#may this silly little doodle bring you a laugh today

[tiny-breadcrumbs]

Must not be late to shan gudao funeral

[sweetlyvibe]

𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗬𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗨𝗖𝗛𝗜 𝗧𝗔𝗗𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗜 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗦

◞ ★ ﹒ Yamaguchi is naturally supportive, always cheering you on in whatever you do. He’s the type to send you motivational texts before an important event or exam, reminding you that you can do it.

• He enjoys doing little things to show he cares, like bringing your favorite snacks or leaving sweet notes for you to find. His thoughtfulness shines through in his actions, making you feel cherished and appreciated.

◞ ★ ﹒ While he may be shy at first, he eventually opens up about his feelings. Once he feels comfortable, he’ll express his affection more openly, telling you how much you mean to him and making you blush with his compliments.

• Yamaguchi loves trying new things, whether it’s exploring new cafes or participating in fun activities together. He’s always up for an adventure, encouraging you to step out of your comfort zone with him.

◞ ★ ﹒ He can be a bit protective of you, especially if he sees you being treated poorly or if you’re upset. He’ll stand up for you, and while he might be nervous about confrontation, he’ll do his best to support you.

• Yamaguchi enjoys learning new things, and he would love to share that with you. Whether it’s helping you study or trying out a new hobby, he’s excited to explore together and support your interests.

◞ ★ ﹒ He’s very understanding of your feelings and will always listen to you. If you’re having a rough day, he’ll give you the space you need, but he’ll also be there to comfort you when you’re ready.

• As your relationship progresses, you’ll notice Yamaguchi’s confidence growing. With your encouragement, he learns to embrace his strengths and becomes more self-assured, both in his volleyball skills and in expressing his feelings for you.

◞ ★ ﹒ Yamaguchi is easily flustered when giving you compliments. He’ll mumble something sweet like, “You look really nice today,” but will quickly look away, his cheeks turning bright red as he fidgets with his hands.

• He loves holding your hand, but he’s incredibly shy about it. The first time he does, he might be so nervous that he accidentally grips your hand too tightly, and then he quickly apologizes, stammering about how he didn’t mean to scare you.

◞ ★ ﹒ When he finally gathers the courage to confess his feelings, it’s a complete mess. He might trip over his words and start with, “Uh, I really like you, like, a lot!” before breaking into a nervous laugh, his face beet-red, completely unsure if you’ll take him seriously.

• When you’re together in a quiet setting, he often forgets to whisper and accidentally says something loud, like “You’re so cute!” This makes him blush furiously, and he’ll try to hide his face in his hands while laughing at himself.

◞ ★ ﹒ During a movie night at home, he gets nervous and starts talking a mile a minute about the plot, trying to make it sound interesting, even though you’re already hooked. When you laugh and say you love hearing him talk, he calms down and snuggles closer, feeling grateful.

• Yamaguchi loves writing little notes for you but is too shy to give them directly. Instead, he leaves them in your locker or bag. Each note has a silly doodle along with a heartfelt message like, “You make me smile!” or “I hope you have a great day!”

◞ ★ ﹒ If you two are listening to music together, he might sing along quietly. When you catch him and compliment his voice, he turns beet red and stammers, “I wasn’t singing for you!” but he can’t hide his smile, knowing you heard him.

• One day, he opens up about his insecurities and how he feels like he doesn’t deserve you. He’s shy but sincere, and it’s a vulnerable moment. You reassure him with gentle words, reminding him how special he is to you, leaving him feeling cherished.

◞ ★ ﹒ When you cuddle on the couch, he might get nervous and freeze for a moment, unsure of what to do. After a few seconds, he relaxes and puts his arm around you, murmuring, “This is nice.” His shy smile says it all, making your heart flutter.

• On a clear night, he invites you to stargaze. As you lay together, he nervously points out constellations, trying to impress you. When you lean your head on his shoulder and say it’s perfect, he smiles, feeling a rush of warmth at how lovely this moment is.

◞ ★ ﹒ Yamaguchi decides to write you a heartfelt letter instead of saying it face-to-face. He nervously hands it to you, and when you read it, you find his genuine feelings laid bare. It’s sweet, emotional, and slightly silly, with doodles all over it.

. 🏐 〃 ⋯ TAGGING : : @0samuslove @yoghurtsan @lxdymoon0357 @achy-boo

[normal-internet-user]

Howdy hey!!! :D

How are you doing today? I hope you’re doing fantastic ^^

May I perhaps request a silly lil Donnie x reader onshot? Anything fluffy!! Perhaps touch starved reader not knowing how to properly ask Donnie for hugs because of how hesitant he is with physical touch? Or, you could do anything!! I’m happy with everything you write <333

Thank you kindly for your time! Can’t wait to doodle something for you :3c 🔆💛🍋💫

OF COURSE! I can't wait to publish this for you! <33

DARLING DEAREST

♡~~♡~~♡~~♡~~♡

Summary: You want nothing more than to hold your lover, but you don't want to make him uncomfortable. All it takes is a little communication!<3

Warnings: Nope! Just fluffy fluff!

Requested: mhm! By the wonderful @sweaterrat !

No pronouns mentioned!

....................................

Gosh you just wanted to hold him.

You were currently sat across from Donnie as he rambled on about his current project. You hardly understood a word he was saying but he was speaking so excitedly you couldn't help but smile.

You was so cute all you wanted to hug him or hold his hand or- Gah just something!

But you didn't know how to ask if that was ok. What if you tried to initiate something and you made him uncomfortable?

That would make you feel so terrible. So you sat silently, hoping your self frustration was noticable.

But of course, Donnie was able to tell something was off as perceptive as he was.

"Is something wrong, Dove?" He asked, cutting his ranting short, "You look upset."

You shake your head, smiling softly, "No it's nothing just-" you hesitate for a minute, "It's nothing. Now what were you saying about the program?"

Donnie shook his head, rolling his chair away from his desk so he was infront of you, "Something's wrong. I know I'm not the best with feelings, but I read that communication is a key point in a relationship. So what's wrong?"

You sigh, fiddling with your fingers, "It's just- Gosh I don't know how to say this without being awkward-" You groaned, burying your face in your hands.

Donnie slowly took your hands and pulled them away from your face, and you blushed when he didn't let go.

"Then be awkward." He muttered, "I want to hear what you have to say."

"Well... It's kinda stupid-" you say, blushing brightly, then quietly mutter, "Can.. I have a hug?"

Donnie sat there for a moment, as though he was processing your words, then a small smile broke out on his face, and he giggled slightly.

You whined, and blushed harder, "Stop laughing at me you big jerk!"

Donnie shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. I'm not laughing at you, but that's what you were so nervous to bring up? You wanting a hug?"

"Well, I know you aren't the most comfortable with physical affection, and I didn't really know how to bring it up." you said, fiddling with your fingers, "I didn't wanna make you uncomfortable."

Donnie eyes grow softer, and he smiles, "Darling dearest, I believe we're both at fault here. A lack of proper communication if you will. I don't mind your affection, on the contrary, I like it actually." He blushed slightly as he said this, then continued, "I suppose, like you, I just didn't know how to bring it up."

"That being said, come here!" Donnie pulled you into his lap, and the blush on your cheeks was red to rival all other shades of red. You buried your head in Donnie's shoulder, giggling, and Donnie was thankful you couldn't see his flushed face.

He was flustered by his own forwardness, but he couldn't help but melt into your warmth.

"We should do this more often." Donnie muttered, "You're warm."

"Agreed." You said, grinning, "Wanna take a nap?"

Donnie hummed, and he stood, his arms wrapped around your thighs to hold in place against him while he moved the two of you too his room, where you proceeded to have the best nap of your life...

..................................

Just figured I'd post this before I dissappeared off the face of this website for another week, lol- I hope you enjoy my friend, and I'm sorry I took so long! <3

[hiraeth-witch-11]

Magnolia Jasmine Part 2

Part 2: His Very Own MJ

Warnings: canon typical stuff, nothing really

Word Count: 1300ish

In the days that followed the wasp men’s attack, the media has gone crazy over the appearance of a new vigilante. Not that you have any intention of returning back to the hero scene, no this had been a one off. No one else knew that, though. They all assumed you’d be back after your heroic debut. Names were being flung around as different outlets scrambled to be the one who coined your official name. Some of them were quite silly like ‘The Wasp Whisperer’ and ‘Mother Earth’. Others you could admit had a nice ring to them. ‘Briar’ was fun, even if it was a bit of an insult in some places. ‘Queen Bee’ was cute. ‘Meadow’ was one of your favorites. You diligently avoid anything comparing you to your mother’s alter ego. The media is clueless to your heritage, but it’s an obvious connection to draw between 2 plant controlling women.

Business booms as children request flowers to be put in their hair, couples are reminded that it’s been a while since they got their S/O a bouquet, and displays are made by businesses to take advantage of the flower hero and their 15 minutes of fame. You exercise caution with your powers over the next week or two, aware of the potential for scrutiny.

You are closing up one evening as the rain is finally starting to let up, when a boyishly handsome man with a mop of brown hair comes jogging up to your door, just as you are about to turn the sign. 

“Sorry, I know you’re ‘bout to close. Do you think I could grab a bouquet real quick before you close? I promised my aunt I would bring her some flowers for dinner tonight, but then I got caught up in the rain and I’m already running super late,” he pleads.

You smile as he rambles, it’s not like you have anything better to do with your evening. A few extra minutes don’t bother you.. “Sure, come on in.” You hold the door open for him and watch him track wet, dirty footprints through the front of the store.

I really need a better door mat, you think to yourself.

“Thank you, you’re a lifesaver. I’m Peter, by the way,” he says as he grabs a small bouquet from the shelf and takes it to the register.

“I’m Maggy,” you offer though it may be obvious with the sign out front. You ring him up, carefully wrapping up the flowers and putting a loose bag over the tops in case it starts raining again.

“Well, Maggy. It was great to meet you. I totally owe you one.” Peter sticks some change in your tip jar and makes his way back to the door, noticing the footprints he tracked in.

“Oh jeez, I am so sorry. Let me clean this up.”

“It’s okay, you’re late to dinner. Go, I don’t mind,” you say honestly.

“If I wasn’t running so late I would stay and clean it. I’m so sorry, my aunt raised me better than this. You sure you don’t mind?”

“I really don’t. Go, enjoy the flowers.” You smile reassuringly as he gives you an apologetic look, dashing out the door and down the street.

You grab the mop and laugh a little. You try not to hope that you’ll see him again. It was a big city, you could go the rest of your lives without your paths ever crossing again. But you know what they say: it might be a big city, but it’s a small world.

*********

A week or so passes before you see Peter again. It’s sometime in the afternoon and you’re doodling little flowers on receipt paper as you wait for another customer. It’s warm today, even in the shop and your red hair is pulled up off your neck with a claw clip. Your legs swing freely as you perch on the stool behind your counter. 

His hair is dry this time, though a bit messy, and in the sunlight, you can see how beautiful his chocolate brown eyes are. You can also see the gnarly shiner he has on his left eye. At the sight of him, you almost fall off your stool.

“Peter, what happened?” You blurt out in concern before you realize it would probably be more polite to ignore it.

“Oh, it’s fine, I just got mugged.” He says this all with a smile on his face, speeding past the whole ‘ and adding, “Anyways, I felt really bad about the other night and I wanted to come and apologize. I also feel like an idiot ‘cause I didn’t make the connection of your name and the shop.”

“It really is okay, Peter. I didn’t have anywhere else to be, I really didn’t mind. And yeah, Magnolia is a mouthful, it’s cool for a flower shop name, but I prefer Maggy or MJ.”

Peter looks at you with a mixture of surprise and awe. “MJ?”

“Yeah, my parents named me Magnolia Jasmine. You can’t even imagine how hard that is to get little kids to say. I went by MJ ‘til college.”

“Do you wanna get some coffee with me? I mean, obviously not now, I can see you’re busy, but some other time?” He’s all giddy energy, rocking back and forth on his heels, looking at you like you’re the moon and the stars. 

“I don’t even know you, Peter…?”

“Parker, Peter Parker. And isn’t that the point of a date, to get to know each other better?” He asks with a grin.

You aren’t necessarily opposed to it, you can’t deny the connection you feel, but you aren’t going to be stupid. Safe dating practices was something your dad has hammered into your brain since you were 13.

“Tell you what, I’ll think about it, and in the meantime,” you scribble your name and number on the receipt paper that is covered in various drawings of flowers, “here’s my number, Peter Parker.”

Peter takes the paper with a grin, glancing at it before pulling out his phone, an older model with an extremely cracked screen, and adding you to his contacts. Your phone vibrates in your back pocket and you check it in time to see a message from a new number that says ‘it’s peter parker :)’. 

“I gotta go to work, but I’ll text you later.” Peter ducks out the door. “Bye, MJ!”

*******

Peter hasn’t been able to get you off his mind since that first night when he tracked dirt through your store. You were absolutely beautiful with your red hair hanging loosely and your bright, hazel eyes. You had been wearing jeans and a gray t-shirt with some floral pun on it and he swore you were the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, dirt smudge on your cheek and all. He had made a note to visit you again as soon as he could.

Today, he had rushed to your store on his break. You’d been focused on your doodling when you looked up. He completely forgot that he was still healing a black eye, he should’ve waited another day. 

Peter had been completely flabbergasted when you said your name was MJ. Ever since he got back from his multiversal adventure, he’s been keeping an eye out for his very own MJ. It’s not like he had been searching for you actively, there are far too many MJs in the world for that to make sense. But the moment you told him, he just knew that you were the MJ meant to be in his life.

Before meeting his pseudo-brothers, Peter would have struggled to come to terms with any sort of new relationship. The most he was comfortable with was casual flings and friends held at arm’s length. But when he caught Peter 1’s MJ, it was like he could finally forgive himself for what happened with Gwen. He’s been doing better, been lighter, something May had commented on. Peter is ready to at least get to know you. He’ll do better this time around. He will keep the lives of Peter Parker and Spider-Man separate. He’ll make sure you don’t get hurt. He can keep you safe if it comes to it. He’s certain of it.

*******

Let me know if you want to be added to or taken off a tag list! Feedback is the spice of life, any and all thoughts are welcome.

Series Taglist: sunflowers-4, dark-night-sky-99

Peter Parker Taglist:

Everything Taglist: @kayhi808

[inniedream]

an ordinary birthday — lee minho

a/n: a little late and sort of rushed but T—T happy birthday to our sparkly dancing gem!

you are convinced the world is against you, because the one day that was your boyfriend’s birthday, the world decided that it should rain. a lot.

despite all the “seriously why did it decide to rain today of all days it was literally sunny all week” thoughts that were going through your mind, you still waited patiently drenched in water from the rain at the cake shop that you ordered his “special birthday cake” at. why was it special you may ask?

because you got a cake with one of his famous doodles printed on it. was it sort of embarrassing to explain to the employees? yes. but was it going to be worth it? absolutely yes.

and so you waited, staring at your phone impatiently as you watched the minutes pass by, and just as you’re about to text your boyfriend out of boredom, he texts before you even get to type your message out.

cat dad

ajdnnfidjejekdjfiekendkdkslnekd

you

everything ok there buddy?

cat dad

NO but YES but actually NO

too excited

to celebrate birthday with u

want to go home

NOOOOOOOOOOW

you chuckle as his silly texts. you’re about to reply until you hear the worker call for you with a polite smile “hello! excuse me! your cake is ready”

you quickly go over to grab the cake box and briefly thank the employee before sending a quick text back to your boyfriend

you

take your time! i will be waiting for you at home

———

and so here you are.

hours later.

at your shared apartment, waiting patiently for his return.

and not to brag but, you kind of feel like you outdid yourself with this whole small cozy birthday event.

cake on table? check.

cute plates and cups? check.

happy cats with their own small bowls of food? check.

party hats? oh you already know it baby! check!

the perfect birthday for your perfect boyfriend. you smile proudly at your decorated table and the small box next to the cake.

just as you’re about to leave for a second to get yourself a glass of water, your door opens with a small click sound. and there comes in, a tired smiley minho, whom was trying to get his black umbrella under control. “hey. i’m home”

you burst into a huge grin, quickly grab a party hat on the table and run towards him. 3 cats following behind you, also feeling as enthusiastic.

“happy birthday to you~ happy birthday to you~ happy birthday dear grandpa~” you sing happily as you put on the party hat for him “happy birthday to~ you!”

his laugh fills the room, and despite the rainy and cold weather, you felt warm and safe. especially now that he was there with you.

you grab his hand and excitedly bring him over to the table you’ve prepared. “tadaaah! what do you think?” you ask him with a shy grin.

he gasps when he noticed his drawing on the cake and starts laughing loudly

“NO WAY. IS THAT. MY DRAWING? HOW” his contagious laugh catches up to you and you’re both dying of laughing, too out of breath to even answer his question

after a few minutes he calms down and looks at you sincerely, his eyes sparkling. “wow... i don’t even know what to say. thank you so much”

although he isn’t saying much, you can feel the sincerity and love from his words, making your heart giddy and giving you a reminder on why you love this man so much. “wait! um. i want to show you your present too...!” you exclaim, with a hint of nervousness, in which he noticed but doesn’t comment on it, and instead smiles at you lovingly.

you bring over the small box, and he takes it into his hands, openenning it carefully and slowly. his eyes widen once again, looking back at the necklace inside and back at you.

“y/n...” he says slowly, but you cut him off nervously with a light chuckle before he can begin “i know it’s not much but i couldn’t resist. i thought it was the perfect gift for you. i mean, you love tiny and shiny things don’t you?” you say happily, with teasing tone at the end.

he stares at you with the same loving and sparkly eyes he gave you earlier. he looks down once again at the necklace you have given him and wow, it was perfect indeed. it was a small simple silver necklace, but it had three cats dangling from it, each one with a small precious gems inside, each cat representing one of his beloved cats.

“this... this is perfect... i don’t even know what to say. i really wasn’t expecting this. how did you even find this? it must’ve cost a ton. i-“ he starts rambling and you laugh at his antics. his eyes meet yours once again and you see the endless sparkles. seriously minho, are your eyes made out of stars?

you carefully grab his shoulders and lean in for a quick but sweet kiss. “you don’t have to say anything. as long as you’re happy that’s enough”

he smiles back at you with a lovestruck expression. “thank you... seriously... i love you”

you pause for a moment, a little surprised. it’s not as if you’re not used to him expressing his love for you, he does that whenever he gets the chance. it’s the fact that every word he says have such a caring and sincere tone to it. the kind that no matter how many times he says the same cheesy 3 words to you, you still feel the same giddiness as if it was the first time he has ever said it to you. you smile back, ten times brighter this time, and unbeknownst to you, with the same sparkles in your eyes that mirror his perfectly. “i love you too. now let’s eat the cake, shall we?”

[maria-chwan]

Doodler (Sanji x reader)

It was another nice day on Thousand Sunny and almost everyone was out on the deck. You were inside, doodling in your notebook in the dining room. Usopp had left ages ago, after you two had chatted together for a moment with a cup of tea. When you had got a moment alone with your thoughts, you had pulled out a notebook and started drawing random things mindlessly.

After a while Luffy, Usopp and Chopper barged in the dining room, startling you. They spotted you and rushed over.

"Hello (Y/N)! We were looking for you!" Luffy greeted you loudly. "Why aren't you outside like everyone else?"

"Oh, are you drawing? I draw sometimes as a hobby!" Usopp exclaimed, leaning over the table to look at your notebook.

"Why are you drawing?" Chopper asked curiously, trying to see what Usopp was looking at.

"I like to draw. Humans, animals, places... They are fun to draw", you answered with a relaxed smile.

Usopp seemed to like your work, giving your notebook to Luffy. Luffy let out a shocked 'woah'. You were happy that you doodled today, because the drawings turned out nice and you got to show them to your friends.

"What did you draw?" Chopper asked, having not yet seen the notebook.

"A couple of animals, some cool places and a few faces", you told them.

Usopp gave the notebook finally to Chopper, who let out a happy shout. Chopper seemed to like the animals you had doodled the most.

"These drawings look nice! I like your art, (Y/N)!" Luffy said.

"Thanks, Luffy", you said and took the notebook back.

"You should draw us next! Can you draw everyone in the crew?" Chopper asked.

You said yes, because you had been doodling your crewmates already before today. It was always fun to try to draw your friends. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper left just as quickly as they had arrived, leaving you to focus on doodling.

Sanji had been choosing a cider from the fridge. Stopping to glance at you from the kitchen, Sanji witnessed how your body was hunched over the paper. Listening to the sound of your pencil scraping the paper, Sanji smiled to himself and turned his back to you, continuing to prepare a nice afternoon snack for everyone.

Luffy, Usopp and Chopper brought everyone else in the dining room about an hour later. Some crewmembers were hard to draw and you didn't manage to draw very accurate drawings of them, but you figured out that you could laugh together about it with them and have fun looking at your drawings.

"It's time for an afternoon snack! Drinks for everyone!" Sanji exclaimed, bringing out a tray of glasses that were filled with cider or juice.

"Thanks, Sanji!" everyone thanked the cook and gathered around your drawings.

"You drew my lips too thick, (Y/N)!" Usopp complained right away. You were close with Usopp, so you didn't take it his complaint too seriously.

"Oh, shut it! Your face is hard to draw!" you exclaimed loudly and laughed when Usopp attacked you.

"I'm wearing a strawhat!" Luffy shouted, smiling widely. "I look cool!"

"Chopper's face is more like a bunch of shapes and lines", Frankyn pointed out.

"Why did you have to draw me like that, (Y/N)?!" Chopper cried.

"I'm sorry!" you apologized and smiled. "I was drawing from the memory, so some of the drawings may not be accurate."

"Brook looks weird", Zoro noticed.

"Yohohohohooo! It's true, my actual teeth look very different from the drawing!" Brook laughed.

"I look pretty cool", Jinbei said, sounding pleasantly surprised. "Thank you, (Y/N)."

"Don't mention it", you told him, feeling proud when Jinbei's drawing turned out accurate.

"Nami, Robin and Luffy look close to what they actually look like", Franky said. "I can't say the same about me, Chopper and Brook."

"I'm sorry", you said. "Maybe I can draw humans the best since I am a human myself."

"You have to pay closer attention next time you are drawing my hair", Nami said. "But look at who you made the most detailed drawing of!"

It was your drawing of Sanji. You had remembered his eyebrows, his hair, the way his eyes were a little droopy, his nose, his smile and his stubble, not to mention all the other little details.

Sanji came back from the kitchen, where he had taken the empty tray. He went to look at your drawings, looking excited.

Sanji's face darkened with annoyance when he noticed the drawing you had made of Zoro (even though Zoro looked pretty silly in the drawing). When Sanji saw the drawing you had made of him, his face went through the stages of surprise, happiness and finally victorious feeling in a couple of seconds.

His reaction made you relax. You were celebrating inside your head, drinking in the sight of his pleased face. It was more than a victory of Zoro, you had made Sanji feel special.

"You remembered his stubble, his eyes... everything about Sanji's face!" Usopp said.

"Why did you remember how Sanji looked like so well?" Chopper asked.

"Because he is handsome!" you said without hesitating.

Usopp could't believe you had said it so boldly. Chopper was surprised by your answer as well. You could feel Sanji staring at your face. You couldn't stop a giddy grin spreading out across your face.

"I'm handsome too", Zoro butted in. You could feel the provoked competion spirit rolling off him.

"Not as handsome as Sanji", you told him straight. Somebody gasped. Zoro stared at you, surprised in front of your bold attitude.

You had never seen Sanji beaming so much. Of course you had made yourself sound dramatic, because you wanted to look good in front of him.

"That's right, marimo!" Sanji shouted, jumping in front of Zoro. "I'm the most handsome, not you!"

A fight between Zoro and Sanji began. Nami told them to stop and Usopp complained because they punched him accidentally in the face, but you were watching Sanji. You would make Zoro feel annoyed a hundred times for Sanji and help him win against the marimo anytime. You weren't blinded because of love yet, but a strong crush was enough to make you root for the fierce cook when it came to his forever rivalry with the swordsman.

[shiishki]

【coffee doodles】

Obi x barista!reader

genre¦type: fluff

coffee shop au

warnings: none

a/n: i wrote one coffee shop au fic, didn't like it, here's my second try. hope you enjoy <3

   Sometimes when your shifts were slow you'd make small doodles. Whether it be in a small notebook that fit perfectly into your pocket or on your arms. Those small, silly scribbles have become a part of your routine so much you sometimes drew on cups. They were mostly just meaningless cat faces and such, so you never thought much when one of the scribbled over cups got handed to a customer, even more so, it often made someone's day.

That particular Wednesday morning had been slower than usual, so you reached for a cup as you often did and doodled not really watching your hands. You hummed one of the catchy love songs under your breath, accompanied by the lofi tunes that played in the cafe and the few customers that were too busy to mind or have grown accustomed to your demeanor.

The ring of the small silver bell above the door brought you out of your partially zoned out state, bringing your attention to the customer who headed to the register you stood by. You placed your doodle cup away and smiled brightly. "Welcome to Clarines, how may I help you today?" you asked.

"I'll have a latte with a pump of caramel and extra cream," Obi said, elbow leaned against the counter.

"Of course," you offered an another smile as you gave the price while you prepared the drink with trained motions.

"Thank you and hope to see you again, have a nice day!" your gaze followed him as he waved with one hand when walking out.

You leaned with your back against the side counter where the machines were placed and reached for your cup. Your hand patted the board here and there before you turned around to see if you perhaps dropped it. The cup was nowhere to be found, so you guessed you must have used it for that pretty customer, which you didn't mind whatsoever.

Obi took in all the little doodles you've drawn with an amused expression on his face. He's never actually ordered at Clarines, but the cafe he usually went to was awfully busy. And yet Clarines had a nice ring to it, especially if he got his coffee made by a cute barista and in a adorably personalized cup with cat paws and muzzles.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

This time it had been a cheeky, also love song, except you not only hummed but also bounced from time to time with a new cup in hand. Once again, Obi walking in made you turn back to the register. This time you offered an even wider smile. "Nice to see you again, what will it be today?"

"Latte with a pump of caramel and extra cream," Obi said with a smile of his own.

"On it!" and again, you didn't even look at the covered with doodles cup as you prepared his drink and handed it to him.

Obi's smile as he looked at the cup faltered slightly at the thought that you probably made those cutesy doodles for most of the customers. And yet they still managed to bring a smile to his face.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

It wasn't a very fortunate day for Obi, his mood was on the down side all morning even as he was on the way to Clarines. He passed a customer at the door, so he got a glimpse of you just twirling around and doodling on a cup to the chill tune. As he got closer Obi noticed you were also humming one of those cringey songs he's heard on the radio some time ago.

For a few moments he only stood there watching with an amused grin glued to his face, trying to suppress a laugh. An another customer walked in, and Obi stepped aside smoothly, his gaze almost snapping up only to steal glances at you as you cheerfully greeted the customer while he pretended to study the menu board above.

"Hello again, do you need a minute more to decide?" you turned to him after you've handed the drink to the other person.

"I'd never expect to see a dancing barista," Obi hummed as he glanced at you start to stutter and pick at the ribbon of our apron.

"A-ahm, what coffee would you like today?" you already reached for a new cup, mostly to not look at him.

The fact that you didn't even notice him standing while you just twirled around made heat flush to your face.

Obi pondered upon your expression before deciding to tease you some more. "Anything as long as it's with those doodles of yours," he tilted his head slightly to observe you freeze for shorter than a second. You straightened your back, gaze still downcast as you cleared your throat.

"Even an Unicorn Frappuccino?" you asked, hand at your mouth to hide your smile when you finally locked eyes with him.

"Huh? That's not even on your menu, is it?" Obi glanced at the board again.

"It isn't, but I know how to make one," you said, not sure whether that's a thing to be proud of.

"Well then, looks like I'm getting a.. an Unicorn Frappuccino, along with the number of a cute barista," Obi said, a smug smirk tugging at is lips.

You blinked a few times before you almost bursted out into laughter. You managed to pull the smirk off your face. "Do you perhaps work as a barista? If so, mind giving me your number?" maybe two seconds passed of Obi just staring at you avert your gaze before you licked your lips and looked at him once again. "That was bad, wasn't it?" you asked.

"Eh, I've heard worse," Obi said, a smug look painted on his face as he leaned against the counter. "So what's with that Frappuccino?"

"On it," you whipped yourself around and began working.

Obi watched as you prepared the awfully colorful drink and added small scribbles on the cup with his chin prompted against the open palm. For a second he thought you would ignore the part of adding your number, but when you placed the finished drink in front of him there was actually a line of numbers included, followed by your name and a heart.

"Here it is," you said.

This definitely wasn't something he'd normally order, if ever, but Obi still took a sip of it, the sweet to the core flavour hitting more than he'd expect it to.

"That's… so sweet.. Is there even coffee in this?" he asked with a glance at you.

"You said anything," you recalled.

"Pfft, nah," you chuckled.

"I never thought you wanted to poison me with sugar,"

[roger1na]

careful ch4 - john deacon x reader

summary: you are a ballet student at the royal ballet academy. To pay for your tuition, you work part-time at the celebrity gossip magazine, Seven. One fateful day you’re sent to interview a band on the rise, Queen, post-concert and befriend the sweetest man on the planet.

words: 4k+

warnings: swearing (and tension ;0)

author’s note: keep forgetting to mention that this fic happens in late july 1974! there are a few inaccuracies concerning brian’s illnesses and newspaper articles but, hey, it’s a fic, right? according to googe though, norwegian wood, really does have waltz time! and it’s a hella good song. thank you for all the love <3

[ch1] [ch2] [ch3] [ch4] [ch5] [ch6] [ch7] [ch8]

chapter four

Your heart was ready to burst out of your chest as you looked in the mirror on that fateful saturday morning.

Your hair was falling around your bare shoulders. You’d gone with a bright red tank top and blue overalls that cut off mid thigh, as the meteorologist had promised a hot afternoon. Nervously you pouted at the mirror and tried to look cute, but you felt ridiculously silly.

You had called Rose on friday night in a panic.

“What the fuck do I wear? I can’t just wear my training clothes they’re ugly as shit,” you were babbling on while Rose had laughed.

“You’re so nervous, it’s adorable.”

“Rose,” you had warned.

“Listen, it’ll be alright, put on something you can move in, but not something dumpy, it’s not like you’ll be bending over backwards with a couple of beginners.”

You had sighed and nibbled on your nails, the chewing sound traveling through the phone.

“Oi, don’t bite your nails, it’s a bad habit!” Rose had scolded you. You  had stopped immediately, feeling slightly ashamed.

“See, I’ll do something like this, something embarrassing and he’ll leave me forever,” you had whined.

“If he leaves you for that, he was going to leave you anyway,” she had replied nonchalantly.

“Not helpful,” you had groaned and rubbed your forehead.

“It’ll be fine. It’ll be great.” Rose had insisted and you calmed down slightly. “Now go to sleep. You don’t want to be a raccoon tomorrow.”

“Don’t make me regret calling you, I was expecting support.” You had pretended to be offended. “You know what’s worse? I feel silly, like I shouldn’t be this excited for a date- or whatever you call this. Like I’m doing myself a disservice.”

“You don’t have to go all prude just because you love dance.”

“Hey!” You had snapped. “You love dance too, and when d’you last have a girlfriend?”

“Oi, that’s not what I mean, I mean, you can balance things. If you can do an arabesque you can metaphorically arabesque your life.”

“That’s the worst analogy I’ve ever heard.”

“Alright, alright,” there had been a lightness to her voice. “But I’m serious, stop obsessing, go to bed. It’s one of those ‘you’ll understand when you need to’ moments.”

“Bullshit but, I will go to bed, thank you, because I need the sleep, not because you told me to.”

“That’s right, sleep well.”

“Goodnight you righteous bastard.” 

Rose had been right, it was pointless to worry about the stretch of your clothes when at most you’d probably get to the fourth position. She could’ve been right about your love life too, but you were stubborn and refused her help.

You glanced in the mirror once more before grabbing your purse and keys and heading out.

The weatherman had hit the mark, sort of. The sun was shining strongly but there was a certain electricity in the air, which entailed a thunderstorm. The hairs on your arms stood on end as your converse slapped on the hot pavement.

The tube was crowded with children on their way to the park, excitedly babbling at their parents about their last daydream. Your stomach coiled with anxiety and you squeezed your purse so tightly your knuckles turned white. You were sure you looked a right sight, and suddenly felt embarrassed. The whole world was shouting around you, perhaps about you, and you wanted to sink in through the tube floor and into the tunnel. You shuddered at the thought of the cold wetness as the metro pulled into your stop.

The address John had given you by another flashy post-it delivered to an overly curious receptionist (this time with a little doodle of his face with a poor stick figure body holding what you assumed was a bass guitar. Didn’t really look like one) lead to a small, but not rundown, studio graced with the EMI Records logo on the front door.

You knocked on the glass gently, but when nobody came to open you tried the handle and found that the door was unlocked. The hallways echoed with bickering and the occasional strum of a guitar. “Hello?” You asked, your voice caught in your throat. You coughed a bit and tried again. “Excuse me?” The sound clattered off the walls, but didn’t stop the bickering.

You continued down the dimly lit corridor with black and white checkered floor tiles and flyers and posters tacked on the walls with no apparent order or reason. Occasionally, you passed a door with a blurry window and a sign saying ‘recording room’ and a number. You pressed your ear to the wall to try and locate the guitar strumming which sounded without a doubt like Brian May’s red special.

You were concentrating on the sound on the other side of a door marked ‘recording room 3’ when the door swung open and nearly hit you on the nose. You stood there, bewildered, hands clutched over your face in a feeble attempt to protect what Rose called the ‘moneymaker’, eyes locked with John’s grey ones, which were slightly widened at the sight of you.

“Careful,” he let a soft smile rise on his cheeks. “I could’ve broken your nose.”

“Is it my fault you have such an aggressive style of opening doors,” you scolded him.

“Didn’t your parents teach you not to eavesdrop?” He raised his eyebrows and you rolled your eyes but smiled at him.

“Deaky! Who’re you talking to? Is Paul back with our coffee?” A high-pitched voice you pinpointed as Roger’s rang from the room.

“Actually, it’s your dance teacher!” You called out over John’s shoulder, then shot him a glance. “Deaky?” You whispered confused.

“Don’t mind it, it’s just a nickname,” he shrugged.

“Alright,” you smiled. “I still like John, though,” you whispered, mostly to yourself, before allowing him to gently take your hand and lead you into the studio.

You felt very exposed once you’d entered the studio, swinging back and forth on your black vans. The band (minus John) was on a little stage, tending to their instruments, Freddie’s hands set on the piano keys, as if he was hesitating to play. When he saw you got up and crossed the room to you at lightspeed.

“Hello, lovely to meet again,” he flashed his famous smile that had been subject of criticism for too long in your magazine. You returned the expression and out of the corner of your eye saw Brian and Roger get up as well, but shoving each other slightly because of what you assumed was another disagreement on the band’s next album. John shot them a signature glare and they poised themselves.

“I’m not good at dancing,” Roger had a way of speaking you could only describe as a drawl. He shook your hand lightly. You felt his calloused skin scratching your palm slightly.

“Don’t worry, we won’t be doing anything too hard today, I promise,” you replied.

“Unless she’s here to make a fool out of all of us,” Freddie grinned.

“I’m nicer than that,” you said over your shoulder before turning and shaking Brian’s hand as well. He felt miles over you in height, especially combined with his hair.

“What’s with the formalities, we’ve met before, haven’t we?” Brian’s voice was warm and his eyes glimmered in the yellow studio light.

“That’s what you do, Brian, when John brings his girl over!” Roger said in the must duh voice. “We’ve got to make a good impression.” You felt redness prickle at your cheeks. His girl? What’d they think was going on? You shared a quick glance with John, who looked equally flustered.

You were still deciding whether to say something about Roger’s little quip when John opened his mouth to tell him off. “We’re here to dance, not scrutinize each other, right?” Roger stuck out his tongue and John rolled his eyes.

“Actually, we’re here to play music and Fred had a spark of ‘genius’ and now we’re here to dance.” Brian made little air quote signs around the word ‘genius’ before smiling at Freddie fondly to remind him that he was joking.

“Right, so, what’re we waiting for?” You huffed, your hands on your hips. “We need more space, you’ll need to push some things around.” When the boys stared at you incredulously for a moment you clapped your hands. “Hey, I’m a lady, I can’t do this by myself!”

John laughed and kicked Roger’s behind as he whined while they set to clearing a space in the center of the floor. “‘M not sure I like her anymore.” He said, rather loudly, but not too maliciously and you grinned at him from where you were helping Freddie shove the grand piano into the corner of the room.

A small, square, space opened in the centre of the room and all the boys rushed to fill a spot in it, each trying to ridiculously out-pose each other, raising their chins comically high and straightening their backs to the point of bending backwards. They were all excited to compete against the ‘best-ish dancer’ prize, falling over each other like little children.

“Alright, don’t worry, I’m not going to make you dance your feet off.” You giggled and helped them adjust themselves to be in the first position, narrating your adjustments. You got to John, who seemed to have figured it out by himself. No wonder, as the first position wasn’t particularly hard, but often beginners struggled maintaining their balance standing with their feet so close.

You continued, hearing the boys get increasingly more frustrated as the positions got harder. When you got to the fourth position, Roger was practically falling over and Brian was struggling with his long legs. Only Freddie and John had managed to somewhat keep their composure.

“This isn’t my favourite thing to do,” Brian mumbled courteously.

“Fuck ballet,” Roger seconded, not nearly as polite.

“Chin up boys, you can’t ever be as good as me, why complain about it?” Freddie grinned.

“How am I doing, Y/N?” John piped up softly.

“Perfect,” you grinned. “But,” you continued, “if you all hate ballet so much, we can try ballroom dancing instead, it’s a lot easier.”

The boys nodded eagerly, except John, who was stuck on the fact that this meant he might have to dance with you and he wasn’t exactly sure of what to do with that information. On one hand, he definitely wanted to lead you, but maybe not in a room with his best mates where he’d make a fool of himself with his clumsy moves. You made eye contact with him, blush on your cheeks, unsure of what he thought of your idea. His lips twitched into a small, nervous smile and you took a shaky breath.

“Right, so, pair up. Winner, best dancer, whatever,” you waved your hands around incoherently before continuing, “gets to dance with me.” The suggestion was silly, but to be fair, you were an uneven amount and you couldn’t just kick the rest of them to the curb and let John twirl you around, though that was all you really wanted.

“Oh she’s brilliant!” Freddie smiled before rushing over to John, who still had the most flabbergasted expression on his face.

“Do you have waltz music?” You peered around the studio. There was a small box of records on the edge of the stage and you rifled through it, picking up the vinyl for the Beatles’ album Rubber Soul.

“Big fan?” Freddie piped up from where he had taken John by the hands.

“Well, uhm, this was published when I was twelve so, maybe when I was a teen? Not really, but Norwegian Wood is in waltz time.” You dusted the cover and slipped out the record, putting it in the vinyl player. “I’ll show you the steps while we wait for Drive My Car to be over, and then you can lead each other to the beat of Norwegian Wood.”

Roger insisted on leading Brian despite being several inches shorter. Freddie was swishing his hair dramatically as John grabbed his waist.

“This is the worst thing you’ve ever done to me,” he muttered to you in passing as you adjusted their positions and you stifled your laughter.

Norwegian Wood began with an upbeat strumming of a guitar.

“I once had a girl

 or should I say, she once had me…”

Brian kept tripping over his feet and Roger was by far the worst dancer you’d ever seen. Freddie and John were a bit more smooth but even they had their little hiccoughs. The song ended and you lifted the needle off of the vinyl.

“You guys did so well!” You grinned.

“Don’t lie,” Roger rolled his eyes.

You burst into laughter. “Okay, fair enough, John and Freddie did really well!” Freddie looked proud and John looked embarrassed to be called on.

“So who was the best?” John asked nervously.

You smiled at him and Freddie gave him a dramatic shove forward, despite definitely knowing he was the better half. John stumbled a bit before reaching you, slightly towering over you, taking your hands into his. Freddie moved to the vinyl player to place the needle back at the beginning of Norwegian Wood. Just as the folks-y strumming of guitar began, someone, you assumed was the Paul Roger had named earlier that day. At least he was carrying a tray with four cardboard coffee cups.

You and John flew apart like scattered mice, as if somebody had walked in on something truly scandalous. You looked at the floor embarrassed as Freddie lowered the volume of the song.

“Paul!” Brian greeted and grabbed a cup that had his name scrawled on with black pen. John walked over as well and took his cup and sipped it tentatively.

Paul was a relatively tall man with shaggy, almost ginger, hair, who spoke with a subtle Irish accent. “Eh, and who’s this?” He smiled at you, but his smile was a bit forced and you were both tense with each other.

“Y/N, hi,” you held out your hand and he set the tray of cups down and shook it. His hands were slightly clammy. In the end, Paul wasn’t nasty. He was just a bit stuck up and awkward. You let it slide and gave him a warm smile. He responded with a slightly stiff one, but that was it.

“Sorry, I didn’t get you coffee, never know when Roger’s bringing a girl about.”

You went red and John scoffed. “Yeah, she’s here with me,” he took your hand, squeezing it slightly. “She’s teaching us dance, remember?”

“Sorry,” Paul didn’t even flinch and continued to serve the coffee to Roger and Freddie who had grown a bit tense. Electricity crackled in the air, like the thunder storm you had thought of this morning.

You sat down on the couch. Roger and Brian immersed themselves in more arguing, pointing to each others notes. Freddie tapped out a few absent notes on the piano. John sat next to you.

“He’s an arse, always has been, always will be.” John muttered. “Take no note of it.”

You glanced up, and looked at him for a while. The yellow lighting of the room created dancing shadows on his sculpted face and light danced in his eyes. His uneven lips twitched upward at the right corner when he noticed you staring. “What? Have I got something on me?”

You shook your head. “No.” You placed a hand on his cheek. “I was just admiring you.” The silliness of the words, the romance that you had uttered made you turn away and lower your hand in embarrassment. John was over the moon, a soft smile splitting his face.

“You’re such a dork, Y/N,” he teased you. “If only I’d have known sooner, what a softie you are.”

“Oh please,” you scoffed, turning away but occasionally looking back at him with a smirk. .

“Do you want to help with something?” He suddenly turned to you, grey eyes sparkling.

“Sure, what is it?”

He set his cup down and dragged you up by the wrists. “Hey,” you laughed. “What’s going on?” Brian glanced at you two absentmindedly, two young lovers in his mind, giggling and enjoying the world. A gentle expression crossed his face before he went back to songwriting.

“Come, I’ll show you,” John only said secretively.

He lead you out of the room, further back into the studio until you arrived at a banged up door which looked like it hadn’t been used in years. The paint was peeling and some of the letters on the door had faded off so it said ‘re o ding ro m’ with a small number six that was more of just another ‘o’ because the stem had been rubbed off.

“They closed this part of studio down because keeping six recording rooms was unreasonable.” He took out a rusty key and twisted it in the lock. “So,” he opened the door with a creak. “I stole the space.”

The room smelt of ink and electronics. “Wow,” you breathed out, in awe. Posters of bands and bassists were tacked on the room as well as pictures of his band, and an article called ‘John Deacon, shutterbug at large’ with pictures taken by him surrounding the title text. Next to the back wall was a desk with a box connected to lots of wiring on it.

“It’s great, isn’t it?” He smiled as you turned around in the room, inspecting the little details.

“It’s so cool.” You jumped around in excitement. “Does the rest of the band know about this?”

John shook his head. “They think the key to the room was lost.”

“Brilliant. And evil, John.” You teased. “What’d you need my help for?”

John flicked his right pointer finger as he realised what he’d brought you here to do, and flashed a quick smile before digging in the drawers and fishing out a boxy polaroid camera. “Will you let me take a picture of you?”

You smiled gently. “You sure? I’m not that good of a model. Or particularly pret-” John cut you off by taking your hand.

“You’re absolutely perfect.”

You hesitated before nodding. “But only if you let me take one of you as well!”

John laughed and let you take a seat and pose slightly before there was a small click and a flash before the polaroid started coming out.

The picture was black and he placed it upside down on the desk, before handing you the camera. “Alright, I have no idea how this works,” you announced, fiddling with the camera. John gave you a wide grin, showing his tooth gap, eyes wrinkling and you snapped a photo.

“We need to place it upside down, so it develops well,” he instructed and tried to take the photo.

“Oh but you promise I get this one? To take home and all?”

“Absolutely,” he assured you.

“Okay, one more, then,” you took the camera from his unsuspecting hands and turned it so you couldn’t see what picture you were taking, only knowing that John was leaning close to you, breath tingling on your cheek and looking into the black lenses.

The photo rolled out and you set it down. John was looking at you adoringly. You turned to him, hips swaying a little bit. “D’you want to finish that dance?”

John took your waist hesitantly. “That’d be nice, yeah.”

“Can you sing? Norwegian Wood?”

John thought for a bit before taking a few small waltz steps, his voice starting low and scratchy.

He lead you gently, smoothly. You glided along his arms, enjoying the warmth of his hand on your waist. And god, you loved his voice. It was deep and soft but powerful. It rumbled from his vocal chords and sent shivers down your spine.

He finished the song, slowing down the beat slightly.

“So I lit a fire

Isn’t it good, Norwegian wood?”

On the last wood of the song, he spun you around slowly, and though you knew the song was about an arsonist burning down his almost one-night-stand’s house, it did really feel as if he’d lit a fire. It burned in your chest and reddened the blush on your cheeks. It sparkled in your hands and steamed where you were skin to skin.

Time stopped. You were both still slightly swaying even though the singing had stopped. Your eyes flicked to his lips and back to look into his grey eyes. You leaned very close, you could feel his breath on your face. He smelt of earthly cologne and breath mints.

There was only a few centimetres between your lips and his when thunder rumbled throughout London and startled you so bad you ducked and fell into his arms with a shriek. You both stood in stunned silence whilst you shook in his grip.

He chuckled slightly. “Are you afraid of thunder?” You looked up, chin pressing against his chest and nodded meekly.

He stroked your hair and kissed your forehead. Fire burned where his lips touched your skin. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.” And he wrapped his arms around you tighter and rocked back and forth slightly. After a few moments had passed, he said in a low voice: “D’you want to join the others?” To which you shook your head.

“I’m fine here.” You mumbled. “Sorry, I’m a bit daft.”

You felt John’s chest shake as he barked in laughter. “You’re so silly. You don’t need to apologise for anything. I’m just as well here.”

“Thank you.” You felt bad you hadn’t kissed him. Like your chance was gone with the wind, washed down the drain with the rainwater that storms brought from the sea.

Slowly you unraveled yourself from his arms and took the photographs off the desk and smiled at the one with the both of you on it. John insisted on pinning them all on the wall, except the one of himself, which you held from his reach, reminding him that it was yours to keep.

“Like you promised!” You yelled as you let him chase you around the room a bit before he caught you from the waist and pulled you into an iron grip where you squealed with laughter, still waving the photo far from his reach. He looked ridiculously adorable in the shot, his cute smile living in the photo, hair a little messed up.

The thunder rumbled again but you didn’t hear it over your own and John’s laughter. Happiness filled your heart and love pumped through your veins.

The day passed too fast and too soon you were exchanging goodbyes at the exit of the studio. The rain was pouring outside, but the air was still hot. The other members of the band had already said their ‘byes’ and teased her endlessly but goodnaturedly about disappearing for the larger part of an hour.

“You sure you’re okay going out on your own? I can drive you again, if you want?” His voice dripped with concern and his downturned eyes seemed sad.

“John, I’m going to be fine. The cab’s waiting, and I don’t think the driver would be too fond of me just popping over saying, ‘I’ve got another ride, bye.’”

He sighed and looked at you long through those grey, piercing eyes. A clap of thunder made you jump slightly. The hairs on your arms were stood on end. You regretted wearing the tank top. John saw you shiver and shrugged of his own jacket and gave it to you. You tried to protest but he reassured you.

“You can give it back the next time we’ll see each other.”

“Next time?” You whispered.

“Yeah.”

You smiled, and on your tiptoes leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “‘Till next time, John Deacon.”

“‘Till next time, Y/N Y/L/N.”

You ran through the rain to your cab, a goofy grin plastered across your face. If the driver had asked, you could’ve talked about this day forever, but instead, you took out the picture of John, with his kind eyes and stared at it lovingly until the cab reached your home.

‘Till next time.

***

taglist: @fourmisfits @deakysgirl @im-happy-at-home @obsessedwithrogertaylor @itsametaphorbriansblog @rhapso-kei

[kitsuonyo]

This just made my day!

Here’s the 🍵 for today guys 😂 (As most of you probably don’t know so here) I am a student, and I was sitting in my last class for the day, when I look down at my desk and I see a message written on the table. It’s a bad habit but, when I’m in a Science class I draw these little pictures or random doodles on the desks, mostly because the tables there are black and the pencil shows up better? Even eraser marks make a good picture sometimes and it’s easy to see if your looking straight down at it but hard to tell by a teacher standing at the front of the room. So a few days ago I had doodled my character Fox from the anamatic I posted on the table, and next to it someone wrote this:

“I love your art! It’s such a cute style! Do you have a DeviantArt/Insta/Tumblr? :)”

Guys this made me so SO happy- it may sound silly and, you may laugh at me for it but, sometimes just the little things like compliments from strangers bring out the warm and fuzzies. I immediately wrote a response and left them a little sticky note with my character on it saying thank you. And I feel the same way whenever I hear feedback from any of you on this platform, in comments or even a like once in a while. It’s one of the most motivating things for me most days.

But anyway that’s all I have for now. I hope to work on a second animatic/animation soon for another character in the same Wolf Heart universe! Let me know what you guys think and, thanks again!❤️

[hysterialevi]

When the Devil Cries pt. 4

Author’s note: I know I’ve said this already, but thank you so much for reading this story. I wasn’t really sure how this fanfic would go at first, but you guys have been very supportive since part one, and I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy this part as well :)

From Arthur’s POV

OUTSIDE LEMOYNE NATIONAL BANK

Pacing to the other end of town, Dutch and I slithered our way through the groups of lawmen patrolling around Saint Denis as we hurried to find Hosea at the bank, keeping a low profile and eager to get back to camp.

At this point, the city was entirely awake, and all around us, we could see both men and women calling out to passersby as they advertised their merchandise, campaigns, charities, and more. It was quite the sight. Sure weren’t like anythin’ I’d ever seen.

We had already come across some rich fool by the side of the road who was hollerin’ at people to buy his book that would apparently lead folks to instant success, as well as some waste of space claimin’ that the white race was the only “correct” one, and that the blacks and Indians were nothing but animals. It was science, he said. 

Well, last time I checked, “science” was the same thing trying to turn cannons and bicycles with balloons into forms of transportation. So that didn’t exactly count for much in my book.

On a more pleasant note though, I did also see a woman standing outside City Hall advocating for women’s right to vote. It wasn’t something I could see happening anytime soon, and her ideas of a female president within the next ten years seemed a bit far off, but there weren’t no shame in searching for a better world. I only hoped she had some sort of protection out there in the open. Not everyone was taking her proposals kindly.

As for Dutch -- well, ever since the man found me about an hour ago, he had been chewing my ear off about his plan to pick Saint Denis clean of its money before packin’ our bags and heading off to Tahiti or some place. 

I wasn’t quite sure how that would work exactly, and if I was being perfectly honest, the west sounded like a much better area to lie low, but...I wasn’t really thinkin’ about any of that anyway.

The only thing on my mind at the moment...was Edward.

I couldn’t get that melody he played out of my head, and the man himself wasn’t easy to forget either. 

I didn’t know why, but somethin’ about that boy just stuck with me. His words, his personality, his music...it preoccupied me completely. It almost felt like I was still sittin’ there by his piano.

Despite my pleasant thoughts about him though, I couldn’t deny I was a bit concerned about Dutch’s plans to rob the theater. I mean, I knew there was probably hundreds of dollars sittin’ in there and Edward and I were barely acquaintances, but it still seemed...I dunno, wrong to go behind his back like that. Especially right after doing a favor for him.

But I supposed that was the life of an outlaw. I could never truly befriend honest folk, or get along with them. I could only lie to ‘em.

“Hosea, old man!” Dutch called out suddenly, bringing my attention back to reality.

Hosea was sitting on a bench not too far away from the bank with a newspaper in his hands -- more as a mask than actual reading material -- and waved at us as we approached him, keeping our voices low.

“Ah, Dutch, Arthur,” he greeted, folding the newspaper. “There you are. How did you fellas get along?”

Dutch leaned against a nearby street lamp and crossed his arms. “Arthur here thinks he might be onto somethin’ about an upcoming gala. Heard some woman in the Bastille rambling on about it...and I’ve got a few ideas of my own on that theater as well. What about you? How’s the bank looking?”

Hosea rose to his feet. “Pretty much what you’d expect. Lots of money, and even more security to protect it. It also happens to be in the middle of the city. So if we’re gonna hit it, Dutch, we’ll need every gun we have. But if we can pull it off right, I guarantee it’ll be worth it. The vault’s got thousands of bucks just waitin’ in it. Enough to get us out of here.”

The other man nodded in contemplation. “Alright, then. Well, let’s head back to camp...and I’ll tell you all about this theater once we get there. I really think this could be quite the opportunity for us, but we don’t have too long to plan for it, so we need to move fast. C’mon.”

SHADY BELLE

DUTCH’S OFFICE

“Okay, gentlemen,” Dutch said eagerly, gathering us outside his room. “I have a plan. And this is a good one.”

Hosea and I exchanged looks, feeling both a little nervous and excited at the same time as we took a seat on the ornate couch.

“Well, what’ve you got in mind?” Hosea asked.

Dutch grinned, holding a finger up. “I did some investigating, and apparently there’s gonna be a show at the Râleur in two days. Lots of tourists are gonna come pilin’ in, and all the money will be sitting right at the front door while everyone else inside is distracted by the show. It’s the perfect time for us to slip in and swipe the cash. Which means the best way for us to do this is by makin’ as little noise as possible...”

He glanced at me. “...Arthur.”

I sighed in annoyance. “...Jesus, I get it.”

Dutch let out a hearty laugh. “That is the last time I’ll mention it. I promise. Anyway, I’m thinkin’ we bring in a small group. Go in quick and quiet. We don’t wanna barge into the theater, armed to the teeth. Remember, the goal here is to cause as little alarm as we can. We’ll probably disguise some of you as employees, too -- that way, you can keep watch while the others focus on the robbing.”

Hosea nodded. “And who’s doing what?”

“Hmm. Well, we don’t want anyone too tough looking to dress as the employees,” Dutch explained. “I think I’ll get Kieran to be one of them. You too, Hosea.”

“What ‘bout me?” I questioned.

“You...are gonna be doing the robbing. My plan is for you and Mary-Beth to enter the theater together. Pretend you’re a couple out to see a show. But don’t walk up to the ticket booth until it’s empty. That way, no one will be around to see what you’re really doing.”

I raised a brow. “Me and Mary-Beth?”

Hosea chuckled. “That poor girl has her eyes on you, Arthur. Everyone in camp can see that. Least it’ll make this job easier for her.”

I shrugged. “So, what, we just walk up to the ticket booth and take the money while everyone’s watchin’ the show?”

“That’s the idea for now,” Dutch confirmed. “But I’m still working out the details. In the meantime: Hosea, you keep focusing on that bank. And Arthur, see what else you can learn about the gala -- where it’s located, how we get in...things like that.”

“On it.”  

The man smirked. “Good. Saint Denis will be our ticket outta this country, boys. I can feel it. We just need one, last score...and we’re gone for good. But it won’t help anything if you lose your faith. So stay with me. Both of you. The gang may be strong, but we’re nothing if we don’t work together.”

Hosea and I gave Dutch a firm, honest look.

“We ain’t goin’ nowhere, Dutch,” I said. “We got your back.”

Dutch began making his way out of the room, glancing at us over his shoulder before he headed out the door.

“I know.”

A FEW HOURS LATER

THAT NIGHT

Sitting on my bed, I mindlessly doodled in my journal while the rest of the gang chatted at the campfire outside, sketching the night away as I waited for another long day of work tomorrow.

Normally I drew things like horses, plants, landscapes...just stuff I came across while wandering around. But today, I found myself scratching down wobbly images of pianos, random music notes, and of course...Edward. 

By now, it was honestly frustratin’ me that I couldn’t tear my mind away from him. Why the hell was I so captivated by that man? I mean, I had met much more prominent people in the past.

I had seen people who were retired gunslingers, civil war veterans, slave catchers, dinosaur bone hunters -- hell, I’d even come across a couple who were brother and sister. 

Why was one pianist so interesting to me? Ain’t like he was the first musician I’d ever met.

I guessed...I guessed it was because he was so different from everyone else.

Most people I talked to always hid behind some kind of pretense. Acted polite and well-mannered on the outside, and danced around saying what they was really thinking...but Edward, he already seemed to know me better than I even knew myself. Within just a few minutes of talking with the boy, he had already come to the conclusion that I was a better man than I thought. 

And based on what? Ramming into him? Makin’ a mess of his notes? Covering his clothes in mud?

Mister Ryan definitely had a unique idea of “good,” that was certain. I just hoped I could live up to it.

“Um, Arthur?”

Flicking my eyes upward at the sudden intrusion, I paused mid-action when I realized Mary-Beth was standing just outside the doorway, her head poking inside with a puzzled expression as she stared at me. I put my journal down.

“Oh, Mary-Beth. Did you...need something?”

The woman walked into the room. “No. I was just...walkin’ by when I overheard you singing. I was curious, is all. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

I froze in confusion. “Singing? What you mean?”

She giggled. “You were humming, Arthur. You didn’t notice? I guess that’s good. When you hum, it means you’re in a good mood.”

I bashfully looked away from the young woman instantly, admittedly a tad embarrassed. 

When did I even start humming? Who else had heard me, if anyone? Christ, I hoped Uncle wasn’t sleepin’ on the floor downstairs again. Otherwise I’d never hear the end of this. That, and his goddamned lumbago.

“I, ah...” my voice faltered sheepishly, “...I didn’t notice. Sorry to disturb you.”

Mary-Beth waved a dismissive hand. “You weren’t disturbin’ me, you silly man. It was a pretty tune. Where’d you hear it?”

I pretended it was nothing. “Ah, just some song I must’ve heard somewhere or the other.”

She smiled in a way that said she knew I was lying, but dropped the subject anyway.

“Well, I’m just glad you’re feelin’ alright. This gang needs you to stay strong, Arthur. Dutch needs you. More than you may think.”

I stood up from the bed, placing my journal on the nightstand.

“Oh, I’m sure Dutch would manage just fine without me, but...that’s kind of you, Mary-Beth.”

She began to take her leave. “Well, I’ll leave you to it. Stay safe out there, Arthur. Things is gettin’ pretty crazy -- both inside and outside of camp -- so be careful, okay?”

I escorted Mary-Beth out into the corridor, saying a quick goodbye to her.

“Yes, ma’am.”

The woman slid a hand along the staircase’s railing, looking up at me before stepping down.

“Good. I know our situation’s been tough recently, and I can’t deny that I’m scared too...but I know you and Dutch will pull us through. You always do.”

I nodded confidently. “And we will again.”

Mary-Beth descended the stairs, leaving me alone in the hallway.

“Of that, I have no doubt,” she was quiet for a second. “Good night, Arthur. These moments of peace that bore us now, are what we’re gonna be wishin’ for in a bit. Take care of yourself. We ain’t losin’ anybody else.”

I waved her goodbye. 

“...No. We ain’t.”

THE NEXT MORNING

Waking up to the sound of Karen and Grimshaw yelling -- again -- I fluttered my eyes open to a slit, only to be blinded by a strong beam of sunlight that was seeping through the broken window.

I was facedown in my pillow, and judging by the brazen snoring I heard comin’ from downstairs, I weren’t the only one still dreaming. Despite wanting to sleep more though, I decided to head out for Saint Denis now, while the streets were still quiet.

The sun had barely warmed up the sky yet, but all this arguing and fretting at camp right now was makin’ me want to be just about anywhere else. I understood that folks were afraid, and I woulda been lyin’ if I said I wasn’t -- but there was only so much worrying one man could take.

Retrieving my hat, I strapped my belt on and threw my satchel over my shoulder, making sure everything was in place and stretching a bit before striding out of the room.

Fortunately, there weren’t really anyone awake yet to distract me or hold me back from leaving, and the weather seemed clear enough today. 

The clouds were thin and the morning sun was just beginning to float above the purple horizon, painting the world around us with a nice, red tint.

It was the perfect time to ride out.

SAINT DENIS

Urging my horse to slow down, I began trotting into the city ahead of me as I was forced to adjust to civilized life, keeping a mental note that it actually mattered what the hell you was wearin’ out here. 

Usually, I just wore a simple, loose shirt and a roughed-up pair of pants, but for the sake of blending in, I had stuffed myself into some itchy vest this morning along with a nicer set of trousers I didn’t even remember purchasing. 

For a minute I felt like a walking joke on display for everyone to laugh at, but then I remembered the people around me looked even weirder. Women with gowns wider than the streets, and men with hats that made them an entire foot taller...big cities were definitely not the place for me. I didn’t mind the money, though.

Steadily trotting through the roads, I glanced to my side when I noticed the Râleur coming up on the left, the brightly-lit building immediately catching my attention. 

It was indeed quite a view, just like Edward said. Through the tall, glass doors, I could see a luxurious chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, giving the lobby an intense, golden glow as its light reflected off the decorated walls and waxed floors. And browsing through the posters plastered outside the theater, it looked like he weren’t kidding about those fire-breathing people.

Apparently, they had some lady from Bavaria who was stronger than a bull, a duo consisting of a tiny magician and child giant, a man called Benjamin Lazarus who could escape death, and a group of dancers from France who...oh, my.

Well, I didn’t know if it was really my kind of entertainment, but I was definitely considering seeing that show with Edward in it. If the song he performed for me was anythin’ to go by, then his show would be something to remember. I just wished I had the time to stop by.

“Well, hello there, Mister ‘Not a Cowboy!”

Whipping around towards the sound of the voice, I felt a smile sneak its way onto my face when I saw none other than the pianist himself strolling up to me as if on queue...alongside another man whom I hadn’t met yet. I hopped off my mount.

“I see my terrible sarcasm rubs off on people fast,” I greeted Edward with a chuckle, closing the distance between us. “How you doing, Mister Ryan?”

The musician scoffed. “I’m from England, mate. If anything, it was my sarcasm that rubbed off on you. But...I’m doing as well as one can in this city. And what about you, Mister Morgan? I hope Saint Denis is treating you okay.”

I shrugged. “I’m about the same as the last time you saw me.”

Edward seemed pleased. “That’s good to hear.” He turned to the man beside him.

“Err, Mister Middleton, this is the man I told you about earlier. He’s a traveler I ran into yesterday. Quite literally, actually. He’s the one who helped me out with my new composition.”

I brought my focus to Middleton, admittedly feeling somewhat out of place compared to their suits and ties.

“Arthur Morgan.” I introduced casually. The man gave me a stern glare. 

I couldn’t quite pinpoint it just yet, considering I’d only met him, but something about Edward’s companion just...put me off. 

Not only did he have a permanently sour expression hiding behind his groomed mustache, there was also a certain...glint in his dead, gray eyes that reminded me of Strauss. And everyone knew how I felt about that creep. Only difference was, this man actually looked like he was capable of giving out a beating himself.

The man held out a stiff hand.

“...Thatcher Middleton,” he replied bluntly. He had the same accent as Edward. “Pleasure to meet you.”

I reluctantly grabbed his hand, gesturing to the hardened frown on his face. “Try not to smile too hard there, partner. You, uh...another pianist?”

He shook his head, completely ignoring my remark. “No. I have nothing to do with that business. I’m merely a...” there was an odd pause, “...friend of Mister Ryan’s.”

I glanced side to side, not quite sure what to make of that. 

“...I see.”

Picking up on the tension between us, Edward quickly jumped in, changing the subject. 

“I noticed you were checking out the theater, Mister Morgan. Are you thinking about watching one of the shows?”

I gladly took my attention off Middleton, shifting my feet awkwardly. “I am, actually. I was considerin’ that show you mentioned to me. The one tomorrow?”

The pianist’s face radiated with excitement. “Oh, yes. Well, like I said, I’d love to see you there. I won’t be the only act tomorrow night, but it will be the first time I’m performing on my own. I confess I’m a tad nervous.”

I chuckled. “I ain’t heard much of your work, but if that song you showed me is anythin’ like your others...you’ll be fine.”

Edward didn’t appear any less anxious, but hid it nonetheless. “Thank you. You’re too kind, Mister Morgan.”

I laughed at that. “If you say so.”

Flattening this friendly moment with his grumpy tone, Middleton spoke up once more as he threw an almost threatening gaze in Edward’s direction, his eyes piercing through the shadow cast by his bowler hat.

“Well, I can see you’re busy, Edward. We’ll discuss this more later. In the meantime, I’ll be returning to my house if you need me. I have many matters to attend to.” Middleton barely looked at me, briefly bowing his head as a goodbye. “...Mister Morgan.”

I returned the dull farewell. “Middleton.”

Skulking off into the busy city, the man vanished like a phantom in the thick crowds as Edward and I watched him leave, both of us feeling somewhat unnerved after that chat.

“Charmin’ feller, ain’t he?” I muttered.

Edward crossed his arms. “He wouldn’t know charm if it died in his bed. Though, I suppose it already has.”

I smirked at the pianist. “I take it you weren’t waltzin’ around with him by choice?”

He sighed. “Oh, definitely not. You’ve no idea how grateful I am that I found you. In fact, I’d much rather waltz with you, Mister Morgan.” Edward stuttered after that, as if realizing what he just said. “Erm, i-if that’s alright, of course. Want to grab a drink? We did meet at a saloon, after all.”

I shrugged in a “why not” manner.

“Sure,” I agreed. “Oh, and call me Arthur, would you?”

Edward appeared much more relieved now. “And you can call me Edward. Or Eddie, if you prefer. People call me both.”

I beamed at him, the two of us strolling side-by-side as we diverted our path to the Bastille.

“Eddie it is,” I replied. “Y’know, I think you’re the most sensible Englishman I’ve met so far.”

“You’ve met others, have you?”

I adjusted my hat. “Well, aside from you and Middleton, I’ve only met one out here. And his name was Margaret.”

A brief laugh escaped Eddie. “You sound like you’ve had your fair share of adventures. Perhaps it’s your turn to entertain me with story today.”

We hugged a corner, turning onto a new street.

“Ah, I dunno ‘bout that. I ain’t...I ain’t so good with words.”

Eddie persisted. “You don’t need words to tell a story, Arthur. Words...are overrated. In the end, your actions are what speak for you.”

I grinned at him, the two of us stopping at the edge of a sidewalk as we waited to cross. 

“You, sir, possess a wisdom that I have yet to find.”

Eddie remained unconvinced that I was as dumb as I made myself out to be and simply rolled his eyes, beckoning me as we spoke with each other like a pair of old friends. 

For some reason, whenever I was around Eddie, I felt like I didn’t have to hide nothing. The boy seemed to be drawn to me no matter how much I talked down about myself, and every time we crossed paths, he acted as if we’d known each other for a lifetime already.

I...enjoyed the time I spent with him. 

I was only worried that this upcoming robbery would ruin our friendship. I mean, it was obvious how much this meant to Eddie, and lord knew how long he’d been preparing for this, but it was something I just had to go through with.

Then again, I guessed I always had the option to expose the plan, but...I could never do that. Not with the gang counting on me. Or Dutch. The old man was already paranoid we had a rat within the camp. The last thing I needed was to make him think it was me.

Well, I supposed all I could do was enjoy this relationship while it lasted. Eddie was too good of a man to be with me anyway. It was probably for the best if he kept his distant from an outlaw such as myself.

...Probably.

[jaemtens]

Rescue (Chapter 6)

seventeen | junhao | side meanie / vernkwan | chapter 6 of 10 | 24.4k

tumblr links: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 ao3 links: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

written with @rendawnie | updates every saturday morning

summary:  When Soonyoung finally “agrees” to let Junhui get a dog for their apartment, he realizes that he needed something a little bit more than a puppy. Enter Minghao, the bona fide Bad Boy™ with tattoos and piercings. Oh, and he doodles puppies and kittens in their Probability and Confirmation class.

chapter 6: dino

“Okay Dokyeom!” Dino announced, pulling out one of his class notebooks and setting it on Dokyoem’s desk. “It’s time to go over our plan for Operation Make Minghao Smile.”

Dokyeom was leaning back in “his” office chair in “his” cramped office. Spoilers: it wasn’t really his office (or his chair), he just pretended it was when the vet wasn’t there to, you know, care. Not that Dino would ever use this info against Dokyeom.

“Do we really need an operation name, Dino?” Dokyeom nervously scratched his head, his messy brown hair getting even messier. Dino had picked up on all sorts of Dokyeom nervous ticks, but this one was his most obvious; he knew he could charm his way into getting Dokyeom to help him out.

“Of course we do! ” Dino loudly retorted. “We need to have a codename to talk about our mission when Hao-hao’s around.”

Dokyeom paused for a moment. He was shooting Dino a puzzled look, like he still wasn’t quite on board despite Dino’s complete and unwavering conviction for codenames and missions and everything else covert. What wasn’t there to like about operation names? It was cool! Dokyeom was such a party-pooper sometimes.

“Okay… but… how does saying Operation Make Minghao Smile, like, not tell Minghao exactly what the goal of our Operation is.”

“It doesn’t because we’re going to have a codename for our codename, silly.”

Dokyeom sighed, leaning back in his chair even farther. The chair audibly creaked, though Dokyeom didn’t seem to mind much. “And what’s the codename for our codename?”

“Operation Mimosa, duh.”

Dokyeom raised an eyebrow in response. “I’m not even going to ask--”

“--Well, since you asked,” Dino interjected, “If you make an acronym from ‘Make Minghao Smile,’ it comes out to MMS, which you can sound out to make mimosa.”

His boss seemed to be deep in thought, as if he were trying to work out Dino’s logic in his head. Meanwhile, Dino just sat there expectantly, waiting for Dokyeom to realize his brilliance. Everybody always seemed so surprised when he said something even somewhat intelligent.

“That… That’s actually pretty clever,” Dokyeom finally replied. Dino: 1, Dokyeom: 0.

“And we can celebrate with mimosas after it works!”

“Don’t push it,” Dokyeom muttered, earning an immediate frown from Dino. “Why do we even wanna make Minghao smile?”

Dino frowned even more. How could Dokyeom, like, not have noticed? Was it not completely obvious to everyone in the whole wide world? Ever since the whole Junhui thing, Minghao was practically a ghost of his previous bad-boy self.

“Have you been living under a rock for the past few weeks, Dokyeom?”

“Um, well, actually--”

“--Yeah yeah yeah, you’ve been busy with whatever it is Dokyeoms go off and do,” Dino dismissively interrupted, watching as Dokyeom made a face. “Let me just remind you why Minghao hasn’t been himself.”

Dokyeom leaned back even farther in his chair. Dino was like 99% sure he was going to fall over.

“First, Minghao’s stopped talking.”

“Um, did he ever really talk much to begin with?”

“Yes!” Dino fiercely answered, leaning forward in his seat and staring directly at Dokyeom. “Minghao may not be the most talkative person ever, but he used to at least say more than ‘Hi’ and ‘Thanks’ or whatever. Now I’m lucky to get a grunt for yes out of him. Maybe he didn’t say much to you, but he used to talk to me all the time. Things like ‘Why don’t you go eat the cat litter, Dino,’ or ‘How’s the weather down there, Dino,’ or ‘Did you actually eat the cat litter today, Dino.’ Now he doesn’t say anything like that!”

Dokyeom leaned back a little farther until he actually almost fell out of his chair, catching himself before outright disaster. Dino repressed his desire to laugh out loud; Operation Mimosa was more important. Pretending like nothing happened, Dokyeom pivoted to his response:

“Aaaand that’s a bad thing how?”

Dino basically erupted, flying out of his seat and onto his feet in a passionate defense for Minghao. “Don’t you see a problem here!? Minghao used to care about me, that’s why he used to say those things. It was Minghao’s way of connecting with me -- his own sardonic, melodramatic, ridiculous way! But you know what? He owned it, and I loved it. Now he can’t even bring himself to be, well, himself!”

Dino sat back down again, collecting himself.

“And that brings me to number two: Minghao doesn’t seem to care about anything anymore.”

Dino sighed.

“Me included.”

“I’m sure it’s not just you.”

“It’s not, Dokyeom. It’s everything. You may not notice because you spend all your time doing paperwork and check-ups, but Minghao has been really reserved. Mellow. Like, even around the rescues, he doesn’t act like his usual self. Even around me, he doesn’t act like his usual self. And maybe I’m not his favorite person right now, but he always loves the rescues. You know Joshua Hong?”

Dokyeom made a face, as if he were deep in thought.

“Cute? Reddish-pink hair?” Dino prodded.

“Um, I don’t think so.”

“Joshua is his tutor for a few of his classes. Anyways, so he dropped by the shelter yesterday. Apparently Hao hasn’t been going to any of their tutoring sessions. He used to religiously go, Dokyeom. Like he made me cover his shift here once so he could go to his tutoring appointment with Joshua!”

Dokyeom frowned.

“Yeah, I covered for him! The point is that he used to genuinely care about doing well in his classes. But now I think he doesn’t even care about that. Or here. Or me. He’s down in the dumps, Dokyeom.”

Dino sighed again, fidgeting with the pen in his hand. “Third, Hao hasn’t been eating.”

Dokyeom frowned again. This time, Dino could tell it was less of a disapproving frown and more of a concerned frown.

“Are you su--”

“--Yes.”

“Hmmph,” Dokyeom replied. “I mean, he usually didn’t eat a lot, so--”

“But this is different, Dokyeom,” Dino insisted. He was slightly exasperated thinking about it, but he had to tell Dokyeom. “He used to eat most things I brought him. Now he won’t even look at it. He won’t even bring his own food either.”

Dokyeom pursed his lips. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes, okay . Operation… Mimosa, or whatever, is a go.”

Finally, some progress! He had been telling Dokyeom about Operation Mimosa for the past few days, but Dokyeom kept waving him off. Now he knew he had his boss’s timid support, and that was more than he expected, to be honest. Meanwhile, Dokyeom shook his head, wondering just what he had gotten himself into.

“So here’s the plan,” Dino started, “I told Mull8 th--”

“--Wait wait wait.‘Mull8’ ? Did I hear that right?”

“Yeah, Mull8! That’s our codename for the target, Hao-hao.”

“Why? ” Dokyeom spat out.

“Do you remember back when he had that mullet for a few months? And his favorite number is eight, so, Mull8!”

Dokyeom buried his face in his palms. “Oh my go--”

“--I’m Agent Ramyum and you’re Agent Buttercup!”

“I regret agreeing to this so much.”

“This is important, Agent Buttercup,”

“If it’s so important did you really have to name me after a My Little Pony character!?”

“Are you trying to say you’re not a Buttercup?”

“I definitely am not!”

“Besides, I only named you Agent Buttercup because of Hansol’s chinchilla.”

Dino wasn’t going to lie; he secretly loved it every time Dokyeom was rendered completely and totally speechless. Like right now. There was something oddly satisfying about being so extra that people just didn’t know how to react. Especially people who were so slow to pick up on jokes, like Dokyeom.

“Anyways, so where was I?” Dino continued, pausing to remind himself what he was talking about. “Oh yeah, Mull8. So I told Mull8 to drop by after his class. I mentioned that he forgot something here.”

“Well? Did he?”

Dino looked away and quietly replied: “Not really…”

Dokyeom raised one of his eyebrows.

“Okay, well, he forgot about being best friends with me.”

“Aww, Dino,” his boss replied, making a sad face.

“It’s okay, though! This is why we have Operation Mimosa! Like I was saying, I’m going to lure Mull8 here, and then force him to come over to my apartment. I’ll say that I must have taken his thing home with me or whatever. Once we get there, your job, Agent Buttercup, is to block the door so that he can’t leave. I’m going to explain to Mull8 that this is an intervention, that we’re getting him a one-way ticket out of Mopeville.”

“Oh my god.”

“So, right now, I have enough popcorn to feed a small village, three really cheesy movies that I picked out on Netflix, and enough blankets to make at least 17 blanket forts. Oh, and some hair bleach.”

“Hair bleach? … Why?”

“New hair, new Hao, new boy crush. Duh.”

“Uh huh,” Dokyeom half-agreed. “Speaking of new boy crush… what exactly happened with old boy crush again?”

Oh, yeah. That.

“Well, um, honestly, I don’t know if Hao-hao is over Junhui. If I know anything about him, it’s that he’s probably out there beating himself up over yelling at me in front of his crush. He’s probably trying to get over his crush, but, like, can’t.”

Dokyeom just nodded. Dino decided to let the silence settle between the two of them, something he usually didn’t do. He really didn’t like thinking about what Minghao said to him. It hurt, you know? Minghao was one of his closest friends, and for him to say all of those things… even if he didn’t mean them...

“Yeah,” Dokyeom finally blurted out, “You sounded really upset when you called me after that whole… thing.”

“I know and I’m so so sorry I had to close down early after that, I know I was supposed to work til closing and I know it’s my job to take care of everything during my shift because you know that’s why you let me work here and I really let you down and I’m just so sorry and ups--”

“--Dino, it’s okay,” his boss interrupted. Dino looked up, and Dokyeom was looking back at him all concerned and stuff. His words and his expression were completely earnest. He forgot Dokyeom could be like that, and it made him feel so… relieved, that Dokyeom wasn’t like your normal boss.

“You were going through some things, and I get it. It’s also Minghao’s fault for walking out on you.”

“I know.”

“Dino, you did good, you focused on helping Junhui and then you called me. You did what you could do.”

“I -- I know,” Dino choked out.

“And…” Dokyeom started. “Well, I hate to ask this, but, like, why are you even trying to make Minghao happy again after he made you cry like that? After he said all of those mean things?”

“Because he’s my best friend, and he was having a bad day.”

*

“Dino.”

“Hao-hao.”

“Where’s my homework.”

To be honest, Dino wasn’t entirely sure that he was going to make it this far. He was 95% confident that Dokyeom was going to blow their cover at some point and/or that Minghao was going to catch on to what was going on. But, to his surprise, Dokyeom kept it together, and Minghao was oblivious. Dino had managed to convince Minghao that, yes, he had actually forgotten a piece of homework. And, yes, in a stroke of bad luck and bad forethought, Dino accidentally brought it home to his apartment. Furthermore, Dino was absolutely sure that it was due tomorrow because he remembered seeing a date on the assignment. Oh, and Dokyeom had decided to tag along for no particular reason. Minghao bought all of it. Bad boy? More like gullible boy. Not that Dino would ever say something that salacious to Hao-hao’s face. And, you know, risk death.

But, now that Minghao was actually in his apartment, the ruse was about to fall apart. Dino hadn’t really planned for how Minghao might react. Was he going to get angry? Was he going to try to leave? Was he going to chew him out again? Dino looked over Minghao’s shoulder and saw a very concerned Dokyeom. Dino quickly motioned toward the door, and Dokyoem got the signal -- block the door so that Minghao couldn’t leave. Agent Buttercup slowly moved into position.

“Dino,” Minghao sternly repeated. He was practically glowering at him, sullen eyes boring through Dino’s purest of intentions. Minghao was definitely not happy.

“Um,” Dino started, trying to think of words -- any words -- that might be able to convince Minghao to stay.

“I didn’t forget my homework, did I?”

Minghao was really glaring at him now. Dino kept wracking his brain, begging himself to come up with something, anything, to keep Minghao here. It’s like his brain was molasses, not a single coherent sentence or an iota of logical thought reaching him.

“And you didn’t bring it here, did you?”

Dino looked over Minghao’s shoulder again, his eyes pleading with Dokyeom to help him. Dokyeom just shrugged, looking equally as clueless and not-helpful as Dino’s brain. Note to self: write in Agent Buttercup’s performance eval that he’s not good at thinking on his feet.

“You don’t even know if I have homework due tomorrow, do you?”

Note to self #2: Agent Ramyun is also not good at thinking on his feet.

His friend rolled his eyes and sighed disapprovingly before turning around to leave. Minghao was moving quickly, but he stopped just in front of the door -- Dokyeom was blocking his exit. Dino could see Dokyeom’s eyes focus, like he had already prepared for Dino’s incompetence, like he had been steeling himself for this Minghao confrontation. It wasn’t like that was entirely surprising: Dokyeom probably had contingency plans for Dino throughout the shelter, Agent Ramyum just didn’t know about them. For instance, there probably was a plan B for when Dino accidentally adopted out the wrong pet to someone, which he almost did last week.

“So you’re in on this, too,” Minghao dryly said. It wasn’t really a question, like Minghao was totally disinterested in whatever Dokyeom decided to say in response.

“C’mon Hao, just listen to Dino,” Dokyeom calmly started, “He’s your best friend. Do you really think he’d plan all of this if it wasn’t important?”

“Oh, I’m sure he’d do something this stupid.”

Dino couldn’t see Minghao’s face, but he was sure it was expressionless, devoid of any feeling. Just like how he’d been for the past few weeks. Dokyeom, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes, basically glaring at Minghao.

“Hao,” Dokyeom replied, clearly agitated that Minghao was so openly dissing him. It wasn’t like his normal disses -- Minghao fully meant what he said, it wasn’t sarcastic or harmless teasing.

Minghao grunted, turning around to face Dino. His now-obvious annoyed expression definitely confirmed Dino’s suspicions: Minghao was not happy.

“So, um, I know the thing with Junhui a few weeks ago sucked.” Minghao’s expression soured even more; honestly, Dino didn’t think it was possible. “And I know I was partly to blame for making fun of you, and I’m really really sorry. I don’t think you meant what you said, but, um, I won’t lie. It hurt my feelings a lot.”

“And you didn’t mean to hurt his feelings, right? ” Dokyoem interjected.

“Even if you say you did, I wouldn’t believe you,” Dino replied before Minghao could open his mouth. “Either way, all I know is that you haven’t been yourself the past few weeks, Hao-hao. And you can try to say that ‘This is who I really am’ or whatever, Hao, but I still wouldn’t believe you. You’re not like this. You’re not boring. You’re not dismissive. You’re not someone who just drags themselves from place to place. I know you, Hao. You care a lot about your classes, you go to your tutoring sessions, you like doodling animals and dancing, you volunteer in the shelter because damnit Hao you love those rescues. And you say you tolerate me but I know you consider me a friend.”

Minghao looked away. His expression was softening, like Dino was getting through to him.

“And you can say whatever you want to try to deny that, but I know it’s true. I know it because you’re one of my best friends, Hao. You’re like a big brother to me.”

His friend looked back at him, his eyes wide.

“I wanted you to come over because I want you to feel better, Hao-hao. I want you to stop being so mopey, goddamnit! So I dragged Dokyeom into this, and… and we’re going to hang out tonight because you need to be reminded that you have friends that care a lot about you.”

“I know you care,” Minghao softly replied, looking away again. It was one of Dino’s favorite things about Minghao -- how ridiculously shy he got when his true feelings finally peeked through.

“Yeah, well I’m going to have to prove it to you, Hao-hao! So we’re going to watch cheesy Netflix movies, eat so much popcorn that we’ll get sick, hide in blanket forts on the couch, and we’re gonna bleach your hair,” Dino finished, holding up a bag of hair bleach.

“Wait, what,” Dokyeom piped up. Apparently he had forgotten about that part.

“I am not letting you bleach my hair,” Minghao insisted.

Dino just smiled knowingly.

*

“I’m going to help Dokyeom out in the back, Dino. You’ll be alright out front?”

Dino looked back at his friend, who was hovering in the open doorway heading to the exam room. Hansol had come in with Buttercup -- again -- and this time he brought along his boyfriend Seungkwan, who seemed to be even more of a hyperactive hypochondriac than Hansol. Hence the need for reinforcements; Dokyeom couldn’t deal with Hansol and Seungkwan breathing down his neck about their chinchilla’s mysterious “lethargy.”

Did anybody ever try telling them that maybe they had a lazy chinchilla?

“Dino?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ll be fine,” Dino said, smiling a little too much. He flashed an enthusiastic thumbs-up at Minghao who 100% definitely had bleach-blonde ramen-colored hair.

Minghao shot him a weird look, like Dino was the one who had bleached hair.

After his friend closed the door to the exam room, Dino chuckled to himself: Minghao was such a pushover. It took not even five minutes of pestering for black-haired Hao to buckle, giving into Dino’s puppy eyes. It was the “older brother” thing to do, Dino insisted. He loved every second of it -- if Minghao had been one of those Kpop idols or whatever, Dino stanned soft Hao-hao. He was just so cute.

And a pushover.

Minghao never really did apologize for three weeks ago. He didn’t have to, though. At least not verbally. Dino knew Minghao, and he knew that words were not his thing. No, Dino knew that Minghao was sorry when Minghao brought him a burrito yesterday. A burrito! Minghao doesn’t even buy burritos for himself. His friend gave it to him wordlessly with a small smile. It was cute.

Yet, despite the Operation Mimosa’s complete and resounding success, something was still off. Minghao was better, but Dino could tell something was off. He was still quiet. Reserved. Dino had a hunch it was about Junhui.

Dino heard the door open, perking up to see who it was.

Oh shit.

“Oh hey Dino.”

Oh shit oh shit oh shit.

Dino recognized that lilt in his voice, and he knew Minghao would too if he heard him, if he heard Junhui. Meanwhile, Junhui seemed completely oblivious to his role as Minghao’s #1 problem right now. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have come here, Dino reasoned.

“Oh, um, hi Junhui,” Dino choked out, trying to keep his voice quiet-ish. He needed to get Junhui out of here before Minghao finished up in the back and before Junhui figured out that Minghao was here. Dino ran one of his hands through his dyed brown hair, pushing it back. He wasn’t good at thinking on his feet, how was he going to pull this off?

“So, um, how can I help you?”

“Oh, I --” Junhui started, stopping mid-sentence without much explanation. “I was just in the neighborhood with Lilli and figured I’d stop by?”

Junhui looked down at Lilli, and the little sausage pup was excitedly wagging her tail in response. Damnit, it was so cute; Lilli had a pastel pink collar now, and it looked like Junhui was walking her using a pink leash with flowers on it. She seemed to recognize this place, too, wagging her tail even more when she noticed him at the front desk. Oh my god, he wanted to pet her so badly. Instead, Dino nervously laughed like an idiot. He really wasn’t good at this thinking-on-your-feet thing.

“It’s nice of you to visit!” he finally responded. Dino was trying his best to keep his responses short, hoping that Junhui would leave.

“I actually had a few questions, too.” Junhui shifted his weight, watching Dino carefully. “You know, about puppy training.”

“Um, well, actually --”

“I mean, if you’re busy, I could wait and ask Minghao or something?”

Abort, abort, abort!

“No-no-no, you can totally ask me, I know a lot about puppies!” Dino exclaimed... anything to avoid another Junhui-Minghao interaction -- another disaster. “Besides, Hao-hao’s busy right now.”

“Oh, so he’s here?” Junhui piped up.

Shit.

“Uh, yeah,” Dino admitted, silently berating himself for being such a dumbass. “But he won’t be done in the examination room for, like, hours.” And with Seungkwan and Hansol, that might actually be true.

“He’s in the examination room?” Junhui looked back at the door behind Dino, the door that said ‘Examination Room’ in big, bold letters.

Shit!

Dino just about wanted to light himself on fire right now.

“Yeah, but it’ll be a really long appointment! So you should just ask me your questions.” And maybe forget about Minghao .

“Okay. And then maybe Minghao can examine me.”

What? Dino cocked an eyebrow, and Jun’s eyes grew super wide in embarrassment.

“I meant ‘my Lilli,’ sorry,” Junhui added. “Sometimes I, um, forget how to talk.”

“Uh huh.”

“It usually happens around Minghao for some reason…” Jun explained.

What was going on with Junhui? Last time he visited, he was pretty calm and collected; he wasn’t really flirting, but he also wasn’t really not flirting. Little things here and there made Dino wonder if Junhui really liked Minghao. But this week basically confirmed it. Who the hell forgets how to talk about one of their random classmates? No, Junhui probably liked Minghao.

Buuuuuut, Minghao definitely would not want to see Junhui right now. Dino had to stick to his plan: he had to get Junhui out of here ASAP so that he could avoid another catastrophe.

“O… kay,” Dino slowly enunciated, confusion spilling out into his voice. “So you had some questions?”

“Oh, um, yeah! I actually have a list.”

Dino watched as Junhui pulled out a neatly-folded piece of paper from his pocket and started unfolding it. He could feel his soul leaving his body as Junhui kept unfolding it and unfolding it until it was a full-sized lined piece of notebook paper with Junhui’s neat and tiny handwriting filling up each line with questions. Lilli kept trying to get Junhui’s attention, resting her front paws on his shins while her hind paws were on the ground. Junhui finally acquiesced, picking her up with his free hand.

“Um…” Dino demurred.

“Oh, uh, these aren’t all questions!” Junhui replied, laughing a little at Dino’s shocked response. “I have some other random notes here. Mostly because Lilli here is so… special.”

Of course he had a list. Of course Minghao would fall for the cute studious boy who makes disorganized lists and has a lilt in his voice. It all was starting to make sense now.

“Um, I can really just wait for Minghao if you want? It’s no big deal.”

Apparently Dino hadn’t changed his expression at all. “No, um, I can just answer your questions quickly? Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.”

Before Dino could mentally (and maybe physically) facepalm at himself for stupidly thinking out loud, a loud shriek cut through the building.

“OW!”

Oh shit, that was definitely Minghao’s voice, and it definitely came from the examination room.

“Is Minghao alright?” Junhui asked, putting Lilli down.

“Um, I’m sure he’s fine,” Dino answered, looking back toward the examination room. “He probably just hurt himself, he’s good at doing that.”

“Oh.” Junhui had this fond smile plastered on his face, the smile he usually had when he was looking at Lilli. Shit, did he make Junhui like Minghao even more?

Before Dino could even begin to answer Junhui’s first question, the door to the examination room burst open. Seungkwan and Hansol led the way with Hansol carrying the small pet carrier again. The first thing he heard, though, was Minghao’s shrill, nasally voice, which was really goddamn loud.

“I can’t believe their chinchilla bit me!”

Oh, so Minghao didn’t actually hurt himself this time.

“Seungkwannie, can chinchillas get diseases from humans?” Hansol quietly asked his boyfriend, who seemed frustrated with the whole ordeal.

“How am I supposed to know, Hansol? I’m studying to be a human doctor -- do you really think I have time for veterinary classes on top of Advanced Organic Chemistry, Physical Inorganic Chemistry, Ethics and Medicine, and Cell Biology for Pre-Medical Majors? Not to mention all the time I have to spend shadowing doctors and volunteering at hospitals and doing non-acaedmic extracurriculars.”

“I know you’re very busy, babe,” Hansol softly responded. “I was just asking because you’re so smart.”

God, Dino wanted to gag so badly right now.

Meanwhile, Seungkwan smiled ever-so-slightly, his chronically stressed facial features softening a bit. “We should just wait for the vet like Dokyeom said. I’m sure Buttercup will be okay til then.”

“Seungkwan?” Junhui piped up. “What -- I’m so confused. How did you beat me here?”

“Oh hey Junhui. My beau drove us here,” Seungkwan replied, looking up at his boyfriend fondly.

“No, you’re my Boo,” Hansol added, not missing a beat.

Dino actually started gagging this time, earning a mixture of concerned and annoyed looks from the small audience that was gathering in the front. Dino felt bad, but their PDA was just so… gross . Nothing like the soft flirty heart eyes Minghao made for Junhui a few weeks ago.

“Oh it’s nice to meet you,” Junhui answered after Dino was done externally dying. To be perfectly clear, he was still internally dying.

“Oh, yeah!” Seungkwan jumped in. “Hansol, this is Jun. Jun, this is Hansol, my boyfriend.”

“Like we couldn’t tell,” Dino butted in, earning a dark look from Seungkwan. Hansol nodded at Junhui while Junhui smiled.

“And this is Lilli!” Junhui added, motioning toward his puppy.

Hansol nodded again, seemingly not impressed by the literal ball of cuteness standing next to Junhui.

“I’m sorry, he’s scared of dogs,” Seungkwan explained.

“Oh.” Junhui seemed a little disappointed by that, and, honestly, Dino was too: who doesn’t like dogs? “Um, random question, but is Minghao back there?”

“Yeah,” Hansol answered. “You know Minghao?”

Junhui seemed a little taken aback by that totally normal question. “Um, well, yeah, you see, w-we’re--”

“--Oh my god, you like him,” Seungkwan interrupted, a big smile forming on his face.

In some far off universe, Dino was internally regretting everything in life right now. He could see this slow-motion trainwreck happening from a mile away.

“Jun’s in loooooove ,” Seungkwan teased, causing Junhui’s cheeks to turn a rosy pink. “Beau, we should go so that Junhui can have some alone time with his boyfriend.”

Hansol frowned. “You’re my boo.”

“What am I? Chopped liver?” Dino interjected.

Seungkwan groaned in response. “C’mon Hansol, let’s take Buttercup home. Besides, I’ve got to study for my four exams next week. And drink my sixth cup of coffee for the day. Unlike some people here, I actually have to know what a liver looks like.”

Seungkwan and Hansol headed for the exit. Lilli barked at Buttercup’s pet carrier while Hansol walked by with it in hand. Seungkwan made a supremely annoyed face at Lilli. Hansol looked back at Dino and mouthed ‘sorry’ at him. Junhui awkwardly waved bye, though Seungkwan was having none of it. Seungkwan and Hansol left. And Minghao finally stepped out of the back room, stopping in his tracks as soon as he noticed Junhui. Dino actually threw his face into his palms this time -- this was such a mess. Everything was happening so fast.

“What are you doing here?” Minghao pointedly asked Junhui, a whole lot of venom in his tone falling on the ‘you’ part of that question. In fact, his voice had done a complete 180 from earlier; instead of being soft-spoken and quiet, Minghao’s voice was lower and a little gravelly. Like he too was extremely fed up with this situation. Dino finally removed his face from his hands and looked over at Junhui, who was still blushing pretty profusely. He seemed legitimately surprised by Minghao’s question.

“Well, um, I was just in the neighborhood, and, um, I had a few questions about, well, puppy training and…”

Junhui’s soft voice got quieter and quieter until it disappeared altogether, the honeyed lisp dying under Minghao’s intense gaze. There was absolutely nothing Dino could do now other than watch the impending fireworks. Minghao was royally upset.

“Wow, your hair’s blonde…” Junhui whispered. Dino looked back at Minghao, who was still parked next to the examination room doorway. He seemed even more peeved by Junhui’s comment, full-on glaring at Junhui. Dino looked over at Junhui, who was now looking away.

Before anybody could say anything, Dino felt someone roughly grab onto his shoulder and yank him back toward the lounge.

“Dino and I have something to take care of in the back,” Dokyeom quickly commented, dragging a limp Dino back toward the mini-table in the lounge. Dino was able to catch a glance of Minghao before disappearing from the front altogether; he couldn’t care less about Dokyeom or Dino. His focus was entirely on Junhui.

Once they were out of earshot of the front, Dino looked over at Dokyeom, who was washing his hands.

“Why did you pull me out of there? ” Dino whispered. “What if something happens between them? ”

Dokyeom sighed. “Dino, there’s literally nothing you can do to stop what’s about to happen.”

Dino frowned in response. He was being a petulant child, but he wanted to know what was happening out there.

“If you stop talking, you can still hear what they’re saying,” Dokyeom added, his low voice barely making it to Dino. Dokyeom took a seat opposite of Dino, clearly interested in what Minghao and Junhui were about to say in the other room. Dino shook his head and listened in too.

“Why didn’t you ask Dino for help then?” Minghao asked Junhui.

“I did! We just, um, didn’t--”

“--Why are you even here? Was Google not good enough for you?”

A long pause broke out between them. Dino stopped breathing, trying to focus on hearing Junhui’s soft voice.

“I, um, actually wanted to talk to you,” Junhui replied, his voice barely audible from where Dino and Dokyeom were seated in the lounge.

“Isn’t that what your boyfriend is for, Junhui?” Minghao clapped back.

“W-what?”

“Why don’t you go talk to Soonyoung,” Minghao repeated, mocking Junhui’s assertion that they were just talking. “You know, while you’re cuddling with him in bed.”

“M-minghao, you’ve got it all wrong.”

“Oh? Do you guys save the bed for fucking?”

“No, Minghao!” Junhui sounded extra flustered, even from the other room. “Soonyoung isn’t my boyfriend!”

“Oh? So you’re just friends with benefits? Great. Just wonderful.”

“No, we’re not anything! We’re just roommates, I swear.”

“It doesn’t even matter!” Minghao shouted, his voice loud and aggressive. Dino could hear Minghao storming out the back door, his footsteps getting quieter and quieter. When the door clicked shut, Dino slowly got out of his seat and quietly walked to the front.

Junhui was still standing there, but he looked really distraught. He wasn’t angry -- he was upset. Like he was about to cry. Lilli was still jumping up on him and trying to get his attention, but Junhui was too messed up right now to notice. However, he did hear Dino stop near the front desk, his head shooting up and eyes widening when he realized that Dino was still there. There was an awkward silence between them; Dino had no idea what to say.

“Dino, I need to go talk to him. I need to explain everything. He needs to know.”

Junhui was talking really fast; he was frazzled, but motivated to make this right.

“I, um--”

“--Dino, tell me where he lives. Please. I need to go find him and explain everything.”

Oh no.

“Please, Dino, please. Which dorm does he live in?”

“You -- You didn’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Jun. Minghao’s homeless.”

Junhui just stared back at him, apparently in shock.

“He lives in a homeless shelter.”

[the-wellbeing-warrior]

30 Day Mental Health Challenge

We have had dozens of challenges in recent years be it the ice bucket, dietary challenges, and social media challenges—but according to Good Housekeeping magazine the most popular challenges right now are mental health ones.

Before starting the challenge, it is recommended that participants position themselves for the best results by following four core guidelines:

Don’t think it’s selfish: “When we’ve taken good care of ourselves, not only do we have more energy for others, but we tend to be more focused and more present,” Dr. Coons advises.

Tap a friend:When we share our goals, we do better. Get a group of two, three, or four friends, for added accountability.

If you miss a day, don’t give up:The goal isn’t to be perfect. Even if you just do 25 or 15 days, that’s still an improvement from the previous month.

Keep it up afterward:Improving your well-being is an ongoing process, so adopt one or two new habits that changed your mood for the better.

Now, take a look at the activities below—one for each day of the next month, now it doesn’t mean you have to start instantly that’s the beauty of it but try to start it with full commitment in mind. 

Self Advocacy and self-care are very important to wellbeing and below you’ll find some ideas to follow. It’s a guide of course, and you can add things more specific to you but that the idea behind it is followed

Day 1. Do a deep breathing exercise: Count backwards from ten, breathing low and slow. Try it before a meeting, in the car, or before you greet your kids or partner after a long day.

Day 2. Catch up with a good friend: Having a strong social support system is linked with a reduced risk of depression and high blood pressure, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Day 3. Schedule something to look forward to: Plan a fun day later this month, whether you sign up for a cooking class, plan a mother-daughter movie marathon, or use the weekend to go on a mini road trip.

Day 4. Donate or recycle something you never use: Visit givebackbox.com to download a free USPS shipping label, pack up your donations in an empty Amazon box, and it will go directly to Goodwill.

Day 5. Do 30 minutes of yoga: Women who took twice-weekly yoga classes experienced a bigger decrease in chronic stress compared to a control group put on a wait-list, found a 2016 study published in the journal Cogent Psychology.

Day 6. Plan a healthy meal: It’s no secret if you eat well, you feel well.

Day 7. Ask for help with something: Tap into that support system for some assistance where you feel spread thin. After all, it takes a village.

Day 8. Listen to your favorite happy music: In the car, in your home, in the shower…. Bonus points if you sing along.

Day 9. Take 10 minutes to read: Either good stuff or junk!

Day 10. Go for a walk at lunch: Walking for 30 minutes in a natural or urban environment is linked with reducing stress hormone levels and improving mood

Day 11. Budget 20 minutes of spa time: Whether it’s a manicure or a blowout, do whatever makes you feel good. 

Day 12. Practice a favorite hobby: Coloring, doodling, and drawing all increase blood flow to the reward circuit in the brain, according to a 2017 study out of George Washington University, but do whatever creative activity brings you joy—knitting, jewelry making, you name it.

Day 13. Let yourself get distracted by a movie: Go out or queue something up at home.

Day 14. Go to bed 30 minutes earlier: Getting enough sleep can improve your mood, memory, and immune system, according to the Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine.

Day 15. Drink water instead of alcohol or soda today: You’ll save money and avoid empty calories. Win-win.

Day 16. Schedule a game night: Enjoy some friendly competition around a game board.

Day 17. Set a mini goal: Make sure you eat breakfast every day this week, or find a friend sign up for a 5K with you.

Day 18. Cross a lingering item off your to-do list: You know that doctor’s appointment you’ve been meaning to make for months?

Day 19. Compliment someone: Put a little good karma into the world.

Day 20. Plan a night in with friends: Gossip, laugh, eat, drink.

Day 21. Try a 5-minute meditation: Download a free mindfulness app like Headspace and you can do it anywhere when you have a spare moment.

Day 22. FaceTime with a family member: Just seeing Grandma happy will probably make you happy.

Day 23. Do something outside: Walk the dog or find an empty bench to soak up some sun. Or look at the moon and stars before bedtime.

Day 24. Book a date night with your partner: If you’re single, no problem. Call up a friend who appreciates you and plan something fun instead.

Day 25. Unfollow negative people on social media: Those influencer accounts who make you feel any bit less-than? See ya, won’t miss ya.

Day 26. Say no to something: Take a task off your calendar or move it to a more convenient or less stressful time.

Day 27. Have a phone-free night at home: The blue light emitted by your screen can mess your with sleep hormones, so putting the tech away early will not only let you catch up on a new book, but also help you fall asleep faster.

Day 28. Watch a silly video that makes you laugh: Remember, it’s the best medicine.

Day 29. Write down something good that happened today: Even if you’ve just had the worst day, jot down what you’re grateful for instead.

Day 30. Adopt a new habit: Reflect back on the past 30 days and think about making a change. Should game night become a weekly occurrence? Did going to a walk at lunch make feel that much ready to take on the rest of day? The month may be over, but you can make your favorite activities a regular, lifelong thing.

For further info please visit the source of this post which is https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/wellness/a26631446/30-day-mental-health-challenge/ 

[zoinkshaggy]

PHYSICAL !!

1. Describe the character’s height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy? Lanky af. He’s six feet even and in decent shape, a bit thin maybe, but surprisingly healthy for someone that hardly moves and eats like he does. 2. How old is he? Twenty. 3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch? He slouches. He’s a klutz and the way he walks makes his limbs seem kind of disproportionate to his body sometimes. His arms kind of just swing by his sides and the strides he takes make his legs look even longer than they really are. His back is never completely straight. 4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities? Again, surprisingly healthy for someone that hardly moves. It’s weird, he can outrun anything and not be the least bit winded, but he has to catch his breath after walking up a flight of stairs. 5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid? Clumsy. No doubt about it. A little tense too. Kind of jerky. Just picture the way animated Shaggy moves. 6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror? Um, you’re asking the wrong person here because damn boy. He doesn’t really think about his looks. He puts very little effort into them, probably doesn’t even look in the mirror more than twice a week. If you asked him, he is probably a four on a scale of one to ten. Not hideous, but nothing special. I think he’s beautiful. 7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Medium, and actually fairly smooth. A few acne pits on his cheeks. Nothing major. 8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style. Dark. Messy. Naturally straight. Beautiful. He has dreads* and his mother is constantly nagging him to chop them off. One day he’ll probably listen. But today is not that day. 9. What color are his eyes? Hazel. 10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features? His jawbone* is hella sharp. I think his eyes are the next most noticeable thing about him. He also has a few cute lil moles and there’s one on his cheek that shows up in almost every picture, across from the bottom of his nose. 11. What are his chief tension centers? Along his spine, his neck and his shoulders. 12. What is the character’s wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit? Casual. Pretty neutral. He probably owns one good suit and that’s only because his father bought it and forced him to pack it. He usually wears jeans and tees*, or nerdy sweaters* if it’s cool out. 13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them? For the most part. He doesn’t wear anything he in’t comfortable in, so they’re a bit too big sometimes, but he like them that way. If they’re too tight, he feels like he’s suffocating. He wants to have room to move. 14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences? Pretty much. He’s not the type to change for anyone. 15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando? Boxers.

SPEECH !!

1. What does this character’s voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse? Lowish. Boyish. When I’m writing for him I hear this very specific mixture of Matthew Lyn Lillard from the movies*, though not as high pitched or nasally, Shaggy from Scooby-Doo Meets The Boo Brothers*, and this voice I can’t really describe that apparently my head created all on its own. 2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fas, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate? He talks at a fairly normal volume or mumbles. I don’t think he’s ever loud. If he’s especially nervous, he’ll spout out nonsense. His words tend to run together and there are a lot of uhs, ums and self interruptions. He gets tongue tied. And the more he screws up his speech, the more his anxiety spikes. If he is excited or comfortable around someone he’ll talk quickly too but he doesn’t stumble over his words so much. In a normal situation, with strangers, he isn’t really the conversing type. 3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics? Shaggy says “like” a lot. I feel the need to apologize for that. 4. What languages does he speak, and with how much fluency? Only English. He’s not even especially skilled in that. 5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations? Nope. 6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words? He has to think about his words, otherwise he’s a stammering mess. Sometimes he overthinks every word that leaves his mouth though, and that can cause just as much of an issue. 7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change? While he’s much closer to inarticulate the majority of the time, if he’s comfortable it isn’t so bad. Unless he’s just really really excited.

MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL !!

1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart? He’s... not the smartest. He’s too lazy to be book-smart and too naive to be street-smart. If he just gave it a little bit of effort... 2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate? He needs time to deliberate. Thinking on his feet does not lead to good decisions. 3. Describe the character’s thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical? He’s probably more logical. But he can be easily swayed by emotion. 4. What kind of education has the character had? He graduated high school -- not exactly with flying colors, but he’s here. He’s in college now. Just focusing on trying to get through his junior year. 5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about? The only thing he’s an expert at is being a loyal friend and not puking when eating strange food combinations. 6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert? Introvert. He gets attached to people easily and he is full of love, but he’s not the type to go out looking for someone to have a conversation with. 7. Describe the character’s temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven? He’s chill. Definitely laid-back. He can be a nervous wreck and he’s actually pretty sad deep down, but for the most part he’s got a calm attitude. 8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? Most likely timid. If the situation is a food convention, he’s ecstatic. But he gets anxious about meeting new people if they aren’t super friendly right off the bat and he isn’t in an area that feels like a safe place. Walt is becoming more of a safe place, but it’s not there yet. 9. Is he more likely to act, or to react? React. 10. Which is his default: fight or flight? Flight. No question. 11. Describe the character’s sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? He doesn’t have one specific thing that brings him amusement. Bad puns, fart jokes, knock knock jokes, physical comedy, it isn’t hard to make him laugh. His own sense of humor is typically based around self depreciating jokes and cheesy one liners. Pointing to a trash can and saying “hey look, it’s me”, doodling a beetle on a piece of paper, holding it up and saying “I hate to bug you but...”, you know, silly things that probably aren’t funny to anyone but himself. 12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them? He struggles with anxiety. It’s more serious at times than others. He is at a point in his life that it isn’t as bad as it used to be but it has also been better. Social situations can set him off and sometimes he has panic attacks that are triggered by very small things or nothing specific. Smoking helps. His dad brought Scooby home one day in hopes that it would make life easier for him, and it has. It would probably be better if he didn’t try to keep it from everyone but he thinks it makes him weak, so he tries to hide it the best he can. 13. What moments in this character’s life have defined him as a person? I would say his parents being dragged away in handcuffs as he sat suddenly orphaned in the middle of a riot gone wrong is probably at the top of his list. It was because of that he ever came to live with Paula and Colton Rogers, which was a drastic change to the world he’d come to know. Scooby Doo coming into his life was a defining moment. His mother pushing him to go play with other kids, dressing him up, making offhand insults about him. It’s hard to say but if not for her, his stress and anxiety may not have ever gotten to the point that it did. Befriending the Mystery Inc. Discovering weed. Losing his friends in high school, causing him to become a burnout that sat under the bleachers wasting his life away. Attempting to patch things up with them that lead to him trespassing on a crime scene... that lead to him getting sent to Walt. All moments worth mentioning. 14. What does he fear? Um... everything. 15. What are his hopes or aspirations? To make his parents proud. To eat more pizza, be a good person and make other people smile. To see his friends succeed, and do anything and everything he can to help them. 16. What is something he doesn’t want anyone to find out about him? How much he truly struggles with anxiety. The only people that have witnessed him during a bad panic attack are his parents, his dog and Maggie, and he wants it to stay that way. He would prefer people not find out how sad he is deep down either.

RELATIONSHIPS !!

1. Describe this character’s relationship with his parents.In one word: strained. He’s much closer to his father. He took him in, he bought him a dog, he’s calmed him down many times when he didn’t have to. In a way he’s his safety net. But there is still something missing there. He’ll never be good enough for him. Colton expects so much from his son, and Shaggy feels he has so little to give. He’s just a disappointment. As hard as he may strive to change that, it’s all he’ll ever be. And his mother... he has no doubts that she wishes her husband had never brought the boy home. She does love him, in her own twisted way, but she wants him to fit into this mold that he just can’t. She would rather blame him for his failures than admit that she hasn’t been a very good parent. She is as incapable at accepting him for who he is as he is at changing. 2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? He has Maggie. They aren’t close at all. She’s the perfect child and he’s the black sheep. They are basically strangers living under the same roof. She doesn’t necessarily frown upon him or seem disappointed that he’s a part of her life but she doesn’t go out of her way to socialize and he isn’t going to either. When they were younger he attempted to bond with her, but by the time he reached his teenage years, he stopped trying. Before he was sent to Walt they hardly seen each other except in passing. They may have spoke ten words a month... if that. 3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can’t stand? He doesn’t know any of his blood relatives and it seems like his adoptive relatives feel about the same way towards him as Paula does. 4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them? As far as he’s concerned, Daphne, Velma and Freddy are all his family. They are the people he’s most comfortable around. Daphne is more of a sister to him than Maggie has ever been. He loves her, he wants to see her happy and he makes sure she never doubts her worth but he’s willing to burst her ego if she needs it. He would do anything for her. Velma is a different kind of love. He tries to make her smile as much as he can when he’s around, and remind her that she’s better than the pressure her parents put on her. As far as he’s concerned, she deserves the moon and the stars. Freddy is the polar opposite of Shaggy and he gets along with him the least, but he is still one of his favorite people in the world. He’s a decent guy. He’s capable of being a great guy, if he’d let himself. Shaggy knows that and he would take a bullet for him. He would take a bullet for any of them. 5. Who is the character’s best friend? How did they meet? See above. 6. Does he have other close friends? He’s getting there. Maybe. 7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people? He doesn’t have trouble getting along with people, but he has trouble actually approaching them. If someone tries to befriend him, it won’t take much. He loves having friends. It’s just... social anxiety, bro. It sucks. 8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends? Friends. 9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once? Single and too anxious to mingle. 10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse? Uh, no. 11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest? You know he only has eyes for Velma. Eyes that are in slight denial, but still... 12. What does he look for in a romantic partner? It’s simple. Someone he can be comfortable with. Someone he loves. 13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any? He doesn’t, though he would love to be a dad one day. And in next gen he’s a lovely dad to Remus okay I’m always emotional over that relationship. 14. Does he have any rivals or enemies? Does his mom count? No. 15. What is the character’s sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale? Probably pan. Shaggy doesn’t really do labels. Gender isn’t a big deal to him. I would say he’s a 1 or 2. Seeing as he’s had one crush in his life it’s a bit hard to tell. 16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him? I have had this debate with myself many times. Sometimes I feel like Shaggy could be asexual, but again, it’s a bit hard to tell. He’s weird about physical contact no matter how small unless he’s comfortable with a person or in a rare mood, so sex isn’t a big deal to him. He could be in a relationship without it. He definitely isn’t the type of person that could be with a stranger, no strings attached, friends with benefits unless he was blackout drunk, and even then I find it hard to believe he would initiate anything. It’s kind of the last thing on his mind. To go all the way with someone he would have to truly be in love with said person. And even then he might rather cuddle. The idea of it probably stresses him out. I’m going to say it’s not that important, maybe not important at all...? Maybe he needs to be in a relationship before we can figure that out. Hell if I know. Ask Shaggy. He confuses me. 17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? Please don’t make me think about this.

BELIEFS !!

1. Do you know your character’s astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type? He was born on November 4th which makes him a Scorpio. Reading up on the sign, some parts fit and some parts don’t. 2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life? Somewhat. He believes in a higher power, but he doesn’t necessarily follow the bible or pray. He figures there’s someone looking after the Earth. He just isn’t sure who. 3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it? He believes in the golden rule -- do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The only reason he would ever be harsh to someone would be in order to stand up for another person he cares about. 4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent? Curious, indifferent. He doesn’t expect anyone to believe exactly what he does. He’s an open minded dude. 5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them? Life’s too short to be judgmental.

DAILY LIFE !!

1. What is the character’s financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt? His parents are well off. Not rich, but comfortable. Money doesn’t mean anything much to him as long as he’s got enough to afford food. 2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him? Low. He was seen as a loser. That stoner that ditched classes. He was laughed at, teased, ignored. I think it’s gotten better. People aren’t as quick to judge him here. He doesn’t really care what strangers think, but he appreciates not being frowned upon 24/7. 3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others? Back at home he lived in a house with his mother, father, Maggie and Scooby Doo. His room was his safe place. Now he shares a dorm with Scooby and since Barbie is currently listed as his roommate and she isn’t here, I suppose it’s only the two of them. His side is not extremely clean. Clothes are tossed around, there are probably always snacks sitting on his table, crumbs in his bed, an overflowing wastebasket because he forgets to take out the trash... he should really take better care of where he lives. 4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on? Dog treats, dog toys and an excessive amount of junk food or fast food. 5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else? He has had a few odd jobs over summers in the past but he is currently unemployed. He has absolutely no idea what he wants to do for a living. 6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time? Eating. Sleeping. Smoking. Hanging out with Scooby. His mom doesn’t think he’s a lazy bum for no reason. 7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods? I don’t think Shaggy has ever skipped a meal in his life. He would probably have to be actually dying for that to happen. He isn’t a heavy drinker, he would only drink at, say, a party where he was being pressured to. There are no kinds of food he avoids. He isn’t a big fan of salads or tofu, but he’ll eat them before he goes hungry. With as much as he eats he does take in some healthy foods, but the amount of unhealthiness outweighs it. He could live off of things like pizza, chips, greasy burgers, tubs of ice cream, tacos, salty fries, chicken nuggets, you name it. It’s amazing he is able to stay as lean as he does.

ASSOCIATIONS !!

1. Color? Green. 2. Smell? Cologne, but not an overbearing amount. 3. Time of day? Lunchtime. 4. Season? Fall. 5. Book? To Kill A Mockingbird. 6. Music? 90′s alternative rock. 7. Place? Wherever his friends are. 8. Substance? Marijuana. 9. Plant? Besides the obvious answer...? 10. Animal? Dogs.

EVERY * LEADS TO A PICTURE !!

[yearwithoutbeer-blog1]

Obsession for Notebook Junkies

If you ask My Wife what I’m addicted to, she’ll say notebooks without hesitation. Be it $25 Moleskines, $1 back-to-school journals, pocket notebooks bought in bulk, or legal pads, I cannot get enough. In fact, the only kind I do not actively purchase are your typical spiral-bound notebooks; they get tangled in everything and the ends of the wire catch on clothes. They’re a mess. That said, I will get smaller spiral-bound books, such as these gems. But, I mean, come on! They were a buck at Target, and they have Spider-Man 2099 on them. Tell me with a straight face that you, too, would not have bought the entire stock of these bad boys. (Plus, maybe, the Star Wars ones.)

No? It’s just me? That’s fine, ‘cause it means more Spider-Man goodness all to myself.

To contain my notebooks, I’ve dedicated a three-shelf bookcase to house them, and placed it on the left side of my desk. When I’m sitting there, I am never out of reach of something to write in or on. They’re semi-organized by type and size, and sometimes color. Yet, even that is not enough space; the overflow is so great, about a year ago I began storing some at work — at both of my desks.

Each book has (or will have) a dedicated purpose. For instance, there’s:

The book for my Bigger on the Inside notes.

One for The Edge of Forever.

Another for Earth-2.net: The Show.

There’s a second one for The Show that isn’t for reviews, but, rather talking points for one-man shows.

The book of podcast ideas.

And just in case you think I only think about podcasts, some of the books are littered with story starts, as well as first and second drafts.

Last week, though, I bought my first day planner. Tell me this isn’t badass.

Though I’m generally pretty good at keeping track of my Whens and Wheres, I thought it would be a sound idea to get one for work. In the one whole day I’ve used it, I’ve found writing down my calendar and agenda — rather than entering them into a digital calendar to be synced with my devices, or scrawling things on scraps of paper — helps me better organize my Whens, Wheres, and thoughts.

Even before it arrived and I had a chance to begin using it, I thought maybe it might be a good idea to buy another one for home life. There’s a matching Batman ‘66 Moleskine planner I had my eye on, but I can’t quite justify the price for something I may get tired of after a week or two. (The Joker one seen above I found on eBay at a deep discount.) So I started looking around Amazon and eBay for other (possibly Moleskine) planners. And what did I find?

My new obsession, is what!

On Amazon, one can purchase 2013 and 2014 Moleskine planners for a penny. One cent. That little copper thing that turns green after a while. The coin you won’t pick up if you see one on the sidewalk. A single, useless penny. Okay, plus $3.99 shipping. But that’s still only $4 for a planner.

Okay, so I can hear you now: “Who in the world would want a three- or four-year-old planner?”

As a wise man once said: “You never know when an old calendar might come in handy! Sure it’s not 1985 right now, but who knows what tomorrow will bring?”

Well, okay, maybe he’s not that wise.

No, the reason I’m obsessed with this idea is because these planners are 144 pages, and it’s almost silly to pass up a nearly 150-page notebook for only $4. Especially the otherwise-pricey Moleskines.

But, still, you wonder, “What’s the use?”

Writing and drawing, of course. I have no problem writing over what’s already printed in the book. Use a dark enough pen, and who cares what’s pre-printed on the page? As an example, below you’ll see a little scene I wrote (and some unrelated guy I drew) over the flight duration page in my new Joker planner. If you can get past my shitting handwriting, you can read the page just fine.

So where some people might see an out-of-date / useless day planner, I see opportunities to scribble and doodle.

Will I buy the 2013 and 2014 planners? Probably not. I have enough notebooks already. (Somewhere, My Wife just laughed to herself.) But it’s fun to obsess over the possibilities for old planners. (However, if I find ones with free shipping and costing nothing but a penny, I might have to click the Place Your Order button on Amazon.)

Today I Would Have Purchased: A four-pack of Daisy Cutter Pale Ale by Half Acre, costing $12.25 after tax.

[batterymonster2021]

"Competition Time" | Father Ted | Series 1 Episode 4 | Dead Parrot

New Post has been published on https://hititem.kr/competition-time-father-ted-series-1-episode-4-dead-parrot-5/

"Competition Time" | Father Ted | Series 1 Episode 4 | Dead Parrot

I see you’re able Dougal in a position when you’re Ted you adore this Dougal k here I come who’re you presupposed to be Ted what are you doing you’re genuine can’t go as Elvis you wait a 2nd you are Elvis as good what i know is I bought Elvis written on my back i do not think this bit of a accident all correct there quality minds think alike I feel i have been saying for the final two weeks that I was once going as Elvis ah that’s normally the place I acquired the notion that is satisfactory this relatively is the primary all priest stars and their eyes look alike competition I thought I had a risk of successful I’ve even cleared an area for the trophy apart from the one we got for coming 1/3 within the noodle championships as you confidently win Ted you never understand and one in every of you run earlier than me I appear in Aegis everyone will think I copied the notion of you well Ted to be fair no it is a bit bizarre you happen to believe of it as well proper right I just need to go as mother Teresa once more who’re you imagined to be Elvis i’m Elvis i am Elvis i know you are Elvis father Woodall Elvis that is the challenge a cup of tea within the afternoon you appear somewhat distinct father i am and a hair color whatever no i am Elvis Presley are you father not to turn up for the books anyway the ancient police look like show the next day oh now I see well I ought to say i’m watching forward to that is father Kiernan coming he is not going to be known he’s a quality laughs I take into account last yr telling all his reports he had me in stitches you know it is true what they say about chubby man isn’t it they’re jollier than the leisure of us they’ve a method of looking at matters he shot himself I feel that is mostly the best way with fat guys is not us they chuckle to cover the tears however you that is existence joyful one minute and the next I suppose you simply go and shoot your self and that’s that howdy ha Ted hiya dick Barney hi there chica how are things on rugged Island oh no longer so dangerous you all set for day after today the competitors what do we received deliberate I shouldn’t say that’ll be giving you an skills mother Teresa no I do think it possibly one more danger of winning this year oh well do you really dick recognize who is Eddie look Dugan i am asking you an extra time do not go as Elvis huh look i’ve been looking ahead to this it for a while i know all the strikes and the whole lot and bear in mind who’s judging this 12 months best Henry Sellars no he is coming here Wow I did this dooble father accomplished is bringing him over I’ve never met a celeb earlier than you met the Pope did i do not bear in mind after we run unsuitable that was the boat felon living in the technology of gallery the Vatican doing oh the same i would not say is that celebrity like in the true experience of the word you recognize the Pope is God’s consultant on earth to loot you consider of you taller what like a large you know Henry marketers are available right here which be aware of the Elvis obstacle seem we toss first whoever wins can go as Elvis okay all correct right heads or tails heads or tails Google hello no tears heads yes heads Google you ought to commission can you prefer between the two sorry about that head it just obtained a bit excited there i am go once more heads or tails heads are you certain absolutely rate tails heads tails heads Dugan heads dude mcountdown tails heads tails heads Google Google are you all proper Pam hello i am I in finding head i am simply now not the best at making decisions seem Aram I let you know what we do you toss the coin i’ll take heads heads it is go ahead toss it there omit it fail to remember it yes howdy Henry’s on fed again to you Monica for a five-point question the capital of England is it big apple London of Munich i will provide you with a clue you are living there Oh James you recognize I leaned on the button he is best isn’t he useless Henry I have to be here any second are you excited Ted Henry retailers seem at him they are asking the questions sew in time saves what number of sorry London any idea why you left the BBC Ted I appear Ted why do not you be Elvis considering the fact that you idea of it first I consider it’s handiest fair i am going with mother Teresa i am sorry do it i’m being very egocentric i’m sorry you you goes never-ending no Ted it can be not fair on you you you had your coronary heart set on it no seriously you go Xander’s rather nice thanks Ted except you’d decide upon to go as mom Teresa I no no longer quite anyway there’s only one mom Teresa and that’s you Ted thanks Doodle boy good at the least i’m going to have the honour of taking good care of mr.Sellers it is foremost that we be totally Nystrom that’ll strengthen our chances of winning are 100% we are going to need to fill him up with food and drinks until it can be popping out of his ears and you’ll be able to be pleasant to mr. Agents will not your father father you all right ah no no longer bathroom duck again you understand what that does to you probably seeing the crimson elephants again what number of fingers am i conserving up to you if you are now not too dangerous generally getting a Mewtwo by using now that’ll be him that Henry oh god he is here hello there Henry Sellars father Ted real it’s a great honor to have you right here mister oh and it can be lovely to be right here too good day father um sorry that is father Dugan McGuire Duggal say something to the place mr. Sellars in how historic are you he asked you mr. Sellars how historic he that is fairly all proper i am 37 father that is father Jack Hackett hey father with the aid of father just gone for his walk huh no is there some thing we will get you mr. Marketers and make contact with me Henry good them if you had anything to consume maybe possibly a sandwich mrs.Doyle some sandwiches howdy is there some thing fallacious with your head do excellent what no it’s just his hair appears somewhat doodle I failed to say something it’s just Henry’s hair looks slightly mad is his father accomplished with you oh sure she’s just bringing out their hee ha ha ha dad ha ha dartie good to peer it take a seat down there it’s essential to be on craggy Island once more ah god i haven’t visible you in ages I keep in mind the last time I was once here we had that humorous incident don’t forget ha ha I believe I feel you have forgotten all about us first a form of factor you recognize good what what what is this what is this the final time father finished was with us yeah father Jack lost his slippers first percent like he had us watching each father used to be if it’s just like the kind of thing you realize we discovered them after a while this was once her pitch like oh Lord how long is the card you are 4 hours with the object I feel it have got to be so what’s it like being a tv megastar haha good it have to it must be I ought to say Henry we’re in order that delighted to have you here is there whatever else we can get you no no i’m exceptional some extra sun no oh no no no no i’m first-class certainly pleasant thank you everything ok together with your hair stop talking about Henry’s hair i am sorry Haley it is just your hair is so typical-watching do we can discontinue speaking about it it relatively is a wonderful head of hair anyway what I was pronouncing used to be some thing you want in any respect simply ask first we are able to get it for you there is no main issue there and i imply anything anything that you wish to have whatever that you want there shall be at all feasible for us to get you simply asked for and i imply something there isn’t any concern there Todd anything well surely i have been having a bit of main issue getting the English papers i’m wondering would be given the English papers anything you wish to have anything else just out except without doubt the English papers well you don’t have the number of a father dick burn at all you’d be making mistake in case you went to consult with them oh good why is that father they’re lepers they’re nepers the three of them are lepers rugged Island is a leper colony leper colony you’re now not serious good no it’s now not leprosy whatever flawed there you ever believe how strange it was once she clergymen dwelling alone on an island like that oh no there may be anything no longer quite right there you’d be at an advantage staying with us Ted might you inform me where the older if you understand the older the historic hair is up the steps and it is fee below left haha it can be a wig time for a little bit nightcap on you are walking out of sandwiches I carry in some more yeah I will not have a sherry thing do not be silly now of course you no no no relatively I mustn’t how tough it is going to aid you see no no it’s not a just right notion you go forward just a little drop only a teeny tiny bit today little bit of sherry section anybody as the de eire would not win the Eurovision song Contest go on no no no relatively oh yeah go one go on do not stroll on one go on go on go on go on go on go on go on no seriously oh go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on go on what a shout of bastards Oh Lord Ted why did you supply him a drink I didn’t recognize this had happened I desire it that is why they sacked him from that application he’s a horrible alcoholic he’s been on the wagon now for a yr oh my god Ted how was I supposed to grasp sack me I made the BBC I made it maybe you’ve gotten a rest you can consider better an hour faraway from me recent the keys Suns long gone forgot the bed there’s not ever ending on anyway i’m gonna kick myself you wanna combat huh bloody monks oh oh bloody sanctimonious scumbags absolutely made my existence a distress with so mother honey but are you sure you wouldn’t like to head to mattress remembers itself somewhat longer ha ha uninterested with you old bastard i am getting out of here don’t you attempt to stop me it can be proper what they say although is not it you will have to never meet your heroes you can only be disillusioned assume if we weren’t must get her back he’d be like Bigfoot besides he’d be a BBC tv presenter you see him they are very the timber acquired him terribly sorry but the entire sergeant are no obstacle father i’ve been by way of it earlier than rock stars actors tv personalities they go off to drink in the medications and so they come over to areas like this the solitude can get to them what happened to this fella he was once best at some point after which he took a sip of sherry relapse that is when there are most detrimental correct you are capable i would like you to bang these together to be able to this that must scare a transfer to the woods so I take a transparent shot on them tranquil lasered out father it would just put him to sleep for a bit still it seems just a little severe it’s the first-rate we’ve you recognize nice god this jogs my memory of Vietnam no no I mean you realize the movie’s howdy wait let’s go it is Jack I’ve got a transparent shot of him father do you wish to have me to get him no learners go he make us all means again oh my god my head oh there you might be Henry a best cup of tea what Oh oh my god where am I what happened final night I don’t forget having a sip of sherry nothing to fear about i hope I didn’t do whatever to embarrass your father Judith you’re excellent Henry I expect that to be father dick bone you understand I sort of suppose sorry for him although marooned on that island with those Eagles and there is surely nothing in usual surely nothing in usual good day hiya dick Ted we were simply speaking about you fairly yeah we have been simply saying how pleasant you were quite no hilarious dick I was once just calling to make certain you’re gonna flip up tonight why wouldn’t I flip up tonight good you recognize maybe slightly embarrassing to a come last once more we’re all becoming lastic it’s you who’ll be coming final correctly I instructed her could have a bit bet on to these watch our money where your mouth is Ted what are we speaking about right here a pound two pounds 5 kilos five kilos what’s the matter dick you scared course i am no longer scared 5 pounds it’s see you tonight well i might higher go get myself cleaned up for tonight you recognize brush my teeth strange FF a strange style of uncooked meat in my mouth that on a technique that is not correct you are Henry 5 kilos I have to be insane we haven’t a hope in hell why are not able to all of us goes over on account that we all seem the identical Google anyway Jack will probably be in any moment watching for his afternoon drink there he goes bang on time Teddy looks very tough we’ll have to get him sobered up if he’s gonna do that contest no Dougal wait go away him i’ve an concept you already know he looks a bitch like he won’t intellect me telling you this now ah no no no anyway Henry marks for father Carl very good i’ll supply him seven out of ten that signifies that the boys from rugged Island are nonetheless in the lead with nine out of ten so tremendous hand for Diana Ross and two of The Supremes Oh start have a good time from but recall now we have nonetheless got one more X in the past oh yes so females and gentlemen please welcome pop tradition the stick to father McWhorter and father Hackett Elvis Presley was once a simple truck driver from the usa but one day within the Nineteen Fifties he invented rock and roll I dispose of in Elvis grew to be famous then they compelled him into the army then he got here out and ten years later he got here again with a comeback distinctive Elvis was back from then unto the tip of his lifestyles he played in Las Vegas and grew to be as soon as once more the king of rock and roll thank you i am fasting Lord God Almighty three Elvises for to you with a ultimate max satisfactory intent was once fantastic thanks very a lot social gathering 5 kilos Ted rough appear dick can we no longer windy comprehend him via this 12 months the trophy goes to craggy Island I think if each chance of successful subsequent yr you’re relatively lifeless no man sir let’s go house i know you said him rapidly 20 of whiskey at dwelling fun that’s ceramic dachshund tremendously eejit isn’t he dead right here we are now oh good seeing that I failed to make a idiot of myself the last time I could as good have a pitcher of low-priced candy no don’t fear father sure if I cannot have fun tonight so when am i able to the bastards what is going on on how dare they do this to me good there he goes once more rip their head on no account mind we will look for him within the morning anyway good carried out once more Dougal what’d you suppose of the trophy that’s fine it’s all considering the fact that the you Ted put it there