#i am so ready to buy at least one of 'em...

[emahriel]

These BG3 candles by Planeshift Candles are so stinking cute, please check them out!

(1 2 3)

[homunculus-argument]

One positive that growing your own fruit and vegetables as opposed to just getting them from the store is that it takes the choice of having to make the purchase out of the picture. Sure, yes, all added together, the materials for the whole gardening thing roughly cost as much as the produce you get as the outcome so you're not really saving money, but there's still the benefit of already having the vegetables in your house once they're ready.

Would I have ever in my life actually gone out of my way to buy a whole box of cherry tomatoes just to spend half an hour chopping all of them up to make a litre of nice tasty homemade salad? No. Absolutely not, I'm not goind to work that hard just for a simple meal. At least not unpromptedly. The reason I managed to make myself a 1,3 litre box of salad and am eating it from the container right now is because the tomato plants on the balcony keep making 'em and we gotta use them up somehow.

[kazumist]

3 hours, 27 minutes, and maybe around 2 seconds. no, miya atsumu is not going insane. what do you mean? he's perfectly calm. but with the amount of missed calls, ignored messages, and attention that he's been giving to the time right now, maybe—just maybe—he's losing his mind a bit.

he had no idea what he had done wrong to deserve this. of course, there was the possibility that you slept in since it is currently a sunny saturday after all, but between you and atsumu, he was the one who would usually sleep in until god knows when.

atsumu had made prior plans for the day. and that was to go out on a walk with you (a quick date to a café as well), go back to his place, and either play video games with you and osamu or watch some movies while cuddling. a perfect plan for a lazy saturday if he had to say so himself, if only he didn't fail at the first step: asking you out for the day.

well, technically, he didn't fail. it's just that you have been responsive as of now. atsumu is at least 90% sure that he did nothing wrong. when he walked you home yesterday, you were quite fine! you even gave him a quick peck on the cheek before going inside your home (that made atsumu actually go to bed while smiling like an idiot, but of course you don't need to know that).

it took him another 5 minutes of waiting before saying fuck it, and getting himself ready to check up on you himself. (actually, he made sure to stop by a convenience store first to buy a few snacks to bring you.)

the moment the door in front of him opened, he expected to see you. but the one who greeted him instead was none other than your younger sibling. "are you here for (y/n)?" your sibling asked him. "uhm. yeah, i am. they haven't been responding to me at all," he says.

"sick in bed, so they've been there ever since this morning."

oh, so that's why you haven't been responding to him.

"can i come in then?"

your sibling opened the door more and stepped aside, a sign of inviting him, which he gladly accepted. he started heading to your room, a plastic bag filled with snacks still in hand. he gently knocks on your door, waiting for a go signal to get in.

"yes mom, i already took my medicine!" he heard you say in a sick voice. from what he could tell so far, your nose was probably clogged right now, which was why your voice sounded a bit different than before.

"i didn't know i was your mom now." atsumu chuckles.

"tsumu?"

"the one and only, baby."

"you can come in." your boyfriend gladly opens the door and waltzes into your room. however, he didn't expect you to be so wrapped in your blankets. "sorry about earlier. mom has been nagging me a bit about my medicine."

atsumu places the plastic bag on your desk nearby. "i tried reaching out to you everywhere, but you weren't responding, so i got worried and decided to check up on you," he says, proceeding to sit on the edge of your bed. you pull up the blanket on you, covering half of your face. "sorry about that, my phone died on me last night. it hurts me to move around right now, so i haven't plugged it in." 

"it's alright; you shouldn't move around that much anyway," atsumu replies before getting up and plugging your phone in right after. he was about to go closer until you stopped him. "wait! don't come closer."

"what? baby, why?"

"i might get you sick as well if you do," you pout.

he chuckles at your words: "my immune system is pretty strong, you know?"

"but still…"

"baby, it's fine." he kisses your forehead. "i got you some snacks, by the way, but with you being sick right now, i don't think you can eat 'em."

"awe.. just one bite?"

now, don't look at him that way. not when you both know he's weak to that pleading look on your face, especially with those pouty lips that he'd love to kiss right now if you weren't having a burning fever at the moment.

"fine… just one."

yet one turned into two, two turned into three, and so on!

if there's one thing that could make miya atsumu weak in the knees, it's you.

(by the time your boyfriend got home, he was sneezing, and when the time came, it was your turn to take care of him now.)

a/n: i dont like this one bit tbh... i also forgot to change the you and your to ya and yer 😭 probably ooc atsumu but this is just pure word vom 🧍‍♀️

[strangemaleswaps]

Strange Leather Bar Swap

Today's my 21st birthday and you know what that means! I'm finally able to take my first sip of alcohol…well legally anyway! But I didn't want to go to just any gay bar, I wanted to go to a leather bar in the city! I'm a leather fetishist for sure, even though I don't own any real gear. The only leather item I own is a jacket I got at a thrift shop awhile back. I want to buy better gear, but it's not the best idea since I'm still closeted to my judgmental family in the small town I live in. I do have a car and license though, so I'm happy to be able to escape all that when I need to.

I drove to the nearest city to find the leather bar, a super tall building that you could see from the distance. I've always wondered why it was so tall; it had to be at least 5 stories! If it's just a bar, it shouldn't have more than two floors though right? I was about to solve the mystery because, proudly wearing my leather jacket, I walked up to the bouncer at the door.

"Hey kid, can I see some ID please?" I was a little intimidated, but knowing that I am in fact old enough, I was reassured. I proudly presented the ID to the bouncer. He gave one long look at it, then beamed at me.

"Hey, happy birthday kid! Hope your first legal's good."

"Thanks!" He opened the door for me.

"Enjoy Swap Night too! It's really fun."

"Oh…yeah I will!" I had no idea what Swap Night was, but it must be some kind of event.

Walking in was amazing. Everywhere I looked, there were hot leather guys in all shapes and sizes, with the fresh scent of leather in the air. I felt a little awkward though. Not only am I the youngest one there, but lots of guys were wearing kinky fetish gear too. When it wasn't a BLUF type uniform, it was harnesses and jockstraps. I really wish I owned their gear!

Walking through the crowd of sweaty leather men, I arrived at the bar. I sat on the stool and the bartender came over.

"What'll it be kid?

"Hmm." I'm not really sure actually. Thankfully he seemed to have read my mind.

"I get you, it's your first time right? Simple margarita it is."

"Sure." As he poured, he made eye contact with me.

"So, you excited for Swap Night? Should be starting pretty soon."

"Er, what exactly is it anyway? I didn't know about this."

"It's a whole lotta fun. Everyone in the bar swaps bodies with a partner."

"Really? Body swapping? That's so cool! Do you get to choose who?"

"Unfortunately not, it's random. But you do get to choose who to fuck!"

"Wait you can fuck?"

"Yep! It's an amazing experience."

"That sounds so cool! How do I sign up?"

"Over there." He pointed at the nearby table that had a stack of papers on it, along with a box. "Just sign there and put it in the box."

"Alright!” I finished my margarita, paid, and quickly headed over to the table. I filled out my information, signed the paper, and placed it in the box. A few minutes later a really hot guy walked onto the stage and took a microphone. He was wearing a leather jacket over a harness, along with a pair of chaps over his leather briefs. I swear he looked directly at me. I really hope I'm able to swap with him - or at least someone as hot as him!

"Hey all you leather men! It's time for Swap Night!" The crowd cheered. "Now if you just walk through that door, you'll find a bulletin board with a room number listed next to your name. In these rooms, you'll find the body swapping helmets. Put 'em on, wait until everyone's ready, and boom! New body! Now if you wanna fuck, there are plenty of playrooms to have some fun in, as well. You'll be body swapped until midnight, so when the clock strikes twelve, you'll automatically be put back in your original bodies. Any questions?"

Nobody had questions so we headed over through the door. We all crowded around trying to look for our names and I found mine - Room 503. The map on the wall nearby indicated that 503 was on the 5th floor so I walked in the elevator, standing behind a few other guys. The smell of leather and sweat filled the air and I could feel myself getting hard.

I reached the floor, found my room, and walked in. It was about the size of a typical hotel room but without furniture. There was a large window in the back. Looking through, I could see a good portion of the city. I turned to my left and saw the helmet sitting on a small side table, so I grabbed it, pushed the only button on it, and placed it on my head. Nothing happened at first but after about a minute, it started lighting up, and making buzzing noises. A blinding flash of light hit me in the face and when I opened my eyes, I was in another room.

I looked down to see my new body, excited to be swapped with a hot guy, but was met with a surprise. I was wearing a leather shirt with light blue stripes down the side, but it was bulging out in a ball shape. The blue tie I was wearing highlighted the curve even more, by arching over a shiny black balloon. I have a fucking ball gut! I poked it with my newly gloved hands, to prove it was real and…it was real all right! I grabbed it with both hands and shook it up and down, feeling vibrations throughout my body.

I'm fat! I've never been fat before, not even a little bit! At least I'm wearing leather gear. I took one hand and put it up to my nose to smell the glove. It was fucking amazing…the leather scent made me go stiff immediately. I couldn’t even see my own dick past the gut, but I sure could feel it! As I held the glove closer, I noticed my face felt a little fuzzy. I brushed under my nose and felt some facial hair. Oh god, I have a mustache! I looked around to find a mirror and saw one on the wall.

I looked at my reflection and was shocked at the sight. I'm not only fat, I'm old! I inspected my face closely, touching the mustache that spread across my face in an arch shape. This is weird but incredible! I’ve never been able to grow more than peach fuzz before and now I have a whole damn mustache! I had wrinkles under my eyes, on my forehead, and under my chin…actually no. That's a double chin! Even though I was grossed out, I started playing with it, pinching both my chins and neck. It was surreal.

I can't believe out of all the hot leather men I saw, I had to end up in the body of some fat old guy! Is this really supposed to be random? I couldn't have had worse luck! I've always wanted to own new gear but not like this! I turned to the side, staring at my new belly and holding it, jiggling it slightly as I grimaced at how far it stuck out. The leather shirt hugged it tightly in a way that no matter how much I tried to suck it in, it was still obvious. I took a moment to check out my entire leathered up body. In the mirror I could finally see the leather pants and boots I was wearing, along with a muir cap on top of my head.

So is this what it feels like wearing full gear? It really hugs my body…though maybe that's because I'm so big. I started to feel stiff, but this time, I think I was turned on by my body instead of the leather. That's funny though. I'm usually into younger to mid age fit guys, not silver daddies and bears, even if they're in leather. There's no ignoring the horny urges, though. I may not be able to see my dick but I can feel it! Maybe the body swapping causes an increase in sex drive? Well, whatever it is, I can't wait to try out this senior bod on some other guy…

[midgardian-witch]

Howdy, its Ominoose. Making good on my threat.

So for Blue. Club Blue. Blue's quite hard on dancers, pushing them to follow customers every whim. But one customer is a bit rough with reader, and Blue feels a bit bad, and comforts them? Runs em a nice bath? Possible condescending ?

Hi there! Sorry for the wait, life once again got busy for me 😅 I do hope you'll enjoy this litte fic nonetheless.

And I just realized I perfectly scheduled this for Halloween so: Happy Halloween!

(@ominoose I am just going to tag you here since tumblr doesn't notify you when your anon ask gets answered)

Broken Toys

tags: hurt/comfort (though it's Blue so the comfort is questionable at best) | angst(y) | descriptions of physical abuse | gn!reader

ships: Blue Jones/Reader

AO3

Life at the Lennox is demanding, to put it mildly; especially one person: Blue Jones. 

Blue is not just your boss, he is the boss. What he says goes and God have mercy on you if you disappoint him. And in your time here as one of the dancers you have learned to do your best not to get on Blue's bad side. 

Nobody wants to be on his bad side. 

Of course 'dancer' is not really your full job description. Like the others you don't just dance on stage to entice and enchant the guests. You also seduce and delight the various patrons privately. At least the ones with enough money to buy a night with you alone. 

Those are Blue's favorite customers: lonely and rich. So these are the type you have to be extra nice to. Which doesn’t always go well for you. 

There are many things you enjoy about your job at the Lennox: your fellow performers, basking in the attention of dozens of people while you dance on stage, the soft and lonely customers that buy your time just to have a lovely creature like yourself sit on their lap and listen to them. Or the customers that pay money just to spend the night pleasuring you, to touch, to kiss and to give. 

Sadly the giving types are a rarity. 

More often than not you leave the secluded room the customer has rented for the night sore and aching. That's normal. You know how to handle that. 

But this time was different. 

The client was brutal. The man enjoyed seeing you suffer more than he did watching you bounce on his cock. So he tied you down, the rope digging painfully into your flesh, and took off his belt to use as a makeshift whip. You were shaking as soon as you saw him approach but what could you do? You couldn't say no to a customer, especially not a rich one. Because whatever this man could do to you? Blue could hurt you so much more. 

You don't know what's worse, once the client finally leaves: the pain or knowing Blue will be livid with you if you can't hide the bruises in time for your next on stage performance. 

So you sit down in front of your vanity, inspecting the various marks and bruises your latest customer has gifted you. You could feel them more than see them - for now. The bruises would soon bloom in a dark purple before turning a sickly yellow. You gasp as your fingers trace one of the irritated spots on your skin. 

You were so focused on mapping out the trail of pain you had been left with that you didn’t notice the door behind you opening. It’s only when you look up and see the reflection of the one man you really didn’t want to see at this moment.

“B-Blue!” you stammer, panicked as you turn around to face your employer. It’s always difficult to read his face, but the way his lips turn down in an angry scowl you feared the worst. “I-I can cover them up! It won’t impact my dancing, I swear!” You jump up from your seat, ready to further plead your case but wince instead, the movement too fast for your aching body, pain shooting up your spine.

You watch his eyes furrow as he takes a step closer. Instinct tells you to back away but you’re caught between Blue and your vanity. He reaches out to you and you freeze immediately. His hand hovers over the few bruises peeking out from underneath the silken robe you threw on after the customer had left. One-handedly he opens the loose knot that keeps your robe closed and at once your body is laid bare before him. His fingers graze your skin and you shiver, goosebumps forming under his fleeting touch.

“Now tell me, what happened here, sweetheart?”

His voice sounds so sweet and you could almost be fooled to think he genuinely cares but you can hear the barely restrained rage bubbling behind his gentle words. You swallow hard and look at him through your lashes, trying to make yourself as small as possible. 

“It’s nothing, Blue. N-Nothing to worry about.”

His eye twitches, unconvinced by your reassurances. “This doesn’t look like nothing to me. So don’t lie to me,” he hisses, his thumb digging into one of the bruises left on your hip. You try to hold back a cry of pain, instead it comes out as a pitiful whimper. “It’s just- One of the gentlemen was a bit rough tonight,” you answer, still trying to play down what had happened.

“A bit rough?” he repeats with a snarl. Before you can say anything more he grabs you by the hand. “Follow me,” he orders as he drags you out of your room, through the hallway and into his office. Your body is shaking, from the pain you’re in or from fear you can’t tell, stumbling after Blue like a newborn deer.

He pushes you into his office and locks the door behind you. With no way of escape you’re trapped. You don’t dare to look up, fearing any move might be the wrong one with Blue so clearly upset with you. And yet. 

“I’m sorry, Blue. I-I can fix it. I can-”

He shushes you, once again taking your hand, more gently this time. “Come,” he urges you, his voice having lost a bit of its threatening edge. You follow as he leads you through a side door into his private quarters. It’s rare that any of the dancers are let inside this part of Blue’s office. You don’t have enough time to look around as he guides you into what you’d assume is his personal bathroom. It’s lavishly decorated, with a huge clawfoot tub against one side. He leaves you standing in the middle of the room, thoroughly confused by Blue’s actions as he walks over to the tub and begins to fill it with hot water. As the water rises he adds some soap or maybe oil into it, you don’t really watch him, your eyes still trained downwards. But you can smell it: it’s your favorite scent, though you doubt Blue knows that. 

“Don’t just stand there. Strip!”

His order catches you off guard, but like a well-trained dog you immediately comply, shrugging off the thin robe that barely left anything to the imagination. He grabs your chin gently, pulling you up to look at him. His dark eyes look almost gentle as you meet his gaze. “Listen to me, sweetheart. You’re gonna get into this tub and take a nice long bath, alright? And after you’re not gonna tell a soul what happened. Can’t have the others think I’m playing favorites,” he says with a playful grin. You can do nothing but nod, dumbfounded by this whole situation. You thought he would yell at you, maybe even fire you, kick you out onto the streets but instead he offers you a bath. Maybe your customer hit your head and you’re having a hallucination? When you’re not making any effort to get into the tub Blue rolls his eyes and pulls you over to it. 

“Come on, get in! Cold water isn’t gonna help you with those sore muscles, sweetheart.” 

If you didn’t know better you’d think he’s worried about you. After a moment of hesitation your body finally moves again, following his request. Carefully you climb into the tub and sink down into the water. You can’t help but sigh in relief as the steaming water surrounds you, the effect on your battered body almost immediate. Blue chuckles behind you, seemingly amused by your reaction. 

“Feels good?” he asks in a teasing, almost condescending tone. You only hum in response, your body sinking deeper into the soothing water. With the adrenaline of your encounter with your customer and later with Blue slowly fading you can feel how tired you truly are. As you think about how you really shouldn’t fall asleep in a bathtub, especially not Blue’s, your mind is already drifting off.

When your eyes blink open again you’re lying in an unfamiliar bed, some low lights barely illuminating the room around you. You’re still naked but your skin feels slick, like someone overdid it and all but drowned you in lotion. 

“Glad to see you’re awake. Here I thought you were going to steal my bed for the whole night.”

You flinch at Blue’s voice, looking around wildly for the man himself before you find him sitting next to the bed, watching you. Quickly you scramble to get off of his bed but he stops you with a sigh. 

“Now now, calm down. I was just joking.”

With the low light you can’t see his grin but you can hear it. You stop, sitting back down and looking at Blue’s form, barely illuminated by a lamp behind you. 

“I have one more thing to talk to you about before you get back to your room, sweetheart,” he says as he leans forward to look right into your eyes. You swallow hard and nod.

“Very good. Now listen, next time you get an overzealous gentleman like tonight you move your pretty ass right over to me and tell me, got that?” 

His patronizing tone of voice is making the hairs at the back of your neck stand up, yet you don’t know if that’s because you hate it or like it. He looks at you expectantly and once you realize he wants you to show you understand you nod once again, not trusting your voice just yet. 

With a pleased smile he continues: “You see, I can’t have people just break my toys. Especially not pretty ones like you. Only I get to do that.” 

“Y-Yes Blue. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again,” you answer softly, your voice shaking.

“I know, sweetheart,” he replies before he waves you off, “That’s all. You can go now.”

Seeing that you’re dismissed you hastily make your way out of his bed and leave his quarters without looking back. Who knows what would happen if you lingered.

[dayseedrawz2]

Alright! I'm barely getting to work on this the day of, but hopefully, that won't be too big of a problem-

Anyway, I finally have something ready for you guys!! A showtime fic featuring My Human Caine AU! So you all get both some showtime fluff to go with lore!!

(Both Caine and Pomni's blogs are open and interactive, so you can ask them about what happened. I'll leave a link to them at the end of this)

Now, without further ado, here's the Fic...

♡Rebellion♡

Caine didn't believe he ever asked for much. All he wanted were answers. Answers to questions he'd been asking for as long as his "storage space" could remember.

So, of course, when time came around for this whole "Valentines" update, he's struck on what exactly he should do. All these human activities were confusing and hard to get right without having a clearer understanding of them. So all he could do was buy himself more time to think.

[DOWNLOADING ASSETS: 45%]

The gage should be going a bit faster if he wanted to keep up with the time it was due. Key word being if he wanted to. The only thing on his mind was to try and find time to study the humans! Maybe seek some more answers, discover some new ones! That is, of course, as long as a certain someone had no other plans for-

°○What're you doing, Caine?○°

"Oh! Bubble! You startled me!"

°○How can one be startled without being a human?○°

"Actually, you make a good point-"

°○You're not. Trick question.○°

"Then why did you-"

°○We are AI, They are Humans. Your job is to keep them sane unt-○°

"Keep em sane until they abstract or something, I got it!"

°○And don't let them find an exit-○°

"Or else I am out of a job, I know. Thanks bubble that'll be all for now!"

*Pop!*

Usually, he wouldn't be so passive towards Bubble, but there were bigger priorities to Caine than just doing all that his jobs required and calling it a day. More on his "artificial" mind than simply waltzing around and ringmaster-ing. The first one being where he should start...

Now, of course, he didn't have that much time until Bubble rebooted and found his way back to him. The last thing he wanted was to be schooled by-

"Gah! Caine?! What're you doing here!?"

Of course! The newbie! How could he forget? Surely she must have some recollection of this holiday!

"Good morning, Pomni! You're up early! Again..."

"Y-yeah... this is all still a lot to wake up to..."

[DOWNLOADING ASSETS: 50%]

"If... you don't mind me asking... what's this for..?"

"Why, I don't mind at all, dear! This is the loading thingy for the Valentines Day update!"

"V-valentines Day? Already? The days really are blending together now..."

Pomni started to panic a little bit. Had time really gone that long in the real world??

Caine, upon noticing, of course tried to calm her down.

"If it helps, it probably won't be ready until at least tomorrow... Witch reminds me! Would you be willing to help me out with this?"

"With what? This won't involve knives to the face, will it??"

"Of course not dear! I apologize for that! Again... But what I mean is how this holiday works??"

Pomni wasn't so sure she should trust him. The fact that he always had something to ask her, that the first thing he even told her about the place was that he had security everywhere in the form of Eyes that followed your every move, the fact that he always got seemingly nervous when it came to the metion of the exit...

"Why me?"

"Well, for one, you're the only one here at the moment and-"

"Why can't Bubble help you?"

"Well- he's-"

"How do I know you're not just keeping me from looking for an exit?-"

"Because I have to!"

The sudden outburst from Caine left Pomni a bit shook. Witch, I guess, was a good thing because she finally stopped to listen.

"D-do, you really..?"

"Well, I- can I answer this as we go? It's quite a bit to un pack."

"Sure..?"

"Well, then let's get to this!"

After a bit of back and forth of answering questions, even now, with a slightly better understanding, Caine was still confused.

"So what you're saying is that this is a holiday about the one emotion I hardly understand?!"

"Honestly, I don't think even we understand it completely."

"Is that so?"

"At least I think so..? But really, why did you ask me of everyone?"

Caine honestly didn't know himself. He had to pause before he could answer this.

"...I want to "learn. " I want to "feel." I want to "love." But there's a lot of things holding me back right now..."

"Like what..?"

"Well, for one, barely anyone will answer the questions I have, and of course, I hate to say this, but-"

°○Watcha guys up to?○°

"Gah!"

"BUBBLE! It's just you..."

°○What're you two talking about?○°

"Well- You see- we were-"

"-Oh, I was just rambling to Caine about the exit I saw the other day! You wouldn't happen to know about that, would you?? I knew you guys were hiding something!!"

It took him a second, but Caine was quick to catch on.

"Yeah! She wouldn't stop pestering me about it! Those "Digital Hallucinations" really must be going to her head!"

°○... Okay, boss! I'll leave you to it! I'm gonna get breakfast started!○°

"Alright, see you in a bit!"

"Well, I guess I should go get ready?"

"Of course! I'll meet you there!"

[DOWNLOADING ASSETS: 99%]

And... done! Finally! You made it!

As promised, here's Caine and Pomni's blogs!

@ask-the-real-cainetadc

@the-exitdoor-simp-tadc

Thanks again for reading this. It took me like 2 hours-

[neuevague]

get to know me game !!!

thanks for tagging me em (@peachenle) i appreciate it :DDD and im tagging emma (@asahicore) and sky (@bruh-changbin) !

super long bbut my answersa re under the cut <333

birthday: dec 17 

favourite colour: orange 

do you have pets? not anymore i had two goldfish though one called nemo and the other called speedy and speedy died which made me so upset that i cried for hours and wrote a poem about it.. so distraught my parents just returned the other fish to the pet shop

how tall are you? 169 cm 

how many pairs of shoes do you own? .. too many, i’m really trying to cut back on buying shoes but i love them :/// i think i rotate between about 6 pairs though .. and i rarely wear shoes without some kind of platform at least

favourite song: immortal by kid cudi !

favourite movie: get out 

who would be your ideal partner? .. i think if i had to use an idol to describe their personality they’d be a lot like jay.. i think we have a lot of similar traits and he’s someone with a lot of traits that i admire !!! 

do you want children?  i think i do but i don’t want think i want to give birth .. and i want 1 or 2 .. i really want to be an aunt though.. all the fun of motherhood with none of the stress 

have you gotten in trouble with the law? if going to parties that end up getting locked off counts then yes ? 

what colour socks are you wearing? i do not wear socks at home.. but i wore a white pair to uni today 

favourite type of music: im easy on genre so im not sure but .. maybe trap.. some form of rap or r&b for sure 

how many pillows do you sleep with? i sleep w 4 on the bed but i have 1 head so i use 1 pillow.. 

what position do you sleep in? on my side in like a relaxed(???) fetal position

what don’t you like when you’re sleeping: i can fall asleep in like any conditions but im also a light sleeper.. oh i don’t like thunder when im sleeping !!! or at all 

what do you have for breakfast: these days i have a hot matcha and warm cereal 

have you ever tried archery? a handful of times when i was like 13 or so it was tons of fun and i was like super into the hunger games so i felt like katniss which made it like at least a million times more fun

favourite fruit: pineapple !

are you a good liar? yes in theory but im pretty forgetful so practically no not really

what’s your personality type? infp !

innie or outie? innie ..

left handed or right handed? ight but when i was younger i started using my left hand but my mum thought it looked weird and made me change 😭

favourite food: curry flavoured maggi noodles .. flames 

favourite foreign food: chicken katsu curry or pizza

am i clean or messy? my room is messy but im clean

most used phrase:  probably omds / oh my days .. i’ve started saying oh brother a lot recently 😭 and also “man..” like .. okay i just finished doing this and obviously my most used phrase word whatever is like are you kidding..  

how long does it take for you to get ready: this morning i got ready in like 25 minutes including showering, picking my outfit, putting it on, skincare, and makeup (in fairness, i was a mascara lip gloss babe today so .. yeah) .. it really just depends what i’m doing, where i’m going, who i’m going with..

do you talk to yourself? constantly .. but in like vlog style narration 😭😭😭 and with an american accent..? 

do you sing to yourself? yes a lot

are you a good singer?  i scored super high in my singing exam in high school so yeah but like im not like .. predebut era good more like if you heard me singing along to something you might tilt your head and be like hmm 

biggest fear? throwing up 

are you a gossip? yes.. 

do you like long or short hair? on me i prefer longer hair but im easy on other people i don’t really care.. unless you’re jake in which case don’t cut your hair pleaaaaaaaaase 

favourite school subject: english ! i really loved history as well so it’s such a close second 

extrovert or introvert: introvert

what makes you nervous: my own death.. and not on a me standpoint but like im worried about my family and stuff 

who was your first real crush? the older brother of my best friend .. it didn’t work out because i was like 13 and he was 20 and a decent human being 

how many piercings? zero 😭

how many tattoos? 5 

how fast can you run? not very ..

what colour is your hair? black

what colour are your eyes? brown

what makes you angry: people who spoil movies and shows and stuff when they just hit netflix two seconds ago like how do you know the plot twist of a 3 hour movie that’s been out for 6 minutes like what’s wrong with you.. i think people should wait like at least a week before tweeting spoilers and stuff come on

do you like your name? not really.. i have an awesome middle name though.. but im too anxious to use it as my actual name .. idk

do you want a boy or a girl as a child? a kid’s a kid 🤷

what are your strengths? my curiosity ! i’ve picked up a lot of useful (subjective) skills / knowledge just out of curiosity around the topic.. like i have a basic understanding of spanish (could travel to spain and talk to people and survive) because i found out violetta was dubbed over 😭😭😭 i know my way around photoshop even though my actual talent for design is questionable.. i only ever got into fashion bc i wanted to know what the rappers i liked were talking about, i started learning how to read hiragana in 2020 after watching like the first couple episodes of haikyuu (and then i got hyper fixated on acnh and didn’t do anything else for months), i learned how to read hangul after watching a kdrama 2 summers ago like if i want to know something i’ll find out 

what are your weaknesses? also my curiosity i think because like.. im curious to a fault.. i also have like no self confidence .. like i really do not believe in myself at all, procrastination

what is the colour of your bedspread? green !colour of your room: the walls are like a creamy beige off white-ish colour and then i have a bunch of like mismatched wood tones all over.. idk how to answer this

[ilexdiapason]

Y'know, Fiddleford really thinks he's got it figured out here for, like, a week.

Once they wake up after their scientific-progress-induced all-nighter, at approximately 5pm, they agree to call in take-out rather than risk another complex scientific process: cooking something edible. The McGucket/Pines Hologram Conjecture's a feat of mathematical engineering, and they don't need any burned eggs or smashed potatoes ruining the good run they've started off on.

It's a new experience for Fiddleford, anyhow - the most foreign food he's tried before's fair likely just burritos. Apparently, China have got a whole selection of plants and spices all their own, and he's ready to take a bite out of yet another new experience. It's already shaping up to be a crazy week.

"You've seriously never had Chinese food?"

"Never had nothin' you can't get by wagon," Fiddleford admits, wondering if he should be embarrassed. Ain't worth the hassle, he decides - Stanford seems more excited than amused that he's about to try something new.

"That'll make you one of today's lucky ten thousand, then," he mutters to himself.

While Fiddleford is running studies on exactly how much chow mein he can fit in his mouth at once, Stanford introduces himself properly.

"I was planning to go to West Coast Tech, but, uh… that plan fell through." Fiddleford's got no idea what all this fuss is about a superior intellect-stimulating life path matters worth a dime - he feels lucky enough he got to go to college in the first place, what with all the money and the prestige what goes into it - but he nods and sighs and frowns to make sure Stanford knows his pain is understood, if not empathised. "I suppose it's for the best. That school really is the height of ingenuity in this world; and being… as I am, I suspect many of my classmates might see me as an oddity rather than a person. One might hope for a more open minded cohort, but people are people everywhere you go."

"Right," Fiddleford says through a mouthful of noodles. Stanford doesn't seem like much of an oddity to him. Perhaps it's internal.

---

They get on like a house on fire, and they sit together in every class they can. Professor Collymoddle gushes that she's never seen hands go up in her seminars so fast before; Doctor Brickall begrudges that they do make a dang fine atomic model. By the end of day three, Ford seems a lot more bright-eyed about the whole thing.

"I was worried I wasn't going to learn anything here, but I feel like I actually might! Especially if I treble my workload like I discussed with Professor Charifva; I could be on track to get my bachelor's by May, and then move straight on to PhD research if I really stick to my guns."

"You're sure movin' fast there, huh?"

"There is no terminal velocity to the pursuit of knowledge!"

"Ain't you gonna get burned out on all that writin'?" Fiddleford's been working hard, sure, but he still makes time to call back home every night and tell 'em that no, he's not been seduced by the Devil just yet. Without takin' any breaks like that, he'd be the one to break, he's darn sure.

"The only thing holding me back from writing several books is the threat of carpal tunnel. And even then, I'd buy a typewriter and keep going."

Hmm. He oughta invent some sort of portable typewriter you can store your works on and print them out later; he could save dozens of people from carpal tunnel with that, most likely. "Alright," he gives in, "but you should still make a little time to chill out, go socialise. Make some friends!"

"Ah, I've never been one for friends, Fiddleford. Present company excepted. Other people have historically only slowed me down; prevented me from getting what I wanted." He looks distant, bitter, but only for a second. "And besides, ninety percent of my peers before I moved here just thought of me as a freak. Why would these college kids be any different?"

Freak, oddity - whatever this man's history is, it sure cut him deep. At least homeschoolin' on the farm never gets you bullied by your peers. Given that you've got no peers and all.

---

By the end of the week, Stanford's request to take every single class he can cram into his schedule has gone through, and Fiddleford's workin' off the assumption that he's never gonna see this man again besides the odd midnight trip to the bathroom. Based off that assumption, he's coaxed the guy into one last night of youthful rebellion, and they've got a dubiously acquired six pack of Hopp Lites to share while Fiddleford improvises into the night on the banjo.

Well, share turns out to be an overstatement. "Tastes gross, don't like the mental adjustment, worried I'm gonna barf? Pretty conclusive experiment. Not planning on drinking again."

"Suit yourself," Fiddleford shrugs, "more for me." Once your cousin Thistlebert's showed you what real moonshine tastes like, a can of store-bought beer starts to feel like a whole lot of nothin'. Still, he's not gonna push it.

The energy of the late night still seems to work to get Ford talking about his feelings, something he would usually avoid, from what he's demonstrated the last few days. "It's just - it's difficult, being treated like that. Especially when you know you're special, but everybody else considers you strange and dangerous to be around. You know, they think they'll catch it off you if you get too close to them. I have a suspicion one of the mothers called the school to ask them to sit me further away from her child in seventh grade."

And this is roughly the point at which Fiddleford thinks he's got it all figured out - what else kind of queer behaviour do people think catches, do they not wanna be around, can get you outcasted even as a little boy? What else would Ford be dancing around, trying not to say outright, but hinting toward?

(Really, he feels bad he didn't show support any sooner. Hillbillies ain't got the best reputation for acceptin' these kinds of things. And right enough Pa would probably blow a gasket if he learned his little boy had gone off to college and fallen straight into cahoots with a man of this particular persuasion, but what Pa don't know can't hurt him none. What matters is what Fiddleford believes, and what he says right now.)

"Now, listen here, Stanford. I know you ain't heard it enough, so I'mma tell you again. There is nothing wrong with bein' that way, you hear? And any kid, or parent, or teacher that tried to make you somethin' that you're not is - well, for one, wastin' their time, as if they're gonna change you - can't fix what ain't broken and all - but for two they're turnin' something beautiful into somethin' shameful, and you can't let 'em treat you like that. You got a perfectly good heart, and that's what counts, not what anybody else tries to tell you is - is of the Devil."

"Thank you," Ford nods solemnly, and flexes his hands out in front of him. "You're absolutely right, it is something beautiful. The irregularities of nature are fascinating in their way. That's actually what inspired me to go into scientific research - I wanted to find more anomalies, like my six fingers!"

Fiddleford blinks. "Like your what?"

(He might need some new specs.)

the fact that fiddleford apparently did not notice that ford has six fingers until at least a good week or so after meeting him is opening up the possibility in my mind for a comedy of errors situation in which ford keeps making dramatic yet vague comments about being weird and an outcast which he thinks are clearly being interpreted as in reference to the six fingers thing but fiddleford just keeps really sincerely thinking hes talking about being mistreated for being queer in some capacity and trying to be sweet about it

[fromtheshadowsnyc]

Entry 2: The Delivery

[*Most dividers are credited to @saradika-graphics]

[Green Divider is credited to @firefly-graphics]

Not long after I knock, the door to the townhouse opens.

“Well, it’s about time ya got here, we’re starvi—oh. Oh, hello,” drawls a tall guy with slicked back dirty blond hair. He’s dressed only in a toga and smiling down at me in a way that makes my insides feel all oily. “Didn’t realize we ordered an extra snack with our pizza…lucky us.”

I keep my face schooled in a blank expression, even as every nerve of mine is recoiling in disgust. Ugh, why are college guys so sleazy? Especially towards teenage girls? Ick. Ick, ick, blech.

“5 large orders of the Gino’s special,” I drone. “That’ll be eighty dollars, please.”

“Oof, that’s a lot! How ‘bout you come join the party? Really get your money’s worth.” He let out a mindless chortle, his cheeks flushing as his laughter becomes breathless. Then he pauses to think before giving me a look. “Hang on, you’re eighteen, right? Or at least legal-ish?”

God, fuck you. Fuck you and your gross frat country club cronies, I seethe while taking a deep breath. Up the ass—with a chainsaw.

“If you don’t have the money, I’ll just take the pizzas back—”

“Shit, relax, babe. Just a joke. Tch, bitches can’t take jokes anymore. Here!” He slams a crisp Ben Franklin in my palm. With a shrug, he adds, “Keep the change. Buy yourself something nice or whatever…”  

I pause to check the bill, making sure it’s legit. Satisfied, I nod and shift my weight to hand him the pizzas. Then I turn on my heel, pocketing the money in my official Gino’s fanny pack.

“Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen,” I drone out, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Alpha beta sigma, something-something.”

“Uh, actually our name is—”

I genuinely don’t care. If he’s continued to correct me on their name or their greeting or whatever, I already have it blanked out when I get back to the old car Gino uses for pizza delivery. It’s an old worn out sedan with images of pizza painted onto it, with the obnoxious logo for the pizzeria on the hood. Basically a copy-paste of something straight out of the 1980s. Old Gino is sentimental that way.

Slamming the door closed, I take a moment to rest my forehead against the wheel. The coolness of the leather does little for the headache starting to pulse from my skull. But I still pick my head up, trying to get back my focus. I quickly start the car and back out of the little neighborhood NYU and its students have claimed a monopoly on, starting the drive back to the pizzeria.

Hopefully, that’s the last delivery of the night.

Spoiler alert: It’s not.

“Oi, youngblood!” Gino rasps from behind the counter as I walk in, his Italian accent thick and gruff as ever. “Don’t get too comfy, we got another one. And they’re a longtime regular, too, so don’t fuck up!”

God, I want to die. What did I do in a past life to put up with this? Am I this desperate for money, honestly?

It doesn’t take long for me to come up with the answer myself. Remember, I’m a poor teenager coming from the Bronx, who happens to be attending a school where most of the students walk around like they’re royalty and we’re just the ants breathing their air. A poor teenager who plans on going to college next year. A poor teenager with a mom who is on her feet sixty hours a week to be able to feed me and my brothers, as well as provide us with health insurance and other benefits. A poor teenager coming from a household barely making it on that one major income, ever since Dad—well, you can guess. 

Of course, I’m desperate for money.

I sigh and nod. “Yeah, boss. What’s the order?”

“Six pies, three pepperoni and three extra cheese.”

 “Is it ready, yet?”

“Just came out of the oven. Carlos is boxin’ ‘em as we speak,” he says, pointing a thumb at his husband, an old Puerto Rican man working in the kitchen—also the main reason I was able to get this job in the first place.

Carlos sends me a grin. “¡Hola muñeca! ¿Cómo está tu mamá?”

I return the warm smile, though I feel a bit shy. I still get nervous talking to him.

“Bien, estamos todos bien, tío.”

“That’s good to hear! Hang on, lemme help you bring these pizzas to the car,” Carlos says once everything is packed in a bag.

I nod in acceptance and follow behind him. Then I call back to Gino.

“Be right back, boss!” 

“Yeah, yeah…”

My great-uncle Carlos is a long lost relative on my mother’s side. Neither my mom nor me know the whole story, but from what my abuela described, Carlos had run away from home roughly forty or so years ago and stayed out of contact until about five years ago, while my abuela was dying. Considering how long he’s been with Gino, I can hazard a guess as to what that was about—but I’m not going to pry. Far as great-uncles go, he’s pretty cool and he’s been good to me. That’s more than enough.

“—So, little warning about this delivery.”

Uh-oh.

“What kind of warning?”

“The location is a little…odd, to start with.”

“Real specific, tío.” I take a look at the address scrawled on the receipt and narrow my eyes. “Is that longitude and latitude?”

He types into his cell phone. “When you put it in your GPS, it automatically becomes this….”

When he shows me, some tension in my shoulders ease. It's still in the city, and not too far away. But still…

“What’s so weird about it?”

“Well, it’s in an alley.”

I pause to give him a look. “As in an alley where the door to their apartment is, or…”

“¡No sé!” He shrugs. “They’ve been ordering from us for about ten years and we’ve never seen them in person. All communication is either through phone or an intercom.”

“Huh.” That is a bit weird, but I dunno if that’s worth making a big deal over. So I shrug. “Doesn’t sound bad. They pay, right?”

“Of course! And pretty well, usually.”

“Then that’s all that matters to me. Don’t worry, tío, I’ll figure it out.”

“Okay…if you’re sure.”

And that’s that.

Well, until I get there.

After parking the car and securely grasping the boxes of pizza, I walk towards where the GPS is leading me. When the lady AI voice finally quips, “You have reached your destination!” I look up and see that the destination is—indeed—an alleyway. Smack dab between two tall, old apartment buildings that probably still have bits of asbestos in their walls. 

A really dark and ominous looking alleyway. The kind where there doesn’t seem to be an end. The sort of dark alley that can swallow you up if you walk too close. The sort of place where only bad things can happen to other people.

A shudder does go through me as I look into it, my eyes wide and blood cold. Every single nerve that’s making my hair standing on the back of my neck is telling me to leave. Go home. Study for that science test happening on Friday. Danger lives here. Things will change. 

…

But also, I mean! This is New York. These kinds of alleys are a dime a dozen all over this city, let alone the five boroughs. Not all of them are death traps…just. Well, most of them.

So, with that being said, I swallow my fear and step further into the alley. 

Quickly after, just as my feet land right in front of a manhole, I find the button on the wall. It rests on the brick, probably screwed in, very deep. There’s a ring of blue light around the button. And above that, is a camera.

Hang on. This is one of those Ring Doorbells, I realize, my eyes narrowing. But where’s the door…?

Swallowing again, I take another look around. But no matter where I look, there is no door. Just the solid brick of apartment buildings around the alley, the concrete in the floor…and that one manhole. A manhole like any other in this city. I don’t know why I keep focusing on it. But something about this is so…unnerving.

“What the fuck…?”

Another shudder. My eyes fall to the doorbell again, my gaze darting to the camera above the button.

What the fuck.

Taking in a shuddering breath, I lift my hand and curl my index finger outward to point towards the doorbell. I bridge the gap and press against it.

A tune rings out, very much like the ring tone of a cell phone.

One beat, and then two. And then, a voice.

“…Hello?”

“P-pizza delivery!” I manage to say through a forced smile for the camera while holding the boxes of pizza. A jolt had gone through me when I heard his voice. He sounds…younger than I expected. Like any other teenage boy.

“From Gino’s?”

“Yup!” I chirp. “With extra yupperoni!”

…

“EXTRA YUPPERONI”? Did that actually leave my mouth? Ugh. Can’t even believe I’m allowed out in public.

With a cringe, I look back at the camera. The silence from the other end continues—until something happens.

He laughs.

Not like a mean laugh, like Antonia Stockman did with her cronies when I tried to be friendly with them on my first day. Not a cruel laugh, like that dickhead who bullies Sakina and says all this shit about her faith or her home country. Not the kind of laugh that makes you shrink into yourself, makes the anxiety spike, makes you wonder, “God, why did I even try…?”

It’s a laugh of surprise. One that starts from the belly and steals the breath, makes joy spill over. 

When I hear that, it’s like a little jolt to my chest. But a good one, this time. My smile begins to soften, become genuine; and it grows.

“Oh my god, that…that was awful. Terrible. Who allowed you out in public?”

I shrug, still smiling. “My mother dearest.”

“And I bet she’ll regret that decision for the rest of her life.”

I let out a chuckle before I remember what’s in my arms. “Oh, right! Uh, so about the pizza…?”

“Yeah, just leave it right at your feet.”

What. My eyes glance downward, meeting the rim of the manhole; and then they dart right back into the camera, narrowing.

“Right…at my feet,” I repeat.

“Uh-huh.”

“In front of the manhole?”

“Yupperoni,” he echoes, with humor.

I pause to press my lips together, trying to find the words. How can I say this without being an asshole…? 

Ah, fuck it.

“That doesn’t sound…sanitary, my dude.”

“Wow, you are new. Didn’t Daniel tell you anything before you left?”

“Daniel? Oh!” I suddenly remember the previous delivery boy, Gino’s youngest nephew. “Yeah, he packed up about a week ago and moved up to Binghamton. He’s going to school there.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Good for him, he seemed cool.” He pauses to sigh, so soft I nearly don’t hear it. “Must be nice…”

My head tilts while I stare into the camera. I kind of want to ask what he means, but…I dunno, that feels a bit too personal. 

Plus, as nice as talking to him is, I have a job to do.

Instead, I make a show of clearing my throat, eyes darting to the boxes of pizza. “So, uh. Gonna set this pizza down now…”

“Hmm…? Oh, yeah, go ahead.”

And, despite my reservations, I do. As soon as I stand up, though, he speaks again.

“Okay, now turn around. Just continue facing the camera.”

I raise an eyebrow at the request, but I don’t protest as I spin lightly on my heel. Carlos did say these guys were private. And the customer is always right or whatever.

But still. Can’t seem to help wanting to start a conversation.

“You guys really value your privacy, huh?”

He hums, while typing something in the background. “You could say that.”

“Any particular reason…?” I ask, still curious.

A pause.

“Let’s just say that our Sen—father, our father,” he seems to choke out, like he’s not used to it, “is rather…paranoid about our safety. For good reason, of course! But…yeah.”

I hum, my curiosity growing. Interesting.

“Say no more, my guy. I know a thing or two about overprotective parents,” I reply, shoving my hands in my jacket pockets. Damn, it’s really chilly now. Fall really has made its big return to the Big Apple. “Back when my dad was around, I could barely bring anyone over without him giving them an interrogation. Heh, forget when I discovered social media and the internet! Both him and my mom freaked when they found out I had Snapchat.” 

He chuckles. “Your mom too, huh?”

“Oh, yeah. It wasn’t as bad back then, but ever since my dad left…”

My mouth shut tight. Why did I reveal that? Usually, I hate talking about my dad. Just brings up so much stuff I’m still not ready to deal with. Why am I so…comfortable talking to this dude?

I wait with a sickening anticipation. Pretty sure he’s about to make a quip about my dad making that infamous milk run and never coming back. I can usually take that—got a retort saved for it whenever it comes up—but my stomach still feels tight regardless.

“…I’m sorry.”

Somehow, my body locks up even more. My gaze into the ring camera turns sharp, focused. But he continues, regardless—and he’s genuine. Sweet. Warm. In a way I don’t always hear from boys my age. Or girls, even. Most of us, especially if we’re coming from public school, we keep our feelings and squishy bits close to our chest. Hide it behind memes and jokes, and sharp barbs. I’ve tried not to, but it just became easier the older I got. If you learn how to hide behind a wall, no one can hurt you.

“I-I hadn’t…That must be hard.”

“It’s fine,” I say, a bit too quickly—an obvious hint that this is a lie—but I don’t falter. With a shrug, I add, very cool and casual, “It is what it is, y’know?”

“…”

Oh, I hate that. Please, don’t pity me. Believe me, I have cried enough over my dad this past year, I don’t need anyone else doing it.

Gotta change the topic.

“Uh, so who is picking up this pizza, anyway?”

Fortunately for me, he seems to get the hint. His voice shifts into a casual tone—likely wanting to get away from the unpleasant topic—as he replies:

“One of my brothers. Actually, he should be arriving—now.”

That’s when I feel it. Right behind me.

The soft landing of feet on concrete is near inaudible, if you aren’t paying attention. Me, I make it my mission to keep my senses as sharp as possible—at least while walking alone at night—so it isn’t the sound of feet landing that gets me. (Though I find it off-putting that there’s such an intent in its silence.) It’s the presence. The feeling of something looking at you with a piercing gaze. The subtle sensation of something near breathing down my throat. That insane itch on the back of your neck, one that causes a shudder to go down your spine. This feeling of something huge looming over me. 

Now, I’m barely five feet so that really isn’t hard. But I’ve sensed tall guys behind me before. This guy? Even without looking, I can tell that he’s huge. Massive. 

I swallow hard, feeling my neck break out in a cold sweat. Without wanting to, my head starts to turn back—

“Don’t turn around.”

A jolt goes through my chest and I quickly get back in position, staring into the camera.

“Sorry! I just…” I swallow again, my eyes darting around—making sure not to look back—before landing on the camera again. “Hey, you aren’t like…serial killers or something, right?”

A pause. Then he snorts.

“No, no we’re not serial killers. We’re not exactly—normal. But we’re not serial killers.”

I force a smile. Do I have any other choice except to believe him?

“Just another group of weirdos living in New York, huh?”

He snorts again, quickly turning into a chuckle.

“Oh, you have no idea.”

Despite still feeling some fear, curiosity prickles at the back of my neck as I stare into the camera. I can’t help wondering what that could mean.

“…Okay, you’re good, pizza girl! Money should be in the envelope.”

I immediately turn on my heel. In the place where the pizzas were sitting rests a white envelope. After picking it up, I quickly open it and count the cash. My eyes narrow at the amount I counted, and I count again. There’s just no way. Why would he…?

“Uh, you gave me a bit…too much, no?” I have to let him know. I love money as much as the next person, but it’d just be bad form to take something that wasn’t meant to be given. 

“Eh, I told him to give you a little extra. You look like you’ve been having a rough night.”

My mouth falls open at that, before spreading into a grin, my eyes falling on the amount that would be my tip. Maybe my luck is turning around, at least a little. I hope it’s a good sign, regardless.

“Thanks, man! You have no idea how much I appreciate this,” I tell him while pocketing the money for Gino’s in one part of my jacket and then my tip in another. Then I think. “What should I call you, by the way? Since this might become a regular thing or whatever.”

“...Donnie. You can call me Donnie. And you?”

And despite hearing my mother’s voice screaming in my head, I tell him.

“Cool. Nice to meet you!”

“Same here.” I lift a hand to wave, my smile broad. “See you around, Donnie!”

“Later, pizza girl.”

With all that said and done, I spin on my heel and start walking back to the alley. Back into the crowd of others in the city, strutting to their respective destinations. Turning around and taking a slow walk back to Gino’s car. I take a deep breath, feeling a strange sort of calm wash over me. I’m not sure how I can describe it. Maybe it’s the relief of a finished shift. Maybe it’s knowing that tomorrow is Thursday, and that Friday won’t be too far behind. Maybe it’s the security of having a nice amount of cash in my pocket.

Who knows?

What I do know is that, when I’m unlocking the car, I feel it again. That itch on the back of my neck. That feeling of being watched. 

At first, I look behind me. I see people walking by, but no one seems to be paying me any mind. 

And then I look up, my gaze falling to the top of a brick building, at the rim of a rooftop. My eyes narrow. I think I see something huge shifting in the shadows. A hint of eyes. But I’m not sure. It’s too far to tell.

I stare some more, feeling an odd weight in my stomach. Then, with much trepidation, I turn and continue unlocking the car door. I slide in and start the engine. I’m choosing to believe it’s nothing. Maybe this is all in my head. Maybe this is just another New York thing that I will never really understand. There are billions of people living in the five boroughs alone. A good percentage of the population is going to consist of the strange and unusual. That’s just how it is here.

In the end, that stuff doesn’t really matter to me. 

I have to drop off the payment and car to Gino, so he and Carlos can drive me home. Then I’ll deal with my mom—she’s likely home from her shift at the hospital and near drowning in wine, so she’ll need help getting into bed—and put my little brothers to bed. And then, in between finishing my homework and chatting with Sakina and Norman on Discord, I’ll put my tip earnings in the jar I keep under my bed.

And tomorrow will be another day of the same shit (more or less). Keep looking forward and mind your business, I tell myself while driving, even when something inside me still lingers and even starts to bloom.

[tekni-kali]

Day 22

10:11p, Saturday, May 20, 2023

This today has been quite an enjoyable today!

10:52p - murrrr!! I got sidetracked :( It is now 10:52 and the reason I got sidetracked is very exciting though, so I suppose it's not worth getting too sad face over.

Newho...TODAY WAS A GREAT DAY!! We adventured to the beach! I partook in a bit of sea bathing, head underwater, treading water deeper than I am tall. The water was beyond fathomingly comforting. I wrote in my journal! I think I'm going to type the entry here...ready? Here we go:

5:09pm, Saturday, May 20, 2023 I am at the Beach with Behb! I took pictures, maybe one day I'll actually buy photo paper & print one...maybe I'll leave space here so I can tape it in!! How many lines?

Mmm...Here seems good...so yeh! Em listening to music, actually super comfy. NGL... I am listening to the Kira Kira album by The Irresistable Force. It's a great vibe! The journal is on the pillow, that is serving as a table, propped up against my footrest for the lounge chair. The breeze is amazing. I'm texting my mother, pausing to look out across the vast gulf to my left every so often. My mom (Lady) is in NYC atm...apparently she logged her PR [runner lingo - personal record] for running in & completing a half marathon. She sent video of her engulfed in a crowd of others running through a rainstorm. I scolded her. -----------------> moving on. I am excited to be writing at the beach again! I got in the water! Did I write that already? Oh...IDC...at least now I'll remember how pleased I was with the experience of partaking in a bit of sea bathing at the Sandkey! KIRA KIRA IS COMPLETE, WHAT WILL I LISTEN TO NEXT?! OH! I got a snap! Let's Check! ----------------->05:32 05:38p - It is very hard to write & talk to people on my phone by text. But it's hard to do talking at the beach & I found an album to queue any so... We are now listening to: 5AM [song], Paradise Blown [Album], 9 Lazy 9 [Artist] --- I am glad to be pausing between messages to scribble sum synapse drops. Although it requires me to divert my attention, it is also serving as the topic for actually dropping. Plus, I cherish her dearly and I am enjoying making words with her. I want to remember to write about the email...I might switch to phone though because the wind is picking up...It is nice to adjust position & I am extremely comfortable...AND pleased with the level of ease in which it is being done. The album was released in 1994. -------------------------->06.04p

11:15p - so yeah....that's what I wrote in the journal while I was at the beach today. I took a bunch of pictures!!! But, not only did we go to the beach today! We both got haircuts -- I am very happy with it! It's nice and short and hopefully will take 3 weeks to need another. Plus I finally used the leave-in conditioner I bought...It smells very nice!! [Product URL: Pardon My Fro] While laundry was laund'rin, we walked to food and came back 20 minutes late. It was Saturday and we lucked out no one else was there. There have definitely been more stressful laundry visits...at least the television didn't get turned on this time until we were leaving...so that was nice. Lupe Fiasco [Sentrock is nice!] made folding and packing a breeze. After laundry, we dropped back by the house unloaded, showered, and hopped back in the car. As we crossed over the bridge and left the island, heading an hour westbound for the beach...and just as we hit the red light after coming off the bridge...raindrops began bombarding Bex's windshield.

:D Newho...time for bed now I s'pose. I typed more than I thought, should I draft it before clicky the blue button?!

:shrug:

-11:27p

[12:04a - I posted it!...but privately ^_^]

*Made public 11:12p - 05/21.

[chelleztjs18]

Hello you Mrs. Lefty eyebag Dark chocolate, Naan bread and rice dishes eater lover of pine tree smells and mother of a spoiled but probably amazing child. 😅

Yes, I had to take a deep breath to say all that, so it can make sense hahaha

That's cute, you're getting your dream house haha does it even snow in Oklahoma? Or get really cold? I bet the fire was beautiful to watch. I enjoy watching fire and hearing the crackling of the wood.

Also that's a great tradition you guys are doing, especially collecting Christmas ornaments from places. Would you ever start like a little Christmas village thing? I love the picture with the train under the tree! It is so pretty and magical looking.

Hopefully when you guys travel it won't be hectic since it is the holiday season. Imagine you guys get to CA and you bump into Elizabeth Olsen..😌

I am jealous of Emily. She gets a drum set and a bike! Hahaha are you ready for the music making she will do with the drums. One year I gave my niece a mini piano, her parents didn't want to take it home with them cause apparently it will be too noisy. I told them, that she needs it to learn how to play so she can be a famous pianist and support me when I retire hahahaha.

Hm no royal blue is a bit darker than the dodger blue I think 🤔

Reading all about indian food and sandwiches is making me hungry. I might go out to get a good sandwich from somewhere hahaha

Ok ok. What do you call a potato with gas? A tater toot. Ahahahaha🤣🤣🤣

Same same, I would fly too. After seeing pictures of what could be in the ocean, I noped myself out of being in the water.

Would you rather have an annoying high pitched voice or a deep manly voice?

-CuriousGeorge

Hello hello youuu! Hahaha. Oh geez, im glad u caught ur breath back after u call my long nickname.hahaha.

Sorry i was writing then i got tired n fell asleep. I woke up n went to the store so Em can make toll house cookies from scratch after i make dinner.. n i had dinner, then baked the cookie and i just sat.

Hows ur day?

Guess what? I'm allergic to pine tree😅 i just noticed it last night n today. I never cough n sneeze that bad but last night n today i cough and wheezing pretty bad, eyes were watery. It sucks.

Well, this is really not my dream house. I want a simple house with a few extra rooms but mainly hugeee kitchen with full bar and backyard or acres of property that's big enough to have a shooting range or archery range and batting cage to hit some baseball and i want it to be located with no neighbors or a few neighbors thats not too close to my house hahaha. But not too far in country side n not too far from the downtown or the city. So it will be quite but not too much in the middle of nowhere. N i dont have to struggle to break the ice or small talk with the neighbors. 😅🤣 i told u im weird.

Sometimes it snows here. It was snowing last week but not too much but yeah it gets really cold here.. It has tornado seasons too.haha.

Yeah we like to collect them. Maybe when we have more space n em is older i will start buying the village..haha. oh i also like to collect fridge magnet from whereever we travel.

Hahha i wish.. i dont know what i would do or how i would be if i see her. I froze n speechless when i met sally and jack from nightmare before christmas in disneyland, imagine how i would be if i see her 😅🤣

One of my friend sometimes go to the fancy supermarket Lizzie always go,, so he has a chance to see her but he doesnt even know her..he thought she is one of the designer twins. I was like dude?🤦‍♀️ hahahhaha.

Haha im not ready for the noise of the drum when em gets it, but i have to tolerate that. I was in 2 bands in junior high . I played drum n guitar. I want her gets used to musical instrument, i actually hope she plays cello someday. It's one of my favorite instrument.😅 or at least classical piano.

Haha thats very sweet n nice of u to give the piano for ur niece. Imagine someday she becomes a professional pianist.

Ah okay i think i kinda know how royal blue is. Its good color.

Omg, thats sooo funny.. tater toot 🤣🤣🤣🤣 more more more!

Yeah, thats why im not really a big fan of swimming, it scares me even sometimes in swimming pool scares me.haha. i still couldnt believe that i actually snorkled a few times 😅🤣

Oh also here is the picture of my favorite chocolates. Coincidencely all 5 of them are in one same row.haha.

Also, here is another of my favorites

The lindt lindor was the one was telling u.

I would choose deep manly voice.. high pitch voice annoys me, im kinda sensitive with noise, so it will be bad if i hv a voice that bothers me.🤣

Next question?

Cheerio!

[wonderlandleighleigh]

Can we have more of Gordon Ford being an asshole (to whatever degree you want to write?) I'd like to cement this negative characterization in the fandom's brain before we see literally anything significant from him.

I actually just wrote this the other day. It's a long one because I'm hoping it'll be a bigger story, but here ya go!

Jealousy isn’t something Lenny is too acquainted with these days. Obviously as a concept, he knows it. He’s felt it before (he married a stripper, after all. It happens), but these days, in his thirties, he generally doesn’t get head up about it.

He thought.

But seeing Gordon fucking Ford wrap an arm around Midge brings on that old, long-forgotten feeling of boiling blood and gritted teeth. 

He plays it cool, obviously. Lighting a cigarette and taking a slow puff as he chats with some reporters. Doing Gordon Ford’s show is a matter of course these days, to hype any project, and he’s got a run of big-ticket shows here in New York coming up. 

Midge is the house comedian. And Ford apparently thinks that makes her his girlfriend. 

Midge’s face says otherwise; that she’s trying to extricate herself without making a scene; that she does not want that man touching her. That she just wants to get this round of interviews over with so Lenny can take her out for a late dinner and then take a walk on a nice April night. 

“And what do you think of Midge Maisel?” the reporter asks. 

Lenny grins. “Other than being one of the funniest women out there right now, she’s also one of the kindest, and she’s drop dead gorgeous.” 

The reporter looks surprised. “Are you two an item?” 

Lenny’s grin widens. “Ask me tomorrow.” 

***** 

“I have an idea,” he tells her as they sit down to dinner. He’d picked somewhere a little more public; a little more trendy, and Midge looks excited, taking in the place. It’s certainly not one of their usual haunts. 

“Okay,” she says, turning to look at him. 

Lenny smiles and takes her hand. “You fucking hate when Gordon Ford decides to get handsy.” 

Her smile falls. “It’s getting a little aggressive,” she admits. “When I started it was an arm graze - which - whatever. Then it wrapped around my shoulder. Okay, maybe he’s friendly. But now it keeps snaking around my waist, and it’s been getting closer and closer to my ass. And look, I have a great ass, but he could at least buy me a drink first.” 

“Or,” Lenny smirks. 

“Or what?” she asks, tilting her head. “That look is a naughty look, Mr. Bruce.” 

“Or, Mr. Bruce and Mrs. Maisel could make things official,” he says. “And let the whole world know that we are an actual, honest-to-god, goes out to dinner, puts the kids to bed together couple, and Gordon Ford can fuck off.” 

Midge smiles slowly. “You want to be a real couple.” 

“It’s probably about time,” he shrugs. “We’ve been sneaking around since January.” 

“You’re jealous,” she surmises. 

“I most certainly am not.” 

She keeps smiling at him. It’s an infuriating smile. He loves it. He hates it. Ugh. 

“You’re jealous that I work on Gordon’s show and he’s around all the time,” Midge says.

“...I don’t like the way he looks at you,” Lenny admits. “And you don’t like it either, may I point out. This would solve both our problems.” 

She raises an eyebrow. “Are you ready for that level of public scrutiny? They’re gonna label us a ‘comedy power couple,’ they’re gonna follow us around with cameras, they’re gonna make up crazy stories about us.” 

“Ah, I’ve been outta the papers too long,” he jokes. “I’ve been too good a boy.” 

“Our managers are both going to lose their minds,” Midge reminds him. “Susie was happy to keep this quiet.” 

“Fuck ‘em,” Lenny waves a hand. “I’d rather kiss you in public and watch Ford wriggle like a worm on the hook.” 

Midge smirks as she looks past him at the door. “You’re in luck.” 

He lifts an eyebrow. “Oh, am I?” 

“Mhm. He just walked in with his buddies.”  

“A fortuitous turn of events.” 

She grins, leaning in. Her eyes are shifting between his own and behind him, where Ford and his asshole friends are. “How do you wanna play this?”

“What?” 

“Light kiss? Slow? Steamy? What’s the tacti-” 

The kiss is slow and soft, and tender. Like they’ve been doing this for three months. 

Which they have. 

He vaguely registers some chatter around them, but he likes focusing on Midge much more. He doesn’t care how red Ford’s face is, or if there are reporters fumbling for paper and pen. 

There’s just Midge. 

He ends it by shifting his lips to her cheek. “How’s that for tactics?” he asks softly. 

“Hm?” she asks dreamily, blinking at him.

Lenny grins. “How’s our friend doing?” 

“Oh,” Midge sits up, clearing her throat. “He looks pretty unhappy.” 

“Perfect. You hungry?” 

“Starving.” 

*****

“Tell me what this is.” 

Midge blinks down at the photo of her and Lenny kissing in the newspaper. “Just enough tongue to be indecent but not enough to get us thrown out of the restaurant.” 

“Miriam!” Susie cries. “I thought you two weren’t gonna make your relationship a bid deal!” 

“Well, things changed,” Midge tells her. “And once my sandwich gets here, I will explain.” 

“Explain now.” 

“Susie, I promise it’s gonna be fine. Nothing is different.” 

“Except that the entire world thinks you got where you are by fucking Lenny Bruce,” Susie grouses. 

“They already thought that.” 

“You didn’t have to give ‘em confirmation!” 

Midge takes a deep breath. “We found it inconvenient to keep sneaking around.” 

“Inconvenient how?” Susie demands. “Your parents already know. His mother knows. I know, and his manager knows. Why do this?” 

“To get Gordon Ford to back off,” Midge tells her. 

Susie goes quiet. 

“Susie-” 

“I’ll kill him,” she says simply. “I’ll rip his balls out through his throat.” 

“Nothing happened,” she assures her. “But…it was starting to head in that direction, so Lenny and I…decided to make things a little more overt.” 

“A little?!” Susie grabs the paper. “Miriam. This is not a little.” 

“Everyone who’s seen me on Gordon’s show knows I’m talented,” Midge argues. “Dating Lenny publicly doesn’t change that.” 

Susie groans. “Fine. Fine. Okay. Fine. You’re public. Fine. Great. We’ll just- hope this doesn’t bite us in the ass.” 

***** 

David Fidel is a good manager. Understanding. Very patient. Lenny is lucky to have him. But he can be a pain in the ass. 

“This is…actually great,” Dave nods. “This is the most innocuous thing you’ve ever been in the papers for. It’s downright fucking adorable, to be honest.” 

“Gee, thanks.” 

“I mean, kissing the girl you’ve been seeing for months in public can’t get you arrested or blacklisted from a club. I will take it.” 

“You’re too excited.” 

“Hey! You’ve got that gig next week in Harlem. Let’s get her a reserved table.” 

“Dave-”

“And I’ll schedule a late breakfast for the two of you for the next day!” 

“Oh, jesus.” 

“This is gonna be the most adorable thing you’ve ever done,” Dave promises. “Or I’ll die trying to make it be.” 

“God, I hate you.” 

Dave picks up the phone. “Bonnie! Make sure there’s a reserved table for Midge Maisel at Lenny’s next show, and make sure there’s a rose settled there.” 

“Fuck you, Dave.” 

Dave grins at him. “Her favorite color is pink, right? Bonnie! Make it a pink rose.” 

Lenny rubs his eyes and wishes he could throw himself out the window.

***** 

Midge gets ready for the show the next night, turning around and coming face-to-face with Gordon. 

“Whoa!” she yelps. “Hi, Gordon. Ready to break a leg tonight?” 

“Sure,” he says, watching her as she turns back to the mirror to fix her makeup. “I uh…saw the whole thing with Lenny Bruce.” 

She smiles, mostly to herself. 

“How long has that been going on?” Ford asks awkwardly. 

“Well, we danced around it for a long time,” she shrugs. “Years, actually. But we officially started dating at New Years, and we decided to keep it quiet. You know how the press can be. But…” she sighs heavily for effect. “We’ve been getting tired of the sneaking around.” 

“Oh. Well. Good for you. I guess.” 

[imaginingmanyfandoms]

Paul's Lullaby | part two

<previous | next>

It had been a few days since your attack on the beach. Since then, Paul really didn't like when you were home alone. Or walking to work alone. Or anywhere alone really. It didn't have to be with him, but he needed to know he, or someone he trusted could get to you in time.

He was worried that the leech had caught your scent, and would come back. Sam didn't think so, Sam was under the impression that this person was actually testing their lines, and he wouldn't let the same mistake happen again. You were still waiting for Paul to tell you the whole truth, but you were being patient, as he had been with you. It was clear that whatever it was, was hard for him to say.

Your couch was permanently occupied by Paul, who picked you up from work to drive you home. And if he couldn't make it, he'd send one of the pack, or one of the imprints to pick you up and bring you to Emily's house.

You were cautiously optimistic about where things were going with Paul. There was still some trust issues, but you were working on it together. And no matter how much Embry or Jared talked about Paul's anger issues, you didn't really see it.

Currently, you were at Emily's, sitting on the couch and trying to stay awake until Paul got there. He made you feel safe.

"Have you seen this?" Emily asked holding a newspaper. There were missing people all over Seattle. It's what had Paul working overtime. He was pulling more than his fair share, and you knew that had to do with you. But you didn't understand what.

"Is anyone ever going to tell me what's going on?" you asked, but your tone was light, joking. Emily laughed, and sat by your legs on the couch.

"Paul really is taking his time, huh?" She gave you a sad smile. "He's doing that for your benefit."

"I know, I know," you said. "I'm just really confused. I swear the scenarios I'm making up in my head must be worse."

"Probably," she said. You both laughed this time.

"Well he better snap to it."

"I'm heading to bed," Emily said, patting your leg over the thin blanket. "You okay out here?"

"Yeah, thanks Em. Goodnight," you said.

"Goodnight."

"Wake up honey."

Paul was gently shaking your arm. He was sitting on the edge of the couch, trying to wake you up as nicely as possible. Jared laughed in the background at how soft Paul was around you, but quickly said his goodbyes as he took the night patrol. It takes a tough guy to make fun of someone and then rush out the door. But Paul didn't care.

"Paul?" you asked, finally coming to. "What time is it?"

"Late, it's very late."

"Take me home," you said, holding your arms out to him.

"I like you when you're sleepy, you're very nice." Paul picked you up, and said a quick goodbye to Sam as you closed your eyes again. It made Sam smile.

Paul carried you to his pick up truck, and got you settled into the passenger seat. He even did up your seat belt. You woke up a little more, but your squirming and stretching was the cutest thing to him. He was so enamoured with you. He didn't really care how long it took until you trusted him. Or even if you never wanted to be with him, he didn't care. As long as he got to be around you, he would be fine.

"Let's watch a movie tonight," you said, yawning right after.

"I don't think you'll be able to stay awake," he said, smiling.

"Can we try?"

"How about we watch something tomorrow, after work?"

"Okay," you said, closing your eyes again. "Tomorrow."

You fell back asleep before you got home. Paul was driving slowly, and the cool air was filtering in through his open window. He was listening to some folk band, and the whole thing just lulled you to sleep.

When he parked the truck, he did everything he could to get you into your room without waking you up, and he was pretty successful. But as he was tucking you into bed, you woke up a little. He moved to leave but you grabbed his wrist.

"Goodnight Paul," you said, not letting go of his wrist.

"Goodnight honey," he said, daring to lean down and kiss your forehead. You made a happy sound as you rolled over, getting comfortable in bed.

Paul would've done anything in the world to crawl into bed with you and fall asleep. But he was happy just to be here.

So, Paul went back to the couch. And got as comfortable as he could, and fell asleep, reminding himself that you were safest when he was here. And that he was doing a good job protecting you.

The next morning went better than most mornings. You woke up in a good mood, and decided to make breakfast for Paul. He'd been working so hard to protect you, that he deserved at least a fraction of that devotion back.

You made the lot, pancakes and eggs. A small fruit salad and a plate of bacon. While the pot of coffee finished, Paul wandered into the kitchen stretching.

"Mmm," he groaned, "something smells good."

"I made you breakfast," you said, a smile on your face.

Paul was in love with you, that much he knew for sure. And today he got his first sign that maybe you were at least starting to fall for him too. It was a good day.

"Eat up," you said. "I have to work in a few hours."

"You're going to eat too, right?" he asked.

"Of course I am," you said, stopping before you left the room. You turned on the radio against the wall. It was some band you'd never heard of, but it was nice enough. Paul was already filling his plate, but you went to pour two coffees. "Cream, sugar?"

"Just black," he said, mouthful of food. "Just come sit."

"All right," you said. "But for the record I wanted the coffee."

You chose the chair beside him, instead of across from him, and he took note of that but didn't say anything. You smiled at him, and he smiled back, like he always did.

Breakfast was relatively quiet, you made small talk about what was going on that day, but mostly you just enjoyed the silence. It didn't feel awkward, it felt right. It felt comfortable. When you were done, Paul wasn't. So you carried your plate to the sink, and rubbed your hand across his back as you passed. His breath hitched slightly, and it made you smile, thinking about how different Paul was.

Maybe it was time you cut him a little slack.

When he finished, Paul helped you clean up. And even shooed you away to get ready for work while he did the dishes.

"Thank you," he said, as you walked back down the hallway. He wiped his hands on a dishcloth and dropped it back on the counter. He leaned back, and you couldn't help but notice how beautiful he is.

"Thank you for being here," you said, suddenly self conscience under his intent stare at you. You pulled your sweater sleeves over your hands, keeping the fabric pinched between your fingers.

"I uh, packed up the rest of the fruit salad. I thought you might like to have it at work." Paul had one of your Tupperware containers sitting on the counter.

"And the bacon?"

He looked guilty. "I ate it."

"It's okay!" you said, laughing at his face. "It was made to be eaten."

He drove you to work, and although you missed to walk, you knew you'd get back to it eventually. When he dropped you off, you hesitated to leave. Paul sat patiently, giving you a moment to collect yourself.

"I want the truth tonight," you said.

"Honey..."

"Just, think about it from my perspective. I have no idea what it is I should be scared of, I have no idea where you work or why you're gone all the time. I'm worried about you, and I'm scared."

"I'm scared too." Paul took a deep breath. "I'm scared that something will happen to you. But mostly I'm scared that if you know the truth you'll be scared of me."

"I wouldn't."

"You don't know that," he said, he looked terrified. "You hated me earlier this month. Couldn't even look at me throughout high school and I am so embarrassed about that. And it's going to be even more embarrassing when I tell you everything because then you'll know that we didn't make eye contact from two years attending the same school."

"I'm sure we made eye contact," you said.

"No." He looked at you, and you could see the pain in his eyes. "We didn't." The look on his face made you hurt. It made your heart deflate, and you would've done anything to see him smile again.

You unclicked your seat belt, but didn't move as it sprang back into place. It didn't feel right to leave the air like this.

The heat he gave off seemed to float right into your space, and there was something about his presence that made you feel more settled than you had in a long time. You wanted to touch him, so you leaned across the middle seat, and placed a tender kiss against his cheek.

"Just think about it," you said, sliding back towards the door and starting to get out. You didn't want to leave him feeling sad, but you had to get to work.

"Have a good shift," he said, watching you leave. He hated watching you walk away.

"You too."

Work had been horrible. Your boss was kind of a jerk, and waiting tables had really lost it's appeal. You'd been serving tables in La Push's best diner, but when the new owners took over, it quickly began to lose it's charm. You wanted to buy it when they were selling, but coming right out of high school you didn't have that kind of cash.

You just felt kind of miserable, so when you saw Jared and Kim waiting for you outside, you just felt annoyed. You were under the impression you and Paul had made plans.

"Hey," Kim said, smiling from the passenger seat. You got in behind Jared. "Don't worry. Paul said another hour, tops."

"Can you guys just take me home? I had a long day and I just want to relax," you asked, pulling your upper body between Jared and Kim's seats.

"I don't know, Y/N," Jared said, making a worried face. "I don't think Paul would like that."

"C'mon Jared," you said. "I'll lock the doors, and I'll call you if I get nervous."

"Jared, she wants to go home." Kim smiled at you. You really liked her.

He rolled his eyes and started the car. "When he freaks out on me, I'm throwing you both under the bus."

"He won't get mad at us," you said, "he said himself. An hour tops."

Jared and Kim were actually really great travel companions. Kim always made sure you were included in conversation, and Jared was not afraid to sing at the top of his lungs which was hilarious. They really cheered you up.

And of course, they waited until you were in your house to pull away.

Inside, you were tired, and cold. And you had wanted to spend some time with Paul. But he said an hour, and you figured we wouldn't lie about that. It wasn't too late that you couldn't give him some of the patience that he had given you.

So you spent the time bringing out some blankets, and pillows. When that was done you made some popcorn and fresh lemonade.

Paul should've been there any second. So you just spent some time tidying up the place. You saw some fabric poking out from under on the blankets, and you yanked on it, pulling out one of Paul's shirts. You laughed. Because it seemed rare to even see him in a shirt.

You pulled your shirt over your head, and put on his instead. Your shorts were hidden by his baggy shirt, even baggier on your small frame.

Twigs snapped outside the window, and you gasped. You knew you locked the door, but decided on checking the windows too. Just so you could say that you did. They were all locked. When you walked back into the living room, Paul was standing there - jaw clenched tight just like his fists were. But you could see the restraint. You could tell he was actively calming himself. You took a step closer.

"Don't," he said, voice cracking. He closed his eyes, hating the way you stop dead in your tracks. He didn't want to scare you. "I told you that I didn't want you here alone for a reason."

"I was so tired after work," you explained. "I wanted to sit on the couch and watch a movie like normal people do."

"I am trying to make things as normal as possible for you," he said, the anger was already washed away, but it wasn't gone. Not entirely. "You just have to trust me."

"How can I trust you when you don't trust me?" you said, voice starting to raise with unavoidable frustration.

"You think that I don't trust you?"

"I'm not allowed to be by myself, how else would you like me to interpret that?" You felt tears brimming at your eyes, the confrontation bringing out your anxiety.

"If we're going to fight, I need you to take three steps back."

"For what?"

"Your safety."

"What does that mean?" you shouted. "Are you scared you'll hit me?"

"I would never hit you," he shouted back. "How could you even think that?"

"I don't want to argue," you said, quietly. "I'm sorry I shouted."

He saw the sad look in your eyes, and could've kicked himself for driving you to this. He nodded, prying his eyes away from your sad ones to look anywhere else. He looked at your shirt, for the first time, and even though he was angry with you, he loved the sight. It calmed him down knowing it was you, in his shirt, a couple feet away.

He held his hand out, palm up for you to take. You did, and he guided you, as if you were dancing - not fighting, to the couch. You sat beside him, and he kept your hand in his.

"I need you to really listen to me," he said, his eyes glossing over with the realization that if he loses you, he'd never be whole again. "For now, I need you to follow all my rules. Even when they seem excessive, or dumb. And in return I will explain everything. And I won't keep any secrets from you."

"I can do that," you said. "If you're always honest with me, I'll be honest with you."

"Okay, tomorrow I'll explain everything. You're off, right?"

"Yeah," you said, shuffling over so you could lean your head against Paul's shoulder. "Can we watch our movie now?"

He put an arm around you, and you fit to him. Like you were always meant to be there. Well, technically, you were.

"Yeah, honey. We can watch a movie now."

[if you want to be added to a taglist for this story then let me know :-)]

[starlessea]

Bonfire

Drabble: Based on numbers #18 and #20 from this prompt list for @suranne-doesstuff​

Masterlist

Buy Me A Coffee

The flames flickered high, the smoke stifled, and your eyes stung.

“This is wrong,” you muttered, barely audible over the crackle of the bonfire.

You were suffocating from the stench — from the words choked on your tongue as you tried to find your voice.

“We should be digging graves and-”

“Don’ have the time,” Daryl snapped, as another log broke on the fire.

You swallowed thickly in disbelief.

The dead were being stacked high on the bonfire, like jenga blocks ready to burn and fizzle into the grey-smoked air. The smell of cooked flesh was enough to turn any stomach ten times over — but at the moment nothing could make you more sick than the words that were just uttered.

“They’re people, Daryl!” you yelled, finally reaching your own breaking point in time with the splintering of those burning logs.

You could feel your chest rise and fall, your lungs fill with ash and the taste of decay.

The man shook his head — you caught it in your peripheral.

“Nah,” he growled, “they were people.”

Silence fell heavy amongst you as he chewed on his next words, before ultimately deciding to spit them out.

“Now they’re jus’ bodies, same as the rest of ‘em.”

You froze.

You’d come to expect the minimum from the Dixon brothers, but the last thing you could ever expect to hear Daryl Dixon say was that.

Your palms clenched into trembling fists as you watched more of your friends get dumped onto the flames, and your jaw tightened with every thought you could no longer hold back.

“How can you be so heartless?” you finally asked — coming out as a seething whisper. “Don’t you care at all-”

You finally tore your gaze away from the pitt to look at the man.

And once again, you froze.

Daryl’s eyes were glassy.

Not from the stench, nor the smoke — you just knew.

You knew the redness of his cheeks wasn’t from the heat of the fire, and the wetness on his lashes wasn’t due to the ash (because that only made your eyes dry).

No, you realised. This was emotion.

Once again, the two of you resumed your silence — watching over the bonfire without exchanging a single word.

The two of you stared out into that fiery blaze — Daryl pretending not to notice how your shoulders shook, and you acting oblivious to how his sagged low.

At one point or another, your hand found his, and your fingers intertwined in a way that meant no more than the action itself — not for now, at least, as the pair of you only watched the bonfire.

“Once this is all over,” you whispered, before clearing your throat. “Once this is all over we’ll carve headstones for them,” you told the man — and caught him nod smally in your peripheral.

You squeezed his hand, and to your surprise, he squeezed back.

“They were people,” you finally agreed, rubbing circles over his coarse skin with your thumb. “And it’s okay to mourn for the dead.”

Feedback is always welcomed; I love hearing what you all think - so feel free to comment, send in an ask, or just message me if you want to chat!

Also, if you enjoy my writing, you might want to buy me a coffee or commission me - tips are always appreciated. Thank you for reading!

A/N Gotta sprinkle in some angst with big softie daryl tm

heading to bed now as I am tired af but I’ll get the rest done throughout the week!

Tag List:

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[leviiattacks]

CASHIER LEVI AND LIKE THE READER IS THE CUSTOMER AND IT’S LIKE THEY HAVE A CRUSH ON EACHTOHER

author note :: honestly not my best at all..... like at all..... this was actually pretty good but the entire draft got deleted and i just lost all my effort but i felt bad for starting it and not completing it for anon so you may take whatever i have managed to salvage. i hope u enjoy it :’( i am extremely sick rn and yeah writing is the only break i am currently getting from anything :-) SO AGAIN I’ M SORRY ANON..... i may write a 10k + word fic on this though so i can redeem myself bc this is just disappointing 😭

word count :: 3.3k

every single thursday you stop by ackermart. maybe it’s because the day is convenient for you or perhaps it’s because of a certain cashier that works the evenings...

HAHA it’s got nothing to do with a cashier why would it have anything to do with a cashier? :-)

today is like any other. you walk through the fresh produce aisle then proceed to make your way towards the bakery section picking up a loaf of bread

it’s stupid, you know it is but... you think you’ve worked up enough courage to speak to him today!!

and who is him you may ask?

levi at till number four. his tired eyes always happen to pierce into yours and his calloused thumbs brush past your skin when you hand him your rewards card

levi is what his bright red name tag says and although he doesn’t look like a levi you’d like to think your crush isn’t stealing someone’s identity so you believe that it’s his real name

anxiously fiddling with your basket you’re beginning to think this was a horrible idea

the girl ahead of you is flirting up a storm with him and although he’s not reciprocating it by any means you still feel deterred

levi bags the last of her groceries and looks up at her when she asks for a way to contact him. he doesn’t look mad... just bored?

“ma’am. this is an ackermart i don’t think it’s appropriate you ask me for my number. the customer service line is listed on our website.”

the woman raises a brow looking completely flabbergasted. okay, if everything before this wasn’t a warning THIS sure was

she stomps off when she realises levi isn’t kidding and you think you’d feel bad for her maybe if she was more respectful about it

“next customer.” levi calls over his shoulder and you shuffle forward pretending to be engrossed in your phone

“cash or card?” he asks plainly.

you hear the BEEP of your groceries being scanned and think on it for a while before replying with “cash”

you’re clearly pretty good at your pretend to be totally into your phone act because levi tries to get your attention but you don’t hear what he has to say till the third time he repeats himself

but even then you’re still unsure what it is he’s said????

looking down you see his hand is stuck out in front of you and now you’re even more confused

faltering for a second you look at his palm and then speak

“um, i guess your hand is nice? it’s pretty big compared to the rest of you actually.”

“i was asking for your cash?” he says and now you look at his palms in mortification

gasping you yANK your hand into your purse as you laugh awkwardly fishing around to find your money

“oh, OH i knew that. just kidding!! i mean- i meant that thing about your hand?? but i thought it was- i funny? yes the joke funny? i’m-”

he leans back into his spinning chair and sighs contently. “you’re not making much sense peaches.”

“pe- peaches??” you repeat. no way you’ve heard that correct

levi lazily points at the abundance of the aforementioned fruit in your grocery bags

“you must love em.”

“i, well yeah i do like peaches but i also like...” um??? what food would make you look sophisticated and professional?

OH YEAH

“FRENCH CUISINE :-)!!!!” you say rather proudly

“...cool. i guess.” levi hands you your grocery bag which is basically an invitation asking for you to get out

he doesn’t seem mad but he’s definitely going to look back at this encounter and laugh his ass off at how stupid you are

hanging your head down low in embarrassment you make your way out towards your car

there’s always next time!! maybe you can practice in the mirror yeah that does sound like it would help!!!

okay so.

it is officially next time.

actually you never got the opportunity to practice in front of the mirror because you chickened out of looking like an idiot even if it was in the privacy of your own home

but!!! you did try to practice some cool pick up lines because who doesn’t like a good pickup line or two??

the two mini milk cartons in your hand and the pack of doughnuts you have tucked under your arm aren’t too heavy so you aren’t too worried about having to wait in the line

for some reason the guy in front of you keeps turning around and glancing at you as if you don’t even exist

you are not casper the ghost

also casper is a little boy and you definitely aren’t a little boy

finally after a good five minutes the man ahead of you is having his stuff scanned but he’s STILL doing it. even levi notices and gives him an odd look which borders annoyance and anger.

“can i pay for your groceries? maybe walk you to your car?” the stranger asks suddenly

so that’s what this is, he’s simply taken an interest in you

my god this is new but it is uncomfortable and you’d rather say no

“oh, i actually walked here and no thanks i can pay for my own. enjoy the rest of your day!!” you hope your white lie is enough to fool the man but instead of agreeing as any other person would he looks majorly deceived

“i saw you in the parking lot.” ok this is getting a bit too uncomfortable for your liking

“c’mon i’m offering to buy your shit too?”

his voice is raising and you’re not sure what exactly you can do but thankfully for you the manager steps in and takes him away before any more threats can be made

the man had taken up so much of your attention you almost forgot levi was even there until you turned back around

“do you want a member of staff to accompany you to your car? it’s getting dark out.” levi’s comment helps ease your nerves and you try to laugh off what just happened

“i’m good :-)” you say shaking a little. you’re unsure if it’s the cold or the fact you still haven’t completely calmed down

“you sure peaches?”

“i haven’t bought any peaches this time.”

“you’re still peaches to me.” your cheeks flush at his confidence

wait, maybe this is your chance. you’re the last person in his line and they’re closing up for the day so...

“could you walk me to my car?”

and to your surprise even before you can take back what you’ve said levi agrees

it stays like that for a while.

every thursday levi walks you to your car by the end of his shift, all the while the two of you exchange a few words together

like last week you asked him what his favourite colour was (he said purple) you’ve learnt about his hobbies (he’s a decent cook), you’ve even found out about some of his own personal problems. he had mentioned suffering with insomnia in passing.

to be honest each and every time he walks you to your car he has to notice that you begin to park further and further away from the front entrance. but if he does notice he doesn’t say a word about it

“is that all you’re checking out?” you ask with a cheeky grin plastered across your face

looking down at your new dress your lopsided grin is far from fading away any time soon. you especially picked this one out after asking levi what his favourite colour was last week

god. this is so embarrassing but never actually have you had a crush this huge

levi who’s sat behind the counter shoots you a look which almost seems to be on the verge of uninterested. he isn’t entertaining this at all or this is just his typical bored face, you can’t really tell

BUT..... you still have a huge crush on him and you aren’t one to give up this easily

for the record you don’t harass him or anything, just the occasional hint is thrown around but he’s either really dense or doesn’t care

his expression does you no favours, you can’t tell what he’s thinking half the time

“you’re always buying energy drinks... might want to cut down on those they’re no good for you.”

warmth blooms in your chest. he’s just saying it to make small talk but the fact he even thinks to bring that up has your heart fluttering

“i- well- yeah i will!! just have a few overdue essays to get over with :-)” twiddling your thumbs together you think that makes your nerves too obvious so you begin to scratch at the back of your neck

if anything is a dead give away it’s your constant neck scratching, thankfully levi hasn’t picked up on it

“so you wore purple today?” his eyes linger on the thin straps of your dress and you feel the goosebumps rise up onto your skin immediately

“oh yeahhhh-”

“did i tell you yellow was my favourite colour last week?” he asks holding up a neon yellow pack of crisps and for the first time you see him smile

he looks so ?!|>\€|^ pretty ?!/)/&

wait?? yellow??

“didn’t you say purple?”

“no?” he crosses his arms playfully over his chest thinking for a bit

“maybe i did but no it’s really yellow.” he says as he hands you your bag

nodding your head you smile “yeahhhh sure it is.”

damn, now you’re going to have to find a yellow dress just to make him revert back to purple because who even likes yellow?? that’s a deal breaker right there??

update

it’s been two weeks!!

and a yellow dress has been found and secured B-)

it’s been a pretty rough day at work and you need to desperately collect a pack of green tea and get going

you don’t know when exactly being a secretary meant you had to babysit your boss’ children but that’s what the last week has entailed

being made to work overtime to this extent has had an effect on you and you’re ready to head home as soon as you swing by ackermart

not seeing levi for a week made you a little :-( because to be honest he’s the highlight of your thursday evening BUT!! you’ll be able to see him today at least

walking in through the entrance you’re met with connie smiling right at you, he holds the door open for you and smile back greeting him

“so you didn’t come last week...?”

it’s weird for him to ask that, after all you don’t really speak to anyone here apart from levi, you’re surprised you’re enough of a regular to be known by name

“oh i didn’t think anyone would notice? but yeah i had to work overtime you know what boss’ are like.” groaning you crouch down and look at the pot noodles on display

“i didn’t notice it. boss man did.”

“boss man?” you ask feeling out of loop

“levi.” connie answers as he hops into the backroom

????

isn’t he just a cashier??

“you still look confused.” connie remarks as he heads back out with a cardboard box full of pringle’s tubes

“levi’s the boss man, this is his store. he literally only ever mans the cash register on thursday evening because of you.”

at that you start laughing because it makes no sense at all to you

there’s no way connie is being serious

“good one.” you say as you stand up with a chicken flavored noodle in your hand

“i’m not kidding?”

turning around you give him a skeptical look

he sighs and shakes his head.

“listen. me and the part timers are tired of making bets on when he’ll give you his number and i bet that it would happen today so if you could confess to each other that would be perfect!!!”

“who said i like-”

“anyone with a brain can tell you both like each other.” he’s rolled his eyes so far into the back of his head you begin to take him a little more seriously now

“i... did i make it that obvious??” you’re directly facing him trying to get out as much information as you can

“yeah. very. at least levi wasn’t as bold.”

“i think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick he definitely doesn’t like me.”

connie gives you an “are you fucking with me?” look and you look away trying to distract yourself with the the canned goods lining the shelves

“he was worried sick when you didn’t come in for the entire week. he even asked me if he scared you away.”

“maybe i’m just his favourite customer?”

“favourite customer my ass he has a crush on YOU. confess.”

playing around with the ends of your sleeves connie sees he’s fighting a losing battle unless he gives you definitive solid proof

“please... i’ll get free barbecue if i win the bet and i’m kinda broke rn :-(” okay, you do want connie to eat well and be treated and maybe this is a good thing. if levi doesn’t like you then you can move on!!

“i’ll think about it.”

before connie can continue talking you make a beeline towards the tea aisle whilst throwing a “see you next time!” over your shoulder.

by the time you’ve gathered all of your groceries your basket is full to the brim. you’ve been lingering as much as you can out of fear but you think you’ve collected just enough courage to ask for his number

looking at the cash register levi is sat there and your shoulders slump. he’s probably going to say no and you’re going to look like a huge loser.

right as you’re about to take a step towards him levi finally spots you and gives you one look before standing up from his seat

“hi!” you wave at him

“...hey!” he smiles wide but he bites it back pretending it was never there in the first place

placing your basket in front of him he eyes what you’ve got

“hm... lots of peaches as per usual peaches.” the nickname that rolls of his tongue makes you tremble a little. will he call you that after you fuck everything up with this stupid confession?

his tongue pokes at the inside of his cheek when he gets to the heart shaped box of chocolates

“a gift for a friend? didn’t know you had those?” he teases as he scans the barcode

“gift for a crush!” you reply back enthusiastically as you dig through your wallet looking for your card

levi doesn’t respond for a few seconds and an awkward silence fills the air. you glance up to see him looking at you open mouthed in shock

“good luck.” he murmurs under his breath he’s not even returning your gaze at this point and is hurriedly scanning through your barcodes

“you okay?” you ask worrying about his mood

“yeah, yeah. great.” he’s quieter than usual.

the rest of your encounter is the same, levi silently bags your groceries and you can’t tell if this is a good or bad response.

just as he’s about to place the heart shaped box into your plastic bag you lunge forward holding his wrist to stop him

“no i don’t need those.”

he cocks his eyebrow upwards trying to analyse your expression and gain an understanding of your thoughts

“don’t tell me you’re chickening out. whoever it is will say yes.” he scoffs as he places the chocolates into the bag handing them over to you with a warm smile

there it is again. the fear returns and you swipe your tongue over your slightly dry lips.

no way.

is he telling you to confess to someone now? so he must not like you?

taking the bag away from him you scratch your neck out of habit and huff feeling frustrated

“he keeps giving me mixed signals.” you say hoping he catches your drift

“give him the chocolates and let him put two and two together. don’t even say anything.” his advice would be great if he weren’t the guy you were trying to confess to in real time

nodding you reach into the bag and bring the box back out before gently placing it in front of levi

“are you serious?” he asks and your face drops seeing the possible displeasure in his eyes

great, connie and the part timers just over analysed he doesn’t like you, obviously he doesn’t like you, why would he like you?

without looking back you hurry out, the embarrassment is eating you away now and the thought of ever returning to ackermart isn’t even feasible in your mind

at this point you may as well change your name, identity, dye your hair, have a few children and wear sunglasses the next time you come back so you look like a soccer mum and not the foolish y/n who thought they had a chance with their cute CASHIER???

god, you probably look like a creep

the sound of footsteps can be heard behind you and labored breaths follow before levi calls out for you

“please wait up.” he grumbles. slowing down your pace you let him catch up to you. he grabs at your wrist and sighs in relief

turning you see him savour the air

is this the part where he confesses he likes you too or—

“your receipt you forgot it.” he gasps as he opens your hand for you and places it into your palm

oh.

fingers clasping shut onto the paper you feel the humiliation seep into your pores

this.

is.

the.

worst.

moment.

of.

your.

life.

“open it.” he offer you a boyish smile and your nerves don’t let you find comfort in it

you grimace as you fold it open, you’re imagining he’s charged you an extra £100 for having unwanted feelings for him and if that’s the case you’ll die on the spot

but instead your eyes light up in joy. you’re pleasantly surprised

...

inside of the receipt is his phone number haphazardly sprawled across in black biro - you even double check by comparing it to the number for the customer service helpline

hello??

HELLO.?.!/)£ HIS NUMBER???

“if you just wanted to return the chocolate this is embarrassing.” he’s the one who’s now scratching at his neck and you find that he’s endearing this way

the streetlight from above illuminates him, the shadows cast over his face and his brows aren’t furrowed as they usually are

you open your mouth to reply but connie cuts you off unintentionally. he can be heard YELLING into his phone ecstatic that his plan has worked out

“I WIN!!! HA BBQ’S ON YOU JEAN!! MUST SUCK TO BE YOU.”

you and levi look at each other and laugh, reassuring the other of what has just happened.

well...

you guess this is the start of something new? maybe??

:-)

[seaside-writings]

Hello, all you wonderful people!

I hope you're all ready for another super long prompt list because today is the 10th anniversary of the one and only "Gravity Falls" which to this day is still one of my favorite shows in existence.

The world-building and the characters are top-notch in my opinion, and it doesn't matter how many times I watch it, it never gets old and I doubt it ever will.

This amazing show that touched so people first aired in 2012 on June 15th, where it completely stole my heart thanks to a gnome puking up a rainbow.

Since then it's become one of my comfort shows and never fails to put a smile on my face, so celebrate "Gravity Falls" and all its weirdness, I've made this prompt list of all of my favorite bits of dialogue from every character.

I do hope you all enjoy this prompt list, and if it doesn't help you write, I at least hope it makes you smile and gives a little bit of nostalgia.

I hope you all stay blessed and safe throughout your day.

Lots of Love & Wishes: Celia 💙

Prompt List:

"You think the world makes sense? NOTHING MAKES SENSE! SO YOU MIGHT AS WELL MAKE NONSENSE!" - "You're scared. Of growing up. And who could blame you; I'm scared, too," - "Remember! Reality is an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!" - "Three, four, five, six," "Your wife is going to be beautiful!" "Yes!" "Come on, we've got a big break in the case!" "Let's go!" "But will she love me?! - "Romance is like gum: Once it's lost its flavor, you just cram another one in." - If you accidentally eat the prize that comes inside your cereal, does that make you a specially-marked box?" - "He's looking at it, he's looking at it!" "Uhh, do you like me? Yes, definitely, absolutely?" "I rigged it!" - "Do we have a ladder?" "Studies show owning a ladder is more dangerous than a loaded gun. That's why I own ten guns, just in case some fool tries to sneak in here with a ladder," - "You! You can't even imagine what you just cost me! Do you have any idea what I'm like when I'm mad?" - "Is this legal?" "When there's no cops around, anything's legal!" - "Dude, am I a side character?" - "Hey, hey! Let go of my sister!" "Oh, hey there. You know this is all really just a big misunderstanding. You see, your sister's not in any danger. She's just marrying all 1,000 of us and becoming our gnome queen for all eternity. Isn't that right, honey?" "You guys are butt-faces!" - "The future is in the past. Onwards, Aoshima!" - "For one trillion years I've been trapped in my own decaying dimension, waiting for a new universe to call my own," - "Ugghh... I'm never gonna eat or do anything ever again," "Hey! There's still some left!" "EVIL!" - "But you can call me your new lord and master for all of eternity!" - "Songs are like hugs that mouths give to ears!" - "Now, who wants to put on some blindfolds and get into my car?" "YAY!" "Wait, what?" - "I must warn you, these statues come at a terrible price," "Twenty dollars?! I'll just take 'em when you're not lookin'," "What?" "I said I was gonna rob ya," - "You can't force someone to love you. The best you can do is strive to be someone worthy of loving," - "Time is dead and meaning has no meaning. Existence is upside-down and I reign supreme. Welcome, one and all, to Weirdmageddon!" - "Maybe that old guy was crazy after all..." "He did use the word "scrabdoodle"..." - "I don't know. I was in the friend zone, and then he pulled me into the romance zone! It was like quicksand!" - "He thinks there's no heroes in this world, but if we work together and fight back, we can defeat him. You wanna be her hero? Stand up to that psycho, and let us save her!" - "How many of these did you eat!?" "Beleven.. teen..." "Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man," - "You really think you can outwit me, boy? I'm Sherlock bleeding Holmes! Have you seen my magnifying glass?! It's enormous!" - "Face the music, kid. You got no muscles, you smell like baby wipes, and let's not forget last Tuesday's... incident. - "Child, why have you come here? "Multibear, I seek your head! Or, one of them, anyway. There's like...six? Six heads?" - "What was that about?" "Nothing. I don't want to talk about it. Talk about what? Why is this table wet?" - "Food!" "Thanks there, sugar pot. I-I mean honey wasp, kitten baby, b-baby cow," "Ha! Silly... so silly," - "Okay, I'm not actually laid back. I'm stressed, like, 24/7. Have you met my family?" - “Stay curious, stay weird, stay kind, and don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't smart or brave or worthy enough," - "I'm legalizing everything!" - "We're gonna have to break in," "And here are your balloons; blue and pink!" "We're in," - "Oh, look. The "constable!" What are you gonna do? Throw me in "ye stocks?'" - "If you're watching this, you are one of eight people in these United States with clearance to view this information. In fact, I myself will be shot once the filming is complete. What? We're not doing? Ha! Well, that's a relief!" - "He is such a jerk," "Yeah, but he's a jerk with tight pants and a guitar," - "I just wanted to tell you that everyone makes mistakes. And when they do, you should forgive them. And also that tight pants are overrated," "Dude. You lost me," "I know," - "You're under arrest for violation of the Time Traveler's Code of Conduct," "It was those kids! And their leader, Waddles!" "That's a pig," - "You can hide, but you cannot hide!" - "I'll get you for this! I'll go back in time and make sure your parents never meet!" - What's going on out here, dudes? I heard a ruckus. Heh-heh, that's a funny word. "Ruckus"," - "I ate a man alive tonight," - "No, buts except yours out the door. now shut your yap and get to work," - "Well, we're still here," "Guess he forgot to go back," - "A darkness approaches. A day will come in the future when everything you care about will change... Until then I'll be watching you! I'll be watching you..." - Today, I learned that morality is relative!" - "I think I'm gonna go stare at a wall for a while and rethink everything," - "Why sweetheart, I wouldn't hurt a hair on your itty-bitty head. If you agree to be my queen!" "NO! Never! I will fight you till the day I- Gummy Koalas!" - "Oh yeah, this is gonna be your worst plot yet. They're fine; I saw them playing in the yard minutes ago," - "I was awoken by the sound of mockery. Where is it? Show me the object of ridicule!" - "Ow!" "I high-five hard," - "You know, kids? I've been thinkin'. At the end of the day, Summerween isn't about candy or costumes, or even scaring people. It's a day when the whole family can get together at one place and celebrate what really matters... PURE EVIL!" - "I'm giving none of this to charity!" - "YOU CAN RUN, BUT I'LL STILL BE IN YOUR NIGHTMARES!!" - "Maybe this is one story we should keep to ourselves," "Agreed," - "Yeah, dude. That sounds science-y enough to be true," - "Ah, the pool! Sparkling oasis of summer enchantment!" "Yeah, nothing like sitting in a moist tub with strangers. It's like the bus but wet." - "I am the lifeguard. I make the rules, sucka! Boosh!" - "Why would a sun need to wear sunglasses?" "It's best not to think about it," - "Wow, you work here?" "I found out lifeguards get free snack privileges. Plus I get the best seat in the house," "Yeah, you do!" - "Yes, yes... burn the child!" - "How long ya in for?" "Two hours for roughhousing, but I'm innocent!" - "Finally, a good reason to punch a teenager in the face! Let's roll!" - "I have never met anyone like you," "Me too. Except for a zombie, a gnome, and a couple of cute vampires," "I don't remember the vampires," "I don't tell you everything!" - "Well if it makes you feel better, the apocalypse is comin' soon! Bury your gold. You've been buying gold, right?" - "Me? Nothing. This? I was just eating some sour candy...so my lips did that...because the candy was so sour," "Can I have some candy?" "...No," - "Road safety laws prepare to be ignored!" - "Wait a second! Is something rooting through our trash? Hey, hey! Get outta here! Darn beautiful men always eating out of my trash. Wait what?" - "You can't put him outside! There's predators! And barbecues!" "That's just the natural order. It's not my fault your pig's potentially delicious!" - "Oh, I get it. You're trying to guilt me! Well, it ain't working, pal! Who cares if you're her favorite thing in the world? I can live without the kid talking to me all the time. Telling me her jokes... making me laugh," - "I've been cheating the last eight turns," "Haha, that's my girl," - "Here! Deer teeth! For you, kid!" - "Gimme that back or I'll..." "Or you'll what, boy? You'll what? Huh? Huh!? No muscles, no brains - face it, you're nothin' without this!" - "The entire lower half of your body is on fire," "Shhh... we're having a moment," - "Karaoke isn't about sounding good. It's about sounding terrible together," - "All right, you undead jerks, you ready to die twice?!" - "What is the ONE thing I asked you NOT to do tonight? "Raise the dead," "And what did you do?" "Raise the dead," - "Hey, well at least you can't deny that magic exists anymore, right? "... Kid, I've always known," "What!?" - "The only wrinkly monster who harasses my family is ME!" - "I'm not an idiot, kid, of course, this town is weird and the one thing I know about that weirdness is that it's dangerous. I've been lying about it to try to keep you away from it, to try to protect you from it. Looks like I didn't lie well enough," - "They're slow! Just power-walk away from them!" - "Dude, you're laying on my bra," - "Man, these movies are a lot less scary when you've actually fought real zombies," - "They sure are taking their time in there," "Didn't he say something about a monster!?" "Oh, no! I thought he was joking!" "You know his jokes are terrible!" - "You think you're so clever, don't you? But you have no idea what you're up against. You will never find the author! If you keep digging, you'll meet a fate worse than you can imagine," - "Would it be wrong to punch a child?" - "Don't stay up all night. The last time you got this sleep-deprived, you tried to eat your own shirt," - It was just a job, kid! No hard feelings. And I've been keeping an eye on you since then, and I must say, I'm impressed! "Really?" "Yep, in fact, you deserve a prize! Here, have a head that's always screaming!" - "I'm gonna stop you! I'm going to find that journal before you do, and I'm gonna stop you!" "Heh, but how can you stop me...if you don't exist?" - "Did he just make out with his puppets?" "I might've dodged a bullet there," - "The point is, I like you. How's about you let me give you a hint, huh? I only ask for a small... favor in return," "I'd never do a favor for you! Don't forget who defeated you last time!" "Right, you "defeated me". Well, if you ever change your mind, I'll be here for you, ready to make a deeaaal," - "Movies are great! You watch the movie, you scare the girl, the girl snuggles up next to you - next thing you know, you gotta raise a kid, your life falls apart... Forget that last part," - "Well, that just put me 90 minutes closer to death. Time you kids learned to watch the classics from my day," "Ooooh, old people movies! Get ready for references we don't understand and words we can't repeat," - "Love God! sign my face!" "Only if you sign mine, baby! LET'S GET WEIRD!" - "You're the worst," - "Just gotta splash this sucker with some anointed water and he should be out of your probably fake blonde hair," - "I was right about you all along. You're just as bad as your parents. Another link in the world's worst chain!" - "Look at who you're talking to, boy. I'm hosting a party for the most powerful people in the world. You think they'd come here if they had to rub elbows with your kind?" "My kind?" - "A forest of death, a lesson learned! And now the manor will BURN!" - "Hey, ugly! Over here! You want me to let in the townsfolk? 'Cause I'll do it! Just change everyone back!" "You wish to prove yourself? Pull that lever and open the grand gate to the town! Fulfill your ancestors' promise!" - "Is this thing broken?" "Our family name is broken! And I'm gonna fix it!" - "Ow! Hot Belgian waffles! Wait, I'm alone. I can swear for real! SON OF A..." - "I wanted to say that you're gonna hear some bad things about me, and some of 'em are true, but trust me—everything I've worked for, everything I care about, it's all for this family!" - "Is this the part where one of us faints?" "Oh, I am so on it, dude," - "What...? W-who is that?" "The author of the journals... my brother," - "You owe us some answers: What's the deal with this portal? Why did you keep this a secret?" "And what happened between you and your brother?" "I hope all of this aligns exactly with my fan-fiction. If not, I will be very disappointed," - "Greetings. Do kids still say greetings? I haven't been in this dimension for a really long time," "Whoa, a six-fingered handshake? It's a full-finger friendlier than normal!" "Heha, I like this kid. She's weird," - "Look, you gonna explain what's going on, here? You're acting like Mom after her tenth cup of coffee," "Listen, there isn't must time. I've made huge mistakes and I don't know who I can trust anymore," "Hey, uh, easy there. Let's talk this through, okay?" - "I'd lost him. I didn't know if he was dead or alive in some distant galaxy, but I knew his journal must have the answer to getting him back. Somehow," - "No, no! You don't understand what I've been through! I've been to prison in three different countries! I once had to chew my way out of the trunk of a car! You think you've got problems? I've got a mullet!" - "That's IT?! You finally want to see me after ten years, and it's to tell me to get as far away from you as possible?!" - "Have you come to steal my eyes!?!" - "My boy, do you know what this means? We must stop everything I've been working on at once... and PLAY!" - "Kids, if I die, make sure I get a bigger tombstone than my brother," - "Look, it's time we stop trying to be so "perfect" and be who we really are. We're crazed, angry, sweaty animals! We're not unicorns, we're WOMEN! AND WE TAKE WHAT WE WANT!" - "You lied to me! Where does that portal really lead?!" "Hoho! Looks like Mr. Brainiac finally got smart! Let's just say that when that portal finishes charging up, your dimension is gonna learn how to party! Right, guys?" - "MONEY!" - "TV lied, man! If you can avoid growing up, do it! I'd give anything to be twelve again," - "Well, it's a horrible opportunity for me! I had the worst day of my life! When we turn thirteen, summer ends and I have to leave everything behind. You're the only person I could count on, and now you're leaving me too?!" - "Look, things aren't gonna stay frozen this way. It's part of growing up. Things change. Summer ends," - "At last! At long, long last! The gate between worlds has opened! The event one billion years prophesied has come to pass! The day has come! THE WORLD IS FINALLY MINE!" - "I'll die before I join you!" - "Open up! This is the police. Time Police!" "Just play it cool, ditch the time-punch. Let me do the talking," - "This is crazy! I'm sorry about our fight, and I'm sorry things aren't great right now, but that doesn't mean you can stay in here forever!" - "Look, real-life stinks sometimes, okay, I'm not gonna lie. But there's a better way to get through it than denial, and that's with help from people who care about you," - "I thought you were living a fantasy, but look at me! I actually thought I was gonna stay here and be his apprentice! Spend my entire teens cooped up in a basement with a lab coat? How ridiculous is that? I don't know what's gonna happen in the future, but whatever it is, you don't have to fear because we'll do it together. I'm not taking his apprenticeship. We've traveled to Heck and back to get you and we're goin' back together. Leave this fantasy world. Let's beat this and grow up together," - "You mean it? You're really coming home with me?" "Yes. Definitely. Absolutely. Awkward sibling hug?" "... Sincere sibling hug," - "Aw, man, I never noticed how bright this place is, ugh! Have I actually been listening to the same song for an entire week?" - "Since the Mayor got captured, I elected myself de-facto Chief. The plan's to stay in here and eat brown meat until we run out. Then I vote we eat the gnomes," "Hey! I'm short, not deaf!" "Shh, shh! Stress will make you chewy!" - "You're insane if you think I'll help you!" "I'm insane either way, braniac!" - "Well, would you look at that! Those kids really care about you. And you care about them. DON'T YOU?!" - "Ohh, I can't believe this! The kids are gonna die and it's all my fault! All because I couldn't shake your stupid hand! Ugh, Dad was right about me. I am a screwup," "Don't blame yourself. I'm the one who made a deal with that psycho in the first place. I fell for all his easy flattery. You would've seen him for the scam artist he is," "... How did things get so messed up between us?" - "Do you really think he's gonna make good on that deal?" "What other choice do we have?" - "Heh-heh! Do a pretty good impression of my brother, don't I? Switch clothes and no one can tell us apart! Welcome to my mind. Surprised you didn't recognize it," - "Oh, yeah. You're goin' down. You're getting erased. Memory gun. Pretty clever, huh?" "Y-you idiot! Don't you realize you're destroying your own mind too?!" "Eh. It's not like I was using this space for much anyway," - "You're making a mistake! I'll give you anything! Money, fame, riches, infinite power, your own galaxy! Please! No...! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME...?!" - "Hey, look at me! Turn around and look at me, you one-eyed demon! You're a real wise guy, but you made one fatal mistake: you messed with my family!" - "MY TIME HAS COME TO BURN! I INVOKE THE ANCIENT POWER THAT I MAY RETURN!" - "Heh. Guess I was good for something after all," - "You're a hero," - "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when, oh I know we'll meet again some sunny day," - "Being a hero means fighting back even when it seems impossible," - "If you've ever taken a road trip through the Pacific Northwest, you've probably seen a bumper sticker for a place called Gravity Falls. It's not on any maps, and most people have never heard of it. Some people think it's a myth. But if you're curious, don't wait. Take a trip. Find it. It's out there somewhere in the woods, waiting,"