#i've been so busy so this set took me the whole day since i made like one gif per hour lol

[writingwithciara]

birthday cake -quinn hughes-

summary: quinn believes everyone forgot his birthday in favor of thanksgiving. but that's simply not the case

word count: 2k

pairing: quinn hughes x reader

notes: in honor of the love of my life's birthday, i decided to cook up this little gem. hope everyone enjoys it. (should've been posted on his birthday but i got super busy because of thanksgiving & other projects i'm working on)

"hey quinn. do you have any plans for monday?"

"actually, yes." quinn looked up from his phone as brock entered the room. "why?"

"my sister wanted to invite you over to her place for thanksgiving. she said she gave you an invitation the other day but you just shoved it in your bag and that you haven't said anything to her since then."

"that's what that was? i thought she was just handing me some mail that was put in the wrong box."

"have you not seen her since tuesday? you live across the hall from each other."

"i know but our schedules haven't given us the time to chat. she's working when i'm home, and vice versa."

"you should text her and tell her you're going to be busy on monday. i think it would be best coming from you. maybe she won't be upset."

"i'll text her after practice." quinn set his phone in his bag and finished lacing up his skates.

during practice, everyone was talking about y/n's thanksgiving dinner. quinn was the only one who wouldn't be attending. and while he felt bad about it, seeing as she was one of his good friends, he also started to feel bad for himself.

monday was also his 25th birthday but it seemed like no one remembered.

practice went well. so when quinn walked to his car, he sent a text to y/n to let her know he wouldn't be able to show up to her dinner. he made up a lie and said he wouldn't be home.

his plan was to just stay home and watch game highlights while cooking his own meal.

when monday rolled around, y/n and brock were finishing up the food preparations when a thought occurred to y/n.

"oh my freaking god. it's the 14th today. how could i be so stupid?"

"i would love to object, or even agree, depending on what it's about." brock looked at his sister with a curious expression. he couldn't quite read her like he normally could. "care to let me know what you're talking about?"

"october 14th. quinn's birthday! how could i forget? i bake him a cake every year." y/n set her oven mitts back on the rack. "i am a terrible friend."

"i'm sure it's fine. quinn probably forgot about the cake anyway. pretty sure you're in the clear, y/n."

"brock, i've made the cake every single year since we've been friends. he loves it. you should see the way his face lights up when i deliver it to him."

"are you sure it's the cake he likes to see every year?" brock raised his eyebrow, earning a slap to the shoulder from his younger sister.

"brock, no."

"look, just bake him a cake today and give it to him tomorrow. i'm sure he won't mind."

"i don't have the time or oven space to bake a whole new cake." y/n shook her head. "i'm gonna run to the store and buy him one instead.

"people are going to be here any moment. i'm afraid it's gonna have to wait."

"can you please keep them company? i'll be back in 20 minutes."

"you're lucky you're my sister and i love you." brock smiled. "now go fix your friendship with your neighbor."

"love you, brocky." y/n kissed his forehead and went out to her car. she hated the idea of buying a cake from the store. it didn't have the personal touch that her homemade cake did and she knew it wouldn't live up to it either. but she was desperate.

when she got back to her apartment, brock was the only one there.

"nobody's here yet?"

"not yet. mom and steve are almost here. been getting location updates from steve."

"did he let mom drive?"

"yeah. that's probably why they're not here yet." brock chuckled and grabbed the cake from her hands. "this looks amazing. are you gonna try to pass it off as your own?"

"no. i could never lie to quinn." y/n smiled and took it back, setting it down in the fridge. "i'm just going to tell him the truth."

"that's new for you. are you that honest with everyone?"

"i don't think so. there's something different about quinn. he makes me want to be honest."

"have you ever lied to me?"

"no. of course not."

"okay. good." he looked at his sister. "i want you to answer a question then. i'm only gonna ask it once."

"alright. shoot."

"is there something going on between you quinn?"

"no, brock. that would be ridiculous."

"okay. i'm gonna ask it twice. is there something going on between you and quinn?"

"no. you told me he was off limits for dating, as well as the rest of your teammates. but i would be lying to you if i said i didn't think he was really good looking."

"you really think so?" brock's eyes widened at his sisters confession.

"mhm. i do. like, super insanely good looking."

"okay. well, thanks for the honesty." brock couldn't help but chuckle.

before y/n could respond, there was a knock at the door, followed by a few voices.

"sounds like your guests are here. i'll let them in." brock went to the door and opened it, letting their parents inside, along with a few other guests.

y/n spent the first half hour finishing up the meal before brock served it to everyone.

conversation flowed easily around the table, but y/n was stuck thinking about quinn. all his friends were with her and he was most likely alone.

when she stood up abruptly, it caught everyone's attention.

"are you okay?" brock asked.

"yeah. i just have something i really need to do." y/n walked over to the fridge and grabbed the cake. she left her apartment without another word and knocked on quinn's door.

"hey. what are you doing here?" quinn smiled when he answered the door.

"happy birthday." y/n handed him the cake and walked back towards her apartment.

quinn was left standing in his own doorway, staring at the cake. he was used to getting a cake from y/n every year. it was always homemade & this time, it was store bought. but he didn't care. someone actually remembered his birthday.

y/n walked back into her apartment and sat back down at the table. she ignored the looks everyone was giving her and continued eating. everyone went back to eating and talking with each other, quickly forgetting that y/n disappeared for a moment.

a few hours later, everyone was heading out. brock stayed behind to help y/n clean up.

"what did quinn say when you gave him the cake?"

"how did you know that's what i did?"

"you were beating yourself up over missing his birthday. and you left right after i told mom about quinn's goal the other night."

"i wasn't even paying attention to the conversations around me. all i could think about was how quinn's friends were here and nobody mentioned his birthday. i felt bad so i took the cake to him."

"and what did he say?"

"i have no idea. i came right back over here." y/n finished washing the last dish and handed it to brock so he could dry it.

"maybe you should go see him right now. i'm sure he would appreciate some company for the last little bit of his birthday. Oh, and take him some leftovers. dinner was delicious and i guarantee he'll love it." brock grabbed a plate and put all the food he could fit onto it. when he handed it to his sister, she hesitated. "take it to him, y/n. you can't keep beating yourself up over forgetting his birthday."

"you're right." she took the plate and walked to the door. "i'll be back."

"i'll be here." brock chuckled and started putting away the rest of the leftovers.

y/n knocked on quinn's door and waited patiently. when he opened it, she handed him the plate. he looked at her and smiled.

"what's this for?"

"thought you might like some leftovers from today."

"oh. well thank you. smells delicious." he set the plate on the table by the door. "would you like to come in? or do you still have company over there?"

"just brock." y/n smiled and walked into his apartment. "so, how was your birthday?"

"it was good. i got to have breakfast with my parents and then i went to the gym for a bit. then i got a cake delivered to me. it was amazing, by the way."

"really?" y/n smiled. "i'm sorry it wasn't homemade this year. i'm ashamed to admit that i briefly forgot about your birthday and i didn't have enough time to bake you a cake. but i can make up for it if you want."

"look, it doesn't matter to me whether it was homemade or store bought. all i care about is the company that comes with it each year." quinn smiled. "also, thank you for stopping by today. i thought everyone forgot my birthday."

"but quinn, i did forget."

"you remembered eventually. that's all that matters to me. things like that stand out and i appreciate it. more than you think." he sighed. "other than my parents, you're the only one who remembered. so, thank you."

"you're welcome. and i promise i'll make up for almost missing your 25th birthday."

"you don't have to. you're here now. and honestly, your company is the only thing i wanted this year."

"wait, really?"

"yeah. it's the one thing i look forward to for every birthday, no matter how brief it is."

"are you serious?"

"yes. very serious." quinn hesitantly reached for y/n's hand and when she didn't yank it away, he slowly intertwined his fingers with hers. "i'm not sure if you can tell but i like you. i've liked you since the first second i saw you move in across the hall. but unfortunately, i can't do anything about this."

"and why not?" y/n was confused. she liked quinn and it was becoming evident he liked her too. but she didn't understand why nothing could happen.

"you're brock's little sister. it wouldn't be right. it just-"

quinn was unable to finish his sentence. he was pulled forward and y/n's lips were placed on his, softly.

"what was that for?" he asked when y/n pulled away from the kiss.

"your birthday present, dummy." y/n smiled. "and because i like you, quinn."

"you....you do?"

"yes. i don't bake a cake for anyone else's birthday, you know."

"but what about brock?" quinn looked all over her face.

"i'm 24 years old, quinn. brock can't tell me who i can and can't have feelings for." y/n smiled and leaned closer. "besides, i think he actually wants us to be together."

"what makes you say that?"

"he kept encouraging me to come over here to see you. even gave me the plate so i'd have a reason to come over here." she glanced at quinn. "not that i didn't already have a really good reason to come and see you tonight anyway."

"i'm really glad you came over tonight. and kissed me." quinn smirked. "god, i sound like a freaking teenager when he gets his very first girlfriend."

"it's cute." y/n smiled and looked at where her leg touched his. "i think i know the answer to this, but are you enjoying your birthday?"

"i really am." he couldn't help the smile that came upon his face. "i'm still trying to get over the initial shock of you liking me back."

"it's the same for me. guess we can figure it out together, huh?"

"yeah. i guess we can." quinn held her hand and looked at her fingers. "is every part of you just perfect?"

"yes. i do believe every part of me is perfect. perfect in my own special way."

quinn chuckled at the girl he oh so admired. "would it be alright if i kissed you?"

"quinn, you know you don't have to ask." y/n smiled and gave quinn what he wanted. really, what they both wanted.

[httpvomitello]

hii how are you??? i'm obsessed w your writing like you're so so good (and i'm also in love with george) sooo i've got a request!!! so like reader and george never really liked each other since one prank she accidentally walked in on of him and fred, but george likes her secretly and one afternoon him and fred are hiding in a corner to wait for filch to walk by and prank him, but he sees reader and like his heart stops and he pulls her into a broom closet where they end up kissing and he asks her out to hogsmeade at the end!! that's it 💗 love youuu

Hellooo, i'm good and you? I'm more of a Fred girl, but George has his charm too (especially after he punched Draco in the book) Thank you so much for liking my writing, it makes me very happy ☺️ I hope you like ~ ♡

A Prank Gone Right .｡*･ﾟﾟ

Summary: You and George Weasley never got along—not since that one unfortunate prank of his and Fred’s that you accidentally walked in on, ruining the whole thing. Since then, you’ve been at each other’s throats, constantly bickering and trading snide remarks. But what you don’t know is that George has always secretly liked you.

george weasley x f!reader

You never should have walked into that classroom.

It had been an accident—one wrong turn, one opened door, and suddenly you were standing in the middle of whatever disaster Fred and George Weasley had been planning. The look on their faces had been priceless, pure horror, and for a brief second, you had considered just backing away and pretending you saw nothing.

But then, of course, the potion they were about to set loose on Filch spilled all over the floor. And suddenly, the only thing they could do was run.

You, unfortunately, had not been fast enough.

You spent three days scrubbing cauldron bottoms in detention. Three days of glaring at the twins whenever you passed them in the corridors, three days of muttering under your breath about how they were the worst.

And from then on, it had been war.

George never missed an opportunity to get under your skin. If you were sitting in the common room, minding your own business? He’d "accidentally" steal your favorite chair. If you were in Potions? He’d somehow always end up as your partner, flashing you the most infuriating grin while dropping just a little too much of an ingredient into your potion.

It was a game neither of you ever stopped playing.

At least, that’s what you thought it was.

"Merlin’s beard, she’s coming this way," George hissed under his breath.

Fred frowned. "Who?"

"Her," George muttered, staring at you as you walked down the corridor, completely oblivious to their hiding spot.

Fred raised an eyebrow. "And this is a problem because…?"

George didn’t answer. He couldn’t. His brain had short-circuited the second he saw you—your hair slightly messy from the wind, your lips pursed in thought as you scanned the paper in your hands.

He didn’t mean to panic.

But before he knew it, he had reached out, grabbed your wrist, and yanked you into the nearest broom closet.

You barely had time to let out a startled hey! before the door slammed shut, plunging you both into darkness.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then—

"What the hell, Weasley?" you hissed.

George swallowed. "Er—hi."

You stared at him, eyes adjusting to the dim light filtering through the cracks of the door. "You kidnapped me."

"I saved you," George corrected.

"Saved me from what?"

George opened his mouth, then closed it again. He had no good answer. Fred is going to murder me.

Your eyes narrowed. "Were you planning something?"

"No."

"Then why are you—"

And then you took a step forward.

George immediately backed into the shelves behind him, nearly knocking over a box of spare broomsticks.

You frowned. "Are you blushing?"

"What? No!"

You squinted at him. "Wait. You’re acting weird. Are you—oh my God." Your eyes widened. "Do you like me?"

George made a strangled noise. "What?"

You stared at him in disbelief. "You do. You like me. That’s why you’re always annoying me, and stealing my seat, and—"

"That is not why I steal your seat!"

You gave him a look.

George exhaled sharply. "Okay. Maybe I like you."

You blinked.

"Maybe I have liked you for a while," he continued, as if the words had been locked inside of him for years. "And maybe I pulled you in here because I have absolutely no idea how to talk to you without being an idiot about it."

Your mouth opened, then closed.

George groaned. "Say something."

Instead, you kissed him.

George froze for half a second before immediately pulling you closer, hands gripping your waist as he kissed you back. The broom closet was small, and your bodies were pressed together, warmth spreading between you despite the chilly air outside.

By the time you pulled away, George was grinning like an idiot.

"Wow," he breathed. "I should’ve kidnapped you way sooner."

You rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t help the small smile tugging at your lips.

"Shut up, Weasley," you murmured, pulling him in for another kiss.

"So… does this mean I can ask you to Hogsmeade without getting hexed?"

You smirked. "Only if you buy me chocolate."

George grinned. "Deal."

[kanmom51]

Jikook - Are you sure?!

My take is that they pretty much are!!

I've been mulling over this for a few days now.

Do I write this? How do I approach the subject and how do I even put this onto paper (figuratively)?

I touched on this a little in previous posts, including in my last one about choices. Clear cut choices the two of them made regarding enlistment, the show and how they wanted to spend the little spare time they had before their restrictive 18 months military service.

But this post here is specifically about the show.

Even before the show came out I was thinking about the subject and discussing this with friends. Why do the show? Is there something they are wanting to tell us and if so what is it they are trying to tell us?

The first question was an obvious to me even before the show came out, before we heard their discussion in the car on the way to CT.

It was a way to spend time together in the guise of work (once again, a choice they made so that they can spend much needed quality time together within the constricts of their schedules and upcoming enlistment - and that car discussion sure did show us just how much this was a need for the two of them).

Being such a short time before enlistment, both with separate super busy solo schedules, this here was their way of getting to travel together, including out of the country (for which they needed it to be for work to allow said travel at this point prior to enlistment), spend quality time together, creating those new memories to carry with them into the military, all while under the protection of "work".

It's not that they hadn't spent time together. We talked about this already. This was about it not being enough. Not enough quality time. Not enough memory making time before this life changing event they are going to go through.

We have to remember that when this was initially thought about, the idea of the show, them enlisting together was not a done deal. Can you just imagine that? Them knowing that time is running out and they have to enlist but might have to part ways for 18 months? If so many of us were so stressed out about the idea, what do you think it felt like for them?

There was so much going on behind the scenes, which we were unaware of, it's actually quite comical knowing what we know today and looking back at the discourse surrounding those two - the stories of heartbreaking breakups or just plain indifference to each other - all because people just cannot come to terms with the fact that not all their lives are out on display for us (kind of blows to pieces the whole Jikook are for fanservice narrative, if you ask me), that these two can and do spend time together when only they can, behind closed doors, just enjoying each other's company doing whatever. That there are powers at play (many reasons why they were toned down in public and content in 2023), that there are things they might need to be doing in order to reach an end goal that suits them, playing a long game. And the one sentence I have on repeat since I started here on Tumblr:

Not seeing them most definitely does not mean they aren't there.

And boy did they prove that one to us during AYS. Time after time. They get together. They see each other. They spend time with each other. They share things with each other. And huge surprise (NOT): they do it off camera!!! Without us knowing. Without reporting back to us. WOW!!!

As usual, off track meet Kanmom...

Back to the show.

So, talk about doing this came before they knew for sure that they would be enlisting together. It came months before. Way before July 2023. Toying with the idea, turning it into a plan of sorts and then it took planning and booking and getting permits for filming, including using drones for filming.

This might partially explain why the first trip happened in July and not earlier, although they both did have busy schedules pretty much from April 2023 onward and the trip happened when JM finished recording Muse).

And what about the destinations? Why these three?

Connecticut - I think this one was more of a chance decision, as in it was suggested to them seeing that timewise this was the only time they had available for that first much much needed trip. JK was already scheduled to be in the USA, they had Hybe America to rely on as far as finding locations, places to stay, activities to do and places to eat. And I do think that doing this, the unknown location in a country where they don't speak the language fluently was actually something of a thrill to them as well (going to a location where the chances of them being recognized as JM and JK of BTS were kind of low). But mainly, I do believe this was more of a "we need this trip and we need it now, so we will go wherever, just make it happen" kind of situation. This was "the much needed trip".

Jeju - Jeju is a safe place for them. A place they both love and have visited multiple times separately and together (the last time prior to this trip was only weeks before). Even without Tae, this would have been a lighthearted, activity filled fun trip. Tae being there highlighted them, their intimacy, their connection with each other. And it probably did tame down some of their naughtiness, although we did get to see plenty of that as well. This was "the fun trip".

Sapporo - Japan as a whole is a destination they love. I mean, and JK said that himself, Tokyo is where they took their first alone trip together, they loved Tokyo, and the memories from that trip are dear to their heart to this day. They got to do Tokyo together again. Not together all the time, probably not as much as they wanted to either, but still managed to spend some time together in Tokyo before moving on to Sapporo where they filmed the show. A trip to Japan, Tokyo, and Sapporo as well is a sentimental one. Places they have been, places where good memories were made (as part of BTS and as a couple), places where they will make more good memories that they will carry with them to the military. This is "the emotional/ sentimental trip", or "the nostalgic trip".

And you can see the difference in their behavior between the three trips. Each and every one of those trips meant so much to them but each in a different way. And when you look back at the three as a whole they needed all three.

The perfect trifecta.

The idea was spending time together, making it a work thing allowed for the travel abroad, but it also carved it into a work schedule. Which means, unlike regular time off that can be moved and cancelled, doing this set their plans in stone, in a way, ensuring that these trips actually happened.

This was also a huge opportunity for JM and JK to create content for Army for when they were away. A choice to showcase themselves, their "chemistry", a word used a lot to describe the show. This, on the one hand, was great for JM, who obviously does not want to be visible during his service (and JK is kind of the same, especially when he has JM by his side), and on the other hand created content for Hybe to release while they were away. And having it on Disney, creating merch and a photobook (and maybe there is more stuff to come) is more income for the company while they are away, so win win (that explains Hybe agreeing to this in the first place).

All those are obvious, clear reasons as to why this show came into fruition.

But I do think there is more.

And before I move on to that, I want to remind us all, once again and with feeling, that all 3 destinations were supposed to be Jikook and Jikook only. Jeju was not meant to be a maknae destination. Tae was not invited, and I mean no malice in that. It's just me stating the truth. They let him know that multiple times during the trip. And him being there, in a sense, just highlighted how different they are with each other than either of them or both of them with Tae.

So, they wanted to do a show, just the two of them, visiting different destinations, enjoying different activities, good food and just being (the whole them just being was more evident in CT and Sapporo because of it only being the two of them, although we certainly did get some Jikook BEING moments from Jeju as well).

I get wanting to spend the time together, carve out new memories to carry with them into enlistment, but why show it to us, why the way it was done? Hours and hours of Jikook content, some of just the two basically doing nothing, or nothing much? It's not about sightseeing (not really), it's not about the activities, not really, it's not even about the food (gasp).

This is not about the travel, it's about them!!!

It's about them doing their thing, and us just enjoying sitting for hours on end, watching them do their thing and SEEING them.

Not the places they go, not the things they do, not even the food they eat. It's seeing them do those things, eat those things, be together - them just BE.

And it's about them wanting to give that to us. They want us to see THEM. See what they are together, what they are to each other.

JK and JM know that there are parts of the fandom that have a visceral reaction to them, as Jikook (together and apart - a lot of said hate stems from what and who they are together) . We know that JK monitors SM. Maybe not down to the ugliest, but they know. And still they want to show themselves, because this is who they are and they want to be able to be themselves as freely as possible (depending on just how far they want to be going).

They can't come out and tell us, not yet, maybe not ever. It is what it is, sadly.

But they do want to cement this within the fandom:

JM and JK together can be over the top in every sense. PERIOD.

And when I say over the top I mean as sus as shit...

JM and JK love each other dearly. PERIOD.

JM and JK are inseparable. PERIOD.

JM and JK are close as can be. PERIOD.

JM and JK enjoy spending time with each other. PERIOD.

JM and JK CHOOSE to spend time with each other when they can (the whole Jeju change of plans makes it even clearer) - PERIOD.

JM and JK NEED to spend time with each other. PERIOD.

JM and JK are playful together, as much as they are serious together - PERIOD.

JM and JK care for each other and take care of each other (well they try to as much as the other allows it). PERIOD.

JM and JK enjoy to do the exciting and the mundane together. PERIOD.

*I do believe that JK climbing is just as exciting as rock climbing. And they enjoyed both...

JM and JK know each other intimately - PERIOD.

JM and JK find safety, peace and comfort in each other - PERIOD.

JM and JK do not act like a typical "we are not in a relationship" hyung and donsaeng act - PERIOD.

JM and JK do things bros just do not do with or to each other - PERIOD.

JM and JK share their work with each other - PERIOD.

JM and JK are the embodiment of You are me I am you - PERIOD.

Jikook can most definitley be seen as a unit. PERIOD.

*Something that has been shied away from for too damn long.

Add to all of that those the things you just can't put into words. But they are there. They are undeniable. That chemistry, that love, that need, that je ne sais quoi, that engulfs everything else and makes it all feel like so much MORE!!!

More palpable, more intense, just MORE.

Remember my whole rubber band theory starting way back in 2021, how I think Hybe and Jikook were stretching the boundaries seeing just how far it can be stretched without breaking?

Ear suck stretch, pas de deux stretch, Christmas couples cheer stretch, hickey stretch (these are all moments that were either shown by the company in official content - like memories - or part of officially filmed content - like filmed performances)... and then came 2022 followed by 2023, with the company taking 20 steps back, but that's for another day (if ever).

This here, my friends, is the ultimate rubber band stretch. Hours and hours of content to show us that every single one of those Jikook instances that came before were not a one of. Not forced. Not singular and far apart. That what we have seen of them is NOTHING compared to what they are, because this is them all the damn time. Cameras on cameras off (dare I say that when cameras are off it's way worse?). Together with the others, or by themselves. No more "it might be out of context". We get the context, most of it, and still we get THEM. And that rubber band, it still hasn't snapped, cause there are still those that do not see it, lol. But, I think it's safe to say that many do and those that don't, well, many of them cannot deny anymore just how close they are. Even though "brothers" or "besties" still comes up a lot.

It's funny how things that were obvious to many of us needed to be reinforced by JM and JK in this show. It always baffled me the way a big chunk of this fandom steered away from Jikook, like touching on the subject was a taboo. Like Jikookers were insane, delusional (we are used to be called that). Not only steering away from a romantic involvement, but also that, god forbid, they are the closest within the group of 7. That didn't sit right with many. Ruined their Vmin soulmates dreams, or TKK best mates or whatever (do we raise the subject once again why the clearly closest duo in the group were kind of put aside, not acknowledged as such not only by the fandom but by the company as well?). OR, and I feel like this one is the winner, admitting as to how close those two were, with their clear super suspicious behaviour, would have them have to admit that there was something more going on between them. Homophobia or over wokeness, either way these people were ignoring what the two were signaling to us for years now. And now, well now, we are in chapter 2, or perhaps just before chapter 3. All of them after service. We know from RM how he's bursting at the seams to tell us things he feels he can't say just yet (and couldn't prior to enlistment), I do believe this is going to be something we will be seeing from all of them. They are mature men now, they have fulfilled their duty to their country, they are BTS, talented successful, rich artists. They have signed new contracts after long negotiations. They will have more freedom. And they will be showing us more. Things they couldn't before. And this show, imo, is one of those steps forward.

Let the world see JM and JK as they are. There will be those that SEE them. There will be those that acknowledge their closeness. There will always be those that continue to deny or hate them because they SEE them. But at the end of the day, this here is a step forward for them to be able to live their lives openly, be who they are to each other and with each other, not have to hide or tone back too much (there will always be toning back because you can't be too open on camera and because at this point they are kind of used to it). They don't have to 'come out' officially loudly (if they do not choose to). As long as they can continue to BE the way they want to and live their lives freely the way they want to. It's always been their choice, but this here allows them more freedom within that glass closet if they choose not to break through it. They will be who they are, live their lives freely as they will, leaving others to think as they want, neither denying nor confirming anything.

Let's be clear here though. This too is a choice. A brave one as such. Because no matter what they decide to do, if it is to leave things as they are, or if they decide post military service to 'come out' as a couple (and there could be reasons for them to make that choice), this show here is as loud as @&#%.

And proud as $@&%

*And for clarification sake, just incase, none of the above is me voicing my opinion about if or should they 'come out' or not after being discharged from the military.

I can't believe AYS is coming to an end. Last episode tomorrow. I know we still have the behinds and we still have the photobook coming, but I sure am feeling the "the show has come to an end" blues. This here, what we got with this show I don't know if we will ever get another chance at. Them letting us in as much as they did. I do hope they know just how much we appreciate them allowing us to see THEM and how very much they are loved!!!

[growthhyp]

Any chance you could turn me into the biggest, hairiest, and dumbest bodybuilder the world has ever seen? I want to be bigger than anyone else and so dumb that I can barely function other than to just keep getting bigger.

The Dumb Bro

Can you believe this, bro? So, like, I've got these bad boy nanobots in me, right? They changed the whole game years ago. And now, guess what? They're like, totally in you too! "Hulk smash, time to grow!" I telepathically told you, and boom! Your chest is like, inflating like a hot air balloon, bro.

You're feeling that tingle in your chest, right? That's them little guys getting to work! Then, bam, your chest is popping out like it's made of pure muscle and testosterone. It's like someone's pumping it up with a bike pump on steroids. And your arms, oh man, your arms! They're blowing up like you've been hitting the gym every day since you were in diapers.

First, it's your biceps, peaking out like a couple of Mount Everests with veins that could give a roadmap a run for its money. Then your tris are like, "Hey, we're not gonna be left out!" So, they start bulging and shaping up too. Your forearms are now like, super-charged with muscle and veins are just, like, everywhere. It's like you're turning into the Incredible Hulk's cousin or something!

You can't help but let out a manly groan as this happens, and the urge to flex, bro, it's just too much to resist. You throw those guns up and watch 'em bounce back like yo-yos made of pure steel.

As your guns popped into a sick double bicep pose, you couldn't help but flash that victory grin, bro. And just like that, your back started to blow up like a balloon, filling out like it had a life of its own. Your traps were spreading wider than ever, giving you that sweet, sweet wing-like look that makes the babes go crazy for that V-taper. And your neck, oh man, it started tingling and swelling up like you had a personal trainer for your neck muscles! You couldn't help but let out a low, guttural moan as you felt the blood rushing to your newfound gains, making your noggin feel like it was floating on a cloud of pure muscle euphoria. Your expression? Pure, dumb jock bliss. It was like your brain had gone on vacation and all you could focus on was the iron pumping, the protein shakes, and the sweet, sweet growth of those bad boys.

You stomach? It's gone, man! Flattened out like a pancake on a hot griddle, and in its place is a set of 6-pack abs that are popping like nobody's business! Your obliques? Forget about it, they're strutting their stuff like they own the place. And those quads? Oh boy, they're pumped up like they're on steroids, turning into tree trunks with veins popping all over, like you've just crushed the last set of squats in the gym. Then it's on to the calves, baby, getting swole like they're made of pure rock, and your feet? They're like two blocks of cement now.

But here's the kicker, bro: I checked out your noggin and it's all muscle up in there too. I mean, your brain power's been swapped for biceps and all that good stuff, but no worries, you're still a smart cookie. You're keeping all that juicy info on workouts and nutrition, like you've got a PhD in gains. It's all part of the deal, my friend. You're looking like a walking, talking, flexing encyclopedia of gym wisdom. Ain't it sweet?

As your noggin' went kaput, all you cared about was pumpin' iron and bulkin' up, bro. You were like, "Yeah, man, I wanna be a freakin' beast!" So I whipped out the ol' nano-magic and cranked those babies up to eleven! You're now so jacked, it's like someone photoshopped you into a superhero movie, right? But, y'know, the trade-off was that brainiac department of yours took a dive. Now you're talkin' in caveman grunts like, "Grow muscles, big, big!" and that's about the extent of your vocab. But hey, you got the physique of a Greek god, so who needs smarts, right? Last I saw ya, you were in the gym, flexin' those behemoth biceps and drooling like a champ. Classic gym moment, dude.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 142 (Conther Gets Married!)🪢🔔💞

Happy Valentine's Day, simblr friends! 💝❣️💘

Heather breathed in the scent of pine and hemlock in Isle of Volpe Park. Her childhood playground now boasted a castle treehouse built by her son and soon-to-be husband. In the shadow of their very own Giving Tree, Heather and Conrad would be married.

Her whole family was there to celebrate, with invitations extended to friends like Everett and Spencer and Felix and Lilith. Others, like Dylan and Gavin Richards, had a ballet recital to attend with Pearl and couldn't join them. Conrad's coworkers were busy fighting crime in the Bay (or, in the case of young, eager Detective Spangler, had recently gone on sabbatical to potentially chase love in a - killer - dating competition!) but Heather and Conrad's perfect day had finally arrived. The weather was practically perfect, too!

"Are you ready?"

Her brother River caught her in a moment of reflection and Heather looked up with a smile. "I've always been ready. I never needed this day, but now that it's here, I just want to say 'I do' and never look back."

"I know what you mean." She smiled as Conrad walked up behind her. "Are you ready to walk down the aisle?"

"Let's do this. Finally."

The longtime couple made their way together down the aisle - a fitting setup as they'd built their lives together for almost nine years. They'd just done things a little out of order, in the traditional sense. After everything they'd been through together, they already felt married. Now the weather was nice enough to make it official.

The guests took their seats as the couple made it to the wooden altar draped with flowers and diaphanous white linens, letting the gently setting sun cast soft light through the fabric.

Conrad leaned in to speak quietly. "You look stunning," he said.

She grinned. "I feel stunning," she admitted. "No morning sickness. No nerves. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Their ceremony had no officiant. Heather's oldest friend, Everett Pancakes, was a reverend and a wedding guest, but Heather and Conrad weren't particularly devout worshippers of the Watcher and preferred to lead their own vows. The promises they were making to each other had nothing to do with the Watcher, anyway.

Conrad got them started as he placed a ring on Heather's finger.

"Heather Lea Nesbitt: my world since we met has been a totally different colour. There was darkness, and I felt alone, but ever since you, it's been vibrant - yellows, bright greens, ash, lavender...I love you so much. You're my friend, my teammate, my lover, and my heart. I want to spend every day of the rest of my life with you; a life where nothing is too dark for us. A life where it's you and me, us and the kids." Gord barked happily from the pews. "And the pets."

Their guests laughed and wiped their eyes as unflirty Heather launched into the one moment she'd dreaded above all others - public vows, wearing her heart on her sleeve in front of people who knew the gamer who spearheaded an action plan to prevent cheating and PDA. But Conrad knew a side that no one else in her life had managed to get close to.

"Conrad Stephen Gordon: you walked into my life and changed everything. The choices I made before you were interesting, at best, and it scared me when I realized I could only see the future with you beside me. But you centre me, and I've loved you from the moment we met. We've spent almost nine years as a team and I'm ready for at least fifty more. I can't say I know what happily ever after is going to look like, but it'll have you, and me and the kids will never need more."

As their loved ones clapped and smiled from the benches, Heather and Conrad leaned in for their first kiss as husband and wife. Every kiss they shared was electric, but this one they would never forget.

Once upon a time, Heather thought she might never get married, but today she'd proven herself wrong. She couldn't be happier to embark on life from here as Mrs. Dr. Heather Gordon. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 2.1 Summary

Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary

NOTE: I lasted almost nine in-game years without hitching these two, but I'm happy to break this challenge rule even if I waited through a very long winter. But they got through the whole ceremony and people only started switching to coats when it got extremely late! Maybe one day I'll challenge my own patience with a winter wedding somewhere, but it's not going to be winter again until Lavender is a teenager, so I won't have to think about it for a while!

Short post tomorrow for the wedding album, and the wedding reception is up on Sunday! As usual with weddings in this game, several of the guests showed up after the ceremony but in time for the reception, so anyone you didn't see in this post will show up later! I didn't try to force them onsite with MCCC - the sun was setting because the wedding didn't even start until 3 or 4pm, so I had to get the show on the road before I lost the light. The posed portraits before the cut are from Wedding Poses by @starrysimsie and @lemontrait (Lemon's side) and BommieSims' Childrens Day posepack (still not online that I can find), and you can tell the sky is darker. I lightened those photos significantly!

That also explains why there are no sims of honour or a floral bouquet - both of which I regretted a little, but they're glitchy. I didn't want the wedding to drag on until after dark while I fussed with them! On top of that, the only unmarried sims on the guestlist were Hazel and Suri and Felix and Lilith, so throwing the bouquet felt like it would just waste time and light I didn't have.

[lucy90712]

Buff- Gavi

For the last few months Pablo has been working really hard in the gym pretty much since the day he was allowed to do more he has been working on his strength. We have a gym set up at home and every morning Pablo gets up and works out before he has to go and do his specific training at the training centre. Some mornings I'll join him but I never work out properly as I just end up staring at him as his muscles flex while he lifts weights. For the last few weeks I haven't been working out with Pablo as I've been back at uni so I have classes in the morning and on the weekends I have essays to write. I know he likes when we workout together but I've just been too busy in the mornings but I promised him this weekend that I'd join him on a run. 

Today however is Friday and luckily it's my day with the least amount of classes I have two but I'm done by 2 which is better than 5 or 6pm. I have a break between my classes so I used that time to get some assignments done so I have a free weekend. Once I'd finished my work I decided to give myself a break and just scroll through social media but I nearly dropped my phone when I opened Instagram. The first thing on my feed was a video of Pablo from training and my god did he look good his arms were huge and he wasn't even flexing he was just walking. I know he's been working hard but I haven't noticed just how much it's been paying off until right now. Of course I loved the way he looked before but my god does he look amazing now I feel like if anyone saw me right now I'd have literal heart eyes after seeing that video. 

Trying to focus in my next class was near impossible all I could think about was Pablo and getting home to him so I could see his arms in person. Usually this is my favourite class and I spend the whole time writing notes but today when I left all I had written was the date and the topic of the lecture so I'll have to look back at what was actually said another day right now though I just want to get home. I never drive to uni as it's just a nightmare to park but the bus has never felt slower than it does right now and I wish I'd driven here. 

When I finally made it to the house after a long bus journey and a walk I saw that his car was already back in the driveway which is exactly a what I wanted to see. As soon as I opened the door I heard Pablo get up and make his way towards the door, to my delight he had a sleeveless shirt on so I could see his arms for myself. He came towards me looking for attention but my hands went straight to his arms to feel them. They even felt different I could feel the muscles tensing under my touch which was honestly fascinating as before Pablo wasn't the most muscular guy he was strong but never to this extent. 

"What are you doing?" He asked 

"Just enjoying your muscles I saw you in training today and your arms looked so good" I said 

"Thank you" he said getting a little shy 

"Seriously when did you get this muscular you look so hot I couldn't focus in class as I was thinking about how good my boyfriend looks" I said 

"I'm glad you like them" Pablo said getting even more shy as he doesn't know how to react to compliments 

He let me enjoy his arms for a bit longer before he took hold of my hands and pulled me into a hug. The next thing I knew he'd picked me up and carried me to the sofa so we could cuddle because as much as he doesn't know how to respond to compliments he is definitely very affectionate. We talked about our days he told me about training and how much he's enjoying finally being back with the other guys and I told him about my classes all while he played with my hair and I watched his arms while I was talking. 

We chilled for a while before Pablo suggested we go for a swim in the pool as it's really hot outside and because I was sweating just sitting down I agreed. He got ready much quicker than I did as I had to tie my swimsuit on and put my hair up so it doesn't get too wet as I just washed it. When I made it back downstairs Pablo was leaning on the edge of the pool waiting for me the way he was leaning really made his biceps pop. This man is definitely going to be the death of me he just looks so good and the way he was looking at me nearly made me melt. I joined him by sitting on the edge of the pool with my feet in the water, Pablo then moved to lean his arms on my legs while he just smiled up at me. His smile started out sweet but then he had that mischievous grin on his face which is never a good thing it only ever means he has a plan that he knows I'm going to disapprove of. 

His little plan quickly became clear when his arms went around my waist and pulled me into the pool. He was nice enough to not let me get my hair wet but I still got water in my eyes because I wasn't ready to go underwater. When I recovered and could see again Pablo had hold of me to keep me out the water so I wrapped my legs around him so he couldn't dunk me in the water again at least not without going underwater himself. This didn't last long though as Pablo started to tickle me which made me let go of my grip on him which allowed him to pick me up and throw me in the water over and over. I would've shouted at him for doing that but I actually had a lot of fun and every time I was out of the water I could hear him laughing which made getting my hair wet a lot better. Eventually he stopped and held me to his chest so I could get my breath back. 

"Are you just trying to show off how strong you are now" I joked 

"Well you liked my arms so much I thought I'd show you what I can do now" he said 

"In that case I'm very impressed maybe I'll have to join you in the gym just to watch you get even stronger" I said 

"You do that anyway" he fired back 

"Hey I work out too" I said 

"Be honest you do the bare minimum to look busy thinking I don't see you staring" he said 

"Ok you're right but can you blame me the view is always great" I said 

"My view is pretty great too when you do squats" he teased 

"You stare at me when I do squats?" I asked 

"Of course how can I not I also stare at your pretty face when you stretch on the floor I just like to take in what's mine" he said 

"Aren't you the cutest I like to look at your pretty face too" I said 

That's when he got all shy again so to deflect the attention off of him he pushed me against the side of the pool and kissed me. If complimenting him is going to get me cuddles and kisses like this I might just have to do it more often.  

[w2soneshots]

Break up era -W2S

words: 0.8k+

warnings: angst, break up.

summary: Harry breaks your heart so you book a solo trip to Greece.

notes: I don't love this but I had to get something out for you all!!😚💞 (also please send requests to my ‘ask me anything’✉️)

Liked by mollymae and 242,179 others

y/username: meh

-comments-

taliamar: my girl, my girl🫶🏼

-> y/username: you already know😘

freyanightingale: love u

-> y/username: love u more

y/nfanpage21: she's healing😭✨

user40137927: my faith in love has disappeared.

Me and Harry broke up last week and I've been struggling. We were together for just over two years and I truly loved him with my whole heart (still do). He broke up with me because he said he'd 'lost feelings', which completely shocked me. Faith, Talia and Freya have been desperately trying to cheer me up and get me out of my apartment. I went on a shopping trip with Frey and T, as well as lunch with Faith. I also went to the gym for the first time in a while since it's meant to act little bit like therapy. None of it helped.

y/username just posted a new story!

After sitting in my apartment crying over Rapunzel and Eugene's love life I decided that I needed to get out of London, so I booked a last minute flight to a random island in Greece.

I spent the next week buying things for my trip, packing and trying to distract myself from Harry. When the day finally came I woke up early and headed to the airport via Uber. When I arrived I went through security, checked my suitcase in then spent the rest of my time in the business class lounge. Once my flight was called I left the lounge and headed to check in. When I got on the plane I found my seat and got situated, not soon after we took off.

y/username just posted a new story!

When we landed a few hours later I went to collect my bag. Then I got a taxi from the airport to a small boat that took me to the island. When I saw it on the booking website I thought it looked beautiful but it was seriously breathtaking in real life. The air smelt clean, the people are so kind and the food looks incredible.

The hotel is so rustic looking but also very well kept and clean. "Hello dear, do you have a booking?" The sweet lady at the front desk asked. "Yes I do, it should be under 'y/l/n'." I replied. "Ah! Yes, I'll show you to your room." She gestured for me to follow her with a big smile. "And here we are!" She said as I set my suitcase in the corner. "Wow this is beautiful, and what an amazing view!" I said enthusiastically while looking out of the window. She smiled "enjoy dear." And with that she left.

I spent my afternoon exploring the island then went back to the hotel to get changed for dinner. I wore a simple white knitted dress, along with some black flip-flops. I had an incredible (and surprisingly fancy) steak, along with some wine. I spoke to one of the locals for a little while before I decided to call it a night so headed back to my room.

The next day I woke to the bright sun shining through the sheer curtains. I practically jumped out of bed, got dressed then went into town to get some fresh fruit for breakfast. I then got into a swim suit and made my way down to the beach.

I sat enjoying the peace and quiet when I got a call from none other than Harry. I answered reluctantly "hello?" "Hey." He replied slowly. "What do you want Harry?" I asked with a sigh. "I'm sorry I- I know you're on holiday but- but I just wanted to apologise, and I couldn't wait any longer." He started. "Apologise for what? Because you don't love me anymore?" I said quietly. "That's just it... I do love you. I just didn't how much I did until you were gone. I don't know why I felt that way I don't know what happened." He said. "But- Harry you broke up with me... you broke my heart." He sighed "and I'm so sorry y/n," A tear slid down my face "I want to be with you but I- I understand if you don't want me anymore I-" "I still love you Harry, I always have. Of course I wanna be with you." I cut him off. Even know he hurt me I know that he wasn't trying to, he just didn't want to lead me on.

y/username

Liked by taliamar and 540,129 others

y/username: umm... that was a weird week.

-comments-

wroetoshaw: 😶

shannonlangdon: stunning stunning stunning!!

-> y/username: ❤️❤️

faithloisak: iconic⭐️

y/nfanpage21: love a good solo trip🤭

user63071426: omg!! Are they back together??

[rosieisrllycool]

a scandal | chapter one

☆.。.:*・°☆

summary: Rosie, a well known star singer, is asked by her manager if she wants to collaborate with Mingi from the popular kpop group ATEEZ. While the opportunity sounds exciting, Rosie freezes at the mention of ATEEZ—her ex-boyfriend, San, is also in the group. The name brings back a wave of emotional memories, leaving Rosie torn. Now, she must decide whether to take the chance and work with Mingi or protect herself from reopening old wounds.

after all? what's wrong with a little fun?

･*:..｡o○☆*ﾟ¨ﾟﾟ･*:.☆.*

pairing: y/n (f!reader) x song mingi/choi san (her ex!)

genre: MDNI!! friends to lovers, angst, fluff, slow burn, eventual smut, and romance, quick rekindling of past relationships, end of a relationship, fluff, angst

word count: 1.6k (just a lil sneak peak of the story!)

warnings: m/18+ sexual tension, inappropriate things happen between, y/n and her ex/mingi, commitment issues, complicated relationship with her ex, drinking/alcohol is involved

🎧: exes — tate mcrae, waves — normani ft. 6lack, drunk texting — chris brown ft. jhené aiko, attention — bryson tiller, shameless — camila cabello, let me love you — ariana grande ft. lil wayne, born again ft. doja cat and raye, need to know — doja cat :)

~ ☆.。.:*・°☆

"And cut! That's a wrap for today." shouts the director.

She pats my shoulder and whispers in my ear, "Great work today."

It was the last day shooting my new music video for my new album release. It had been almost a year since I had made any new music. Sure, I had a few songs here and there, but never any full length projects. With the break up of me and my long term boyfriend of 8 years, it's been hard to make music that feels like me. Having to re-navigate the world without his support has been pretty tough on both me and my team. I had refused to do any new projects and took a hiatus. After over a year off, I had decided to come back to what I loved doing. I hadn't expected to get done so quickly filming my new music video. My manager pulls me to the side and says,

"Your work has been amazing these past two days. Now go ahead and give yourself a break. I'll text you later. I have something important to tell you."

I sigh but smile. And say goodbye to the same.

-

I turn the shower handle to the left, turning it off. The steam from the shower felt so relieving on my sore body. I grab my towel from the bathroom counter and wrap it around myself, picking up my phone seeing a new text from my manager. Instead of her wishing me a goodnight, it was the address of an Airbnb. You quickly reread, looking over her text thoroughly. She wanted you to collab with Mingi? I haven't heard this name in 2 years. And I've been avoiding looking at articles or magazines that even invoked the entire group, ATEEZ. After staring at the text for a whole 5 minutes, I finally respond;

[11:13pm] Me: I am not collaborating with Ateez

[11:13pm] Lin: why not? :(

[11:15pm] Me: you know why, Lin.

[11:16pm] Lin: hey, you cannot let your feelings get involved with business. I know your history with San but you can't let this get on the way of a great opportunity

I shut my phone off and place it onto the charger before setting it onto my nightstand. Ignoring the message and hoping she changes her mind in the morning. I  groan and put my pillow on top of my head, tossing and turning till I fall asleep

-

Ring ring ring

My alarm blares and I immediately shoot up, checking my phone for notifications. I see a text saying that I need to be at the airport in one hour. I quickly jolt up and begin to grab all of my things, stuffing it into my suitcase. I threw some sweatpants and a crop top from out the dirty hamper, wearing a jacket just in case the plane gets cold. Once I arrived at the airport, I spotted my manager. I walked over to her and she covers her nose in disgust,

"Ugh! You reek!"

"You only gave me an hour."

She rolls her eyes, "whatever, come on before you mss your flight."

-

We arrive in the city of Los Angeles. I get into the limousine and we head to ATEEZ’s Airbnb. I heard a familiar voice on the radio. It was San.

I growl, "This day couldn't be going any better."

"Also, the whole group will be there." my manager tells me.

I scoff, "And you're letting me know, this late into the trip?"

She shrugs and smiles at me, "If I'd told you, you wouldn't have went through with it."

I ignore her and face the window. The limousine pulls up at the address of the Airbnb, at 11 am. I step out the car and spot someone looking at me through a window. But as soon as my eyes meet theirs, they disappear. My manager rings the doorbell and was greeted by their manager. I peek inside and see, San. Now hesitating to step inside, Lin pushes me in. Once him and I lock eyes, all the emotions start to flood back. I clear my throat and greet their manager.

"Nice to meet you, im their manager, Suho."

I shake his hand and smile.

"Let's sit down and have some drinks. Shall we?"

We walk over to the dining room and see Mingi sitting there already. I sit next to him.

"Sorry if the other members are just lurking around, they are also working a new comeback."

I smile and nod. Mingi does the same.

"How do you guys feel about a more suggestive concept?"

We both go wide-eyed and glance at each other.

He scoffs and laughs, "Okay, whatever. Fine with me."

I look at Lin and mouth the words, "Hell no."

Subtly shaking my head. I notice Mingi look over.

"Is something wrong?" Suho asks.

Lin gives me a look, a look that says "get-it-together".

I smile awkwardly, "Nope, everything's fine."

"alright, you two will start practicing first thing in the morning." Lin says.

We both nod.

"Excuse me, where is the bathroom?" I ask.

"Oh, down the hall and to your left." Suho says pointing in the direction of the bathroom.

I thank him while getting out of my seat and make my way down the hallway. I check my phone and next second it ends up on the floor. Someone picks it up and when we both stand up, I found out that, that "someone" is San. He hands me my phone and I quickly try and push my way past him but he grabs my waist and pulls me back his way.

"Baby, can we talk." San whispers.

"I'm not your baby. And no, there's nothing to talk about." I say sternly.

As I try to walk away again he grabs my wrist and pushes me onto the wall.

"Look, I know I haven't reached out these past two years but I have an explanation."

I scoff and roll my eyes, "I don't want to hear your explanation, nor do I care."

I yank his hand from my wrist and finally make my way to the bathroom.

-

I debated even getting up today after what happened yesterday with San. I didn't hate him but I really do need that explanation but I don't know if now is the right time.

I arrive at the Airbnb and knock on the door, this time by myself. I'm met by the last person I wanted to see, San. Before he tries to get a word out I interrupt him.

"Where's Mingi? I'm here to practice, not talk."

He sighs but calls for Mingi. He comes to the door but with no top on. Just a towel around his waist. He was freshly out of the shower, dripping wet. Water droplets trail down his toned torso, tracing the hard lines of his abs like they were carved from stone. Fresh out of the shower, his skin glistens under the soft light, highlighting every sculpted ridge and hollow. Steam clings to him, rising in gentle waves as he moves, each breath making his stomach flex ever so slightly—taut, defined, and impossible not to notice.

"My apologies, you can go to the studio. I'll be there in a minute." he says while drying his hair.

I gulp but do as he says. I walk up to the studio and enter it. As I'm making myself comfortable, Mingi walks in, fully clothed this time.

"Took you long enough." I say.

He chuckles, "You can't rush perfection."

I roll my eyes and switch the subject. He sits down next to me and grabs some headphones, he hands one pair to me.

After the studio session with Mingi, I walk over to the kitchen to grab some water. Suho greets us and asks if I wanted to stay later.

"It's late and that studio session was pretty long."

"Come on, it'll be fun. I'll get some drinks that'll wake you up. You can sit in the living room while I grab the members."

I plop down on the couch exhausted but not wanting to come off as rude. So basically I'm forced to stay. Suho comes back with the drinks and Mingi.

“I wanted you two to spend some more time together, get a little team bonding in.” Suho says.

He sets down a bottle of Soju and pours 3 shots….

Somehow, all the members end up joining in on our game. Shouting, yelling, and joking with each other. Every now and then I catch San’s eye and we look at each other for a second just before turning away. I sigh and grab my phone, scrolling through it to occupy myself when it goes silent. I hear my name being called out and I look up from my phone to see everyone looking at me.

“Truth or dare, Rosie?” Wooyoung asks.

Without thought I answer, “uhh, dare.”

Wooyoung and San smirk at each other for a quick second before turning back toward the group.

“Alright then, I dare you to make out with San.”

I scoff, “no, absolutely not. What makes him think he even deserves kiss?”

I storm off and run into the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it as I let myself sink onto the floor. I quickly shoot my manager a text to come and get me before dropping my phone on the floor. Tears flood down my face as the memories and emotions with San finally release from my body…

a little sneak peak for now..

[floradinterlunium]

SINCE I'VE BEEN GONE . . .

I took an extended vacation from "journalling" and documenting my thoughts regarding Jikook and fandom shenanigans because I wanted to take my hiatus when the fandom seas had been calmed and all was right with the world, justice had been served. I left on this high note...I naively believed that with Jikook traveling together and moreover enlisting together, all this drama regarding who JK prefers or loves more would would cease and desist. Oh to be young an naive!

For the life of me I cannot understand this fandom!!! If they can't NOW accept that Jikook are hands down, without a doubt, no questions asked the closest members in BTS and man KPOP history than there's no hope fore them!

Because I just can't wrap my mind around fandom logic regarding Jikook . . .

Jungkook 2023

Goes live a kagillion times to gush about JM,

straight up become a JM reaction channel,

begs JM consistently to hang with him, do lives with him, box with

gets giddy whenever JM replied in the chat

brings up JM every chance he gets

Shows us how familiar his boxing coach is with JM

Goes live whenever JM leaves the country

Dog scratches JM on the arm because they were together

Willingly cosigns JMs travel show plan even though a lot of it occured during his busy promotion season

Fandom: Jikook are dead and were never that close!

JM 2023

Plans this whole travel show with JK (no one else mind you not Rm, not Tae. . .)

Travels to different cities with JK, while JK's promoting his album so busy and probably tired, to film travel show

Talks about how he (in 2023) would spend hoooours drinking and discussing music with JK

Shows up with a massive scratch mark on his arm clearly from JK's dog

Discusses how poor Yoongi became a third wheel because they have a tendency to go into their own world and get "deep" when together

Fandom: 2023 shows us Jikook were never close

Jikook 2023

In an unprecedented move, Enlist together through the buddy system-a system that mandates they have to spend their entire service together...they can't even take leave separately. A choice they both made and wanted to make of their own free will.

Fandom: This proves they aren't together because in the military they can't be gay and have sex.

Tae

Hangs out with JK with his wooga squad

Leaves JK alone on a MTN

Post about spending time with JK

Post pics of him with JK

Ask JK to go live with him and proceeds to have a silent awkward as hell live where they barely talk to each other

Fandom: OMG they are soulmates HYBE is finally letting them be their authentic selves

JK

Goes to a movie with Tae and his squad

Goes Snowboarding with Tae's wooga squad but they ditch him

Goes live looking lonely and sad as hell all the time

Goes live for white day looking sad

Seems to be going through a crisis...even JM says he needs to get out more

Talks about JM a lot in his lives

Goes to Hawaii and goes skydiving with Tae

Fandom: OMG OMG JK must really love Tae to get on a plane and fly nearly 10hrs to see him. No one can deny their bond now

***Should someone remind them that JM already did that for JK's bday (which Tae wasn't present for) and they minimized it. Or oooh oooh should someone also remind them that JK gifted JM with a whole ass all expense paid birthday trip to his dream destination, went broke doing it, and then made a whole vlog about that trip that only showed JM's face set to the tune of a romantic love song?? Something that they also claimed was not a big deal! ***

WHY DID I COME BACK TO THIS!!!

[charlottesbookclub]

time after time – chapter one (armitage hux x reader)

time after time masterlist

Summary: Much to the general's displeasure, Mitaka has arranged for Hux to meet with a captain who has recently transferred to the Finalizer. The meeting does not go particularly well.

Warnings/Tags: gn!reader; set pre-TFA; description of a medical appointment; medical anxiety; description of an injection; description of fainting as a result of an injection; Hux is quite rude lol, but hey he has to start somewhere, right?; as always, let me know if I've missed anything!

Words: 2752

Author’s Note: hell yeah chapter one babeyyyy!! I'm so excited for y'all to finally start reading this story! I definitely wanted to start Hux from a place where he was very much closed off to others, so that's why we get him being quite rude at this initial point. for me at least, it makes it even more fun to watch the trajectory of both the relationship and him as a character ☺��� I also want to give huge credit to a blog that used to go by armitages-galaxy for their incredible headcanons about Hux hating medical which have lived rent free in my head since I read them (if the person who ran that blog has a new url you'd like me to tag, please let me know!). I hope you enjoy the first chapter! 🥰

Hux’s datapad pinged. It was a message from Mitaka.

Don’t forget about your “exploratory interpersonal reconnaissance mission!" 😉

Hux scowled and snatched the datapad off the desk, furiously tapping out his reply. Ever since he had expressed his emphatic disinterest in using the word “date” for this forced meet-up, Mitaka had been creating ever more obscure and complex names to refer to it.

I never forget anything. Even meetings I do not wish to attend.

He cast the datapad back on the desk, running his hands over his face, pressing his palms against his closed eyes. How could he have let Mitaka talk him into this? Another ping.

Please try not to be so… Mitaka unsent the message, but not before the notification popped onto Hux’s screen. Another rush of frustration ran through Hux before something else took over. What was the last word in that sentence? Hux shifted in his seat, suddenly noticing an odd feeling in his stomach. Then Mitaka messaged again:

Please just try! I think you’ll actually really like the captain if you would just give it a chance

Hux huffed a sigh. This captain he was meant to be meeting was some academy friend of Mitaka’s older sister, recently transferred to the Finalizer from field work. Something about doing recruitment planetside. Hux hadn’t really been listening when Mitaka had explained it, which had been the vital mistake that had led to this whole mess. Somewhere along the line Mitaka had mentioned that the two of you would get on well, and Hux unknowingly made a noise of assent in response to the suggestion of a potential first meeting. He had just been trying to show the lieutenant that he had been listening – which, of course, he hadn’t been, although that was hardly his fault. He was far too busy preparing the plans for Starkiller to entertain the inane comments from his personal staff that he might benefit from someone in his life aside from his work. Hux scoffed at the memory. What idiocy. Someone else would only distract him from the many tasks at hand. But if it would get his staff to be silent on the topic for a while, he supposed he could at least show up.

I will be there. I have to be at medical first, but I will attend the meeting.

Hux sent the message back to Mitaka and checked the time. Kriff – he should already be on his way to the med bay. He combed his fingers quickly through his hair in the mirror, ensuring it met his standards for professional perfection. Another message pinged in.

KRIFF, Hux! Of course you’re doing medical too! You get one day off and you have to fill every second – I can’t believe I’m surprised 🙄

Hux just snorted and clicked the datapad off as he swept out of his quarters. It was true – he barely had time to sleep while operating under his normal schedule, so spending even half an hour in medical was out of the question. But what Mitaka didn’t know was that he put off these appointments as long as possible because he didn’t… he didn’t like it in medical. He couldn’t quite find the words for it – he knew no one particularly enjoyed spending time in the med bay, but there was just something about it that made him feel almost queasy. He had to take his uniform off. The medics touched his skin. They asked him lots of questions. He lied when necessary. They prescribed him new doses of his medications – stims mostly, for when he worked two or three cycles on no sleep. They gave him his required injections and he left. He was shaky for the rest of the day. Even the thought of it caused a little shudder to pass through him, but he tried to force it down. He straightened his shoulders and walked even more briskly through the halls. He had to survive this, then it was just a few hours until that cursed meet up with the captain, and then he would finally be free to continue the work he had been doing on some experimental designs. 

He steeled himself as his credentials unlocked the door and he stepped into the med bay. To the extent he was able, Hux tried to turn himself off to all exterior feeling as the medics completed their examination. Perhaps the meeting with the captain was a good idea after all, he mused, since his feelings of annoyance toward the impending appointment kept his mind occupied during most of the visit. It wasn’t until he was receiving his required injections that he let his concentration slip. The alcohol prep pad was suddenly very cold against his flushed skin, drawing his attention immediately. He felt the tiny prick of the needle, then everything got a little blurry around the edges.

Hux regained his senses laying on his back on the cot in the examination room. He looked up at the dark ceilings that were more brightly lit than elsewhere in the ship to better illuminate the medics’ work. He blinked a few times, struggling to regulate his breathing. The loss of control made him sick to his stomach, and he could feel sweat beading on his forehead. Then the faces of two medics came into focus over him, their expressions concerned.

 “General, are you alright?” One of them asked.

“Yes, yes, I’m just fine.” Hux forced himself to sit up, even if his vision got a little shaky as he did so.

“Sir, please. No need to get up so quickly. You should rest a moment longer,” the other suggested, her hands reaching out to guide him back onto the cot, but he brushed her away.

“Nonsense,” he retorted, though he knew she was right. “I have duties to attend to.” He pushed himself up to a standing position, careful to hide the way he swayed slightly on his feet. Collecting the rest of his uniform, he turned back to the medics who were still watching him with worried faces.

“Not a breath of this leaves this room,” he ordered, leveling his gaze meaningfully at one then the other, attempting to make sure they felt the weight of his authority even if his state of partial undress and his unseemly faint were making him feel rather less like a general and rather more like a small child.

“Yes, sir – of course, sir!” they both hurried to respond. Satisfied, he ended the interaction with a curt nod. Once the door slid shut and he was alone in the adjoining private waiting room, he allowed himself one long deep breath and a slight lean against the wall until his knees stopped feeling so weak. Then he donned the rest of his uniform and straightened his posture, determined to bury this moment of weakness.

The intervening hours between his appointment at medical and his meeting with the captain were long and unproductive. He alternated between anger at himself for his lapse in composure and frustration at the event that loomed before him. Both emotions pulled him from his work, leaving him sitting at his desk looking absently out the windows into space, his boot tapping the polished floor rhythmically. He debated at length with himself whether he should just cancel, but decided that one display of weakness was far more than enough for one cycle. He would meet the captain, exchange a few words, then say he needed to return to his work and do just that. Set in his intentions, he swept out of his quarters again at the time he had set for himself – it would allow him to be precisely a minute and a half early – and made his way to the officers’ dining hall.

Despite the squared set of his shoulders and the comforting weight of his greatcoat draped around him, he noticed his steps falter just slightly as he walked through the doors. He rarely ate in the dining hall, preferring to swallow a few bites of a nutrition bar in his office between commitments. There was no need to turn the consumption of one’s required nutrients into an event. He saw a few of the officers look up, back to their trays, and up again upon realizing they had seen General Hux in the dining hall. He ignored their glances, using most of his concentration to search faces for that of the captain. He had looked up your personnel file of course, and he had a sense of what you looked like from your official identification image. His eyes swept back and forth across the tables until he noticed you sitting in a booth near the back. Instinctively, he moved to pass a gloved hand through his hair to ensure all the strands were perfectly at attention, only to realize his hand was shaking slightly. Scowling, he stalked toward your table.

You hadn’t noticed his approach yet, which allowed him a cursory inspection of you. He immediately wished he wouldn’t have looked. You looked… nice – good. No, professional. Good as in professional. You sat up straight at the table as though at attention, your uniform crisp and well-fitting. The sharp lines accentuated the shape of your body, throwing it into relief against the wall behind you. No, not like that – it was just that you clearly took pride in wearing your uniform, something the general could appreciate. He suddenly felt faintly warm and a bit lightheaded. Before he could notice anything else, Hux swallowed hard and closed the distance to your table. 

“Captain,” he addressed you. You started slightly in surprise.

“Oh, General Hux! I’m so sorry – I didn’t see you. I—” you moved to stand and greet him, but he motioned for you to remain sitting before situating himself in the seat across from you. It felt like he noticed every movement you made; your hands twisted together in your lap, your gaze flitted around nervously, your shoulders seemed to fold forward slightly before quickly correcting themselves. Hux was beginning to think he was having an adverse reaction to the injection. To add to his list of odd symptoms, he now felt sweaty and a bit queasy.

“I got us both a caf,” you gestured to two cups on the table. “I wasn’t sure if you drank—” 

“Not at this time during the cycle,” Hux interrupted. This strange illness was putting him on edge – he didn’t have time for this nonsense. 

“Oh, um… I’m sorry,” you murmured in response, one of your hands moving from your lap to rub mindlessly up and down your arm. Hux watched the motion for a moment before forcing himself to focus. What had been in that injection?

“What is it you want, Captain?” he asked sharply, barely able to keep his foot from drumming on the floor. He needed to get back to his quarters and contact medical. The abrupt question brought your gaze to his in an instant, and Hux suddenly felt like he might be about to faint again. Looking into your eyes, he felt dizzy, like he wasn’t quite sure where the floor was anymore.

“Well… I just— I didn’t want anything really. I just transferred to the Finalizer and Jeela – I mean Captain Mitaka – said her brother knew you and that it might be good to— well, that maybe we could—”

“Do you have a point, Captain?” Hux interrupted you again. The sound of your voice was having a strange effect on him. He was feeling a little breathless and the queasy sensation in his stomach was becoming stronger. He was certain you could see him sweating.

You had stopped speaking, but your mouth remained open in a surprised ‘o’ for a second longer before you appeared to realize and snap it shut. He caught your gaze again for just a moment, but he suddenly felt like he was falling. Then you averted your eyes and the sensation ended abruptly. 

“I think I should go,” your voice was even softer than before, and almost a little… hoarse? You hurriedly collected your things and stood. Hux echoed the movement.

“An excellent idea, Captain. I have much that needs my attention,” Hux said with as much authority as he could muster given his clearly sickened condition. You nodded absently at the statement, and turned to go, your eyes catching his once last time before you left. He thought for a moment that he had imagined the beginnings of tears pooling in them, but quickly ascribed this to his eyesight going slightly blurry as a result of his unknown illness. He turned in the opposite direction and walked quickly back to his quarters.

Within half an hour, he was back in medical, much to his displeasure. The head medic flipped through reports on her datapad, shaking her head slightly.

“Well General, the attending medic says he noticed no adverse reactions to the injection when he performed his examination of your condition just now, though he did make a note of your symptoms. It is not unusual to faint as a result of an injection. I would presume you are simply experiencing some lingering effects of that faintness.”

“You’re certain there’s nothing seriously wrong?” Hux pressed, clenching his hands into fists and trying not to sound too desperate. He had had hours to recover from his faint and hadn’t felt any symptoms in that whole time until he met with you. He was certain it had to be a delayed reaction to the injection; it wasn’t logical for it to still be the effects of the faint.

“Based on these reports, I’m quite certain, General. But if you experience new or worsening symptoms, be sure to contact us immediately. I would recommend trying to get some rest.”

Hux just nodded, collecting his greatcoat and returning to his quarters again, his mind swimming, trying to make sense of his odd illness. Removing his uniform and placing each piece in its designated location, he allowed himself to collapse into his bed for once. Sleeping was not something at which he excelled, but he couldn’t let this strange affliction affect his work, and if the head medic said that rest would help, then he was determined to try. Just as he was attempting to get comfortable, his datapad pinged.

Kriff, Hux I thought I told you to TRY

Hux let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his hands over his face before responding to Mitaka’s message.

I was unwell. I had to return to medical.

You treated the captain like bantha shit Mitaka shot back. Anger bubbled up in Hux’s throat. No he hadn’t – he was legitimately unwell, and the captain’s presence seemed to exacerbate his condition. He was completely justified in cutting the meeting short. He cast the datapad aside, deciding not to validate Mitaka’s comment with a response. Anyway, what kind of way was that to speak to a superior officer, even if Mitaka was on Hux’s personal staff? Perhaps he’d write up an infraction report in the morning.

Hux rolled over, pulling the sheet up to his chin. He closed his eyes, hoping the sweet yet fickle embrace of sleep would see fit to grant him some rest. Instead, Mitaka’s words echoed in his head. He let out a huff of annoyance, already drafting the infraction report in his mind. But then those thoughts faded to a remembrance of his meeting with you. Against his wishes, his memories played the interaction over and over again. He saw you once more, the smart figure you cut in your uniform, the small gestures that had captured his complete attention, your soft, faltering voice, the depth of your gaze when it met his. 

For the first time, he realized you were nervous to meet him. How could he have been so oblivious? Every word and action screamed it now as he played everything back. And that last glance – were those tears? Kriff – what had he said? He could see you so clearly, but he could barely remember a word he had spoken. He gripped the sheets and pulled them even tighter around himself, as though the pressure would push the memories from his mind. Mitaka’s words echoed through his thoughts once more, but this time instead of the hot rush of anger, he felt his stomach tie itself into knots. The image of tears forming in your eyes lodged itself in his mind as one cycle clicked to the next.

[dragoninthetrees]

Zhou Shen in London

How I would have loved to title this post as ‘Zhou Shen's London Concert.’ How lovely it would have been to write about what listening to him sing live for the first time was like, and what is was like meeting fellow fans to celebrate his first overseas solo concert in one of the largest venues in Europe.

Sadly, that is not the post.

More below cut - it's long. It's both personal account and some thoughts that I wanted to get out of my system. I doubt I've said anything that others haven't said, but it's mine and I started it and I wanted to finish it.

A bit of background seems appropriate. I started listening to Zhou Shen in 2021 early on when I was beginning to learn Mandarin. The hows and what's are a bit much to go into now, so the short story is 大鱼 (dayu - Big Fish) got me interested, Memory and 达拉崩吧 (dalabengba) impressed me, and the (definitely underrated and not mentioned as much as it should be) 相思 (xiangsi - Lovesickness) finally hooked me. His voice is beautiful, his range astounding and his versatility in performance stunning.

(And the Little Prince costume for his C929 concert? That too.)

Since then, Zhou Shen has been a constant presence in my life. The time I spend on him waxes and wanes, but he's there somehow. My daughter knows about him - she calls him Go Hen because at two years old, she still can't quite say her ‘j and ‘sh’ sounds (it's an upgrade on her previous name for him - Dough Hen). Her favourite video of him is this one below of 小美满 (xiaomeiman - Little Bliss) - though I think that's due to the animated dog running around in the background - she often asks for ‘Go Hen's dog.’

It would be years, I assumed, before I could get to see him live. So of course, the overseas fandom were beyond delighted when we learned he'd be taking his 9.29Hz tour internationally. First stop: London, O2 Arena, Friday 14 February 2025. The day the presale hit, I gave my daughter chocolate and plonked her in front of the TV so I could be sure to get a ticket without distraction (terrific parenting right? 😅). The process was surprisingly smooth though exciting with the waiting rooms and countdowns.

The anticipation, the excitement!

With that in hand, I booked a hotel room. I'd already discussed with my husband that he'd look after our daughter for the time I'd be in London. This would be the first night I spent away from my daughter since she was born. I booked annual leave for the whole of Friday so I could get to London early enough as I don't live too far away. Everything was set.

14 February arrived. Things changed - we'd had a difficult January with our 15 year old cat being ill, and them we took the sad decision to have her put down, a choice which meant I had to rework my leave plans. I now was working the morning and leaving directly from the office. I slept poorly that night, waking at around 4am fretting about what not to forget as I was bringing. I didn’t get back to sleep. Looking back at it, the fact that this was my first solo, overnight trip in just over two years was probably getting to me more than I realised. But when I got up, I got everything I needed and wanted packed and left the house at my usual early time. The day was chilly. That line from Don McLean’s ‘American Pie’ - February made me shiver - has been apt for this month.

The work day was busy, and then at lunchtime I made a mad dash down the road to catch the bus from work to the train station (cheered on by a couple sitting on a bench) - only to find potentially big delays to reach London. Luckily for us a train to get to King's Cross was found relatively quickly.

Then I was in London. King's Cross had some check-in stops on the advertising boards, and knowing they'd be the only ones I'd have a chance to see, I made sure I stopped and took pictures.

Someone else was taking pictures at the same time. We smiled at each other but didn't speak - nice though to connect briefly with a fellow fan.

I navigated the tube system to get to my hotel. The staff had left a single rose stem and a little Valentine’s Day message print out on the table. The O2 Arena was in clear view from my window. I think I relaxed for the first time that day, just for a few minutes. It was close to 3pm by that point, and I wanted a shower, and I was frantically trying to finish a couple of little crochet whales I wanted to make for two 生米 (shengmi - the name of Zhou Shen's fans) - ZhouShenSpotify (who you should definitely follow for updates on his Spotify stats) and Rockster929 (translator extraordinaire of Zhou Shen interviews) - I knew from Twitter/X who I was planning to meet up with later.

Whales in waiting, with the Valentine's Day wishes and the rose

So I showered, tried to do my hair with fancy curls but ended up settling with an 80s hair metal band look, and I finished the whales, hooray!

Then I checked Twitter and saw this:

I’m one of those people who in times of shock leaps straight to the denial. I think my first thought was “That’s not funny. This has to be a joke, right? RIGHT?”

However, the link was straight to the Zhou Shen Studio Weibo. It couldn’t not be true.

I wasn't quite right for the rest of the afternoon and evening. The lack of sleep, the (self-induced) stress of travelling down to London, the nervousness as well of being both a non-Chinese member of the audience and one whose Mandarin is so basic - and then the cancellation so close to the ‘curtains up’. Everything else after was a bit of a waking dream.

The announcement said that he’d come out to speak to the audience at 8pm. I didn’t even consider not going - the thought just didn’t cross my mind. And also the chance to meet other fans is always worth it and I wanted to see both ZSSpotify and Rockster929.

I finished getting ready and left the hotel for the single tube stop it would take to get there. Once on site, ZSSpotify and I found each other inside. Both really happy to meet each other in person and also in shock. After a bit of thought we figured we may as well start queuing.

We had a lovely chat in the queue. ZSSpotify told me a lot that night about things which I would have had no way of knowing with my level of Chinese - her knowledge of the industry and how things worked and also about Zhou Shen was wonderful to hear and I'm grateful for the time she took telling me all about it.

Everyone was lovely - a couple of fans (I'm guessing ones more involved in organising fan events) came up to us to tell us about plans to sing 小美满 at the end of his speech to support him, and kindly said to me I could clap along if I couldn’t sing the lyrics (true, I can’t!), and thank you for supporting our Chinese singer.

I had a look around the crowd. Of course most people were Chinese but I was by no means the lone non Chinese there. I saw someone university aged with their parents (probably?) and another lady in front of us in the queue.

Around 6pm I rang home as I'd been placing to anyway to say goodnight to my family. I told my husband what had happened. My daughter was on the video call too and I tried to angle the phone so she could see Zhou Shen’s picture in entrance area.

Security made an announcement about cancellation and handed out a print out of the statement that had been emailed and first appeared on Weibo. They let us in about ten minutes before planned entry - the promised/threatened security delays were thankfully minimal. ZSSpotify and I were in separate sections so planned to meet up afterwards. I queued again for my section then got to my seat. The view was good for the distance I was at and I had leg room. It would have been a decent seat for the concert (and assuming a next time - I just might save up a bit more and aim for a floor seat!)

The mood in the Arena was quiet and a little sombre. The PA system played his album Shenself (反深代词 - fanshendaici) - it was an interesting experience hearing his music in public and not in my earbuds or in the house. There were blue envelopes on our seats - though for some reason they had missed my spot and the ones around them. Someone who got muddled about what seats they were in, initially on my row but then found her spot on row in the front, shared the letter that he’d written with me. (The staff eventually came around to deliver our own envelopes).

Looking at the audience, I could see a wide range of people. An elderly couple a few rows ahead took pictures of themselves with the stage behind. Lots of women in their 20s and 30s. A couple of wonderfully gothy girls sat in the row in front of me. A number of families with young children, some of whom I'd seen being carried. There was something really nice about seeing an artist who attracts such a cross section of society. There might well be a stereotypical 生米, but there isn't a stereotypical Zhou Shen fan.

The O2 Arena, obligatory selfie.

I occupied my waiting time with Chinese flashcards and checking Twitter, but there were no delays: 8pm came and the stage lights grew bright.

Then Zhou Shen walked out from backstage. Muted but encouraging cheers. He wore a long black puffer coat, a grey sweater and scarf. As I said, it was cold. It was good to see him keeping warm against the London chill.

He bowed in all directions to the audience. Then walked out along the cat walk and did the same. Only when he got back to the main stage did he raise his ever-present blue mic to speak.

When he first began (after a few tries to start) - honestly, I thought one of the tech crew was doing a mic test or something. His voice sounded so low, so rough. He could have stopped there and frankly that would have been fine - this wouldn’t have been a lightly made decision, but it anyone wanted proof that he couldn't possibly perform, there it was. Zhou Shen however spoke for about ten minutes. I understood…. well. Very little. A few words and phrases, and of course the most repeated word: 对不起 (duibuqi).

The instructors in the Mandarin course I’ve signed up with explained that 对不起 literally means ‘unable to rise.’ As in I’m so ashamed I cannot rise to face you. Yet this is what Zhou Shen did. Rose from his bows, faced his audience, his 生米, and apologised again and again and again. He was devastated. His voice cracked from both its physical condition and his emotions. He cried right along with many people in the audience. I'm a bit of a delayed reaction kind of person, but I found myself trying to hold my phone up - a Chinese fan on twitter asked if I could but frankly my recording was rubbish - and be very still at the same time, as if trying to hold space for him.

Then he finished and was guided off the stage. I'm not sure of he could have gone on for much longer and was surprised that he spoke for as long as he did.

The planned singalong didn’t happen exactly as intended - because after he let the stage, the band and backup singers performed 我以渺小爱你 (Woyimiaoxiaoaini - Loving you in my humble way) and 小美满 - so everyone who could got to sing anyway. As sweet as it might have been to have sung it directly to him, I wonder if he’d have just completely broken down on stage if it had happened.

By the next morning, Vivi on Twitter had translated the speech. Thank you. Screencap of the start of the thread and pictured linked to whole thread below:

Link to thread

And since then, the North American Zhou Shen Fan Club have provided this video, which captures also what the audience were saying and other details. Thank you to them as well.

I wrote on Twitter/X at the time, before he came on stage, that it felt like we the audience were there to support him regardless of how things had turned out. That was truly the case, especially when he started speaking. Despite what had happened, it felt right being there. Something of a privilege too. To see someone be so vulnerable at a difficult time is something to both respect and cherish.

Afterwards, I met with ZSSpotify and Rockster929 and her family, and we went for hot pot together. All a little stunned still by what had happened but in good spirits - and hungry, due to the latest of the hour! Everyone was very generous with their time in the cooking and explaining (and also the paying!) I'd not been to hot pot before - though you can't not hear about it if you watch any Chinese content for long enough. I'm incredibly grateful for the experience and the company.

I do wish I’d not been so dazed - I would have loved to have talked more and for longer - especially asked Rockster929 more about how she does it and thank her properly for the hard work she puts into getting his interviews translated and subtitled and available so quickly in English for the fandom. ZSSpotify and I took the tube back together - she kindly took this picture of me in front of one of his posters before we left the O2 site.

Unfortunately I didn’t sleep well that night either. The lateness of the hour, still muddle headed, I just couldn’t get to sleep until far too late. I had breakfast at the hotel, and left swiftly to be home for just after lunch. It was always going to be a flying visit. I got home. My daughter had apparently missed me a lot and there had been a bit of crying that morning. My husband looked a little wrung out. We settled into the rest of the day though. It had been something of a break from normal life - not the one I'd hoped for but it had happened nonetheless.

I showed my daughter a video of him speaking. I can't quite recall if I told her he was feeling sad or if she noticed it herself. I tried to explain what happened in terms a two year old would understand, and also that I was feeling a bit sad too.

Then later that evening, unprompted, she said, “Mummy Go Hen sad.”

“Yes, sweetheart. We're both sad.”

It was only that night after my daughter was in bed that I had a proper cry. Delayed reaction, being comfortable at home and safe, and just processing it.

Now, over a week out - I'm sad it didn't work out as planned, but given the people I met and what we all bore witness to that night, I have no regrets whatsoever.

*

Three days after and the compensation plan was released.

See Rockster929's post for details, Weibo link, and screencapped translation

Wow. I mean wow. He's under no obligation to do so. Ticket refunds, sure. Travel and hotel? This is going to cost him and his studio a small fortune. All to do what he believes is the right thing. I went and saw friends this week who all knew how much I'd been looking forward to the concert. I gave them the details, and one of them said that Zhou Shen was a ‘class act’ to have both come out on stage and for offering the compensation package.

And these two articles (thank you as always Rockster929) are an excellent summation of what happened and why, from the perspective of the music industry, this was quite something. I didn't appreciate just how poorly audiences can be treated by the industry and artists alike.

Link to thread

Hong Kong Economic Journal - screencap plus translation

Not Zhou Shen though. It isn't just his talent the draws fans - it's his character. It's his dedication and commitment not just to musical excellence but also to the highest levels of professionalism and to his relationship with his fans.

It's taken me over a week to write this all down - work has been busy, parenting is always busy, and we're about to go on a longish holiday overseas to see my family. And wanting to be sure I've caught a lot of what happened. Trying to give a sense of how it was. A few things happend since: Zhou Shen posted a selfie on Weibo (see below) and his team have a general update on his health. No performances (very rare for him but understandable) and one new song but two pieces of news have come out: that four of his songs have been selected for inclusion in Chinese school children's music books, and that Shenself was, in 2024, the 11th best selling album across the globe. This is all marvelous and I hope provided Zhou Shen with some moments of joy over the last week. Us fans were certainly pleased on his behalf. And plans are still going ahead for the rest of his world tour - Las Vegas is now days away (he might well be winging his way there already) and the dates and venues for his Australian stops have been released. Crushing as this was, what was meant to be his first solo concert outside China, his career is still going very very strong. We have plenty of reasons to be happy as fans and for him.

The way I want to conclude is with some reflections on the events - I wrote these fairly soon after and they still stand.

That night as he spoke, many people called it to him meiguanxi, 没关系。It doesn't matter, it's ok. His response: “I know it matters.” Naturally we want to say this when someone so sincerely apologises, especially for something that wasn't fully in their control. The urge to reassure is strong. But I think he's right. Of course it matters. So much effort was made on all sides - from his crew, the musicians, the dancers - the amount of organisation that a huge event takes and the multiple working parts that have to all come together to make it happen. From the fans, who had to arrange and pay for flights, trains, hotel rooms, visas, and asking for time off work, arranging caring duties for dependents, and a host of other things that I’ve not considered when making plans to get to see and listen to someone you love, you adore. And for Zhou Shen himself, who would have put his all into preparations, planning, rehearsals, encouraging him team - and then at the end to go through all those medical treatments to try and pull through so he could perform for us. It absolutely matters. Our shared sadness and disappointment matters.

And (important that it's ‘and’ not ‘but’):

What matters more is that Zhou Shen is ok. That he looks after not only his voice, his precious instrument that brought us all there that evening, but also his own heart and mind. What matters more is that he looks after himself so he can sing again - both for his fans, and also for his own sake. This is a young man who has battered off ‘what would you do if weren’t a singer’ questions with what essentially amounts to ‘the alternative is unthinkable’. While we're all disappointed - Zhou Shen I believe most of all - after all that effort, the disappointment is for the circumstance, not in Zhou Shen. Not one little bit. On the off chance he ever reads this, he needs to know that he has nothing to feel guilty about. That’s my biggest fear for him. That this will haunt him far longer than it should. We all know this was the right decision. We all know he tried so so hard, threw every treatment the doctors could think of. If he could have made it work, he would have. But Zhou Shen has to protect his voice. The alternative would have been truly unthinkable.

And:

There are worse things that happen. The train delays I mentioned above were due to a death on the train line. I’m 90% certain it was suicide - they’re sadly common on the line I use. Someone and their loved ones had a far worse day than any of us. When I woke up the next morning in the hotel room, I read a diary article from of one of the climate change protestors who has been landed in prison for 4 years, writing about conditions that don’t read like they have a place in a just and fair society. And you just have to read the news to know that there are far far worse things.

And:

It still matters. Zhou Shen has been the soundtrack to so many people’s lives and has inspired and support and helped people pull through challenging, difficult times. He himself is an inspiring human being who so many, including me, look to as a role model. This whole incident is surely an example of that.

And:

While we were sad for ourselves, our hearts were right there with Zhou Shen, who bravely stood in front of us to tell us why he made the decision. As others have since pointed out, he could have just made a video. Instead, he came in person, in a cold London night while unwell and let his voice stumble and croak while he cried his way through it all. Not many people could do that.

But:

That's who he is.

So, in conclusion, and on the off chance he ever reads this:

Shenshen, look after yourself. Please rest and recovery fully. May we meet again. Best of luck for the rest of your tour. 加油！

[fanboyzuko]

dont know if the prompt event is still ongoing but zuko getting absolutely plastered with jet sounds hysterical 🤭 bonus points if iroh finds out and nearly has an aneurysm

Anon, know this is has been PLAGUING me for the past week because I've wanted to write it so desperately. I really underestimated how busy back to work from holidays would be ugh.

Hope you enjoy, bc I sure did ;3

Set vaguely as future LTF au... or could fit into canon, who knows ;P

.

Something hitting his window startled Zuko awake. With all the shit he was getting up to in Ba Sing Se behind Uncle’s back, it wasn’t shocking that someone was bothering him in the middle of the night. It was shocking, however, to open his window to a clearly plastered Jet and barely dodging the next rock he’d already thrown.

“Blue!” Jet cheered none too quietly. 

“Don’t call me that!” Zuko hissed, already turning back to his room to change. Another rock swiftly clattered into his room. What the fuck! Where were Smellerbee and Longshot? Why weren’t they doing a better job at babysitting their obnoxious leader? 

Zuko dodged yet another rock as he stuck his head out the window to call down, “I’m coming down! Quit making a racket unless you want to wake up the whole damn neighborhood, or worse, my uncle!”

The warning thankfully worked, or maybe Jet ran out of rocks to throw, and Zuko made quick work of changing and packing essentials for a night out. He usually begrudged nights he was ditched for the Avatar, but it was rather lucky tonight. Sneaking out was hard enough without a dragon underfoot. 

Rather than risk the creaky floorboard near Uncle’s room, Zuko simply jumped out his window. It was only the second floor, and it was as easy as breathing these days to cushion his fall with a bed of hot air. 

A bottle reeking of alcohol was immediately shoved into his hands.

“Drink with me,” Jet said with a carefree grin. He slung his arm around Zuko’s shoulders, but didn’t lean on him for support. Although having already started drinking, Jet was far from drunk. The asshole had probably been annoying just to be annoying, rather than from alcohol dulling his decision making process.

Zuko led them down the street, not about to let Uncle catch them because Jet wanted to be a dick. He resolutely did not drink whatever swill Jet managed to get his hands on. “Why aren’t you drinking with your better halves?”

“I’m telling Smellerbee you complimented her!” Jet snorted. He took the bottle back and took a hearty drink from it. “They don’t like alcohol and I respect that. But drinking alone is fucking depressing. How fortunate my good friend Blue is in town.”

“Seriously, stop calling me that!” Zuko said through clenched teeth. He didn’t feel the presence of any Dai Li, but he wasn’t about to take any chances. 

“My good friend who won’t tell me his real name is in town,” Jet amended with an exaggerated eye roll. 

Ever since the Freedom Fighters realized Zuko was their masked visitor, they staunchly refused to believe anything he claimed as “Lee the refugee.” At least they didn’t suspect he was Fire Nation, let alone the wanted banished prince…

“I’ll drop it if you drink with me.”

Zuko sighed. “And why are we drinking?”

“Just cuz,” Jet said. His tone with light and he shrugged as if it were truly such a carefree reason. But his gaze was heavy and dark. Zuko recognized it all too well from his recent, solo travels.

“Oh fine, sure, let’s drink just cuz.” Zuko snatched the bottle and threw his head back to take a deep gulp. He almost choked on how pungent the shit was. He almost fell forward as he coughed and spluttered, only Jet’s arm on his shoulders kept him upright. “But we’re getting something non-toxic!”

Jet snickered as he took another chug. “It’s not that bad once you burn your taste buds off.”

“Absolutely not. I brought some money, it’s on me.”

“Well, far be it for me to stop you.” From Jet’s sly grin, Zuko almost wondered if that had been his angle all along in dragging Zuko out with him. 

Eh, whatever, this wouldn’t be the stupidest thing Zuko had done in the past few months. 

---

The sun rose, and so did Iroh. Although he did not need to worry about disrupting his nephew’s sleep at this early hour, the walls and floors were thin and neighbors had commented before about the early hours Iroh kept. While that certainly wouldn’t immediately paint them as firebenders, Iroh erred on the side of caution. So it was with quiet steps that he started to prepare breakfast. No noise came from Zuko’s room, which was expected. He, too, was cautious to complete his morning workout in silence.

He only just set the kettle on to boil when something crashed outside their apartment. 

Iroh’s heart leaped to his throat as he put out the fire and rushed to the front door. Hopefully no one was hurt or causing trouble. The last thing they needed was the local authority snooping around their complex. Young, hushed voices filtered through the door as Iroh approached it, as if the cause of the noise was right outside. 

Frowning, Iroh carefully unlatched the deadbolt (which would do nothing if anyone truly wanted to get through their flimsy door) and tried to slide the door open. It was heavy, as if there was a resisting weight on the other side. With a firm tug, Iroh pulled it open and two bodies spilled into the entryway. 

“Shit,” the young man crushed under his friend’s dead weight said from the ground. A young man who should have been entering the kitchen from another door, from his room where he should have just woken up. 

“See, told ya we shoulda knocked,” the young man crushing Iroh’s nephew slurred, burying his face into Zuko’s shirt with a jaw-cracking yawn. He spoke with his eyes closed, seconds from succumbing to sleep. “Hi, Uncle, sorry I borrowed Bluuu-Lee last night.”

Iroh took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose as he realized just who Zuko’s companion was. “Nephew, is this not the young man who picked a fight with you at the tea shop?”

“Oh- Uh… We didn’t fight again, promise!” Zuko exclaimed, as if the overpowering scent of alcohol wasn’t wafting off the pair as evidence of what they had been up to. “We’re uh… friends now?”

Deep breaths. Losing his temper wasn’t going to do anyone any favors when the recipients of his scolding were drunk as wolf skunks. In the grand scheme of things, this was the least of Zuko’s offenses. If anything, Iroh should be happy he hadn’t burst into the apartment with the Dai Li on his tail. 

Laughter pulled Iroh from his thoughts. He looked up to realize their neighbors were poking their heads out their doors in varying stages of lucidity this early in the morning. The mother of four from across the hall was the one laughing. 

“Don’t be too harsh on them, Mushi! It’s nice to see Lee making friends his own age!” She teased, which brought some chuckles from the rest of their audience. “Put them to bed, and I’ll come by with some hangover soup for them later.”

“Need some help moving them?” The construction worker down the hall offered, dressed and about to head out to work.

Iroh looked down and swallowed back a completely inappropriate frustrated scream. In the time it took Iroh to try to compose himself and get distracted by their neighbors, Zuko had fallen asleep. The two teenage boys were tangled together in a heap of limbs, completely dead to the world. 

“I have half a mind to leave them there,” Iroh grumbled, to their neighbors’ amusement. 

He wasn’t joking.

[moltisantiii]

I'm your Little Baby Doll, you're My Mr. Rock n' Roll

Cliff Booth x Actress! Reader

Summary : Shooting a new series gets you closer to an famous alleged murderer

A/N : I know it's been two weeks without an update, I've just been crazy busy. Anyways, I'm glad to be back. Fun fact, I named the character you're playing Margaret after Margaret Qualley because I love her. Please give me some feedback if you feel like it !

Warning : Mentions of Death (Murder)

Word Count : 3k

Chapter Index : I, II, III, IIII

Click here for Companion Pinterest Board

Click here for Ao3 Ver.

You remember sitting down in front of your family's small TV, on the fuzzy beige carpet to watch reruns of Bounty Law on Saturdays. It wasn't your favourite program, by far, but you made sure to catch it in the afternoon since it was the only show you and your siblings could all enjoy together. You weren't particularly a fan of Jake Cahill, what really interested you about Bounty Law was the setting. The old far west. A time you'd never know. 

You wondered how people back then lived. With no electricity, no laws and no television. You wondered, at the time, if you would've made a good cowgirl. Riding a horse seemed fun enough and you were certain you could do it, just like Cahill, who made it all look easy. But now, almost a decade later, you would soon realize that Jake Cahill, in truth, Rick Dalton, was a terrible rider, or so you'd heard. And that it wasn't him on that horse most of the time, it was Cliff Booth. 

You arrived on set early that morning, slightly groggy from spending the previous night rereading scripts. The usually imposing sun could barely be seen in the sky. It took you a while to get used to the Californian weather, and sometimes, like that day, it still felt unusual. 

As you'd come to learn, Maxwell was... a unique director. It seemed like he was always in a hurry. You wondered why the studio hadn't fired him yet, considering he was the opposite of what they looked for in directors. He did not let anyone push him over, he wanted control on everything concerning his films and he liked production not to last too long. He was undeniably talented, but executives favoured money over creativity. 

You walked towards the outdoor shooting area and you were immediately woken up by what you saw. The whole 'street' looked like it had time travelled to 1866. You stood there for a few seconds. There was movement all around you, from horses, to extras dressed in period-typical clothing and set designers moving around props. You were so enthralled by the scenery surrounding you that you hadn't noticed someone placing a hand on your shoulder. 

"Ain't never seen a movie set before, sweetheart ?" You turned around to face the now all-too familiar voice. 

"Not of this scale. It's amazing." You said as you took in Cliff's appearance. He was wearing a blue jean jacket with matching pants and a black t-shirt. You made sure not to look at his hand as he removed it from your shoulder. 

"Don't get too excited about it. You're gonna see a million like this in your life." He said as he began walking to the costume trailer and you promptly followed. "This' a reused lot from Lancer. Studio didn't have time to build a new one as per Blyhte's request." 

You hummed in acknowledgement. As you stepped into the costume department, you were faced with rows and rows of clothing racks holding hundreds if not thousands of costumes, each labeled meticulously by name. There were fabrics, accessories and clothes as far as the eyes could see. The room smelled of aging textiles, something that reminded you of an old woman's sewing room.

A man holding a brown clipboard and a pen approached you. He had shaggy bleached hair and a slight beard. He wore a colourful suit with a lot of mismatched accessories. He had what seemed to be eyeliner on his waterline and eyeshadow on his eyelids. "Names ?" He asked, completely focused on his papers. 

"Cliff Booth." Cliff said as he took off his sunglasses and placed them in his jacket's pocket. 

The man hummed and quickly checked a box on his list. He stayed silent for a few seconds, indicating it was your turn to answer. "Y/N L/N." He scribbled something down and finally looked up at the both of you. 

"I'm Sean Orton, I'm the lead costume designer for the show." He said with a big smile. "And you are..." He looked through his list to find your names again. "Co-star and lead stunt for the series ! Wow, very impressive. It's gonna be a pleasure working with you." He turned around and began walking through the labyrinth behind him. 

"We're here for our costume fitting. I think Mr. Blythe wants to start shooting in the next hour." You said, raising your voice slightly, unsure if he could even hear you with all the equipment between you.

"Always in a rush Maxwell. Well... Mr. Booth, I already have your suit, but Miss L/N, I'm gonna need to make some adjustments to your dress... quickly." He said as he handed you a white dress and pointed to a changing room. 

You pulled the cabin's curtain, got in and began swapping your modern day attire for a typical 1800s garment. It was quite simple and modest, made of light cotton. You presumed it was historically accurate to a degree as it looked exactly like what you were used to seeing on television. Maybe your dream of being a cowgirl wasn't so ridiculous now. 

You heard rustling from behind the fabric separating you from the two men as Sean began speaking. "I worked on your dress for the past two days. I got your measurements from the designers on Cottontail Bandit, but I just need to make sure everything fits and looks right." 

After a minute or two, you pulled back the green and blue curtain and walked out. Sean was the only one standing in front of you. He motioned for you to step on a small platform. You extended your arms and he began working on the hem of your dress. He was simply tying off knots that were left loose for fitting and removing any safety pins that had been put in place. "Where's Cliff ?" You asked. 

"Right here, darlin'" You heard someone say from another changing room further in the room. 

You felt a warmth in your heart, knowing you were not alone. Not that you were in a particularly dangerous situation or that you were nervous, but his presence just put you at ease somehow. You wondered if he had that effect on everyone. You doubted that last thought, thinking back to his infamous reputation as a wife killer. 

You were snapped out of your thoughts when you heard the sound of metal spurs hitting the ground. You looked at the stuntman, now in full cowboy getup, hat, boots and everything. You'd be lying if you said you weren't momentarily stunned by his appearance. You wondered why he'd never tried becoming an actor, as far as you knew, he certainly had the face of a leading man. 

Sean tied a red skirt around your waist and handed you a matching shawl to hang loosely around your shoulders. He quickly put your hair into a braid and then into an up-do, joking that women back then would've loved hairspray since they were always stuck with the same hairstyle. He put some light blush on your cheeks and applied a pink lip balm on your lips. 

Once the costume designer was done, Cliff approached you, giving you his arm and a wink. "Ma'am, I think we're needed elsewhere." 

You hopped off the small podium and linked your arm with his as you both began exiting. "Thank you, Sean !" You said, as the man also bid you goodbye, before leaving to make your way towards the set. 

You walked towards the fake building surrounded by cameras and other filming equipment, signalling that that was where you were needed. 

"Can't let Frances see us like this." You joked as you looked ahead, wondering where your manager was. 

"Like what ?" Cliff said with his fake-oblivious attitude. 

"You know very well. Poor woman thinks I'm your next victim." 

"I don't think psycho managers are allowed on Blythe's productions. That's why she wasn't allowed at the audition. Unnecessary people equals less efficiency." 

"Aren't you glad ?" You teased. 

"Damn right I am. Get to spend more time with the sweetest actress in Hollywood." 

You walked into the fake western bar and saw Rick and Max discussing. The scene you were about to shoot was a conversation between Margaret and Jack which would be interrupted by a bounty hunter. Due to the strange nature of the filming schedule, scenes were not shot in chronological or episodical order. 

"Y/N, I think you found the wrong cowboy." Max joked as he and Rick smiled. You let go of Cliff as you were handed your script. As you began reading, two makeup girls powdered your face and added mascara to your lashes. 

It was at that exact moment, you had a realization. You'd made it. 

Here you were surrounded by staff taking care of you, working with an amazing crew and reading a script given to you by a highly talented director. You'd starred in your own movie, but for some reason practicing your lines while getting you makeup touched up near one of the most famous western actors of all time without a care in the world was what gave you the feeling that it was all worth it. Moving away, working non-stop, signing contracts, it culminated to this life you couldn't believe you were living. This was just the beginning of your career, you couldn't wait for what came next. 

You held back a smile as Max asked everyone to get in place to start the first take. You walked behind the fake bar as set designer explained where your props were. You thanked him and turned your attention to a man behind the camera. 

Cliff was backing away, towards his designated chair, observing you. You leaned your forearms on the bar as you waited for everyone to finish preparing. You gave him a joking sigh as the crew were finally ready to start. 

"Action." Max called. Rick was sitting at a table in front of where you stood. You grabbed a bottle of fake alcohol that had been placed underneath the counter for you along with a glass and walked towards your costar. His head was resting on his hand, as if he was pondering. You placed the cup to his left and filed it up with the auburn liquid. 

"Are you sure he was a bounty hunter ?" You, or Margaret, asked. 

"I don't know many other men around here who carry that kind of weapon." Rick, or Jack, answered sarcastically as he brought the glass to his lips. "I don't want to skip town, Maggie, but-" 

"If you keep running away, it's only a matter of time before they find you." You stood next to him as you watched him drink the prop whiskey. "You know it." 

He loudly banged the glass on the wooden table when he was done. He sighed as he leaned back into his chair. "That, I do." Before he could utter another word, the saloon door swung open, announcing the arrival of another patron. The camera quickly moved to showcase the other man. 

"Coyote." The actor said as he spat on the ground. 

"I think you got the wrong man, pal. That ain't my name no more." Rick suddenly got up and motioned you to step behind him as you placed your arms in front of your chest to show Margaret's slight fear. The cameraman followed your movements as both of the men's hands lingered near their revolvers. "Cut ! Don't move !" Max shouted as he pushed the camera behind Rick and yourself to have a different point of view. Every aspect of this production was unlike anything you'd ever lived or heard about. "Continue." He said as you heard the click of the slate. 

"There's a $1,000 bounty on your head, I ain't leaving without it." The 'hunter' said. 

Rick quickly reached for his gun first and 'shot' the man. The actor was pulled from behind by a hidden wire and was propelled onto the ground of the fake street as comical smoke came out of Jack's pistol. "We have to get out of here before someone sees us. This may be the first one, but it ain't gonna be the last." Rick recited as he grabbed your wrist and walked out of frame, towards the unexacting back door of the saloon. 

"End scene." Max said as he got up from his crouched position. "That was really good, let's try that again, and then we'll go shoot the departure." 

After a few more takes, some better and some worse, the whole crew moved outside to film the next scene. There was a white horse waiting there, surrounded by handlers. You approached it and asked the owner's permission to pet it, to which he happily approved. He told you her name was Domino, but for the sake of the show she was called Daisy on screen. You smiled as the animal leaned onto your hand. 

"You know how to ride ?" A voice, obviously belonging to your stuntman, now alleged murderer, acquaintance, said. 

You turned around to look at him, wondering if you'd misheard him, keeping a hand on the horse. "Pardon ?" You almost choked on the air you were breathing. 

"Horses. Do you know how to ride horses ?" He asked more specifically. His face practically lit up when he'd seen your half-concealed shock. "What did you think I meant ?" 

"Nothing, I just had trouble hearing you." You said, feeling the blood rushing to your face. You couldn't believe you'd fallen for that. And you couldn't believe your first instinct was to think of... well that. It was so unlike you. 

"I don't think so, Miss L/N." He huffed. 

"Places everyone !" Max said, now holding a megaphone to ensure everyone could hear him. Cliff walked back to stand behind the camera as you stood next to Rick who was about to mount the horse. You heard someone call for the scene to start and Rick jumped on the saddle as you slowly approached him. He held out his hand for you. You took a moment before grabbing his arm to demonstrate Margaret's hesitation. "Don't tell me a horse scares you, Maggie. You're on of the toughest dames I know and this harmless creature worries you ?" Rick laughed. You sighed with annoyance and crossed your arms. "Come on. Daisy don't bite, I swear." You put your hand in his and Max ended the take. 

You were confused, the scene ended with Margaret and Jack riding down the street, it was too early to cut. Rick got off the mare, and Cliff walked towards Domino to take his place. Now you understood. The man got on the saddle so easily, you wondered if he'd previously been a cowboy. The camera changed angles so the stuntman's face wouldn't be visible to the audience. You jokingly rolled your eyes as Cliff looked down at you, seemingly too happy about the situation. 

He placed his hand in the same position Rick had and waited for the signal to start the scene. Once 'action' was called, you grabbed his hand as he helped pull you up and you sat behind him on the saddle. He clicked his tongue and hit the side of the horse with his shoe to signal to the animal to begin its walk. The sudden movement caused you to slightly lose balance, so you instinctively wrapped your arms around Cliff's abdomen as to not fall. 

You didn't need to see his face, you already knew he was smirking. 

After a a few seconds, you heard Max call out from afar with two thumbs up. "That was perfect !" 

Domino stopped moving and you let go of the stuntman. Cliff quickly got off the horse, leaving you there alone and worried. A horse might not be as tall as a building, but Domino's height was still important enough to scare you. He began slowly walking away before you called for him. 

"Um.. Cliff how do I... ?" 

He stopped in his tracks and walked back to face you. "I'm sorry doll, do you not know how to dismount a horse ?" He joked as if that was the easiest thing in the world, his hands on his hips to emphasize his sarcasm. 

"Obviously not. Tell me how and I'll do it." 

Cliff didn't answer, he just held out his arms, indicating he wanted you to jump. 

"Are you crazy ? I could fall and hurt myself. I'm not a stunt double, this could slow production weeks if not months." You said, completely serious. 

"Don't you trust me ?" He kept his joyous attitude towards your slight fear of heights. 

"I..." 

"C'mon, jump, princess." 

You took in a slow breath and wearily jumped off the horse and into his arms. He only held you in the air for a fraction of a second, but it was enough to make your mind go completely blank. He delicately placed you on the ground and leaned his head to look down at you, his hands still holding onto your waist. 

"That wasn't so bad, was it ?" His voice was soft, as if comforting you, but still had that usual smugness he always had. You just shook your head, your gaze not leaving his, nervous almost. You were certain your face was pink, you could feel the heat rising. 

The crew approached the two of you and began prepping for the next location. Cliff slowly backed away from you, his eyes focused solely you. 

In that moment, it felt like everything and everyone around you was moving at a thousand miles per hour, and the only person you could clearly see was the old stuntman. His slightly greying disheveled hair, the early wrinkles starting to appear on his face, his strong arms, he was perfect to you. You forgot everything you'd known and been told about him, for now he was just Cliff. The silly stuntman that loved to tease with the most charming grin you'd ever seen. What was he doing to you ?

[eleventhhourfactor]

Factor Builds a Poltergust!

Part One

Poltergust?! In my kitchen?! At this time of year?!!

More probable than you might think.

For those who didn't see this post a few days ago, I've been building a prop Poltergust. I've got a costume to go along with it, and both are at the point where I can step out to an event right now and feel proud of myself.

After I find fingerless gloves and give the vacuum tube a couple more coats of paint, of course.

So, how did I do it? Why should you care about a ghost vacuum that can't actually suck things up? Well, I'm about to tell you the process I've gone through this week to get this bad boy ready, because I did a decent job documenting my steps and I wasn't just about to not share something like this.

Ready?

Here we go!

Disclaimer

This is not a tutorial. I am not in the business of giving Poltergust workshops. This is just me documenting my process, which you're free to riff off of for your own uses, but this is in no way a step-by-step instructional. This is what I got after gleaning two walkthroughs online and distilling them into something my artsy ass can manage. If I tried to pass this off as a tutorial in real life, I'd probably get fired.

If you do reference this for your own purposes, make sure to wear gloves, put down cardboard and other protective coverings, and do your work in a well-ventilated area. It should go without saying, but do not let your pets into this shit.

With that being said, let's get into the base of this whole thing.

The Base

Not gonna lie, this whole idea started with a cat carrier. It's been with me for several moves now, and neither of my cats have taken to it. Needless to say, I was ready to give this thing purpose.

The carrier I have has a bubble in the front, several panels to zip and unzip, and appears to be made of some kind of leather. With this in mind, I prepared the surface for painting by using a deglazer. If you can't find any (or you run out early like I did), some strong isopropyl alcohol and a bit more elbow grease will also do the trick.

Next, I went with some leather acrylic paint. It went on nicely and dried quickly, so I did a couple of coats.

As you can see in the picture above, this carrier had a nice black trim to it that I wanted to preserve as much as possible—hence, drafter's tape. I also left the straps as is, since E. Gadd has a thing for leather straps on his devices.

After the paint was good and dry, I sprayed the whole thing a couple times over with a clear topcoat. I might've picked something semi-glossy (I really don't remember), but so long as it's clear and sprayable, it'll work.

I did get a little bit of topcoat on the bubble, but this really won't matter in the long run.

Panels and Wheels

Each Poltergust I've come across has a set of wheels or cylinders on the sides. Seeing as this was a consistent choice, I figured I'd cook something up to cover the side panels of my base.

Each wheel piece is based on a wooden circle (mine are about 6.5" in diameter). From there, I glued a smaller foam disc onto the center, and then covered each disc in gray foam for a smooth look.

While waiting for that to dry, I then took a triangular dowel of EVA foam and painted that black. One calculation for the circumference of the inner circle later, and I had the outer rims for these pieces. For error's sake, I rounded up.

End result?

Snazzy. Now to apply this and the other panels onto the base. I chose a thicker piece of black foam for the accent paneling, which also went under these circles. However, I didn't immediately glue all this on.

Instead, I went to work on some other doodads.

Doodads, part one

There are a number of holes on the cat carrier. They come in sets of three, are ringed with metal, and were probably intended to provide airflow to my spoiled little fur babies. For the Poltergust, though, these holes provided opportunities for additional decorations.

All of these holes were 1" in diameter, which made some of my choices awfully convenient.

First off: bottom three. These are the reason I held off on gluing the panels. I wanted to cap them and put some lights behind them. Some little jewelry organizers did the trick, and provided a nice serrated edge that I used many times in this build.

Now, this photo is a bit out of order. I got a bit impatient and glued the side panels and these things on before I did the topcoat. As a result, I sprayed them a bit. Again, I like to think this works out in the end.

At this point, I was ready to take my foam and do all sorts of measurements and shit to get it all to perfectly align. And then I realized...

Foam is impressionable, and these suckers are serrated.

With that, I pressed my front panel into the circles, carved out the holes, and was able to slide it on just like that.

From there, I eyeballed and trimmed it down before gluing. And I got the circles hooked up as well.

Doodads, part 2

I came across some black desk feet that, with some nuts and a piece of foam glued in for good measure, made for some nice button-looking things on the side panels. Because I needed to work on the tube, though, this won't get applied until closer to the end.

The Tube and the Tools

The bones are good, but what about the tube? The means by which a ghost goes from outside to within?

This, along with lights and other device pieces, required a trip to the hardware store. Believe it or not, I spent quite a bit of time in the plumbing section for this stuff. Kinda funny when you think about it.

Anyway, tube. I went with a drain and bilge tube/pipe thing because it was long and flexible—not to mention easily cuttable with a hacksaw. It's attached to the Poltergust with a metal closet rod support, which again, was about the diameter I needed.

All good, right? Wrong!

That tube wasn't just gonna go into the hole nice and neat. After getting the metal circle around the tube, I cut some slits into it to cheat my constraint, further forcing it in by applying sealant to the circle and clamping that shit down.

Hot glue is nowhere near strong enough for this part. Given that it's metal, on the most vertical slope, and is gonna get tugged around a bit, I opted for sealant. Please keep in mind this shit is strong, so let it cure outside.

Since the sealant takes a while to cure, we can pretend I got everything in one trip and get started on the flashlight attachment. I found this PVC pipe thing that had a slideout bit of pipe, and something about the way it felt in my hand screamed "comically big flashlight". With that, a bell drain cap thingie, a puck light, and some paint later, I had Luigi's flashlight, ready to screw in or change out with a nozzle (which isn't built as of posting. I'm tired and it's daunting and I want to go back to writing.)

But like, wow. I'm a bit screwed when the batteries die, but for this? This is beautiful. See that black bit at the bottom? That's meant to screw into the thing pictured below.

Which, fine, there is a bit of a time skip with this top. But the whole idea is to stuff it with sealant, follow up with hot glue, and put it on the end of a trimmed down, painted bilge tube. To paint the tube, stick the whole Poltergust in a trash bag, poke a hole in it, and feed the tube through. Tape up anything loose, get that spray paint, and spray.

Rule of thumb: do not assume any of my steps are chronological. I'm going off of categories to make a bit of sense out of my madness. A lot of parts were painted in batches because I was waiting on something else and I wanted to save time.

But, once things are painted, glued, and sealed, the worst of the work is over.

That being said, we are far from over. I'd keep going, but Tumblr on mobile won't let me do more than ten pictures, so keep an eye out for the inevitable reblog featuring part two!

[rosanna-writer]

Karma Is My Boyfriend (2/?)

Summary: Elain Archeron saved countless lives by vanquishing Graysen Nolan, her literal demon of a fiancé. She's a hero, but it's just not fair that being a good witch destined to rid the world of evil has left her tragically, painfully single. Enter Lucien Vanserra, the best cupid in the business, who's been sent by the universe to balance the karmic scales and find Elain the perfect new partner…

Happy day two of @elucienweekofficial!!! The people I can't thank enough include both the wonderful event organizers and ALSO the friends who generously allowed me to mine their dating app horror stories for fic potential <3

The whole fic can be found Here on AO3, or you can start with chapter one here on tumblr and read the second chapter under the cut.

Lucien was waiting with his feet up on her desk in the back of Roots 'n Shoots the next day. After her conversation with Rhys, Elain had loosened the wards around the store, though she hadn't expected Lucien to just…winnow directly into her office before she arrived.

But he already had steaming cup of her favorite herbal blend ready, so Elain decided not to give him an earful, even though she disliked being relegated to the spare chair she kept for guests.

"Are we on some sort of deadline?" she said, dropping her bag on the floor. "It's still quite early."

Lucien gave another elegant shrug. "I hate burning daylight."

In the past year, the Archeron manor had been full of…well, night people. Elain appreciated that Lucien seemed not to be another one. "Likewise," she said, taking a sip of tea.

He'd stirred in the amount of sugar she preferred, and she decided not to ask whether that information was contained in her file as well. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Lucien produced a cell phone seemingly out of nowhere and held the screen up for her to see. "I've already gotten started on making you a Tinder."

If Elain had been any less of a lady, she would have spat her tea all over him. Lucien was supposed to be an expert at helping people find love—but apparently all he had too offer was a dating app she was perfectly capable of navigating herself.

"It's quite helpful of you to be so on top of it," she said, though the icy chill in her voice made it clear she wasn't grateful at all.

"We'll cover more ground using an app. And with a cupid helping you screen your matches, you're guaranteed not to meet up with any douches, dirtbags, or demons."

Elain hesitated, worrying her lower lip with her teeth. It was true that she'd sworn off dating since Greysen—no matter how much Nesta and Feyre reminded her that the best way to get over someone was to get under someone else. With a busy shop to run and innocents to save, she'd insisted that she'd rather spend her precious few nights out catching up with friends.

Which was true, of course. But it wasn't the whole story, and the way Lucien's smirk melted into something softer told her he knew it. "You'll be safe with me," he said more gently. "I promise you're in good hands, Elain."

"Thank you," she said, taking the phone from him with a sigh.

Elain scrolled through the beginnings of the profile he'd set up for her. The photos of her seemed to be stolen from Feyre's private Instagram, but her artistic little sister had such a knack for finding good lighting that Elain decided not to question how Lucien had gotten them. His information was accurate, too: 5' 9", interested in both men and women, looking for something serious, plant mom, avid baker, all of it.

"I think this will do," she said.

"Is there anything else I should know before we get started?"

Elain took a moment to consider it—he'd covered everything. Well, almost. "No women named Elaine with two e's."

"Understandable. When I dated before becoming a cupid, I wouldn't touch a Lucian with an a. Moaning your own name in bed feels wrong."

"Exactly," Elain said with a laugh. It was a relief he understood, but at the same time, a bit irritating to find herself warming to him after what an ass he'd been the day before. But then, she thought again about what he said, and… "Cupids can't date?"

His mechanical eye clicked a few times, and she didn't know what to make of it. "It's not strictly forbidden, but that's…not something that's in the cards for me anymore."

There was a finality in his voice that Elain wasn't brave enough to question. Besides, Lucien's love life was hardly her concern, anyway. She handed the phone back to him and let him finish setting up the profile.

Something in Elain's chest went uncomfortably tight as they began looking through matches. Maybe this was a mistake. Surely it was better to stay single forever than to risk another disaster…

Not that she'd be going anywhere with the first man whose profile appeared. His face was hardly visible under the brim of an ill-fitting camo baseball cap, and he was holding up a fish.

She swiped left. And the next profile belonged to another man holding up a fish. And the next. And the next.

After five near-identical profiles of would-be fishermen in a row, Elain was beginning to wonder if there was anyone out there even worth messaging.

She let out a huff of frustration. "Do these people have any other hobbies besides fishing?"

"Clearly none of them are getting assistance from a cupid. Any of us would tell them there are better ways to give off the impression that they're well-endowed," Lucien said, picking at his nails.

"Is— Is that what they're doing?" Elain felt her cheeks go pink despite herself.

"Trying to, at least. And speaking from experience, it's really only impressive when that fish was caught with your bare hands."

Lucien was so….well-groomed that Elain struggled to picture it. He struck her as the sort of person who'd insist the Sidra was disgusting even though plenty of people happily swam in the clear blue river every summer. She couldn't imagine him just wading right into a lake or a stream. "Is it?"

"Those big fishing poles are a crutch for people who aren't skilled with their hands."

Elain couldn't help but glance at his hands. She hadn't quite noticed how big they were when he'd first come into her shop the day before, but now that he was closer, she found herself wondering how much they'd dwarf hers if she interlaced those long, elegant fingers with her own…

Not that it mattered. Lucien was there to help her find true love, not hold her hand.

"I see," she murmured, swiping to the next profile. This man, at least, wasn't holding a fish, which would have been a relief if it wasn't something a million times more mortifying.

Tamlin Springfield—Feyre's ex-fiancé.

He was staring into the camera, a violin tucked under his chin. Elain supposed the expression on his face was meant to be soulful, but truthfully…he just looked constipated.

"Please tell me you aren't insane enough to seriously consider your sister's ex," Lucien said, wrinkling his nose. "I'd rather not deal with the drama."

Elain stilled. "How do you know he's my sister's ex?" There was no way that file was extensive enough to list out her sisters' dating histories, too.

Oh gods, had she been too quick to trust him?

Annoyingly, Lucien just smirked despite the suspicion that had crept into her voice. "Most cupids stopped using arrows a long time ago, but we still learn to shoot because the elders grumble about tradition. Feyre's the most patient archery instructor to come along in centuries, so of course we all pitched in to help her out with Rhysand after that nasty business with Tamlin's curse."

Whatever the cupids did had worked. Last night, Nesta and Cassian were out teaching their weekly judo class, so it had just been Elain at home with Feyre and Rhys, who'd cuddled up on the couch, his wing wrapped around her shoulders while they made disgustingly cute heart eyes at each other. She'd retreated to the kitchen to bake and avoid them.

It still seemed too much to believe that with Lucien's help, she could find love like that, too.

"Well, I'm not matching with him, but hold on a second," Elain said, taking a screenshot and sending it to her sisters.

She quickly muted the chat before Nesta or Feyre had a chance to ask how things were going with Lucien. The last thing she needed was an interrogation.

The next profile after Tamlin's was a woman—and finally, someone who looked promising. In her picture, Briar was standing in a greenhouse, and her smattering of freckles, floppy straw sunhat, and fresh-faced beauty were exactly Elain's type.

There was some sort of audio player embedded on the page. Odd. Elain hadn't seen that before, but perhaps Briar was particularly conscious about making her profile accessible to the visually impaired.

She looked a question at Lucien, who just gave another one of those elegant shrugs she was beginning to suspect were his calling card.

Elain hit play. And the sound of Briar, greeting visitors to her page in a voice that sounded exactly like Kermit the Frog, filled the room. Elain clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle. Her eyes slid to Lucien, silently asking him if he was hearing this, too.

He somehow managed to keep a straight face until Briar began to sing, and his shoulders shook with laughter as she painfully warbled her way through "One More Sleep 'til Christmas." Elain couldn't hit pause fast enough.

"I know the conventional wisdom is that you'll have to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince, but…" Lucien said, trailing off as Elain's giggle grew in to out-and-out laughter.

The fist that seemed to always be clenched around her chest these days loosened just a bit. If Elain wasn't mistaken, she was having…fun. Since Greysen, she'd felt that way so rarely that she'd almost forgotten what it was like.

After a few more quick swipes left, Elain finally paused on the profile of a man who had the kindest blue eyes she'd ever seen. Tarquin Sommers was an oceanographer who spent his free time attending beach cleanups and teaching children to surf.

And it certainly helped that he had a gorgeous, muscular swimmer's body, too.

Elain's finger hovered over the screen, and Lucien noticed, his mechanical eye seeming to whirr with excitement. "Tarquin is a sea witch," he said gently, "so he'll be perfectly understanding of the whole slaying demons thing, if that's your concern."

"That's good to know," Elain said. "He's— He's very pretty."

"And not on the cupids' no-fly list, either. I recommend you start with him."

Elain told herself that the knots in her stomach were just excitement and swiped right.

A few days later, Elain found herself waiting outside a coffee shop—one of the cute local ones that advertised fair trade beans and used biodegradable cups. She was so out of practice that Feyre did her makeup, and her lavender romper had needed several rounds of Nesta's wrinkle-removal spell after being relegated to a heap at the back of her closet for so long.

But Elain made it. She was going to do this.

Lucien was already inside, sipping a dirty chai while pretending to read a book but really keeping an eye on her through the window. He'd offered to keep his distance and give them some privacy, but there was something about his presence that Elain found incredibly reassuring. She'd asked him to stay.

And honestly, he was probably the only reason she hadn't panicked and cancelled at the last minute.

Tarquin greeted her with an easy smile. He'd swapped out the board shorts in his picture for jeans that hugged his ass and a crisp white t-shirt that matched his hair and made his dark skin glow. Elain let him lead her inside.

They ordered their drinks, and somehow, the world didn't end as they made conversation. Elain had been good at this kind of thing, once. Before her life had been demonic crisis after crisis, she'd hosted parties and loved flirting and getting to know new people.

But now, she hardly spent any time with anyone who wasn't Feyre, Nesta, Rhys, or Cassian. She loved her family, but…she'd shut herself away.

It helped that Tarquin seemed like the sort of person who was easy to love. Barely a few minutes into their date, they'd already found common ground in a shared interest in aquatic plants.

In fact, Elain was so interested in coastal seagrass that she excitedly gestured with her cup. The lid went flying, and suddenly Tarquin's white shirt had a bright green matcha stain that extended all the way from his collar to his hem.

Elain wanted to disappear on the spot. She should have just accepted that she couldn't date without mucking everything up, and it was better to cut this short while the mess was still small enough that it could be taken care of with bleach instead of a vanquishing spell so complex it drained all of her power for weeks afterward. She'd been so monumentally stupid for—

Lucien caught her eye from across the café. "Elain," he said gently, but still loud enough that his voice carried to her. "It's quite alright."

Something inside her settled. She managed a weak smile in his direction. Lucien grinned back, snapped his fingers, and then Elain found herself in the same spot she'd been thirty seconds prior.

Their drinks weren't finished yet. Tarquin's shirt was still perfectly clean.

Lucien had turned back time to fix her date.

Elain repeated what she'd already said about seagrass meadows, and Tarquin didn't seem to notice anything was amiss. This time, she was careful not to spill her drink as they talked.

The whole thing was…nice. Tarquin's stories about swimming with dolphins back home in Adriata were charming, and he listened with intent, genuine interest as Elain explained how the ratio of white to brown sugar in a cookie recipe affected the texture of the final product. And he was even better-looking in person.

But still, a spark was missing. When it was time to leave, Elain turned her head at the last moment so that the goodbye kiss intended for her lips landed on her cheek instead.

Lucien was already in the living room of the Archeron manor when Elain winnowed home that evening—somehow, he'd secured a dinner invite from Nesta. He was lounging on their sofa, looking strangely at home as he fixed the fletching on one of Feyre's arrows. His auburn hair looked molten in the golden hour light streaming in from the windows.

"Well?" he said, looking up as she walked in.

"It was good," Elain said.

Lucien turned to face her fully, placing his feet flat on the floor and his hands on his knees. He tilted his head, and the glint of metal in his golden eye looked strangely predatory. "Just good?"

A pleasant shiver skittered its way down Elain's spine. "Yes."

"We should be doing a hell of a lot better than 'just good.'"

He stood, tapping the arrow on his palm as he approached her. His gaze traveled slowly down her body, and Elain's throat bobbed. Lucien came closer and closer, until she could feel heat radiating off of him.

A spark had been missing with Tarquin earlier, but Lucien was a gods-damned inferno of a cupid.

"Should we?" Elain breathed.

"I'm not giving up until you've been thoroughly swept off your feet. You deserve nothing less. But I think you're blocked, and it's time to try a different approach."

Before she could ask what that meant, Feyre called them into the kitchen for dinner.

[kazzys]

House husband vash x reader

{Pairing} vash the stampede x reader 

{Author’s note} You work while Vash stays at home. He likes it better, and it keeps him out of trouble. This is a fluff fic for now, I might add more, I don’t know yet..

[message] I've been gone for so long because I've lost motivation, and every time I try to create something, I think it's bad, and I just drop it completely. But I actually got the courage to finish this, and I got it done, and I'm so happy to share. So hopefully some enjoy :)

This song was one of my main things I listened to while writing this so I decided to share

You were exhausted, and I mean extremely exhausted. Being a whole business owner is hard, and it makes it even harder when your employees call in on such short notice, so for 15 hours, you’ve been at work doing all kinds of things. I mean, you could have left work early, but who knows what the hell those people would’ve done to your establishment?

You were so happy to finally make it home, taking off your shoes as you made your way to the front door, fidgeting for your keys, you couldn’t seem to find them, but no need to search anymore, as the door creaked open slowly, showing a tall figure behind it.

“Welcome home, honey,” Vash greeted you with a smile. “I'm so happy you're finally home. Come in, you must be tired.”

Your husband's sweet voice made your heart flutter, and you dropped everything in your hands to jump into his arms, eager for a hug.Oh, how much you missed your husband.

Lifting your head, chin resting on his chest, gazed up at him, admiring his beautiful blue eyes. Looking down at you before he pressed a kiss on your head.

I’ve missed you so much, Vash. It was horrible. There was a rush non-stop yesterday and the morning after it. Also, because someone called in at the last minute, I had to do extra work because everyone else was busy.. You rambled as tears formed in your eyes

“Ok, ok, calm down, honey, we can talk about it inside, you just need to sit down. Vash had prepared dinner and cleaned the house while you were gone. Thanks to the cooking lessons you gave him, he didn’t almost burn the kitchen down this time. You were surprised it smelled good. You were proud of his accomplishment.

“You cooked dinner?” “Yeah, I thought it would be nice since you probably didn’t want to after work, plus I think I did a pretty good job thanks to your teachings.” Your husband truly is an amazing man, y/n, you should be very proud!!

Don’t worry, silly, I am proud of you. Now I'm gonna go take a bath. I smell bad, feel free to start without me if you want. Or wait, your choice, I won’t take long.

While you were in the bath, Vash did more work around the house, finishing up the laundry he left out and a fresh batch from the line. Making sure everything was nice and neat to your liking, he was pretty happy with his work

Hearing the door unlatch as you step outside the bathroom with damp hair and a towel around you. Your body now relaxed, you went to the closet and picked out something comfortable. You wanted nothing but a lazy night with your husband

Stepping back into the dining room again watching vash set the table for you to, you were excited to try his cooking and maybe a bit curious if it was good or not but you didn’t care, the only thing on your mind was how sweet he was to you every day you adored this man every passing day you’d fall in love with him all over again.

All right, time to dig in! I hope it's good Vash said while setting your plate in front of you, grabbing your silverware, and digging in without a second thought. You took a bite, freezing and going silent, he watched in worry about what you were gonna say, and it. Your eyes lit up in awe, “WOW vash this is good, you did amazingly.” his first dish that turned out well, he was so happy..

“AW, thank you, my love, I'm so happy you like it. I'll have to learn more just so I can feed you whenever you want. I’d love that very much. If you like, I could pick up some cookbooks for you someday, or maybe even find my mom's old one, which should be able to help you if I'm not here to help with the cooking.

You both ranted about how you two spent the days separately, while having your delicious meal together; Your week wasn't that exciting, you were up to the neck with work as you were accompanying as the boss. On the other hand, Vash wasn't much engrossed in work. He did random jobs around where you two lived from time to time, but mostly spent his days doing things to upgrade the house. Also helping with fixing the plants in other towns, he wasn’t that busy, but he kept himself occupied.

When you finished your dinner, he insisted on not letting you move a thing, he told you to just wash your hands and rest, he'd take care of everything. While you relaxed somewhere, you’d decide you wanted to watch a movie with him that night. Yeah, it wasn’t much, but you liked the simple things. Of course, Vash was excited to do anything with you, no matter what it was

Entering the living room, Vash came in with a big blanket to get you guys more comfortable for your night. As soon as he sat down, you snuggled up to his chest once he was seated, and started the movie It was nice to be in his embrace. The way Vash smelt was so comforting, you feel safe in his arms, you couldn’t explain how much you love him

“So I was wondering since you have the next day off, how about we have a day to ourselves doing all types of things we like to do together?. I'd love that, Vash, I’ll look forward to it.” “That’s great! Now let’s finish our movie, and I’ll get you to bed..

Vash carried you to the bedroom, planting kisses all over your face, giggling at how gentle he was. Once you made it to your room, before heading to bed, you both brushed your teeth. The time was now 1 am. You were shocked at how late it was. Eager to get into bed fast, you finished up and practically jumped into your spot on the bed like you hadn't seen this thing in years. The comfort could bring you to tears, but that would be over dramatic. Vash joined right after he was done tidying up.

You two settled into bed, making yourself comfortable whispering about plans for the following day. Hey Vash, how about I join you on your errands in the morning? Do you have anything planned? Well, I was planning to go visit Meryl, then do some shopping, and maybe chat with the townsfolk like I always do when shopping. I think they'd like to see you again; most of them haven't seen you in a while, since you work so hard. “Guess that's first on our to-do list, then we both have to get a good night's sleep.” “We've both been working hard today. I'm grateful for everything you do for me.” Snuggling with your husband is the best part after a long day. Living like this with him forever will be great.

The end :3 I had so much fun writing this, and I think it turned out so much better than I thought. I love it so much. Can't say for other people, though, well, hopefully at least one other person likes it

If there are any grammer errors pls let me know down and the comments :D

©️ please do not copy my work or take it and edit it in anyway ,and do not include it for the use of artificial intelligence.