that either, so long as you were laughing or drawn in by what he was saying.

-You weren't into the idea of phighting yourself, it was just a little too much for you. Besides, even the idea of seeing Hyperlaser or Subspace again on the battlefield of all places made your stomach churn. Instead, he'd just gotten you into play wrestling with him. You were stronger than he'd been expecting, though he probably should've known you would be considering your background. He didn't have to take it easy on you, only really holding back for the sake of not breaking anything.

-It was cliche, but there was some time where you'd won and managed to shove him down and keep him there and all the admiration he' been building up for you overflowed and left him looking up at you with some dumb grin. You were smiling back, something you'd only recently really started doing again. He liked to think it was because you were comfortable here with him, you would agree.

"Hi." "Hey." He laughed again, a nervous habit you often poked fun at, "You're really pretty, you know that?" You'd burnt up at that, laughing a little yourself as you stared down at him, "Where's this coming from?" "I dunno, just been thinking it." "You're weird." "Do you like me weird?" You snorted, halfheartedly swatting him one more time before pushing yourself back up. "Of course." "That's good, I like you weird too," the moment he'd finished his sentence, you were already pouncing on him again.

[hexgaywire]

hello! (◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉI hope you're having a great day! i wanted to ask if it's okay to make a request (⁠;⁠ŏ⁠﹏⁠ŏ⁠)

I'd like to request where reader is also a streamer and whenever a collab horror stream with vox and hex and (separately), reader's heart beat always speeds up at the start (the game is not on yet and chat can see since she's already set up her heart beat monitor) like at some point chat notices it's a recurring thing that only happens during horror collabs with vox or hex and the chat kinda outs reader to them, and their reaction to that information.

i dunno if that makes sense exactly 😭🥹 (also please do not mind the request it if you're not up to writing 🥹 it's just me projecting how how my heart beats absolutely fast when i hear these two 😞)

I'm here to deliver Hex and Vox brain rot! One thing about me I will always write for Hex if given the opportunity. To preface I have not watched a Vox stream in a moment so I apologize if he seems a little OOC. Mentally I'm still in his ASMR era. Also shout out to Hex Haywire for currently, as of writing this, unable to go live on YouTube bc he posted horny on main.

»»————-　☾　————-««

Heart Monitor Shenanigans with Vox and Hex

Rating: SFW

Pairing: Streamer/Vtuber Reader / Vox, Hex (separate)

Warnings: Implied hidden crush. That's it that's the intro.

»»————-　☾　————-««

"Are you excited chat?" Vox entertains your combined chats as you struggle to set up your heartbeat monitor; horror game menu lopping every couple minutes that ticks by. "I'm so sorry guys, this happens every time. I even tested it out a couple hours before the stream so we would have this issue." You sheepishly say. " That's quite alright, Y/N, your chat is lovely and so are my Kindred. They get a Zatsu, a collab and a heartbeat monitor all in one stream." He chuckles. Finally after restarting the program and refreshing it on OBS your heartbeat monitor springs to life. " Thank God!" You exclaim. "Thanks for your patience everyone!" "We are finally ready? Let's gooooo! No 'Shupport' needed, nice work Y/N!" Vox praises you. Your heart jumps in your chest at the praise.

> Ayo why is Y/N BPM so high lololol

>Y/N!!!! You do this every collab with Vox

> That's kinda high....

You watch in horror as your chat blatantly drags you under the bus. You cough awkwardly and quickly try to divert the conversation. "With the scuff out of the way, why don't we get started?" You glance over at Vox's POV and his chat and man the Kindred's are also throwing you under the bus.

> Y'all are seeing what I'm seeing right?

> Love how the game hasn't even started yet and their heart rate is off they hearts HAHA

> My tsundere oshi and oblivious oshi

Vox, you can tell, is trying his best not to tease you you can tell by the tone in his voice. "Thank you for the Supa, remember to follow rules chat, this is a collab Y/N is a guest." Vox starts the game and also tries to take the attention of you, which makes your heart rate spike again. The chat goes nuts. Both you and Vox continue as normal though and begin the game.

-

"Thank you all for watching and thank you to Vox for the collab! I can't wait for the next one!! Say bye chat!!!" You say enthusiastic as you both prepare to end your streams. Once you end stream Vox immediately starts to haze you. "So are we gunna talk about the high BPM or was it just the anxiety of the monitor not working?" He asks smugly. "It's uh gotta be the anxiety thing..." You mumble. "Yeah, I think Kyle said the same thing last time though, Y/N... " " Vox I-" " I'm teasing you, it's fine. Honestly I find it flattering." You roll your eyes but the heat rises to your cheeks. " Thanks for the collab today, we'll definitely have to do this again soon." " Hey maybe next time we can do an off collab? " Vox suggests. A million thoughts run through your head and before you can respond Vox cuts in. "Think about it. I'd love to do it sometime. Have a good one Y/N! " Vox leaves the call. You sit there staring at your monitor which once again, spikes.... You don't know if your heart can handle an off collab.

»»————-　☾　————-««

"Chat I think Hex forgot about us." You sigh dramatically. You frantically message him over Discord for the third time asking him if he's awake. Hex wasn't streaming his POV and did warn you he might be a few minutes later but as you sit here, dedicated sicklings and your own chat, anxiously waiting.

"I'm giving him 5 more minutes then we are jumping in without him." You huff. You hear the discord " join" noise and you don't register it until you hear his voice. "You'd really start without me?" His voice as raspy as ever cuts in. Your heart pounds in your chest, partly because you weren't expecting him to join so suddenly. "H.. hex Haywire everyone!"

> Hexy!!!! Welcome

> Hi Hex!

> Woah morning voice TSKR

"Sorry for the wait... I over slept..." He admits. "You're stupid." You giggle. "You leave your collab partner and your chat, alone, unsupervised, we could've been planning to overthrow you." You joke. " You wouldn't do that, you're too sweet." He yawns. " Right chat? Aren't they the sweetest." You can see your heart rate monitor skyrocket.

> They are the sweetest!!! So true Hex

> Sus monitor

> Y/N Did you forget you have a monitor on? Www

Man the sicklings don't let anything slide. "Let's uh... Start the game." You cough awkwardly.

-

"Sicklings please remember to thank y/n for streaming their POV today." Hex hums out. " And thank you to Hex for coming on! Everyone say bye to Hex!!! Thank you all for coming to today's stream and I'll be back tomorrow with some more Stardew Valley! Byee!!" You say as you mute your OBS and change to your ending scene. "You're resting heart rate is concerning Y/N." Hex comments nonchalantly. "I.... pump blood really fast?" You try to avoid this topic like the plague. "Listen thanks again for breaking your sleep schedule for me, next time we'll stream in your time zone." You say. "Next time huh? Already excited for the next one." You can hear the smugness in his voice. "So what." You huff. He chuckles. "Just let me know, you know I love collabing with you. Good night Y/N" Hex hangs up and you're left with a huge grin on your face.

»»————-　☾　————-««

Psst down here... My requests are open 🗣��

[hgb94]

Nein in Hindsight: CR2E8

Real fun time for Caleb having everyone fixate on his reaction to burning a guy alive. (14:00)

Early Caleb and Beau banter fills my heart with joy. "You look like a nerd." (17:30)

Our first good Caleb and Beau conflict with her calling him out on hiding away the glove of blasting and not being forthcoming about shit. I feel like a lot of their conflicts spring out of a very fun clash in their responses to their personal traumas. Beau's experience of being betrayed or controlled by authority figures in her life gives her a strong resistance to anyone taking away control or choice or hiding things from her, and meanwhile Caleb's over here desperately grasping for control over his circumstances while he pursues the one goal he's got to live for, while also being shifty as hell trying to hide all the skeletons in his closet, and Beau's just like "What the fuck is your deal, man?" I'm so excited for Bowlgate again, that's one of my favorite moments of conflict I can remember in CR. (33:00)

Watching early Jester interactions with the Traveler is so fun with the knowledge that he's just Artagan getting way in over his head while he tries to be a god. (44:00)

Beau's mail fraud continues to lead Jester toward discovering the identity of her father. (55:30)

A fun case of Jester's "party first" morality. She'll happily pass off hyena ears as gnoll ears to get some extra pay and think nothing of the lie, why not? It's not hurting anyone and it helps her and her friends. (1:00:30)

"We are so excited over chump change to Vox Machina." I think one of the reasons why C2 grew into my favorite over C1 (outside of it just having the perk of being my first 'live watch' experience after I binged C1) is how much I love watching the low level hardscrabble life, rejoicing over the windfall of 150 gold, the edge of anxiety in every fight where resurrection magic still lies so far out of reach, the slow travel and lengthy night watches as they go town to town without the perk of teleportation magic to speed things up, idk, the vibes are just good. (1:03:10)

And the Mighty Nein are born. How much was Matt losing his shit with the Eyes of Nine rolling around in the back of his mind? (1:04:00)

Caleb's continual hunt for the highest quality paper and inks. Ah, the wizard lifestyle, it's an expensive one. (1:09:10)

"The Ruby of the Sea says hello." I love you, Jester Lavorre. (1:12:48)

Meanwhile, we have Caleb in the background petting Frumpkin to distract himself while they get Fjord a letter of recommendation to the Soltryce academy. (1:13:30)

I have a tragically shit memory for my own reactions during the first watch of this campaign (main reason why I'm documenting all of this for myself on the second go around), but I remember that Marion Lavorre was not what I was expecting from after this initial description of the most famed courtesan on the Menagerie Coast. (1:15:00)

Beauregard "Daddy issues" Lionett still making a very good point 'why do you want to live with your dad that you've never met?' 'sometimes father's are disappointing,' while Caleb "I killed my loving and wonderful parents and would like to rewrite time to undo that" Widogast is fully onboard and understanding of Jester seeking out this man she only knows from a story her mom told her. (1:23:00)

Very fun to see Beau interrogating Caleb about whether he’s got kids while the Secret Parent at the table is fully sliding under the radar. Also Veth fully bullshitting facts about her goblin age and history. Her birthday? Goblins don’t have birthdays, don’t worry about it. And Sam makes it all sound so believable, he lies to them constantly with nobody ever getting any idea. (1:25:40)

“This number (nine) coming up is so creepy, guys.” Yeah, Matt, I bet it is. (2:01:20)

“Oh man, did you see that? You thought you burned that other guy up, did you see how much you burned that–” Bless you, Jester. (2:23:25)

Caleb waking up screaming “Take them out, take them out!” Beau “One day we’re gonna have a real big talk about your issues.” Yeah, you are. Just give it about 10 more episodes. (2:29:00)

“The Dwendalian Empire kind of sucks, you guys.” Fun look at the three perspectives of the empire from the empire kids here. Caleb absolutely files away Beau’s negativity about the empire in response to Jester’s comment as a potential reason to trust her with his secrets in the future. (2:39:20)

Smh, Pumat Sol, you can't just be stealing a man's mud camouflage like that. (3:13:20)

[the-kr8tor]

I'M HERE!! I'M ALIVE!!

By the work of some miracle, I completed all of my Spanish work on time last week 🥳🥳 Now I need to do it again for the next five weeks ༼;´༎ຶ ۝ ༎ຶ༽

I've got a test in AP bio today, but it's gonna be okayyy (cope) I'll do well; I'll get a hundreddd (cope)

Anyway in honor of spring break happening a day early (we won't have Friday this week) we have...

Celebratory Leon HCS!!!

I'm seeing all this red string stuff on your page lately and it lowkey has me feeling inspired so let's do a personal take kn that AU with Leon :D

I feel like he always kinda thought about finding whoever was at the end of the string, at least someday. He thought about it more when he was in school than out. These days, he doesn't think about it much. Probably because of The Horrors (tm), but these days he was starting to feel that maybe he never met them. He was pretty hard set on the idea that whoever's on the end of the line wouldn't want to meet someone like him anyway. Deep inside though, he imagined that maybe, since they're his soulmate, they would be able to put up with him. All of his anxieties, strange habits, and trauma, maybe it wouldn't be too much to share it with one person. Just one.

Imagine his surprise when he feels the string tugging him one night. He's out on a walk to clear his head and he feels this little pull. Of course, he follows. He's so confused and intrigued and somewhat scared and excited and he's wondering what you look like and if you're following the string too and- WHAM

You both run headfirst into each other bc y'all were both only paying attention to the string like idiots. It made for a funny story though :)

I also feel like red string has so much potential for a historic or more fantasy forward AU too, but it's kinda hard to think of the meet cute. Like it's a fact that Leon's gonna be a knight, but I like the idea of r being a commoner or a noble or a noble from an enemy empire??? There are so many scrungulous ideas that could come from it. We could do a combo of all three where he finds her on a n expedition and she's like injured or sum and she can't remember much of who she is but they figure out she's a noble from an opposing empire, like high up too I'm thinking from grand duchy or actual imperial family or sum. So this other country they're like 'omg xxx empire stole our princess/Duchess' and they have to work it out to resolve the issue and then their marriage fosters peace between the two countries.

These classes got me stressed sm I haven't been able to write :( ✍️

YESSS HELLO!! WELCOME BACK!

Nooo that should be Illegal! Good luck on the test! You'll kill it! 💪

Daily Leon HC 💙💙💙

It's @pleaktale 's fault 😂 (love u pookie)

Omg poor leon! 😞 It's all because of those evil residents (wink wink nudge nudge)

Leon: I don't care about my soulmate *grips the table*

AWWWW that's so cute!!! Imagine telling that to claire and she'd laugh at his face so hard after all the idc abt my soulmate conversations they've had 😆

Yooooo how about they meet at the opposite sides of the battlefield and when they're face to face their strings glow and tug at each other!!

[montammil]

PLZ PLZ PLZ just one drabble where marshall and the other two have Stockholm and Lawrence takes them for like a 'family day' 😌 ofc ignore this if you want<333

Sorry this is short, even though I'm inexperienced in more wholesome writings (if you ignore the Stockholm syndrome LOL) I still love writing them! Thank you for the request :D

TW: Stockholm syndrome, parental whumper, infantilization (treating and referring to adults as children)

...

It took a lot of convincing from Marshall and Sadie both to talk Lawrence into taking them to the aquarium today. Lawrence never liked taking them outside their home, for several reasons, but Sadie was an expert at giving him puppy dog eyes and begging enough for whatever they wanted.

Lawrence wasn't too worried about them getting recognized--it had been a few years since their disappearances, after all. He just hated the idea of risking their safety. The outside world was a cruel place.

"Remember to always stick together," Lawrence told them as soon as they pulled into a parking space. It wasn't too crowded, thankfully, but they still had to park quite far from the entrance. "If I see any of you wandering off, we're going straight back home."

Marshall smiled larger than he had in months. "I hope they have penguins!"

"You'll find out when we get there," Lawrence chuckled, opening his car door.

Lawrence led the way inside with Sadie clutching onto his left arm and Marshall clinging to his right side. Nathan lagged behind, walking a bit slower than the others.

Despite preferring being in the comfort of their home, even Nathan felt relieved they could finally do something fun together (that wasn't the same daily routine).

A change in environment, no matter how small or uneventful, was refreshing for the three victims. They've spent enough time trapped within that house.

"Hello," the receptionist greeted. "How many?"

"Four," Lawrence replied, offering a polite smile. He pulled out his wallet and began fishing out enough cash to pay. The four were given bright green wristbands, which they secured on each of their wrists before proceeding inside.

Sadie looked around in awe, grasping Lawrence's arm again. "What are you most excited to see, Dad?"

His heart warmed whenever his kids referred to him as that. "Hmm... dolphins, probably. Though I'd love to see an octopus too. How about you, kiddo?"

"I'm happy with anything! It's all so cool," Sadie marveled, taking it all in.

Marshall still clung onto Lawrence tightly, but with less enthusiasm than before. He seemed more nervous now. "There's so many people..."

There really wasn't, but it was definitely more people than the poor thing was used to nowadays. They could have gone on a weekday to lessen the crowd, but the aquarium would be practically filled with screaming kids on field trips.

Nathan scoffed. "You're the one who was demanding we go here."

"Nate," Lawrence scolded, then turned his attention back on Marshall. "If you get too overwhelmed, we can always take breaks or leave early, okay, baby?" His gaze fell on Nathan. "That goes for all of us. This is supposed to be a good experience--I don't want anyone getting stressed out."

"Look! Piranhas," Sadie called, pointing to an exhibit at the entrance of the tunnel.

Lawrence kissed the top of Marshall's head before taking a few steps forward towards it. He gestured for Nathan to come closer too. He wanted them all to stay in sight.

As much as he trusted the kids wouldn't run off (or try to report him to staff), old habits died hard and he couldn't help but feel slightly paranoid in public. It was rare for his anxiety to affect him--only when his children were involved would he ever worry.

Marshall cringed. "Why do they look like that?"

"I think they're cool," Nathan muttered.

Sadie pointed to the sign. "It says they're actually not as bloodthirsty as movies portray them as. I guess I'm not surprised." She made a face. "They still freak me out a little though." She rushed on ahead, ignoring the exasperated sigh Lawrence gave. "Ooh, there's seahorses over here! That one's pregnant, I think." She gestured to the obvious one. "He's so cute."

Lawrence chuckled. "Seahorses are probably one of my favorite animals. It's nice seeing one in person."

Nathan shrugged. "I think they're overrated."

"There's more exhibits this way!" Sadie exclaimed, running down the hall.

"No running," Lawrence reminded her. "We aren't in a rush."

It was both funny and exhausting to him how different they all were; Sadie was running ahead, Marshall was clinging onto him, and Nathan could barely keep up in favor of trudging everywhere.

Not that he didn't like it. After so long treating them like children, they were finally acting like it.

"The penguins are here!" Sadie called in response. Marshall gasped and ran ahead too. Nathan kept at the same pace, unaffected. Penguins must not have been very high on his list.

Only once when Lawrence had the two in their line of sight, he slowed down to Nathan's pace. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Yeah," Nathan muttered, keeping his eyes focused on the floor. He no longer got angry and embarrassed at the terms of endearment.

It took time for the kids to adjust, but now even Nathan would say 'love you' back to him from time to time. Only if he was feeling particularly loving towards Lawrence, however--which was pretty rare. Regardless, Lawrence was proud of him either way.

Lawrence glanced back at the other two for a brief moment, just to make sure they were still there. "Is there anything in particular you want to do after this? We'll probably only be here an hour longer at most."

Nathan played with the zipper on his jacket. "You'll say no."

"Maybe," he admitted. "But I'd still like to hear it." Despite being so controlling of them, he really did love hearing his kids talk.

"It's stupid, but I was wondering if we could stop by an arcade. There's one across town. It's alright if you don't wanna. I don't even care anymore, honestly." But it was easy to tell it was a lie. His cheeks were red despite the nonchalant act. "You probably hate games, anyways."

Lawrence snorted. "Nate, I'm not ancient. When I was a teen, I practically lived in the arcade."

"That was thousands of years ago," Nathan smirked. He peered over to see Marshall pressed up against the glass of the exhibit, watching the penguins play around while Sadie read the facts about them displayed nearby.

It was like they completely forgot the other two were even there. Maybe that was better. He secretly loved their company, but it was rare he got one on one time with his dad.

Lawrence pinched his cheeks. "Watch yourself, brat," he teased, "we can go but don't make me change my mind."

Nathan swatted his hands away playfully, letting a giggle escape his mouth. He tried to keep quiet, so Marshall and Sadie wouldn't overhear, but it didn't matter much anyways. They weren't paying attention to him or Lawrence at the moment. "I'm excited to introduce you to Street Fighter."

"Oh, please, you weren't even alive when that game released," Lawrence rolled his eyes fondly. "C'mon, let's go catch up with the others." The pair began walking over to join Marshall and Sadie who were already moving on to the next exhibit. He stopped behind them. "Ooh, electric eels."

Sadie shook her head. "Those are actually moray eels. Moray eels have cuter faces, electric eels have flat, weird-looking heads."

"Like you," Nathan snickered. She shoved him in a playful retort.

"There's the Nemo's," Marshall rushed towards the clown fish and leaned into the glass.

"'Nemo's?'" Lawrence cooed at how adorable he was.

Marshall glared at him in a mock pout. "You know what I mean! If you didn't make me watch that movie a million times, I'm sure I would've called them clown fish." He stood normally again and wrapped his arms around Lawrence, burying his face into his chest. "Anyway, I'm ready to go home. I'm so tired already." This was the first time in a while that he walked this far.

He was met with a kiss on top of his head. "You were such a trooper today. Thank you. Nate and I are gonna go to the arcade after this, but I can drop you off at home." He glanced at Sadie. "Do you want to come to the arcade with us or stay home?"

"You can drop me off at home too, I'm, also kind of tired. Can we check out the gift shop before we leave?" she asked.

Lawrence grinned. "I think it's obvious by now I spoil you all."

[callmetenn]

Hey I was wondering if could maybe get comfort for a Gn reader from daichi? I don’t know if I can explain it but my birthdays soon and every year for my birthday and New Years I get a rly deep anxiety of like “wasting my life” or smth idk it sounds stupid. But I get rly anxious around it bc I have a fear that I’m like not living life to my full potential, so every “milestone” is just a reminder that I’m failing. Idk I hope I was able to explain that enough, so if ur willing, I could use some comfort even if it’s just imaginary lol. Thx!

hello anon :) I appreciate you trusting me with something like this. I completely understand the feeling you are describing. I decided to go for New Years theme. I’m sorry for how late this is out.

11:43pm December 31st - New Year’s Eve

All you wanted to do that night was sit by your window. When you were small, you loved watching the fireworks, but lately, it has seemed more convenient as a distraction, a way to forget about life. You close your eyes, the subtle echo of the early fireworks slowly lulling you to sleep. Just then, you heard a noise. Opening your eyes, you hear another, seeing movement as a pebble hits your window. You open your window to the sight of your childhood friend Daichi. Bags in his hands, he smiled up at you the way he always does. So sweetly, like you were the only thing that mattered at that moment. "What are you doing down there, you idiot?" you shout at him. He holds his finger to his mouth, shooshing you, "Shhhhhh, you'll wake up your parents!" He quietly says to you from your backyard. You laugh, "My parents? At home on New Year's? Yeah, right." You say, "They're at some party." "Why aren't you?" He shoots back. You scoff, "You know I'm not the big party type. Besides, I had…more important things to do tonight." He smiles at the ground, hoping you don't see it--you do. "Oh, yeah? What kind of important things? You mean moping around your room all night and finally going to bed at 6 a.m.?" He laughs. and raises an eyebrow at you. You blush at the accuracy of his words, "Whatever, just meet me in the treehouse!" —————————————————— You and Daichi had built this treehouse with your dad when you were only in elementary school. A lot has changed since back then. Your parents divorced, your dad moved away, your mom remarried, and you started feeling differently toward Daichi. You wish you could go back to that age. Before your parents got divorced and before you developed a crush on Daichi. As Dachi slid into the treehouse, you realized that the inside was much smaller than you had remembered, or maybe you were just a lot bigger. As if reading your mind, Daichi says, "Wow, it's smaller than I remember." Because of the size--or lack of it--you were so close to Daichi that you could smell his simple cologne mixed with that coconut-scented shampoo he always used. "Y-yeah, it is.", you let out, already blushing from the proximity. You looked over and saw his bags again. You had noticed them before but didn't pay them much mind. Just as you're about to ask Daichi about them, he asks, "Wondering what's in the bags?" "Yeah, actually, I was." He empties the bags on the floor of the treehouse, and they're filled with all your favorite snacks. "Oh, Daichi, you brought me a picnic?" He nods in response, "I feel bad that I spent last New Year's with the team, so I wanted to make it up to you! Plus…I feel like I've barely seen you lately." That's true, you hadn't really seen each other. When you realized your crush on Daichi, you avoided hanging out with him, hoping he wouldn't find out. You smile, "Don't worry, I've missed you too. Now, let's dig into this food!" —————————————————— You gazed at the starry landscape out of the treehouse window. The sounds of the fireworks fade the further it gets from midnight, as the town slowly begins to doze, the excitement of the New Year now long faded. "Do you remember…" Daichi trails off. "Do I remember what?" You ask in response. "Nah, never mind.", "Well, now you have to tell me!" Daichi laughs, "Do you remember when we were young, about when we built this treehouse… and you had a crush on me."

You swear you felt your soul leave your body. You had no idea that he had ever known about your crush. The thought of him knowing makes you want to curl up into a ball and never come out. "Y-yeah. I remember that", you mutter.

"You know it's funny, but I always liked you too. I was just too scared to tell you." Daichi whispered. You weren't entirely sure why Daichi was telling you all of this, but somehow, knowing he used to like you gave you the littlest bit of hope. The long silence burned your ears, the awkwardness of the present conversation looming over you like clouds on a stormy day. Suddenly, Daichi spoke. You think that maybe he had felt the storm clouds just like you. "Sorry, maybe I shouldn't have brought that up." Daichi scratches his head. "No!" you respond quickly, "I don't mind. I just.. don't usually think of back then."

You feel Daichi's eyes on you as he asks, "Why not?" You simply shrug your shoulders. Daichi chuckles and smiles at you "Why do you always spend New Year's inside nowadays? Remember when we used to go on my roof and watch the fireworks?" You smile softly "Yeah…that was fun…but, I think I just grew out of this childish holiday." "Childish?" Daichi scoffs playfully "What makes New Year's childish?" You turn to look out the window "Everyone gets together and celebrates the end of the year and the beginning of a new one, but…what if…I don't want it to end? What if…I want things to stay the same? But what if I want some things to be different?" Daichi's eyebrows furrow in confusion "Hey, just slow down, you're not making any sense-'' Upon seeing his confused expression you take a deep breath "I just…I get anxious with every 'milestone' because…well, I'm scared that I'm not living to my full potential, you know? Every start of a new year just reminds me that I failed for a whole year…"

Before you can continue Daichi puts his hand on yours. "You're not failing…why would you think that?" You scoff "I'm barely passing my classes, I have no friends, and the only family I have is a mom who would choose her new husband over me any day." Daichi looks in thought for a moment and then laughs. "So…what you're trying to say is that nobody likes you because you're such a failure?" You blush in embarrassment "Why are you laughing about it?" "Oh, I'm laughing at how WRONG you are." You let out a sharp laugh "Oh really? How would you know?" He laughs again and then smiles "Because I like you. I would pick you over anyone."

It feels like your heart is going to beat out of your chest. He likes you? Does he mean in a friendly way or something else? Before your thoughts even finish spiraling in your head you feel Daichi grab your hand. "Sorry, I know it's sudden but… I hate seeing you like this. You like me too, right…?" You suddenly snap out of your thoughts "Of course! I mean um…yeah…I like you too, Daichi."

Maybe this new year won’t be so bad after all…

a/n: yall im so late with this one 😵‍💫, anyway i had so much fun with this, i haven’t written haikyuu in a while :)

[quezzzs]

Calling him yours...!

(6.4K WORDS)

July 15th, 2039 10:28 P.M.

"What time is your flight arriving?"

"The ETA is around 9:35 A.M., however I'll be leaving by a designated jet so my metallic features do not disrupt security checks."

"Figures, I'll have to fix that issue so androids can travel without being seen as cargo."

"Thank you for offering to aid me in my leave."

"It's no problem."

Markus and Connor were in Connor's room at the Jericho building to finish up packing the last load of Connor's possessions. This would be his final night staying at Detroit before leaving to work at NYPD.

"Remind me again why you decided to take this transfer?" Markus asks Connor as he carefully wraps one of the more delicate clay figurines and gave them to Connor.

"I'm transferring because the New York Police Department had recently requested for my presence to take position as the first official android captain to ever lead a whole precinct. They've given me much needed time to prepare but I have already been making pre-constructions of this opportunity."

Connor had spoken ever so passionately while taking the figurines out of Markus' hands and placed them neatly into his suitcase.

"Sergeant was already a monumental ranking in DPD, but Captain?" Markus turned his head to face a very awe-induced Connor. "It's a tremendous responsibility but I'm confident in my abilities."

A soft smile formed on Markus face as he patted Connor on his shoulder. "I know you've got this. I've never met an android this much of a big dreamer before."

"It's not dream, it's an aspiration!"

Amidst this short period of distraction, Connor had tripped on an uneven part of his room rug but Markus was quick to grab his hand before the RK800 fell. Connor stumbled to stand up properly and straightened out his clothes again.

"I apologize. My processors have been working fast, I'm having this impulsive need to start executing action, and my thirium pump is beating at an accelerated rate. Is this what anxiety feels like?"

Markus chuckled, leaning against Connor's bedroom wall as he crossed his arms. "Sounds more like excitement than anxiety."

Markus continued to monitor Connor while Connor was still full of glee from the news of the promotion.

Although Markus was proud for his friend reaching such a milestone, there were some forming thoughts that he kept in check deep within his mental files.

Once the two were done packing up the bag and suitcase that Connor is bringing, Markus gave Connor a heads up.

"I know you're happy that all of this is happening, but remember to get into stasis, alright? I shouldn't hear anything about you crashing to the floor while walking because your 'power saver mode' kicked in."

Connor rolled his eyes and sets down his luggage onto the floor. "I'm aware. Thank you, mother."

As Connor was getting himself ready to take his nightly rest, Markus pushed himself off of the wall and went to go out the door but lingered on for a moment. "Hey, Connor?" He held a hand on the door knob as Connor shot his look towards Markus' direction.

"Yes, Markus?"

"Proud of you."

For a short moment, Connor's LED went yellow before returning to the serene blue color, a prideful but grateful smile to be found on his face.

"Thank you."

══════════════════

The first week has gone by without Connor around.

It was strange to Markus at first.

Whenever Connor had free time or didn't have to work at DPD, he would spend his time more at Jericho and giving his assistance to the deviants around him, but mainly assisting Markus.

Connor would act as a sort of body guard to Markus since he would always claim to have 'much better abilities' than other free bodyguard androids. It was because of that closeness, that was what Markus was missing right now.

Markus missed the conversations they would have in between paperwork or planning, no matter if it was personal or not.

"Hello, Markus." "Good evening, Markus." "Surprised seeing you here, deviant leader~" "Markus!" "Markus..."

"MARKUS!"

The tanned android snapped out of his headspace and looked to see a confused Simon in front of his desk.

Right, he was suppose to be working right now.

"Yes, Simon? What happened?"

"You blanked out on me again."

Simon was in Markus office to drop off legal documents for Markus to read through and sign, but he's been catching up on how Markus has been staring into space lately.

(lock in markus istg) "I'm sorry, there's been a lot going on." Markus rubbed his templed and bridge of his nose. If he still had his LED on, it would've been a constant yellow.

Simon thinned his lips before sighing and take the documents aside, pressing the palm of his hands onto the surface of the desk.

"Start talking." Simon said calmly.

However, Markus had been out of character lately, examplifying that by kicking the desk to turn his chair around and face the mural wall he painted behind his chair.

"There's nothing to talk about." He dismisses as he stares at the mural.

The wall was an abstract like resemblance to parts of the revolution that made a huge impact to Jericho, the one in the middle being a hlended sign of his resurrection. The more he admired, the more he saw his change-

"Yes there is. Why are you acting weirdly?"

Concern was laced in Simon's voice as the blond tried moving to be in Markus' view, but the RK200 proceeded to move his desk again.

"I'm not acting weirdly, I'm just stuck in my thoughts."

"So can we talk about that?"

"Nahhh."

Markus was now just twirling around in his chair, making Simon more irritated by the second. He sighed as he walked around the desk and stopped Markus' chair from spinning, forcing the childish antics to stop. He forced Markus to hold eye contact with Simon like a toddler being scolded for not listening.

"Markus."

"...Yes?"

Simon stared down at Markus, but then sighed once again and stopped pinning the droid against his chair.

"You can throw a tantrum if you need it. Just come to me when your done."

Then Simon just went and left the room, leaving Markus speechless.

Maybe he was acting out.

Thank rA9 that Simon has enough patience to not smack the shit out of Markus.

══════════════════

Loud murmurs of the crowd could be heard from the outside, security guards trying to hold back the people from pushing wavh other, and Markus was still preparing himself for his speech.

He kept on readjusting his suit and tie, tapping his foot repeatedly, and just mentally preparing for all the questions he'll be bombarded with.

With a sigh, he walked towards the stage as the camera flashes grew and people were starting to talk louder than before. He made it to the podium and greeted everyone in the room.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Markus Manfred and I am ready to do this Q&A with all of you." Speaking as clear and calm as ever.

This Q&A session went on for a good 30 minutes and it was what Markus expected, either about politics and androids rights or trying to get an inside scoop on some personal stuff(Though most were shut down or answered vaguely)

However, one person did get to Markus.

"How did you feel about the RK800 leaving for NYPD?"

Now that actually caught Markus' attention.

"I'm sorry, come again?" Markus pointed over to one of the reporters up in the front row of the crowd.

"It's been approximately 3 weeks since the RK800, or Connor, has left DPD to become the United States first android captain in a police force. There have been multiple articles and discussions in media talking about this big step for androids. There have also been assumptions to your relation with him. Can the people know how you feel about his departure?"

Markus was on the spot for this one, and he couldn't get away with it by acting childish or ignoring the question since the cameras were on him.

Markus cleared his throat(though it was unnecessary) and responded to the query.

"I can say with pride that I am happy for Connor to make this milestone in his career but it was indeed bittersweet to greet him goodbye as he went to another state."

Markus' thoughts started to drift slightly as he murmured to himself, "Though, I haven't heard from him in a while." He didn't mean to say that into the mic, but it picked up and that raised a couple of eyebrows in the crowd.

Realizing what he just said, he made a follow up. "I can assure you all that he is doing fine on his own. He is capable of doing great things for his fellow coworkers and for his own life. He may just be busy since this is still fairly new and I wouldn't want to be a bother."

...

Even to Markus that sounded a little odd.

The reporter that asked him the question in the first place was satisfied with the answer and didn't press on further.

Markus checked his HUD and it was nearly time to wrap the Q&A session up. "Moving on, unfortunately I can only answer one more question before this Q&A comes to an end. So let's end on a good note, shall we?"

This got a bunch of reporters and journalists to raise their hands and wave around their arms, begging to be picked out in the sea of people and deviants.

However, there was one hand that caught Markus' attention.

This singular reporter had their arm raised up with much composure and ease. Assuming it was another professional question, Markus had picked them out.

"You, with the maroon jacket, what is your question?"

People turned their heads towards the woman that Markus chose and she seemed a little surprised when the lights went on her. She straighten out her outfit and spoke unmistakably.

"When will you approve the law of android marriages?"

The room went dead quiet.

No more feet shuffling

No more whispers

No distractions at all.

Markus blinked a couple of times before getting closer to the mic. "With all honesty, I have not yet thought about that. I've been moreso caught up in creating basic rights for androids that the idea of maridal rights went under my radar. I would like to formally apologize now to all of you for not taking that into consideration."

People made glances to one another as a few more camera fladhes were made to Markus. The room felt oddly empty without the sounds pf constant talking.

"But that is all for tonight, I give my thanks to everyone who were here. Have a safe night."

Markus waved to the audience and walked off to the sides, ignoring the raging yells of the crowd wanting to ask more questions.

However, as Markus rode back to Jericho he only had repetitive possibilities running his mind.

'Can I make android marriages accepted?'

══════════════════

Ring

Ring

Ring

...

...

'Hello, Markus.'

'Hello, Connor.'

In Detroit, Markus was at his office making a link call with Connor right after getting done with his paperwork. In New York, Connor had gotten back to his apartment and was in the middle of getting himself ready for stasis.

Markus his upper body down to his desk and rests his head on top of his folded arms. 'It's been quite some time since we've last spoken to each other. Sorry for the late check in.'

'The apology is unnecessary. Neither of our schedules align suitably for these calls but I am grateful to be conversing with you right now.' Connor excuses Markus as he gets himself changed comfortably.

'How has the captain life been like so far?'

'It's provided me enough challenges to stimulate my interest and being able to arrange the cases in what I find acceptable for my detectives has entertained me very well. I believe I have met another similar to Gavin Reed's personality.'

That last part about one of Connor's coworkers made Markus rise up from lying down. 'Is that a good thing or a bad thing to you?'

'More of a good thing, I do like toying around with him. Always with a face of exasperation.' Even if he couldn't see it, Markus fully knows that Connor had smirked at his own words.

But Markus isn't jealous.

He's just very focused on the recollection.

Definitely.

'I watched your Q&A event.' Connor walked over to his bed and properly got on, the sounds of his blanket being ruffled was faintly heard of Markus' end.

'Oh really? What'd did you think of all those questions?' Markus relaxed again and instead leaned back in his chair with his head tilted onto his hand, elbow resting at the arms of his seat.

'Some were to be expected, others seemed too personal.'

'That's how a lot of the Q&A's are like-'

'Though the last question about marriages was intriguing.'

Markus made a blank stare at the surface of his desk when Connor admitted that comment, unsure of how else he was suppose to deeper into this topic. Fortunately, Connor liked talking more.

'What I find intriguing was that it was said by a human female. I had made a quick scan on her profile and she seemingly doesn't have a partner.'

'What are you trying to get at, Connor?'

'I theorize that she may have a secret android lover. Why would she bring up the questions in the first place if not that situation?'

Markus didn't even think about the lady at all, only what he felt like was best fit of a response.

'That's...not a bad theory, but you're making assumptions on her personal life.'

'I know, but it is the most logical conclusion, doesn't it?'

'I guess.'

...

...

...

The only thing filling the call was the white noise of wind coming from the outside of Markus' tall windows, neither of the two deviants saying what's on their minds.

Until Connor spoke again.

'Markus?'

'Yes?'

'Do you want that? The long lasting commitment for the one you love romantically? Do you ever see yourself to be in that position?'

They were really approaching a brand new territory.

'Truthfully, I never considered it a possibility for me.'

'How come?'

...

...

...

'I assumed I couldn't be loved to such a degree.'

'Why not?'

Markus wished that Connor wasn't so curious,

but then again he is feeding into the curiosity.

'I...don't really know.'

...

...

...

'You're a fool to believe that.'

...

...

...

'I think I'm ready to call it a night.' Markus got up from his chair as he stretched out the kinks in his metal joints.

'So soon?'

'It has been a busy day for me, and I haven't been in stasis for a good while.'

'Alright then, goodnight, Markus.'

'Goodnight, Connor.'

The whole talk was a lot shorter than Markus wanted but he didn't want to keep Connor from going into stasis.

At least that's what he told himself.

Before he had left his office, he turned around to see the mural again. The same blurred painting of his face rising from the android trash pit,

face cold and solemn.

══════════════════

First month goes by

Still in contact

Second month goes by

Still in contact

Third month goes by

Still in contact

But not as often

Time runs fast when you're constantly busy on your job. It doesn't feel like a lot but in reality, is more than needed.

Even though Markus and Connor do have their calls, it can never fully last. The two androids have fulfilling lives for themselves and for the benefits of others.

Markus is steadily increasing recognition for androids and Connor is climbing his way up in the police force, both of them receiving accomplishments along the way.

Android and human physical segregation were officially done for.

Androids are allowed to be given courses in police departments now.

But other updates from that?

Markus kept tabs on all that goes on in DPD so that Connor could enjoy some reminiscing of his prior stationed precinct. Hank had retired but is now living healthier and is in progress of finding better job opportunities for himself, despite the many behavior warnings Gavin had proven himself worthy to be titled "Sergeant Reed" instead, Captain Fowler has been just as stressed as he was before, and overall the building has been doing great.

Connor, on the other hand, told Markus a lot about what has been happening at the NYPD building he's been leading. It was more chaotic to deal with but his detectives were outstanding. Though he does acknowledge that his best detective, Jake, does bug him about his favorite action movies, has the insane need to make a ton of references, and all sorts of immature humor, but they get along just fine.

However, one individual that Connor keeps mentioning is his fellow detective, Detective Angelo.

Angelo is in his mid 30s and seemingly around the same height as Connor. Other than physical appearance, he is reserved and keeps to himself in most cases, though it is stated, by Connor's word, that there's a soft spot he has for his captain.

During the calls between Markus and Connor, Markus had made an estimated guess that each call at had least one mention of Detective Angelo in some form, either from dropping his name to actively talking about the detective.

Markus felt off. He would ignore it though since he didn't want to be rude to Connor for being proud of his detectives.

But it lingered on.

Out of the many ways Markus vents out his emotions is to indulge in his hobbies, piano, chess, reading, etc. None of those activities made an improvement to Markus' feelings.

One other way he vents is by painting, Markus' first big step to deviation.

In one of the empty rooms of New Jericho, he had remade it to become a small art studio for himself and whenever he can, he creates paintings by what he gets inspired by.

This day was different.

He wanted to try the same technique Carl taught him the same night he was at that android graveyard.

He closes his bi-colored eyes and let the brush take control, no prompts popping up in his HUD telling him what he's doing.

When he opened his eyes again, his face widen as a dark navy blue color spread his face.

The painting was the clearest image he has ever created

One of Connor is a fancy black suit that had a cool-colored tie

His hair kept neatly with the iconic wavy strand of hair that fell onto his forehead

Those warm brown eyes staring straight at Markus as if he was truly there in person

And a small boutonniere that was a morning glory flower.

Everything else that surrounded him was out of focus, blurred lights and guests that didn't show their faces at all.

Because Connor was the main essence of the canvas.

He is what's important to Markus.

Markus sets down the paintbrush and pallet onto the short table beside him and gazed at the painting. Why did his mind led him to that? Why did he put Connor into that situation?

Then he took a harder observation at what he made.

Is Connor at a wedding-

"Hey, Markus, you in here?"

The door behind Markus swung opened, making the RK200 snap his neck towards the culprit swiftly. North had entered the room in her casual wear and her hair free from hair ties, showing off the wavy, red hair.

They had a blink off for a solid 40 seconds.

Markus bit his bottom lip and tried to shuffle himself enough to cover most of the canvas.

"Do you need anything North-"

"I knew you were whipped for him."

══════════════════

The growing fact that Markus has been captivated by Connor's allurement was starting to become obvious that the media were speculating around it.

New clips where Markus talks fondly about Connor, the way his expression changes to longing and slight sorrow, body language acting enthusiastic to bring up Connor, all signs in Markus' appreciation and maybe further than that.

Markus wished it was true.

But just like his increasing affection, Connor was also moving upwards in the same category.

Only, it wasn't for Markus.

Whenever they would make their link calls(which rarely happens now), Connor would always bring up Detective Angelo now. He isn't the first topic but Angelo is always the last topic they have before the calls end.

The human and android have gotten closer to the point that whenever Connor rambles on about him, he refers to him as 'Angel' instead.

Markus wants to scream every time.

He doesn't know why he's acting this way. He should be happy for Connor, not envious. He has no control over Connor's life and would absolutely be disgusted in himself in trying to force Connor for anything.

That still doesn't change how Markus knows exactly how Connor appears to be.

He knows that Connor is smiley by the tone of his voice, he knows that Connor gets excited over the kind actions that Angelo does to him, he knows that Connor sounds like he's a lovestruck teenage girl with their first boyfriend.

'I have urgent information that I want you to partake in acknowledgement'

'What happened, Connor?'

'Angelo and I are romantically involved with one another.'

Never mind, Connor is a lovestruck teenage girl with their first boyfriend.

Connor cleared it up for Markus that,

Angelo asked first

They've been going on a couple of dates

The relationship is tightly undercover as to not bring up ethical and moral problems with other detectives

Markus is the only person he's told

'So, what do you think? Is this weird? Is this unnatural? I'm making sure we don't rush anything so-'

'Connor, I'm grateful that you've told me this. I'm so happy for you.'

All that Markus did after the call ended was stay in his art studio and sit on his stool, eyes fixated on the painting of Connor he made almost a few months from now.

He doesn't react

He doesn't scream

He doesn't cry

He's emotionally stunned.

══════════════════

The calls now only happen once in a while.

Markus undergoes guilt since he did want to be supportive of his friend.

Crush?

Love interest?

Fuck if he even knows at this point.

He wants to be there for Connor and to provide that encouragement but hearing about the one you care deeply for talking about their own lover was like forcing yourself to listen to your parent brag about someone else's kid.

It's comforting to hear the endearment their voice but it's not for you.

Markus never said a thing to anyone else, no matter how badly he wanted to. He promised to keep it private and never breaks trusting promises. He harbors it all inside, filling up the little space bubble he has for himself that pops whenever he can fully mourn with himself.

Self-pity is a weakness to Markus.

He's suppose to be a leader.

Not a crybaby.

"I need to tough it out." said Markus.

Said by a caregiver.

Said by a revolution leader.

Said by a protector.

Said by a shield.

Said by someone afraid of vulnerability.

══════════════════

Connor is filing in mandatory paperwork that he needed to get done with in an hour or so.

As he stands by a table to neatly stack the papers, his audio processors picked up on the news being put on screen.

"Today marks the day that androids are legally allowed to be married. Here we have a clip of the famous Android Leader, Markus, sharing the confirmation in public."

The screen then cuts to Markus on a podium with his friends standing next to him as flashes of light and clicks can be heard.

"-That it is with great pleasure to announce that the Android Marital Law is to be officially passed. This law has been under progress for some time when it was first taken into idea to me. I cannot recollect the face of the person who had suggested the question in the first place, but if you're out there now watching this, you helped make this happen."

Connor gently set down the stack he had in his hands and laid it flat on the table's surface, his hands pressed against the material while the news furthermore discussed about what exactly the law was and the formalities of it.

The RK800 didn't care though.

Because now, androids can get married.

They can commit all their time to their partner now.

They can be joined together.

They can be in love.

══════════════════

Year after year, it was now 2045.

Almost 6 years since Connor was last in Detroit.

Markus was anticipating this, both relief and anxiety taking over him since he was going to see Connor again in person. Has he changed at all? Did he add anything new to his appearance? Did his style preferences advance? What if-

An elbow made contact with Markus' side and as whirled to see who it was from, it was Josh who chuckled in amusement to Markus' jumpy reaction.

"Do I need to ask or can I assume?"

Markus pouted at Josh's tease and crossed his arms, sighing to ease his internal tension "Do you think anything is going to be different when he comes back?"

"I don't think so, and if it is then that's okay too." That piece of advice was only small but it did help cutback on Markus' overthinking.

"Where are the others?"

"Simon-"

"ALRIGHT, I get it, I'm old but keep your goddamn hands off of my ass, yeah?"

Josh and Markus directed their attention towards the commotion, in which the commotion was Simon attempting to help Hank walk, Hank throwing a hissy fit, and North ignoring them with a bored look.

Apparently Hank had a leg injury but it was only minor, which was why he was limping a little when he, North, and Simon arrived to wait for Connor as well.

The whole group waited by the entrance of the airport for Connor's arrival, with Hank getting lecture by Simon about his health and Josh and North holding decent conversation without yelling(albeit it was about business). Markus was simply leaning against one of the large pillars and closed his eyes, let his processes pre-construct on how he wanted to greet Connor after all this time.

Things ended off on an awkward note the last time they call but that was way back then. Still, he didn't want to seem foolish.

"There's the man of the hour."

"Hank!"

Markus opened his eyes and witnessed the soft-hearted side of the ex police lieutenant hugging his old work buddy in a great big hug, Connor's LED shining a bright blue.

Everyone else came up to Connor greeting him with some form of a hello. From where Markus stood, not a lot has resembled anything unfamiliar, minus the new piercings.

Markus pushed himself off of the pillar and went over to where Connor was being surrounded at. Simon and North dispersed to give some room for Markus.

"Hello, Connor."

"Hello, Markus."

I guess Markus was really overthinking because the first thing that Connor did was give Markus a hug as well. Markus was taken back for a bit but returned the hug back happily. It lasted shortly before Markus patted Connor's back and pushed him away, hands still on Connor's shoulders.

"The piercings are cools."

"It was a suggestion that I felt trying out. I am pleased with the results-"

"Who the fuck are you?"

Everyone faced the person Hank was referring to, a man with warm, tan skin, reaching a good 5'11, curly black hair that went to the back of his neck, and a neutral expression.

"Names' Angelo Morelli, but I like Angelo a lot more."

With a quizzical look, Josh raised the question. "Are you Connor's bodyguard or escort?"

Angelo only smirked and scoffed slightly before speaking again. "In a way, but I think Connor can explain it better, can't you Con?"

The nickname gave it away as Hank snapped his neck around with the 'don't fucking tell me this is real' face. Connor's face flushed a slight blue as he timidly adjusted his clothes.

"Right," He cleared his throat and went over to stand side by side with Angelo. "Please refrain from dramatic reactions as we are in public. What I want to address to the people present here..."

Connor reached his hand to Angelo's as their fingers intertwined firmly.

"Angelo is my significant other."

...

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"HUH?"

"WHEN???"

"YOUR JOKING RIGHT?"

Various faces of shock and bewilderment were found on all their faces, except for Markus.

After some explaining on how the duo got together, Hank was still semi pissed off that this major fact was kept away from him for so long.

"Okay, I'm happy for you and all that sappy crap, but why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

Connor was going to answer but Angelo stepped in for him.

"We decided that it's best to keep our relationship hidden. I didn't want Connor to be seen playing favorites at work since he is my boss and I know my coworkers would be prone into thinking that what we have is morally wrong."

Right after saying that, Angelo leaned his head to whisper to Connor, "Although I wouldn't mind getting a day off once every two weeks."

"Absolutely not." Connor kept his same resting face when replying to Angelo.

Angelo placed his hand on his chest and spoke mockingly. "Oh, how you make me melancholic, my love."

"Then cry." It also appears that Connor improved on his sassiness.

Angelo only chuckled and pressed a light kiss on Connor's cheek, which made the android turn slightly blue. The short banter was sadly interrupted

"Okay, that's enough outta you two, do that shit later without us here." Hank rolled his eyes, gruffly warning the lovebirds.

Markus remained relatively quiet throughout this whole meet up and during the car ride back. It wasn't that he didn't want to say something, but he didn't know what exactly to say.

On the ride back, he had to bear witness in seeing Connor rest his head on Angelo's shoulder as they both listened to music in the shared earbuds.

It takes a lot of strength and patience not to crash out, bawling on the floor having to be near your crush with their lover in real time.

══════════════════

Connor and Angelo were only in Detroit for a full three days, and those days were well spent. The Jericrew took the two out on events and caught up on what's been going on through the past years. Hank even made the effort to come along the events(even though he would arrive an hour later).

But between Markus and Connor, things weren't as awkward anymore.

Sure, they don't have the same one on ones like they used to but there wasn't any weird tension that made either of them uncomfortable, more on Markus' end.

Speaking of Markus, him and Angelo were able to hold small talk for passing periods and to Markus, Angelo was a great guy.

He wanted to hate him so much.

The couple was well balanced with each other's personalities and nothing came off as too strong. They even have their own petty fights but the make up in the end overcomes it.

They have healthy love, no matter how much Markus denied it.

On the night before Connor and Angelo return back to the NYPD, Hank hosted a dinner for the group and freshened up his house for the occasion. Connor teased Hank about the lack of alcohol, which led the grey haired man to revert to his grumpy mood again and later caused a food fight.

However, after dinner was done Angelo had to excuse himself to take a call. He hadn't made it back inside but Connor couldn't check on his boyfriend since he was busy helping Hank clear up a lot of the mess so he asked Markus if he could check for him.

Markus agreed and carefully moved his way around the dropped food and out to the front door. When he opened it, he saw Angelo raise his phone down and look at Markus before ending his call.

"Hello, Angelo."

"Hey, Markus. Everything good in there?"

"Yeah, they're all cleaning up now." Markus stepped outside and closed the door behind him, making sure to hear the clink before moving forward to a now anxious looking Angelo.

The behavior was rising some suspicion to Markus. "You okay there?"

He saw Angelo bite bottom lip and put away his phone, placing his hands into his pockets and stare outside at the street for a second. "I actually wanted to discuss a question with you later but now is a good time."

Now Markus' suspicions were rising.

"Okay, what is it?"

Angelo scratched the back of his neck and faced his body to Markus as he did his best to speak clearly with proper formality.

"I know that I don't know you as well but I do know that you're close with Connor. He'd bring you up whenever there was something that reminded him of you and recall some of your past interactions."

Markus did a scan on Angelo's physiology and it showed signs of rising stress, indicating that whatever he was going to drop was significant.

"I already asked Hank yesterday about it and I know that besides him, he would've wanted your acceptance too."

No...

"So, I wanted to ask..."

This wasn't really happening.

There was no way-

"If I can have your blessing in marrying Connor."

If Markus still had his LED on, that thing would be flashing a bright red.

Because he went silent after the question, Angelo went on a ramble.

"Listen, I know it might be early, we've only been dating for 4, almost 5 years but I already had talks with Connor about the future and what we wanted and I have never felt this level of trust before for anyone. He's the only one I need in my life and I'd do everything he'd tell me to. I don't know if this I'm rushing it or if this is excessive or if-"

"Angelo."

...

"Yes?"

"Thank you for considering my opinion, and to answer that question..."

...

"...you have my blessing."

══════════════════

The clock runs and runs.

The ticking was never ending.

It doesn't slow down nor does it stop.

It keeps going.

The song of bells rang.

People cheering on in delight.

Cries of joy for the newly wedded couple fell.

And the groom's LED was a bright hue of pink, a color rarely seen on androids but when it shows, the pigment is dawned beautifully.

Markus sits in his assigned seat as the lights in the venue dimmed, lights of blue and purple hues directed towards Connor and Angelo as they embraced each other in slow dance while music played to express what they couldn't themselves.

Palad ay basang basa Ang dagitab ay damang-dama Sa'king kalamnang punong-puno 'Di maikukumpara Araw-araw kong dala-dala Paboritong panalangin ko'y ikaw

Markus watches from his distance, how Connor meets Angelo's eyes with adoration

How they softly hold one another as they kiss

How it must feel good to be loved like you're gone.

══════════════════

The celebration had came to a conclusion and staff with some of the guests cleaned up the venue place. It was well past mid night and luckily the black out drunks had left previously so those who were sober or simply didn't drink at all stayed to help.

Markus was waiting outside of the building, admiring the full moon that lowered its radiant gleam to sparkle the moving waters of the far lake and hearing from his processors the faint sounds of crickets hidden away in the tall grass.

As he waited, the entrance door had opened.

Emerging from the inside was Connor.

"Hello, Markus."

"Hello, Connor."

Connor shined his smile to Markus and the other couldn't stop himself from doing it back

"I came here to personally thank you, for everything. From the start of my deviation, to my own wedding I-"

Connor sniffled as he tried to calm himself down from crying again for about the 4th time today.

"You've always been there for support even when I thought I didn't deserve it. You showed me kindness more than necessary and been trusting in the very person sought out to kill you. I don't know how I can ever repay a virtuous act but you should know that I'm eternally grateful."

Markus thinned his lips, his thirium pump ached with so much affection and pain, but he had to stay strong. For Connor, he had to.

"Connor, you have already repaid me in friendship. Don't go selling yourself short because even if I have saved many, I'm not saint either. Our past decisions don't create us, but we learn from it, and what I have learned from my time being close with you is that the broken can be rebuilt. I thank you for everything as well."

Raining blue and flower stem green eyes meet autumn brown leaf eyes, one of nature's beauties that tend to be neglected, are shown to blend well when left alone.

══════════════════

June 15th, 2045 11:25 P.M.

Markus was alone in his office, finished with the day's work.

He stood in front of his desk, analyzing all the details of his mural.

The same face of grim staring right back.

A hand was placed on Markus should but he didn't need to turn to know who it was.

"Markus..."

With a heavy heart, Markus turned to see Simon, his face instead filled with sympathy for the RK200.

Markus hesitated, but he sighed and closed his eyes, raising up a hand that was peeling back his synthetic skin.

Simon was caught off guard, but by the gravity of the situation, he knew that Markus wanted him to know. He reached his hand to hold Markus', his skin peeling back as the two interfaced.

Their eyes are closed but they see so, so much.

How does one feel like this and not say a word?

When Markus pulled back his hand, his glossy eyes met Simon's as Simon opened his arms out for the leader.

For once in a long, long while, tears began to drip from Markus' eyes, choked up whimpers to full on sobbing once Simon held Markus closely.

A person is weak by denial

A person is strong by acceptance

Markus has been in denial for too long.

He had loved Connor.

[cowboylikedean]

one year ago, i went to hang out with my best friend i hadn't seen in 5 years after he ripped my heart out and stomped on it. prior to sledge leaving, this was the most painful breakup i'd ever had. i was so nervous and unsure. i knew i missed him and had never let myself heal from the loss of him because i didn't want to. i knew i'd never found someone who lifted my heart like he had. i knew it could be weird and awkward, but i knew i had dreamed of this day for 5 years.

so i got in the car.

i left my house early because i was too anxious sitting around. i went to my dad's, which was on the way. i was hanging out there for a few minutes and almost cancelled. i was nervous and thought for a second "i don't want to do this, what if it's so weird." i shoved those thoughts down by telling myself "i dreamed out this, i deserve to at least try, to see this out. if it's weird, i'll know. and if it's not, then i mean... maybe i'll get my life back!" i left dad's slightly late because i was dragging my heels in this internal debate.

i put on electric touch on repeat on my way to him. "this could either break my heart or bring it back to life" is the best way i could ever describe that feeling. i remember driving and feeling so unsure but getting more excited with every chorus. it could bring me back to life!!!

i pulled up and saw him sitting outside the starbucks he works at, and all of the sudden, nothing was wrong. there was no fear this wasn't going to work... all there was was joy. that was my best friend and i had pulled up to starbucks to pick him up from work SO many times!! this was just... normal. this was what my life was supposed to be!! i knew it was going to be okay, i didn't have a tiny drop of doubt. we've spoken about this and he told me he felt the same way when he saw my car. he was nervous and anxious, but then he saw my car pull up and it was just like old times. there was no anxiety, it all dropped instantly. we were still us. before we even said hello.

i got out of the car and came up to him. we hugged, and again, it was like we were just us. we went to dinner at the olive garden nearby. i dropped food on my shirt and he laughed. i kept staring at his smile, just completely absorbed by how much i missed it. i had ordered a diet coke with no ice (like i usually do). the straw was floating (as straws do) and i hit it while speaking with my hands (as i do) and the straw went flying. he laughed and said "oh zoe" in such a familiar tone. i said "i'm still me" and he said "i love it." i don't remember if i responded "i love you" out loud or not, but i remember that's what i was thinking.

we left dinner and went to a nearby park to talk and catch up. we lost track of time. my phone died somewhere in there, and i didn't care. i had the love of my life in front of me. nothing else mattered. while we were talking, he referenced a secret i had forgotten i'd told him. to my memory, there was one (1) person i'd told: sledge. but he knew. i realized how much i trusted him before he left. he told me some stuff that had happened that he felt ashamed of. i told him that shame wasn't necessary. there is nothing, absolutely nothing, anyone can do and not grow from. shame is the enemy of growth, so there's no reason for it to be here. he told me i'm going to be an amazing therapist when i finish school.

we left the park when a police officer came and told us the park closed at sun down. it was well past sundown. i wanna say it was near midnight. we realized then what time it was... we both had to work in the morning so i remember us both being like "tomorrow's gonna suck!! but it was so worth it" and you know what? it was!!!

i got home and i told him that the day was so beautiful and i'd realized i couldn't keep it casual, i couldn't play it slow. i was either gonna be all in in trusting him or i wasn't going to be able to do this at all. i told him to please not do this if he's not being true. that i was in this. he told me he was in this too. i told him he was one of the greatest loves of my life and he said he adored me. that there was a missing piece that was back.

a year ago today, i took a chance on a man who had destroyed me and now his cats live in my house and the left side of my bed is no longer mine. he's left things at my house and held my hand at my mother's funeral. a year ago we had no idea what we were getting into..... but he's the love of my life.

[kissbentennyson]

Hello there, how do you do? ��⁠(⁠^⁠o⁠^⁠)⁠／

I recently found your blog and got to say I was so excited to explore it, hehe! Nowadays it's hard to find some Ben 10 account so I was really happy when I come across yours.

Anyways though I wanted to request but since I got no idea for now I think might interact with you since you sound like any interactive person (⁠ㆁ⁠ω⁠ㆁ⁠)

Yk what made you write for Ben 10 fandom since you know not many fall in love with their childhood interest later in life. Honestly I get into Ben 10 again when few days earlier my cousin was watching Ben 10 online and I end up watching one episode with him too and thus my old love for series and character rise again 🐀

Would like to see your answer. Anyways have a wonderful day ahead and don't forget to eat your meal. Byeeee!

Hi! I am so sorry it took me so long to see this! I have no idea how long this has been sitting in my ask box, I'm not active on this blog anymore. I was unaware that it's still getting just as much attention as it did when I was in high school. Just a warning, this is a very long response.

To answer your question, It's not that I fell in love with it later in life, but that I never stopped loving it.

I am autistic, and have had the same handful of interests since I was younger. Ben 10, Transformers, DC, Marvel, Devil May Cry, to name a few. Most of my interests were influenced by the people I grew up around. like my abusers. I also have a biological who is only two years younger than me. The two of us have always had the most of the same interests our entire life, but my interest in these things was always more intense than his. To the point my bio family found it annoying.

For context, we didn't know I was autistic growing up. We didn't have health insurance for most of my developmental years. It took being taken into foster care for my most of my health- mental and physical- to be cared about, addressed, and treated. It also doesn't help that my cousin (son of a very close family friend) is also autistic and we have different care needs. Because I didn't present exactly like him, my behavior was ignored. Written off as me being quirky, whiney, needy, annoying, antisocial, and stupid/ditsy.

Having the same interests as your younger brother is a doubled edged sword. On one hand, you always have someone to talk to. On the other, despite being more into something than him my interest wasn't taken seriously (because I am AFAB) and he was always got the toys and books (that he would never even read) about said interests. I always had to sit and watch as he got to enjoy things about our shared interest- and I was always left out.

I remember when my grandmother got him an Omnitrix toy that came with these tiny plastic figures of all of the aliens, and when you placed it on the Omnitrix, the toy would say the alien's name. I was so jealous, I wanted that toy so badly. But, siblings being siblings, if my brother found me playing with it he would throw a fit and get me in trouble. This caused me a lot of stress and anxiety growing up. Not just because It was invalidating, but also because I was being denied access to my special interest in a way.

However, there is one thing that my brother and I don't share. I love to read and write. To the point it was an actual problem when I was growing up. I would stay up on our bunk bed, reading and writing for so long that I would miss meals entirely. But, It was something they could never take away from me for force me to share with my brother. I have been writing about my special interests since I was in the 6th grade. Of course, my mother threw away most of it, and its all in notebooks rotting in some landfill now.

When I was 16, I made this blog and started posting reader insert fanfiction here- which I had already done for another fandom once before (@honeydew-mel0n). Actually, I was posting on both blogs at the same time! Before that, I had a Wattpad that I posted on (Still do, actually, haha.) I stopped posting on this blog after I graduated high school as I had collage classes to focus on, and eventually a job.

I no longer post here, not because it's no longer a special interest, but because I'm going to be 20 soon. I don't feel it's appropriate for me, as an adult, to continue to write such content about characters that are minors. It now makes me uncomfortable to do so. However, I am going to keep the blog up because many people like it and continue to read it. I'd never want to take that away from anyone. I do have a bunch of old drafts saved that I might post, but only if people would want to read my unfinished drafts. There is also a part of me that wants to keep exploring the Benzarro plot I was writing- but I probably won't

I hope this makes sense, thank you for asking!

-Sunshine

[xiaoscarasimp]

Cat Boi 3 (Now with more cat boys

As you and Scaramouche sat down after dinner one day to watch your favorite anime, your phone starts buzzing. You look down at it and notice that it was your co-worker Zhongli calling, which is odd since he's never done this before. 

"Hello?" You say hesitantly into the phone. 

"Ah, yes, this is Zhongli speaking. Is y/n there?" The voice on the other end sounds very professional; he's always been the serious type.

"Yes, it is."

"Oh, good. I must respectfully ask a favor of you. You see, I am about to have my fiance move in with me, but I'm worried my cat boy will impede the movers. I was wondering if you could watch over him for about a month. Don't worry, you'll be compensated for food, medical, or anything else he might need."

"Z-Zhongli," you stammer. "Let me ask Scara first. I know I've mentioned getting him a friend, but I do feel like he should get some say in the matter." Scaramouche looks over at you with a puzzled look at the mention of his name.

"Excellent. I look forward to hearing a favorable response." Zhongli hangs up and you turn to Scaramouche, trying to figure out how to breach the subject.

Luckily for you, he could read the room when he wanted to. "So, what's this about a possible interruption?" He asks, ears flicking with displeasure.

"So, my co-worker Zhongli asked me to look after his cat for a bit. It won't be permanent just for about a month or so while his fiance moves in," you explain gently. Your anxiety and excitement were running high because you really wanted Scaramouche to have a friend while you were at work along with the fact you didn't want to let your co-worker down.

"Will it only be for a month?" He asks, ears flat against his head, tail wrapped around your wrist. His eyes showed uncertainty, fear and perhaps a little something else. "As long as he remembers that I am top cat and that you're mine and only mine then I guess its ok!" His mood suddenly changed from unsure to pompous in the blink of an eye, causing you to chuckle. 

"Now remember Scara, you have to play nice and also don't get upset if you two dont like the same foods." 

You sent Zhongli a text saying that you could watch over his cat boy for a bit and he replied back rather quickly with a smiley emoji. As you and Scaramouche were watching anime, his tail never left your wrist, anxious because it was one of the last nights you two would have alone together for a while. 

In preparation for Zhongli's cat boy moving in, you decide to prepare Scaramouche's bed room to host two people. Needless to say, Scaramouche wasn't too happy about that. He threw an absolute fit about having to share a room, but you ended up pointing out that he barely slept in there anyways;he mostly slept with you in your bed and only his clothing was in there. 

"If it makes you feel better, I can move some of your clothes into my room? I can also get a spare mattress for you as well." You offer.

His ears perk up. "Do what you want." He waved his hand like shooing off a fly, but his ears and tail betray his actual emotions yet again. 

The move in day arrived quickly, and you heard the door bell ring, opening it to see Zhongli in a white shirt with a tie and some slacks and a cat boy hiding behind him, who was a little bit shorter than Scaramouche. He had black hair with green tips, sharp almond colored eyes, and red eyeliner, not unlike how your very own cat boy would do his. His ears flicked around nervously, you noticed they had slightly greenish tips. This cat boy was dressed rather comfortably, wearing baggy black pants, a skin tight sleeveless white shirt that had the silhouette of clouds on it and black slip on shoes. 

"Come in guys!" You smiled. "Hey, Scara! Come on down and meet the houseguests." 

You barely hear Scaramouche come down stairs, but he let you know he was there with a loud "hmph" when he saw the other cat boy. 'Oh boy,' you thought. 'This better not get messy.' He sat down at the table, tapping his fingers, ignoring the two new people in the house. 

"Thank you for accepting the favor y/n," Zhongli says. "Oh yes. Introductions are in order. This is Xiao. He's a bit shy, but shouldn't cause any problems." The cat boy was still hiding behind his master, ears and eyes alert, still scanning the area for potential threats. Xiao tried to give a polite smile, but faltered when he saw Scaramouche sitting at the table, tapping his finger while giving the guests a mean side eye. 

"Hi,  Xiao. I'm y/n and I hope we can all get along. That grumpy little thing over there is Scaramouche, or Scara for short," you introduce yourself formally. "Tell me, what would you like for dinner tonight? I can make just about anything. Scara prefers seafood, but if there's something you don't like let me know."

Scaramouche scowled at the fact you said Xiao can call him Scara for short; that was your name for him, and only you could use it. He really did have a mean possessive streak that you'd have to scold him about later. 

"...I love almond tofu, however I've been curious about seafood, but Mr. Mor -I mean Zhongli despises seafood. I don't eat a lot of other meat, though." Xiao timidly says, still not making eye contact with you. 

"Sure!" You beamed. "Any flavors you don't like? I have some yellow snapper in the fridge, and it won't be too fishy. I fileted them yesterday so they're fresh." Xiao nodded and you told Zhongli and Xiao to have a seat on the couch while you cook. 

Scaramouche was still sitting at the table, a scowl on his face because it felt like the new cat boy and his master were taking all of your attention; it was going to be a long month. When you walked over to the kitchen, he ended up following you under the pretense of "helping" you and by helping, he means impeding your way by accidentally knocking things over with his tail or being extra affectionate by hugging you while you gather food and spices.

Starting to get a bit irritated, you turn around to Scaramouche and tell him to go sit on the couch or at the table at the very least. "Maybe you can get to know Xiao a little bit as well." He gave you one last hug and sat down at the table, grumbling the entire time.

You had found a blackened snapper recipe the day before and wanted to try it out. You coat the fish in the blackening seasoning, which to your delight smelled pretty spicy. Hopefully this won't be too much for the cat boys, but honestly, this is the only way you'll eat fish if it's drowned in spices. A thought crossed your mind: what if we tried this seasoning on chicken? Your mouth started salivating at the thought of blackened chicken.

Once you've seasoned the fish, you put it in the over for a little bit and you start making the side dishes. Rice was always a safe bet, but you needed a veggie to pair with it for a balanced meal. You remembered you had some edamame in the freezer. Scaramouche comes over and attempts to distract you by headbutting your shoulder, but you pay him no mind other than petting his head gently. 

"Scara, dinner will be ready in five minutes. Have you talked to Xiao or Zhongli at all yet?" You ask, keeping an eye on the food timers. 

"Pffft, no. Why would I want to talk to people intruding *my* space? That Xiao fucker doesn't seem like he's all that and Zhongli has tried to talk to me about tea." Scaramouche rolls his eyes.

"I thought you liked tea though?"

"Yeah, I do but that does not mean I want to chat at some random stranger about tea,” Scaramouche rolls his eyes.  

"Either way, I'm gonna need you to behave. Can you help me set the table really quick?" You ask as all the timers go off. Scaramouche rolls his eyes yet again, but begrudgingly grabs plates, forks, and knives.  

"Hey, Zhongli," you call over to the tall man sitting in the living room. "I know Xiao said that you don't like fish, but I don't have much else to offer you. Will you be fine for tonight?"

Zhongli chuckles and tells you he has his fiance cooking dinner at home. Xiao and Scaramouche roll their eyes, to which you chuckle.

You plate the food and bring it over to the two cat boys who are just reveling in the smell of the fish. Scaramouche starts eating first, to which you remind him to do the pre dinner ritual while Xiao knows the custom and waits. After you guys do the traditional Inazuma "ittadakimasu," Xiao takes a small bite of the snapper, eyes wide, and trying to decide if he likes it or not. Scaramouche, on the other hand, starts devouring the rice first, followed by a few bites of the fish; neither of the boys seemed interested in the edamame, which was fine by you since it was your favorite part. 

"I-I think I like fish," Xiao murmurs quietly, you almost couldn't hear him. 

"That's great!" You beamed. "One of these days I'll try to make almond tofu. Can't guarantee it'll be any good, but we can give it our best shot."

After you finish dinner, you ask Scaramouche to help with cleaning up to which he gave you a bit of a hard time, but then reluctantly agreed. He complained every step of the way, griping about why Xiao wasn't helping or how the food stuck to the plates while washing them off. In response, you gave him a hard stare, and he almost immediately shut up, his tail flicked in agitation. 

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot: we need to bring Xiao's stuff in. Hey Zhongli, can you help me bring stuff in?" You ask the taller man. 

Surprisingly, Xiao did not bring that much: only a duffle bag full of clothes, shampoo, and other toiletries, as well as a giant stuffed animal in the shape of a bird. You chuckle to yourself. Who knew the seemingly stoic catboy would have a giant stuffed animal? You couldn't help but wonder if he brought enough, but Zhongli mentioned that the catboy didn't ask for a lot nor sought out anything. 

"So Xiao, here's your room!" You say as you lead him to the guest bedroom. "Let me know if I need to get anything for you or if you don't like something."

"You weren't that nice with me," Scaramouche grumbles under his breath. You pretend like you didn't hear him, although you shot back a glare that said "shut the fuck up or else." 

"...it looks great," Xiao mumbles. "Will the other one be staying in the same room? I notice two beds."

"Hell no," Scaramouche scoffs. "I'll be staying with y/n because I was here first." He sticks his tongue out, causing Xiao to hide behind you; he wasn't scared, just put off by the other's attitude. 

"Scara," you sigh. "Would it kill you to be nice for five minutes? Or least not be a freaking jerk to our guest?" 

"Pretty sure it would." 

As the two cat boys are glaring at each other, Zhongli takes his leave. "Be good for y/n ok, Xiao? Despite the rambunctious one, I believe this to be the best place to stay while Childe and I move all of our stuff to his new place." Xiao flinches at the mention of the other man in Zhongli's life. He was loud, annoying, and honestly a bit of a jerk. Kind reminds him of the catboy he's going to be living with in a way, although Scaramouche seemed more introverted and catty than Childe. 

The three of you bid Zhongli farewell, and once the door shuts, Scaramouche makes a beeline for your room, presumably claiming over half the bed for himself. You pinch the bridge of your nose in frustration because you wanted to at least let them get to know each other, or at least acknowledge each other, but that wasn't happening. Xiao flicks his tail as he slinks off to the guest bedroom, closing the door behind him; it was going to be a long month wasn't it? 

When you get to your room, Scaramouche is already in his pajamas, curled up, seemingly asleep with his ear twitching ever so slightly and his mouth slightly open, although you could tell he was just pretending to be asleep. He usually pulled this act when he knew you were angry at him to try and get on your good side, and the worst part was- it usually worked. He was just so adorable when he wasn't berating you or being a jerk in general. Tonight though, he was in deep trouble. 

"Scaramouche Balladeer the Sixth." You say sternly. "I know you are not asleep. You know you're in some deep shit." He tsked, his ruse ruined. 

"Look, I don't like sharing you or my space," He pouts, sitting up. "The sooner he's gone, the better. Luckily, he seems to be the quiet, obedient type, so there's that going for him." 

"Scara, please, will you at least try to make a friend?" 

Scaramouche sits deep in thought for a bit, interrupted by small squeaking sounds;almost like crying. You both whip your heads around trying to figure out the source of the sounds, only to realize they were coming from Xiao's room. You rush over to his room while Scaramouche stays on the bed, pouting because you left him again for a random person or cat boy again. Knocking on Xiao's door, the sounds stop, but still muffled sniffling persisted. 

"Xiao?" You call softly. Scaramouche stares at the door, annoyed that something interrupt his time with you. "Xiao are you ok?" 

You open the door and Xiao almost falls into your chest, cheeks stained with tears; his ears are flat against his head and tail drooped; he was clearly not having a good night. The green haired cat boy looks up at you, eyes wide, and almost confused as if he didn't know where he was. 

"What happened?" He mumbles, wiping his eyes, realizing that he still had tears at the corners of his eyes. 

"Y/n heard you crying and was concerned about you and you disturbed our alone time," Scaramouche spits out, leaning against the wall.  

"Scaramouche, " you groan. "I was actually laying into him for being a jerk. Are you ok? Did you want to come sleep in my room tonight? Scara and I won't bite. Ok fine *I* won't bite but he might try." Scaramouche glares at both you and Xiao before heading off to the bedroom.

"I think I'm fine," Xiao responds after the other cat boy disappears. "Thank you for your concern, I'm just not used to sleeping here yet."

"That's a-ok! I'll leave my door open in case you need me. Good night, Xiao."

"Good night y/n."

As per nightly routine, you gently stroke the top of Scaramouche's head to help calm yourself before drifting off to sleep. His purrs and ear flicks make it all the more soothing.  

Why were cat boys so damn adorable?!

The next morning, you wake up,  feeling strangely warm and notice that you have not one but two cat boys in your bed. Scaramouche was sleeping in front of you,  snuggled against your chest, tail wrapped around your right wrist. His breathing suggests that he is very much in a deep sleep and it would probably be wise not to wake him. The other source of heat was from Xiao snuggled up against your back, clinging on to your shirt. You notice his tail attempted to wrap itself around your leg, but it just ended up being draped over your thigh. If you had turned around, you'd notice that he still had tear stained cheeks, but otherwise looked pretty serene. 

Luckily, it was your day off, so you were in no hurry to move, but you usually liked to try and get breakfast started as soon as you woke up. Come to think of it, what was for breakfast? Bacon and eggs? Salted fish? Hashbrowns and grits? OK the last one was not appealing to you in the slightest. 

As you're lost in your thoughts,  the two cat boys start to stir. "Good morning Scaramouche.  Good morning Xiao," you greet them as Scaramouche and Xiao start rubbing their eyes. It was so adorable!! "What did you two want for breakfast? I was thinking of bacon, eggs, and toast personally." 

"Anything is fine by me," Xiao sleepily mumbles. 

"I want y/n," Scaramouche slurs, still very much half asleep. "Warm, fluffy, and slightly salty." 

"I'm going to ignore you, Scara." You were met with a tongue click. He was trying to get under your skin, and it was almost working, but you knew food comes first. 

"Now, if you guys would let me get up and start cooking, that'll be great," you continue on; Scaramouche's tail was coiled even tighter around your wrist, and you had to pull slightly to try and make him let go; he almost didn’t give in, but in the end, you won that struggle. Xiao’s tail was still over your thigh, but luckily he did not object to you moving it slightly so you could get up to make food. 

About half way through you finishing up breakfast, the cat boys drag themselves to the kitchen, tails drooping at first, but once they smelled the bacon and eggs, their tails and ears perked up slightly. Scaramouche reluctantly grabbed plates and utensils for the three of you , which you were extremely grateful for. Xiao sat at the table, too scared to make conversation with Scaramouche or even you; it was his first morning in a new place after all. He kept making glances at the antisocial boy, trying to figure out how to attempt to get along.

“What are you staring at?” Scaramouche spat out, tail swished angrily. He wasn’t used to having to deal with other people besides you in the morning and he hated people staring at him for no reason. 

“...nothing,” Xiao mumbles, ears drooping. Attempt at conversation: failed. Then again, he didn’t enjoy interacting with others too much. Xiao was hoping you and Scaramouche would be entertaining to be with at least, however you seemed to be fine, but the other one…maybe not so much. 

“Look, I don’t enjoy conversation to just fill the silence, especially first thing in the morning. If you have something to say, say it outright, otherwise leave me alone.” You groan internally at hearing Scaramouche say this to Xiao. Why couldn’t they get along? Was it because they seemed so similar that they hated each other? Was it because cat boys just don’t get along at first?

“Sounds good to me. I don’t enjoy talking much anyways, but Zhongli said I should try to be more sociable.” Oh good, they’re getting along, kinda. 

“Ok boys, breakfast is ready!” You start serving the scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, and buttered toast to the hungrily waiting cat boys, who were already grabbing their forks in anticipation. “Scara, calm down, attacking the eggs as they’re coming off the pan won’t make them go in your mouth any faster. Xiao, don’t fill up on just bread, you need protein as well.” Gods, it was like taking care of children some days, although you couldn’t blame them: the food smelled divine if you said so yourself. 

You three ate in relative silence, like most mornings, although you were silently hoping that having an additional person there would help ease the atmosphere; the problem was it almost made it more stifling. Scaramouche kept looking at you, trying to see whether you favored him or the new cat boy better, while Xiao was trying to find the right time and words to try and break the silence. You, meanwhile, had barely sat down after serving breakfast to the two silent boys and making yourself a plate, so trying to make the breakfast table more lively or even hospitable was a bit out of the question for now. 

Hopefully soon, everyone could learn to get along; maybe Xiao could teach Scaramouche how to be more respectful and maybe Scaramouche could help break Xiao out of his shell. It was going to be a long, long, month. 

~~~~~~~~

Writers block is a bitch and trying to find a nice wrapping up point is also a bitch

But holy shit 3k words of freaking cat boys because...reasons

Might do an H patch eventually but def more catboy fluff

[pariskylar]

The Interview

Monday: August 2, 2021

in 2, 3 …hold… out 2,3. in 2, 3 …hold… out 2,3.

she was practicing her breathing techniques in the car. today was one of the most exciting and nerve wrecking days of her life. she was sat outside of thee Harlan Thombey's mansion, waiting for an interview.

she was interviewing for an assistant editor position. a job she dedicated four-and-a-half years of her life studying for. a literal dream opportunity, to be able to work under her idol.

as exciting as that thought was the possibility of rejection triggered her anxiety. which sent her on a spiral, in turn triggering her imposter syndrome. usually those thoughts would consume her, but last night she had an emergency session with her therapist.

just take a few deep breaths. in 2, 3 …hold… out 2,3.

the instruction rang in her head.

and remember, you're Jazlyn, fucking, Reed. you worked your tail off for this. you got this.

she continued her breathing techniques until being scared half to death by her 8:15 alarm. that was the sign for her to actually go into the home.

grabbing the phone she silenced it tossing it into the cup holder. pulling down her visor she checked her hair and makeup. rolling her eyes at the flyaway she reached into the glove box pulling out the spare brush, laying them down.

semi-satisfied at her appearance she grabbed her old messenger bag, leaving the car.

hi, nice to meet you. i'm Jazlyn Reed. i graduated summa cum laude from MIT-no.

hello, my name is Jazlyn Reed, nice to meet you. i graduated from MIT, summa cum laude.

she practiced her introduction making her way up the step.

remember, you're Jazlyn, fucking, Reed. you worked your tail off for this. you got this. she repeated the advice before knocking on the door.

after a full minute the door opened revealing a middle aged white woman with brown hair and brown eyes.

“yes?” she asked.

“um, hi, i'm Jazlyn Reed. i’m here for the 8:30 interview with Mr. Thrombey” her palms began to sweat.

“oh, yes. come in” she stepped aside letting her in “you can sit in the foyer and i’ll tell Harlan you’re here”

she nodded, taking a seat in one of the chairs, crossing one leg over the other.

nice to meet you my name is Jazlyn Reed. i graduated summa cum laude from MIT where i worked as writer and editor on The Tech. as she began to practice her introduction again her leg began to shake.

ok ok ok, calm down she closed her eyes working on her breathing techniques, again.

remember, you're Jazlyn, fucking, Reed. you worked your tail off for this. you got this. she chanted in her head beginning to calm down.

“Ms.Reed” the voice pulled her out the oasis she was creating in her head “Mrs.Drysdale will see you now.”

she nodded standing with her bag following the lady to the in home office. she bid adieu before pushing the already cracked door further open.

in the office sat a white older woman with white hair and blue eyes behind the desk reading over papers. the same face you'd see on any for sale sign in any major city of Massachusetts, Linda Drysdale.

in the corner of the room sat a cute brown skinned woman next to the iconic Harlan Thrombey. she could credit this man for a lot of things in her life.

her love for reading, her love for writing and the reason she double majored in Creative Writing and Publishing. she stayed up countless nights trying to finish his books and hopefully solve the mystery of Whodunit. if there was a book released by this man she would be sure to get it one way or another.

she stood there in awe, staring at him.

“Jasmine Reed?” Linda asked, pulling her from her trance like state.

“um, yes. hi, i’m Jazlyn Reed,” she walked further into the room “nice to meet you.” she stuck her hand out.

“i’m Linda Drysdale.” she accepted. “and this is my dad Harlan Thrombey-"

no shit!

"and his nurse Marta.”

Jazlyn smiled over at them.

“please have a seat.” Linda waved to the seat in front of her “so, Jasmine, tell us about yourself.”

“i graduated summa cum laude from MIT last spring with a 4.8 GPA. my junior and senior year i was head writer and editor for The Tech. i interned with Candlewick Press and externed with the Beacon Press." reaching in her bag she pulled out a folder, containing her resume and excerpts, handing it over to Linda. "during both i assisted multiple editors and written and edited pieces of my own."

while Linda looked over her resume, she mentally praised herself for that introduction. it was smooth and well articulated.

"impressive" she nodded "first question,"

the interview went on as usual—strengths, weaknesses, the greatest accomplishments. she was knocking it out the park when Linda tossed a curve ball passing the questions over to Harlan.

“dad, any questions?” all the attention turned to Mr. Thrombey

he sat quietly for a few breaths before asking the most odd question.

“why are you shaking?"

"excuse me?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"you haven’t stopped bouncing your leg since you’ve sat down.”

she looked down and realized she was, indeed, bouncing her leg. she hadn't noticed that at all.

“oh, i’m sorry.” she immediately stopped, crossing her legs.

“why?” he asked pointed.

she went to answer, but he was sat there staring. it felt like being scowled down on by a hawk, it was a bit unnerving.

“why am i sorry?” she felt her leg beginning to shake again, as she grew more nervous than before.

he continued to sit and stare. he stared at her for an unsettling amount of time. it began to psych her out, her mind began to race with everything she’s said during the interview. what she was once praising herself for she began to doubt.

“you’re quite dull, aren’t you?” he stated, earnestly.

that hit her like a ton of bricks. the person she aspire to be thinks she's dull.

“i-i” she turned to Linda not sure what to say.

“please ignore that.” she waved him off "it was nice talking to you. we will call you." she stood up extending her hand.

that’s it? she blinked twice before standing up, accepting her hand and making a quick exit out the house. she went out to her car, deflated and hurt.

the man she grew up idolizing called her dull. dull?

he didn't read her resume yet alone any of her excerpts but him calling her dull hurt like crazy. she dedicated her entire life to literature, wanting to make people feel the way he did with his writing. with a single word she began reconsidering everything, and the old feelings of imposter syndrome washed over her.

she had worked so long and so hard, with years of therapy, to get over those feelings. then with one word a man she just met sent her spiraling.

she hopped in the car and slammed the door behind her. with jittery hands, she set her phone in the phone holder and connected it to the charger. opening the FaceTime app she started her group call.

“hey, love.” Tia was the first to answer, the camera was facing the ceiling and she heard the clinking of dishes.

“hi.” she replied putting on her seatbelt and started the car.

“how was the interview?”

“oh my gosh!” she let out a shaky breath before shifting her gears.

“what happened?” Tia asked setting up the phone.

“hihi” Ash answered the call from Kiara's closet.

they returned the greetings.

“how was the interview?”

“she was finna tell me about it.” Tia cracked an egg and began whisking.

she pulled off and began explaining the entire interview to them, even the off the wall shit Harlan said. for some reason they found it entertaining.

Tia tried stifling a laugh while Ashley full on cackled.

"what?" she asked pulling up to a stop light.

“that’s such a weird thing to say to somebody you just met.” Ash laughed more, taking a hanger from the closet rod.

"yeah." she sighed beginning to think how she could start again.

should i look for another job in the same field? should i go back to school and study something different? am i going to be stuck at CVS my whole life?

T looked at her disconsolate friend and could see her having an internal crisis.

"hey, don't let some old white man cause you to spiral." she spoke first.

"yeah." Ash joined in "he called you boring? so what? is it kinda funny? yes. but he doesn't know you. you've worked too hard to regress."

"thanks." she gave them a small smile pulling up to work.

“hey, y’all. my bad i was rehearsing.” Zariana finally answered with sweat dripping down her face.

she earned a chorus of replies

“how was the interview?” she asked taking a swig from the water bottle.

“i have to tell you later, i just pulled up to work.” Jazlyn cut off the car.

“yeah and i gotta serve breakfast.” Tiana slid three plates on a serving platter.

“i have to take Kiara her fits for the day.” Ashley held up the outfits.

“dang! love y'all. see y'all later, i guess.” she blew them all a kiss

when the call ended she reached into the back grabbing her red collard shirt. leaving the car she walked into CVS ready for a long and draining shift.

"hey, Jaz, i need you to show this customer where the eye drops are." Drew, her supervisor, ordered as soon as she stepped inside.

i just got here

"it's on aisle 5." she said trying to walk past them.

"she can't find them" he put his arm out in front of her.

she rolled her eyes, vexed already, "ok, i need to clock in then i'll help her."

"just show her on your way."

today is gonna be a long ass day.

and it was. after 12 hours of getting yelled at by customers, berated by her supervisor, and a serious back ache she was relieved to finally go home.

back home she flopped on the couch next to Tia, tired.

“long day?” Tia asked pouring her a glass of wine.

“too long.” Jaz handed her the pint of Ben and Jerry’s

‘what’s the sitch, Wade?’ Kim Possible played on the TV.

scooted closer to Tia resting her head on her shoulder.

“fall asleep watching K.P with me?” Tia asked.

“yeah, but i need to take my makeup off first.” she said eyes still glued to the t.v.

thirty minutes and two glasses of wine later they were both knocked out on the couch.

- - - -

"KILL YOURSELF!"

"FUCK YOU!"

she was scared awake by arguing. she rolled out of bed—grabbing her phone—and rushed down to the living room. in the center of the room stood Tia and Shawn yelling at each other at full volume.

she sighed to herself and walked towards the kitchen.

"how bout you stop bein a bum and get a job!" Tia yelled

"how bout you get a life and stop worrying bout what me and Jaz got going on?" Shawn shouted back.

Jazlyn grabbed a naked juice from the fridge and sat at the table waiting for the arguing to stop.

"i have a life. i also have a career, a car and a place of my own. what do you have? no money, a dorm on campus and a school shuttle bus."

"i'm a med school student."

"on your eighth year."

"seventh." he corrected

"ouuu, seventh." she mocked him.

they began yelling at and over each other, it was barely audible. Tia and Shawn hated each other's guts. they couldn't be in the same room without arguing. she used to try and play peacemaker between the two but it was useless. she knew eventually one of them would piss the other off enough that they'd leave.

she pulled out her phone checking the notifications she got while asleep

core four 👯‍♀️👯‍♀️:

Ash 👒: is it weird to share panties with ur gf

core four 👯‍♀️👯‍♀️:

Zari 🪐: bro wtf

core four 👯‍♀️👯‍♀️:

Tia 🫧: i'm blockin u

Shawn: otw, in the Uber

before she could get further down Shawn screamed in frustration, stomping up stairs

"y'all done?" she locked the phone

"you need to get your friend." he slammed a door.

"no, she need to dump your sorry ass!" Tia yelled up at him. "i have to go, love you" she placed a kiss on her forehead.

she went over and flopped down on the couch, finally getting a moment of silence with herself. unlocking the phone she checked her email, hoping for some type of update on her interview. she had been waiting for two weeks.

she couldn't take another shift at CVS. her body hurts from working 12 hour shift and the feeling of another psychotic break was brewing. she had been averaging four hours of sleep a night and it began to affect her.

the mailbox was full of spam, promotional emails and her bank telling her she had payed her bills. tossing the phone to the side she laid back trying to take a nap, but couldn't. this was her first day off in months, and her mind wouldn't let her relax—she had to stay busy.

standing up she paced the townhouse trying to find something to busy herself. she landed in front of the refrigerator. five minutes later the fridge was empty and she had on rubber gloves scrubbing it until it looked brand new.

finishing the fridge she realized how nasty the floors were. filling a bucket with cleaning solution and water, she grabbed her scrub brush getting to work. while on her hands and knees her phone rang.

"hello?" she answered, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

“Jasmine Reed?” the familiar voice asked

finally!

“yes, this is she.” she tried keeping her cool

“this is Linda Drysdale, i interviewed you two weeks ago”

"Linda? hi."

"hi, i was calling because you stood out to me when we talked. and if you are still interested, we'd love for you to work for my dad."

are you insane

"yes, i'm still interested."

"are you able to start Monday?"

"yes."

"ok. well i'll send over the contract. see you Monday"

"thank you." she hung up

"YES! YES! YES!" she hopped up, jumping in a circle.

she opened the group chat and shot the message

BITCH I CAN FINALLY QUIT

[thegoldenshi-shi]

Hello Shi-Shi! It’s been a while again (three months to be exact, my goodness,,) I hope you’re doing well. I was going to message a lot earlier, but some things came up and life got in the way again. How have you been? How was your Christmas?

Even though I’ve been more silent, I still look at your art a lot! I love your recent art, like the Happy Halloween drawing with Prowl and Jazz and Smokescreens drawing! Jazz looks so happy to be there while Prowls just along for the ride haha! In Smokescreens, I love his little smirk, he’s very pretty. I also love how you didn’t colour him, just his optics and the background, it really makes his optics pop and it just made the whole drawing more appealing! I love your art style so much Shi-Shi, it really is one of my favourites!!

Also, I understand your AI anxiety, not fully ofc, but slightly. I don’t like the idea of AI taking our art and putting it through programs and all of that jazz. I regret to say I’m not fully up to date on how it all works, but hopefully you feel better soon and AI stops using our art if that’s kinda how it works, I think?

For me, I’ve still been working, balancing school as well. Exams are coming up in around two weeks so I’ve been studying and preparing for them. I only have two, thankfully, next semester I have four exams, so two isn’t bad. I think I mentioned that I was going for my road test in my last message, and, well, I passed!! Perfect score as well, which I’m super proud of!

I’m not sure if I mentioned last message, but gun club has started again! I’ve moved onto kneeling from prone (prones laying down, you have to shoot certain scores and get badges to be able to move up if that makes sense) its a little difficult but challenges are good sometimes.

I’ve also, completely off topic (most of this message is just me bouncing around going off topic trying to remember all that’s happened in these past few months, but we ignore that lol) I got into a new fandom! It’s a fandom I’ve been in before, My Hero Academia, so I’m familiar with it, but my liking of it came back around two weeks ago. I know you like Transformers, Genshin Impact and Twisted Wonderland, but is there any other fandoms you enjoy?

A recent development! I’m sure I’ve mentioned I’m in Firefighter cadets, I’m not actually sure though, we’ve been chatting for a long time I sometimes forget what I’ve told you and what I haven’t. But a few days ago, a few others and I got promoted to Junior Firefighters! A cadet just goes to the trainings on certain days, learning new and basic things, etc, but as a Junior Firefighter, I can go on actual calls and emergencies. Of course, I won’t be able to deal with the most serious things that a fully trained Firefighter would, but we’ll be there and observing the things we can and helping out when we can too, which I find really exciting!

I better get some sleep, especially as calls for Firefighting can happen at any point and I have to make sure I’m up and running out the door, to make sure I’m not just completely exhausted lol. I’m so sorry for not messaging as much, and I hope to talk more Shi-Shi! I hope you have a good day/night and I’ll talk to you soon!

-Meister

Hello Meister~ It's wonderful to hear from you! I was beginning to wonder how you were doing.

You've got a lot going on as per usual I see, but you've also accomplished so much! Congratulations on a perfect road test, moving up in your gun club and getting promoted (is that the right term???) to a Junior Firefighter~ That's a long list of accomplishments for just three months, you should be proud.

I've been well, Christmas and New Years were small but really nice (I hope you had a good holiday season too). I had time to unwind and recover from 2024 hehe. I'm glad that you like my newer pieces! Cute pictures are always lots of fun so I really loved working on the Halloween picture. Getting the color palette right for that one was a nice challenge too. I've been doing a lot of art studies behind the scenes and the Smokescreen picture is the product of some of that work. I did a little wiggle when I read your feedback, I'm always so grateful for it.

Just like you I've been lurking around tumblr lately. Lots of art is happening, but nothing actually being posted. It's slow going, but I'm creeping out of the AI anxiety, and I'm feeling a lot better now. Thank you for thinking about me.

As for fandoms, I completely get bouncing to new fandoms or back into old ones. I am a huge enjoyer of things in general so I've been around the block with lurking around in fandoms lol

I walked around in the My Hero Academia fandom for a short while a few years ago, so I'm familiar with it but it's been a while since I actually peeked at it. I remember really enjoying All Might, Fatgum and Suneater (all guys for some reason? I just noticed).

So far as other fandoms I'm actively in…let me think…. I usually fall head-over-heels over some random thing that has 0 fandom and I'm left rolling on my floor with nobody to share my feels with. OR I poke like two content creators and don't interact with the fandom at all outside of that lol. I guess I'll say the King Arthur and Tolkien fandoms are other ones I find myself in the most (I troll the Star Trek fandom for memes, does that count?) But I don't create content for either fandom, so I don't know if they count or not? I used to move in the Gargoyles fandom when I was around 13 on DeviantArt with only a sharpie and a mechanical pencil to my name, but that's been ages ago lol

It was so good to hear from you again Meister! I hope you have a good day/night and I look forward to seeing you in my inbox again~

[atwooozi]

Almost Perfect (Sebastian x Fem!Farmer) Chapter 5: A New Start

Warnings: Slow burn, personal struggles, anxiety, depression, eventual smut

Summary: Angeline struggles with her unruly hair while working on her farm. Frustrated, she seeks a haircut and turns to Haley, who directs her to Emily. Together, they give Angeline a haircut and makeover, which leaves her feeling refreshed and excited for her new life in the valley.

A/N: I think I'm going to try and post on Thursdays. I thought this mind you not realizing that Thursday was so close to my original post date. I was originally thinking Saturdays, but for now Thursday sounds good in my mind. It might change, so if anyone reads these little blurbs of mine I'll be sure to let you know.

READ ON AO3

Chapter 5: A New Start

Spring 12

Angeline groaned in frustration as she had to keep brushing her hair out of her face. All she wanted to do was till some soil so she could plant some seeds she got from one of the other farmers from Pelican Town, Clint, but his name could have also been Kurt. Or maybe it was Andy? Angeline was also finding it difficult to remember everyone’s names despite it being a small town. There was just too much happening for her in such a short time that her brain was having a hard time keeping up. 

“Focus, girl.” Angeline said to herself as she went back to clearing the soil. She was making some progress until she bent over a bit more and her annoying hair fell to the front of her face again. 

In frustration Angeline threw her hoe to the ground and tugged her work gloves off. She stomped into her cabin and got herself some water. The water was refreshing, but it didn’t deal with the problem of her annoying hair. She had tried to tie it up earlier but her last hair tie just had to snap as she tried to secure her ponytail. 

Angeline walked over to a mirror that she hung up near her bed and sighed as she looked at herself. She looked like a frizzy, dirty, sweaty mess. In Zuzu Angeline would keep herself looking pretty polished but that was hard to do when owning a farm if not just silly. She looked at her nails, uneven, her cuticles were so dry, and her fingers had a light dusting of dirt. Angeline’s shoulders slumped as she looked at her reflection in the mirror again, so long conditioning treatments and her monthly nail appointments. 

“Ew…” Angeline said in defeat. She grabbed her shower caddy and headed out the door. Maybe she needed a break from all the farming and should just soak in the baths by the mountains for a bit. She didn’t want to let a bad hair and nail day ruin her otherwise great progress that she'd been having on the farm. 

~*~

After the much needed soak Angeline made her way into town. Her hair was less frizzy but it was still such a pain for her. She didn’t want to think about what it would be like to have her hair making her even hotter while she worked under the unforgiving sun during Summer. 

Angeline walked into Pierre’s with some new determination. “Hey Pierre.”

“Hello farmer Angeline could I interest you in som-” “Do you sell shears?” Angeline had completely cut him off which took Pierre back a bit. 

“Shears? Like for animals? No you’d have to buy those from Marnie, bu-” Pierre tried to redirect the conversation back to seeds or wallpaper, or whatever else he was trying to shill at the moment. 

Angeline shook her head. “No, I need to cut my hair.” 

Pierre nodded in understanding. “Oh I see.” He thought for a moment or maybe pretended to and said. “I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. You can always purchase some seeds, though.”

Angeline wanted to scream. She did not want seeds. She understood that Pierre was in a tough position with Joja Mart here, but she wasn’t in the mood for the constant salesman act. “No, thanks for your help though, Pierre.” 

“Anytime.” Pierre called as Angeline left the store feeling a bit more frustrated than where she had started. She sighed and as she looked ahead she saw Haley and Alex standing near Dusty’s dog house. Maybe she could ask Haley? She always looked so put together maybe she would be able to help her. 

Angeline was a bit hesitant given her not so pleasant introductions with both Alex and Haley, but she was desperate. “Hey you guys.” She said awkwardly as she walked up to the pair. 

Alex gave a polite wave. “Hey farmgirl.” Angeline bit her tongue. She had more pressing matters than Alex refusing to learn her name in this instance. Haley only gave Angeline a bit of a skeptical look and crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Haley, I was wondering if you could help me.” Angeline was prepared to get on her knees if she needed. 

“What is it?” Haley kept her guard up as she listened. She didn’t seem particularly uninterested, but she didn’t look like she wanted to help in any way either. 

“I need a haircut.” Angeline sighed as she looked between the two for their reactions. Alex nodded as if he was assessing her hair and was agreeing with her on the need for a haircut. Haley ’s expression went from to surprise to actually happy to amused.    

“Well I don’t cut hair.” Haley said. Crap. Angeline embarrassed herself for nothing. “Buuuut, my sister is like the town’s hairdresser basically. She should still be at home, let’s go.” Haley said without waiting for a response from Angeline or even saying goodbye to Alex. 

“Later Hales, farmgirl.” Alex called before turning his attention to Dusty. 

Haley waved as she walked towards her house. “I’ll text you later.” 

Angeline followed behind Haley as she let her into the home. She was surprised at how nice the house was considering it was just Haley and Emily. She wondered what type of work Haley must’ve been doing to help pay for this place. 

“Em, the farmer needs a haircut.” Haley called out as she shooed Angeline towards the kitchen to sit. Angeline obediently made her way to the kitchen and sat down quietly feeling a bit nervous about the whole thing. She didn’t exactly know either of these girls that well. 

“Your aura is simply glowing, Angeline.” Emily said as she practically floated into the room. The woman was so whimsical that Angeline wouldn’t be surprised if Emily could levitate or something ethereal like that. 

“M-my aura?” Angeline looked down at herself as if she would be able to see what Emily was talking about. “That’s good, right?” 

Emily smiled brightly and nodded. “You’re going to have an awakening like no other.” 

Haley rolled her eyes, bored with the conversation. “Em, focus, she needs a haircut.” She scrolled through her phone and pulled up some different cuts to Emily and Angeline before settling on a certain picture. “I think this would look good.” 

Emily nodded as she looked at the blunt bob on Haley’s phone. “This would be good, but maybe some layers to take some of the weight off.” She said as she touched Angeline’s long dark hair. “What do you think?” 

Angeline nodded, intimidated by the two other women’s decisiveness about how she should cut her hair. “Yeah, I like it.” 

“I’ll go grab my things.” Emily said as she made her way back to what was presumably her room. 

Angeline looked down at her lap unsure of what to do or say. In all honesty, Haley made her feel nervous. She was so intimidating in a similar way to Sebastian. Angeline was sure that the both of them were nice, but their similar don’t-talk-to-me vibes made them difficult to approach, regardless, if they had different reasons for putting up that sort of front. 

“Hey.” Haley broke the silence causing Angeline to pull away from her thoughts. “Are you busy after this?” 

Angeline shook her head. “No.” 

Haley grinned, “Let me do your makeup after to like complete the look.” 

“O-okay.” 

Haley’s grin turned into a genuine smile. “Cool, we’re not the same skintone but your complexion is pretty clear, so maybe just some more feature enhancing stuff to compliment what you already have going on.” 

Angeline nodded, she was surprised by how excited she was. Something about making a change in Pelican Town felt much more impactful than any changes she made while she was in Zuzu. For some reason it felt like it meant more than just a decision she was making on a whim, despite this all starting out because of a whim. It was like as if she was letting go of her past life in the city and taking on a new life here and in the valley. It was a bit scary, but the excitement outweighed any negative feelings she had.   

Emily put a lot of care into her work. She made sure to check in with Angeline before making any drastic cute and would mix products together that she thought would work best for her hair and its needs. She hadn’t realized how little she had taken care of herself in the last year before moving out here. Angeline had been so overworked to meet end-of-year deadlines that after a while the constant unrelenting workload just started to seem par for the course.  

~*~

The girls spent the rest of the time chatting while Haley started to do Angeline’s makeup. Angeline had learned that people were constantly surprised that Emily and Haley were sisters and about how the house that they were currently living in belonged to their parents, who were currently traveling. While neither girl needed to work Emily thought it was good for the soul and Haley was thinking about applying to beauty school in Grampleton, but was just having some trouble figuring out how she would get there everyday. 

“Almost done.” Haley said softly as she swiped some gloss along Angeline’s lips. 

Haley gave a self-satisfied smile as she looked at Angeline. “Do you wanna see?” 

Angeline nodded and was given a mirror by Haley. “You guys are amazing.” She was shocked at her own reflection. Her hair that was once just below her shoulder blades now stopped right under her chin. Her makeup made her look refreshed and glowy. Haley had kept her makeup rather soft and natural. It was a stark contrast from how wild Angeline had looked this morning. 

“Yeah, we’re pretty great.” Haley said proudly. 

“Humble too.” Angeline joked as she put the mirror down. 

Haley giggled and rolled her eyes. “Very humble.” 

“How can I repay you guys?” Angeline asked as she stared up at the both of them. 

Haley almost looked offended and Emily was shaking her head. “You letting us help you is payment enough, Angeline.” Emily said. “Just continue to take care of your farm.”

“If you really do wanna give us something though…” Haley trailed off. “I really like pink cake.” 

Angeline smiled. “I can do that. 

Haley smiled back. “Sounds like we’re even then.” 

Angeline nodded and stood up. “Thank you so much you guys, really.” 

“Please come by anytime.” Emily said as she saw Angeline to the door. 

Angeline waved goodbye to the two girls before walking towards town square and stopping. She wasn’t really sure what else she could do. She didn’t want to ruin Haley and Emily’s amazing work by going back to the farm.

After some thought Angeline made her way up the mountain path. It might be a good time to discuss some farm upgrades with Robin. Angeline had a modest amount of money tucked away for a coop and hay silo, so it made sense to talk to her about it now instead of spending it all on seeds.   

Angeline hesitantly walked into the mountain cabin. She knew it was Robin’s place of business but it was also her home, so it felt odd for her to not knock. Before Angeline could make it past the threshold of the door Robin was already greeting her. 

“You cut your hair!” Robin said as she stepped out from behind the counter. 

“O-oh yeah.” Angeline smiled shyly. “Emily cut it.” 

“I like it.” Robin said as she placed her hands on Angeline’s shoulder to get a closer look at the younger woman. “You’re just so cute. Are you single?” 

“H-huh?” Angeline’s face flushed at the question. Why would Robin ask her something like that? She is married. What about Demetrius? She couldn’t just throw her whole life away trying to go after some stranger.      

“Well, you and Sebby are close in age.” Robin trailed off. 

Oh thank Yoba. Angeline wasn’t sure what she’d do if Robin was actually hitting on her. Thank Yoba she was just doing that awkward thing moms do. Angeline did not have enough money to just up and leave.

“Oh.” It was as if the spirits were laughing at Angeline, Sebastian was now standing in the entryway along with her and Robin. Robin still holding on to Angeline. “What are you guys doing?”

“Angeline cut her hair. Doesn’t she look cute, Sebby?” Robin asked as she turned Angeline around to face Sebastian. Angeline wanted to die. She was sure that in this moment she just might. Maybe she just should up and leave town so she doesn’t have to live with the embarrassment.  

“Mom” Sebastian groaned and stepped out of the way to put some distance between himself and Angeline. He had a light dusting of pink across his cheeks and he refused to look their way.   

“Oh sorry Sebastian, I know you don’t like when I call you that in front of people.” 

Sebastian shook his head and looked up at his mom with a pleading stare. As if silently asking her to put him out of this misery. “But doesn’t Angeline look nice?” She was a woman with no mercy. 

There was a beat of silence before Sebastian looked over at Angeline. Angeline was surprised that she didn’t disintegrate under his stare. Angeline thought that Sebastian had brown eyes from how dark they looked at the saloon, but close up she could see a hint of a blue almost purple color, like an indigo? His tense expression became a bit more relaxed and he sighed which broke Angeline’s focus. “It looks nice. I like it.” Sebastian mumbled before quickly escaping further into the house. 

Robin let go of Angeline’s shoulders with a satisfied look and stepped back behind the counter.”So what did you need, Angeline?” 

How was she acting so cool about this? Angeline felt like she could just die on the floor.

“Uhh..” Angeline was at a loss for words. And was Robin giggling to herself? What an evil woman. Here Angeline thought of Robin as a friend. “I-I was wondering if we could talk about building a coop and a silo.” Finally Angeline remembered what she came here for in the first place. 

“Oh sure!” Robin said. “I’ve got the blueprints ready.” 

Robin pulled out a large book full of different plans for farm buildings and furniture. “We can start tomorrow.” 

Angeline nodded and cried internally as she gave Robin the gold needed for the project. “Sounds good.” 

Robin nodded and smiled. “See you tomorrow.”  

Angeline nodded and quickly left the house before Robin tried anything else. That woman was sly. 

Angeline walked quietly along the wooded path that led to her farm from Robin’s house. She felt herself holding back a smile. She figured it was from all the excitement from the day: a new look and some more progress being made on the farm. 

As Angeline stepped foot on to her land she tucked some of her hair behind her ear. He liked it.

[caelanglang]

Hi! Umm, you might not remember me, but I was really in love with your Little Prince au (laptop sticker match). I was inspired and wrote a sort of story inspired by it but of course didn't want to step on your story so I didn't like, publish or tell you (it was more so just a creative excercise because I like writing). But then I saw your post about being glad when people were inspired by creatives and was wondering if you'd be okay if I put it on ao3 (giving full credit of course!). If you want I can send it to you first so you can double check that I' not ruining your au, but I'm trying to get more comfortable in actually posting stuff. Of course, if you say no I won't, please don't feel pressured! As always I love your work and art style, it really is beautiful!

Hello! Of course I remember you :)) I even remember replying to your comment, which is something that still gives me anxiety jiggles sometimes hhhhh,,, I really love how you put to words "growing up seem less like shedding your childhood, and more like adding to it" ! (ah and yes the laptop sticker!)

Please, please tell me more about it! I love and appreciate people who enjoy my ideas and want to create something out of it! I respect every single creators out there who take their time to put their ideas out to their craft. I would love to see and read your take on this au :D! I really appreciate your respect of not stepping on the line or anything, and I assure you I would love to hear about it! I'm actually planning to pick up writing again to spin this au with my own ideas, it would be fun and enriching to read other people's take on it! (and maybe ask for pointers myself because I suck at writing)

Yes, pls slide into my dms if you want to share it to me :)) I really don't mind. (In fact, I am quite excited! I have a feeling you write beautifully based on the comment you left behind ;3) I understand the concern on posting. I still fight off those jiggles and worries sometimes,,, I also wouldn't mind publish it (just please send me the link because I will definitely gobble it all up like a feast!)

Thank you for this inbox! I really appreciate it! Thank you for the respect and I assure you I will always promote a safe and healthy space for ramblers, artists, writers, and creators of any form in my blog.