#i’ve been busy with lesson planning / getting used to work again

[skyhaunts]

like for a starter ✨

[smilelikeacheshirecat]

Duty is to her

Pairing: Bridget Hearts x Fem!reader

Genre: Fluff

Warning: kissing

Summary: Reader and Bridget are attending a party and notice Bridget was getting tired so you decided to step in.

Being the princess and the next ruler of your kingdom, you are expected to go through all sorts of training, education, classes and more in preparation for your coronation and to inherit the throne from your parents. You have hours of classes, discussion of various topics from your basic education to politics, history of your kingdom and all the other neighboring kingdoms, etiquette classes, dance lessons, how to manage your kingdom and many more. 

You also undergo training not only with physical activities such as fencing, ballet, horseback riding, and many more. But your parents also added managing paper works and affairs happening in the kingdom for you to be familiarize with, along with hours and hours of discussion with other officials, and to also prepare for the future mountain of works that will probably pile in your desk as soon as your in charge.

Needless to say, you have been very busy with all your duties and since you're still young and wanting to have a social life, you also attend school so that adds up to the mass of work needed to be done. It’s hard to be the princess and heir to the throne. 

Being the princess, it is also one of your duties to attend various events such as balls, charities, parties, or any sort of royal gathering. There, it will test how good you are able to recognize and know the other royals, to mingle, chat, interact and meet more other people. 

But with everything happening in your daily life, there is one person that has been by your side each time. Princess Bridget of Hearts. She is the daughter of the rulers of Wonderland, their family is a close friend of your family. She is also attending Merlin’s Academy with you and the two of you have been inseparable ever since you bump into each other in the hallways of the academy.

“I can’t wait to visit” 

You heard from across the room, you turn to look for the owner of the familiar sweet voice, to see Bridget talking with the other guest. The pink-haired princess has the personality and the energy to draw in people to her direction. She’s the most kindest, sweetest, approachable and brightest person you’ve ever meet. Yet it still baffles you how she claims that you and Ella are her only friends in the academy. 

Right now, it was winter break and most of the students in Merlin’s Academy went home to spend the holiday with their families. You and Bridget were no exception and right now their parents had ask them to attend this party much to your dismay since you planned on relaxing during your winter break but when you heard that Bridget is also coming, reluctantly, you agreed but with a little enthusiasm inside especially knowing that the particular pink princess you quite adore and have been for a while now, will be coming. 

“Of course” You watch as Bridget giggle again after her reply to whatever they were saying.

You had been unfortunately separate with different people wanting to talk to you and not wanting to appear rude to them, you indulge in their conversation and try to at least look like you were interested but sometimes would still steal glances at a certain pink-haired princes just across the room. 

At least she’s having fun. You thought as you tried to avert your eyes from Bridget’a figure and refocus your attention on the conversation with your group. 

“Yes I’ve contacted with them and had their support on the matter” you replied. You may have master the art of communication and forming connection but that doesn’t mean you’d enjoyed it since you’d very much like to be with your princess rather than having this formal conversation.

At an early age, you’ve been attending party to party so you’re quite use to all the standing, talking and polite smile. Like the perfect princess but Bridget, on the other hand is still getting use to attending this sort of parties so you can’t really help but worry.

After a few minutes you glance back to where Bridget was again just to check on her. That’s when you notice Bridget was getting tired and is only fighting to stay and keep up with conversation. 

It is getting late and Bridget hadn’t had enough rest since yesterday with all the preparation for the party going on.

You took that as your cue to leave.

“Excuse me everyone but I may have to retreat for the night, enjoy the rest of the evening.” You said, curtsying before biding your farewell to them. 

The group said their goodbyes in understanding before continuing their conversation. You gracefully walk towards where Bridget’s group.

Bridget still has a smile on her face but you already notice how she was trying to stay awake. 

“Excuse me ladies but I might have to steal Bridget from you” you said smoothly as you swiftly take Bridget’s hand and pulled her away from her group. The girls giggle and let you both go as they continue on their own again. 

In just a few minutes, Bridget was already leaning on to you as you walk out of the ballroom. The moment the door close behind them, Bridget let out a sigh of relief. Her fatigue kicking in already as she cling on to you for support.

You chuckled and wrap your arms around her waist as you support her weight with your body. “Tired?” You ask the princess who’s eyes are already half close.

Bridget nodded, her eyes are now close as she soaks in the warmth of your body. The ballroom may be buzzing with guest but she still feels cold from the lack of your presence.

Truth be told, she was having fun meeting everyone but she still yearns to be with you since the only reason why she agreed to attend is because she was inform that you’d be there. And you were but she didn’t expect that she would only spend a few minutes with you before you were whist away by the other guests in the party.

The corridors were empty since most of the guest are at the ballroom and the staff are either attending to the party's needs or have already retreated to their quarters. 

Since Bridget was already tired to walking straight on her own, you had to half carry her as you guide her to her bedroom. 

Bridget notice the direction they were going and stopped.

"what's wrong?" You asked looking at the princess in your arms.

"can I stay in your room?" Bridget asked softly but you still heard her.

You smiled and agreed before changing course to the direction of your bedroom.

“We stayed longer than expected.” You said as you open the door to your room, finally. 

You lead Bridget's half asleep figure to your bed. Walking here was hard enough due to the heavy dresses you were wearing and the heels weren’t much help. You tried to gentle pry Bridget’s embrace from your body as you lay her down on your bed. You left out a breath of relief as you had successfully lay Bridget’s body on your bed. 

After you remove the torture device on your feet that people called shoes, you started removing Bridget’s gown and her own shoes and change them to a much more comfortable sleeping attire before proceeding to remove her complicated hairdo. Then after that you pulled out the make-up remover kit on your vanity table. Gently, you stared removing the layers of makeup on Bridget’s face carefully not to wake her up and disrupt her peaceful state. 

During the process, you couldn’t help but admire Bridget’s beauty as she closely examine her face, making sure no makeup was left.

For months you have been close with Bridget but never this close and intimate. You have always been there to care for her, to be here for her as she did to you in those months with each other. Unknowingly that your time together had brought feelings inside you. Feelings that you’re not quite sure what they are yet but slowly, you’re starting to realize them as time past by and you couldn’t help but fear for what it may cause and affect your relationship now.

The thought of losing Bridget, fuels the growing fear so in conclusion, you buried those feelings deep down to remain what you two have now. But sometimes you couldn’t help but wonder what would it be like. To be more than just friends. 

Just imagining it made you sigh, one last look, making sure no make up was left. You smile on your work before starting to change as well. 

With her last bit of consciousness, Bridget stir from her sleep, her hands started moving, searching for something. When she realize that she was alone, she lifted her head up to see you just putting on the last sleeping garment before you sat infront of your vanity mirror to remove your make-up. 

 Bridget couldn’t help the frown forming on her lips, you were still far from her. Slowly she got up from the comfort of your bed and wobble to your direction. 

You didn’t notice Bridget had got up from bed since you had your eyes close as you remove your eye shadow. A soft squeal left you when you felt someone’s arms wrap around your shoulders.

“Bridget?” You called out to her, she was still half asleep.

“Come to bed. Please” she mumbled to your ears. 

“But I’m not done removing my make up yet” you said but then what she did next was unexpected.

Bridget let you go from her embrace before placing herself on your lap,. with her legs on each side, your hand automatically rest on her waist to steady her figure. You were confuse to what was happening but you sat still as Bridget pull the wipes from the table and began to remove the rest of your make up she may be sleepy but each stroke was firm but gentle at the same time. Removing the remaining make up, she took one last look when there wasn’t any left she cupped your checks with your hands making you look into her eyes. 

Bridget was still half asleep so her body was still a little unstable as she slowly leans forward, your faces were only centimeters apart now.

“You’re really pretty’” she mumbled with a smile on her face.

You couldn’t help but smile at that. Everything seems to fade around them as you gaze into each other’s eyes. But yours keeps flickering from her eyes to her lips, plump and pink even without lipstick. So close yet still so far away. 

For a while, you didn’t know what you felt. At first, you thought these feelings were the same feelings you felt for Bridget, the love for a very close friend but this moment confirms your realization. You wanted her, you needed her. You wanted something more, more than just classmates, more than just friends. You wanted to be something more with her and only her.

It took everything in your power not lean in and kiss those lips, which was the only thing running in your head, her lips. But then . . .

“Are you gonna kiss me or not?” Bridget suddenly ask breaking the silence of the room.

Your eyes widen at what she said. You look back up to her eyes, wanting to make sure you heard it right. “May I?” 

Bridget smile as she leans in, closing the gap between your lips. Soft. Her lips were soft. Sweet, like the strawberry short cake she baked the other day for you. And slow. She wasn’t in a hurry, and neither were you. You were both savoring the kiss.

Your stomach flutter as the warm feeling flooded you. Her scent invaded your senses and all your focus were on her lips and the warm feeling it comes with it.

You pulled away for air, already missing them but Bridget lean her forehead on yours with a smile still on her lips. “Took you long enough” she said giggling as buries her face on your neck.

You may be the princess of your kingdom but your duty is always to her, to your princess.

[nicromancytarot]

NICROMANCY GETS SCAMMED - EPISODE 2

All I do on this app is complain.

Hello and welcome to part 2 of me possibly being scammed?? (I feel like this is deserved now, am I just really unlucky or something?)

16th of March @samisinsomniac messaged me for an exchange, I gave them their reading the next day 500 words as I mentioned I preferred, they responded with my reading the next day too, only with around 200 words, but I was thankful nonetheless!

I gave them a thank you, and some feedback on the reading, they also gave me a little bit of feedback for the one I gave to them.

On the 30th of March they messaged me again for some clarity on a situation through another exchange.

I got to their’s as soon as I could (which was immediately since I wasn’t busy that day), they were busy, but that’s ok, they said they would give mine to me by 10pm Indian standard time. India is 5 hours ahead of me, as I am set in the UK.

I proceeded to give their reading to them, 500 words as before, not only did I not receive any thank you, I also didn’t receive feedback. If you’re a Tarot reader, you will understand how crucial feedback is for us to better our talent and improve our work, and they know this very well, as they even mentioned to me during our first exchange for me to let them know how it resonates, and leave some feedback in their ask box.

To make matters worse, they did not give me my reading by 10pm IST. (It’s getting realll)

Here is their response to my reading, the blocked off part is me explaining the person’s feelings for them, I don’t want to put anyone’s personal information on blast, which is why that is covered.

They then said that they would send the reading to me that evening.

It was not delivered by that time either. DUH DUH DUH

I messaged them a tad worried, perhaps they’d been hit by a car and I was just being mad for no reason. They let me know that they had a medical issue, which made me feel evil for pacing my room in anticipation (I didn’t actually do that, only inside my mind palace)

Finally, I received my reading! It was… 200 words, but alas! At least I got it and everyone is alive.

Now the average person would take this as a lesson not to exchange again, just in case they get caught up with another medical issue you know, or maybe the reading is short. (Which ever one is worse. IM KIDDING)

They had a birthday! Turned 18, that’s great, I’m also 18, they messaged me about it, then asked me if I did 18+ readings.

Sometimes I lack context clues, but personally I feel like my confusion here is pretty valid. Plus! Their profile said they don’t do 18+, I’m very valid in my confusion.

Anyways! They ask for my question, I give it, then they give me theirs, they ask if it’s ok, I let them know it is.

But I was hungry and needed to shower, so I also let them know that.

They were doing my reading at 7:26pm, I got out my shower at 10:48pm…. somethings not adding up! So I sent a little message, letting them know about my recent scam, and how I did not want to get scammed again so they would have to send it first.

However, they have not responded, it’s been 3 days, since they apparently started my reading? Now I’m no Tarot Goddess, but I’m pretty sure you would be done with a reading by day 3.

Listen, I don’t wanna fight or argue, I’m just a little funny guy who does Tarot, no fight in me, you message me in caps and I think I’ll cry.

This is not to cause an argument, or to throw hands at anybody, I just don’t like being lied to or taking advantage of as a smaller Tarot reader.

It’s only been 3 days, I was planning on waiting longer to post this, however I feel like now is fine as I’ve clearly been lied to about when they started their reading, which I’m not sure if it was to receive theirs early from me, I got no clue dude, what I do know is I am really tired of people doing this to me, please stop, before I actually cast a spell for you to clip into the back rooms.

Scammers: 2 Nicromancy: 0

Please stop scamming me, you’re embarrassing me in front of my spirit guides. 😔

[count-alucard-tepes]

To have his heart💕…part 2

Part 1

Part 3

Rosinantè had ordered all of Law’s and Doffy’s favorite meals before setting up the dining room table for them to all eat together once his arrived.

Law was in his bedroom, listening to some music while he read a book when all of a sudden his door was kicked in and a pink outline of a man stood there…menacingly!

“Law! I got you some books Rosi said you wanted! You nerd!”, Doffy said before placing on the desk near his bed.

Law almost had a heart attack and fell off the bed, “…ever heard of knocking before you enter someone’s bedroom…”, he grumbled as he walked over and looked at the books. He couldn’t help but blush a little! These books weren’t even out yet…and yet this shithead of an uncle got them for him.

Doffy grinned and laid on the bed like a starfish before looking at his nephew, “…yeah yeah, you’re welcome! Now come here and give me a hug…”.

“That never happened…nor will it ever…thank you though…”, Law said as he opened one of the books.

“I said come here, boy!?”, Doffy laughed before going to grab Law but the young man was quick to run out.

“Dad!? Help me! Your brother is trying to smother me!?”, Law said as he ran around trying to avoid Doffy.

Rosinantè was watching this all unfold in his house…and it pissed him off.

“You idiots!? You’re going to break something! Get your asses to the table and eat the food I got you!”, he snapped.

Doffy and Law immediately stilled as Rosinantè never got angry and when he did…it was better to just do whatever he said.

They quickly got to the table and began eating, “…so…what have you been up to, Doffy? Spare me all the nefarious parts that would traumatize both Law and myself…and nothing sexual either”, Rosinantè said as he ate some lobster.

“…well, that narrows what I’ve been up to to barely anything then…going for swimming lessons so I can use that big ass pool at my house…”, Doffy said thoughtfully.

“Oh? That’s good! Always good to learn how to swim even at your age…”, Rosinantè said teasingly which earned a laugh out of Law and glare from Doffy who them smacked him on the head with a baguette, “…don’t make me force feed you this, Law…you know I will”.

“…dad, he’s threatening me again”, Law said with a huff.

“It’s okay, we can throw him in the pool if he acts up too much and see how much he’s learned”, Rosinantè chuckled.

“Hey, hey…you’re my bro, you’re supposed to take my part!”, Doffy huffed as Law stuck out his tongue at him.

“What you been up to, Rosi?”, Doffy asked as he sipped some wine. Law giving a cheeky grin in response.

Rosinantè blushed in response, “…you know busy at work and getting Law an internship…also working on my dating life”.

“Dating life!? Well damn, I didn’t even know you were into that…you’re such a dad”, Doffy laughed as Rosinantè glared at him.

“Some of us can’t be man-whores all our lives, Doffy…some of us want to get married and have more kids”, he said with a pout.

“…glad someone finally said it”, Law said under his breath only to get hit on the head with a baguette again.

“…don’t make me visit your university one of these days and embarrass the shit out of you…because you know I will”, Doffy said with a grin.

Rosinantè sighed softly as he sipped his wine, “…hm…you know I have vacation days I need to take…we should plan a holiday together”.

Law sighed, “…dad, I have my exams to worry about…”.

“Nerd…I’m always on holiday so just let me know where you want to go”, Doffy grinned.

The afternoon was spent just watching soccer and relaxing the entire time until Doffy left.

“…I’m gonna sit outside for a bit…leftovers are in the fridge if you get hungry”, Rosinantè said as he grabbed his cigarettes and headed outside to sit by the pool.

He looked at his phone and saw a few messages from Y/N, he lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply before video calling with them.

“…hey, sorry I didn’t call earlier…my brother was here and we spent some time together”, he said with a little smile.

“Hi there, stranger…that sounds like fun…did you have dinner yet?”, they asked as they seemed to be lounging around their apartment.

“Yeah, my brother is pretty bougie so we had lobster…”, he said with a weak smile, “…what about you?”.

“I was just planning to cook right now…I was thinking salmon…”, Y/N said looking thoughtful.

“Pretty healthy…”, he replied with a wink.

“Yep, got to help my guns in shape”, they said before flexing their arms for him to see.

He whistled in response, “…thanks for the gun show…I feel like you should have shown me them last night or this morning…”.

“Well you’re always welcome to come over and I’ll show you them all you like”, they teased as they put down their phone in angle where he’d be able to watch them cooking.

He smiled as he watched them, “…you know our next date should be a home cooked meal date…what do you think?”, he asked curiously.

“I’d love that! What about next Friday?”, they asked gently, “…I mean I still want to see you during the week but on Friday I usually have more time to go to market after work and get the best ingredients”.

“It’s a date then…”, he said with a smile.

“Sounds good to me…hey is that a pool?”, Y/N asked excitedly.

“Oh yeah, you like swimming?”, he asked curiously as he flipped the camera for them to see the pool.

“Yeah I do!”, they beamed.

“Well then you should come over and use it…Law used to use it a lot when he was younger but not anymore”, he said gently.

“That’s a deal…”, they said with a smile.

“Alright, so I’ll leave you to dinner and I’ll call you in the morning…maybe we could go out and have coffee tomorrow?”, he asked gently.

“Yeah, sounds good…have good night, babe”, they said with a smile.

He blushed a little at the nickname, “…good night, love”.

He would cut the call and then finish smoking his cigarette before just relaxing for a bit outside, it wasn’t too cold at least.

Maybe this new chapter of his life would be a little more fun than usual…he had high hopes.

[ros3ybabe]

Life Update After a Few Days: October 18th, 2023 🎀

I’ve been a little busy with school, work, resting, and starting my workout routine back up, so here’s a little update!

I’m getting a tattoo soon! I know the aesthetic of my blog is pink and girly and coquette and I love everything that comes with the aesthetic and the lifestyle but I have an affinity for gothic style/spooky tattoos, so I’m getting a decent sized spider tattoo on my right thigh and I’m super excited! This is the first big ish sized tattoo besides the two small ones I have, and it’s the first tattoo appointment I’ve ever made so I’m really excited. A little anxious, especially for the shading portion of it, but I’m looking forward to how good it’s going to look when it’s finished and how much more confident it’s going to make me!

I’ve started working out at the gym again! My current schedule is three days of weightlifting (pull day, leg day, push day), and two days of just cardio. It feels so nice both mentally and physically to be taking care of myself like this again. I even bought some new workout shorts and gym clothes and I’m feeling better than ever! I’m focusing on improving my mental health right now and working out is doing wonders for me!

I’m working so much right now, but it’s worth it because I need the money for rent, tattoos, gym stuff, groceries, and whatever other necessities and wants pop up. I’m pulling doubles most Saturdays and it’s a little tiresome and energy draining but I’m managing pretty well. I won’t pull doubles every Saturday tho because that drives me straight into burnout and I’m trying to avoid that.

I hit 31 days on Duolingo and I’m at 28 days on Busuu, super proud of myself for keeping up with those two goals for now! I’m still working through the first two lessons of Genki and I’m still using the Kanji app but my studying has been a little bit more spread out because of my busy schedule. I’m trying to learn how to better balance multiple things without hyperfixating on just one and forgetting about everything else. I’ve noticed I tend to do that and that’s not the most productive thing for me.

I think I mentioned in a previous post that I spent a lot of money on stuff from Amazon (and Ulta) and most of it is here already besides the last couple Amazon items coming in today! I love the workout clothes I bought and the fitness/health tracker planner I bought is really interesting. I also got my language tracking bullet journal stuff in the mail so I am super looking forward to starting that up soon. Again, I noticed I tend to hyperfixate on one thing at a time but right now I’m trying to balance all my interests and things I need to do. My current “balance breakup” is: fitness/nutrition, Japanese language study, school/classes and academic success, work/making money, self care (sleep, skincare, reading, journaling, etc), boyfriend time, appointments, and chores/cleaning/housework. Sounds like a lot but there’s 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week. Not everything has to be done in one day and as long as I manage my time efficiently, then I’ll be successful. I also try to take into account my energy levels, daily tasks, possible “curveballs”, and my current physical and mental/emotional well being. Flexibility is a must in my life but I do like having routines and things to stick to, plan and schedule wise.

I’ve been working on some posts ideas for this blog so it’s not just daily updates and stuff, but actual tips, advice, and my current routines and schedules too, to maybe help motivate and inspire you guys! I have some things in mind currently, so hopefully I can find the time to type them up and post them!

Thank you guys for 850+ followers! I never thought my blog could grow like this and I’m super happy it has! This community has given me such a safe and comforting place where I can just be myself without worry. I appreciate all of you so much!! I hope all of you have amazing days, amazing sleep, amazing skin, amazing grades, and that life is going great for all of you!

that’s pretty much all I have to update you on for now. I will be posting a Daily Check In tonight about how today went as well, to help me get back on track with posting!

til next time, lovelies 🩷🤍

[echo-goes-mmm]

Silas and Wren #11

Masterpost

Previous

Next

Warnings: none

Wren felt much better now that Silas had worked it out with Felix. Silas’s anxiety had been rubbing off on him the past two weeks, and he was glad that it was over. 

Unfortunately, he still had the problem from before the debacle; Silas would not have sex with him. But he had a plan. 

He’d given up on romancing Silas. Just another thing slaves were unsuited for apparently. 

There were other ways to get into Silas’s bed.

He showered and scrubbed in all the right places, and pulled on a v-neck shirt. He checked himself in the mirror, and he made sure his hair looked just right.

“You look nice,” commented Silas when he glanced up from his book. 

“Thank you, Master.” He shifted a little. It was easy to think about seducing Silas, but actually doing it was another matter. “What are you reading?”

“Some sci-fi novel.” He sighed and put it to the side. “It’s not really catching my attention, though. I suppose I should return it.” He picked up the book again.

“Want to come with me? It’d be nice to get out of the house.”

“Is that… allowed?” Silas tilted his head.

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t it be?” 

“I… I don't know. I’ve never done that sort of thing before.”

“Well, vampire towns are pretty similar to human ones. Nothing to worry about.” Silas got up to grab his shoes, and Wren hesitated before following suit. He wasn’t sure Silas really… understood what Wren was. 

He was human only in technicality. All the important parts, the thinking and feeling parts, were different. He wasn’t made to go out into town like a person was. But if Silas wanted him to, he’d figure it out the best he could.

Wren chewed the inside of his cheek, and followed Silas out the door. 

___________________

Master’s house was private with a long driveway, but it was deceptively close to town. Just past the gate was a cobblestone road, and soon they reached a row of townhouses. 

There were people milling about, children playing street games, and music coming from somewhere. Wren shuffled closer to Silas. Weren’t these people supposed to be at work and the kids at school?

Of course. It was Saturday, and he'd forgotten.

He could feel the moment they smelled him. The glance that turned into a gaze, the staring that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

The children were far less subtle, sometimes stopping their games of tag or ball to gape at him. 

He lowered his eyes properly and made sure to follow Silas exactly. 

“Are you alright?”

“Yes, Master.” 

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I’m sorry, Master, I don’t understand.”

Silas put his arm around his shoulder, and leaned in. “You don’t have to look like that,” he whispered, “as if you’re in trouble. Okay?”

“I don’t-”

“Walk next to me, alright? Not behind. And you can look up. No one’s going to hurt you, but you're acting like prey.”

“Yes, Master.”

It felt strange at first, but he quickly got used to it. More pretending, but Silas liked this kind.

Master Silas was strange, too. He couldn’t pinpoint it at first, but Wren knew his Master. 

Silas stood taller, flashed shiny smiles at people who knew him, and waved at neighbors. Even his words were more formal. Gone was the casual “hi” and “hey”, and “hello” and “good afternoon” replaced them.

Maybe he was pretending, too. Weird.

The townhouses gave way to a park, and then the stone stores and brick businesses. 

And to his surprise, he could read the signs.

He stopped and stared at the words. He mouthed them, making sure it wasn’t his imagination. H-a-l-l-m-a-n-’s. Hallman’s. T-o-y-s. Toys. Hallman’s Toys.

Holy shit.

Wren wasn’t sure that Silas’s reading lessons were actually working, but the proof was in front of him.

Lord and La-dy Stit-ching, Ei-leen’s A-po-the-car-y, it went on.

“Still alright?” 

“Master, I can read!” he whispered back.

Silas beamed at him, proud and pleased, and Wren’s heart fluttered.

The library was big, all white stone with columns and tall windows. The inside had plush carpets, and it was nearly silent but for a quiet murmur of people.

Silas put the book in the ‘return’ (how exciting!) pile, and went to wander the shelves.

“How about you go pick something out? To celebrate.” he suggested before strolling off.

Where to start?

He browsed the shelves in ‘my- mys- mystery’. That seemed interesting.

Wren plucked Murder on the Ori- Orient- ? - Express off the bookcase. He’d heard of this one, actually. He wasn’t sure what ‘orient’ meant, but a famous murder mystery book sounded intriguing. 

He was trying to suss out the description on the back when he felt somebody staring at him.

He turned, and it was a small child. She squinted at him.

“Your body’s weird,” she said. “And you smell funny.”

“What?”

“I said you’re weird.”

“Um-”

“Laura!” came a hushed voice, and the girl’s mother came into view. “That’s no way to talk to-” the woman glanced up at him, and Wren flushed. The woman straightened, and gave him an apologetic look.

“Laura, say you’re sorry to the nice man.”

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“Speak up honey, human ears aren’t as- um- focused as ours.” 

“It’s fine,” he hurried, “I heard her. It’s okay.”

The little girl lit up. “Are you really a human?” she squealed, and her sudden joy gave him whiplash. “Is that why your eyes are funny?”

“I guess?” he shifted his weight, and Laura’s own eyes followed him like a cat watching a mouse.

“Laura!” said her mother, scandalized. “I’m so sorry, she’s never seen one- I mean- a human before.”

“Really. It’s okay.”

“Honey,” she bent down to her daughter, “how about we pick out a nice book about humans and we leave the lovely man alone.” Her voice was firm, and Laura seemed to pick up on her mother’s urgency.

“Okay, mama. Bye!” She waved.

Wren waved back. 

He went to find Silas. 

The walk home was much better. Smoother, now that he knew what was expected. 

It was an okay day, on reflection. Not a success on the sex front, but the revelation he could actually read more than made up for it.

He put the book on his nightstand. He’d start it another day, because quite frankly he had enough adventure. Fictional adventure could wait until tomorrow.

taglist: @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @secretwhumplair @freefallingup13 @mylovelyme @whumpzone @paintedpigeon1 @haro-whumps @whumpthisway @fanastyfinder @extemporary-whump @susiequaz12 @keepingwhumpwiththekardashians @the-cyrulik @morning-star-whump @writereleaserepeat @annablogsposts

[izumi-fanclub]

A3! Event Story Translation “NEW ERA GARDEN” [Chapter 5]

This time around, we get to see Hiro and Zen's past behavior during the first gen.

Yukio

—Alright, let’s take a break.

Kasumi

Okay.

Syu

Kasumi, you’re really getting the hang of sword fighting.

Kasumi

Ehehe, it’s rare for Syu-san to give me a compliment.

Yuzo

He left me no choice but to train him.

Kasumi

You don’t have to act like you’re a busy guy.

Yuzo

I taught you and you got the nerve to talk like that.

Syu

You must’ve endured Yuzo’s spartan lessons, huh?

Kasumi

Pretty much… I don’t even think he has the heart of a human anymore.

——Wait, don’t tell me you taught the newborn kids this gruesomely!?

Yuzo

Hah~?

Kasumi

Are you seriously trying to fool me by looking the other way…!? I’ll sue you for harassment! I have to write an article…

Yuzo

Oi!! You can’t just make up an article without my consent!

Syu

Must be nice to still have fun with your childhood friend. Meanwhile, on the other hand…

Hiro

What the hell was that just now? That wasn’t even the same as last time!

Zen

I’ve been a blank slate, you’re a veteran actor. You should come up with something on the spot.

Hiro Couldn’t you have given me a heads-up or something!?

Zen

I just forgot to.

Hiro

You’ve always been like this!

Zen

Forgot that too.

Hiro

Not even a sorry!

Reni

The same as usual over here.

Syu

Even back in the first gen this happened a lot too.

Yukio

I’ve missed this…

Hiro

Sigh… I’m gonna go get some fresh air.

Syu

Just like back in those days.

Zen

Haven’t grown at all.

Hiro

And you remember that of all things!!

Zen

Just go already.

Hiro

…

(That’s right, even back then this used to happen too…)

“No one’s gonna keep up at this rate.”

“Autumn Troupe can do this much just fine.”

“I know you’re used to these kinds of hurdles but think of the Summer Troupe!”

Zen said that it was a good thing that the troupes don’t branch out and act together,

It was the first time for both Summer Troupe and Autumn Troupe to work real hard in rehearsals for a mixed performance.

The performance had a lot of fight scenes, but due to the difference in experience between Summer Troupe and Autumn Troupe, and the difference between the way Zen and I did things, we ended up bickering a lot.

“I mean, Zen-san’s movements look better, don’t you think?”

“Try it, if you’re not up to the task, you can always try again.”

“You guys, it’s not that easy——.”

Eventually, the Summer Troupe members sided with Zen, and the blood was rushing to my head.

“——Tch, I need to cool off!”

I said that in denial, as I stormed out of the rehearsal room.

“Damn… the hell is up with those guys…”

“What, another fight with Zen?” “A shock to no one~.”

I guess it was obvious on my face that even the other troupe members that were passing by called me out on it one after another with a knowing look on their faces.

I felt awkward, so I looked for a place in the dorms where I could be alone.

“Here…? The warehouse? Alright, I guess…”

The warehouse wasn’t populated and it was nice, so I went in thinking of cooling my head off.

And it did, the quietness calmed me down just as I wanted it to.

No matter how pent-up I was, the only solution was to go back to the rehearsals.

In the end, I had no choice but to bicker again in the rehearsal room.

With that in mind, I tried to go back to practice… that was the plan until the door wouldn’t open.

“Huh? What the hell?”

It opened earlier, but now it wouldn’t budge.

The door didn't move as if it was merged with the wall, no matter if I pushed or pulled, even though there wasn’t a lock attached.

“Useless… I can’t get out.”

I tried everything, but there was no sign of the door opening.

A piercing regret punctured my chest, wondering what I was even doing.

I had a play I wanted to do right now, and I didn’t have any time to act all weird about it. If I had another chance, I’d do anything to make up for it.

“Forgive me, God of Theater! Please let me out!”

As soon as I got down on my knees and shouted, the door swung open.

“...The hell are you doing.”

Zen held the door open with a dumbfounded look on his face.

With an expression just as flabbergasted, I turned to my heels and acted like it was nothing.

“I came to get you since it was time to eat, didn’t mean to intrude.”

He tried to close the door once more,

In desperation, I slid my body through the gap in the door and stopped it.

“You don’t gotta rush.” “I rushed out cause I’ve been stuck since the door wouldn’t open!” “No reason it wouldn’t.”

I felt like salt was rubbed into my wounds, but it didn’t matter anymore now that I was finally free to go out into the hallway.

“...What’s for lunch?”

“It’s karaage.”

“That’s my favorite! Wait, no way…” “...”

“Ugh, gross…” “It was just a coincidence. Don’t make it weird.”

“I’M making it weird——!?”

We still had a fierce fight at the next rehearsal in the end, but we had a great first day of the mixed performance which was made from repeated clashing.

I was never on the same page with him no matter how hard I tried to.

But it all turned out well in the end.

*Door opens*

Yuzo

You got back pretty quick, surprisingly.

Hiro

I can’t make a habit of just loitering about. I ended up just buying some water.

Besides, the only solution lies in the rehearsal room.

Syu

Guess you’ve matured a little.

Hiro

I don’t usually get upset even during a performance like this in a long while, but I just really can’t get along with Zen.

Yukio

Things like this, it takes you back, doesn’t it?

Hiro

I guess…

Yukio

Your one-track mind when it comes to devoting yourself to a play, your sincere beliefs in your ideals and your determination to protect those ideals are exactly the reasons why I chose you, Hiro, to play Isami Kondo’s role.

So I’m glad you’re still the same as ever.

Hiro I see, so that’s how it is. If that’s the case then I’m fine the way I am.

Zen

Your simple mind hasn’t changed either.

Hiro

Now I feel like a fool if you’re gonna say it.

…Hey, you remember the whole room opening thing?

Zen

The room opening?

Hiro The one I told you where I couldn’t get the door open!

Zen

Ahh… You mean that one dream you had.

Hiro

You still don’t believe me? It really happened!

Zen

Doesn’t really matter.

Hiro

Honestly, why are you like that——!

Yuzo

There’s no really no end to this.

Reni

They really are the same as ever.

Syu

Geez…

[ Prev. ]

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[anglophiletraveler]

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Don’t Let Me Down

Written by John Lennon

*****

This is a shorter chapter written to be a transition chapter to keep the story of our favourite couple going.  Thanks once again to my wonderful friend and beta, Karen Bockius.  And thank you to the readers for all of your support.  It is much appreciated.  

*****

Demelza heard a knock on the door and answered it to find Caroline with a big smile on her face, and a large tote bag carrying goodness knows what!!

“Caroline!  Come on in, I’m so excited to see you!”  The two friends gave each other a big hug.  

“Hello darling, how are you?  I hope that you’re as excited about this wedding as I am!”  Caroline set down her heavy bag.

Demelza was staring at the bag, “What on earth did you bring?  It looks like you’ve shoplifted the magazine section of the grocery store!”

“Well, we do have a lot of work to do, don't we?  What kind of a maid of honour would I be if I didn’t help you get started looking at bridal magazines?  We must take notes, and possibly cut out articles and pictures that we want to keep.”

Demelza was a little confused, “Then what do we do with the articles and pictures?”  

Caroline shook her head and rolled her eyes, “What on earth am I going to do with you?  To make a scrapbook of course!  Of anything that catches your eye.  That way we or rather you, can get an idea of what type of wedding you’d like to have.”

“You make it sound simple,” Demelza replied.

“This is the fun part!  Before all of the stress takes over,” Caroline said.

Demelza furrowed her brows, “Have you ever planned a wedding before?”

“Well of course, I haven’t planned my wedding, but I’ve helped a few friends and some cousins plan their weddings.”  Caroline pulled out a giant three-ring binder with blank pages in it. Demelza thought for sure there was a spotlight on the binder and music playing when Caroline pulled it from the bag!   The front of the binder in pretty lettering spelled out ‘Demelza and Ross’s Wedding’.  “And look what I brought!  I didn’t decorate the cover because I thought you might want to do that, and of course, we don’t know a date yet.  So this will help you gather your thoughts.  You can write in it, make notes, scrapbook in it with pictures, and keep memories as you go along in your wedding planning journey.”

Caroline handed the binder carefully to Demelza like it was the original Bible!  Demelza took it gently from her with big eyes.  The empty pages felt intimidating.  Demelza had no clue what to do with it.  She’s never been part of a wedding before, she’s attended a few and had actually played at quite a few, but really had no clue what to do with this giant binder or what to do first.  

The girlfriends made themselves comfortable on the couch with tea and biscuits close at hand.  Caroline pulled out a couple more magazines, “Now I know that you really have no idea what to do first, and I can help you with that, or you can do it on your own.  That’s fine if you do.  I brought a few of the magazines that seem to be pretty helpful in guiding brides what to do and when.  They’re called The Knot.”

Demelza chuckled, “Seriously?  ‘The Knot’?”

“I know right?  Catchy.  But they really do seem to be full of good ideas.  And of course, they have a website.  Have you and Ross talked about any wedding plans at all, or maybe a date?”

“No, not really.  I reckon we should start doing something?  We’re just so busy right now.  He’s been working a lot of hours transitioning over to his new division, and I’ve been either in my private lessons or at the music hall.  I don’t know what I’m going to do if we decide to have the wedding before his mother’s surgery.”  Demelza was getting anxious by the second.  

Caroline could tell Demelza was getting worried.  “Well don’t let it worry you too much.  Something that I did think of, is what venue you could use.  I checked with my uncle and he said that he would be delighted if you’d like to have the wedding and reception at his home.  That way it could all be held in one place and you wouldn’t have to worry about a thing!  And it could be as simple or as grand as you’d want!”

“Oh Caroline!  That would be wonderful! I’ve always loved your uncle’s home and it’s a place that I’m comfortable with!  But I’ll need to talk it over with Ross.”

“Of course.  In the meantime, let’s look at these dresses before I drop you off at the music hall,” Caroline smiled.

*******************************

Jenny was about ready to go home for the night and walked in to see if Ross was ready to go home as well.  But by the look of things, Ross was knee deep in boxes.  “Ross, it’s time to go home.”

Ross turned around and gave Jenny a weak smile, “Oh I don’t know Jenny.  Maybe I’ll just stay until it’s time to pick up Demelza.”

“Ross, that's two and a half hours yet!  Why don’t you go home and rest before you pick her up?” Jenny said.

Ross moved some files so that he could sit down, “I can’t believe there’s so much stuff here leftover from the last bunch of blokes.  Oh hell Jenny I don’t know.  I’m so tired of boxes and files, but I’m afraid that if I go home I’ll fall asleep and be late picking Demelza up.”

“You need to start letting her take the tube home, or better yet teach that woman how to drive!” Jenny felt bad for her boss doing all of this running around for Demelza.  

“No, I don't like her riding the tube that late at night.  And actually she does want to learn to drive when the good weather is here to stay.  Oh, I think I’m just going to stay here for a while longer, I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Sure Ross.  See you tomorrow,” Jenny walked out of the office.  Jenny was starting to feel frustrated with Ross driving Demelza all over London.  It’s not fair.  He does so much for her, and she doesn’t do a damn thing for Ross!  If he were my boyfriend I’d … stop it Jenny.  He’s not your boyfriend.  Get over it.  At least she’s not Elizabeth!  Jenny stepped onto the elevator and headed home.  ��

**************************

Ross had worked until it was time to pick up Demelza.  He was on a roll of getting things done and just stuck with it.  To his delight he was able to get most of the files put away, making less work for them in the morning.  He was now sitting in his car in the parking lot at the music hall, waiting for Demelza, with his head leaning against the window, his eyes closed.   Demelza saw through the window that Ross was probably asleep, his mouth hanging open.  She quietly opened the door and got into the car.  She nudged Ross a little bit to wake him, he startled awake and saw Demelza, “Oh shit.  Demelza, are you done?”

Demelza gave him an understanding smile, “Time to go home Ross.  Have you been at the office all this time?”

Ross cleared his throat, “Uh, yeah.  But I finally got almost all of the move done, so it was worth it,” Ross’s eyes were droopy and his voice sounded tired, “Are you hungry? We could pick something up on the way home.”

“Well, I am hungry, but I could always find something at home if you just want to go home,” Demelza said.

Ross placed his hand on Demelza’s “I don't mind stopping.  I know your appetite.  Chinese?”

“Yes Ross.”

********************************

A tired Ross and Demelza were getting out of the car when Ross stopped dead in his tracks, “fuck!”

Demelza stopped beside him, “Ross, what’s wrong?”

“Oh shit, I wasn’t thinking while working so late at the office that Seamus probably needs to get outside!  I hope he didn’t make a mess in the house.  Damnit!” Ross said as he started to head into the house ahead of Demelza.  He didn’t want her walking into a mess.

“Well, if he did, don’t yell at him, it’s not his fault,” Demelza said.

“I didn’t say it was Demelza!  For Christ’s sake I’m not going to yell at him, it’s my fault,” Ross’s voice had an unusual terseness to it that caught Demelza by surprise.  He opened the door and turned on the light.  Seamus was sitting in the kitchen waiting for his master to come home.  As soon as Demelza and Ross stood out of his way, Seamus raced outside.  The couple was looking around for any signs that Seamus might have left them something but thankfully they didn’t see anything.  Demelza put the Chinese on the table and started pulling the boxes of food out.  Ross went back outside and closed the door behind him.  It was chilly out in the dark night.  The stars were hidden by cloud cover which made it seem colder.  He plopped down in one of the lawn chairs and watched Seamus run around and stretch his legs.  He finally came over to Ross for some attention, “I’m sorry buddy, I wasn’t thinking.  I should’ve come home earlier and let you out.  I got distracted.”  Seamus licked Ross’s face in forgiveness.  Ross was laughing at the kisses.  Eventually Ross sighed, and got up and walked back inside.  

Demelza wasn’t around  when Ross came back inside, so he assumed she had already headed upstairs for the evening.  He looked at his boxes of Chinese and decided his stomach wasn’t up for it and put it in the fridge.  He grabbed a bottle of water, and also poured himself a bit of whiskey and drank it down and headed upstairs.

Demelza was sitting up in bed looking at a bridal magazine when Ross walked in, sat down and started taking off his clothes.  Demelza couldn’t help but notice the grunting that Ross was making as he undressed.  “You sound like an old man grunting over there.”

“Hmmm?” Ross climbed into bed.

“Did Seamus get all fed and watered and tucked in?” Demelza’s voice was now the one that was terse.  She was flipping the pages of her magazine quickly enough that she couldn’t possibly be reading them.

Ross yawned and stretched his arm out, and mumbled something that she didn’t understand.  “What ya readin?” Ross looked over Demelza’s shoulder and smiled, “Aww a bridal magazine, that’s nice love.  Find anything interesting?”  Ross was trying to peek at the magazine.

Demelza closed the magazine abruptly and slammed it down on her lap.

Ross’s eyes went wide and his mouth dropped in shock, “I’m sorry, I was just trying to take a look.”  Ross went to put his hand on Demelza’s hand but she pulled it away.  “Demelza, what’s wrong?  Was it a bad night at rehearsal?”

Demelza let out a loud sigh, “You yelled at me Ross,” she sniffed but was fighting hard not to cry, “and I didn’t like it at all.”

Ross’s eyebrows came together, “When did I yell at you?”

“Just a little bit ago when we were coming into the house.  You yelled at me about Seamus,” Demelza said.

Now Ross remembered what she was talking about.  He pulled her into his arms, “Oh honey, I’m so sorry.   I guess I didn’t even realise it.  It’s been such a long day, and I was mad at myself for forgetting about Seamus and didn’t come home to let him out before picking you up.  I’m sorry Demelza, I wasn’t mad at you.”  Ross made another attempt to hold her hand again, giving her puppy dog eyes.

Demelza rolled her eyes, “Oh alright, how am I supposed to say no to that face.”  She leaned in to kiss Ross and took his hand, which brought the sunshine back to Ross’s face.

“Sooo have you found anything interesting in your magazines?” Ross asked.  

Demelza sighed, “No, not yet.  I haven’t really given them my full attention since Caroline dropped them off earlier.”

Ross’s eyes widened again, “Caroline brought them over?  That was nice of her.”

Demelza got her smile back, “Yes! She brought over quite a few magazines, and she actually made me this three ring binder with blank pages in it, where I can cut pictures out or write down thoughts …”

Ross interrupted, “What?  A binder? I don’t understand.  What are you supposed to write down in it?”

“Wellll, thoughts about the wedding of course!  Silly!  You know, what things we want to include in the wedding, how we want it to look like, themes, wedding dresses that I like, decorations.”

“Really?  I’ve never heard of such a thing.  Sounds kind of complicated.  Do you have an…idea of a wedding dress?” Ross replied.

Demelza started flipping through the pages again, “No, not yet.  I don’t know if we need to figure out where we’re going to have the wedding before I choose my dress.  Oh Ross!  I forgot to mention!  Caroline has offered her uncle’s house to have our wedding and reception in!  Isn’t that wonderful!”

Ross’s eyebrows grew together again, “Oh.”

“What?  What’s wrong Ross?”  

Ross was looking down at his hands, “I guess I just assumed we…would get married at Nampara.”

“Oh.  I hadn’t thought about Nampara.  Well, we don’t even know about a date yet, and when your mother’s surgery is…”

“Well, I have spoken with my father about that.  Mama has a doctor appointment this Friday and he’s going to try to get a handle on that and what the doctor thinks is best,” Ross said.

Demelza was a little taken aback by this, “Oh, you didn’t tell me that you had spoken with your father.”  

“I’m sorry, I meant to tell you but I couldn’t remember whenever I saw you.  It’s hard right now.  I wish we could carve out some time for each other during the week.  By the time you get home, I’m tired, and then in the morning when I’m getting ready for work, you’re tired.”

Now Demelza’s eyebrows were knitted together, “Are you saying that you want me to quit the orchestra and my lessons?” Her voice raised.

“No Demelza!  I’m not saying that at all!  I’ve told you before that I don’t want you to quit your career, and I meant that!  It’s just hard right now with all of the rehearsing that the orchestra is doing to get ready for the album, and with the audition of the next chair of the cello coming up, it’s all just a lot.  I’m getting prepared to take over this new division  so that’s a lot as well.”  Ross let out a heavy sigh, “I’m sorry, love.  I’m kind of new to living with someone and dealing with issues like this.  And now we will soon start planning a wedding, something which I know absolutely nothing about.”

“Well, that makes two of us!  I was never the girl who thought about weddings and wedding dresses while growing up.  I was just trying to survive and get the hell out of the house.  Today is the first time that I’ve ever looked at a bridal magazine.  What about you?”

“I’ve never thought about wedding dresses either,” Ross cocked an eyebrow for a mischievous look.  

Demelza pushed him, “You twat!  I meant have you ever thought about what your wedding might be like?  You were engaged to Elizabeth after all, so you must have thought about it.”

“Well, to be honest we didn’t get very far into the wedding planning when I found her in bed with my charming cousin.  As far as thinking of what my wedding would look like?  It’s not really a guy thing.  Although, whenever I mentioned to Elizabeth about getting married at Nampara she would make a face at me.”  Ross yawned again.  “Not to be rude, but would you mind if I went to sleep, love?”

“No, I’m tired too.”  A very loving good night kiss was exchanged and they both settled down under the covers after turning out the bedside lamps.  They snuggled into their usual position of Ross wrapping his arms around Demelza with her back side pressed up against Ross’s chest.  Ross had drifted off to sleep, and Demelza was almost there when she sat up all of a sudden and screamed, “LUNCH!”

Ross sat up dazed and confused from his sleep, “What’s wrong?  What happened?  Are you alright Demelza?”

“Lunch!  That’s the solution Ross.”

“The solution to what?  What are you talking about?”

“The solution to us never seeing each other!  I could come over to your office and have lunch with you a couple of times during the week before my lessons,” Demelza was excited that she found an answer to their current problem.  

Ross’s relieved shoulders sank back down, “Yes, Demelza, that is a very good idea.  We’ll plan on it.  Can we just go back to sleep, please?”

Demelza had a slight smile on her face, “Yes Ross.”

******************************

Demelza stood at the door to Ross’s new office, and in her sexiest voice said, “Well hey sexy fancy meetin you here!”

Ross turned around and got a big smile on his face, “Well, hello there!  Come here often?”

Demlza laughed, “Not often enough.  I’ve heard that there’s a very sexy banker that works here.  Have you seen him?”

Ross got up and slinked over to Demelza, “Well, it just so happens, that I’ve thrown him out a window so that I can have you all to myself!  So, why don’t you step into my office and I’ll take you for a spin on my new office chair!”  Ross moved his eyebrows up and down trying to be all sexy.

Demelza burst out laughing at Ross and walked into his office so he could shut the door behind her.  He grabbed her arm before she could escape from him and pulled her into a very deep, forceful kiss.  Ross whispered into Demelza’s ear, “I’ve been looking forward to lunch all morning.”

Demelza giggled, “My, my aren’t you the frisky one.  Better be careful that Mr. Tonkin doesn’t walk in on us,” She wrapped her arms around Ross’s neck to pull him down for another kiss.  She felt Ross’s hands on her back side bringing a moan from Demelza, then she realised where they were and she pulled away, “Ross, darling we can’t!”

Ross let out a big sigh, “Oh, I know, I know.  Sorry.  I’m just feeling a little bit…”  Ross’s mobile phone rang, “saved by the bell,” Ross smiled.  He looked at the screen, “Hello da, how are you?”

“Hello Ross, did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No, not at all.  In fact Demelza is here with me for lunch,” Ross said.  Joshua chuckled.  Ross raised an eyebrow, “What’s so funny?”

“You, calling it lunch.  That’s what your mother and I used to call it back in the day.”

“Ewwww da, I do not want to hear about yours and mother’s sexual escapades!” Ross replied.

Demelza got a scandalous look on her face.

Ross smiled at  his fiance’, “well now that you’ve completely freaked out Demelza, is there a point to this call?  And I’ve got you on speaker.”

Joshua chuckled again, “Oh I’m sorry Demelza, I didn’t mean to shock you.  Anyway, we went to your mother’s oncologist appointment today…”

“And?”

“And, the doctor suggested that you have the wedding before the surgery, but of course it’s up to the two of you if you want to hurry up and plan a wedding, or take your time and have it later after the surgery.  The doctor is planning on the surgery for two months from now.  Your mother is upset about all of it.  She wants to be a part of the planning, but of course that’s all up to the two of you and where you want to have the wedding.”

Ross looked at Demelza to see if he could tell what her feelings were, but she wasn’t showing her hand right now.

“Ross? Are you there?” Joshua asked.

“Yes dad we’re here.  Is mum hoping that the ceremony is at Nampara?” Ross asked.

Demelza rolled her lips to bite on them in anticipation of Joshua’s answer.

“She did mention that, Ross, but this is your wedding.  You two decide on where you want to have it.  It would be nice to at least have it down here in Cornwall so that your mother does tire out too much.  But like I said, it’s your wedding,” it was obvious that Joshua was stuck in the middle.  He knew how much it would mean to Grace to have the wedding of their surviving son at their home.

Demelza cleared her throat, “Caroline’s uncle has also offered us to have the wedding and reception at his home.  That way everything could be in one place, and there wouldn’t be much planning to do.”

“Well that’s very generous of him, and it would certainly be a lovely venue for your wedding.  Well, I’m going to get going here.  I need to go pick up a prescription for your mother.  We’ll talk soon,” Joshua said.

“Alright dad, we’ll talk later,” Ross replied.  He looked up at Demelza.  ���So what do you want to do?  I guess the first thing to decide on is if we want to have the wedding before the surgery, or wait?”

Demelza was biting her thumb nail, something she rarely did.  “I think we should have the wedding before the surgery.  But I also think we should have it at Killewarren.”

Ross blew a big sigh and ran his hands over his face.  “I was afraid you were going to say that about Killewarren.”

“Ross it will be so much easier on Grace and on us if we have it there, plus we can have more guests if we have it at Killewarren.  I don’t have much family, but I do have friends that I want to invite, and you do too.  Not to mention business associates.  If we have it at Nampara, we would have to use a tent for everything, and that’s something I really don’t want to do,” Demelza explained her side of things.

“Is that you talking or is that Caroline talking?”

“Ross!!  I can’t believe you just said that to me!  I haven’t even talked with Caroline since the other day.  Don’t you think I can make a decision on my own without Caroline? I…”

There was a knock on the door.  Jenny interrupted, “Ross your lunch is here.  Do you want me to bring it in here?”

“Uh yeah Jenny, thanks.  Why don’t you go on to lunch as well, yeah?” Ross told Jenny.

“Sure, sounds good.  Congratulations on your engagement Demelza.  You must be very excited. I know I would be.” Jenny said.

Demelza gave Jenny a smile, “Thank you Jenny.  Yes we’re very excited.  Have a good lunch.”

“Aye.  Ross, call me if you need me to come back sooner.  Ta.”  Jenny turned around and left the couple with their lunch.  She had heard their voices raise just before she knocked on the door which made her wonder if there was trouble in paradise.

Ross let out a big sigh and sat down at his desk, “Look Demelza, I’m sorry.  I shouldn’t have said that earlier about Caroline.  Of course you can make a decision without Caroline.  I don’t want things to be tense between us.  Can we agree to just try to keep things simple since we don’t have time to plan a royal wedding?”

Demelza sat on the couch and started pulling their lunch out of bags, “Yes, I think we can definitely agree on that.  It sounds like the album recording is going to be after your mother’s surgery, so at least we don’t have to worry about the actual recording itself.”

“Well, that’s one good thing.  I imagine that you’d like to hire some of your friends from the orchestra to play at the ceremony?” Ross asked.

Demelza started eating her sandwich, “Well, there’s a line there.  Is it tacky to ask my friends to play?  I’ll have to ask around and see how people would feel about it.  I mean we would pay them to play, naturally.  Do you think we should hire a wedding planner?”

Ross tucked into his lunch and was thinking about the question.  “Well, would that insult Caroline?  You don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

“Well, I guess I’ll have to ask her point blank on that one.  I don’t want her overwhelmed either.” Demelza’s phone buzzed with a text.  She took a moment to look at it.  “Well, here we go.”

“Who is it?”

“Frank.  He said the maestro just announced the cellist audition for next Wednesday.”  Demelza’s face turned white as she put her hand over her heart.  “Fuck. It’s all too much!”  

Ross could see she was about to lose it.  Her breathing was getting faster, he joined her on the couch quickly, and placed her hand into his, “Demelza look at me.  Breathe in, breathe out.  Come on, do it with me.  We’ve done this before.  It’s okay, my love, you’re alright.”  Demelza was breathing along with Ross.  “Demelza, look at me.  Forget about anything to do with the wedding until after the audition next week, alright?  Do what you need to do to get yourself ready for the audition.  If there’s a practise room somewhere that I need to hire for you just let me know.  And I can hire a driver to take you wherever you want to go until after the audition.”

Demelza looked at Ross like a dewy eyed doe, “Oh Ross I can’t let you do all of that.”

“I insist Demelza.  This audition is very important.  I can’t help you play, but I can make arrangements to help make life easier for you while you prepare.  I’ll do the shopping this weekend and the cooking, and make sure Seamus and I stay out of your way.  Whatever you need, please just let me know, alright?  And no talk of wedding plans,” Ross raised his hand to brush a loose curl from her eyes.  

Demelza grabbed him for a hug, “Oh Ross, I’m so sorry for being so cross with you lately.  I don’t deserve you.”

Ross softly chuckled in Demelza’s ear, “Hey now, no apologies necessary.  I think we’ve both been a little on edge lately.  You just worry about kicking ass at that audition, and being the best cellist that you can be, alright?”  Ross leaned back to look at Demelza, “I love you, and I believe in you and your ability.  And I’m going to be right there by your side, every step of the way.”  Ross took Demelza’s face in both of his hands to gently kiss her forehead, her eyes, her cheeks, her nose, and finally her lips.  The two separated and rested their foreheads against each other.  Ross sighed and smiled as Demelza’s phone started to blow up.  “I believe you know what all of that is about?”

Demelza looked at the phone, “Yep.  That would be James.  I suppose that I better get home and get ready for rehearsal.  Sorry that our lunch date was cut short.”

Ross smiled and shook his head, “It’s quite alright.  It was for a good reason.  C’mon, let’s go get you a cab home.  Why don’t you take the rest of your sandwich with you, maybe you can eat it later.”

“Good idea.  You could finish yours as well,” Demelza stood up to get her things together.  

Ross straightened his tie and ran his hand through his hair, “You ready to go, love?”

Demelza smiled at him, straightening his tie, “Yes, I guess so.”  She placed her hand on his chest and leaned up for another kiss.  

“Okay, I’ll walk you downstairs to get a cab,” Ross opened the door for her.  Jenny was standing outside of Ross’s office door when he opened it.   “Oh hi Jenny, I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.  I’m going to walk Demelza downstairs to get a cab and then I’ll be back.”

“Oh the tube station is just half a block away, that would be cheaper,” Jenny piped in.

“Oh I could just do that Ross…” Demelza said.

Ross’s eyes widened at Jenny, “No Jenny, please!  Demelza, I want you to take a cab. It will be quicker and you’ll be able to get home and do what you need to do for rehearsal and find out more about the audition,” Ross said emphatically.  Demelza saw the look on Ross’s face and then looked at Jenny whose face was flushed from Ross’s words.  Ross took a breath.  “So Demelza, do you have everything together?

Demelza’s eyes were wide, and she answered him in a soft voice, “Yes, love, I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

“Right.  Jenny, I’ll be back in a moment,” Ross grabbed Demelza’s hand and led her to the elevator.  

Ross and Demelza stepped into the elevator, the doors closing behind them.  Ross noticed Demelza was looking at him, “What?”

“Um, well, maybe it’s just me, but I think Jenny has a thing for you.  I’ve suspected before but the way she looked at me today, I’m pretty sure.  Has she said anything to you?”

Ross sighed, and ran his hand across his face, “I had an inkling.  I was hoping I was just imagining things.  What should I do?”

The elevator door opened and they stepped out.  “I don’t know Ross.  I guess just make sure you don’t encourage her feelings.  I’ll think about it and we can talk about it over the weekend, but right now I need to get a cab.”

“Yeah, you’re right.  I see one over there, let’s go grab it.”  Ross waved at the cab to make sure it didn’t drive off.

Ross opened the car door for Demelza, “Look, I’ll pick you up later tonight, and then maybe we can go have a drink or something.  Unwind a bit,” Ross reached in the window to give the driver instructions on where to go and paid him.

“That sounds wonderful!” Demelza gave Ross a kiss and got in the cab.

Ross waved them off and then turned around and looked at his building.  He couldn’t help but think about Jenny and what he should do, or if he should do anything.  He’s never been in this kind of situation before and he didn’t want to mess it up.  He let out a big sigh and headed back into the building.

*******************************

I have to admit, finding titles for the chapters has forced me to remember Beatles songs that I’ve forgotten about and it’s also been fun learning about how they were written and the story behind the song.  I chose this song for this chapter because as Ross and Demelza go forward in their relationship, and now planning a wedding, things or people will no doubt get in their way just like any other couple.  Demelza has worked hard for her career and Ross plans on supporting her in it, but what about children?  To have children or not to have children?  Where is the wedding going to take place?  Is there going to be a woman from Ross’s past to throw a monkey wrench into the couple? 

[itsbrittnibitch]

I had a date scheduled tonight and she bailed on me. (Not the first time this has happened to me yay.) We had a lovely chat on Thursday, no red flags, then she disappeared the next day. I thought, fine ppl work and be busy. Now it’s Monday the date we had scheduled. I’ve texted, called but no response. On WhatsApp it says last active Thursday…

Because I’ve been catfished before, (I accept my silly errors then and after that trauma I’ve tried to move forward) I’m extra cautious and know the signs. the first time lasted a long time but after finally trusting my gut, I decided to look at the red flags, and using catfish websites i discovered and confronted the catfish- to which they confirmed. Good times.

Then the second time I can only assume this person was but never confirmed, cause they’d have the classic excuses of ‘don’t have social media or WhatsApp’, never sent vids with their face and kept canceling plans. Plus the classic asking for nudes.

The one after that disappeared after I said: “the pic you sent me you have blue eyes but in your profile their brown?” They deleted their profile. Lol.

Now this one, who I assume just lied about who they are (or straight up died) and thought it’d be funny to have a chat and then leave. I did check online and checked their pic and it looks catfishy.

Why do I have a collection of catfish?

I’m actually tired. I feel like I want to throw up. Then disappear.

Thave no idea why this is happening? How am I finding these shitty people?

l'm a lesbian so it's already rough out here. Then adding fake profiles on dating apps? It's all of them.

How many times must the universe thrust this upon me? l've learnt my lesson. I know when people are lying and what red flags to look out for. But fuck me it's exhausting.

I'll match with someone like once every 2 months and they are fake? Like? It's fucking insane now.

I simply want to have a date with a women who we both have mutual attraction. I want to fucking meet someone.

Women on social media are like dates with women are hard. And l'm like I actually wouldn't know cause can't get past the talking online and actually FUCKING MEETING A GIRL.

I'm a spiritual person and honestly my faith is wavering.

I don't understand why it's happening.

I want to believe that the universe is creating opportunities for me but like? What opportunity is this?

How to loose trust?

If anyone knows plz let me know cause l'm exhausted and want to crawl into a hole and start again.

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

Ribbons and Rainstorms

Chapter 4 : Temple of Chores

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Roman kept going back.

It wasn't hard to keep going back. Not in the slightest, especially during storms when Vi was there. 

Even when Vi wasn't there, Roman found himself more drawn to the temple than he had been before. He had done a fair bit of cleaning, dusting off nooks and crannies (though trying his best to leave the spiderwebs in the corners undisturbed since Vi had expressed his fondness for them).

At the market he had bought some new blankets and pillows to take over and leave there so that he wouldn't have to ferry them back and forth every time there was a storm and risk them getting wet. He had spent almost an entire day gathering and stockpiling inside the temple as much firewood as he could find so that it could dry out. He’d bought more embroidery supplies since Vi had started teaching him too. Some of them stayed in his bedroom, stocking up for a project he was currently just planning out on paper, others he brought to the temple to use for their lessons. 

He spent so much time at the temple, that people actually started to notice. 

—-

"You're late." Came the scornful voice of his mentor, the person who oversaw all his training as a Protector, as Roman stumbled into the arena, clothes a mess and still pulling on his second boot, "Roman Edevane, If you are not taking this seriously enough to consider being on time—"

"I am so sorry Master Pryce, I just— I was busy and I lost track of time— I swear it won't happen again," Roman said, trying in an earnest tone. 

"This the third time in the last two weeks," She said, glaring at him, "Let me guess, the Storm Temple, again?"

"Yes ma'am," Roman said, nodding, "I was sweeping the floors today." 

“I’m glad you’re so dedicated,” She said, smiling a little, “But you really can’t keep being late for training like this, have you been practising since last week?”

“Indeed I have!” Roman grinned, standing up a little straighter, “And I’ll try not to be late, in future.”

"Good." She said with a nod, "Now that you’re here, let's get on with this training session, shall we? You know the warm up, hop to it." 

—-

"Roman, sir," One of the two servants they hired — Immy — said, stopping him on the staircase, "You're not going to come home caked in mud again, are you? You know, if Nessy and I have to wash the same set of your clothes every day for much longer they're going to fall apart." 

Roman winced in sympathy, he really did feel bad most of the time about all the extra work he seemed to always put both of them through. 

"I'm sorry," Roman said, taking a deep breath, "I'm almost done with what I've been working on now, so there shouldn't be much more mud." 

"Oh good," Immy said with a sigh of relief, "If I may inquire, what exactly is the task you’ve been doing to get yourself so dirty all the time?”

Roman paused, before sighing, “I’ve been attempting to clear more of a path from our gardens to the Storm Temple up on the hill so it doesn’t take quite as long for me to get up there.”

“I thought there was already a path?” Immy asked, shifting her grip on the laundry basket she carried.

“There is,” Roman nodded, “But it’s been overgrown and full of debris for years now and doesn’t go directly from the house, which was fine to worry about transversing when I only went a few times a month, but…”

“I see,” She nodded, “Well, good luck with that, Sir Roman, and please try not to get so dirty?”

“I’ll do my best,” Roman said grinning as he hurried down the stairs.

—-

"Roman!" His Ma called from downstairs, Roman shot up from where he sat on his bedroom floor, he dropped his needle and thread onto the fabric he was working on and stood up, rushing towards the stairs to call back.

“What is it?”

“Get down here,” She yelled, “I don’t want to yell through the house!”

Roman rolled his eyes with a sigh before scrambling down the stairs to the hallway where Taz stood, waiting impatiently with her hand on her hip. 

“Yes, ma?” Roman asked, wondering if she was mad at him for some reason, but that couldn’t be right, could it? He hadn’t exactly done anything.

“Wonderful, I need you to make some deliveries around town,” She said, Roman sighed. So he wasn’t in trouble, he wasn’t sure if this turn of events was any better though, he was busy with his project!

“Yes, Ma,” he said anyway, because no matter his projects Roman would probably do anything for his mother, even if he didn’t always show it.

“Good!” She smiled, “I’ve been doing a lot of baking, it’s all packed up and labelled so you can set off as soon as you’re ready.”

Roman nodded, reaching to grab his boots from the cabinet next to the stairs, he pulled them on and moved to retrieve the baskets from the kitchen. He hadn’t run deliveries in a long while, but Roman still knew the routine like the back of his hand. Maybe whilst he was out as well he could take a quick detour to grab a few things for the temple too, he’d been meaning to get a broom he could leave down there since the late fall leaves kept being blown in and he was annoyed at them clinging to his blankets. 

He might even have time to deliver them if he was quick… 

“Oh, and Roman?” Taz said, pulling him away from his train of thought, she had a serious look in her eyes, “No detours.”

“Oh but Ma—" Roman huffed, it was like she could read his mind!

“No, sweetheart, you’ve been spending all your free time these last few weeks either in your room working on that massive piece of fabric for heaven knows what, or at that abandoned old temple, I’ve barely seen you! Which is why I’m cooking dinner tonight and I’d like us to spend some time together.”

Roman sighed, not protesting because… well that was fair, he had been spending a lot of time working on his most recent embroidery project — Vi had given him a few lessons since they had talked and he was really starting to pick it up quickly — or working on his current mission of making the temple into a second home. She was right, they had spent hardly as much time together as of late than they had in the past. He probably owed an afternoon and evening to her and besides, he could get the broom another time. 

“I’ll be back as quickly as I can,” Roman promised, “No detours.”

—-

“You’re here every time,” Vi said one day, this time the storm was bad enough and the weather cold enough that Roman had bundled himself up in blankets and taken up refuge behind the altar where he’d built a small fire. He’d end up stinking of smoke by the time the storm was over he knew, but it was worth it for the warmth. Vi had immediately come and sat down next to him when they arrived and took out a few twines of thread that he seemed to be content with twisting around his fingers to form patterns. 

“So are you,” Roman countered, because it was true, there wasn’t a single time Roman had come here during a storm yet that Vi hadn’t appeared for. 

Vi hummed, considering the statement for a moment before shrugging, “Only because you are.”

“I don’t believe that.” Roman huffed, looking down at the embroidery he was supposed to be practising with. In all honesty, he had gotten entirely distracted.

“Why not?” Vi asked, sounding genuinely confused, “Your company is pleasant.”

“Surely you have better things to do than sitting in silence watching me struggle to embroider.” Roman said, voice deadpan, lifting the barely started embroidery in his hands. 

Vi shrugged with an awkward smile, “Not really.”

“You’re serious?” Roman asked, suddenly feeling a little vulnerable. It’s not like people hadn’t wanted his company before, but it was a little different when that person was a deity, someone who could go anywhere, talk to anyone. Roman had no doubt that Vi could easily do better than him.

“I wouldn’t say it if I wasn’t,” Vi huffed, “I like sitting with you, here.”

“Wha— oh!” Roman said, tensing as Vi reached over without warning and took his hand, turning it over and placing something in his palm quickly before letting go again. Roman took a deep breath before investigating what Vi had given him.

…a ribbon?

It was a dark, vibrant red and a little thicker than the ribbons that they usually used for hair ties. With what looked like the same silver thread that had been used on the handkerchief, a pattern was embroidered and when Roman looked closer he realised it was a mirror of the pattern he had embroidered onto the ribbon he’d given Vi. The fabric was almost heavy and unbelievably soft and when Roman moved it, it caught the light from the fire in a way he wasn’t sure fabric normally did. 

“You told me that to accept the ribbon you usually give one back,” Vi said, watching him inspect it, “So I made one for you, too.”

Roman smiled, a vaguely irrational part of him wanted to lean over and pull Vi into a hug, because this ribbon was beautiful and oh goodness he didn’t deserve this. 

“Thank you,” Roman said instead of voicing that last thought, “It’s lovely.”

There was a minute of silence between them where Roman held the ribbon, wondering if he should put it into his hair now or if… maybe…

“May I?” Vi asked eventually, gesturing to the ribbon and Roman barely restrained himself from jolting in surprise. Was Vi really offering? “You did mine, after all.”

Roman took a deep breath and nodded, offering the ribbon back, not trusting his voice. 

“I’m going to tie it around your bun,” Vi told him, taking the ribbon back. Roman nodded again, turning his head so that Vi could reach easier. The ribbon was long enough that even when tied the tails brushed his shoulders and Roman found himself grinning at the mere idea that he’d really been given a friendship ribbon by someone like Vi.

“Thank you,” Roman said, “Really, this is, I— it’s— I mean, it’s beautiful, is what I’m trying to say, I— um— I really appreciate it.”

Vi chuckled, looking back at Roman with a smile on his face that reached his eyes, Roman realised that the markings on their face had lightened multiple shades, now looking almost magenta instead of their usual black, Roman couldn’t help but smile back. 

“You’re welcome.” Vi told him, and Roman realised quite abruptly how genuine they sounded.

----

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[landofzero-archive]

Rouge&Ruby - Resulting Love 2

(Location: CosPro offices)

Jun: W-wait, wait, wait, wait……?

Could you wait a moment? I still don’t understand what you’re saying.

Ummm……? While I was in agony every day and even consulted Ohiisan about my worries, you were already over it? 

Ibara: Yes.

Jun: GODDAMN! Even with you saying “yes” I still don’t get it!

I’ve been worried about this for a long time! When did you resolve it, Ibara!?

Ibara: After Jun said that to me, I took some time to reflect upon myself…… Three days later, it was completely resolved.

Jun: Three days later!?

Ibara: Since a while ago, all your reactions have been unnecessarily exaggerated.

Jun: No, but– Eeeeeh……?

Ibara: —Jun’s words prompted me to reflect, calm down, and tweak my plans.

COMP has already been eliminated from my own plan…… Or rather, from the Chocolat Fes proposal.

As you wished, although I know it sounds like sarcasm to say that.

Just as Jun had said, I originally thought it was a nuisance.

Now that COMP is eliminated it can be said that my powered up plan is even better than my ideal. Would you like to see?

Jun: I-I can’t keep up!

Why didn’t you tell me sooner when I’ve been worrying about it all this time?!

Ibara: After deciding to eliminate COMP, I’ve been busy working on the new project that resulted……

It was difficult to set up a time and place where everyone could meet up and have things explained again.

I felt that lessons and work were proceeding smoothly without an explanation……

After that, His Excellency had an opportunity to ask me questions, so I wound up explaining it to him there.

Jun: Please be a little more embarrassed. I’ve been feeling awkward all this time.

Ohiisan and I were even working on a “Normal Valentine's Day Experience Plan” in between work too……

Ibara: “Normal Valentine’s Day Experience Plan?” What is that?

Jun: Sorry but I’m not telling. We’ll get it in action once we’re further along, so just be patient and wait!

Ibara: It’s a confusing concept and I’d rather not wait……

Jun: Don’t worry, it’ll be something by us for us.

Ibara: Haah……

Jun: I’m the one who needs to sigh.

While I was confused, you quickly regrouped yourself and kept going with your plans for Eden and Chocolat Fes.

Aah, that’s right. All the documents on the desk are here because Ibara was working hard……

Ibara: —I can’t tell if you’re frustrated or depressed.

It’s annoying if the rope is wrapped around too tightly…… So let me explain.

Jun: ?

Ibara: …… At the time, I hadn’t assumed you would oppose me.

I had never dreamed that Jun would raise an objection.

Even if you had questions or complaints, I never thought that you would say “NO.”

Jun: …… I’m getting the feeling that I’m being underestimated again.

Ibara: Yes, I underestimated you quite a bit☆

Jun: Why you……!

Ibara: —However, if Jun had not objected then I would have smeared my own plan with the mud of COMP.

Even so, it’s part of my job to make it look good, so I buried my feelings of distaste towards it.

Jun: ………

Ibara: It’s thanks to Jun that I didn’t have to do that.

With this opportunity, I was able to refine my plans and projects related to Chocolat Fes.

Not just improved, but even further. There are also many new things I have achieved.

So that means…… When I feel frustrated, depressed, or helpless…

I can tell myself to not feel so sullen.

Jun: …… I was preparing to hear you say “thank you” but the words didn’t come out~.

Ibara: It’s not a pattern.

Jun: Understood.

…… Well, is that it? Was I able to help Ibara?

Ibara: No. You were of great help to not just myself but also to raising the overall quality of Eden’s presence at Chocolat Fes.

The reason I was able to work with such a renewed feeling was because of your opposition, Jun.

Jun: …… Haha♪ If you say it like that then I’ll feel even more fired up.

It was really frustrating to have to worry alone but……

I’m really relieved to know Ibara will bring us to the top with his own hands and plans♪

After all, that’s how Ibara does things. That’s how you produce us as Eden.

…… Even if sometimes things don’t go well♪

Ibara: Hmph, that’s none of your business.

Jun: Ah, I’m feeling good now that the haze has finally cleared up.

Now I feel like I can do anything for Chocolat Fes……♪

Ibara: That’s reassuring. I was just about to inform you of the rearranged schedule once I was done here.

In the midst of increasing our exposure as Eden, we began filming advertisements for our merchandise.

In parallel with the lessons for Chocolat Fes, do your best to work hard……☆

Jun: Just leave it to me♪ No matter the work or schedule, I’ll be here to help!

…… By the way, do you know any restaurants that are open right now?

Ibara: ? I have a grasp of which one might be.

Jun: That works. Let’s go eat breakfast now♪

Ibara: What?

Jun: I said I would treat you to it when you helped me before, but we weren’t able to do it, so…

I’ll treat you to whatever you want to eat♪

Ibara: I’m at work. Don’t get carried away just because you’re feeling better.

Jun: Ahaha, you’re showing your true colors.

By the way, I’m fine with normal breakfast sets. What would you like to eat?

Ibara: The ones at the restaurants I know are fairly normal. But the contents vary based on the location.

Jun: Then let's go to the place Ibara goes to the most. Yep, I’m starting to get hungry……♪

Ibara: (…… What does he mean “I’ll help you when you’re in trouble?” Honestly, I wasn’t in trouble at all.

Because of Jun’s help…… I’ll just say I was bailed out.)

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[mwahmichelle]

🎀 goals i have before 2024 🎀

these goals aren’t necessarily things i want to achieve / be able to do by then. just things i want to get into the habit of doing :)

physical goals

1. go to the gym three times a week

im kinda cheating with this one cus i already do this, but i want to be more productive (?) when i go. i also want to set a plan for those three days so i dont do random exercises. (eg arm day: 10 sets of _ exercise, ect.)

2. stretch and use the massagers every evening

my parents recently bought a foot massage machine, a hand massage machine and a neck massage machine. i used them for around two weeks before i stopped lol. i did notice a difference in how much pain and stiffness i was feeling throughout the day, so i want to start using them again, as well as using their back roller and leg bands to help me stretch.

3. walk my sisters dog four to five times a week

walking her dog was so difficult in the summer because of the heat, so hopefully it’ll be easier now that the weather is cooling down :,) its unrealistic to say that ill walk her (the dog)) every night, so ill stick to a minimum of four days :)

study and work goals

1. work every day

sigh. i have a schedule where i work ~30-60 minutes every day, and 8 hours once a week. sounds easy. and it is. i just have problems with discipline, so i’ve been skipping a few days 🤥 that is not good, so i need to focus >:(

2. do homework the day its assigned 🗣️🗣️

in the past, i did all sorts of mental gymnastics to convince myself to do my homework the day before the lesson, but i end up just not doing it 💀 my teachers get pretty worked up about it, as does my mother lol. rightfully so tbh.

3. study ⁉️

i adore studying, so why am i not studying 🤨 makes no sense 🥱 lets get to it, mkay??

self improvement goals

1. self care sunday (morning…)

i have classes every sunday afternoon, but they’re pretty chill, pretty enjoyable :) the main issue with self care sunday, is that most of the time, i dont do enough during the week to deserve them lmfao. its like every day is self care day 🫠

2. explore the city twice a month

i moved to a new city back in february, and still don’t know anyone or anything abt it 😧 i need (!!) to get out more. like, no joke. with my busy schedule, twice a month is the least i can guarantee. its more than i’ve done the past 8 months 🤷🏼‍♀️

3. read and meditate every evening

this one should be easy, but alas. i’ve never been able to meditate, and reading every evening is difficult when u don’t have any books 😺 i shall try my best anyways…

yuh these are my goals ✨

i tried to make them achievable, so no excuses 😠

[redowlkitchen]

Dulcimer Update: Unintentional Hiatus Edition

Hi friends,

It’s been a while since I’m made a dulcimer update here, but I have a few things I want to share, so here we are. :) Eventually, I’d like to turn this into a video on my YouTube channel. This is a good place to get my thoughts down first.

I took a break from playing dulcimer this fall.

This past summer, I had big plans for my dulcimer. I was going to play for at least an hour or two each day, learn tons of new pieces, record plenty of videos, and generally use my extra time to get ahead with the channel and further my skills as a player. Things started out well relatively well. I was booked to perform at a local farmers market in mid-July, so I was focused on polishing my current repertoire once school ended. Performing at a farmers market has been my goal for a long time, so I was thrilled to finally have an opportunity to do so.

However, after the market, I experienced what I can only describe as a musical collapse. All of a sudden, I wasn’t particularly interested in playing my dulcimer for any length of time. It took a lot of effort to get myself in front of my instrument, and a lot of times, I wouldn’t even make it through my warmup before I walked away. This wasn’t a practice rut. I’ve been in those before, and I’m pretty good at pulling myself out of them relatively quickly. This time though, my usual tricks didn’t work. This felt like something more. I decided to give myself a mindful "vacation” from my instrument. I had just reached a longtime goal in performing at the farmers market. Maybe I just had to reorganize my thoughts before I could continue. That week turned into two weeks, which turned into three. Even when I decided I just had to get back to it, I felt completely uninspired. I wasn’t interested in learning new tunes, not even Christmas pieces (I usually start at the beginning of August!--sorry neighbors), and I had very little to show my teacher during the few lessons we had during this time. (She was so patient with me and I really appreciate that.)

Once the school year started, it felt easy to explain away why I wasn’t playing my dulcimer. I was busy with work and I’m also in grad school. I didn’t have time to play, or if I did, I was way too tired from the long day. Most days, I would look at my dulcimer, say, “I should play today,” and then end up not playing. I didn’t like the feeling of ignoring my instrument. Back when I first started with the hammered dulcimer, I would play for a few months and then take a few months off before repeating the cycle again and again. I know how much skill you lose when you do that. (Plus, think of all the skills you’re simply not getting a chance to learn during that time. It’s a double loss.) Still, I just couldn’t get myself to play more than a few minutes at a time here and there--not enough to really do anything.

Everything finally clicked back into place a few weeks ago. I’m not entirely sure why and I’m not going to question it. I’m just happy to be playing! I does probably have something to do with the Christmas season though, as I truly do adore playing Christmas music on my dulcimer. Check out my latest recording!

Why did I effectively take a four month break from my hammered dulcimer when it’s something I feel passionate about and brings me joy? I don’t think I’ll ever really have a definitive answer, but I do have a few thoughts.

The farmers market had been my main instrumental goal for so long that maybe I didn’t have a “direction” to head after it was complete.

It gets ridiculously hot in my apartment during the summer. Maybe it was as simple as the heat killing my creative drive and then the time needed to “reboot.”

On a more serious note, my school year ended very badly in June. Maybe this was my mind’s way of lightening my load so that I could mentally recover.

Maybe I just honestly needed a break!

Whatever the reason for my latest dulcimer hiatus was, it feels really good to be back to daily practice! I’m enjoying my holiday music and I can’t wait to share it all with you--plus, all the new tunes I have in store for the New Year.

Any musicians out there reading this--have you ever gone through a hiatus like this? Do you know how it happened? How did you get back? I’d love to hear from you!

I hope everyone can enjoy the holiday season! Thanks for reading my extra long post. :)

[fluxxdog]

One of the features I liked on Reddit was the recently introduced Mute feature. You could mute a subreddit and it wouldn’t show up in any listing. I used it on sports pages because I have no interest in sports (except r/theocho). I also used it on r/popping because I don’t want to see zits popped or cysts drained.

Everything else was fair game. Even r/conservative with the qultists. If nothing else, keep tabs on those dangerous individuals willing to eviscerate themselves to ‘own the libs’.

Then came the blackout in protest of the planned pricing for API access. Now, I believe a business has the right to run their business how they see fit. Even if it means piledriving it into the ground (looking at your stock prices, Muskrat). While unfortunate, it is what it is. And, like has happened time and again, I predicted people would whine, gripe, and complain about it. The blackout started, nowhere near enough subreddits joined the blackout to have any real effect, and it was basically wait them out. Others would create new subreddits to replace them and life would go on.

I’ve seen this happen time and again in many places over the years online. History has a habit of repeating itself. The lesson has been learned: You can always ride it out.

Instead, Reddit decided to force the subreddits open that they want and force out the moderators. They try crying about “democracy” in their fiefdom. Because, let’s face it, Reddit owns the land, the moderators just work it. Maybe they grow bountiful crops, maybe they grow twisted horrors beyond imagining, but they grew it and worked it and kept it fertile.

Now, Reddit is killing the goose that lays the golden egg. Moderators have to produce results according to their metrics. Oh yes, I’m using that horrid word because that’s what Reddit needs to have some kind of money making BS. Something that can be measured.

And free doesn’t have a metric.

Moderators, whether they’re reason people go to a subreddit because they make it usable or because they’re raging assholes who cultivate a select group of vicious brutes, work for free are free to work. This is a delicate balance. Sure, Reddit has rules, but they were not the kind that made things worthless. But they never directly profited off moderators’ work.

Now, they’re requiring moderators produce content so they can make money. They added weight to one side of the equation and the equation must balance. Moderators are no longer free to work, work is now required. Production must be had.

Reddit now has two options: Pay the moderators or don’t have moderators. And Reddit will pitch a fit at either option. Either their company personnel have to do the moderating or it becomes the Wild West. Or worse, 4-chan. I say 4-chan is worse because they will not be able to make any money off that at all. Nobody is going to invest in something like 4-chan when there’s actual 4-chan.

And I don’t think 4-chan will like the imposter.

So, I’ve done my part. My account was wiped and deleted. I had some good moments on there, but ultimately, they were moments. The memories will remain and I’ll move on, as I have in times past. Tumblr is fun and I’ll set up my tent here. All I can hope is that others leave like other sites and ideas that just decay with time: Usenet, AOL, LiveJournal, Myspace, Digg, FaceBook, Vine, Google+, and the countless forums I’ve passed through on this 30+ year journey we call the internet.

And to the moderators who stay, even the ones in r/conservative, I hope you get better pay for your work. Peace.

[dancingbabya-notes]

Whats a relationship?

<-♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♡—♡—♡—♡—♡—♡—♡—♡—♡ ->

I just wanted to write a character that happened to be Present Mic's big sister and also had a fling with All might at some point in her life.

Don't be mad at me.

<-♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♧—♡—♡—♡—♡—♡—♡—♡—♡—♡->

“Mom, Japan is huge.” Your daughter smiles as you guide her through toward your new apartment.

“We lived in America for a while honey, it's just new.” As you remind her of this you almost miss the face she makes.

“Mom, I have seen everything in America, it’s boring. People suck, and you said I get to see dad if we come to Japan,” she sasses.

Stopping for a second you frown. “Hizuru. Stop it.”

She looks at you and pouts. “You promised.”

“I know, you can see him but I don’t know about telling him,” you grumble. “Anyway, let’s go home. We still have to unpack.”

Traveling wasn’t something you liked to do but nearly ten years ago you decided to leave Japan for work, it was as if you were an accidental runaway bride. But it takes two to tango.

Hizuru bore a strong resemblance to her father, a strong frame and tall, she was only ten and nearing five feet already. You knew she was about to hit a growth spurt, and you were worried how her quirk would adapt with that. Long blond hair, but your eyes,

She got a combination of your own quirk with your dads, the ability to manipulate and detect close range threats. Your quirk threat-detect was helpful but that was only one aspect to your quirk. It seemed she didn’t get her father’s quirk or any inkling of it. You didn’t know his parents' quirks so you couldn’t say that she got it from his side.

“Mom, does dad know?”

You stop cutting the box open. “I haven’t been able to talk to your father since I left Japan. Luckily I was able to register you as a Japanese citizen.”

“Yeah, lucky.”

“Stop whining. I- will see about the two of you meeting. If I grab your hand don’t say anything, if I don’t you can say something,” you sigh.

“Okay mom.”

Maybe ten days later you looked at your hero uniform then to the door.

“Hello Nezu.” 

“Radar, it’s been some time. Have you been well?”

“Yeah, do you really want me to start as a teacher here? For second year English no less?” You frown.

“Unless you want to teach art.”

You look down and think for a moment. “Art might be the better choice. I think I wanna stop using English.”

“Alright, good. I’ll let everyone else know. You mentioned that you had a daughter? Did you get married back in America?”

“No, you know I could never do that.” You laugh.

You grew up in a sense with Nezu.

“I know your strong attachment to Yagi.”

You stop. “Anyway, I should start getting my lesson plans ready. Wouldn’t want to underwhelm the students who literally face danger almost everyday.”

“Don’t worry too much about-“

You look back to the door confused. Your quirk was going nuts telling you that someone was close by.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I might still be a little off since getting back. I’ll see you again in a week.” You nod with a bow.

Just as you pull your cloak over your head you pause.

“How’s he been?” You whisper.

“He’s doing okay.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Just as you leave the room fixing your mouth piece over you squeak, thankful that you hadn’t pressed the power switch on your mask. Yagi Toshinori was standing right outside the door, quickly casting your eyes down and brushing past him.

“Radar.”

Ignoring the sound of your hero name you kept walking.

“Kasumi, wait.”

You stop. Damnit. Wiping the tears on your glove you try to compose yourself before turning to the tall man and flashing the best fake smile you can manage.

“Hi, how have you been Yagi?”

“I could have been better, just busy with work. How have you been? You have a daughter right?” He adds.

You feel your heart stop. “Who told you?”

He seemed taken aback. “What?”

“Who told you I had a daughter? I’m sure I’ve done my best to keep her life as private as possible. Even her birth was hidden so how did you know?” You narrow your eyes.

You had managed to keep your personal life and hero life separate and you wanted to keep it that way. Since the last time the two mixed you ended up with a child and the father of said child didn’t know who she was.

“Your brother told me.”

“Hizashi? I have half a mind to beat him up, anyway she’s fine. As much of a handful as a ten year old can be,” you look toward the window.

“So you got married?”

“No. Never got married.” You roll your eyes and consider it. “She’s yours.”

He seemed to miss what you said. “Glad to know you're doing well.”

“I gotta go.” You manage before turning away. “I hope you have a wonderful day Yagi.”

With spring you were leaving Hizuru to school and you were starting teaching. Obviously you didn’t have much to do but it was a lot when spread out across the grades.

“Miss Radar, how is drawing still life gonna help us?” Someone asks.

“Have you ever wondered how others stay calm? They have more than one thing that they can relate to keep them calm.” You catch the incoming pencil. “Imagine you’re constantly working, always going on patrol, staying in the office and barely going home. You’re doing your job but you can’t function at peak performance without the proper rest. Everyone has to find that one thing that calms them down from the adrenaline of battle or you’ll tire quicker, and get reckless. Then your friend will be saying goodbye to you before your true time because you worked yourself to the very last drop of blood.”

“Is that what really happened to your-“

You hand the pencil back to Bakugou. “I guess still life is a bit boring, how about we try a different exercise next time? I’ll have to ask the other teachers but next you’ll be drawing from life.”

As they put their things away and you get ready for your next class you notice your phone ringing. Picking it up, you answer a bit confused.

“Hello?”

«Is this the mother of Yamada Hizuru?»

“Yes, this is Yamada Kasumi.” You look out the window.

«Today there was an incident, there was an intruder in the school and Hizuru took it into her own hands. Everything’s fine but she was hurt.»

Your breath caught in your throat. “I’ll be there momentarily.”

«of course.»

Ending the call you pocket your phone. The tears were already clouding your vision. Strings of curses left your mouth as you try to figure out what to do.

“Miss Yamada?”

Wiping your face quickly you compose yourself. “Ah, I didn’t think I’d get hero course after hero course. Please grab your materials and begin, I need to step out for a moment.”

Leaving the room you were thankful that you ran into your little brother.

“Woah, sis what’s wrong?”

“Hizuru got hurt. I was so stupid, I shouldn’t have, I shouldn't have taught her how to protect herself, what am I gonna do Hizashi?” You almost broke.

“I can mind your classes. Go let Nezu know.”

You give a firm nod trying to get there without breaking again. Nezu scolded you for wasting time and let you leave. Practically sprinting out of the school to get to your daughters school. 

“Mom!”

She was sitting on the back of an ambulance. Her smile widens as she jumps down to run to you. Bandages around her head and arm.

“Hizuru?” You felt your stomach twist. This was all your fault.

“Mom I know you told me not to mind my quirk at school but I couldn’t just let someone else get hurt,” she grabs your hand, her smaller hand shaking trembling even.

You pull her into a hug as you sob into her hair. “Baby please don’t scare me like that, please.”

Like a rubber band snapping she was brought back to reality, you felt her tears first, then it was the crying.

“Mommy I was so scared.” She sobs as her arms wrap tightly around your frame. 

Brushing her hair with your fingers, you pick her up into our arms. Trying to keep yourself calm as she cries. Ten minutes of crying and she was asleep.

“You have a strong girl, I thought she would have started crying sooner.” One of the policemen sighs.

You smile as you hold her. “We faced quite a few incidents back in America.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. We’ll be doing better to make sure this incident doesn’t repeat itself.” He bows.

“Thank you.”

“Miss Yamada, please let her rest tomorrow. Coming to school again might be a little stressful.” The teacher frowns.

You give a nod. “Of course. Thank you again, I’ll be taking her home.”

With her backpack you carried her home. You called Nezu and Hizashi to let them know that she was okay. They suggested you stay home. You felt bad for doing so but sent your plans for the next day to your brother.

The next day at school an announcement was made. Aizawa held the paper as he read over it his own heart ached. “Yesterday an intruder got into an elementary school, a student defended her class and the intruder was apprehended. Due to this incident we ask that everyone be careful on their way to and from school.”

“Aizawa Sensei, why are we hearing about this?” Ashido asks.

He looks at the pink haired girl before thinking. “Principal Nezu felt this was important information to share. You are all still children without hero licenses.”

All might was worried. All the teachers knew that you had taken a sick day to care for your daughter, which meant the two of you were recuperating at home.

“Hizashi, do you think she ate properly?” Midnight asks.

“Yes, since she’s had Hizuru, Kasumi remembers to eat now. You should have seen when she was pregnant she kept forgetting meals. She said she’ll be here tomorrow, but she has to pick up Hizuru from school.”

“Does that mean she did all that work for nothing?”

“I hope not. Sis practically bled herself dry to make sure the news kept their nose out of her personal life.”

“How old is she?” All might asks.

“Hizuru just turned ten. Kasumi complains that she takes after her dad too much. But I think Hizuru is the spitting image of my sister,” Hizashi shows the male the picture.

It was weird. All might wasn’t sure why but he saw a bit of his physical image in the young girl. The picture was one from this morning because he recognized the three stars tattooed on your arm.

“Kid hasn’t even lost all her baby teeth and she’s protecting others from danger.”

“You should have seen the situations Sis got in because of her quirk. Hizuru’s is just as powerful if not more. Kid said she can see when someone is intending to hurt someone.” Hizashi puts his phone away. “How long has it been since you actually talked to my sister?”

Yagi looks away. “We had a brief conversation when Nezu hired her, but not a true conversation since before she had her daughter.”

Hizashi sighs. “Look my sister isn’t exactly the straight forward type but you two need to talk.”

“I see what you mean.”

Midnight had little idea what the two men were talking about but it seemed important.

When you came to school the next day you felt less worried but you didn’t know what to do to calm your nerves.

It was the support course today, you had been looking forward to teaching the general course but it couldn’t be helped.

“Do we really have to?”

“I’d say no, but I am curious to see what you guys will make that would only be for display.” You respond.

“Sensei, why weren’t you here yesterday?”

“Family emergency.”

“Oh.”

It was no secret to anyone at Yuuei that every single instructor is or was a pro hero. You were no exception. Though you didn’t wear your hero costume you really only needed your belt if you needed to do anything. Plus your mask.

After the USJ incident you were petrified for those students. The entire day your alarms were blaring off the charts. So you were glad it wasn’t a false alarm.

“Radar, are you okay?” Aizawa asks as you get up from the desk.

“Yeah, just a little tired.” You mumble.

“Why don’t you…”

You shake your head. “I need to see what schools Hizuru wants to go to. She’s been studying for exams and I’m curious how she’s gonna use her quirk. Hopefully it’s not gonna cause a repeat.”

He looks at you and frowns. “How did she learn how to do that?”

“I taught her, while we were in America a lot happened. Someone tried to take her,” you admit. “I couldn’t do much without the possibility of her getting hurt. Lucky someone was able to help me.”

“So you taught her for your peace of mind?”

You nod. “My baby is all I have left outside of my family. But I’m sure my parents don’t want to deal with me if something happens to her.”

“Kasumi don’t say that.”

“It’s true, Shota, thank you for being friends with Hizashi.” You smile, grabbing the pile of papers.

In your classroom you checked that you had the right item. Pulling the extra large canvases out you smile. The floor and walls were properly covered and the paints were ready.

“Hello Yamada Sensei.” “What are we doing?” “Woah those are huge.” “I dunno how this will play out.”

You smirk. “Okay. So I know what I promised but I thought this would be a better alternative. We have several students here who are very particular about how they do things. That’s fine, but we’re gonna throw that out the window.”

You roll your sleeves back and dip your hand in the yellow paint.

Slapping it on the canvas you kept separate, you smile. “I wanna see how chaotic you guys can be, while still making art. There’s twenty of you, and five canvases. Divide into groups of four and go plus ultra.”

They seemed confused. But they all quickly took off their blazers and rolled up their sleeves. It wasn’t long before paint was flying and splattered all over the place. You smile at the chaos.

“Woah what’s going on here?”

“Oh I didn’t realize class was over. Please go wash your hands and go to your class. I’ll take the blame for you being late. Class 1B we’ll have a similar exercise. I just need a moment to get things ready.” You chuckle scrambling around. “Class A, that paint is washable and doesn’t stain.”

Placing the canvases aside to dry you chuckle. “Class B if I could have you divide into five groups of four please, and if someone could refill the paints?”

“Right Sensei.”

The exercise was equally chaotic and just as fun with class B.  You were relieved that you had an easier time cleaning.

As you were leaving a hand caught your shoulder. “You have red paint in your hair, Yamada.”

You look for a second running a careful hand through the short locks. “I do. It must have been Bakugo. It’ll wash out.”

“What did you do? The hero course students were more energetic.” Yagi asks, confused.

“We let out some chaos, hopefully this gave them a moment to explode without fear of injury.”

“Kasumi, next time could you keep it more controlled?”

You smile at the male. “Shota, chaos has no reins, you cannot control it. Sometimes it can be reeled in but never controlled. Hence I have no qualms with the fact that Midoriya got a huge hand of green paint in Bakugo’s hair.”

You could hear your brother rolling over with laughter. “Midoriya did that?”

“I think it was a group effort between him and Uraraka. Anyway I gotta go,” you grab your things. “Hizuru said she misses you.”

“My favorite niece misses me? I should visit her soon then. Her birthday is coming up, right?”

“Her birthday is in two weeks.”

Hizashi grins. “I get to spoil the baby.”

“Try not to go crazy.”

You stopped by the bathroom to wash out the paint from your hair. Once clean and sure there wasn’t a mark you left to pick up Hizuru. She was just excited at the idea that she was doing things. Her wound healed nicely because Recovery girl came to visit her. 

But due to an overlooked timing Hizuru had a day off of school and you couldn’t leave her at home, no one could watch her because she didn’t trust anyone else. Nezu let you bring her.

“Uncle Hizashi, Uncle Shota!” She springs up to hug the men. Her excitement wasn’t shared but nonetheless they greeted her.

“You gotta stay at your mom’s desk okay?” Hizashi reminds her.

“But I wanted to-“

“She is my extra hand during the class 3 A and B classes. It’s fine. I thought since the chaos exercise was well received that the older kids might like it too.” You chuckle. “But I borrowed some stuff.”

“By borrowed-“

“Borrowed. I can clean up and return items, stop thinking about it too much, come on Hizuru.”

“Uncle, guess what? Momma made me a special lunch, and I get to pick what's for dinner.”

“Really? Doesn’t Kasumi usually make everything?”

“Mhmm, but lately momma keeps getting so sleepy that she can’t even get up for our run.”

“Hizuru, stop. Hizashi doesn’t wanna know about all that.”

He looks at you and then at your daughter. “What do you mean?”

“Well, momma still sits in the living room crying about daddy. I wonder if they can be friends again, because I don’t like when momma cries.” Hizuru states.

You rub at your temple. “Hizuru, stay with your uncle until I come back.”

“Okay.”

You go to prepare your tools. Hizuru looks at your brother and smiles.

“Uncle, does mom like working?”

“You know she does. What’s this about her crying?” Hizashi frowns.

“Well, I noticed it since we came here. Sometimes she’ll stay in the living room and I hear her crying. She did that a lot when I was little,” she explains. “Do you think she misses my dad?”

“Of course, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. Next time you see her crying, call me okay?”

Hizuru looks at her uncle. “Okay. I’ll do that.”

“Speaking of what do you want for your birthday?”

“Hmm, maybe a dog. One that can protect us, someone keeps knocking on the door and bothering mom.”

“What?”

You frown. “Hizuru!”

She looks down.

“Kasumi?”

“It’s fine I can handle myself. I always forget that living alone culture is different everywhere,” you sigh, patting your daughter. “Hizuru I didn’t mean to shout.”

“I know, I’m sorry mom.”

“Let’s go.”

It wasn’t long before her birthday came around. That single day of her coming to the school left a laying impression that you received many presents for her from the third years and teachers. Yagi even bought some things. Hizuru was more than happy to receive all the gifts.

You didn’t expect it to lead to— “You guys want to come to our apartment?”

“Just to check.” Hizashi frowns.

You sigh. “Fine if it’ll make you relax you can come over. I’ll make dinner or something.”

“Good.” Shota sighs.

“When exactly do you want to come over?” You ask, checking your phone you frown. “Hizashi, did mom and dad message you recently?”

“No, what’s wrong?” He looks at your phone and all the energy drains.

“I need to go, I swear they’re the worst.” You feel the anger bubbling up.

But before you can continue a mask is placed over your mouth. No sound escapes the mask and you glare. Misdirected anger isn’t usually your forte but it was something that had to do with your daughter.

Grabbing the cloth you pull it between your fingers before feeling what should have been a growl but was silent.

“Kasumi, calm down. Tell us what happened.” Aizawa sighs unfazed.

Taking a few deep breaths you try to think as Hizashi takes away the mask. You had a quirk similar to his, but it wasn’t as powerful.

“Mom went behind my back and took Hizuru to their house, she’s claiming that I can’t take proper care of her,” you manage. “She’s so stuck in her ways. I’m so glad I didn’t stay in Japan when I found out I was pregnant.”

“Don’t worry, mom won’t do anything you know that. She’s gotten… you know I think we should go pick her up after school.” Hizashi admits.

“Thank you.” You sigh. “I know it might seem extreme, but I can’t let mom-“

“Kasumi I know, just finish the day and we can go pick her up together.”

You and Hizashi have different dads. The voice quirk was from your mother, and your detection quirk was from your father. But Hizashi only had your moms quirk. She often made you completely dependent on her when Hizashi decided to be a hero. So you did the same in an unconventional way.

“Yamada Sensei? You’re drinking paint water…” Hatsume states pointing to the glass in your hand.

“Please excuse me, I don’t know where my mind is,” you sigh before leaving the classroom. “I’ll be right back.”

Good job. You make your way back but the paint residue has stained your face. Groaning you make your way back to the classroom, going through the closet you put the mask on and continue teaching.

By the end of the day you wanted nothing more than to sleep. But the thought of seeing Hizuru made you happier. First you stopped by the school and told them if anyone came for Hizuru that wasn’t you or Hizashi was not allowed to take her. Then Hizashi drove you to your moms house.

“Hizuru we’re going home.” You state crossing your arms.

“Momma! How come I’ve never met grandma?”

“Because my mom tried to sell me off so she could have money. When I told her I was gonna have you she kicked me out.” You state brushing her hair with your hand.

She pouts. “No wonder my senses were going off like crazy.”

“She has the same— Why didn’t you tell me that?”

“You never asked. Tell Dad I said hi,” you picked up Hizuru and went home.

Much to your relief everything went fine before the planned day of company coming over. Nemuri, Shota, Hizashi, and Yagi were coming by your apartment for dinner and to see how safe your apartment was. The addition of Yagi was a surprise to you. You almost expected him to bail.

“Hello,” he towered over you like the tall man he was.

“Come in, I was just finishing the food prep. You don’t mind that I’m making dumplings right?” You ask, though you felt like a flurry of emotions were spiraling around you.

“Mom who’s…” Hizuru looks at her father as you dry your hands on the apron.

“You remember Yagi, he’s a dear friend of mine.” You state gesturing to the man.

You couldn’t admit you had just been crying about him two nights before. Grief stricken at the time you lost and the severed connection from a hasty escape.

Hizuru swallows and gives a big smile. “Yes, I remember. Nice to meet you sir.”

“You’re a lot taller than I would imagine a ten year old to be.” He chuckles. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine, we have a signal in class for when my quirk is alerting me of something. And all the teachers are more careful of who comes in and out.” She smiles.

“Go finish what you were doing so we can prepare the rest of the food,” you glance back toward the main part of the apartment. “Yagi come in. Everyone else should be— Hizashi, I can see you.”

“Surprise.” He chuckles holding something.

“You have till the count of five.”

“It’s just a harmless gift.” He laughs pushing the box into your hands.

Hizuru looks at the tired male following after her uncle and grabs his hand. “Uncle Shota look, I built it.”

You could barely contain the chuckle. “Thank you for coming. Nemuri you can come in as well.”

“Here I thought this would be a good gift.” She holds something up and you could barely contain the chuckle.

“I don’t really drink, Just before Hizuru was born I stopped drinking,” you laugh. “But thank you.”

She pouts. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Closing the door you got ready to finish preparing the food but Hizashi kicked you out of the kitchen. “Let me do it. You’ve probably been buzzing around like a bee all day.”

“Rude, I was just making sure everything was clean.” You mumble.

“It’s a lot bigger than I thought but it’s not secure,” Shota states.

“I know, I need to replace a few things but other than that it’s fine.” You shrug.

Just as you sit on the couch, the bell rings. Hizuru was about to answer the door but you shake your head about to get up. Shota walks to the door, opening it to the man who had been bothering you.

“Oh- I didn’t realize she’d had someone…”

“What do you want?” Shota raises a sleepy brow.

The man seemed to fidget around. “Nothing.”

“Can you stop bothering my mommy?” Hizuru made herself known as you grab her shoulder gently.

“What's going on between me and your mom is between us, kid.” 

You narrow your eyes and you pick up the mask sitting on the counter, pulling it on but not turning it on. “Goro, I have a question for you. What do you think happens to people who underestimate someone?”

“Not much.” He shrugs.

You push Shota back away from the door and smile. “No. You lose the game, that's what happens. Please leave me alone before I call the building manager.”

“But I was just-“

“Being polite?” You narrow your eyes. “A lot of people were being polite, half of them were wanted criminals. I'd appreciate it if you left me alone. My brother doesn’t take too kindly to anyone bothering me and I always let my baby brother do what he wants.”

“I’ll go.” He huffs.

“Bye bye.”

Closing and locking the door you sigh. You used this moment to put your mask on properly and scream. It was a quirk suppressor, it rendered your voice useless in combat and you were thankful for it. 

Taking off the mask you frown. “Now that that’s solved can we eat?”

You look at your little brother who’s been making food and he nods. Two people were still frazzled from the situation but Hizashi and Shota were used to this. Hizuru has seen watered down and extreme versions of this so she continued on as she did.

“Big sis Nemuri, how did you become a hero?”

“I went to school with your uncle, do you know how your mom became a hero?” She smirks.

“Nemuri that’s not a fun—“

“I wanna know, momma never told me how she became a hero?” Hizuru’s eyes lit up and you groan.

“Go ahead and tell her.”

Hizashi clears his throat. “When your mom was in school she went to a normal public school. So one day she was walking to school and she told one of the staff members to check the front gate, when her school started the gate got locked to keep others out. The teacher checked and the way they locked it was tampered with. At first they suspected your mom.”

Shota rolls his eyes. “A poor move on their part. She dumped her bag and stripped down to her gym uniform in front of the teachers. And she was obviously clean. So when not even fifteen minutes later, she ran into the main office and took the intercom over.”

Hizashi laughs. “Sis was a bit more reckless than she is now. But she states in the com ‘today we will have a mandatory fire drill.’ She didn’t get in trouble because that is a code for the public schools now. Do not leave the classroom, there is an intruder.”

“I know that one, in America we hide in a corner. With the lights off, I always thought it was stupid.” She scoffs.

“I know that all schools have different countermeasures. Sis’s school had teachers find the intruder and arrest him. This wasn’t the turning point. Because one hour later another intruder had entered the school. This time Aneki who’d played softball since she was little was able to detain the intruder. The school couldn’t ignore this.”

You grumble. “It was lucky the bat I used to practice was illegal for in-game use. But it made me realize that if I’m gonna feel this feeling I’m gonna protect people.”

“She ended up studying under one of the old teachers.” Nemuri nods.

“Jiji was cool though,” you shrug.

“Jiji?” Yagi asks, confused.

“Oh, I studied under Grandtorino, it was through his recommendation I was able to get my hero license.” You state. “I wonder how he’s doing.”

“You were sensei’s student?”

“Yeah, did he not tell you about me?” You frown. “Well that is like him, I didn’t make much of an impact. I’m not even all that popular as a pro.”

“I’m sure you’re amazing.”

“Nah, they had me doing undercover everything in America. Honestly it was annoying.”

Hizashi frowns. “What?”

“Yeah it was all undercover, protection jobs. Nothing I really liked but I was glad I came back to Japan.” You shrug. “Hizuru, go get ready for bed you look like you're gonna fall asleep.”

“Okay, good night.”

You were happy that the night went okay. But as everyone was getting ready to leave, Yagi gave you a worried look.

“Did you wanna—“

Everyone else had left and he was just getting ready to leave, or so you’d thought.

“Is she my daughter?”

How would he..? You stop doing the dishes and look at him. “What makes you think that?”

He frowns. “I’m not stupid Kasumi.”

“Toshinori, I didn’t call you stupid.” You frown as well.

“Is Hizuru our daughter?” He asks again.

You run a hand through your hair and sigh. “Yes. Are you happy now? She’s your daughter, our baby. Does it make you happy knowing?”

He takes a slow breath. “Why now? Why didn’t you tell me when you found out?”

“Because I was leaving Japan. On top of that you fucking disappeared do you know how confused I was? Suddenly I was pregnant, I couldn’t find the father and I’m in a new country.” You explain. “It wasn’t easy, but everything was fine. I never told you because when I was walking out of Nezu’s office it was the first time I’d seen you.”

He groans. “Ten years?”

“Yes, ten years, she had your hair. Your smile, and your personality. She, like us, can’t sit by and watch.” You add. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t know where you were. I know you’re a pro hero but I don’t know which one. To top it off you didn’t want a relationship, you made that very clear before I left.”

“Kasumi just—“

“No, listen I may have been wrong keeping Hizuru away from you but you didn’t want a family in the first place,” you state.

“You’re right, but that’s just it. I was wrong too, I shouldn’t have pushed you away but I did. Maybe you were right to keep her away from me,” he groans.

“Momma, I need help with…” she watches the man from behind you. You gently wave her over.

“Hizuru, you can say hello properly now.” You sigh.

Her eyes light up and she hugs him with all her might. “Hi daddy, I’ve wanted to talk to you this whole time. Momma always told me about how great of a hero you were and that you’re really strong.”

“Are you sure about this Kasumi?”

“My first mistake was being honest with her.”

(Masterlist)

[riverstardis]

buried alive:

now ethan has officially met stevie and jade for the first time!

cal tries to get ethan to come pick up emilie’s ashes with him but he says he’s busy and cal goes “right, we’ll, i’ll just go and collect mum’s ashes on my own then shall i? just like i went to the funeral on my own.” that’s an awfully high horse for someone who made ethan go and collect matilda’s ashes on his own and she’s the woman who actually raised them!

connie breaks up with jacob because of grace and he goes “you know the trouble with burying your feelings. they get buried alive.” literally

dylan checking multiple times with robyn that a patient had been discharged and noel says he hasn’t been the same since lofty left :( reminding the viewers that he does still have ocd?

lily trying to talk to ethan using her dad to try and relate again

jacob’s going out with the paramedics and dylan says they look like a boy band that’s reformed for the money and jack goes “i’d pay” SKDKFKFK

lily finds ethan in the staff room and tries to comfort him again by talking about how she felt when her dad died and he goes “i don’t care about your father lily! i don’t care about my mother! all she’s actually done is leave me with this death sentence” and she’s confused and asks what’s really going on so he tells her and cal comes in but hears them talking and listens from just outside

she asks if cal has it too and he says “no, he’s fine. caleb is just perfect”

“i’m sorry i don’t know what to say” “well there’s nothing to say is there? this is never gonna leave me. it’s gonna follow me around for the rest of my life. and then it’s going to kill me” 😥😥😥😥😥😥😥😥

lily says who knows what medical advances will be made in the future. but he tried that with gaskell’s trial but actually managed to dodge a bullet by not getting on😭

“you know what, i work hard. i’m the good one, i’ve always been the good one, and he— he just goes wherever he wants, he gets everything he wants. career. women. everything comes so easy to him.” :(((((( and cal’s still listening in

“yes but you can’t blame him for this” “but i do! i really do. i don’t deserve this.” “and he does?” “yeah, maybe he does.” cal’s face :((((

aww this kid with cancer russell is listing some things from his bucket list and he says he wants to get married like on mamma mia

charlie can’t find cal and he’s not answering his phone

connie and jacob going to kiss and the floor quite literally collapses under them😭😭

and grace is waiting in connie’s office not knowing anything’s wrong

russell’s tumour has grown and robyn tells ethan about his wish to get married

they plan a “wedding” and get max to “officiate” and ethan gives robyn away and then takes pictures along with russell’s dad🥺🥺

iirc robyn mentions to glen that she’s “already married” to russell which is so cute that she remembers🥺

connie and jacob slowly being buried alive and connie radios control saying she needs to speak to grace so they put her through to the ed and grace can obviously tell somethings wrong and is upset but still no one’s really telling her what’s going on😢

robyn comments to ethan that russell’s not just making every day count, he’s making every second count. aand there’s the lesson!

this is terrifying😭😭

well putting his problems aside for a while to help russell has obviously cleared ethan’s head a bit because he doesn’t look like a walking rain cloud anymore. and he actually entertains charlie’s question of whether he’s spoken to cal. charlie tells him that cal’s been AWOL for ages and asks if he knows where he might’ve gone

see big mac and noel are only just breaking through an awkward period of becoming friends again but they were just like normal in begin again so that’s another inconsistency

lol robyn trying to be friends with dylan over them both missing lofty🥺

ethan finds cal at the beach and apologises saying he was angry and he didn’t mean it

🥺🥺🥺🥺 i love them

“be more cal” “hm?” “that’s what i’m going to do. that’s my new resolution.” “be more cal?” “yeah you know, carpe diem, run recklessly headfirst into improbably dangerous situations.”

he then demonstrates that immediately by inviting cal to run into the freezing cold sea with him skskdkfk

i miss themmmm😫😫😫