#i wanna show this post to my grandkids one day

[severushed-toslytherin]

Peenis :)

[aksually2008]

aksel's guide to relaxing media

A lot of people have asked me to compile a list of my go-to depressing/dooming media, but I feel it would be irresponsible to give you that without an antidote.

Maybe this will be of help to you on an anxious night and instead of smoking a cigarette you'll turn to this or maybe its a nice cozy afternoon and you need something to maintain that feeling.. either way here's stuff that I consume on those days:

Film/TV

Joe Pera Talks You to Sleep

This is something I have recommended to most of my friends at this point and if you ever give me the opportunity I'll probably talk your ear off about this man. I have a very special affinity towards this video, as it randomly found me on a particularly stressful quarantine night and boy am I glad it did.

I'm not gonna talk about it too much further, but if you're feeling a little bit lost or anxious, even after my 250 watches of this, I end up feeling a little bit better. If you like it make sure to check out his show, Joe Pera Talks With You on hbomax as it's one of my favourite shows ever!! The episodes are short and easy to digest :)

How to With John Wilson

It's hard for me to exactly describe this show, it's just one of those things you have to see for yourself to fully understand the appeal of it. For the most part, this show uses street footage of New York City and interviews with average everyday New Yorkers to convey some kind of narrative, usually disguised as a tutorial(hence the "how to"). There's a lot of absurdity, laughter and sometimes it plays with your emotions a bit, but sometimes it's nice to just unwind and learn about the insane industry of scaffolding in NYC.

Come and Visit Us Again

Okay, so this is probably one of the most niche things here.. Considering that it has 205 views as of me writing this and it's in estonian with no captions available.(Maybe someday I'll translate it)

As far as I can tell, it is a documentary short made by Liis Nimik, who at the time was a film school student. It follows the day-to-day of a village grocery store cashier and her interactions with the people who visit her store everyday.

Moms, dads, scary little kids and village bums.. It has it all and serves as this kind of a sweet time capsule of one particular week in this one Estonian village. I will admit this is probably extra comforting for me as I grew up near a village similar to this that also had a store just like this one. In a small village, the people who work at the local grocery store really become apart of your everyday life and I loved to see it captured like this.

I feel like even if you don't understand Estonian, it's nice background noise.

Malcom in the Middle

Need I say more?

Youtube

If you know me, you know I'm a fiend for comforting youtube personalities. Here are some of my favorites:

Steve Wallis

Even if you aren't particularly interested in camping, you'll still probably enjoy these videos. Steve is probably one of the sweetest dudes I've found on YouTube and he really knows how to keep a conversation. All in all, just nice to throw on if you just wanna disconnect for 30 minutes

Shirley Curry

I've loved Shirley's stuff for years now. She calls her viewers her grandkids and posts vlogs & let's plays. I think that covers the gist of it.

Featureman a.k.a. Tom Willett

This is an older gentleman, who for the most part shows you different meals that he makes & tells you stories about his time as an actor in the 1980s. Every video feels like you're visiting your grandpa.

GIFGAS

I found them quite recently, but they're quickly turning into my favourite Youtube channel. Videos of trainhopping, which are so well shot and the music choices are soooooo gooooood. Every travel vlog should have a mandatory requirement of at least (1) shoegaze song.

Roger Hance

Found this guy randomly on my recommended and him only having 4k subs feels like a crime. He's a bird photographer, who vlogs his outings and talks about all the little birds he sees. super cute.

Music

Below are a couple of playlists and tracks I recommend for this occasion:

Mixture of ambient tracks and just relaxing instrumentals. There's no vocals. During the summer, I would always listen to this if I was sitting in a park or doodling.

This is just some of my favourite ambient tracks. If you've never really listened to ambient music before, check this out I guarantee you'll like it.

I have fallen asleep to this so many times that sometimes i just constantly hear it in the back of my head. Maybe thats not a comforting thought but it helps me sleep so that's a price I am willing to pay.

That's about it though.. I didn't include everything, because this is already pretty long and I have to keep some things secret, but I hope you find use in some of this. bye

[spurgie-cousin]

I felt sad for Jill in her latest video. 😢 she was really upset

(tw: miscarriage)

I just watched it and yea, she does seem genuinely devastated in the part where she talks about it alone and I really do feel for her.

I don't want to repost the video just because I feel weird about it but here are some notes I took while watching:

- ok well first, I saw it was over 20 minutes long, which just made me very afraid of what was to come

- Jill plays a recorded face time of her and Nurie telling Kaylee about her pregnancy from Florida, which just struck me as so weird at first. I guess it shouldn't bc I'm sure she was going to include it in some even longer announcement video if the pregnancy had been viable, but its unclear if everyone involved knows is being recorded, especially bc Kaylee in particular sounds more normal then I've ever heard her in my whole time of watching these guys. The thought that Jill might just record video calls all the time with the intention of posting them on YouTube kinda skeeves me out.

- She also includes some videos of the kids talking about her miscarriage on their own which, ya know, ok whatever you wanna do, but Nurie and Renee do it out in a boat in the middle of the water for some reason? And it's so windy and noisy while they're having this emotional conversation, it just creates a very weird and slightly irritating (for me or anyone else with sensory issues) atmosphere. Also Jill's editing of said video is god awful (more on that in a few bullet points).

- there is a little mini sideshow of just pictures of Jill on the beach

- Jill says she had "weeks" of intense pain that felt like labor pains. Which, listen, if she did all the things pictured in her little slideshow while she was in that kind of pain, I'll give it to her, that's very impressive. I'm sad she felt like she HAD to do all that but impressed that she did. She shows herself performing at churches, looking after grandkids, going out, etc.

- ok so there are several areas where the older girls in particular are talking about the miscarriage and their feelings about it, and Jill will literally cut them off MID sentence and edit out god knows how much of what they're saying.......... it is so frustrating and I can't help but notice she only does this once to herself (and when she does there's no confusion about what she's saying or the point she's trying to make). At one point Renee is saying "I can't wait to meet my six siblings in heaven someda-" and is literally cut off right there, it filled me with rage. I want to know what they're saying!!!

- Jill, Nurie, and Kaylee are so obsessed with being pregnant together.........I just..... don't relate. They mention it at least 5 times.

- she has Sadie (who's 9) read a short, sweet letter she wrote to Jill about her miscarriage for Valentines Day on camera.

- Jill goes over all of her miscarriages, which I know a lot of people are aware of but here is what she says for those who don't know: her first ever pregnancy was a miscarriage, followed by 9 viable pregnancies. Right after they decided to do their traveling, full time ministry and just as she turned 30, she had 3 miscarriages in a row, then Olivia, then one more miscarriage. After that she had Sadie, Sofia, and Janessa right in a row, which then brings us to her latest miscarriage.

- They chose the name 'Reagan' in honor of president Reagan, and because it was gender neutral and they hadn't been far along enough to know the gender. Jill says that she's named all of her miscarriages with a name that ends in -an or -en, in birth order they are: Morgan, Aaron (ends with an -on but ok), Lauren, Jordan, Nolan, and then Reagan.

Very par for the course Jill video but like I said, I do think she's genuinely upset and had a particularly painful few weeks, all of which makes me feel awful for her.

[the-firebird69]

Hulk vs Abomination | She Hulk breaks the fourth wall | Episode 9 Finale

Then yeah there's several versions of my husband there and who's saying is smaller self is stopping him from encouraging others to be huge in the future then it is true that's what it means partially. The other part is these guys are infighting all the time and it's not his mom who plays she hug it's a granddaughter she becomes really big and muscular but they're possessed they shouldn't be kept around but the empire demands it and we have them do jobs they're really really ever workout for the empire they think it's motivational. Here you can see that size matters the big guy is mutated and juiced he is going to grab all those people and let's the people who interrupted and stopping him mostly the grandkids start a revolt then there's practically nothing left but they do it because they keep attacking them what little they have. Abomination lost the fight and he didn't get to grab the people trump and his son left but they said this move rabbi too they don't have anything of value we think'cause you show up for this stupid show And they say we think you have it backwards and we had stuff and we're at you right now and we want those and wear achievements and I'll number you and they said oh great fooled by a room to fight our own to lose to our own and he's trying to do stuff while he's saying it that's how I'm doing that my husband is waiting for his last check pick up saying it tipsy is babies coming out of his ears he finally paid my husband and my husband said thank you very much something like I hope it clears and it says you can see what I'm dealing with my husband almost said I'm 42 lisa Yes I see it then the kids will threaten him to pay him does anyone wanna be used as part of his skin to keep my husband from having money that's his so I looked at the analogy and it happens when Ken gets up jason forces trump to pay to try and take his position and Social Security and that's what's gonna happen and Jason would probably want him on disability in Florida and it says that and he would have people fight over Social Security and they're losers and you can hear it in their talk that they really don't know what they're talking about and we're using the letters from the banks and investments and companies and we're going after them for illegally holding my husband's money. And with force. a lot of force a lot of their own people and then huge forces of ours and we rip them to pieces. We're going to make some major announcements on the next post.

Hera

This should be a learning experience for a lesson for you imbeciles you're not small enough yet so I'm gonna help you get there. Trump is coming into the S and the max are going to abandon their facilities and our son says they're going to let us sit there and fight for them they say and grab us if we try and threaten from above. And that's why they don't see us anywhere in the factories we had them check over and over because we really want the military facilities. They're going to beat up the trumps to get information and they will leave shortly today and we'll take it by storm and move in equipment and you probably won't see it and we're going to build our citadel on the other land there's no room for it there's bases there already and they are made out of concrete and they do look like one in the independence day two at New Mexico they're pretty hefty and we are going to fortify them pretty much immediately and with special materials that we're going to gather from the burning man and he wants to take it from there because of the symbolism of what they were saying about us and still are and we probably will and Olympus is saying yes and he wants us to help get that thing out of there this is a great idea and we're gonna do it over in Africa and her father and mother are responding as well as Gu and Oya And they're saying We're going to proceed right now. They shook a loose already for the most part they're going to be out of there today too during the night and they will begin reinforcing it it's quite a process it's going to be very thick and very solid but you guys don't seem to care. We are moving out and we're going after big uranium deposits yes we know where they are and we're going to mine fully them out Fully. More shortly

Thor Freya

Olympus

[chameleon-madrigal]

hello! may i request a Camilo x F!Reader?

ever since childhood, reader is super shy and quiet towards people because she's afraid of what others would think of her but then she meets Camilo, who was the exact opposite of the reader. noticing this personality of her, he quickly became friends with her as he slowly took her out of her shell. years pass by and they are now engaged. reader thanks Camilo in their wedding ceremony for the woman she had become if it were not for him.

pls feel free to ignore this if u refuse! :D thank u !!

XIV | Cuentos de Camilo

(Stories of Camilo)

Title: Wedding Bells are ringing

Genre: Fluff

Pairings: Camilo x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Aged up Characters, emotional i had tissues for this!!

Summary: Childhood bestfriends to lovers to married life. They say you glow differently and happy when you are with the person you love the most and accepts you. Its one in a million chance you'll find a perfect and righteous man, the heavens must love you enough to make you lucky and have Camilo by your side.

He/him pronouns for Camilo

She/her pronouns for Reader

Note: Sorry this way took toooo long to post huhu I was so busy with school, wanna cry so bad. But this is the most cutest ever huhu imagining Camilo waiting for you while you walk on the aisle GOSHSKXNJS. Sorry took too long, I cant stop crying while making this which was so hard not to :(( Hope you like it, thank you for this enjoy <3

MASTERLIST

This was the day, you are finally marrying the man who has been with you all throughout the years. He witnessed everything about you, from your tears, your smiles, your laugh and everything in your life, he was there.

The church bells started ringing as the door opened as you smiled through your Mantilla. As the music started as your groom, Camilo started singing to serenade you to mark the beginning of the wedding procession.

I found a love for me

Oh darling, just dive right in and follow my lead

Well, I found a girl, beautiful and sweet

Oh, I never knew you were the someone waiting for me

He sang perfectly as he slowly went his way towards you. As you stopped your tears from falling through your eyes. You saw how Señor Félix is having a hard time, calming his wife as a raincloud starting to appear. As you closed your eyes remembering the first time you met.

Flashback

It was the gift ceremony of the 4th grandkid of the Familia Madrigal. The first grandson of Abuela from her daughter, Pepa. The beautiful music blasted throughout the whole Casita, as foods and drinks were being served. Everyone was so happy, they are dancing, talking. You are just getting some arepas when you noticed you loose sight of your Mamá. You started looking for her, but the amount of people getting on your way made it more difficult to squeeze in your small body.

You went downstairs hoping to find her, but still no signs of your Mamá. You aren't the type to talk to people, you are quiet. Being a kid in this world you get scared a lot, especially the mindset of people on what they would think about you. You were about to cry when someone tapped your shoulder. You turned to look at the person and noticed it was the shapeshifter madrigal, who got his gift earlier an hour.

"Hola, what're you doing here downstairs?" He asked as you are having a battle in your mind to speak or not. But no words are coming and you are too shy to even face him, as you look everywhere not him.

"I see, you're kinda shy. Don't worry I know how to handle you!" He said cheerfully, as you mentally take not how much confidence this kid has despite of being a 5 year old.

"Come on, lets go upstairs! I'll show you every single corner of my room!!" He said dragging you upstairs, you wanted to stop him by too nervous to say so. I mean having a Madrigal with you who is the center of attention at this moment for his ceremony gift, and that is willing to spend the celebration with you had got you feeling mixed emotions.

"Mi pequeño, where have you been? Everyone's looking for you to congratulate you!" Pepa said creating a small cloud abover her head as you saw Señor Félix getting rid of it. Camilo groaned as you noticed you two are still holding each other's hands.

"Mamí, its tiring to face all these people. I wanna play" Camilo pouted as he let go of your hand when his Mamí held him up and kissed his nose.

"Don't pretend you don't like the spotlight, hermanito" His sister said as camilo stucked his tongue out at her.

"Hey, I see you brought a cute little amiga here! What's your name?" Félix asked as you got shy by the attention of Camilo's family alone.

"I'm Y/N" You said coming up as a whisper, Félix ruffled your hair as Pepa put Camilo down to gently squish your cheeks.

"Okay, run along you two and enjoy! Camilo don't do anything stupid" Pepa warned camilo as he just whinded but still nod anyways.

He continued showing you around his big massive room, as you let him do the talking. Not that he mind, as you completly forgot you were finding your Mamá.

"Your room is pretty nice. I love all the mirrors" You finally said to him that night, he dramatically held his chest acting shock as you look at him confused.

"You're talking!! ahhh finally!!" He said as you chuckled the first time with someone who is not close to you. People take years to get you out of your shell and open up to them, but you met Camilo like minutes ago and he just did that. Which made you comfortable knowing how he made you feel safe and fine.

"I am a human, Camilo. I do talk...im just shy" You said looking down whispering the last words but he still heard it anyways.

He suddenly shapeshifted infront of you, as you get to see his magic upclose. You were shocked and amazed as you looked at yourself that staring at you.

"Lo siento, I thought im becoming a rat because of my small talks" He said as you nudged him, as he went back to his form as you looked at each other and started laughing.

"Why am I a rat? Out of all things really?"

"Idunno, the first thing that came to my mind was my 7-foot frame Tío Bruno's rats along his back" He said as he did a gesture with his hands, as you rolled your eyes.

"Your Mamá is literally much taller than your Tío, you sure he is 7 foot frame?"

"Hey, not my fault I saw him one night and like seriously he was so tall! I thought it was someone else, I got scared and when he called my name, everything fades to black" He said as he accompanied his story with gestures and all, which you find entertaining.

"You really are something"

"Ofcourse, I'm Camilo Madrigal" He smugly said as he continued his room tour for you.

~•~

All the townsfolk were going home, as you went back to where the Madrigals was. And noticed your Mamá talking to Abuela, you ran up to him and hugged her as she held you so tight.

"Mi hija, where have you been??? I was so worried" She said as she fixed your hair still helding you up.

"I was finding you too but.." You stopped talking as Señora Pepa suddenly spoke

"Lo siento, amiga. Camilo probably found her and dragged her along throughout his room" Pepa said and held Camilo up as he patted her son's head. Which Camilo giggled at as his sister started tickling him too.

"No worries, Im glad my daughter is safe. I guess we have to go now, thank you for tonight. And Camilo, congratulations on your gift!" Your Mamá said as the Madrigals waved back at the both of you. You smiled at Camilo and smiled shyly.

"See you tomorrow, amiga!!" He shouted as you and your Mamá went outside Casita.

"Surprised you made a friend, huh? And is one of the Madrigals" Your Mamá teased you and tickled your nose as you playfully whined.

"He's just a friend and he's not bad afterall" You said as your mother smiled at you.

End of Flashback...

He had a smile on his face, as you saw the visible tears in his eyes trying hard not to fall down on his cheeks.

'Cause we were just kids when we fell in love

Not knowing what it was

I will not give you up this time

But darling, just kiss me slow, your heart is all I own

And in your eyes, you're holding mine

He finally reached out his hand the moment he got closer to you. Which you gladlt accepted and clung unto his arms, as he still singing. You were looking at the audience flashing them a sweet smile. As Camilo looked at you, as you both remembered the time the moment you two realized you love each other and his confession.

Flashback...

Years passed, not only you and Camilo became bestfriends but you also got close with the other Madrigals. Especially Señora Pepa who treats you like her daughter also.

You are currently hanging out in Camilo's room as you watch him tries a set of different ruanas. You looked at him in full admiration as he looks good in every single piece of clothing. And yes, you are inlove with your childhood bestfriend.

"Ahh perfecto!" He said as he turned to look at you, giving you a full look on his clothes.

"Isn't that just the same ruana you always were?"

"The color yes, but look—" He got closer to you as he showed some prints visible in his ruana. You got flustered at how close he was to you as you tried focusing your mind. "—the chameleon is much more visible and there's a musical symbols, you know of how much a theatre kid, I am" He said as he did a dramatic pose as you laughed at him.

"Its actually nice, Mirabel did a good job"

"I know which is the reason why she would never be pranked by me since she always give me gifts! I mean I am everyone's favorite, am I right?" He smugly look at you, which earned him a smack on his head as you went up to him and fixed his collar. Not minding the fact that one push of someone would lead you two kissing of how close you two were.

"You're not a favorite. You just like stealing spotlights" You said feeling contented at fixing his clothes right.

"Well, does that mean. I can be the center of your spotlight or maybe center of your heart?" He said, as for the years you got closer you noticed how he is a total flirt. Which is one of the reasons, why you feel confident around him, forgetting to be shy with someone else.

"Stop flirting!"

"I wasn't even!?! But I know you like it" You glared at him as he started running on his room with you chasing him.

~•~

It was dinner time, everything feels normal not until Abuela talked about something.

"Camilo, when are you going to ask out Y/N?"

Camilo literally choked on his arepas, as his Mamá suddenly panicked and gave him a water to drink. As clouds started to appear on her head, luckily it disappeared as soon as Camilo got okay.

"After Dolores and Mariano's wedding about weeks ago. I would like for you and Y/N to be next, since it seems like you both like each other"

"Why...me? I mean, Isabela or Luisa can be next.." He stuttered trying to find a way to escape the commotion.

"Primo, I am still trying to figure out my feelings for someone unlike you and Y/N, you both pretty much like each other" Isabela said a hint of teasing in her voice, as Camilo sulked at her.

"And besides whats even stopping you from confessing?" Luisa asked as Camilo got nervous at the thought of confessing and shapeshifted uncontrollably. He fixed his self before answering the question.

"I'm just scared what if she doesn't like me? Its so embarassing and I dont want to lose my friend"

"Trust me, sobrino. You and Y/N are a perfect couple" His tío bruno said as he gave him a thumbs up.

"Have you look us into your vision, Tío?"

"I don't know. You need to do it and take a risk to find out, hombrecito" Everyone keep on talking as Camilo got loss in his thoughts about you.

~•~

The next night, Camilo set up a beautiful starry night picnic for the both of you in the beautiful garden of Casita behind that Isabela grew.

"Woah, there sure is a lot of foods here Milo" You said taking a seat as he did too and awkwardly chuckled having a mental crisis right now.

"Ofcourse, I don't want mi hermosa dama to go hungry" He said trying to act cool as you chuckled at the nicknames he gives to you, which you won't deny the butterflies at your stomach.

"Tsk, you and your nicknames again" You scoffed eating some snacks, as you weirdly looked at him who just looks at you, not eating. Which was odd for the infamous Camilo Madrigal not taking a snack when he would fight for his life getting seconds.

"What? It suits you and I have the right to call you what I want"

"Ahuh, well deal with this. Just give me one nickname that I will let you call me"

He had a thought in hid mind but was cotemplating whether to say it or not. But like what his Tío said, take a risk or lose a chance.

"Hmm, I would like to call you...mi novia" He said noticing how you got flustered, stuttering at your thoughts.

Noticing the silent treatment, he sighed in defeat. Trying so hard not to feel upset.

"Y-you know what? Forget I said that, I mean I know you probably don't—" You cutted him off as you continued looking at the moon above you.

"The moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yes it is" He said as you looked at him bewildered by his response as he miss the subcontext in your phrase. He looked back at you noticing your stares as he jolted up in his seat, realizing your words.

"WAIT SO YOU LOVE ME TOO?!"

"Don't shout! Poor Dolores" You said as he suddenly lifted you up in your seat causing you to squeeled in overwhelming happiness. He gently put you down and cupped your face.

"Can I?" You melted at his actions, getting your consent for you to kiss as you nod at him. He leaned closer as your lips touched, kissing passionately aa you both pulled away from each other. Noticing the love that is in each other's eyes.

End of Flashback...

Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms

He gently spuns you around, as you chuckled at how extra he would alway be. You are now closer in the altar as you looked at your family and his, noticing how proud they are.

Flashback...

Years had passed on your dating life, and its going on pretty well. They were fights through your relationship but thats how you two grow by fixing it by the end of the day.

By this time you both are now in your 20s. Camilo has been ready for this time to come, heck, he was even ready the moment you two shared your first kiss after confessing with each other.

Camilo goes back and forth in his room, repeatedly practicing his words and even making sure which knee he would knelt to make it look perfect. Dolores could just sigh, getting tired of hearing her hermano's voice for hours.

Everyone knows how this is a big day for him, and ofcourse its normal to be nervous and to lose your mind. Félix decided to see his son, knocking on the door as he opened it noticing to see his son a mess. A nervous wrecking mess.

"Can I interrupt you for a moment?" His Papá asked and took a sit in his bed as he patted it, indicating for Camilo to sit down and relax.

"You seem so bothered and lost, are you alright, Milo?" Félix said as he put a hand on his son's back caressing it gently as Camilo sighed.

"I'm scared, papá. What if she's not ready? What if I messed up? What if—"

"Camilo listen to me" Félix cutted him off as he turned his son's head to look at him.

"Relax, okay? You being like this will get you nowhere. The more you think about it, the more it will happen. Just do it naturally"

"C-can you tell me again the story of how you proposed to Mamí?" Camilo said looking at his father with hopeful eyes, as Félix smiled knowing how Camilo always love this story when he was a child and up until now.

"Alright then. To say everything I planned didn't really went well. I planned for a boquet but I only got her one rose. I planned for some balloons and it didn't end well. I planned to cook her some foods but I was panicking and end up burning some. I planned to spend the whole day with her but didn't had the time to since she was busy helping in town under the orders of your Abuela. I planned a picnic watching the sunset but it the sun had settled down and still nothing happened. I planned on proposing on a beautiful hill but ofcourse, that didn't happened. Night had come your Mamí was tired but still manage to create a small rainbow in her head as soon as she saw me. And with that I know that I still have one last thing that I planned that I can make it happen. I asked her to hangout on the rooftop, we talked and shared laughs and smiles. I was nervous, but one thing im sure is that im ready to spend the rest of my life with your mom. I stood up from my seat, as she did too thinking we are going down already. But the moment I said the words I love you to her, I knelt on one knee and showed her the ring and said the words from my heart. And those words weren't even the one I practiced, its just come out in me naturally." His Papá said as Camilo said feeling relaxed as he saw the smile in his dad while talking.

"Gracias, Papá" Camilo said and hugged Félix tight as he returned the hug.

"No hay problema, mi hijo ahora adulto"

~•~

Camilo just planned a usual hangout, luckily for him everything went so well. You are both currently on the top of the rooftop, where his Mamí and Papá got engaged too. You both watched the moon as Camilo knows how you are fascinated by the moon.

"The flowers were great and these arepas are so delicious! I love your cooking, amor. thank you" You said as he chuckled.

"You already thanked me a hundred times for today. Should I switch that thank you for a kiss?" He teased as he smirked at you leaning in, as you playfully pushed his face away from you.

"Try harder, babe" You teased back as he scoffed.

"You know what I really love about the moon?"

"Uh, because its beautiful?"

"Other than that. It is surrounded by darkness but look at how it shines its like the only you see through the night" He smiled at you as you stood up and created a heart form on your hands to the moon. Camilo took the opportunity to go behind you, kneeling down and securing the ring in his pocket.

"You're like the moon in me, Milo. You made me glow and shine—" You turned to look at him, noticing he isn't at your side. You turned around as you put a hand on your mouth completely shocked as tears suddenly flowed down your eyes.

"Mi primera y única chica, the only girl I love to spend my life with being my wife and the mother of my future children. I will forever be with you and always gonna make you shine because you deserve to. You are worthy, Y/N. And I hope you would make me the happiest man alive. I have so much to say but what matters it that I love you and will you marry me?" He said getting nervous at your answer would be. You wanted to say something but you are a crying mess, so you nod at him as he cheerfully stood up careful not to let you both fall into Casita. He put the ring on your hand as he hugged you tight, feeling his tears of joy touched your cheeks. He kissed you sweetly aa you both looked at each other admiring the ring he got you. As you are now ready to open a new chapter of your life.

"Ahh im a crying mess, its your fault" You joked at him as he wiped the remaining tears on your eyes and kissed it.

"Mi querida, you look perfect tonight"

~•~

You both went down to the roof as everyone suddenly hugged you and congratulated you both. You and Camilo got soaked wet due to Señora Pepa's raincloud but you didn't mind it as you were so happy as of the moment.

"YOU ARE NOW GOING TO BE MY LA NUERA!!" She shouted feeling happy as Camilo could just look at you two with adoration.

End of Flashback...

Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song

When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath

But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight

The music stopped as you reached the the priest as the ceremony started. The ceremony went smoothly until its time for you two to say your vows to each other. Camilo took a deep breath at first, before looking at you and showed you his genuine smile.

"I remember the first time I met you, and I will only say this secret that no one knows not even mi hermana. I didn't know you were lost and was finding your mamá at the moment I found you. But I know for sure that throughout my gift ceremony, I got my eyes for my door ofcourse but I also got an eye for you. And yes, I was so young but you already caught my eye. Yes, you were shy I noticed those things in you before I got my gift ceremony. You might wonder how a shy girl practically just staying on the corner being quiet, caught my eye. Especially a someone like me, but what really is in you? I'd say that you're unique, one of a kind person. You do nothing but I started seeing you. You keep quiet, but I started talking to you. For all the years, my feelings just grew each day we are together. I cannot imagine the moment I lose a chance confessing to you and didn't take the risk. But look at where we now, saying our promises with each other, going to start another new chapter of our lives—" Camilo looked up as tears filled his eyes, as he saw a tear left your eyes he started to cry too but manages to control himself "— my Y/N, I am so lucky to have you. I am always scared to reveal my true emotions because I thought that doesn't matter cause I am Camilo Madrigal. An entertainer, a jokester, everyone knows me for being happy and I should stay that way even though I want a time where I want someone to show the side of me crying and in pain, I want to let it out. And you just happened to be there, and you accepted and loved me even more than just who I am. True love exist from the right person. And that person is infront of me—" He took the ring and slid it into your ring finger as he kissed it before saying his last vow "—As your husband, I promise to be your armor in times of danger and in doubt. I'll be your strength when you are weak. I'll be everything you need. I will never find someone other than you, because no one can be like you. I, Camilo Madrigal, will always be your moon and will love you forever and always"

"When I first met you, we were so young back then. Still confused about what life is and who we are. To be honest, the moment we became friends you showed me new things and new opportunities that I should try which changed something in me. For years, I was trying to find the answers on why am I shy to talk to people or why cant I just normally start a conversation with someone. I was confused, in doubt, and felt alone about who I really was. But I am more than thankful how you become part of my life. We were just bestfriend at that time but you gave me reason and motivation to find out who I really am. I was on a journey of finding myself and I was already on it. But then another thought comes to into my mind, because after years I suddenly realized that I am inlove with you. I was blinded by something that took me long enough to realize im inlove with my bestfriend. I am glad you confessed because if I did the first move, it will literally take forever. The moment we started dating, my family and yours would tell me how I looked different and much more carefree. Camilo, because of you I found happiness, I realized that I need to embrace myself not because I feel low on my self esteem but because of you. People glow differently when with the right person and for me, that is you. I changed myself for a better me and I love how you are a part of it. Mi amor, I cant express how lucky I am to have you in my life. For all those years, you were there for me. You know my flaws yet you still love me despite all of it. I am lucky to have someone who accepts me for who I am, and doesnt change me for what you wanted for a girl but instead you changed me for what I wanted to be—" Camilo wiped the tears under your Mantilla, as you caressed his hands that is on your cheeks. You held out his hand and hold the diamond ring slowly getting it in his ring finger as you are saying your last vow. "—As your wife, I promise to be the faithful to you. And would always make you happy. I will be there the moment you wake up, the moment you eat, the moment you're tired, the moment you're crazy, the moment you're upset, the moment you sleep, literally every moment in your life. I will be here for you, for better or worse. You will always be my moon, that shines brighter than the real moon. I, Y/N L/N and now Y/N Madrigal will always be the stars around you and will always love you forever and always"

"You may now kiss the bride" The priest said as he carefully raised your Mantilla, finally getting a clear glimpse of your face. As he held your hands and put it in his shoulders, smiling as he held you closer pulling you by the waist and kissed you passionately.

Everyone cheered you and clapped but the moment you pulled away from each other. You can only see him and him only. Your husband, Camilo Madrigal.

[bondsmagii]

Do you have any ideas on how to deal with covid deniers? My grandma has basically become one at this point which isn’t great on its own but she’s convinced my grandad not to get the vaccines and has this weekly meeting she’s set up with people around her age and has convinced them all to have the same beliefs as her. I’m honestly quite worried cause it almost seems like she’s trying to build her own mini cult here with telling other people this shit and she’s gotta stop but I don’t know how to approach any of this

Last ask sent abt the covid deniers thing: no pressure to answer or shit like that I don’t wanna put problems on to you or anything you just have wise and chaos vibes. Have a good day! :)

this is definitely a bit chaotic but I do actually have an idea.

so, re-education of people who get into this frame of mind is not gonna happen quickly, if it can happen at all. trying to present them with facts isn't going to work, because somewhere along the way they've lost the ability to critically analyse information and weigh up evidence. whereas you're coming at this from a logical perspective (vaccines are a good form of protection against contageous diseases!), these people are coming at it from an emotional perspective. to get to them, you have to get on their level.

conspiracy theorists run on fear. their driving motivation for believing all this bullshit is because they're scared; they're frightened of something that's outside of their control, and they're convincing themselves of whatever they can in order to have the feeling that they've regained some control. to counter this, you need to make them scared of something new.

r/HermanCainAward is a subreddit that collects the social media posts of anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers and chronicles their defiant posts as they call COVID a hoax and proudly refuse the vaccine. then it chronicles their light-hearted announcements that they have caught this fake virus, but it's not so bad. then it posts their last messages to social media, sometimes defiant, other times remorseful, but nearly always very, very frightened; alone, and in pain.

then it chronicles their loved ones' posts announcing their death, and the posts expressing terrible grief, regret, and anger.

show your grandmother these screenshots. don't bombard her; occasionally send her a few, and talk about how worried you are about her. tell her how much you love her, and how frightened you are that she'll get sick. reassure her that you're not hostile to her view, but that you've "just noticed" that all these unvaxxed people are dying, and the vaxxed people are not. keep at it. slowly introduce facts in a way she understands: people on Facebook posting emotional status updates. get her frightened. let her see all these people like her, dying. let her see people younger than her, and in better health, dying. let her see these terrible wastes, these people with profile pictures of them smiling and posing with their kids or grandkids; now let her see their final selfie, a mask over their face, sweat on their brow, talking about how scared they are, and how they wish they'd just got the damn vaccine. let her see their loved ones grieving.

she might be too far gone. she might be too stubborn. but this has more of a chance of working than trying to hit her with scientific facts. appeal to her emotions. make her realise what death means. make her scared of it. then ask her again, if she would please get the vaccine, because you don't want her to die.

[sunaswife]

Summary: It’s been five years since you’ve seen your ex, Rin. He’s still not over you and you’re not over him. When he finds out you have children he thought he didn’t have a chance. Then he finds out they’re his? All of a sudden you’re teaching Suna how to be a single dad.

🔪: Y’all my heart 🥺 ngl I kinda cried as I wrote this

Warnings: Fluff, angst I guess, drama, and cuteness twin overload

Previously Up Next Masterlist

Chapter Twelve

“Hi hi are you our grandma?” Rini said with wide eyes, you, Rin and Kauru were outside grabbing the last of the groceries and talking. It was like his mother was frozen in time, they looked exactly like her son when he was a kid, when she was still learning how to raise a tiny human.

She finally realized she was a grandmother because the looks were uncanny. “Yes I’m your grandma.” She replied and she kids ran and hugged her legs. “It’s nice to meet you, we’ve never had a grandma before but we promise to be good grandkids for you.” Rini said and Akira nodded. “What do you mean you never had a grandma before?” She asked the twins, they didn’t see the glint in her eyes. She needs all the information she can get to show her son that she’s not a good mother and he can fight for custody.

“Momma doesn’t talk to her parents. They’re mean and think she’s a dispointment.” Akira chimed in. Obviously the kid met disappointment which made sense. If Rin was a girl she’d probably do the same thing.

“Hey guys guess what grandma got!” Rin walked in, his hands full of groceries. He placed them down and pulled out the pack of the frozen Chuupets. The kids eyes widened and they ran to their dad to hand them a chuupet. “You are only getting one because you haven’t eaten dinner yet.” He said and the kids nodded. After he handed them the chuupet, they ran off. “How’s everything mom.” He looks down to see the shorter woman. “Could be better without your dog and your ex.” She answered and Suna frowned.

“At least try to get along with her? Please. She’s the mother of your grandkids and hopefully we can be together again.” He said hopefully and her eyes widened. “You wanna get back together with her.” She said almost disgusted and Rin sighed. “Yeah mom.” He replied. “You’re gonna regret it.” She hummed and Rin rolled his eyes.

“Excuse me..um...Mrs.Suna..?” You peered from behind the wall you somewhat heard their conversation but that’s a talk for another time, “What.” She raised a brow and Rin facepalmed. “When was the last time you checked the oil of your car? And your brakes?” You asked. “I don’t know. Usually we take it to a mechanic, but we’ve been busy raising someone else’s dog.” She said and eyed her son. “Mechanic? Rin nor Kauru don’t know how to do that?” You asked. “I have a sports car, no way in hell I’m fucking it up.” Rin replied.

“Is it okay for me to change the oil and the brakes? I would hate for you to get into an accident.” You asked. “Accident? You’d probably tinker with my car so I’d crash the next time I use it.” She crossed her arms over her chest. You were beyond confused, “Mom, stop.” Rin scolded and she rolled her eyes.

You left the car as is but made a mental note to ask Kauru for permission to add more oil and fix her brakes.

Other than that conversation you haven’t spoken to her the rest of the day. What bothered you was that she didn’t try to get close to the kids. You sat on the small picnic table in the backyard while Rin was throwing a chew toy across the backyard while his dog, Chewy chased it eagarly. When Rin came to the back yard he whistled causing the dog to turn its head, it stayed frozen as if not believing his owner was truly there. But eventually Rin called him and his ears perked up and he began running and whining at the same time. He tackled Rin and he fell back. Chewy licked his face and Rin was giggling with a big stupid smile on his face, you smiled lightly at the scene and Akira tugged onto your leggings to tell you that Rin was crying.

Your eyebrows scrunched in confusion and turned again to see Rin and then you saw it. The way he held on to his dog and a small tear streamed down. “Who’s a good boy? Are you a good boy?” He talked and Chewy’s tail wagged. “Alright bud, sit.” He commanded and he sat obediently. You could hear a tapping noise but it was because Chewy was so excited to see his owner. “Chewy meet your brother and sister.” Rin introduced and you started laughing. “What do you mean he’s our brother? He’s a dog.” Rini pointed out, “Same difference.” Rin shrugged and you covered your mouth to stop yourself from snorting.

“Okay get close and tell him to shake. Then shake his hand.” He instructed, Rini was first and gasped when Chewy obeyed. Earlier they got around to playing but they didn’t know their dads dog—I mean brother was trained. Akira did the same thing and she giggled. “Alrighty, Chewy. Meet your new mom.” He introduced you and you stepped back. “Nope, not my son.” You waved off, “Are you really gonna leave him motherless.” Rin pressed, “Yeah mama, he’s our brother you can’t be like that.” Akira whined.

“I just never really liked dogs.” You admitted, “Me neither but he’s my best friend.” Rin said softly. You looked down at the brown dog with curly hair. His tail wagged as his tongue sticker out so adorably. Now you understood why Rin named him Chewy, he looks like Chewbacca. “Nice to meet you, Chewy.” You reached your hand out to pet his head but he jump and rested his paws on your stomach, causing you to lose you balance and fall back. Before you could fall and die from embarrassment, No one other than Rin was there to catch you. “I’m sorry he doesn’t really do that. He’s just too excited.” He said from behind and helped you up. “No it’s fine.” You said and you both stayed quiet.

“So are you gonna continue holding on to my waist or..?”

“Fuck..sorry.” He apologized with flushed cheeks and let go. The kids began scolding their dad’s potty mouth and you hated that feeling in your stomach from when he pulled away.

Rin’s mom looked from the kitchen window and gritted her teeth while scrubbing the pan a little too hard. “Good job, Chewy.” Rini and Akira quietly praised and continued to play with their new brother.

****

“Finally we can talk.” Rin’s mom said and sat at the head of the table, you and Rin both gulped and Kauru sighed. He just wanted to nap. “Okay I can tell without a doubt that those children are Rintarou’s. And it’s nice that they don’t look like you.” Rin’s mom spoke up and you gasped. “If you’re here just to fight then don’t even open your mouth.” Kauru told his wife and she gave a glare. “Okay first of all. Why didn’t you tell my son you were pregnant.” She crossed her arms over your chest and you cuddled with your fingers. “Well Mrs.Suna...like I said over the phone. We had just broken up and I was hurt and afraid. I wasn’t sure if he would support me in keeping them—“ “Well how could you know if you didn’t speak up?” She interrupted but you ignored the jabs she threw. “I also wanted him to continue on with his career, stress free. I guess at the time I still loved him a lot that I didn’t want him to suffer with me. Or else I could have easily filed for child support.” You said and Rin frowned slightly.

“That’s not a good excuse. Rintarou has missed out on so much because you were selfish. You just wanted Rin to go pro for the money.” She accused with a pointed finger. “Mom—stop!” Rin immediately said and Kauru raised his finger to stop his son. “Karin do you know that for sure?” He asked his wife. “Yeah. All she does is party and drink. I think the kids are unsafe under her care. All of her money is wasted on her fake breasts.”

“Ma’am I can assure you that these are real. Ask your son.” You waved off and she gasped before she could open her mouth to utter more stupid shit you said. “With all due respect Mrs. Suna, you don’t know me. You don’t know how I raise my children, you don’t know what I do for a living and you don’t know what I’ve been through. Please before judging me, see how I treat my kids and how I treat your son. I have been nothing but respectful and the least you could do is treat me like a proper guest.” You argued back but she just ignored you and went through her iPad.

Why does she have an iPad? She flips the device over so you and the two Suna men could see and Rin almost spit out his drink. Karin told Kauru to look away and your mouth hung open as she swiped photo after photo of you in revealing lingerie. In some photos you’re wearing a gag and in others you’re chained up but it’s all modeling for Jamie and her line. You looked at your stomach and thighs and you could see those stretch marks.

Even though the world has seen these pictures, you can’t help but feel nervous when Rintarou is looking at them. You weren’t the same athletic girl from highschool, you gained weight, developed stretch marks, and you hate working out. You know you’re beautiful, that’s why you asked Jamie to not edit the photos of you she posted on the web. Your stretch marks and tummy were there for the world to see. But their comments or praise didn’t matter. The only person’s opinion that matters is Rintarou’s. Which is ridiculous to say but, some part of you still wants his approval and to be with him.

“Is this a good example to show your daughter? You want her modeling and showing off her body like a filthy wh—“ “Enough!” Rin smacked the table and stood up. You flinched as well as she did and you began to cry. “You make it seem like I should be ashamed of myself...”

“You should be.”

“Have you told them why we broke up?” You turned to Rin and he saw the tears streaming down. He wanted nothing more than to hold you in his arms and say that it’s okay. “No..” he shook his head and you sighed. “You won’t understand unless your son tells you what he did. Everything I did for myself and my children was for a reason. Now if you’d excuse me, I need to go, it’s time for their history lesson.” You wiped your eyes and left the table. Quickly you grabbed your bag with all their supplies and you met them outside. “Come on, time for school!” You called with a fake smile and red eyes. The kids understood to not argue and to just obey.

You sat on the picnic table with your two kids across from you and Chewy was laying on the bench right next to you, with his head on your thighs. “Mama...” Rini interrupted your thoughts, “Yes baby?” You asked and looked up from their lesson plan, “I love you, and you’re the best mom in the world.” He said with a small smile. “I love you more than Rini and you’re the bestest momma in the universe!” Akira chimes in and you chuckled. “I love you guys to infinity and beyond, forever and ever! It’s called unconditional love.” You said and their eyes widened. “Unconditional love...” akira hummed and you nodded.

“Hi Kuroo-san is everything okay?” You asked as you made your way to the patio outside. It was already time for the kids bedtime. “Y/N I’m sorry for informing you last minute but one of the commentators for tomorrow’s game is in the hospital so we were wondering if you could fill in.” He spoke calmly. “I—oh gosh I’m all the way in Hyogo..when does the game start?” You asked.

After going back in forth for tomorrow’s game you hung up after respectfully telling him you weren’t interested in going out on a date. You rubbed your face and looked at the time. The trains have already closed for the day, so you’d have to take your car.

“You good?” Rin asked as soon as you walked back inside. “I need to go in to work tomorrow. Another commentator is in the hospital. Nobody else can fill in.” You said and his eyes widened since it’s a very long drive. “Oh how fantastic, leaving your young children overnight to go work—“

“I’m taking them.” You interrupted the witch and her eyes widened. “What do you mean you’re taking them.” She asked. “They’re my children and I don’t want to leave them with you. I’d rather take them and ask Jamie to watch over them and I’ll come back the day after tomorrow.”

“Y/N...” Suna snapped you out of your rambling and you turned your head to see him. “I’m here now, remember? You don’t have to do this alone anymore. I can take care of them and watch them. I’ve done it before.” He assured. “I’m sorry but I really don’t want them near your mom.” You explained your reasoning. “Tomorrow we’ll be at Kita’s farm all day. They’ll be fine.” He said and patted your head. Without even realizing, you leaned forward and wrapped your arms around Suna’s torso, his face flushed and he wrapped his arms around your shoulders. “Thank you. It means a lot.” You mumbled in his chest.

“It’s my job, partner.” He chuckled and you pulled away. “Fist bump?” He asked and presented his closer fist, you giggled and nodded. “Fist bump.” You did the same and your knuckles met. Rin’s mother scoffed and rolled her eyes, walking away to her room.

You took a deep breath as you crossed lanes on the freeway going back home. You wanted nothing more than to stay with your kids or take them with you, but you can’t control everything yourself anymore. You gonna trust Rin.

You made it home by five am since the drive was eight hours but you made it in seven by speeding and automatically fell asleep in Rin’s bed. You decided to take the pull out bed in your office when Rin moved in and he slept in your old master bedroom. But you were too tired to pull it out so you slept in your old bed. You couldn’t help but notice how the pillows smelled like Rin.

His scent definitely changed, he doesn’t use the old spice fragrance from highschool. He now uses something more expensive and more subtle yet manly at the same time. You definitely needed to know what the scent was so you could buy more for him on a birthday or something.

You woke up at around 13:30 to get ready and leave by 15:00. You showered, did your hair and wore the white button up with the green dress pants and a green blazer on top. You slipped on some hot pink heels and some subtle jewelry and made your way. You called your kids and they said they were having a blast, they really missed you and wished you and their grandma were there and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

While Rin’s mom stayed home, her husband worked and Rin took the kids out, she began thinking about the day before.

“You won’t understand unless your son tells you what he did. Everything I did for myself and my children was for a reason.”

Rin’s mom was obviously confused and still annoyed at you. But then Rin sat her down after breakfast, the kids were outside and Kauru was already gone. He explained what he did with his friends and Karin couldn’t help but feel disgusted. If she would have been more involved in his teenage life then she could have prevented this. Prevented minors drinking, prevented her son getting sexually involved with you, and preventing an innocent girl getting hurt.

In reality you should have thrown a full can of coffee at Rin instead of an empty one. You should have cursed him and made him pay child support. That’s what she would do straight up. But you’re not her, and you explained why you did what you did. And she began to understand. “You have a lot of work to do in order to get back in her good grace.” She told her son. “I know I know..” he said softly. “That’s why we’re starting as friends. And eventually I wanna be with her romanticly and marry her. I want to be the man she can rely on and trust again.” He said and her mom smiled.

“I understand, I’ll make sure to apologize when she returns. And I’m rooting for you.” She said and Rin smiled. “Thanks mom.” She stood up and grabbed her bag, “I’m not in the mood to cook. How do burgers sound?” She asked Rin and he nodded. “There’s a place down the street that’s pretty good. I’ll be back in a few.”

Rin’s mother wanted to repent for her actions and she tried thinking of a proper way to apologize. She went into the restaurant to order and everywhere she saw, it explained that the food was made with peanut oil. But that’s what gave it the flavor. That’s why it’s so delicious. She happily payed for the food completely oblivious that her grandson was severely allergic to peanuts.

She arrived home and rounded up the kids. She gave them a kiss on the head and smiled as they showed her their drawings that she could keep. Rin’s mom passed around the burgers so Rin couldn’t see the bag that promoted the peanut oil being a main ingredient and the kids munched.

When Rini took the bite his eyes widened at the deliciousness. Bite after bite and his throat began to feel weird, as well as his stomach. He took a sip of the lemonade and he couldn’t swallow it properly. He began to cough and Rin patted his back confused and he face turned red.

“Rini are you choking?!” Akira asked scared and Rini shook her head. “My stomach hurts—“ he coughed and Rin’s eyes widened. “Oh shit.” He quickly ran upstairs to his old bedroom and looked through the bag with Rini’s inhaler and other vitamins. He saw the epipen and ran back out quickly unscrewing it. Rini’s face was turning purple and he continued to cough. Akira was crying and Karin didn’t know what to do. Rin fell to his knees and slammed the pen on his sons thigh. “Are you okay bud. Stay with me please.” Tears prickled his eyes. He seriously fucked up.

Rini’s chest heaved up in down as he tried to catch his breath. Rintarou instructed his mom to call 119 and an ambulance soon came and took Rini away with Rin in the ambulance. Akira was stuck with her grandma driving to the hospital.

Karin was so confused at the situation. And she was worried for her grandson. She tried her best calming the little girl who held the green pig plush and the fox plush in her arms. “Is Rini gonna die?” Akira pouted with watery eyes. “Of course not. Everything is gonna be alright.” She assured.

While all this was going down, you were talking and laughing as you talked about Sendai frogs and their intimating demeanor. You felt a weird feeling in your chest and felt like something was wrong. Your purse and phone was stuck in the lounge locker so you didn’t see the 20+ phone calls and messages you received from Rin.

He was afraid and didn’t know what to do. He really wished you were here by his side. He couldn’t do this alone and realized this is what it’s like being a single parent.

🏷: @therealwalmartjesus @differentballooncollection @aaesuki @atsunflower @dope-squish @prettysetterboiss @june-phantom @tomo-uwu @austriasmariazelle @xrnia @katsulia @aprettyfruit @shut-your-eyes-kiss-me-goodbye @tvbiio @sun-daddy-yoriichi @kamenoyaki @ppangiiroo @loeyprivvv @kmskj92 @lovinnoya @sarahvvictoria @tris-does-stuff @mokkeguts @sunaluvr6969 @bara-rose-would @sempiternal-amour @volleybloop @leykyuu @bokutoichigo @stfucanunot @iloveanime691 @tpwkatsumu @ohrintarou @shoutosimp @mqrinqcele @bokutosdivineass @anngelllla @toworuu @hidden-otaku-stuff @seijohiselite @caxsthetic @aquariarose @hhwanggu @bakuhoetoedoroki @yoozuku @osamus-onigiri @akaashi-todorki @donica95 @kakaokenma @airheadpillar

[santigarcia]

Bot 🤖

Human Touch Part One

a nathan bateman x f!reader fic~

word count: 3.3k

rating: T - nudity (non sexual), mentions of masturbation

summary: After a wrong turn on a hike, you find yourself on Nathan’s property and joining him for dinner. 

a/n: ahhh this is part 1 of 10 of this series! i cannot wait to share it all with you!! remember these will be posted at 9 CST. check here for the schedule so you won’t miss one!! thank you to @punkpascal for encouraging this and listening to me yell nonstop! and thank you to @sergeantkane for your support and for making the moodboards for this series!! 

You only agree to this because of the view. Not for any other reasons. No. No. Certainly not.

Your cousin owns a timeshare in Norway for her work. And she invites you to come up for a few weeks. You’re in desperate need to get out. She won’t even be there half the time, which is even better. You love your cousin but you’re ready for some quiet. Some space. The fresh air. And you’ve seen photographs, the mountains outside her door look beautiful.

Those are enough reasons for anyone to go.

But it’s when you find out who her ‘neighbor’ is that has you chomping at the bit to go.

The term neighbor is a loose term, the neighbor in question lives two hours in a different direction. It’s a secluded private area. But it still gives you some strange hope you might see him.

“I’ve only seen him once,” you remember your cousin telling you. She wasn’t that impressed, but you – you’re dying to see him.

Nathan Bateman, the multi-billionaire CEO, and creator of Bluebook. He’s a celebrity crush of yours. Half the reason you have a Bluebook phone in your pocket is because of him.

There’s something about him. You’ve followed his career quietly, but more than anything you think he’s handsome. Gorgeous even.

He’s a hot topic for gossip since he remains in seclusion, working on his mysterious projects. To be that close to him sends a thrill down your spine. And he’s all you can think about on the plane ride over.

Your cousin picks you up at the airport and you spend the next few days hanging out with her and relaxing. She leaves on the third day and you spend most of it reading that book you’ve been meaning to finish.

As you sit near the window, you can’t help but admire the mountains. The lush greens of the field at the foot of it, the rich white snow. The crisp air feels good to you, even if it gives you chills.

You decide that you want to go hiking. Your cousin mentioned there are several easy trails and you think you can figure them out.

You get to packing that night. You shove your backpack with things you think you’ll need. You don’t plan on being gone long, so just some essentials for the hike.

The next morning is a lovely one, that mountain air is crisp, and it fills your lungs. You feel rejuvenated. The trails are easy to follow and you walk for hours. You stop to rest every so often and keep hydrated and eat.

You have every intention of turning back when it begins to rain. Hard. Within minutes you’re soaked to the bone. It’s freezing and if you don’t get warm you worry you’ll get sick. You try not to panic, but the rain is coming down so hard you can’t see the trail.

Somehow you take a turn and find yourself going down a decline. Maybe you’re near the trails edge.

The rain continues to pour, but through it you see lights of what looks like a house. Shivering, you make the long walk to this place. It’s your port in the storm.

It’s not your cousin’s house, and you don’t remember seeing this one on the way in. You bang loudly on the front door, hoping someone will hear you over the rain. The house looks huge.

“Hello?” you bang on the door; you feel tears welling up in your eyes. You’re so cold. “Is anyone home?”

After a few moments, the door is opened. And you’re not sure who is more surprised. You or the one and only Nathan Bateman standing across from you.

“It’s you,” you gasp, shivering violently from the cold. “Nathan!”

He blinks, his eyebrow ticks up in bewilderment.

“How the hell did you even get out here? Are you okay? Yeah, come in. Shit, you’re freezing. Umm… yeah. That’s me.”

He opens the door wider so you can come inside. The warmth hits you like a wave, and it almost hurts. You haven’t stopped shaking. And now you’re trembling for any entirely different reason.

“I was hiking, and it started raining and I got lost and…” your teeth are chattering. And Nathan looks confused but concerned.

“This is a hell of a way to get introduced, but-“ he pauses for a beat. “We need to get you out of those clothes. You’re gonna get sick.”

You follow him in this maze of a house, and he takes you to a large open bathroom. He turns on the shower and you take a step towards it, but he stops you.

“This is for the steam, you need to get warm slower, you’ll go into shock.”

You’ve heard about this, and you know he’s right. One of the best ways to prevent hypothermia is warming the body through skin to skin contact and body heat.

“Look, shit, I know this isn’t ideal,” he snorts, “but you need to get naked. I won’t look.” He smiles softly and you feel sick. Maybe it’s the hypothermia.

You turn your back to him and begin to awkwardly peel off your clothes. You’ve never felt so embarrassed in your life. He’s turned the opposite direction and isn’t saying anything. You almost wish he would.

“Ok,” you tell him. You’ve turned back around with your arms covering your chest. He’s taken off his shirt, and he’s quick to wrap you up tight in his arms before you can think too much.

His bare chest is warm. His arms squeeze you tight and he rubs your back. His beard tickles your ear, and you feel all of him all at once. It’s making your head spin. Is this? Is this how you’re meeting him?

“I’m Nathan,” he chuckles softly, “but it seems you already knew that.”

You tell him your name, and he chuckles again. “Interesting meeting huh? Story to tell the grandkids.”

That gets a soft laugh from you, and you can feel him physically relax. The awkward tension has been cut.

“You’re feeling warmer now, less shivering.” He states this as if you don’t know, but it’s impossible not to shudder while naked in his arms. He seems to pick up on this, because of the look he gives you when your bodies pull apart. “You okay?” he looks at you, his eyebrow up again.

Tears well up in your eyes and you can see a look of slight panic cross his face.

“No,” he whispers, “No, hey sweetheart, it’s ok. No need to be embarrassed ok? Do you need me to call someone for you?”

“There’s no one to call,” you sniffle out. “I’m staying with my cousin at her place, but she’s out of town.”

“Do you- you wanna stay here tonight? Get warm? We can figure out shit tomorrow.”

“I’m not an inconvenience, am I?”

“Not even a little. You’re the first person I’ve seen in… months. And… it’s way too cold out there. You’re safer here. Just as long as you’re not a serial killer or somethin’… you can stay.” He gives you a little smile, and hands you a towel to wrap yourself in.

”Definitely not a serial killer. I killed a spider last week and I screamed.”

He chuckles while he dries off his chest and pulls his Henley back on.

“Is it just you in this house?” you ask trying to keep the subject off your nudity.

“Yeah, just me. It’s… yeah, it’s a little lonely. But it’s the ideal working environment. No distractions. No noise. But sometimes, it’s too quiet. Listen, hey we can talk later. You should get in the shower, get warmed up ok? Don’t turn the water up too hot alright? I’ll have my housekeeper set aside some dry clothes for you.”

He exits quietly closing the door behind you with a soft click. Once he’s gone, you drop the towel and step into the warm spray of the nicest shower you’ve ever seen.

You try to process what just happened, and you decide this must be a sign or a dream.

At one point there’s a soft knock on the door and you briefly see a woman set a stack of clothes on the counter. She exits as quickly as she arrived.

You wonder why he’d said he’d not seen another person in months when there she was.

After you dry off, you reach for the stack of dry clothes which you assume are his. There’s a soft pair of sweatpants and a warm Henley that looks like the one he was wearing. They smell fresh and clean, and you pull them on eager to not be naked in this house anymore.

You step out of the bathroom and no sooner do you step foot into the hall do you see his face.

“You don’t have any kind of electronic device on you, do you? Like your phone? Just until you leave, for security purposes. It’s just a precaution.”

“You scared me!” you laugh and touch your chest. “And I do, in my backpack. Which I don’t remember where-“

“It’s in the dining room, I’ll show you.”

Once again you follow Nathan through this maze. Your backpack is sitting on the table just as he said. The fabric is soaked, and you have little hope anything is dry on the inside. There’s a neatly folded towel next to the backpack and you spread it out to take out the contents of said pack.

Your phone is in there, and it looks dead. Soaked from the water.

“I can fix that,” he tells you and extends his hand for the phone. You hand it to him, and he pockets it.

After your phone is out, you dump the backpack onto the towel and all your stuff spills out. A clean shirt, a small first aid kit, a phone charger (just in case), and to your horror – a forgotten vibrator that had been stuffed in the bottom of your pack.

You look up at him with fear in your eyes, but he’s got that eyebrow up again.

“Carrying the essentials huh?”

“I-“

“I have so many questions about why you’re hiking with a vibrator, but you look way too embarrassed to answer them honestly. You can keep that for yourself.”

You quickly shove it and the rest of your things back into your soaked backpack.

“So, you’re just… in the middle of the wilderness, alone, with a phone and a vibrator. And no one to call. And you’re sure you’re not a serial killer?” he winks playfully.

“I swear I forgot that was in there!”

“Hey, sorry. I am the last person who’s gonna judge you for somethin’ like that. And you’re not the only person here with a vibrator,” he winks again.

“You sure you’re not a serial killer?” you flush.

“Would it make a difference if I said no?” he can’t help the grin on his face. “Kyoko, my housekeeper, is done with dinner. Would you like to eat with me?” He picks up the damp towel from the table.

“That would be nice, thank you. You’re a good host.”

“I’ll admit, I don’t get a lot of visitors. Or… any visitors, really. But against my better judgement, I’m not gonna let you freeze to death outside. And you seem… relatively harmless,” he smiles again fiddling with the towel in his hands.

The woman you saw earlier sets plates of food down on the table, and Nathan hands her the towel.

“This looks amazing, I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality.”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. You kinda looked like a wet cat when you got here. No offense,” he bites his lip and glances over at you.

“None taken,” you laugh.

“Do you drink?” he glances at you when he sees you reach for an empty glass.

“I’m not much of a drinker, but I like the occasional wine!”

He chuckles fondly, “We can definitely do wine. I have a Chateau Lafite 1787 and a Cheval Blanc 1947 that are begging to be opened. And… from the look on your face, you have no clue what that means. Kyoko, grab the Cheval.”

“I admit I don’t know! But I can tell you do. You seem to know a lot about a lot of things. Including saving someone from hypothermia,” you almost grimace at the memory.

”That’s why they pay me the big bucks,” he chuckles taking a generous sip of his freshly poured wine. “Damn… this is the good shit.”

You watch him drink and it’s beginning to hit you. This is really him; this is the Nathan that you have his social media accounts on notifications. This is the Nathan that you’ve watched random tech videos you have no interest in but wanted to hear his voice. And now you’re sitting across from him, at his table, watching him drink wine.

“You definitely seem to enjoy the finer things in life, don’t you? And yes, this is good, especially with the meal. I’m not used to this much luxury. I feel like I don’t belong here,” you bite your lip. He’s a genius. Famous and sexy as hell and you’re just-

“Well, you get used to a certain way of living when you’re… me,” he chuckles.

“This wine probably costs more than I make in a month,” you laugh taking another sip. “I don’t know what I’d do if I even had a million dollars.”

“Done.”

“Pardon?”

“I can wire your bank tomorrow.”

“Wait, you can’t be serious.”

“As a heart attack,” he shrugs. “Pocket change. Consider it a get well soon present. So, what’s home like for you?” He changes the subject so abruptly, but you go along with it, but it’s hard to keep up.

Suddenly you feel like spilling your whole life out to this man. That you’re stuck. You live at home because you can’t make ends meet and nothing seems to stick. You’re looking for something, but you don’t know what it is.

“I live in a small town. It’s cozy. Simple. But sometimes it feels too small. That’s why I wanted to get away. See something new. I realize how I’ve not experienced much in my life. I want excitement. I want- well I want to move away. That’s what I want.”

He takes another sip of his wine and you can’t help but stare at his delicious beard.

“I specialize in exciting, honey. You stumbled into the right place,” he grins, another soft chuckle escapes his lips.

“I think I did, though it sounds like you know something I don’t know.”

His brow raises as he smirks devilishly, “there’s a lot you don’t know, kitten. There’s a lot I can show you. I didn’t come out here just to be alone.”

Your stomach drops and you feel your face heat. He’s called you two pet names back-to-back. His eyes are fixed on you, watching every move on your face. He’s calculating, tucking everything away into his memory.

“K-kitten?” you find your words, but you sputter on your wine. “Did you just call me kitten?”

His smirk only seems to grow. The confidence is oozing out of him and it’s thick in the air.

“You liked that, didn’t you? Your pupils are dilated.” He causally sips his wine as if he didn’t just ruin your whole life with a short sentence.

He’s rendered you speechless, the very air in your lungs is gone. And there’s a feeling low in your belly. A pang of arousal and need and thrill hits you all at once.

“I-“ your words are lost again, but he speaks up for you.

“Look, kitten,” he punctuates the word, he’s teasing you now. “You obviously did. Can we just skip to the part where we have the conversation?”

“The conversation?”

“Y’know. The one where I tell you I’m not just interested in you because you’re the first person that’s come around here, like… ever, but because you’re beautiful and interesting and genuinely fun to be around. And that you need to make the first move if you want this as much as I do because I’m not some rich asshole who’s trying to take advantage of the fact that you’re completely vulnerable right now. That conversation.” He sips his wine again, and you feel like you might pass out or jump across the table into his lap. You’re too frozen to do either.

“You think I’m beautiful?”

“Honey,” he sighs setting down his wine glass and folding his hands together resting his elbows on the table. “I don’t mince words. And let me put it to you clearly. You’re exactly my fuckin’ type.”

“Is this really happening?”

“Only if you want it to baby. But I’m as real as it gets. And I couldn’t have made a more perfect woman if I tried, and I have.” He mumbles the last part into his wine glass, it’s so quiet you almost don’t hear it.

“Look Nathan, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m in love with you.”

Both his eyebrows raise in question and a smile grin spreads across his face.

“No, I mean,” you bury your face in your hands, “I mean I have a crush on you, you’re kind of… my celebrity crush,” you wince a little and peek out from behind your hands. “My cousin really does own a timeshare and I really did want to get away, but I came because I thought you would be nearby. I didn’t actually think I’d be having dinner with you after you saw me naked.”

“So, that explains the vibrator then,” he scratches his chin, pretending he’s lost in thought. He’s messing with you but when he sees your obvious distress he leans back in his chair. You think he’s about to apologize when you get up and walk down the hall and pick a random room that’s open.

You sit down on a couch and look up to see a Jackson Pollack painting on the wall. Lights are angled at it, it’s the focal point of the room.

A few moments later you hear a soft knock on the doorframe.

Nathan walks in and leans against the desk under the painting, he’s facing you. His arms are crossed, but he doesn’t look angry.

“Look, I wanna talk to you about earlier. I know I come on….strong. And it’s a shitty excuse but you’re the first real woman I’ve seen in months that isn’t my housekeeper and what I said before about you being my type? Shit. I scared you, didn’t I?”

“It’s just overwhelming,” you flush. “My celeb crush saw me naked today and wants to have sex with me. Not to mention you offered me a MILLION dollars without batting an eye!”

“Okay, okay. How can I put you at ease about this? We obviously have a connection. And you might as well stay until I can fix your phone.”

“What about the money?”

“I could put you to work. I’m writing a thesis. And I need to make sure it’s readable to someone who may not understand all this,” he moves his hands around in the air.

“Is that worth a million dollars?”

“It would be to me; I need help on this.”

“Okay,” you nod. “I’ll do it.”

“Really?” he smiles, he seems so excited. “Great. I’ll take you to a room you can stay in. Let me give you a tour of the place.”

Your tour ends with the bedroom. He tells you goodnight and disappears down the hall. You shimmy out of the sweatpants but leave on the Henley and slide into the bed. The sheets are soft, silky. There’s a thick warm blanket on top and you snuggle deep under the covers.

You’re thinking about your day, what a crazy day it’s been. You try not to linger on the naked part, but you think more about his skin. The warmth. The touch of his beard. His obvious desire for you at dinner. You wonder what he’s doing right now. You wonder if he’s thinking about you as much as you are thinking about him. Maybe you have some charge left in the vibrator….

// 

if this looks familiar....it’s because w/ permission from @sergeantkane, i wrote a fic based on my thread w/ her on @thatortheschlong!! 

// 

next part will come on thursday feb 18th!

// 

tagging: @punkpascal​, @pascal-isaac​, @wasicskosgirl​, @velvetmel0n​, @huliabitch​, @shadow-assassin-blix​, @writefightandflightclub​, @aellynera​, @softboywriting​, @veuliee2​, @spider-starry​, @mylifeliterally​, @millllenniawrites​, @ntlmundy​, @foxilayde, @writingletterstothefire​, @mandoplease, @anetteaneta​, @feelmyroarrrr​, @artsymaddie​, @shakespeareanwannabe​, @thevalentinowhitebag​, @deanfanatic​

[mirkwoodshewolf]

A new kind of competition; RA on the Masked singer pt. 2

*Author’s note*

Okay I know I’m kinda doin this out of order but I was posting this part on Wattpad and since it was still in my copying memory I decided to post this part up first but no worries, pt. 1 will be posted up in just a minute. And I wanna tell you all that there will be only TWO MORE chapters left before I finally complete the Rock Angel series. Enjoy this chapter until next time my dears :)

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things

@waddles03

@psychosupernatural

@ixchel-9275

@simonedk

@queensdivas

@queen-paladin

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels

@geek-and-proud

@starswin

@queendeakyy

@5sos-wdw

@onebigfangirlworld

@isabella-bby

@labessieisallama

@ssa-sadboi

@naturalswifty89

@wormzteef

@bohemiansweede

_________________________________________________________

*Round 5. THE SUPER 8*

Now it was starting to get serious, this was now the Super 8 and this was the first time this season that 2 people were gonna get eliminated.  I took a deep breath and gave a silent prayer to God and Freddie above to give me strength.

“And here to give us yet another star-stellar performance and another few hints as to who this mega star could be under the mask. Here’s the Lioness.”

The LIONESS; CLUE PACKAGE

“What very few people don’t know about me is that I didn’t always have that good of a homelife as a child.” I said as I walked through a child’s room.  I took hold of my stuffed lion and hugged him tightly as I continued, “The people who raised me were well—let’s just say they weren’t the nicest of people. The remainder of my childhood into adolescence was toxic for me.”

“Oh my god.” Nicole muttered sympathetically.

“Growing up with that much toxicity it really damaged my self-esteem. No matter how hard I tried, it just wasn’t enough for them.”

“Growing up in an abusive home.” Robin noted. “Wonder if she’s an advocate for domestic abuse?”

“But I knew I couldn’t let myself be buried underneath all that hatred. It took a long, long, long, long time. But I forgave them. Because in a way without them, I wouldn’t have found this inner strength within me.”

“You go Lioness.” Cheered Jenny.

“That’s why for this performance, if you or a loved one is dealing with toxic family members or partners. There’s no shame in admitting they’re in the wrong. Because if you continue to listen to their toxic lies, it’ll only lead you down one way. And you’re too good to leave this world just yet.” I set the stuffed lion down and punched the wall which shattered as I let out a proud roar.

I stood there on stage with the mic on hand as my girl Pink’s “Beautiful trauma” came on and I began singing in a ballad like tone first.  Slowly walking across the stage till I came upon a beautifully decorated swing (much like the Black Swan used a couple rounds ago).

*Me*

We were on fire I slashed your tires It's like we burned so bright we burned out I made you chase me I wasn't that friendly My love, my drug, we burn out

Oh

I got on the swing and it slowly raised up, lifting me all the way high above the audience as I sang the 2nd chorus. As the mantra part of the chorus came up, silk extended from the ends of the swing and I slowly swung back and forth making the silks dance gracefully in the wind.  When the bridge came up, I turned on my semi-good rapping skills. As I rapped out the bridge, the swing lowered me down towards the catwalk that stood in front of the judges.

Once my feet touched the ground and I sung the last verse, I walked towards the judges and sung before each of them.  

*Me*

The pill I keep taking The nightmare I'm waking There's nothing, no nothing, nothing but you My perfect rock bottom Beautiful trauma My love (my love), my love, my drug, oh

My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh My love, my love, my love, my drug, oh My love, my love, my drug.

Mmm tough times they keep coming All night laughing and knackered Some days like I'm barely breathing Then after we were high and the love dope died, it was you

The pill I keep taking The nightmare I'm waking There's nothing, no nothing, nothing but you My perfect rock bottom My beautiful trauma My love, my love, my drug, oh

After walking back on stage with Nick standing at my side, he congratulated me on another amazing performance.  

“The Lioness is pulling our heartstrings once again.”

“I agree Nick. Especially after hearing that story of her going through domestic abuse that—that’s never an easy thing to go through. But Lioness let me just say you are a strong woman underneath. Because I can tell you’ve overcome that trauma and made a name for yourself.” Nicole told me.

I pounded my heart and raised my hand towards her.  She gave me a heart back.

“Now we raided through your fridge and found out just what exactly the Lioness loves to eat.”

“Oh come on Nick this is easy! She eats meat!” Ken exclaimed.

“Sit your butt down Ken!” Nick exclaimed. “Men in Black, bring out the Lioness’s favorite meal.” One of them came pulling out a cooler and sat it right beside Nick and he said. “Alright, let’s see what we’ve got in here.” There was a drumroll before he opened it to reveal a thermos that read JASMINE TEA.

“What’s that say on the thermos?” asked Jenny.

“Jasmine tea.”

“But there’s no food there!” complained Ken.

“To answer your Question Kenneth.” I scolded. That got the rest of the panel as well as Nick laughing. “Any type of food is good for me, but it’s this tea that will give you a clue. As to who I am.”

The audience and Nick ooed.  Jenny’s mouth opened widely as she rapidly pounded her stack of notes.

“Jenny it looks like you’ve got something.”

“I do! I do! I do! I do! I do! Okay so in the clue package she talked about her abusive childhood. Rough upbringing, but she didn’t say parents were the ones doing it. And the number code that was given to us awhile back, that 149121. I have been running through my head various codes as to what that could mean. Until the TEA is what gave me the idea.”

“Who is it?!” Ken demanded.

“At least she’s making more sense than you do Ken!” Robin dissed.

“Okay the code actually stands for 11-24-91. And this Rockstar has a tattoo of it on her shoulder with Angel Wings to remember her friend and mentor Freddie Mercury. This is most definitely the ROCK ANGEL (Y/N) KLINE!!!”

“Oh yeah that’s right. She does have a tattoo with that date on it.” Robin agreed with her.

“Nah I’m gonna disagree with you on that Jenny.” Ken said.  Oh boy here we go. “Now going off based off the clue package we saw domestic abuse. And on the number code the first few numbers I picked out were 911.  This actress started in a movie known as “The Call”. Welcome to the Masked Singer Halle Berry!”

I shook my head and crossed my arms at him.

“Look at her she’s agreeing with me.”

“Ken this is not Halle Berry!” Nick Cannon said.  I then waved bye to Nick as I proceeded to walk off the stage but he told me to come back, so I had no choice but to stand there. “See Ken you made the Lioness upset just like you did with Nick Carter last season.”

“Hey like I said before then. This isn’t the first time someone’s walked away from my guesses, and it won’t be the last.”

“I think I might have an idea on who it might be.” Nicole piped in.

“Go head Nicole.”

“Okay so we saw the domestic abuse, growing up in an abusive home. But I also remember from a few weeks back there was a sign that said AIDS. So I’m thinking she’s also an advocate for AIDS/HIV awareness. I’m gonna put my money on Rihanna.”

Oh wow that’s impressive.  But sadly she’s wrong.  Although I have helped Rihanna with some of her AIDS awareness promotion when the two of us were at a party together for MTV.  She told me she wanted to start a campaign for it but had no idea where to begin with it.  So I gave her some of my well known contacts and gave her some business advice that I remember learning from Deacy on how to handle everything.

“That’s not a bad guess. But Rihanna’s got a different voice. But whoever you are, you wowed us once again Lioness.” I bowed and blew them a kiss as Nick told me that I could head backstage.

“The judges are slowly but surely getting a grip with my identity. But I’m not ready to go home just yet. And if I somehow make it through, I’ll give them a performance that’ll definitely throw them off my scent.”

Thankfully, I was safe from being unmasked in this double elimination, however Seashell and the Yeti weren’t as lucky.

*Round 6. THE SPICY 6*

It’s down to the wire now.  This song might just make me or break me, especially since it’s the hardest song I’ll ever do in my entire singing career.  But like Freddie and I always say, “It’s go big or go home darling.”  Plus this is another special performance that I’m dedicating to.

“Now then we actually got to sit down and actually talk with this Megastar. Here’s what we managed to find out about the Lioness.”

THE LIONESS CLUE PACKAGE AND INTERVIEW.

This clue package showed me getting my mask taken off but I still had a black face cover hiding my entire face.

“Oh yes that feels so much better.” I praised at feeling the cool air on my face.  The Producer then asked me.

“So how has it been being the Lioness so far?”

“A lot of fun. She’s given me the courage to do things I never thought I could do before.” The screens would show some of my previous performances from getting on a wrecking ball to being lifted well over 10ft above an audience.

“What would winning the Masked Singer mean for you?”

“Well I’m not just doing it for myself. But for my pride as well. Especially my dad.”

“You’re dad?” I nodded.  The screens would then show me walking around my den with a picture of me and a shadow figure of a male lion.

“Not related by blood but he’s been my father figure for as long as I’ve known him. In fact without his love, I never would’ve found true love on my own. My husband, my kids, even my grandkids. They wouldn’t have existed had he not given me the love that I was denied growing up.” I stroked the picture of the shadow figure of the lion beside me.  The screen also showed my real family with my husband lion, 4 adult kids and 2 young grandkid cubs.

I pressed the frame up to my mouth and gave it a kiss, the screen even made a kiss sound effect as little hearts danced around it.

“So Papa Lion, this song is for you. I love you so much and thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” I blew a kiss to the camera as my clue package and interview ended.

The ballad opening for “I don’t wanna miss a thing” by Aerosmith came on and I took a deep breath.  This was it, but you’re doing it for Roger here (n/n).  Even though he won’t know it, this song is for him. I opened my mouth and soon began singing.

Once the bridge came around and the most difficult part of the song came on, I unleashed every ounce of alto rawness I had within me and just belted out that last yeah which made fireworks rain down from the ceiling and the audience seemed to enjoy it.

*Me*

I could stay awake just to hear you breathing Watch you smile while you are sleeping While you're far away and dreaming

I could spend my life in this sweet surrender I could stay lost in this moment forever Cause moment spent with you is a moment I treasure

Don't want to close my eyes I don't want to fall asleep 'Cause I'd miss you, babe And I don't want to miss a thing

'Cause even when I dream of you The sweetest dream will never do I'd still miss you, babe And I don't want to miss a thing

And I don't want to miss one smile I don't want to miss one kiss

And just stay here in this moment For all of the rest of time Yeah, yeah, yeah!

Don't want to close my eyes Don't want to fall asleep 'Cause I'd miss you, babe And I don't want to miss a thing

After finishing the song, fireworks came up behind me as I punched my fist into the air and panted from within my mask.

“Oh my god where did that come from!?” exclaimed Jenny.

“The lioness taking us to the far reaches of outer space with Armageddon!” Nick proclaimed as he came up beside me.

“I wanna say something first Lioness. That was probably your best performance ever.” Robin told me.  Oh my god seriously? I knew I had cracked up on that last ‘yeah’ but to hear him say this was my best performance surprised me. “You really laid it out on the line tonight with probably the hardest song but you executed it phenomenally.” He praised.

I bowed my hands in gesture to him telling him I wasn’t worthy.

“Alright now let’s see just who amongst our panel is the Lioness connected to.” The judges all looked up and soon my chute came down towards Ken but Nicole intercepted it from him and she said.

“Oh it’s for Jenny.” She passed it to Ken who passed it to Jenny and she saw the silver charm of a birthday cake.

“A birthday cake.” She told the crowd as she held the charm between her fingers.

“Jenny. I wanna thank your husband for performing at one of my kid’s birthday party.” At that the crowd got all suspicious and Jenny’s face was gaped wide in shock.

“Is Donny doing things behind your back?” Nicole accused Jenny.

“I hope not.” God these innuendos kill me. “Okay so apparently you know my husband Donny. But I-I don’t remember him ever telling me he performed at a kid’s birthday party.”

“What about the entire New Kids on the Block?” asked Robin.

“Possibly. Was it just my husband or the entire band that performed at your kid’s party?”

“You know she can’t answer that!” Nick snapped playfully.

“I’m sorry but I gotta know!”

“Alright panel. What’s this clue package doin for you?”

“Okay well in the clue package there was the picture of her family. I saw four grown kids and 2 grandkids. If she really is a grandma then I still gotta go with Rock Angel. Because her daughter Kelly just recently gave birth to a baby girl last year during the pandemic doing an at home birth.” Nicole said.

“Yeah and in the clue package she spoke about a father figure. And I read somewhere that she considers Roger Taylor from Queen her dad.”

“Okay, okay panel.” Damn they are starting to see it now.  But I hope this performance keeps me in the game.  “Well, all we know is was that was yet another killer performance. Make some noise for the Lioness. Go ahead and head on backstage.”

The judges really are seeming to close in on me. I really don’t wanna go home at this point but if I do then it is what it is.  I still had a lot of fun doing this show and it was an amazing ride.

But at the votes, I was surprised to see that it wasn’t me that was going home.  But the Russian Dolls, after doing Elton John’s song “I’m still standing”. I thought they did a hell of a lot better than me but I guess it’s not always the voices that count, but how you execute the performance.

Now it was onto the Semi-finals.

*SEMI-FINALS*

I’ve come too far to end this journey now. The Semi-finals is the last step to ensure that I can secure my spot in the finals.  And I have just the song to get me there.

“Week after week she has astounded us with pure, unadulterated vocals. But can she claim her spot for the finals. Let’s dig up some more clues on……the Lioness.”

THE LIONESS; CLUE PACKAGE:

“Being in this competition has taught me a lot about myself. On one side there’s the Lioness I present before the media, when I preform or out in the public. Then there’s the Lioness I am around my pride. A mother, a daughter, a grandmother. And I think that’s really the best job compared to my career.”

“She’s definitely a family woman.” Jenny stated as she took down some notes.

“I wouldn’t be anywhere without my family. They are my rock. Even those that had left me I still see them throughout my life.” I stood before a funhouse mirror maze and saw various shadows surrounding me. “And it’s their voices that give me the courage to continue the fight. So for this performance I’m gonna pull out all the stops and just allow you all to see the real me. Nothing but my raw vocals. I’ve fought to hard and I’m just not ready to go home yet.”

The stage screens were lit up with a rain animation as well as rippling water.  I stood there alone with the mic and the spotlight down on me as I sung the song that was once offered to me for the Original movie, but I recommended the Producers to Christina to do the song.

As the song grew more fiercer with the soft drumbeats and my voice became more powerful and intense, I could feel tears filling my eyes once more.  I was gonna get to the finals even if it costs me my voice.

*Me*

Look at me You may think you see Who I really am But you'll never know me Every day It's as if I play a part

Now I see If I wear a mask I can fool the world But I cannot fool my heart

Who is that girl I see

Staring straight back at me?

Why is my reflection

Someone I don’t know?

There's a heart that must be free to fly That burns with a need to know the reason why

Why must we all conceal What we think, and how we feel?

I won't pretend that I'm Someone else for all time When will my reflection show Who I am inside? When will my reflection show Who I am inside?

At that last belt which I held longer than I ever held a note before.  A 9 full seconds which made the crowd go berserk.  I could see some people wiping their tears away as I sung the last couple of notes before finally ending it with a bow of my head.

“Heartfelt! Lioness once again pulling our heartstrings.”

“Okay I just need to say this Nick.” Ken said.

“Go ahead Kenneth.”

“Throughout this entire competition especially when it comes to the Semi-finals, it all comes down to who wants it most. And Lioness—” he wiped his tears away. “You didn’t just show us that you wanted a spot in the finals. You proved you’re worthy of the Rock Gods!”

Aww Dr. Ken.  I blew him a kiss and patted my heart and he blew me multiple kisses back.

“For once I agree with Ken.” Robin said.  “If people didn’t get teary eyed when you performed Whitney Houston’s hit song, they’re definitely not dry eyed by now.” The 2 women nodded in agreement.

“I agree with the guys. I grew up listening to this song. And to hear your voice do this song, not only did you just sing it. You felt it. And when a singer feels a song, it makes it that much more powerful.” Nicole added.  I nodded and replied to her.

“Agreed Nicole. This song……it really spoke out to me when I first heard it. And…..during a really, really rough time in my life. It—got me through so much.” I spoke through my choked tears. Knowing the judges could sense that I was crying underneath the mask, they all awed at me as Nick rubbed my back.

“Lioness even getting emotional up here. Panel, any guesses as to who she might be?”

“All I can say and have been saying is that this is a true, professional performer. And just that belt alone showed us what you’ve got. A true fire within you. Now I know that I’ve said the Rock Angel a couple of rounds but just this week alone hearing the voice, I wanna say this is Christina Aguilera.” Jenny said.

“But wouldn’t it be risky for her to do her own song?” Robin asked.

“She could’ve disguised her tone in order to sing it. But that recognizable control of the belt has to be her.” Jenny reasoned with him.

“I don’t think so Jenny. Cause in the clue package she says she’s a grandmother and Christina ain’t no grandmother yet. I’m still gonna say this is the Rock Angel.” Nicole said.

“Alright well, another heartfelt performance. Give it up one last time for the Lioness.” I waved to the audience and blew kisses at them before exiting the stage.

By the end of the round (and finding out the identity of the infamous Cluedle-Doo being none other than Jenny’s husband Donnie Wahlberg) it was time to see just who was gonna get eliminated and find out who was going into the finals.  I stood there with my hands in a prayer as I mouthed out a prayer before Nick finally said the contestant going home.

“The Black Swan!” oh no!  She’s actually been my favorite singer in our group.  Hell she and I were the only ladies representing Group B and now it was up to me.  “So congrats to the Piglet, Chameleon and Lioness, we will see you three in the finals.” I walked up towards Black Swan and gave her a hug and she hugged me back. “Aww look at that, Lioness giving Black Swan a hug. Seems we’ve got a friendship up here.”

I patted the side of her face before bopping her beak and finally left behind Chameleon.  Well it was up to me now, could I secure another female winner for the Masked Singer? Or be runner up? Only fate and the superfans will determine that.

*?????? POV*

I was reading the paper as per my morning routine.  Nothing new except this whole COVID talk and false expectations on the vaccine delivery. The world really has gone to shit hasn’t it these past few years?  That’s when I got a ding on my phone from my daughter Laura.  I unlocked it and read her text with a link to a video.

Dad, is this who I think it is?

Video: MASKED SINGER THE LIONESS

I think I might’ve heard of this show. Yeah it started off in America and after it’s popularity, various of other countries began it.  Here in the UK we just completed season 2, so this must be the American version.  I’ll admit the costume on the thumbnail looked beautiful and the detail was astounding.

I clicked on the video and it read THE MASKED SINGER S.5 SEMI-FINALS LIONESS.

The lights were dimmed and the second she opened her mouth to sing, my heart skipped a beat and I went frozen in my chair. Quick as I could I turned on our smart TV and opened up the YOUTUBE app on the TV and impatiently waited for it to open up.

“My love?” Veronica’s voice spoke as she came down.

“I’m fine dear!” I told her as the app finally uploaded.  I went over to the mic icon and pressed down on it and spoke into the remote. “The Lioness Masked singer.”

Soon enough various videos popped up and soon the video that Laura sent me was the first option.  I clicked on it and of course bloody ads had to come up. “Oh for god’s sake!”  I sat down on my chair as the video finally played and I could hear the rest of the song.

“Reflection” by Christina Aguilera.  This version was the recently updated one for the live action remake but just hearing this voice alone I knew only one person who could sing like that.

It had been decades since we last saw one another, shortly after 9-11 to be exact.  But even though I’m no longer involved with the music business anymore, I’d always ask Brian or Rog to keep an eye on her and tell me everything about her.

And now seeing her perform as this Lioness creature for such a show, they didn’t know just how lucky they were to be in her presence.  As the song got more powerful, I could feel these old bones of mine feeling warm and secure, tears filled my eyes and at that last belt, goosebumps came all over my body and a shiver ran up my spine.

There was a slight tremble in her voice as she ended the song.  I knew it was because she was crying underneath that mask but as always she holds out strong and finished the song as beautiful as ever.

The audience roared with applause bringing back some memories of when she went on tour with us.  Only her and one other person could get a crowd to sound just like that.

“She’s gotten stronger with her vocals.” My wife’s voice spoke from behind me.

“She was taught by the best. And she now coaches the best.” Ronnie took her place by my side, placing her hand on top of mine.

“You really should give her a ring sometime. I’m sure she’d love to hear from you.” I turned away from her.  “You can’t have the boys and me be your messengers forever. I know for a fact she’d be happy to hear your voice again.” I sighed deeply. “At least think about it my love.”

“I will.” I placed my hand on top of hers and gave her a light peck on the cheek.

“Are there any more performances of her on this show? Luke says she’s been all over the media being the Lioness.”

“Well that was the Semi-finals performance, let’s see if someone collab all of her performances together.” I went back to the search box and soon found about a half hours’ worth of (Y/n)’s performances. I clicked play and soon her 1st performance came up.

Seeing her dance reminded me of our times on the dance floor back in the day.  She was the only person able to keep up with my crazy dance moves, and that’s why she was always the perfect dance partner.  Even Ronnie agreed to that statement.

“That girl never changes. She’s still got it even after all these years.” Ronnie smiled.

“That she does love, that she does.” God she has grown so much since the last time we parted.  Her voice much more mature and able to do things she never did before. And some of the stuff that she’s doing on this show is bonkers.

Never did I think I’d see her on a makeshift wrecking ball or be lifted high above the stage on a swing with silk ropes dangling down from it.

I hope she takes the gold and win this little show of hers because she rightfully deserves it.

*FINALE*

It is time.  Do or die now.  It was me vs. Piglet vs. Chameleon.  After performing a beautiful, angelic performance with last season’s winner LeAnn Rimes, the finals were finally ready to start.

After a couple months of going from 14 down to 3, it all came down to this moment right here, to determine who was gonna be this season’s Masked Singer champion.  Chameleon went first and then I was going to be next.  Chameleon had stuck to his rapping but I could hear more singing out of him this time around and he actually had a pretty good voice.

“Up next. She’s been putting us through a roller coaster of emotions. From hard rock to ballad. Here is the last performance and your last chance to guess at who is beneath, the Lioness.”

FINAL CLUE PACKAGE.

I was walking through a tunnel slowly.  One foot in front of the other.

“Being on the Masked Singer has really been a lot of fun. When I first came on here, never did I think I was gonna make it this far.” The screen would show highlights of all my previous performances along with some additional clues.

Like a familiar band logo at the corner and season 3’s champion Night Angel’s wings. And the year 1981.

“This song was written by a very dear friend of mine. A friend that was taken from us far too soon. But it’s through this song that win or lose, I’ll always take with me till the day I die. Because no matter what, we will always make it through the tough times, especially with what we’re going through now with the Pandemic.”

The stage was dark except for a few lights as the familiar tune of Freddie’s last song he ever performed in the studio came on. I was having brief flashbacks of that day in the studio seeing him record this very song but I had to get my mind right as I sung the first verse.

Once the chorus kicked in, fire exploded from behind the stage as my rock and roll band came back on once more.  The stage was mine to command one last time as I walked across it for the chorus, giving it my all, just like Freddie did.

By the time the bridge came on, my voice was starting to tremble but I kept my emotions under control till the end of the song.  When I got around towards the end of the song, I would hold out a few of the notes till I finally belted out the last note much like Freddie did on the record.

And I swear it was like I could hear him singing alongside me, guiding me to hold the note out longer.

*Me*

Empty spaces, what are we living for? Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and on Does anybody know what we are looking for? Another hero, another mindless crime Behind the curtain, in the pantomime Hold the line Does anybody want to take it anymore?

The show must go on The show must go on, yeah Inside my heart is breaking My makeup may be flaking But my smile, still, stays on

My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies Fairy tales of yesterday, grow but never die I can fly, my friends

The show must go on

Yeah, yeah! The show must go on

Oh yeah! Yeah! I'll face it with a grin I'm never giving in On with the show

I'll top the bill I'll overkill I have to find the will to carry on. On with the show. Show. The show must go on.

As the song ended, fireworks fell down from the roof and fire and smoke exploded from the side of the stage as I panted heavily with my arms extended outward.  With the last struck of the drums and guitar, I punched my fist into the air.

I sent a quick kiss to the Heavens as the audience went insane.  I saw all five judges on their feet applauding me.

“The Rock and roll Lioness showin us that the Show must always go on.” Nick praised.

“I swear each and every performance you do, it just gets better and better! You could just be this season’s winner.” Jenny told me.  I clenched my hands and did a victory gesture with them, I could only hope I’d win but it’s not up to me.

“I would agree. She just keeps escalating and escalating her performances and I’m just in awe whether it’s her rocking out or pulling our heartstrings with her raw voice.” Nicole said.  Even last year’s winner LeAnne said.

“Hearing this voice alone makes me feel like I’m looking at a champion singer here.” I placed my hand over my heart in thanks.

The judges then proceeded to do some more guesses, Robin and Nicole were saying that I was the Rock Angel while Jenny was saying that I could be Christina Aguilera and of course Dr. Ken (out of the blue) decided that I was Beyonce.

“So tell us Lioness, what would it mean to you to win this competition?” Nick asked me.

“Well Nick, winning would mean that I’ve given my fans a whole new side of me that they’ve never seen before. But even if I don’t win, I still had a blast being here.”

“We were happy to have you here. Give it up one more time for the Lioness everybody!” I waved to the audience and walked backstage.

“This whole experience has been a wild ride. But I had a lot of fun, win or lose.” I told the camera with the Men in Black behind me.

The Piglet then did his song, “Faithfully” by Journey and man did he kill it.  He definitely pulled my heartstrings with that performance.  So it could be a close race between him and I, or there could be a game changer and Chameleon could take the trophy as the first rapper to sing solely Rap/Hip-hop songs.

“Tonight was a star-worthy performance, but as we know only one can take home the Masked Singer trophy. Now it’s up to our judges and Superfans at home to vote for your favorite now.” I stood between Chameleon and Piglet with my hands together in a prayer.  “The votes are in. The contestant with the least amount of votes and in 3rd place is…….”

There was suspense in the air as I felt my foot shake just waiting for Nick to say which one of us got in 3rd place according to the votes of the judges as well as America.

“The Chameleon!” the audience gaped in shock. “That means Piglet and Lioness you both are safe and can head backstage before we call you both back out to crown a winner. Let’s make some noise for the Chameleon everybody!” I walked up to the Chameleon and extended my hand and we shook hands before I walked with Piglet at my tail as we both waited backstage.

About 10 minutes later, we were told to come back onto the stage to finally crown a winner of Season 5 of the Masked Singer. Piglet and I stood on opposite sides of Nick as he held in his hand, the envelope with the Winner’s name.

“Welcome back to the Masked Singer.  It is now time to crown our new Season’s champion. Piglet, or Lioness. Which one of you will be taking the golden masked trophy home? The votes are in by the judges and the super fans. And the winner is……..” I could see Piglet’s legs shaking as he has made them every time throughout this entire season, while I was rubbing my hands together nervously.

Nick opened the envelope before proclaiming into his microphone.

“THE PIGLET!!” confetti soon exploded covering both me and Piglet up with strings of blue and silver confetti.  Piglet stood there shocked while I clapped for him. He deserved the win, he did a great performance and a great song to close out this season with.  He took the golden mask trophy and danced with it as Nick said.  “Congrats again Piglet you are this season’s champion. Which means you can stand over there in the championship booth till it’s time to unmask you.”

Before Piglet left, I walked up to him and patted his shoulder before giving him a hug and he hugged me back.

“Aww Lioness is being all cuddly with our contestants here.” Piglet and I shook hands with each other for a good competition while I went back to my spot to be unmasked once and for all.  “Lioness you’ve wowed us week after week and as sad as we are to see you go, I think I speak for everybody here, we cannot wait to see who you are!”

The judges all agreed as well as the audience.

“But first, let’s bring out the first Impression guesses. Men in Black! Bring ‘em out!” I could already see the judges pleading for them to not to.  “Yeah it’s been like—months since you guys wrote these down.”

“Can we please not do this Nick?” pleaded Jenny.

“Too late. And the first guess is from…..Nicole.”

“Oh god.”

“You guessed……Christina Aguilera. Not a bad guess.”

“Yeah that really isn’t a bad guess. However I’m not gonna stick with that. Based off the clue package of LGBTQ, and growing up in a domestic abusive home, plus the recent clue package with the symbol of the band Queen’s logo and the Rock n Roll hall of fame right beside that. I’m gonna go with the Rock Angel (Y/n) Kline.”

“Okay. Okay. Let’s see who else we’ve got here……Robin!”

“Oh no.”

“You guessed……Pink.”

“Oh that’s not too bad.” He shrugged.

“You stickin with it?”

“I am not gonna stick with that. Like Nicole I did see the Queen logo in this week’s clue package and just going off by the voice alone. I re-listened to some old records and this is clearly the Rock Angel herself.”

“Alright 2 votes for the Rock Angel. Mrs. Jenny McCarthy.” Jenny sunk down in her chair as Nick grabbed her envelope and opened it up. “Your first impression of the Lioness was……also Pink.”

“Oh thank god I thought I had pulled a Ken guess.” She wiped her hand across her forehead as Ken exclaimed.

“Hey!”

“Ken sit down! Are you sticking with that guess.”

“No. The number code we were give, the 149121. Which I’ve coded as her tattoo for the date of Nov. 24th, 1991, the date when Freddie Mercury sadly passed away from complications from AIDS. And seeing how she talks about her family, her kids, her papa Lion. I’m going for (Y/n) Kline the Rock Angel!”

“Alright, alright, alright. Dr. Ken……” oh this outta be interesting to see who he thought I was at the first performance.  He opened Ken’s envelope and laughed.

“What? What did he write!?”

“Janet Jackson!” oh my god! That even got me weak in my knees as I laughed.

“With those dance moves I thought it could be her! No one could’ve done that dance better than she could! DON’T LAUGH AT ME!!”

“Are you sticking with that guess?”

“No because the clue package doesn’t support it. Okay so we’ve had LGBTQ, domestic abuse. She’s a family woman with 4 kids and apparently 2 grandkids. Although I think the grandkids is a lie. She went through some tough times throughout her personal life. This is none other than Lady Gaga! Welcome to the Masked Singer!”

“What?!” Nicole exclaimed.  “But she’s not a mom!”

“Well then she could be lying about the kids then too all I know is that the rest of my brilliant theories lead to Lady gaga!” I shook my head and placed my hands over my mask shaking my head in defeat. “See! She’s even admitting I’m right!”

“No she’s not she’s just done with how ridiculous your guess is.” Nick said.

“Well I don’t care. This is Lady Gaga and I’ll take it to my grave!”

“Alright. Ms. LeAnne. As our guest panelist you have the last say in who you think this might be.”

“First of all let me just say you are a super star whoever you are under there. If we had competed against each other last year, I would’ve been quaking in my boots.” We all laughed. “This is truly a rock legend under here with the few rare female rockstars that came with the time. And I actually got the privilege to see her perform with the band Queen one year for a birthday party. And there’s only one person that I’ve seen on stage that can sing with as much fire as you Lioness. And that is the Rock Angel herself.”

“Okay Panel. Everyone except for Ken Jong has agreed on their final guesses. Lioness! It is time for the moment we’ve all been waiting for. We wanna know—whose behind the mask. It is time for you to Take it off!”

“Take it off! Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!” everyone soon started chanting.  I held my arms out in a shrug before shrugging my shoulders and finally reaching for my mask and tried to lift it off.  Nick was helping me as the audience and the judges kept chanting.  I could tell I was keeping them in suspense, just wait until they see it’s really me.

Finally the mask came off.

I shook my head and pulled my hair out of my face and the crowd went nuts, the judges all jumped up and cheered.

“THE ANGEL OF ROCK HERSELF! ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAMER! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE ONE AND ONLY (Y/N) KLINE!! THE ROCK ANGEL!!!”

“OH MY GOD!!” I heard some of the judges exclaim.

“Look how beautiful she is!” Nicole praised me. I waved to the audience and gave them a “Freddie Mercury” like bow with a twirl of my hand.

“Hello LA!” I said.

“Angel! Angel! Angel! Angel!” I heard the crowd chanting out.

“Wow it is such an honor and a privilege to be standing here next to a true Rockstar.”

“It’s an honor to be here Nick. Thank you all for having me here.” I told him.

“Tell us why did you choose to be in this show?”

“I know this answer gets told a lot but for me personally I speak from the hard truth that we should all strive to do different things cause—you never know which days are gonna be your last.” I hinted my potential death scare almost 20 years ago.  The judges all nodded in understandment.

“And I’m told that you also wanted to say something about this performance in particular?”

“Yes. The song I had done wasn’t originally my choice.” The audience as well as the judges all looked at me in surprise. “Originally the Producers wanted me to do a Katy Perry song, but……this coming November will mark the 30th anniversary of the day my boys and I lost our beloved Freddie. And…….being there the day he recorded this song in only one take. I felt in my soul that I had to do this for him. To give him a grand performance because due to this covid Queen and I aren’t touring till we feel it’s safe to start touring again, like many artists are. So I really wanted to honor Freddie with a performance that I hope did him proud.”

“Well you did just that.” Jenny told me.

“Thank you. And I’m glad you managed to catch that Jenny, you truly are the Masked Singer detective.” She pointed out to me and that’s when last season’s winner LeAnne said.

“I grew up listening, to both you and Queen. And—I can say for a fact that you definitely did Freddie Mercury proud. And it’s good that you and the remaining members of Queen continue his legacy. Sure it’s not the same as it was before but you don’t refer to him just in the past. But in the present.”

“Thank you LeAnne dear.” I thanked her as I blew her a quick kiss.

“I just gotta say (Y/n). You absolutely crushed the choreography with Janet’s song for your first performance as well as your wrecking ball routine. I think those were my favorite performances of yours, will we expect any of that once you start your solo tours back up?” Nicole asked me.  I laughed along with the audience.

“You never know.”

“Well it has truly been an honor to have you on our show. Now then ladies and gentlemen, to sing for us one last time give it up. For the artist formerly known as the Lioness, the Rock Angel (Y/n) Kline!” the audience applauded and I sung “The Show must go on” one final time for the audience.  Putting my heart and soul into the lyrics before finally belting out that last note in a different key before punching my fist into the air and sending a kiss towards the heavens for Freddie.

After the show all ended and a few days passed by, I did a livestream on my Instagram as well as my Youtube page telling my fans that I was indeed the Lioness and just talking about my experience on the show. Of course Bri, Rog and Adam blew up my phone with calls/texts/DM’s (mostly Adam. Bri and Rog still don’t quite get DM’s) telling me why I lied and did that show in the first place.

I gave them my straight answer that I wanted to have a bit of fun and do some type of performance and show the audience a whole new side of me when it came to performing.

I was just about to go to bed after bidding Georgie goodnight (he had to work a late nightshift tonight) when my phone rang. I picked it up to see it was an unknown number from London.  Curiously, I pressed the answer button and said.

“Hello?”

‘Sister dear.’ My heart stopped and I sat down on the bed.

“Brother mine?” I choked out.

‘Hey love. It’s uhh—been awhile, hadn’t it?’

“Try 20 years yah rotter.” I teased as we both softly chuckled. “What—how…..”

‘Laura sent me a video of you on the Masked Singer. The American one. You were beautiful up there.’ I placed my hand over my heart. ‘Although I do wish you had won. That—boy band person couldn’t hold a candle to you.’

“Oi now, Nick Lachey did just as well as I did.” I softly lectured him.

‘Well I still feel like you should’ve won.’ I smiled solemnly.

“Was it just because of the Masked Singer that you wanted to call me?”

‘That and…..’ he trailed off.  I lay against my bed and softly spoke to him.

“Deacy?”

‘I…….’ he sighed heavily. ‘I know I haven’t been the best at keeping contact.’

“John.” For the first time since……probably back when I was an intern for Miami all the way back in the autumn of 1980, I called him by his first name (unless I referred to him him by his full name did I call him John, most of the time it was Deacy).  “I get it. Plus my schedule has been quite hectic. And you—you’ve been busy yourself. After all Queen would’ve fallen decades ago without your financial brain.” We both shared another laugh.

From then one we talked pretty much the entire night up until it was almost 6am my time before we finally said our goodbyes. It was sweet to hear from him once again after so long.  Now whether or not I’ll ever hear from him again, I don’t know.

But at least I know my Brother Mine is still keeping his eye out for me, in one way or another.

[bestkindofbeehive]

Smile for Me Week, Day 1: Secret

happy smile for me week!!! for my first trick, have a fic I wrote after thinking about my dad too hard. it ends well and it was pretty cathartic for me, but it does get a bit emotionally intense re: feelings about having to stay closeted in front of your parents for years, so fair warning. but it does end well I promise!!! I’ll probably post this on ao3 soon too, so look out for that!

-----

Never in a million years would Parsley have ever expected that being stuck in the same slapdash “mental health” retreat as his dad would end in anything other than frustration. And, to be fair, that was how things went for a while. But then that weird florist handed him one of his dad’s terrible dishes, and before he knew it he was getting drunk off his ass and actually talking to his dad for the first time in... years, probably. Somehow it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. The Kahlúa and birthday cake flavored vodka probably helped.

And then he’d been woken up in the middle of the night and suddenly urged out of the giant front gates with very little reason why— something something carbon monoxide poisoning. Not that Parsley really needed convincing to get the hell out of there at that point. Even a constant flow of free alcohol probably wouldn’t have kept him there for much longer. Those last PSAs were getting pretty creepy and, well, incredibly specific and aggressive towards one particular person. He had hoped that chicken te- flower vendor made it out alright, but he saw them a few days later in town. So things couldn’t have ended too badly.

The most astonishing thing, though, was the fact that he and his dad actually kept talking once they got out of that place. And he somehow didn’t wind up wanting to tear his hair out by the end of every conversation, even. Of course his dad frustrated him plenty of times, but it never got bad bad like it used to. Things between them were... good. Not good good, but just. Good.

So good, in fact, that Parsley manages to somehow metaphorically vomit up the words necessary to tell his dad he wasn’t attracted to women. He wasn’t even drunk— tipsy, certainly, but he was painfully in control of all his faculties that night.

It went... well. He knows the night ended on good terms, and he knows his dad didn’t get angry. He’s pretty sure his dad told him he loved him at some point, which is a good sign. It only happened a few weeks ago. He isn’t really ready to think about it very hard in any capacity. He’s scared that he’ll go looking for some specific sign, or a phrase, or a look— something that definitively tells him that his dad doesn’t look at him and wish he had another son— and come up empty.

Parsley takes what he can get, until what he can get isn’t enough anymore.

The tension finally breaks one evening; almost six months to the day they both left the Habitat. They were watching the end of some melodrama that was airing right before the hilariously disorganized cooking show they both enjoyed. And the stupid thing is that Parsley can’t even remember what his dad said that set him off so bad— but, god, his dad would know just the right string of words to tick him off enough to say something. It was something about keeping secrets. Something about how he didn’t understand why some people keep harmless stuff so close to their chest for no reason. Which is rich coming from him, the man who has to bluster his way through every emotional conversation he’s ever had. Parsley would be seeing red if his eyes weren’t already that color.

“See, I mean, like with your whole, uh, situation— Not that I’m tryin’ to rag on you or anything, sprig, but I just don’t see why you didn’t just go on and tell me! I wouldn't've been mad at you or nothin’,” Jimothan says, gladly shoving his entire foot in his mouth for the sake of scolding Parsley, just like old times.

Parsley, to his credit, doesn’t immediately blow up. “You didn’t exactly make it the easiest thing to do,” he says, his voice clipped and his jaw tense. His dad makes a bewildered noise next to him; a noise that wouldn’t be out of place in a sitcom.

“Now what’s that supposed to mean? I always told you that you could talk to me about anything, didn’t I?” Jimothan asks. The look of genuine confusion on his face almost makes Parsley want to drop it and just keep watching tv, but the fuse has already been lit.

“Sure, if you forget about all the times you showed me that definitely wasn’t true,” Parsley scoffs, pretending to focus on the tv again. The melodrama is still going. The character on screen is crying big, unrealistic tears. Parsley can’t make out what they’re crying about over the blood starting to rush through his ears. Every neural pathway in his brain left over from his teens is yelling at him to just let dad think that he’s right so the lecture that hasn’t even started will stop.

“What’re you— Parsley, what the heck are you talkin’ about? I’ve never— When have I ever said somethin’ that would make you think I wouldn’t—”

Something in his dad’s tone immediately sets Parsley’s blood to a boil. He sounds like he doesn’t understand; like he doesn’t even know where this is even coming from. He has no idea. Fuck, would it hurt less if his dad tried to justify himself instead? If he sounded angry instead of confused? Because this means that he just doesn’t know. Decades of hiding and bullshit and being afraid and he just didn’t know.

“Are you KIDDING ME?” Parsley fires back, eyes wide open and blood red. Jimothan almost jumps, having not been witness to his son’s temper in a while. “When HAVEN’T you said something that would make me think you wouldn’t approve? I wouldn’t— I couldn’t go a day without you making some comment about how I needed to get a girlfriend, or- or- how you couldn’t wait to have grandkids, or some other stupid thing about me “finally” getting a wife someday—” Parsley rants, his voice stuttering with the anger flying around in his chest.

Jimothan at least has the decency to look a bit stunned. “But— Oh c’mon Parsley, that was just me tryin’ to give you a little push! I thought you were havin’ a tough time talking to girls, so I figured I would just give you some pointers—”

“No! That’s just it! You just had to build up and build up this— this idea of what I was supposed to do! Every time you just had to make a comment like that it was another bullet on the fist— LIST of all the things I wasn’t doing right,” Parsley flusters. At some point in his rant his hands find their way to his head, and he tries to run his fingers through his hair to calm himself down, but they keep catching on tangles. “A-And you wanna act like I shouldn’t have been scared to tell you, but you—!”

“Scared?” His dad’s expression breaks a little, which just makes this awful situation all the more difficult. Shit. Shit shit shit, this wasn’t how this was supposed to happen. It shouldn’t even be happening, but the fire in Parsley’s chest isn’t dying down and he can’t keep his traitor mouth shut.

“Sprig, you didn’t have any reason to be scared, it woulda been fi—” Jimothan tries to start.

“Ugh, you’re not LISTENING!” Parsley feels like he’s seconds away from tearing his hair out. God, he sounds like such a teenager. “It wasn’t that easy! Of course I was scared! How the hell could I have explained— I just—!!” 

“HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO TELL YOU I WASN’T THE SON YOU WANTED?!” Parsley finally screams.

The room gets quiet frighteningly fast. His dad just stares at him, his face slack with a cocktail of confusion, surprise, and what Parsley wants to hope is sadness.

Suddenly, all the anger and half-hearted bravado flies out of Parsley’s chest. His arms fall to his sides, and he’s left panting with the exertion of having just spilled out a flood of emotions that have been building since he was in elementary school. He doesn’t feel relieved. He just feels tired.

And then he starts crying. Which is just... great. As if this night needed some extra turmoil to really polish things off. Like most times, he can’t even stop himself; he was never good about not wearing his heart on his sleeve. Not his anger, not his disappointment, and definitely not his heartache. It’s not even a “dignified cry”, as his dad would put it— he’s hiding his face in his hands, and he can’t stop his shoulders from shaking every time he tries to suck in a stuttery breath.

He probably looks pretty pathetic right now, Parsley thinks. And in a few moments he’ll hear his dad get up and walk out of his apartment while mumbling something about seeing him later. And then in about a week’s time, Parsley will answer the phone, hear his dad’s voice, and both of them will never speak of this night ever again.

But something different happens.

Instead, he feels his dad’s sturdy hands take him by the shoulders and pull him into a firm hug. It’s an awkward thing; Parsley’s hands were still covering his face, so now they’re kind of pinned to his chest, and his dad is squeezing him just slightly too hard. They’re both out of practice, really.

Before Parsley can manage a “whuh” in response, he hears more than sees his dad take in a big, faltering breath while his shoulders start to shake. Parsley has only seen his dad cry a handful of times in his life. Most of them happened around the time the divorce was finalized. But after that... Nothing.

Jimothan makes a wounded noise of a sob. “Y-You’re— God, sprig, I would never...” he starts, but can’t find the words to finish. Parsley manages to find it in himself to forgive his dad for that pretty easily. He’s never been the most eloquent when it comes to emotional outbursts. Parsley manages to wriggle his arms free, and wraps them around his dad. The older man lets out a little sniffle in response, and then starts to run his hand down his son’s messy head of hair. It only catches a few times.

“You’re all I got, Parsley,” his dad mumbles through the thickness in his voice. “You’re all I got.”

Parsley lets himself cry just a little bit more, his chest finally starting to feel lighter than it has in years. The two of them exist like that for a while— clumsily hugging and crying and mumbling little fragments of things they’ve both been meaning to say. At some point they’ll have to break apart, and at some point the night will have to end. They’ll part ways with slightly stilted goodbyes, and very likely won’t speak of this night for at least a few months. But for now, they both let themselves have this moment. 

And it’s not much, but it’s enough.

[do-you-have-a-flag]

Destiel shippers come get ya’ll juice!

SO @deadwright​ and I were inspired by Some Tumblr Posts and the twitter Roadhouse  Wedding stuff and keep writing headcanons about Thee Destiel 2021 Married Ever After S16 SPN Romantic Event Of The Season, so here’s that. 

Arranged in order of marital chronology and cutting out us keysmashing too much:

oh man imagine all the burgers they get catered for the reception dean got it done himself he would’ve been so particular about the catering bridezilla cas would probably be THEE bitchiest bridezilla

it's also definitely that trope where all the other hunters ect KNOW that that many of them and the wedding party are essentially a target for trouble so everyone spends the 24 hours leading up to the vows taking out every beastie who shows up on a revenge kick out of sight because they'll be damned if they let ANYTHING stop this wedding and Dean and cas are both having their marital jitters oh god im not good enough what if something goes wrong about mundane things while monsters are getting their ass kicked outside AWWWWWWWW for sure for sure, they’re hunter royalty this wedding is a big deal like half the attendees are nursing injuries but grinning widely

they don't do the can't see eachother before the wedding thing because you KNOW dean would be fixing cas' tie last minute

dean wears a blue pocket square to match cas' tie cas wears a FLANNEL SQUARE

I’m obsessed w the idea of cas giving dean a little bit of his grace in a small bottle on a chain for him to wear or like a wing feather or some part of him god the grace in a bottle breaks me every time in fic dean probably builds cas something but every time i try to think of something specific i choke up

i was thinking like what if trading grace is as close to a romantic gesture as angels have and he's like..... technically i left some grace behind in your mark when i dragged you from the pit and dean is like ARE YOU SAYING WE'VE BEEN MARRIED THIS WHOLE TIME? 

they are so sweet i’m on the verge of tears the ability to do anything by halves in their relationship was burnt out by like the second return from the dead moment they are too insane to be anything less than All In And Then Some

at one point someone was like hey cas do you want to run your vows by someone as practice? and he started reading what he'd prepared and it devolved into Biblically Grand Statements Of The Power Of Love And The Redemption Of - ect ect ect and it's because unlike the confession scene he's had TOO much preparation and overshot into uncanny angelic vibes he makes some edits because he know the expressions he gets when he reads it aren't what he intended

dean writes page after page after page of unused drafts, none of them are particularly floral

he does the cliche of ripping up his vows and improvising at the altar, something he gets mercilessly teased for because he swore he wouldn't but it classifies as a chick flick moment

THAT’S SO PEAK HIM OH MY GOD and you knoooooow you just KNOW it’s beautiful and emotional and everyone is crying

god the NOVELTY of dean being emotionally honest in front of people......im gonna faint YEA yeah... ONE TIME ONLY DEAL he thinks loudly at Sam's smug expression

anyway, at the wedding dean is the one who spends the whole ceremony with like crying cat meme eyes after the confession scene i’m pretty sure the minute the vows start cas is in the same boat USELESS HUSBANDS dean gets passed a handkerchief for his tears and immediately goes to use it on cas' face and they both laugh sob love the idea that everyone individually thought they were too tough to cry but they all broke at various stages yeah sam definitely starts to choke up just standing up there with his brother sam chokes up before the ceremony even started, like probably when he was pinning on dean’s corsage

anyway, Jack dancing with his two dads at the reception CAS’ BEST MAN / FLOWER BOY FLOWER MAN let him heelie down the aisle with the flowers LITTLE MAN GO NYOOM who makes him a little flower crown he wears with a proud lil smile? claire ofc, with those hair braiding skills? she makes it BEAUTIFUL flower crown: on nails: painted dads: MARRIED!!!!

when they say i do and kiss and everyone is cheering you can't convince me that someone doesn't let off what is either a gun or a dubiously legal firework in celebration jack pops a few lightbulbs in his uncontrollable joy

Dean and Cas can't let go of each other, it's at LEAST one point of physical contact for the rest of the reception PERIODT

CAN YOU IMAGINE THEM DANCING TO AIR SUPPLY

they definitely didn't do the wedding gifts thing but a few mysteriously show up anyway; discuss waffle iron from sam bc he remembers the becky incident meanwhile claire gets them flavoured lube because she’s an insane little mean girl she gets them a sampler package with like novelty flavours, gotta spring extra for a wedding PIE FLAVOURED LUBE

it’s gonna be the party of the century omfg you KNOW it! that dancefloor going OFF the BAR is FLOWING

dean gets dragged up onto the bar to make a speech and there's a moment at the end where he drags cas up there too and they're being playfully yelled at not to scuff it and there's hooting and catcalls as dean and cas kiss and dean gestures rudely before almost falling backwards off the bar before cas grabs him and climbing down is less romantic or dignified but he couldn't care if he wanted to

meanwhile sam and claire are outside defacing the impala with silly string and lewd graffiti and tin cans tied to the bumper for the going-away oh it is one hundo percent a just married atrocity there's enough condoms hidden in the car that they're still finding them months later

anyway wanna hear my disgustingly soppy honeymoon roadtrip concept? YOU KNOW I DO OKAY SO

you know at some point dean must have said some sad thing like for the longest time he never thought he'd live long enough to get married and the only circumstances he could imagine was hooking up drunkenly with a stranger at some vegas wedding scenario like that's the best he would ever get and he thinks it's mostly forgotten but then during their cross country honeymoon roadtrip castiel does in fact navigate them to las vegas and quietly mutters that the legal veracity of the little chapel on the city limits is dubious at best and they're already married so it couldn't do any harm and they get officiated by an elvis impersonator and a woman wearing more sequins than fabric throws cheap confetti over them

and after that they stop into every venue they can find that would be friendly to them to pretend they're eloping and at one point dean even pulls out the fbi id badges and the officiant is under the impression he's facilitating some sort of covert workplace romance 

one place is a kitchy little house that's clearly just the couple who run it opening their strange home to anyone who needs it and have been since the 70s and Castiel thinks for a moment when they're asked to pin something to the collection of stuff on the walls and ceiling before pulling the receipt for the pie they'd shared earlier in a dinner out and scrawling his and dean's name on it to be added to the clutter 

and at one point they stand ankle deep in a pond while some old hippie lady wraps their clasped hands together with soft fabric and chants something that dean knows isn't real magic but hey he's not going to tell her that and after the ceremony they sit on the grass and feed each other sweet bread to complete the binding or whatever and it's nice but it doesn't compare to the ranch where they both tossed their cowboy hats in the air and were given a horse to ride to their camp site

i thought about riverboat gambling for point one seconds and now i know in my bones that one of their many weddings was on a riverboat, they made the captain officiate after cornering him on deck in like five minutes, the crew sent them complimentary champagne and they threw fries at the birds following the boat while sharing it straight out of the bottle

if destiel can go canon multiple times they can get married multiple times CHANGE MY MIND THEY GET MARRIED SO MUCH the MOST married i just want them to get gay cowboy married

eventually i want them to end up at the beach bc dean has canonically never been to the coast their road trip is to get to the other coast

they send just married postcards back to sam from every stop sam stops feeling hurt he was left out of their vegas elopement wedding by the third wedding postcard he recieves sam saves them ofc bc GOD can you imagine them looking at the postcards on their 30th anniversary or s/t 🥺 showing their grandkids and recounting the story of each wedding there's a seashell taped to the last one

cas gets a terrible sunglasses tan and dean gets burnt on the tips of his ears and there's sand on sand on sand in all their clothes and at one point dean is blinking away salt water and cas is gripping his arm and saying something about the coral by them in the water and dean thinks that he likes floating beside cas a lot better than flying

dean has cas pick ice cream for them from a truck and hustles at carnival games enough to win them both big novelty foam hats and they both go back to their room and pass out immediately post shower sprawled across the bed and still smelling like sunscreen and salt water

dean tucks a little cocktail umbrella behind cas’ ear

cas spends most of the next day in dean's zepplin shirt and a pair of shorts they only picked up once they got there because neither of them thought to bring beach clothes, they sit on the balcony and dean sips his beer and idly plays with the ring on cas' finger and they play a game of what fictional monsters could they beat in a fight

cas’ true form is the size of the chrysler building he can fight king kong easy that's what he says and dean's like okay but what about mothra and castiel is like how would YOU defeat mothra and dean just goes "bugspray." GDJSGSHSGSHDSJ DEAN WOULD

in honour of misha putting his whole pussy into the role, cas wears a dress in at least one of their weddings

it's at one of those theme parks that's just historical re-enactments and people get their vows renewed there and there's costumes for the photobooth and the staff are like how long have you been married? castiel says two weeks, three days, eighteen hours, and twenty five minutes................ approximately.  and the photo is cas in a classical wedding gown and dean is wearing the veil with his old timey suit and there's a moose head on the wall behind them wearing the top hat he was given and they send that print with an arrow pointing at the moose with sam written next to it

i keep thinking bitch!!!! you KNOW WHAT!! you KNOW that dean is the type a guy who's heart races every time he feels his wedding ring/is always fiddling with it in the weeks after the wedding, like an anchor to remind him they really got married this is real he would NEED that physical reminder that he can have good things

he’s never ever going to take it off, the tan line will be permanent

how funny it would be if dean gets injured on a hunt and the monster guy is about to kill him and then the lights blow out and the monsters are like what was that and dean is just like "[spits blood] that's my husband." and nek minnit cas has just ripped through them thanks to teleporting in angel style and is just like Cas: [heals dean] "you're late for movie night" Dean: "Well if you'd gotten here earlier i would have been on time." Cas: >:| [kisses him]

cas is like i didn’t burn the popcorn this time you BETTER be alive to see it

[doc-pickles]

i’ll be home for christmas

Oh look, I remembered to post! Welcome to another week of “tis the season for two dumb bitches” starring me and @odd-birds-and-booksellers​ I decided to write for Hesitate this week. It’s short (I wanted to add more but my brain hurts and I am tired) but fluffy! Enjoy :)

    “I know I’ve come the past few years, but since everything with Izzie happened my life has kind of… imploded. I will do my best to be there, mom. I know, I love you too. Bye.”

  Alex let out a groan as he pushed open the door to the house he shared with Jo and Harper. He’d already had a long day and his mother calling and badgering him about his Christmas plans was not something that helped his growing frustration. As he walked into the living room he noted that the house was much quieter than usual, Jo and Harper were usually already making a fair amount of noise around the house by now. He knew they were home, Jo’s car was parked in the driveway and the lights around the house were on. 

  “Jo? Harper? Where are you guys,” Alex called out but didn’t get a response, his heart rate quickening when he didn’t see either his wife or daughter downstairs. He took the stairs two at a time, checking Harper’s room and finally sighing in relief as he walked into the master bedroom. 

  Laid out across their bed, Jo and Harper were both sleeping soundly. Harper was curled around Jo’s growing baby bump, her dark curls splayed out around her as quiet snores left her mouth. Alex took his shoes off and set them in the closet before sitting next to Jo, her eyes cracking open to look up at him. 

  “She wouldn’t nap unless I laid down with her,” Jo ran her fingers through Harper’s hair as Alex leaned down to press a kiss against her cheek. “How was your day?” “Shitty. Work sucked and then my mom called asking if I was coming out for Christmas,” Alex let one hand drop to Jo’s belly, waiting only a few seconds before a kick met his hand. “I told her I’d think about it, I haven’t exactly explained to her what happened since I moved back home. I don’t wanna overwhelm her…” 

  Turning to face Alex, Jo raised her eyebrows at her husband, “So you haven’t told her about Harper and I?”

  “You make it sound like I’m hiding you guys,” Alex smirked, bringing his hand up to run through Jo’s hair. “I haven’t told her anything and I’d love to go visit, but this will be my first Christmas with Harper and I don’t want to miss that. I’ve missed enough already.”

  Jo reached one hand up to press against Alex’s cheek, a smile spreading on her face, “You aren’t going to miss anything else, Why don’t we just go with you?” “That’ll blow over great,” Alex chuckled, rolling his eyes as he settled back against the headboard. “‘Hey mom, I know it’s been a minute since we talked but I’m here with my ex wife who I remarried and my kid I didn’t know about for two years. Oh by the way we have another one on the way, Merry Christmas!’” +

  “You know sometimes I really think you’ve lost it,” Alex grumbled as he drove past another row of cornfields. “This would be one of those times.” Jo had somehow convinced him to fly to Iowa for Christmas with her and Harper in tow. He hadn’t told his mom anything yet, wanting a chance to explain things in person rather than over the phone. The thought made him anxious, hoping that Helen would be elated over more grandchildren rather than upset that he hadn’t mentioned anything to her. They’d grown closer over the past few years, Alex always calling at least once a week to check in with his mom. The fact that he’d kept Harper and Jo from her for almost seven months was a miracle.

  “Stop worrying, everything will be fine. Besides your mom loves me,” Jo settled one hand onto her belly, pressing down at the tiny foot that was kicking up at her. “You need to calm down in there missy, you’ve been nothing but trouble since we stepped off the plane.”

  Alex eyed the towering blue house as they pulled onto his moms street. He’d only visited a handful of times, but the Christmas lights and the large wreath on the door made the home look inviting. He recognized Amber’s mini van parked out front, groaning as he realized that both his mother and sister would accost him with a multitude of questions as soon as he walked through the door. 

  “And that’s a foot to the bladder,” Jo groaned, Alex eyeing her as he parked the rental car. “Sorry to say that you can’t stall out here for long because I have to pee. You can blame your daughter for that.”

  Heaving a sigh, Alex grabbed a sleeping Harper from the backseat, her head resting on his shoulder as he made his way up the steps of his mom's porch. Jo was standing right next to him, one hand resting on his back comfortingly as he rang the doorbell. The few seconds he waited for his mother to appear were nerve wracking, Alex’s mind playing out worst case scenarios as he nervously tapped his foot. 

  “Alex! I wasn’t sure if you’d show up, what a lovely surprise,” Helen Karev looked as joyful as ever as she greeted Alex, eyes scanning Harper and Jo quickly before ushering all three inside. “Come in, it’s cold out there.”

  Jo and Alex shuffled inside, Alex watching silently as his wife shed her heavy winter coat. His mom didn’t miss the movement either, her eyes immediately taking in the sight of Jo’s almost 30 week baby bump. 

  “I’d love to catch up but I really need to pee first,” Jo grinned at Helen, who directed her down the hallway. As soon as she was out of sight, Alex felt a sharp smack against the back of his head. 

  “Ow! What the hell,” Alex glared at his mother, who was now taking in Harper’s sleeping form. “Geez, that’s a nice warm welcome. I missed you too mom.”

  “I knew you were hiding something from me, I just didn’t think it was a wife and two kids,” Helen began to walk down the hallway towards the living room, Alex following dutifully. “Amber, your brother is here with his new family.”

  A grin took over Alex’s face as his sister came into view, Amber rushing over to pull him into a tight hug. He hadn’t seen her last Christmas because of her work schedule, so the reunion was all the more exciting, “You’ve been holding out on us! I thought you got rid of those twins and the blonde devil, who’s this on your shoulder?”

  Alex rolled his eyes as he settled onto the couch next to Amber, Harper snuggling further into his chest, “I did, thank god. This is Harper, my actual daughter.”

  Amber’s eyebrows rose in shock, Alex holding back his laughter as he realized he had seen the expression on Harper countless times. He was always amazed by just how much of a Karev his daughter was, both in looks and attitude, “Damn you’ve been busy. You hiding a new wife and a van full of kids outside too?”

  “I swear she knows we’re traveling, she has been on top of my bladder all day,” both Amber and Alex’s gazes flicked up to Jo, who now stood behind the couch as she adjusted the sweater she wore. “Amber! It’s so good to see you, it’s been so long!”

  “Jesus Christ Alex, you could call us every once in a while! What’s wrong with you,” Amber jumped up to pull Jo into a hug, “Okay now you have to tell me everything my brother has left out because clearly he’s terrible at communicating with us.”

  +

  Alex eyed the scene playing out in the living room with a grin, the sight warming his heart. Harper was playing with Amber’s two daughters, the older girls ecstatic to have a playmate that would do anything that they asked. Jo and Amber sat on the couch with her husband Matt talking about something he couldn’t quite hear from his position in the kitchen. Both his sister and his wife looked happy though, probably happier than he’d seen either of them in a long while.

  “I’m glad you came out, Jo and Harper both seem to be getting on well with everyone,” Alex snapped out of his daze as his mom came to stand next to him. “I know this year has been rough on you, you deserve to be happy though and anyone with eyes can tell that those girls over there do more than an excellent job of that. Maybe next time don’t wait half a year to tell me though.”

  A smirk spanning his cheeks, Alex wrapped an arm around his mom, “You’re gonna hold that over me for the rest of my life aren’t you?”

  Helen shrugged, leaning into Alex’s embrace as they surveyed their family laughing in the other room. For all that had gone wrong this year, Alex was happy that things had ended well for him. He didn’t think he’d ever get a chance to right the wrongs of his relationship with Jo but he’d been granted that opportunity which he was thankful for more than he could say. Leaving Kansas he truly never thought he’d get the chance to truly be a father, but glancing out at Harper giggling excitedly and Jo’s hands cradling her growing bump he knew that someone was looking out for him. 

  “I would be willing to not bring it up if you keep bringing my grandkids and that pretty wife of yours back home every once in a while,” Alex laughed at his mother’s statement. Of course she’d care more about Jo and the girls than him. 

  “I’m sure I can make that happen mom.”

[tessasocs]

Tagged by: @the-october-reviewer @john-silver and @a-song-of-quill-and-feather (and I’m sure there were more of you and I love you all!) 

Tagging: @decennia @twinmasks @mystic-scripture

Rules: Answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs that you would love to get to know better.

Name/Nickname: Tessa/Tess

Gender: I mean gender is fake, but I prefer she/her

Star sign: CAPRICORN BBY

Height: 5'5

Time: 12:45pm

Birthday: January 13th! (It’s coming up and I’m so excited!)

Favorite Bands: NF, Bleachers, Florence + The Machine, The Mowgli’s, American Authors, Marianas Trench, One Direction, Sleeping At Last, Walk The Moon, Jukebox the Ghost, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, Eagles

Favorite Solo artists: Taylor Swift, MARINA, Lorde, Hozier, Billy Joel, Elton John,  Harry Styles, Sara Bareilles, Rachel Platten, Andy Grammer, Cobi, Rilo Kiley

Song stuck in my head: champagne problems by Taylor Swift (it’s so good and so sad) honorary mention: Ya No Mas by Pilar Pascual

Last movie: The Muppet’s A Christmas Carol (aka the best adaptation)

Last Show: Go! Live Your Way (it’s so cheesy but GODDAMN it has more plot lines than Game of Thrones)

When did I create this blog: October 2019! I just had my first year anniversary and It’s vv exciting!

What do I post: Too much stuff about my ocs and my fanfics. Also random rants.

Last thing I googled: “young jon robert hall lyrics”

Other blogs: oof. I got @margothedestroyerr which is just random shit and all my fandom loves, and uh, I have @tessaswritings which is for my original content and to support the writeblr community. That’s pretty much it so far.

Do I get asks: I mean yeah? I don’t know how often, but my ask box is backed up as hell so yeah.

Why I chose my url: because I made it back when my brand was still papergirlpapertownn. And I had just seen into the spiderverse. 

Following: 463!

Followers: 313!

Average hours of sleep: 7 or 8. My therapist would kill me if I got any less.

Lucky number: 13! Cause I was born on the 13th day and I’m the 13th grandkid!

Instruments: I did take piano lessons although my teacher was yikes, and I’ve been trying to teach myself guitar.

What am I wearing: a grey sweater with ripped jeans because it’s winter here.

Dream job: Oh god I don’t know. Anything that doesn’t involve working for our corporate overlords or harming marginalized groups. I just wanna help people, and do cool research. Maybe an Author.

Dream trip: I WANNA GO TO DUBLIN! Or England. I just wanna see what the big deal is.

Favorite food: Pizza, Pasta, and Tacos

Nationality: *sighs* American

Favorite song: Ooh, right now it’s Evermore or Closure by Taylor Swift.

Last book read: Does fanfic count?

Top three fictional universes I’d like to live in: Harry Potter so I can piss off JK by being a bisexual woman who supports trans people, biopoc, and the jewish community, The 100 because I wanna hook up with Bellamy Blake and Raven Reyes, and The Magicians because it’s just a better version of Harry Potter.

honorable mention to Star Wars.

[kusunogatari]

[ ObiRyū October | Day Eleven | Barbeque ] [ @abyssaldespair ] [ Uchiha Obito, Suigin Ryū, Hatake Kakashi, Nohara Rin, Jiraiya, Uzumaki Naruto ]  [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ Vulgarity ]

[ Previous ] [ Next ]

It’s become a bit of a tradition. The last day of Summer break, before everyone heads back to school, there’s a neighborhood get-together for all of the students, no matter their grade. Hosted at the largest house on the end of the street (which also happens to have an in-ground swimming pool), it’s one of the most anticipated days of the year, even though the day after is rather depressing.

The parents might even enjoy it more than the kids at that point, gaining their school year freedom with their kids shipped off for each weekday.

Though she used to be more into the participation aspect, as a senior in high school now, Ryū is pretty much part of the planning and executing committee alongside her father as hosts. The day before, she helps in pre-preparing all of the food for the barbeque, ensuring the pool is up to snuff and stocked with toys and supplies, and tidying up the yard to place all the outdoor furniture.

“How’s it looking out here?” Jiraiya asks from the porch.

Ryū, down below, is hosing off the dust from all of the lawn chairs. “Good! Almost done! How’s the menu? Do we need to get anything else?”

“We’ve got enough hamburgers and hotdogs to feed an army!” he replies with a signature grin. “Add in the chips and dip, the beans, and the drinks, and we’re good to go. I got a bit more than last year just to be sure. We can always have leftovers for a day or two!”

“Sounds good to me!”

“Pool partyyy!”

Seeing her little brother come flying out the back door, Ryū manages to drop the hose and scoop him up, twirling to help with his momentum. “Not until tomorrow! And you know you can’t go in the pool without your water wings, Naruto! It’s not safe!”

“But I wanna swim!” the four year old rebukes, cheeks puffed in indignation.

“You can! Tomorrow. I thought you were helping Dad in the kitchen, huh?”

“That’s boring,” the little blond mutters. “I don’t wanna make food, I wanna eat it!”

Ryū just laughs. “But you have to make food before you can eat it!”

“Nuh uh, that’s adults’ job!”

Grey eyes roll. “Well you’ll have to cook when you’re an adult, then. And you better learn how before then, huh? Or you won’t know how!”

Still struggling in her grip, Naruto grunts and drops the subject. “Lemme down!”

“Do you promise not to go in the pool?”

“Yeah, I promise!”

“Okay. Go back inside, it’s almost dark.”

Clearly displeased, he nonetheless follows her orders, dragging his bare feet the whole way.

She sighs, then looks over her handiwork. Seems everything on her list is done. The plastic furniture will dry overnight, so she shuts off the hose and then closes the cover on the pool. One last sweep, then inside she goes to help with dinner.

“Excited for tomorrow?” Jiraiya asks, still in the kitchen.

“Yeah! But I’m sad it’ll be the last one for me…”

“Nonsense! You can still participate while you’re in college, kiddo. And then you’ll just be one of the adults dragging your kiddos over, hm?”

Ryū gives him a look. “Getting a bit ahead of yourself, aren’t you?”

“What, I’m not allowed to tease you about grandkids?”

“You don’t need any for a while, you’ve got Naruto to worry about!”

“And he’s gonna need some kiddos to play with!”

She groans, bringing out more supplies from the fridge. “Oh my gosh, Dad…”

He gives a booming laugh. “You’ll get baby fever one of these days. Just do me a favor and finish college first, that’s all I ask.”

“I haven’t even dated anyone yet,” she counters, grinning.

“Much to my disappointment. I haven’t gotten to give anyone the tough, intimidating dad talk yet! I’ve been practicing!”

And so the banter goes as they cook, finishing and calling Naruto down for dinner. After dishes are done, Ryū retreats to her room and her computer. Social media is little more than everyone groaning about heading back to class, and seniors in particular being “so done” with high school already.

Scrolling through her feed, Ryū smiles softly at a post from Rin. Seems she and Kakashi went to the beach today, if her selfie is anything to go by. She’s already confirmed they’re both coming tomorrow. Technically Rin lives a few streets over, but...best friends get to bend the rules. And Kakashi is a few houses down. Then there’s some younger students, like grade schooler Itachi and his little brother Sasuke, who’s best friends with Naruto. Quite a few of his soon-to-be classmates tend to come over, too. Ryū often has to corral them all herself, the self-appointed babysitter.

Rin teases her about it and her mother nature. “Sure you don’t wanna be a daycare worker or something? You’d be great at it! Kids love you.”

“Not sure my energy levels could survive it,” she’d countered with a grin. As much as she likes kids...they’re a ton of work. She gets enough of that handling Naruto whenever she’s home to deal with her godbrother.

Otherwise her feed is just the typical, and Ryū soon abandons it for a bit of game-playing until bedtime. Already she’s prepared for both tomorrow and the day after: the last first day back of high school.

But it still takes her a little while to fall asleep, thinking it all over. Despite Jiraiya’s reassurances otherwise, something still feels really...final about tomorrow. Another stepping stone she won’t be able to come back to. Another year ending, and one beginning.

Either way, she can’t stop the passage of time.

Come morning, she wakes groggy, her lying awake meaning a slow start. No one is supposed to arrive until noon, so at least she has some buffer before having to handle anyone beyond her dad and brother. Breakfast is slogged down with many a yawn before changing into her outfit for the day.

Given there’s going to be swimming, she puts on her suit first: a longline bikini top and a skirt over the bottom piece until she actually decides to take a plunge. Her hair she ties up in a tail, a few shorter locks framing her face alongside her bangs.

By then, she’s finally fully awake, heading back downstairs to help Jiraiya with the last few finishing touches.

“How’s it looking down here?”

“So far so good! You got a lot done last night, thanks.”

Smiling at the praise, Ryū then glances up at a familiar voice. “Rin!”

Grinning ear to ear, the little brunette rushes into the yard, hopping up to cling to her taller friend. “Hiii! Hope you don’t mind that we’re early?”

“Not at all!” Holding Rin up, Ryū just nods to Kakashi rather than wave. “I can’t get over how tan you are. How many times did you go to the beach this Summer?”

“A few,” Rin replies coyly, letting herself be put down onto the grass. “Look, even ‘kashi has a bit of a tan line! And he’s always pale!”

Sighing lightly at his girlfriend’s antics, Kakashi lets her do as she pleases, lifting his sleeve to show the slight change in tone beneath it.

Ryū just laughs. And is then promptly cut off by Naruto running and crashing into Kakashi head-on.

“Oof!”

The girls giggle, Naruto throwing a slew of questions at the teens. As some of his late father’s favorite students at the high school he taught at, Rin and Kakashi are rather close to the little Uzumaki.

“Look how tall you’re getting, Naruto!” Rin praises, scooping him up. “You’re almost as tall as me, aren’t you?”

“He’s got a ways to go yet,” Ryū replies. Rin may be short, but not that short.

“You must be eating your vegetables like I told you to, huh?”

The blond sticks out his tongue. “No way!”

From there, once noon strikes, people begin filing in. All of the neighborhood children and their parents arrive, the large rear yard filling. Ryū opens the pool and it floods with splashing and squealing kids, all watched over carefully by a rotating squad of adults.

Ryū bustles around helping, distributing food and drinks while checking to make sure no one is missing anything. In between, she chats with others from her class, all smiles.

But eventually she notices something seems...off about Rin.

“Hey, you okay?”

She jumps a bit, turning to Ryū sheepishly. “Well, I uh...I might’ve invited somebody.”

“That’s okay! They not here yet?”

“No...I’m afraid he won’t show up...he seemed kinda on the fence about it.”

Ryū’s head tilts curiously. “Too shy, or…?”

“Yeah. And he, um…” Rin bites her lip. “...it’s kinda hard to explain. He’s not very...popular. He tends to butt heads with people sometimes…?”

“Uh, okay…” Ryū can’t help but hesitate. Is this going to cause any problems, or…?

“Maybe he won’t come. I was hoping he would so he could try and ease into things, y’know?”

“Is he new?”

“Well, no. But he had to change schools for a while.”

Something starts to click in Ryū’s head. “...wait...you mean Obito? The one who got in that accident?”

“Yeah! He’s been in a, um...a different school since he fell so behind after the wreck. And it...didn’t go well. Apparently it was pretty rough…”

“...I see…”

“But he’s able to come back this year to graduate with us, if all goes well! So I wanted him to come and sort of...reintroduce himself, you know?”

Ryū nods. “That’s fine.” She remembers that kid, vaguely. Ryū had mostly hung out with Rin back then, mostly only catching glimpses of him back when he’d try to woo her friend. But, well...Rin’s got a boyfriend now, so she doesn’t have much to go off of.

“Just, um...he’s a little rough around the edges now, if...you catch my drift. He had to be, after dealing with all those jerks.”

“Well, so long as he doesn’t cause any trouble, I don’t mind. Let me know if he shows up, and I’ll -”

“Oh! There he is!”

Jolting, Ryū follows Rin’s pointing finger to a figure coming down the sidewalk. His posture is slightly hunched, dressed in an outfit that makes her want to start sweating. Full pants, full shirt...he’s got to be dying! But as he gets closer, Ryū gets the feeling she understands why.

A myriad of scars pepper one side of his face, and she can see them go down under his shirt. Probably from the accident, then...he must want to keep them covered up. His posture is defensive, as though he expects to be attacked at any moment. And when he meets her eyes, there’s a weight behind his gaze she can’t identify...but immediately sympathizes with.

“Obito!” Rin calls in greeting, moving to the fence. A few people stop at her voice, looking to the newcomer uncertainty. “Hey, hey! Remember her?”

Ryū follows, feeling a bit unsure. “Hey,” she greets, flashing a tentative smile.

“This is her house! Remember what I was telling you?”

Obito’s eyes flicker over the property, and Ryū feels a sudden surge of self consciousness.

“I remember,” he replies, tone a bit awkward.

“It’s been a long time,” Ryū offers, trying to be friendly. “I’m glad you get to come back this year! I’m sure a lot of people miss you.”

“I doubt it.”

The girls exchange an awkward glance.

“Well...feel free to come in, if you’d like! Dad’s still barbecuing if you’re hungry. He’s a really good cook.”

“Oh please, we all know you prep the food and he just cooks it,” Rin laughs.

“Well, still!”

“...Obito?”

All three of them pause as Kakashi steps up.

“...Kakashi.”

“I...didn’t know you were coming.”

“Rin invited me.”

The couple exchange a look, and Ryū can’t help a small grimace. Seems that particular decision wasn’t discussed.

“...didn’t know that either,” Kakashi replies coolly.

“Didn’t know it was your business who she talks to.”

“So, uh -?” Ryū tries to cut in, only to be drowned out.

“I like to know who my girlfriend talks to, sure. That a problem?”

“Kakashi, please,” Rin murmurs. “Let’s not do this now, okay? Obito’s free to be here. Ryū said so.”

The boys stare at each other a long moment.

“...you’re right. Enjoy the party,” Kakashi then relents before an arm around Rin’s shoulder steers her away.

...well that was awkward.

Nervously itching her arm, Ryū mumbles, “...sorry about that…”

“It’s not your fault,” Obito retorts bluntly. “He’s always been an asshole. Not sure what Rin sees in him.”

“...guess we all have our reasons.”

“I can leave if you want.”

“Wh-? No! Please stay,” Ryū cuts in, her expression falling. “...really, it’s fine. You’re more than welcome here. If Kakashi’s going to be an ass, then...let him. But don’t let that turn you away, okay?” She softens. “...I know it can’t be easy coming back here after so long, so...maybe it would be good to sort of...take today as a test run…?”

Obito sighs, hands in his pockets. “Not sure it’ll make any difference. Everyone’s got their opinions already.”

“...maybe so. But, if it means anything...I’d like to get to know you again.” She offers a smile. “It’s been a long time, and...we didn’t know each other that well before. Maybe this is a good excuse to...try again?”

He looks her over suspiciously before softening a few degrees. “...all right.”

Her smile grows. “Okay! Hungry?”

“...yeah, a little.”

“Come on, we’ve got a whole barbeque going. It’s really good!” Ryū opens the little gate into the yard, letting him through. “So, hamburger or hotdog?”

“...hamburger, I guess.”

“Okay - we’ve got a whole bunch of chip types, too. And beans! We go all-out every Summer for today, so take as much as you want!”

As they approach the table where Jiraiya is serving, Ryū notices a momentary look on Obito’s face: one that says he’s far hungrier than he’s letting on.

...it makes her hesitate, a suspicion growing in her mind. But for now, she lets it slide. “Dad! Got a fresh burger? We’ve got a new arrival!”

Jiraiya looks up. “Sure! Just a minute, almost done with another wave!”

“You can pick all your condiments in the meantime,” Ryū offers with a smile.

A bit hesitant, Obito takes a plate and sheepishly prepares a bun. A mountain of chips follows, along with several scoops of beans.

Watching from over the top of the grill, Jiraiya exchanges a knowing glance with his daughter.

“Ryū, you want to eat? You’ve been running around all day!”

“Okay, sure. One more for me, then!”

“Coming right up.”

Taking up her own plate, Ryū stacks it high. She has indeed been busy up until now. Then Jiraiya gives them each a patty.

“Enjoy!”

“Where do you want to sit?”

“...uh…” Obito glances around.

“We can sit along the poolside if you want and put our feet in! It’s such a pretty day...and all the little kids are out now, so we shouldn’t get splashed!”

“...sure.”

Ryū leads the way, slipping off her sandals and sitting along the pool’s edge. Feet lazily kick through the water. Beside her, Obito kicks off his sneakers, rolling up his pant legs slightly to do the same.

“That’s better, huh?”

He doesn’t reply. Seems he’s too preoccupied with his plate full of food. Obito scarfs it all down like he hasn’t eaten in days. Teenage boys tend to have voracious appetites, but…

Well, she was going to try and talk to him, but...he’s clearly got other priorities. So Ryū goes ahead and eats too, watching as Kakashi and Rin, and Asuma and Kurenai start a water battle. The girls sit on the boys’ shoulder, trying to topple one another over.

“Gonna join in?”

She gives a start at the sudden question. “Huh?”

Obito nods to the pool, chewing another bite before swallowing. “You’ve got your suit on, right?”

“Oh...well, um…” There’s a sheepish pause. “I don’t...have anyone to play that with. But I might swim a bit after my food settles.”

His brow furrows at her answer, but he doesn’t rebuke. “...so how long have Rin and Kakashi been a thing?”

“...two years now, I think? It...took a while. According to Rin, Kakashi was worried about dating affecting his grades and time to work on school stuff.”

Obito scoffs. “Typical. He’s still top of the class anyway, right?”

“Er...yeah. Always has been.”

That earns a sigh. “Mister perfect...gets the girl, gets the grades…”

Unsure what to say, Ryū glances down sheepishly to her plate.

“Heads up!”

Jolting, Ryū barely has time to shout in surprise as Rin and Kakashi’s tower falls toward them. Rin tumbles forward, but Kakashi slams back against them. Water rushes over the pair of them with shocked gasps.

“God damn it, Kakashi!” Obito yells, struggling to his feet.

“It was an accident, Obito!” Kakashi counters, already crossing back to the other side of the pool and ignoring him.

“I’m soaked! You stupid -!”

Looking up at Obito’s strange, sudden silence, Ryū gasps - he’s gone rigid, clearly having some kind of attack. Balance lost, he topples head-first into the pool.

“Obito!” Slipping in over the side, Ryū finds a grip under his arms, hauling his head back above the water to let him gasp for air.

Immediately, the others react. Kakashi and Asuma help lift him up to the concrete walkway around the pool, Ryū turning him on his side in case he needs to cough up any more water. Fishing around in his pockets, she finds what she thought she’d find: a sealed pill bottle. Thankfully it was closed tight enough no water got in. She fishes out a tablet, stuffing it into Obito’s mouth. “Swallow!”

He does so with a little difficulty. And after a painful minute, his body starts to relax.

By then, several adults including Jiriaya have gathered around, the latter looking gravely serious. “Let’s get him inside and dried off.”

As the rest of the teens linger in the pool, shocked, Ryū follows in her father’s shadow. In another room, he trades Obito’s soaked clothes for some spares of his own, throwing the rest into the dryer. Obito is then laid on a couch to regain his head.

Ryū sits right beside him, brows pinched with worry. Her hands fiddle subconsciously with the bottle.

Slowly, color comes back to his cheeks, breathing regulating. His foggy gaze refocuses, and it turns to Ryū. “...h-how did you -?”

“I, um...I-I’d like to be a nurse, so...I read a lot of medical junk online,” she admits softly, a bit sheepish. “So I kinda...knew what to look for. It’s a good thing you had these on you.”

“...good thing you knew what to do with them,” he sighs, head rolling back to stare at the ceiling.

“...you okay?”

“...I will be. Thanks for, uh…” He pauses awkwardly. “...saving my ass.”

“Of course...I’m just glad you’re all right.” After a moment, she hands him the bottle, which he keeps clutched in a hand. “...is that...because of your accident?”

A gusty sigh escapes him. “...yeah. Happens randomly, but...especially when I get stressed.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Not your fault.”

“No, but...I still feel bad. Maybe I...should have let you go home.”

His eyes flicker to their corners at her. “...I’m glad I stayed.”

In turn, she looks up from her lap in surprise.

“Well...hopefully I won’t be too stiff tomorrow. I tend to get locked up after one of these…”

“Maybe you can call the school and -?”

“They don’t care. I’ll be fine.”

“...but -?”

“It’s fine. I’ll live.”

Given all she’s learned (and guessed) about Obito today, Ryū feels her heart clenching for him. The poor guy… “...well, if you need any help, just let me know...okay? I’d be happy to.”

“...thanks.”

By then, the day begins to wind down, and guests start filtering back out the way they came. Near the end, Rin and Kakashi come in.

“...you okay?” Rin asks, wringing her hands.

“Fine.”

“...sorry about all that,” Kakashi mumbles.

“Wouldn’t kill you to be more careful,” Obito counters with a glance.

Kakashi has no rebuke.

“Well, we’ll...see you guys tomorrow,” Rin then offers, still looking nervous.

“Bye guys.” Ryū gives a little wave, watching them go.

“I should head home, too.”

“You sure? Can we give you a lift back?”

“No, I -”

“I’d be happy to. It’d save you the walking.”

“It’ll be good for me to stretch my legs.”

“You won’t, um...there’s no chance you’ll relapse on the way?”

“Probably not.”

Ryū nibbles her lip. “...can I...give you my number, and you can let me know you make it back in one piece?”

“My phone got soaked.”

Oh. “...do you have a landline at home you can call from?”

He gives a huff of a laugh. “Stubborn, aren’t you?”

Her cheeks tinge pink. “...yes.”

“All right, fine. If that’ll stop your mother henning, so be it.”

Ryū walks with him out to the road, watching him like a hawk. “Be careful on your way.”

“Will do. Thanks for the food.”

“...thanks for staying.”

He nods, giving a salute before heading down the sidewalk.

After a pause, Ryū calls, “See you tomorrow?”

Obito stops, looking back. “...yeah!”

A small smile pulls at her lips. Well...maybe today wasn’t a total disaster.

     Phew, just barely got this done. Weekend was busier and more exhausting than I figured, so this is...late :’D But better late than never.      I wanted to base this in Obito’s bully verse, but idk if I really wrote it well kjdfdkjhg so forgive me, I’m not very learned in writing that kind of thing lol      I guess otherwise I...dunno what else to say? I’m very tired :’D Thanks for reading!

[sw124]

[Lamia-Birdy-Bitty Daily life!14]

/Pro-Revenge/p3

Hello my Lamia lovers how are you all doing, good I hope...well everyone this is gonna be the finale you’ve all been waiting for. I forgot to mention in my last posts, yes I know Covid-19 is running like wildfire right now but the funeral just shy of the shutdown so no worries. Unfortunately this little update to the story happened after the outbreak, I warn you this is gonna be sad, it mentions death yet again so please those with sensitive bitties do not read it to them.

Without further a due, lets begin.

Leaving off with Rosie treating me and all my babies out to a nice dinner, it was at Ryo Coast. Got to see Juan again but sadly no Virgil, though he was excited to see my birdie boys. We had a wonderful time eating sushi, watching Juan do his spatula flipping tricks and simply enjoying each others company. Phthalo came with us too, I always love seeing him with Rosie, especially how he dotes on her.

I’m pretty sure she needed this more then me...

We got back later in the evening, I was about to turn to tell my boys to unbuckle from their seats [Rosie drove us] when Rosie took my arm and asked me to stay in the car with her. Needless to say I was confused but did as she asked, so we sat there for at least a few minutes before she started talking.

Rosie told me she wanted me to know the story between her and her sons, though she appreciated I didn’t pry into her business it was about time she told me the situation. Years ago, way before I was even a thought in the mind of my own parents Leo and Rosie started up a small grocery store for the people in their hometown. They weren’t rich, far from it in fact, they were somewhat struggling in the beginning. But Leo and Rosie were content with that, they were pretty simple people.

Their boys however were not, as years went by and they grew up the boys began resenting their parents for not giving them a better lifestyle. The two of them did their best in raising them but when those two turned 18 they just left for collage. Paid for by stealing the nest egg Rosie and Leo had used for the store, they didn’t realize it until a fire started in the store, sadly they also lived within the same building and they not only lost their business but their home as well.

The nest egg was for in case something like this happened but with it gone they had nothing to rebuild from; thank goodness for human compassion and kindness. Their community came together and helped them out, a friend of theirs bought up the property where their shop burnt down, turned it into a cafe and let them work there to earn money. After a while they saved up enough to rent a small apartment, this went on for a few years before something really changed their lives. She didn’t say what but I figured they were offered high paying jobs somewhere else and took them.

I mentioned that and she gave me a playful shrug, saying ‘you could say that’ and continued with the story. She went on about how she and Leo enjoyed their work, got plenty of money and saved it up. She then told me they bought the house near my apartment for the sake of retirement, she told me she found out where her sons had gone. They were working as executives of some random companies in California, they found out about this from some of their nieces and nephews. They married, each having two kids; all daughters and worst of all had never since told the grandkids of their existence.

At least not until recently.

None of them had any contact until recently, she told me that her son’s weren’t going to attended unless they were getting money out of it. What made her sad was they considered them to be burdens in their lives....she spared me any other details which I understood. Leo left them a little money but the rest of it went to the grand nieces and grand nephews as collage tuition for their own futures. As for the sons they just left when they got what they came for, I have to say I was pretty close to screaming in anger at that point but held it in check.

She started telling me about how a little after the fire is when she and Leo took in Phthalo and well the rest is history. I sat there in that warm car while our boys were asleep in the back, it took me a while to process this information but in the end....I took Rosie’s hand and thanked her for telling me everything.

So we sat there for a while, just...enjoying the company of one another. From time to time I’d look in the back seat at the sleeping serpents and fizzled out fouls hehe. At least I had these guys, after a little while I take my boys home.

Then the shutdown happened, everyone was stuck inside and not allowed to travel anywhere. Not a problem for me but for Rosie it was hard, she’s such a social butterfly. Thank goodness for Phthalo and my boys, they head over to hang out in her yard. Things were ok for a while but...when the shutdown ended something happened.

No Rosie didn’t contract Covid, she started getting visitors; why is it bad? These visitors were not the kind she wanted, they were her granddaughters from her two selfish sons. They showed up and started trying to shove her out of her own home, apparently the girls wanted a place of their own so they began badgering Rosie to go into a nursing home. Bless her for being strong willed, not to mention having someone to back her up secretly. I had gotten the numbers of some of her family in case something happened.

It was during one of these visits by the granddaughters that....Rosie had her accident. She fell down the stairs, instead of calling for help the girls just left her there. Phthalo came banging at my back door for my help, poor Rosie had a broken hip.

I...don’t wanna go into details but when Rosie was in the hospital for her hip she got very sick and was in critical condition. I worried not just for her but for Phthalo, I got to talk to her via FaceTime and told her if anything happened I’d take Phthalo in. [I already talked it over with my boys, they’d be ok with it if push came to shove] She told me not to worry cause she already planned to have Phthalo adopted by someone in the neighborhood, a friend of theirs whom Phthalo trusts. You have no idea what a relief that was to me.

While she was in the hospital I called Rodger and Betty, they’ve been watching the house for her. Though I was happy they were watching the house for Rosie I still was worried for her health, I called her a few times via FaceTime and so far things are going ok....

But then I got a call from Betty, Rosie had passed on during the night. I was a wreck for a good four hours, bless my boys for being there for me.

It was later...bout a month after her passing she had a funeral, overseen by Rodger and Jon. I couldn’t attend due to covid but Betty came and stayed at my apartment to mourn with me and my boys. We both needed consoling and its nice she was there for me.

It was later something happened....

After Betty and I made some lunch man in a sharp black suit came, I remembered him from Leo’s funeral. He was followed by Rodger and Jon. They all sat down in my living room, apparently this was the reading of Rosies will.

The Lawyer started with Phthalo being moved to his new home by Rodger; already done. Then the house was given to Jon who would over see its care and lastly was me, everyone was looking at me when the lawyer passed me a envelope. It was one of those lovely invitation envelopes. I opened it and pulled out a hand written letter...it read as follows. [S4 is not my name but i’m protecting my identity]

Dear, S4

I’m writing this to you because I feel this would help you understand my decision. You’ve been such a sweet neighbor to my husband and I, always bringing your sweeties to play or help us with little things. You never once asked for a reward or recognition, Leo had always saw you as a member of the family. I know you will not accept monetary gifts but I urge you to make this acceptation, a large bulk of my savings have been shared to family and donated to charity. The last bit is for you along with some other things, I want you to know my dear how happy you made me, Phthalo and my husband Leo, from the bottom of our hearts Thank you.

Sincerely

Rosie.

I look in the envelope to find a check....I won’t divulge the amount but it was more then I could have believed. I bursted into tears and nearly choked on my own sobs, I tried to make sense of it until Betty patted my back. Then told me something that threw me into a loop.

Betty: Rosie and Leo won the lottery back in the day, its what got them out of poverty. They pretended to have gotten better jobs and retired to keep the boys off their back.

Now...it made sense, everything made sense. Their house, their hobbies, an some other things. But now I was worried about the threat the boys had given me and I made that known, Rodger smiled and patted my hand. Everyone assured me that won’t happen, Rosie had disowned the boys and cut them from her will. If anything all they got left was a warehouse full of junk that Leo didn’t want.

So thats sorta the end, heh well I should mention the two sons were having financial trouble and were hoping on Rosie’s money to get them out. But since her money was gone they had gone bankrupt and lost every little dime, so if they did sue me they wouldn’t have money to pay for any lawyer. That and they had no idea their mother left me anything.

I used the money to pay for a year of rent and put the rest in savings. So everyone thats the story, revenge with a side of love.

[ For info on lamia bitties please visit @vex-bittys and for bird bitties please visit @coalition-aviary-bitty-adoption hope u enjoy]

[marvelous-space-nerd]

Just breathe, you idiot ch3

Almost forgot to post it here lol. Please leave a comment if you liked it they really make my day!

ao3 link

Summary:

It has been a long day. Geralt and Jaskier got kicked out of town, and one idiot just needed to wake Geralt up in the middle of the night, barely being able to take a single breath.

OR

The consequences of very unsafe binding featering one idiotic bard

Geralt was still watching Jaskier perform his ballad. He was dancing around the campfire, strumming his lute and singing about how the white wolf saved yet another village and how they kicked him out afterwards. He really loved how Jaskier sung about that shithole, no one would come there ever again when they heard it.

‘What do you think?’ He said after finishing.

‘Hm. Prefer your slower songs but it is a good song. So I like it.’

‘Great! I'll perform it in the next inn we see, might make some really good coin out of it.’

‘Just don't do something idiotic with your ribs.’

‘You're still angry about that aren’t you? I explained it all to you and if I may quote you, you said “I do understand, so I know I can't stop you” so don't try it Geralt. I already am way more careful than a month ago, and no I don't know how long that carefulness is going to last but right now I'm doing a pretty good job. So stop saying stuff like that.’

So he didn't say anything, he was right. He said he understood, so he shouldn’t want to stop him. And yet he wanted to stop him so bad. He shouldn't have to hurt himself like this, he should be able to live without this shit. So they just looked at each other for awhile, until Jaskier finally opened his mouth.

‘Look Geralt, I don't want to have to fight you over this all of the time.’So please, don't say stuff like that anymore.’

‘I just want to find a solution and.. uhm..’ He stuttered, he just didn’t know what to say anymore.

‘I know, but we made a plan, and yeah, it really sucks. But that’s just the way things are right now. So please Geralt, stop fighting me over it.’

‘Fine, but you gotta promise me to tell me when it hurts, stop making me guess.’

‘Alright I'll try. So-’

‘Jaskier don't just try, I need you to promise me.’

‘You serious? I don't want to distract you when you really need to pay attention to whatever foe you're fighting!’

‘Jaskier.’ He said gritty. ‘I need you to promise it’

‘Fine, I hereby promise thy Geralt of Rivia to tell you when my ribs really hurt. That satisfy you?’

‘Yes’

‘Good, so where are we headed? We really gotta find a contract soon, and I really want to perform again, so we’re going to a town with an inn or tavern. Preferably one where we don't get kicked out.’

‘Should be a reasonable sized town if we follow this road, so guess we’re headed in that direction’ He said while pointing at the nearby road.

‘Lovely. I'm not gonna sing you to sleep tonight’ He said when the witcher started looking up. He didn’t know Jaskier knew, he really thought he didn't notice.  ‘Yes Geralt I know you like it and I won't tell anyone. Trust me.’

‘Hm. You going to sleep early?’

‘Geralt, I have never in my whole life gone to bed early. I want to play a game of gwent and preferably get drunk.’ He said.

‘Would love too but we don't have any drinks.’

Are you really sure about that? Did you think that I would leave the shitiest town on the whole continent without stealing something?’ He said while getting up and walking over to his stuff.

‘You stole from them?’

‘Don't say they didn’t deserve it. Anyway I saved it for a special occasion, you in?’

‘Of course, any specific deck you wanna play tonight?’

‘I feel like playing as the Northern Realms tonight, you?’

‘I'll play Nilfgaard.’ He said while finding their decks. 

‘Ohoho, the dreaded Nilfgaard.’ He was now holding a bottle of wine, or it looked like it could be wine. ‘You know it's really not fair when you use all of your special cards, which I know you will do when you use your nilfgaardian deck.’

‘Afraid to lose?’

‘Me? The famous Jaskier, one of the best minstrels in the Northern Kingdoms?’ He replied with a glint in his eye and a smile on his face ‘Never.’

‘Good. Let’s play.’

Geralt won the first round and Jaskier the second. Last round was a tie, and with Geralt playing as Nilfgaard he won this game. But the bottle was still left untouched, so Jaskier proposed that they’d play a drinking game. They’d take a big sip if they’d won a round, because the other way around he’d “Have no interest in winning anymore”. And they did, and Jaskier’s gwent skills somehow became a lot better. He won the next two games without any trouble.

‘Wow that’s some really strong wine. And just like where it came from it’s disgusting, I'm not even sure if you can call this wine’ Geralt could just see that the alcohol started to kick in after the second game and he couldn't wait until he won a round so he too could drink. ‘But wow, this will do the trick, you really gotta play a bit better Geralt, you're missing out’

‘I'll switch decks,’ He said while grabbing the rest of his cards. ‘I'll play monsters this round.’

‘Doubt you’ll beat me, I’m amazing at this game.’

‘And tipsy, so I’ll beat you’

Jaskier won the first round and Geralt the next two. Jaskier was right, whatever this was it tasted like shit but he couldn't care less. He really needed an evening doing nothing in particular, not worrying about anything at all, and this would definitely do the trick. And as the evening progressed the sips became bigger, until they just downed half of the bottle in one go. It was one of the best evenings they had in a long while. They both really needed an evening of drinking disgusting whatever it was and trying to think of something stupid to do. Jaskier started this with singing some of his ballads, the bad decisions started when he started singing who knows how many rounds of Fishmongers daughter while Geralt was busy telling him to stop. 

‘I'll stop when I'm dead, and you can't kill me because I'm fucking famous Geralt. It would give you more trouble than it's *burb* worth’

‘What if I just steal your lute?’ He got up and started walking to the other drunkard

‘I'll still sing it but I won't give up that easily, so fucking catch me’ And he ran away into the forest, still singing, and Geralt followed the sound of false singing and the poorest excuse of playing an instrument he’d ever heard. He just started another round and this time he seemed to stay in the same place.

‘Oh fishmonger, oh fishmonger

Come quell your daughter's hunger’

He really seemed to stay in the same place this round,

‘To pull on my horn’

and he really was gonna stop him this round.

‘As it rises in the morn

For 'tis naught, but bad luck’

The sound started to become closer.

‘To fuck with a puck

Lest your grandkid be born

A hairy young faun’

He saw him, he was standing in a clearing in the woods near a little stream and was singing to the rest of the forest, clearly hoping Geralt would come out of it.

‘Bleating and braying all day, hey ho

The fishmonger's daughter, ba ba

The fishmonger's daughter, ba ba’

‘You really couldn’t think of something less repetitive when writing this?’

‘Don't you know? I wrote this song for you!’

‘It's the most annoying song I've ever heard, Jaskier.’

‘Exactly’ A smile from one ear to the other formed on his face as he continued to sing, still inviting Geralt to come and get him.

‘The fishmonger's daughter, ba ba’

So he started walking towards the singing bard, and he walked backwards slowly,

‘The fishmonger's daughter, ba ba ba’

and thus he didn’t watch his footing,

‘The fishmonger's daughter, ba ba’

and that idiot fucking tripped backwards.

‘The fishmonger's daughter, ba- ah fuck! He said while falling, and Geralt saw this as a good opportunity to stop him. He still played one out of tune note before Geralt pinned him down and put his lute aside. And of course he wouldn’t shut up yet.

‘The fishmonger's daughter, ba ba’

‘Is there even a way to shut you up?’

‘Not without putting something in my mouth, or as many bedmates did, by kissing me. But it doesn't seem like your planning on doing that so as I was singing..

The fishmonger's daughter, ba ba ba’

Kissing him huh? Doesn’t sound so bad actually, 

‘Ta-da-da-da-ta, ta-da-da-da-da--’

so he did it. Before he even realized what he was doing he was kissing him, and Jaskier kissed him back. He still tasted like that horrible drink but it was still the best kiss he’s  had in awhile, maybe even the best kiss he’s ever had. It wasn’t a very deep kiss, and yet it felt so passionate. Geralt pulled back and opened his eyes, and Jaskier was staring back at him, in disbelieve, but still processing what just happened. He got off Jaskier to physically give him some space to progress this, and in all honestly Geralt himself also needed to process it, he didn’t even know he wanted this until a moment ago. And now he just wanted more. He always wanted to hold him, help him, make sure he’s alright. In hindsight his feelings should have been so obvious to himself and yet.. he didn’t realise any of it. Oh goddamnit Jaskier, please say something he thought, he was so afraid of losing him because of his drunk decision making.

‘I.. Geralt… I'm sorry I-’ He finally said

‘Don't. This is my fault, I.. uhm..’

‘Do you..really want this Geralt?’

Yes, yes yes yes and a thousand times he wanted to scream. But he still was a witcher, and they shouldn’t show emotions, but most of all he didn’t want to ruin their friendship by doing another stupid thing. And those thoughts stopped him from saying anything at all. Until Jaskier seemed to read his mind.

‘We’re okay Geralt, I just really need to know that this isn’t one of your very bad drunk decisions.’

‘I do mean it. I just didn’t realize it before and I..uhm..’

‘A lot is happening right now? Yeah I know. Geralt look, I have been in a lot of relationships, men and women, but none of them knew. So, and I know this will sound weird, let’s take it slow. Especially in the sleeping together department. A lot is happening and I don't think I can handle anything anymore if we go too quick. So please, no rush.’

‘Too much is happening to not take it slow, I agree. Let’s just go to sleep now, I'm tired.’

‘Great plan, do you have any idea how to get back? I did not pay any attention to how I got here so I'm really hoping you did.’

‘I just followed you, of course I didn't pay attention.’

‘Lovely, your witcher senses aren’t telling you any clue about where the fuck we are?’

‘I'm drunk, Jaskier, just like your senses mine numb down too.’

‘Well fuck. I don't know about you but I really don't feel like looking for it right now so let’s just collect some twigs and sleep on the moss.’

‘Hm’ He said while he started to collect some twigs, Jaskier was looking for the softest spot on the ground in the meantime. Jaskier pointed at a bed of moss, and Geralt realized that his twigs weren’t going to make things any more comfortable, so he dropped them and made his way over to Jaskier. They both lied down and  Geralt didn’t think it was cold, Jaskier however was shivering a few inches away from him.

‘Come here, Jaskier.’ He said

‘What?’

He let out a sigh. ‘You’re shivering and I’m the warmest thing around, so come here.’

He mumbled some things while rolling over to Geralt, and he might’ve even heard a very soft ‘thank you, Geralt’ somewhere hidden in his almost inaudible mumbling. When he was close enough he put his arms around him and Jaskier did the same. And despite the cold and hard ground, the warm body pressed against him made sure it was the best sleep Geralt’s had in a while.

‘Ah, fuck.’

That’s not a nice thing to wake up to Geralt thought. The soft morning sun was shining on his cold face and he slept great. Besides the headache and the cold floor this was a perfect morning. The thing that worried him was that he knew Jaskier didn’t swear when he’d just woken up, not even when hungover. Before he knew it Jaskier was rolling away from him, he lied on his back and he just groaned. Geralt was also hung over but he didn’t react like this. Yes his head hurt but it wasn’t bad enough to just lie on his back and just groan, and they both drank the same amount of whatever that stuff was.

‘Ah Geralt!’ He said cheery as ever. ‘I see you're awake to, sleep well?’

‘I did. You okay?’ He asked. 

‘I.. You know what, fuck it. I told you I’d be honest so here it is, I forgot to take my binder off yesterday.’

‘Binder?’

‘Yeah, that’s how I decided to name my bandages from now on, figured it might sound a little nicer than bandages’

‘Does sound nicer. How bad is it?’

‘Not that bad as when you had to force me out of them, but it does hurt pretty bad.’ He said while for some reason letting out a little laugh, which looked like a bad idea. He directly bend over a little bit, hugging his chest. He started grabbing at his bandages-- no binder-  when the pain seemed to have lessened a bit. He didn’t seem to be planning on taking his shirt off despite the fact that that made things significantly harder.

‘Let me help you.’ He said before he even realized it. He moved over to Jaskier, who was now sitting on his knees. He sat behind him hoping it would make him a little bit more comfortable. 

‘Don't cut them this time Geralt or we’re gonna run out soon.’

He smiled at that joke before helping him out of his shirt and finding the beginning of his “binder”. It still sounded weird, but at least it didn’t sound like he was hurt anymore. The word binding implies you’re holding something together, and yet he seemed to be losing control over his habits. One day it will get bad again, Geralt knew, Jaskier himself told him he has no idea how long his habits would stay this good. So he didn’t think binder was the right word. But he’d use it, if it makes Jaskier feel better.

‘Put your hands above your head.’ He said before starting to unravel the bandages ever so careful. He made sure not to touch him to make things even a little more bearable for him, or so he hoped. He’d already seen him unbound, heck he’s even seen his chest before, but Jaskier still looked so sad, maybe even ashamed every time he had to take them off. When he was done Jaskier directly put his shirt back on, and lied back down.

‘Better?’ The witcher asked.

‘A little bit. I just really wish things were different. I mean I didn't ask for this and it’s not like I did anything to deserve it, I think. Geralt did I do anything to deserve this or is destiny just this funny?’

‘As I said before, destiny is made up, it makes people think there’s an order to this horseshit. Also implies you can’t do something wrong and get, as you say it, punished like this.’ It’s not punishment, Jaskier you’re perfect as you are were the words he couldn't get out. ‘Just focus on breathing while I look for Roach.’ He said before turning around and trying to focus, hoping he’d hear Roach pretty soon.

‘Yeah sure, I’ll come and find you in a minute.’

He just didn’t expect to hear Roach neigh that loud when he started looking.