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felinefractious · 6 months ago

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I tried to adopt a cat from a rescue, I really did. I filled out and submitted applications to 5 different rescues because the local SPCAs didn't have cats that fit my needs (social with cats and dogs, approximately 1 year old, high energy, and preferably long or medium haired).

I explained in detail the care I give my current cupcake. She's spayed, gets routine vet care, is up to date on shots. She has her own room (my room) which is set up with shelves, trees, 2 litter boxes. She gets supervised free roam of the house (not 24/7 because of lifestyle reasons). I use puzzle feeders for her meals- high end brands like The Honest Kitchen, Open Farm, Stella and Chewy (I like to mix it up to keep it interesting). I play with her at least twice a day, or whenever she asks. Indoors only. She has a water fountain. We're working on harness training. I made it clear I had a second room set up similarly and ready to go, and carefully researched introductions. Dogs are cat social and kenneled unless supervised. I don't know, I feel like my cat lives a good life. She's happy, fit, and I adore her.

Couple of weeks past and I received 5 rejection emails with reasons such: I maintain a very small flock of exhibition poultry, that I do breed and sell the chicks of seasonally, which is...immoral to them, I guess; my brother who does live in the same household has intact show and working dogs; the dogs are kenneled (what??); I don't work full-time; one even said it was because I feed my current cat dry food instead of wet food. My cat straight up won't eat wet food! She hates it! I replied and said I would offer wet food if the new cat wanted it, and they never responded.

It all just seemed like weird reasons to me. Maybe not, I don't know if that's just how rescues are. I ended up with my cat through the pregnant cat distribution system (my mom owns her mom) so I didn't have to deal with takes on cat care I didn't get.

Dejected, I started looking on Craigslist and saw a cat that perfectly fit my needs- a sphynx outcross project that tested positive for mild HCM (asymptomatic for now) so the breeder who purchased him immediately neutered him. So I asked about him, located a cardiologist and scheduled an appointment with my vet ahead of time to get a referral to the cardiologist. Did lots of reading on HCM. Met with them and they were lovely. Got all his paperwork with his health testing and his whole history and genetics. I fell in love with him immediately. Everything they said about him has been true: he's confident, well-mannered, has the exact same play style as my kitty. There was not a single point during the 4 hour drive home that he showed signs of stress, he took treats and just lounged. When I set him in his room, he waltzed right out of his carrier with his chest puffed out, head held high, and rubbed all over me, purring and bumping his head into me. There hasn't been an adjustment period, he just came out and was like, "sweet, new digs! now, pet me!" Settled into a routine so fast. Has been perfect for his nails and bathing him. We're already making tremendous progress with recall.

This cat is so fucking well socialized. And his structure? Fucking gorgeous. Exactly as sphynx are described, with a deep chest, solid belly, longer hind legs than front, long creepy fingers which he uses to grip me instead of his claws and it feels like a human infant gripping me (deeply unsettling).

It's been such a good experience, and the rescues were so weird, I honestly don't know if I can ever get a cat that wasn't selectively bred again. He's not even pure bred! His dad is 100% sphynx but his mom is a dominant blue eye project from approved sphynx outcrosses.

Don't get me wrong, I love my first bastard kitty, she's the best cat there is. But now I have two perfect cats! I didn't realize that was possible...all my friends' cats, they're often much more nervous and shy. I was prepared for my second kitty to just never live up to my first.

Here he is, my weird coated mostly sphynx:

Bonus DNA results

I wonder what that person bit is about.

Unfortunately your story is not unique.

These excessive and unrealistic standards are part of what I mean when I discuss barriers to adoption as being one of the actual issues contributing to overpopulation of homeless pets.

I’ve seen people discuss being rejected due to their age despite being staffed in the veterinary field, the person was in their early 20’s.

I’ve seen people discuss being rejected due to having intact animals in the household despite them being species that aren’t traditionally altered, like reptiles.

A rescue I knew would avoid adopting out to people who indicated they would feed a brand of food the rescue considered to be lower quality, such as Friskies canned.

I’ve spoken to rescues for a veterinary reference who were disappointed the prospective adopters most recent cat wasn’t current on their vaccinations despite being an 18+ hospice case.

I could go on and on and on.

I’m glad you were finally able to find a cat to give a good forever home to, it’s clear that you’re passionate about your animals and knowledgeable about their care.

I would put too much stock in the 12% Persian, you can’t test for breeds in cats the same way as you can in dogs. Wisdom Panel is great for health and trait testing but nonsense for breeds.

You can really see the Devon in his face in the picture you used for the test, though!

#lostinthelegs #asks #adoptshop tag

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twice-inamillion · 2 years ago

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Mina’s Breakdown

Agnst

*Mina has a break down due to her Sharon ego.

Chapter 125:

While Chaeyoung is in the bathroom, you get a text from Nayeon and Sana to help her carry some items from the garage to the kitchen. After you are done, you come back and see Mina feeding Ari in the living, but you notice that she is not mentally there, spaced out.

Ari cries because Mina's nipple comes loose from Ari's mouth, and Mina hasn't done anything about it.

It isn't until you go up here and tap her shoulder that she gets out of her spaced-out traces and says, "Aww, I'm so sorry, Ari, I wasn't paying attention," and adjusts her nipple so Ari can go back to drinking.

You ask Mina if she's okay, and she says, "Yeah, I'm okay. Just have something on my mind." You know that Mina is not okay, but you don't know how to approach it at the moment. You so ask Sana to take watch of the twins when Mina seems a bit "busy."

"Of course, no problem. I'm more than happy to take care of these bundles of joy."

You go to work to the office, and when you come back, Nayeon tells you that Mina when for a walk but took 2 hours to come back. "When Mina came back, she seemed out of it, as if she was here but only really here. She didn't even say hi to the babies, and Sana had to watch over them too. Even Dahyun said that when she went for her walk, she saw Mina sitting on a bench and called for her, but she didn't reply."

This made you think that she was being too hard on herself. You try to talk to her, but she says she doesn't want to discuss it.

This continues for two days until you get a knock on the door, and it's Mina's mom. You are surprised that she is here; ask her, "Hello, Mom, what brings you here? Come to visit the kids?" "Yes, I came to visit and see Mina for a bit. Is it okay for you and the girls to watch over the babies for a week? I'm going to take Mina back to Japan for a bit."

Chapter 126:

You let her into the house, and she sees Hina and Ari being fed formula by Sana and Dahyun. Mina's mom approaches the babies and says, "Aww, my cute little grandbabies, I've missed both of you so much!"

She holds them for a while, and you wonder if it's the right time to tell her about Mina. You make up your mind and say, "Mom, there is something I want to talk about. I don't know if you know, but Mina's been very distant lately. Could you help me talk to her? She's been constantly avoiding a certain topic."

"That is strange of Mina to avoid a topic or someone. What is issue is it about?"

"We had a talk about "Sharon," and it's really been affecting her. I know she's hurting, and I feel horrible about it. Please, Mom, help me talk to Mina," you say as you are practically begging her at the end, "I just want Mina to be her usual self again."

"Okay, I'll talk to her, but I also came because she didn't sound the same when she called me. She said she needed me, so I came to Korea to see her. Now that I know what this is about, I'll try to help." You thank her, and she heads to Mina's room.

An hour passes by, and Mina's mom comes out. You ask her what happened. "I can't tell you exactly what happened, but I'll be taking her with me back to Japan. I really want to take the babies with me, but I feel that they will get more affected by Mina's lack of attention. Would you watch over them until she gets back?"

You are shocked that you asked her for help, and she is going to take Mina back to Japan.

"I'll get her the help she needs; hopefully, she can return soon."

An hour later, Mina and her mom are leaving, and Mina is walking down with her hair, covering her face with a hoodie. She walks past the babies looking at her and begins to cry. She leaves without saying goodbye to the babies or you.

As Mina leaves, you hold onto Ari and Hina, "Don't cry, girls, Mommy will come back." You hold on to the girls for the rest of the day and have them sleep with you at night.

You wake up the next day and see that Dahyun and Sana are helping you change the babies' diapers. It was a rough night since the babies were used to sleeping with their mothers. Now that she is not here, the babies miss their mother's scent and milk.

#twice mina #twice angst #twice smut #twice fluff #kpop fluff #kpop smut #kpop angst #myoui mina #TM smut

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terresdebrume · 5 months ago

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For the WIP askbox: Limo driver Joe please!!

There you go Nonners! :D

This one is still in the very rough stage but we're making progress bit by bit^^ Kinda warning for implied homophobia and bad familial relationships.

[Ask me about my WIPs]

“I understand things have been a bit difficult,” mom says in that prim, rich tone she uses when she says she understands family is important but the maid is still being very inconvenient about taking a day off, “but I hardly see how making yourself look like a lesbian is going to help anything.”

David, half his weight leaned against the limousine’s door, rubs at his clavicle with a loud sigh. It's still sore from the break, and the skin hasn't gotten back to its normal color where the seatbelt gave him a friction burn. His neck still itches with the phantom weight of a brace when he's falling asleep. And then of course: the nightmares. David hasn't had a full night's sleep since January, which his mother might know about if they had a relationship where they told each other anything at all.

“You had such nice curls,” mom says, leaning hard across the wide backseat to run a hand through David's cropped side, inches from where he knows for a fact his hair still curls at the top of his head. “Who's going to see them now?”

Objectively, the answer is: far more people than before. David hadn't let anyone see his hair arranged in anything other than a dancer-tight bun in years before he got the fateful haircut. Hoob, when they tried to have sex for the first time, even spent a solid two minutes digesting the fact that he'd never realized his girlfriend had curly hair. If he were here like they'd planned, Hoob would be pointing that out to David's mother in the calmest, most genuinely puzzled tone imaginable.

But Hoob is not here. He is rotting somewhere in Ohio, in a hole where his grandparents and several ancestors have been feeding maggots for generations, while Rob’s fucking ashes fertilize some emotionally significant garden in Loomis, Washington. The thought of them pierces David like a lance, the warm spray of blood and brain matter on his face surging up from his memory to make him gag. In the front seat, Joe is silent, focused on driving, but the edge of his mouth is lower than usual. That's all the comfort David gets before his mom clicks her tongue.

“Kenya, are you even listening to me?”

“No,” David says, truthfully. “I'm tired. I wanna go home.”

“‘I want to’ go home,” mom says, sighing when David crosses his arms over his chest. “Vicky is expecting us in half an hour for fittings, and you still don't have anything to wear. If you think I'll allow you to pick an old dress—”

“I'll have Joe bring me back next week,” David snaps, impatient. “I smell like an airplane. I want to go home.”

He's being pouty. He knows he's being pouty, because mom makes the annoyed sound she makes when David's being difficult for no reason, but fuck it. David is sore from his flight, from a sleepless night, from the strain of landing to two pecks on the cheeks followed by a deluge of vain gossip about vain people he couldn't give less of a shit about. If Vicky dearest, whom mom describes as a vainglorious bitch when they're alone at home, can't accept David having an afternoon to himself after he flies home from Europe, he will be absolutely delighted to be taken off the guest list from her wedding.

“Joe's contract will be over by next week,” mom says, and David groans, fingernails digging in the meat of his arms.

“Mom, I don't care, I want to go home!”

He wants to sleep for as long as he can manage, or at least stay in a dark and quiet room for a while. He'll stare at the ceiling with his heart in his throat, and feel like he's suffocating, and maybe sob a bit by the end, and then he'll wash up and sneak out to Joe's miniscule cottage on the property so they can play Mario Kart and piss each other off until mom has to be driven back from Vicky's stupid fitting.

#Matt writes #band of brothers #hbo war fanfic #David Webster #s: limo driver joe

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nimblermortal · 1 year ago

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Fic Request

(This is not really a fic request, it's something Tea and I are cooking up because we are cooking up too many Tamora Pierce fics in the course of rereading. But I am writing the rest of the Witcher fic and then I will come round and scoop them all. Probably. Maybe. Plot bunnies, y'know?)

@hello-delicious-tea

So George Cooper is not an idiot, and when he sends a pocket full of darkings to Aly, he keeps one of the batch. This allows him to know everything that's going on during the Copper Isles rebellion, and keep an eye on his daughter. Easy win!

George has been watching the proceedings in the Copper Isles for months thinking, "What is Aly going to do about Dunevon? She's going to have to kill a five-year-old - maybe two five-year-olds - and that is a sucky thing to do and also bad for her soul" and trying to figure how to get out of it.

Imajane and Rubinyan cook up their plan to kill Dunevon. There is a brief Macbeth-style argument about it, in which Imajane proposes this plan - mostly as a fait accompli - to Rubinyan, who goes, "It seems a bit ridiculously evil to kill a five-year-old for power we already have" and Imajane gives him a disgusted look and tells him to screw his courage to the sticking place.

This occurs within range of Rubinyan's darking. Because of time zones, it reports to George first, who goes, "They're solving the five-year-old problem for us? That's gr - that's awful." He thinks for a moment, and tells his darking, "Do not let anyone tell Aly, it will only upset her and there's nothing she can do. I'm very sorry you had to know about this. Why don't you go talk to Daine and take your mind off your troubles?"

So the darking hops down the hall to Daine's room, where they have a very pleasant chat, as far as it is concerned. (The darking's name is Tameran's Finest Black Raspberry Marmalade from the First Flush of the Season. Daine calls it Marmie.)

Daine is a new mom. George has experience with new moms. When Alanna was nine months pregnant he had to repeatedly stop her from dueling commoners over the welfare of their toddlers. He is correctly confident that she has the skills to solve this problem, and sure enough, Marmie sobs its guts up to Daine, who declares this will happen over her dead body and talks to some friends.

When the boat breaks up, there are dolphins waiting to pluck Dunevon and Elsren from the sea. They arrive in Pirate's Swoop at the same time Daine does, where she backs George into a corner and forces him to find a place to take care of these poor boys. (George has a great time. He also talks Daine out of sending parrots to tell Winna and Taybur exactly what happened to their sons because those poor parents.)

So instead Daine sends a parrot to Taybur to squawk DOLPHIN at him every time the subject comes up when he's alone. It's. It's a bit ham-handed, honestly, he gets the point.

~~Meanwhile~~ the coup has gone off successfully, Dove is queen and one of her first goals is to put as much distance between her mother's other surviving child and the throne as possible. This is difficult since she is fourteen and hasn't even gotten her period yet, but she's auditioning suitors from day one, and puts Aly in charge of scouting them. Aly is discovering her skills as matchmaker. Particularly politically, when if Dove chooses a raka or a luarin there will be consternation. Ideally she needs a well-footed raka with Connections, but there aren't a lot of those. Dove, horrifyingly, has suggested compromising by choosing a crow as royal consort, and even has a preferred candidate who has agreed to mate-feed her.

Aly solves this problem by sending the crow off on a Grand Tour to learn to cook insects. And, because she is a splendid matchmaker, she also sends Winna to take her mind off her problems, Petranne to keep her out of the way of other schemers, and Taybur to be Petranne's bodyguard. Because Taybur needs a new kid to guard, poor guy, and she thinks Taybur and Winnamine would be a cute couple.

Taybur proposes an itinerary of nearby beaches, because he deserves to relax on the beach, dammit. Some nice coastal regions within a reachable distance of a day boating trip from Rajmuat. And as they are relaxing on the beach, a fellow comes up to him and offers him a cocktail from the traditional recipe of the Homewood family in Fief Tameran.

(This is a code signal. Taybur gives the wrong answer, so the profferer goes on to sell cocktails to other groups. There is, somewhere, a spy with the right response; George is economical.)

Taybur goes, "There is no Homewood family in Fief Tameran, I checked. Unless." So he quietly adds Tameran to their itinerary, where he and Winna seek out the Homewood family and find two orphaned boys of the exact ages of their lost sons, who look nothing like them, because Numair shape changed them and they are not mages and can't shapeshift back. (Daine's eldest thinks this is very funny.) And they adopt these boys, and everyone everywhere goes, "Oh, these poor sad adults, adopting orphans the same age as their lost boys" and sheds tears.

By the end of their tour Winna has married Taybur (Aly is such a successful matchmaker) for plausible deniability and to immigrate to Carthak because there's a little too much Tortallan spying in their private lives and they for sure don't want to be in the Copper Isles. (Zaimid got Sarai Carthaki citizenship so Sarai can get Winna citizenship and Winna can get Petranne and Duny and Alaren citizenship, but they can only get Taybur citizenship if he's married to Winna.) They coparent so good.

Back in the Isles, Dove turns seventeen and immediately be-consorts the crow, who has returned from his Grand Tour and is prepared to feed her bags of lime and chili pepper fried crickets. He is not raka. He is not luarin. He is not foreign. He is the direct son of the Dawn Crow, and his children are the Dawn Crow's grandchildren. He is the most garish person at the Island's court (fashion is not becoming more restrained and Aly is horrified) and sometimes sits on top of the throne. He is very good in bed.

They have children very fast so that they can mob Dove's enemies, which the half-crow children are in fact down for. There is a period, in their childhood, during which you can tell when a courtier has lost standing in court not by any forced gifts or exile but because a horde of children erupts from a bush screaming and beating the courtier with their arms/wings. Kyprioth is so pleased.

Dove declares that her heir will be whichever oldest child reaches adulthood and decides to continue as a human, not a crow. This bizarre gavelkind sort of operation stumps people considering assassination of the heir for their own purposes. Remaining problem: the kids keep throwing themselves off the execution cliff because, as grandchildren of the Dawn Crow, they can still turn into crows themselves and it's Fun.

#fic request

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orifumioshi · 1 year ago

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CW: Animal death mention.

It's been a week since my kitty mama Manchitas passed away and although I finally stopped crying I still miss her so much. Taking care of her was a big part of my routine that now I feel like I have nothing to do.

Because of the nature of her cancer, she couldn't eat croquettes anymore and had to rely on wet food pouches so I had to be there to feed her and give her her pills on the morning with her food but now that I don't have to do it, I feel quite empty ;w;

And one of her daughters, Michi has been quite noisy and meowing at random times... I think she's asking where her mom is because I do the things she would usually want me to do when she meows but these days, it hasn't worked; two days ago she even went and sat down on her mom's tomb.

Bolita has been spending her time alone so much but three days ago she accepted Michi to be with her for a brief moment but aside that, she never sleeps with Michi and has been trying to be with me at the same times Manchitas would have been with me, overall in the mornings.

Nala on the other side, since we adopted her last year, she wasn't that attached so, guess she's not that aware that Manchitas is not here anymore overall because she spends all the day playing in the garden chasing bugs that she doesn't even minds the others.

Guess only time will let them heal. The nights are the worse for them because Michi and Bolita loved to sleep together with their mom but now that she's not here, they've never slept together again during this whole week.

#just a txt #megane madao has girls kitties uwu #megane madao is venting #png orders #cw animal death

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noosesurroundsme · 9 months ago

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I wish I could be the middle or youngest sibling. Can't depend on either sibling for any basic responsibility. Not washing their dishes after the use them, not feeding the dog or cat, not taking their garbages out or the main one to the curb. Both are over 18 and don't do anything. My mom hasn't been home this past week because one of our family members had a health emergency. She's been taking care of his wife but now has to stay there until he comes back from the hospital. She usually feeds Miche at night since I get home from work late but when she can't the youngest has always been asked and expected to do it. But he never does. It's always "I forgot." I wish I could just forget to feed the cat and not feel a fucking thing, like it's nonchalant. If we ever go on vacation and have to depend on either of them while we're away we're fucking doomed. I already found that out last time I was on vacation. I decided to stay home because I knew I couldn't depend on the middle child if I went to Florida with the family, first day I left the house to go by a friend. I took Izzy out and fed both her and Miche. The next morning I woke up to a very large, mostly dry pee stain in the hardwood of the dinning room. I didn't see it when I got back late but it was large enough that it happened some time between leaving and coming home. My brother didn't bother taking her out.

What is the point of them living here if they don't even do the bare minimum. It stresses me out and it doesn't have to be that way but my mom doesn't want to do anything to change it. She said she wanted them to have jobs by March 1st so they can start helping around here but neither even tried.

#i am sick of them #this is my house too and its never going to feel like it if they keep getting a free ride #it stresses me the fuck out

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hospitalterrorizer · 1 year ago

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diary66

11/16-17/2023

thursday-friday

crazy how many airplanes i hear. entry will be short i feel like.

it's all stuff happening for formula one i think. lots of private jets supposedly. still not enough traffic here to fill these seats though, and tonight a part of the track destroyed a guy's car because it wasn't built correctly. literally not the driver's fault at all. insane stuff, a psychotic waste of money.

anyways i think i'm starting to start to feel better, but i did learn today that my cat is probably going to die soon. really sad about that. i haven't seen him in a while. he's had 12 years on earth, that makes me think he has wanted to live, to be here that long. whatever wanting means to a cat. recently my friend pulled this cat out of his car, he stuck himself to the bottom, near the engine, he was really scared he'd have to kill the animal, just drive away, but he managed to pull him out of the car. last night, i was looking at old videos of my cat, the day before finding out. strange things happening about cats lately. i am going to miss my cat. i've been missing him. our other cat died this year too. she lasted a good amount of time. but not a long time. she was adopted, she came to us ill, and we made her healthy, but she i guess quickly got unhealthy again, she overate a lot. so she was big, and maybe that made her live less than she could have. i was the one feeding them. whenever she wanted food i gave it to her. maybe i shouldn't have. when she came to us she was too skinny, she also died pretty skinny. but with lots of extra skin. our only cat left then will be this weird stray my stepdad picked up. we know nothing about his past. he is just a strange and well behaved guy, mostly, until he decides to mess with the others. but they won't be around to mess with. or the only other one won't be. it's been a long time since i've seen the cats. maybe i should visit just for my mom. i know this is all making her very upset. i also know that she has pigeons now that she takes care of, maybe they die easier, and maybe that's made her more used to it. i don't know if i hope so or not. mostly, i don't want my cat to really fall ill. he hasn't been eating, he has puked a lot. maybe it's momentary. he is a strangely strong animal. we got him from a family, while my cousin was moving and my mom was helping. this little girl ran up to her, and said: you take him, our dog will hurt him. so my mom did. the cat came to us with a broken tail because, i think probably to make sure a dog didn't kill him, someone shut a door too quickly, clipping his tail. that was in october of 2011, when my mom and i ran away from my stepdad for a while. he kept saying: it's the holidays, we have to be family during the holidays. i guess that was when it turned november, towards that time, we started living with my grandma. the cat was okay in that environment, her cats were funny but not too much. i think. or was that a second time we ran away for a while. it's funny how homeschool is really what enabled my mom to do that. since it was via computer, she could easily uproot me, and i didn't mind because i wanted to run away from him too. but we couldn't, for long. i think i inherited my mom's inability to work. it's something in my brain, her's too. there's no way to afford to take him to the vet. my stepdad lives off early(ish) retirement + money made off being a crossing guard during the school year. he doesn't even do photography stuff anymore i feel like. he has dreams of producing a book of photos of bighorn sheep to sell in giftshops. i guess i hope it happens.

i don't want to get into why we wanted to escape, but it's not like he beat us. it just made us feel less alive to be around him. that's how i felt i guess. i can't speak for my mother. my cat was something we couldn't get with him around, and since we got him while they split, he had to come back with us, it was conditional like that. stepdad of course says yes because he is desperate to not be alone. the cat got on well with the dogs when he got big enough. our cat is like a fragment of freedom from that time, i guess. for her, she is still not free. i am. it doesn't mean he means less, honestly i never thought about him like this, it's just true that he is. i wonder if it's more painful for her. in a lot of ways, she only said he was mine, to help me learn responsibility and stuff. i think it helped. in a lot of ways, he was her cat because he stayed with her a lot more, he slept in her bed usually, he would come to me though. i miss that. any time an animal was nice to me like that it really meant a lot. it still does.

i will miss you cruikschanks, when you do go (my mom named him (another reason he is in some ways her cat), that is how you spell it).

anyway i finished the main riff in that new tiny song, and started a new one. i think maybe there are either 1-2 more tiny songs needed by this album, and then i can just, focus, i guess. i want the last 1-2 to really be 20-30 seconds at most each.

but it's hard to focus right now, because of all this stupid shit in my head. i just want to void out, i guess.

listening to jenny piccolo, the discog comp, studying riffs kind of, or at least thinking i am. i just like hearing music that's like this.

anyway,

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!

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princessroyal95 · 1 year ago

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This is love (Charlotte Katakuri x Hirawashi Len) [English version]

Summary

Who can love a monster like Charlotte Katakuri? He is the son of Charlotte Linlin, known as Big Mom, and the question of the second eldest child in the family is who could love someone like him.

The idea of him falls apart when he meets a somewhat tsundere girl, but with a heart of gold that will make the commander fall in love.

-----------x-----------

Chapter XX

The Mugiwara are escaping. They must get out of that kingdom as soon as possible before Big Mom wipes them out. And they didn't count on their captain because he was facing the sweet commander, Charlotte Katakuri. The two were in the Mirror World of Brûlée having an intense battle. Luffy was not giving up so easily. He tried to understand the man's moves, but he always perfected them. His techniques were no good, he was doing better.

This was bothering Mugiwara. He was used to facing enemies as powerful as him, but Katakuri was no mere human. He is a super human as Brûlée had said at the time. The rubber was not capable of defeating the mochi. He is a perfect man for anyone. Katakuri is clear about one thing, he wasn't going to lose to a rookie like Luffy, who has dared to enter the New World to take on Mom. And he is thankful that Len is not present because he knows the girl would interfere and it was not the right time. She was pregnant and he must protect her at all costs.

But his patience ran out and he used the awakening ability of his Akuma no Mi to bury Luffy alive. This time, he was able to finish him off, he looks at his watch and sees that it's already forty minutes past snack time. This irritated him enough that he immediately calls the chefs. The chefs soon appear and give Katakuri the bad news that the tea has gone cold; he wasn't bothered at all. With his mochi he creates a house covering that cart and walks towards it. It is his shrine and it is a forbidden place to enter. Whoever disturbs Katakuri will be a dead man.

The commander enters, already unconcerned about the outside, and pulls down his scarf a little so that he can eat in peace. However, his eyes widen when he sees a certain person he never expected to see here.

"Len, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to surprise you, my love!" she shouts with her arms raised. "It's just that you were taking so long." She pokes her fingers together in a pouting manner.

He just sighs and scratches the back of his neck as he walks over to her. How could he refuse such a thing? She's his wife and she looks so tender when she's like this. He sits down on the ground, feeling the cool touch as he pulls the young woman into his arms to place a small kiss on her lips. He purrs as he notices those caresses on her face. It has been hours since they were together, but for both of them it was an eternity. It was killing them inside not being with each other and knowing that he was okay.

Katakuri picks up a doughnut to put it in pillow mode where he rests his head on it. Meanwhile, Len takes the opportunity to continue caressing that face so perfect for her. If only he could put his fear aside and have everyone look at him the way she looks at him. Len is now like a teenage girl in love with the perfect man. She would do anything to take care of him and that included feeding him. She's giving him those sweets that drove the commander crazy where he didn't hesitate to devour them like never before.

Donuts. Wife. What else did he need to make him happy? Of course, the little ones who were still in full development. How he would love to hold them in his arms. But now he was content with what he had. Len's hand was cupping his head, watching her enjoy the way she ate. She hasn't stopped smiling for a moment as she kissed his forehead, receiving a grunt of satisfaction. She even reaches up to his chin to remove the remains with her tongue.

They look so happy enjoying this intimate moment. He humming and eating while she gave him all the love in the world. And it all fades away when they see the ceiling shatter showing Luffy with his Third Gear imbued by his Haki. Everything for Katakuri went in slow motion. His face reflected terror. He swallows dryly and his eyes change from that of a man in love to that of a crazed demon.

"You've seen me eat!"

He hides his face with the scarf again and an evil aura comes over him. The chefs have witnessed Katakuri's face and feel real fear. Without thinking, they start to run; however, they quickly freeze as they feel the man coming dangerously close to them. Rage was consuming him. He was a true demon. His eyes showed he was murdering someone. The chefs begged for mercy saying that they had seen nothing. That they wouldn't say anything to anyone. Katakuri was blinded, uneasy, brandishing his trident.

Luffy looked expectantly at what was about to happen. However, while distracted, he is hit by a blow from someone, sending him flying a few miles into the walls that decorated that world. Katakuri stops dead in his tracks and the chefs' mouths drop open. Luffy emerges from the rubble groaning in pain and stares at the cause of all this. He swallows as he sees a real demon. Worse than Nami.

"How dare you interrupt our sanctuary?!" Len was in a rage. "Do you know how many hours I've been waiting to see my husband again?" she gnashes her teeth in rage as she approaches Mugiwara. "It was our most intimate moment and you interrupt! And rude to boot! Haven't they taught you any manners, you stupid monkey?"

"... She's worse than Nami when she's angry, she's a witch," Luffy comments and Len gets even more pissed off, stomping her foot on the floor and making everything shake.

"Say that again and in front of me!"

"Len-sama don't make any effort! Remember you're pregnant!" shouts one of the chefs trying to calm the situation down.

"Ah! Are you expecting a baby?"

"Of course I am, you idiot!"

"I thought you were fat."

Tension. Chefs with their mouths hanging open, even more than before. Katakuri shocked by what the boy had said. And Len, for her part, was petrified at the boy's sincere words. Did he see her as fat? Did that mean Katakuri did too? Was that why he refused to make love to her until yesterday? She rests her knees on the ground feeling all her pride has vanished and begins to cry loudly. Remember: she is pregnant and her personality can be altered, like, for example, now.

Katakuri's heart flutters at the sight of her in this state as he runs towards her, forgetting about the chefs for the moment. He stands up to her, holding her.

"Katakuri, he said it! He sees me fat! I'm ugly to your eyes!"

"You're not fat, Len." He tries to reassure her with words. "You are the most beautiful woman with a beautiful belly. Don't listen to her. He hasn't had a chance to have you for a wife."

"I'd rather have meat than a witch."

That was the last straw. Katakuri, with all the rage in the world, stretches out his arm in mochi fashion hitting Luffy very hard where Luffy falls to the ground from the beating. He brings his hands to his face screaming in pain. That punch was worse than the previous ones. As he gets up, he is kicked by the commander sending him flying through the air. He uses his ability to grab a mirror and look at the scene. Katakuri's eyes did not show the calmness he desired, but rather that of an enraged demon.

It seems that, apart from having his face seen, he was very upset about what Len called him. She is emotionally sensitive and that bastard was spoiling it. He has already forgotten about the chefs who have seized the moment to get out of there as soon as possible, forgetting about the situation with Len. Katakuri wasn't going to let Mugiwara taunt her. Over his dead body.

Swiftly, he beat Luffy relentlessly, not controlling all his consumed rage. The young pirate, thanks with his Observation Haki, could see Katakuri's attack perfectly, dodges it and kicks Katakuri's jaw causing him to freeze in place. 'He didn't dodge it, why,' Luffy couldn't believe he had hit this almost untouchable being. The commander returns to his spot to hit him; however, the young girl dodges without any difficulty still wanting to find out what was going on.

Several more dodges and he understood everything. That man invincible to anyone always relied on his Observation Haki, as he could see the future before taking or giving a beating. It was his big chance so he activated his Gear Four where he relentlessly attacked the big man who could only defend himself. His mind is not at ease. His Haki wasn't helping him. It's the first time someone hit him like that, how long had it been since he was hit? He didn't even remember. Another blow and Katakuri was about to hit the ground with his back.

But the words of his sister Brûlée echo in his head. He performs a kind of acrobatics, resting his head on the ground and by way of impulse, he pulls back his whole body and sits up. His eyes were closed for a moment and he opens them again, returning to his serenity. Luffy was approaching and is hitting the man-mochi, but it's all over now. Katakuri has returned to his former state where his whole body turns into mochi dodging those attacks that were easy for him. Luffy was static. He thought he had already won and he hadn't. He was going to keep attacking.

He was going to continue attacking; however, another person hits his face where Luffy flies through the air. His whole body goes flying into the mountains that decorated that world. He bounced again and again, like the balloon he is, and he looked up to find Len again. And this time her face reflected more than anger.

"I won't let you hit Katakuri!" Marks are appearing on her body and her eyes emit that shade of colour. Katakuri knows it. He has seen it before. The girl was entering this overly powerful state.

Luffy was shocked at that transformation and doesn't know if it was good or bad. Len raises her fists where she is gathering energy around her, rather the pieces of stone left behind by the boys in their fight. Now those light marks turn brown like the earth itself and she is about to attack.

"I will dig your grave here and now!"

She was about to perform such an attack; however, a certain person stops her using his mochi to immobilise her. Len notices this and starts to move from her place.

"Katakuri, let go of me!"

"I won't let you get hurt," the man says standing beside her calmly, "and let him hurt you."

"I'm not going to let that fool hit you again!"

"He won't. Not ever again."

Len relaxes when he hears that determined voice in Katakuri. It is the man he has known for a long time. A man who fears nothing and gives up nothing. The young woman returns to her normal state where she carefully observes the battle of titans of the two opponents. One young man with a desire to become the King of Pirates and the other to protect his family at all costs. And not referring to the Charlotte family, but to his real family: Len and his little ones.

The battle was intense. He doesn't know how many hours had passed. But that boy was not giving up. Every time he looked at Katakuri, he saw hope in his eyes. As if he had met an admirable adversary. Even with her, he doesn't have that look. Sure, she' s never seen him face other enemies in these six months. But those eyes showed it. A man who expected an opponent like Mugiwara.

That is why he did not enter the fray. It was a battle of two men with a clear objective. Every time Katakuri hit Luffy, Luffy got up stronger than ever. That boy reminded her of her when she was a child. She faced hundreds of boys and hundreds of men stronger than her, and she got up again and again with the clear thought of not giving up. What if that boy is proving that he didn't care about Katakuri's physical appearance? She wasn't afraid to see him.

She felt hope in that boy who kept trying to hit her husband, but he was always one step ahead. He was about to make a deadly attack with his trident, but Luffy slips where he receives that terrifying attack. Len is surprised at this, he had saved himself on several occasions, but this time he didn't. What happened to him? And she wasn't the only one, Katakuri couldn't believe what she was seeing. He received a big attack and was able to dodge it easily. Something didn't add up.

Luffy gets up again with that large open wound to attack Katakuri; however, he falls sideways where the pair watch as some kind of needle passes by Mugiwara's face. The girl was trying to figure out what it was and Katakuri looks sideways at the place where the needle shot out. He knows that attack. He knows it perfectly well. It's happened before and with Len. He can hear laughter coming from that mound. He couldn't believe she was out here banging on about it.

Luffy has fallen, but he gets back up still sore. He needed to rest and he did. He looked at Katakuri who was distracted, though his eyes showed disapproval. What was going on? Katakuri holds up his trident again and calls out to the one in charge:

"Flampe!"

Len looks in the direction where Katakuri was looking and there was his little sister coming out of hiding when she heard her big brother calling out to her. And she wasn't the only one, a lot of fans were coming out in panic as if to draw attention to themselves. 'Did she provoke this?' she now understood the look on her husband's face. And she agreed. That child has interfered in their fight.

The big guy walks towards her and Flampe has the thought that her dear brother is going to congratulate her on her great work. However, everyone does not expect such an act from Katakuri. The man they all respected and revered thrusts his own trident into the corner of his stomach, where he wounded Luffy. Mugiwara could not believe his eyes. A few drops of blood fell on Flampe's face also not believing what had just happened. Len was the only one to understand why he did it.

"Why, why did you do it?"

In a long time, Katakuri never had this feeling that was killing him. That wound was so great that he couldn't help but let go of his trident. He looks fearlessly at his little sister and, with all the determination in the world, grabs his scarf and slowly undoes it. The pirates and Flampe look horrified at what they are seeing.

"Don't you dare..." The true face of Katakuri. A true monster in anyone's eyes. "To give unwanted support in a duel between men!"

"Don't you come near me! Don't you touch me! You monster!" Flampe runs backwards, slamming into the mound.

"If you're going to mock that idiot, then you'll mock me too!"

The pirates looked with horror at the face of the sweet commander who already didn't care. He would not allow undesirables to help him in the face of a man's fight. Luffy is his opponent and no one else's. Flampe, on the other hand, watched the scene with horror. Her favourite big brother is not at all beautiful. He's a monster. That made her a lot angry.

"How pitiful!" cries Flampe. "What are you trying to accomplish by piercing your own stomach? Someone like you can't be my brother Katakuri! Your mouth is split up to your ears! You look like a pelican eel!" She spits the gum out of her mouth that hits Katakuri's cheek squarely.

"Stop, Flampe-sama! We can't contain our laughter!" The pirates begin to imagine the fish named by Flampe.

Flampe was about to say something else, but a shoe hits her full in the face where young Charlotte has not stopped moaning in pain. All the pirates stop laughing and their bodies tremble before an almost demonic figure. Katakuri knows that footwear well and turns his face slightly to look at the culprit. Len was sparking and everything around her was breaking apart.

"You call my husband that and you're going to remember me, you rude fucking child!"

"Len-sama!"

"I call him whatever I want! Haven't you seen his face?!" pointing her finger at him. "He's ugly and repulsive! He can't be my brother! And you've married this pelican eel!"

"I have seen his face before you!" Everyone is astonished at the confession of Len who was already at Katakuri's side. "And..." Effortlessly, she jumps up and wraps her arms around her husband's neck and goes about spoiling him like never before. "He's the most handsome man I've ever seen in my life!"

"Len..."

The faces of the pirates and Flampe were pure surprise. 'Is she crazy,' was all the girl thought.

"How can you say that, you're crazy!"

"Call me what you like, but this man is the most attractive thing on the face of the earth!" She fingers away the annoying gum and steps down to face Flampe and his henchmen. "I promised myself that if anyone dared to mock his face I'll give him the thrashing of the century myself!" She points decisively at Flampe. "And he has taken off his scarf and given himself that wound out of respect for that stupid monkey!" She now pointed at Luffy. "And no one can intervene in the fight of two men where there is mutual respect!"

Mugiwara sees Katakuri who was calm at this conversation of the girl. He notices how she is protecting him from people like them. He would have done the same for Ace, for Sabo or for his nakamas who are waiting for them. The commander turns on his heel to see the boy who still has that look of rivalry and not losing. He walks slowly in the direction of Luffy. Flampe tells the henchmen to take pictures of her brother's face, but Len stops them by beating them all. Even if she was pregnant, she wasn't going to let those idiots get any closer.

She was doing it for him. It's his battle. 'That boy has taken away her fear of people seeing him like that,' she clenches her fists, determined to fight. And it all happened so fast. Both opponents throw their King's Haki causing a big energy shock where they slowly fall down except Len who has a lot of resistance to that ability. This time the fight was going to get serious with a determined Luffy and a determined Katakuri.

The battle was so intense that Len had no choice but to get away from there as soon as possible because she knows they are going to destroy everything in their path. They were evenly matched on the basis of injuries. Len understood that Katakuri wants to be evenly matched and see which of the two was going to fall first. She clasps her hands together imploring him to win. He has been battling for hours with a single purpose: to prove that he is a tough foe to defeat.

A smile forms as she sees Luffy fall again, but he gets back to his feet. 'That kid being made of rubber must not have broken ribs,' Len looks at Katakuri who was grinning as if something was about to come. The boy was going to use his Gear Four again and the big guy didn't get in the way of the transformation. But this one was different from the last one. A large smoke forms around Luffy in the guise of snakes. It is known as the Snakeman form.

What would be so special about that form? Luffy launches a basic attack by stretching out his arm where Katakuri dodges it easily; however, he didn't notice that the attack comes back hitting him squarely. Len was surprised at that and saw it. That arm was as fast as a snake, it gained more speed in this form! Now the battle really got serious.

Punches to the ribs, face, back, powerful techniques to knock each other down.... All this was taking shape in the Mirror World. Just one more blow and it will be over for both of them. Katakuri looks out of the corner of his eye at Len who was behind a mound watching everything and with her hands on her belly as if calming the situation. If he lost, Mom would take the lives of his wife and children.He remembers it like it was yesterday: 'If you don't finish off that idiot Mugiwara, say goodbye to that girl and my future grandchildren'.

He clenches his sharp teeth tightly, not wanting it to happen. Katakuri moves at great speed towards Luffy transforming his whole body into mochi like some kind of doughnut. The boy knows the attack he is about to make. He was prepared for what's coming. Katakuri rises back to his normal state as his right arm turns into a spiked arm.

Len watched it all in slow motion. Both of their attacks were coming right at them to end this battle.

"Gomu Gomu no King Cobra!"

"Zan giri mochi!"

Both blows hit the other one with a great shock of energy, almost exploding the place where they were. Len had to shield himself from the mound to avoid being hit. She doesn't know how many minutes have passed and she doesn't know if Katakuri is alright. When she looks out she sees a big hole where Luffy is and Katakuri is on the ground, but he didn't fall backwards. This was a bad omen for her.

However, she opens her eyes in surprise to see that Mugiwara was still alive after that attack and fell to the ground. And when he gets up he finds in front of him a Katakuri who has not given up either. Both were tired. One of them was going to fall. Who will be the first to fall?

-----------x-----------

Chapter XIX.

Chapter XXI.

#one piece #romance #charlotte katakuri #oc #original character #katakuri one piece #english language

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redflagsandbanners · 2 years ago

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i saw you were taking requests?? i have one but if not that’s cool

nancy not understanding the wage gap between her and robin’s family, so she’s always confused why robin acts so weird when she buys her gifts or pays on dates (and robin nervously having to spell it out to her when nancy finally asks why)

Anon, this is so so late but I. loved. it. I loved it.

By the time the second half of April rolls in and Hawkins High tries to re-open for the rest of the semester, Robin has found another job.

The Post Office's backroom is filled with the comforting scent of paper and ink, endless boxes moving with curious cluttering sounds that have Robin perfectly distracted by the nightmare that spring break had been.

It's a good job. Smells so good she cannot get enough of the pang in her chest every time she walks in and takes in a deep breath. Fair money, and an actual good boss for once, and somehow some even better coworkers. It's been a month in and she hasn't heard a single sexist comment thrown her way. Mr. Brown actually ordered her to sit down and not move during the first day of her period because, apparently, he knows from his daughter how painful it can fucking be.

It's a good job. Robin is so glad sometimes she cries to Steve about it.

It's a good job. Only that Steve is not working with her here, choosing to keep volunteering around the city despite Robin insisting that, okay, despite the crisis, the state should have brought in people to take care of the repairs, the housing and feeding and entertainment of those who are still in need, and that enough is enough with the endless hours of them hauling ass without getting a penny for the amount of physical and emotional exhaustion it brings in.

She feels bad. She had felt worse when her mom came in after the earthquake and sat both Robin and her dad down to tell them her job got swallowed up by the ground and the first idea was an easy hiring down at the factory.

It's a good job. Only that she works five school days a week, biking to get there at about six o'clock in the morning to load up Mr. Brown's van, and biking back at about four in the afternoon after school to restock the shelves.

Only that the lifting and the standing are taking a toll.

Nancy turns from the desk with a question about the velocity of the moving object, only to find Robin's body completely slacked. She is half curled to the side across the bed's headboard, as if she leaned down on the pillows for just a moment and actually froze there. Her breathing is even, her eyes are closed, a hand still wrapped around a pen on the textbook in front of her.

Quietly, Nancy stands from the desk and, this is still new between them, they are still mapping out ways to be, but Nancy's heart cannot stop pounding in overwhelming adoration at the sight of Robin finally sleeping. Those dark circles under the girl's eyes have been deepening week to week since school opened up again.

Nancy is familiar enough with Robin's parents to call home and tell them, ask them if Robin can stay over because she doesn't have the heart to wake her up. They agree. They remind Nancy to set an alarm for Robin to wake up for her shift in the morning.

She wakes up at five thirty too but when she asks to drive Robin to work, Robin keeps her on the bed with a firm hand and a gentle kiss on her lips that tastes like toothpaste and clear water. Nancy is at least allowed to walk Robin down the stairs and to the back door, getting another long kiss in the doorway's darkness.

Two and a half hours later, it takes every inch of strength and self control not to speed to her through the crowded classroom.

She straddles the chair in front of the girl, slowly confidently lowering a steaming cup and a paper bag on Robin's desk. The light tap makes the girl lift her head, deep blue eyes blinking open to pierce through Nancy's soul, and a smile immediately coming up across the girl's lips.

"Hey", Nancy restrains herself from kissing her as Robin leans back and slides the headphones off of her ears.

"Morning", Robin grins but is looking down at the items on her desk as if they are the most confusing part of her day yet. "Huh, what - um, what is this?"

"Coffee", Nancy tips the items closer. "Breakfast. For you".

"Oh". Robin looks at the logo printed on the cup and bag. "Thank you". A light blush is coming upon the girl's cheeks and Nancy smiles.

But Robin clears her throat and doesn't reach for them. "These are from, huh... Nance, these are from that new place downtown".

"Yeah", Nancy looks down at the bag. The baked goods are starting to smell good now.

"The one selling coffee for like, three dollars, and bagels for two?"

"Well..." - Nancy frowns - "...those ones were like, three because there's cream cheese and..."

"Nance, I..." - the blush has slipped right out of Robin's face, leaving behind a slightly pale hue - "...I make five dollars an hour and those are for today's grocer - Um, I can't... I can't pay you back right now".

"What?" Nancy feels her eyebrows pull close. "Pay me back?"

"I mean, yeah, those cost you like eight dollars and I appreciate it, I really do, you know how long it's been since I smelled coffee this good? But it's a lot of - I'll pay you back once I do my weekly money recounting coming Sunday just to be sure that..."

"Robin, hey, no". Despite the classroom filling with people, Nancy places a hand on her girlfriend's arm. "I wanted to do this because you looked so tired last night and..."

She ignores the pang in her chest when Robin's immediately pulls back, going paler as she looks around with apprehension. No one is looking at them, but Nancy shuffles away anyway too.

"Sorry", Robin flinches and blows out a breath, leaning forward enough for her knee to nudge Nancy's under the table. It stays pressed there.

"Look at me. Please?"

Damn if Nancy can refuse this girl anything. Both of Robin's hands are wrapped around the cup of coffee and she is leaning down to sniff at the opened paper back. She can't fight the smile that tugs at her mouth when Robin's eyes flutter closed at the scent and she gulps as if her mouth is suddenly watering.

The warm touch of Robin's knee knocks against her own with purpose. "Thank you", the girl softly says and Nancy nods. "But just this once, okay? You can't buy me breakfast every time I fall asleep in your room. I feel awful that I can't... I can't offer the same things".

"I don't want you to think like that", Nancy whispers and can't help but laugh when Robin brings the coffee higher and promptly moans at the first sip. Nancy grins, knocking her knee back into Robin's slacked one. "This isn't... it's a gift but it isn't like - I don't know how to, huh..."

"It's okay, Nance".

"No, it's... I like you, Robin. Enough that I know you know already. And this isn't... this isn't - the gifts are not something more than what we already have. Grant gestures or whatever, trying to prove something or convey the feeling or... They're just moments in the big, you know, setting of whatever it is we are doing. But I also don't want you to be uncomfortable so I'll stop if you want me to but just know that these, for me, don't mean something more than what I am already like... saying or doing or -"

"Nancy", Robin is laughing suddenly, beautiful and awake and blushing just so again. And this is gift enough for her. "You're rambling".

"Oh, shit", Nancy chuckles as the bell for the beginning of first period to start up. The teacher will be walking in any second now. "But you... you understand what I am trying to say, right?"

"Yeah", Robin's eyes are impossibly soft. "Thank you".

"Sure", Nancy wants to reach out for her again but knows she can't. Everyone is facing forward by now, their teacher talking to someone by the doorway and she is still turned the opposite way to keep looking at Robin, at her girlfriend.

Softly, Robin nudges her knee back against hers and nods at her to turn around again. It is not enough for Nancy and if she cannot reach over and hold Robin's hand for a second, well-

She reaches into her bag, bringing out her pencil case and bringing out a marker. Robin's eyebrows shoot up when she takes the coffee cup from her hands and doodles across the light blue colored round surface.

Doesn't wait to look at Robin's reaction before she turning around and plopping back onto her seat with a deep sigh, throwing the textbook on the desk.

She does grin to herself when she hears Robin exhale a warm laugh at the little heart on the side of the cup.

#am i projecting?#none of your business #slightly different anon i am sorry #but look look they are talking like mature adults because fuck knows how emotionally mature these kids are at the age of eighteen #ronance prompts #anonask

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koukamisstuff · 2 years ago

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Taste of Love

Chapter Nine - Being Neighborly

Masterlist - Previous / Next

Author's Note - Sorry for the late update, work has been busy so updates may either be on Saturday or Sunday now. But I'll definitely try my best to update every weekend. Thank you and I hope you liked today's chapter 😘

Side Notes :

Y/N was always curious how his mom was doing, since she took care of her a lot.

Osamu's mom liked Y/N and use to tell her all the time that she had to keep up with her meals.

Osamu can't help but want to feed Y/N, you could say... old habits die hard despite their current relationship.

Y/N is trying to find the right words to say to bring up to Kuroo and Kenma that she's neighbors with Kuroo.

Osamu hasn't told his group either about Y/N living next door.

When they were little before their fallout, Osamu use to give Y/N food and snacks thru her balcony when she was hungry. The balcony back then use to face each other.

It might just be difficult keeping things professional... Y/N just can't help but go along with him.

Yuna called Osamu to catch up an thank him for taking care of them after the party. And yes you guessed it at the time he was preparing the bento box.

Rin has a very interesting relationship with his manager... Like they get on each other's nerves type of thing.

I created an example of how their apartment building would look, the structure and outline is what I wanted to show to give you that image. Also please imagine that the building is between other buildings and that to get to each side without going around the corner, you'd cross by where Osamu's stairs are.

*⋆*❀❁❀*⋆*❀❁❀*⋆*❀❁❀*⋆*❀❁❀*⋆*❀❁❀*⋆*

Taglist is OPEN! - Please leave an ask, message or comment if you would like to be added to the taglist! 😊

@onelostgirl @alfi-ry @notsoholychibichan @wolffmaiden @01trickster10 @kagehinaismysin @passionateuchiha @bokubooo @putmeinyourdeathnote @beans-and-jeanes @fandomsgotmefucked @not1isa @rainy-whispers @anejuuuuoy @m1e-saun0 @luna-vitae-suae @neologyro @sassyglassesbunny @hydrogwyn @phoenix-eclipses @bananasquash @yuuuumiiin @ermespop @scrapbook-rose @honeymilktea-writings @xhyunjinbbyx @amisuh @astro-719 @kenkenmaaa @zlatanakermann @itsmikeysfault @bokutokiya @missalienqueen

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dancingazaleas · 4 years ago

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𖨆. 07 / all for us

summary: it feels as if god is blessing you personally when levi decides to spare you. but as the day goes on, you can’t help but notice things and ask questions, some of which you didn’t ask.

note: why was this chapter so hard to write

taglist: @voltairelesecond @baelo80 @the-sun-baby @uniquepickle @ascybous @messyhairday-me @stupid-stinky @saturnalya @megumitodoroki @kouyume @quacksonlover81 @gipumar

word count: +3.0k

warnings/notes: cursing, mentions of murder, mentions of drinking and driving, vomiting, mentions of blood, mentions of ocd, the reader is confused

LEVI ackerman knew he wasn't a good person. he knew from the moment he watched his uncle slaughter a man in front of him at the age of eight.

levi knew the moment he killed a man for theft. he knew the moment people would cower before him in highschool when he'd walk through the halls. he knew the moment he was sucking the smoke from a cigarette into his mouth.

he knew the moment he found himself fighting police officers. he knew the moment he was pushed against the hood of a car with his hands cuffed behind his back.

he knew the moment when erwin smith sat down in front of him with no emotion written on his face. the moment when erwin said he knew levi had done it, but he would be defending him either way. the moment when levi disobeyed the oath as he spat out his testimony. the moment the gavel was slammed down along with the verdict of 'not guilty'. the moment he stepped into the sunshine, erwin's hand in his, for the first time in months, knowing damn well he didn't deserve it.

but levi didn't care, he never did. the world he was born into was cruel. he had to fight for his place at the top, for his food, for his clothes, for everything. if no one cared about him, then why should he care for others.

but as he stares down at you trembling from fear on the floor, he can't help but think that he's incorrect.

"please don't hurt me again," you plead in a whisper, tilting your head to the floor.

levi only sighs, walking in and shutting the door behind him. he crouches in front of you, hand now awkwardly stroking your head.

"what happened," he asks, and it's something that comes as a shock to you. you were slightly prepared for a beating.

you snap your head up to look at him in shock.

"what have you got in your hands," he points at the scrapbook held to your chest.

"oh!" you fumble to show him, "i saw this earlier... i wanted to look but i didn't think you'd allowed me. i'm sorry, please don't hurt me."

"i would've let you, i barely look at this thing anymore. can you tell me what happened now," he scoffs at the front cover of the scrapbook.

"when i was going to put it back, a book on the shelf fell. then another book on the top shelf fell off, so i used the lower shelves as a ladder. as you can see, it didn't work," you look ashamed while you gesturing towards the shelf.

he just huffs, "go sit on the couch. we can look through that book after i clean."

you obey and watch levi heft the bookshelf back onto its legs. his fists clench as he looks down at the pile of books surrounding his feet.

hastily, levi's picking up the books by the color and placing them back onto the shelf. when he's finished, he takes a step back to look at it. he's unsatisfied, instead more frustrated as he starts to take all of the books off of the second bookshelf he has.

but in the middle of taking the books off the shelf, he twitches and taps the book against the wood five times. he's putting the books back onto the shelf, going back to the other bookshelf and taking all the books off of that.

you stare in absolute bewilderment. the shelves had looked perfect and identical to you, not to mention clean. as he's in the midst of taking the books off the shelf, he taps the book against the wood again.

and with that, he's placing it all back onto the shelf again. he sighs in relief after he's checked everything, finally trotting to you and plopping down next to you on the loveseat.

nervously, you scoot closer to him in order for you both to be able to see the scrapbook. he watches you flip it open past his baby picture, instead turning to the page that showed his mother feeding him.

"that's my mom, kuchel," he gently rubs his finger on the photograph, "think i was around a year at this point."

humming, you flip to the next page. when you realize it's the picture of levi at his mother's funeral, you try to flip the page but levi stops you.

a sigh, he explains, "my mother always had a very weak immune system, according to my uncle. because of where we lived, we both ended up getting deathly ill and we were too weak to get any help. i had to watch her die and wait for someone to come check up on us."

"i'm assuming it was your uncle," you tilt your head.

"it was. he took me in afterwards, gave me food and a shower. he even taught me how to hold a knife and how to fight for future reference. he had some work to do while i would fight for food."

you point to the one of levi standing in front of a building. to which he replies with, "first day of kindergarten. my mother was still alive back then so she decided to take the picture."

he turns the page for you, a relieved look in his eyes at he stares at the next photograph. it's a picture of levi, in high school, wearing a tux while standing next to another man with a bubbly girl holding onto levi as she holds up a peace sign.

the boy, who's also wearing a tux, has ice blue eyes and wavy dirty blonde hair that obviously hasn't been styled. he's got a gentle smile on his face while he looks at both the girl and levi, someone who levi was obviously fond of.

the girl has dark red hair in low and loose ponytails with freckles painting her tan cheeks. her eyes shine an emerald green along with her pearly white teeth.

"that's... isabel and farlan. met them in 8th grade, and we were at junior prom in this. farlan took me as his date while isabel went stag. i'm glad i still have this picture."

you resist the urge to fight back the joke of his type in men, instead asking, "are you not friends anymore?"

levi stays quiet for a moment, "they died in a horrible car crash a month later. some asshole decided to drink and drive while driving a semi. rear ended them at 45 miles per hour and killed them on impact. isabel was slouching in her seat and farlan was hunched over the wheel apparently. it was gruesome."

"i.... i'm so sorry," you reluctantly touch his arm.

he waves his free hand up and down in dismissal, despite hurt he actually was, "it's fine. happened years ago."

he turns the next page in order to distract himself from the sheer awkwardness that bathes the room. the next picture is of him, around the age of 24, standing in the sunlight while he smiles softly to the sky.

"erwin was my attorney, before he became a prosecutor, when i went to jail. he proved me not guilty and this was the picture he managed to take of me right after we left the courthouse. it was the first time i'd seen the sun without handcuffs on in months," he huffs with slight annoyance at the memory, something that surprises you just a bit.

"why'd you get arrested?"

"nothing you need to worry about," telling you would only make you fear him more. and that would be a pain to deal with.

the next page after is blank, along with the rest that follow.

"i stopped because i thought it was stupid," he crosses his arms, nudging the back of the scrapbook with his knee.

"i don't think it's stupid," you shake your head, fingertips gently tracing the grainy and textured paper.

"why's that?"

"well," you smile a bit while your mind wonders to the scrapbook pieck made you one year for your birthday, "it shows you the good memories that you might've missed as the time passed. reminds you that there's something in every little small day. it helps you keep the memory alive, even if some of it is upsetting, and i think it shows how much you've changed as a person."

levi stares at you, slightly flustered at your words as you relook at the photographs with gentle hands.

he stands up, "i just remembered the tea." ah, a sound excuse. if only levi had made tea.

you watch as he seems to rush out of the room, something you shrug off while gently putting the scrapbook on levi's desk and laying back down on the couch. you play another movie on the television that hangs on the wall, perking up when levi walks back into the room with a tray. it holds finger sandwiches and some lettuce mixed with some fruit in a small bowl along with tea. cracked sunflower seeds sit on a small plate on the side, and you feel yourself droll when you realize at there's cheese, lettuce, and ham on your sandwich.

levi places it on your lap, simply nodding at your kind, "thank you, levi."

he doesn't answer and just goes back to his desk, while you chew quietly.

it stays that way until erwin comes home.

————

it isn't until your eyes are fluttering open that you realize you've fallen asleep. you flinch at the sight of erwin's face close to your's, but slowly relax when he pulls away.

"i'm sorry, i didn't think my kiss would wake you," he places a loving hand on your head.

"'s fine, probably needed to get up anyway," you reply groggily while rubbing an eye, "how long have i been asleep for?"

"levi said since a little bit after lunch. it's only three o'clock at the moment," he sits on the edge of the couch, smiling at how you shuffle to accommodate him.

"sandwiches must've been tasty.... did you just get off work," you sigh and snuggle up under the thin blanket that's been laid on top of you while you were sleeping.

erwin lays his large hand on your cheek, which has you tense for just a moment and then relaxing.

"i got off a little while ago but i needed to run errands," a thumb strokes at the apple of your cheek, something that you disgustingly find comfort in.

"where did levi go?"

"went to make himself some tea," he chuckles with a shake of his head, "he claimed that he felt withdrawals."

you shake your head while laughing, "i doubt he said that. how was work?"

"i guess i can say it was adequate. i missed you and levi the whole day, but would often get distracted by my clients and their necessities. i'm dealing with a kidnapping case at the moment. a girl around your age named ymir was recently found by her girlfriend, historia. i can't say anything more," he pulls his hand away from you and uses it to pinch the bridge of his nose.

you feel yourself get the chills.

he's.... working on a kidnapping case.

he's prosecuting.... a kidnapper.

he's punishing someone who's doing the same thing as him. someone who took away a girl and kept her trapped for months. god knows what the man did to the girl.

and here you are, letting erwin hold your cheek and looking through an old photo album with levi.

you feel sick to your stomach, shooting up while slapping a hand to your mouth and grabbing at her's shirt.

"i'm gonna throw up," you barely are able to speak without the feeling of your food coming out of your stomach.

startled, erwin stares, "what?"

"can... need a can," you gag and lean over the edge of the couch.

erwin gets up when he realizes just what it is you're asking for, rushing across the room only for you to spill your guts out onto the floor.

it's been forever since you've thrown up, minus when levi kicked your stomach, and it has your whole body shaking. the intensity of it all has your nose dripping with blood and tears falling from your eyes, forcing you to seal your eyes closed.

"what happened here," levi sounds scared as he stands in the doorway, but before erwin can even finish his sentence levi is slamming the door behind him while he storms out.

erwin sighs with frustration, helping you scoot down the couch so he can place the trash can in front of you without the bottom being dirtied. with shaky hands, erwin's pulling all of your hair out of your face while you sob and gag into the trash.

it's ten more minutes before you're able to lay back down. blood and tears stain your face and you dazedly stare up at the ceiling.

"i'll be back with a towel and some water, levi will be back soon with an avalanche of cleaning products," erwin reassurances while he stumbles out of the door.

just as erwin leaves, levi enters. he's got a mask that covers his nose and mouth and rubber gloves that match with his cleaning apron. he's carrying a sponge, some spray, a towel, a broom/dustpan, along with some breath mints.

levi squats on all fours, scrubbing at the floor aggressively as he rides the room of the stench and the stain.

"s... sorry," you croak and levi grimaces.

he ignores you in order to keep scrubbing at the floor just as erwin rushes in with a warm towel and some water. he wipes off your blood, tears, and the mouth to rid you of your vomit. you look at him dazedly as he helps you drink the water he's given you.

levi passes a few breath mints to you when you're done drinking the water, which you eagerly take. you plop them into your mouth, sighing as you rest back against the couch cushions.

"take her to her room," levi orders erwin while spraying the spray onto the floor and couch.

erwin does so in silence, carefully carrying you to your room and laying you on the bed.

"levi won't hurt me will he...? please tell me he won't," you grit your teeth while holding onto erwin's shirt sleeve, tears welling up in your eyes.

"no, he won't. he's just scared," erwin grabs the hand on his sleeve and holds it in his own.

"of what?"

"uncleanliness. a while after he started living with me, i took him to a psychiatrist as i had noticed strange behaviors. he ended up getting diagnosed with ocd, and the psychiatrist thought it had to do with his upbringing in poverty. if things aren't a certain way or clean enough, it causes him to spiral," erwin explains carefully, trying to find the correct words and meanings as he speaks.

"doesn't that... give him more of a reason to hurt me...?" you squeeze his hand tightly and pulling it closer to you in fear.

"it doesn't. why are you insistent at how levi might hurt you," he bunches his eyebrows up in concern while scooting closer to you.

"he's done it so many times before... remember? if i say the wrong thing... i'll get slapped. if i make a mistake, he'll beat me.. i just don't want to hurt anymore," you sob hysterically, bringing your free hand up to your face to cover your eyes.

erwin stares in bewilderment. he hadn't realized just how much levi's beatings effected you. of course, they were supposed to affect you in some way, but not enough where you were terrified of making a wrong move.

"he won't hurt you unless you've deserved it, and you've done nothing in a while. he loves you," erwin stroked his thumb across your skin.

you raise your hand from your eyes to stare at him, heat swarming your face, "he does? he doesn't act like it.."

"of course he loves you," erwin smiles, "i love you as well. we'd never hurt you unless given a reason."

something about his sentence makes your head throb in pain. maybe it was the secret confusion that lingered in your head. they said they loved you, even though they kidnapped you and beat you half to death. but then again, they did provide you with things you'd mentioned to them before in order to keep you happy. they even bought a grand piano for you.

it has your heart speeding up and your body hot, bashfully looking to the side.

you loved them back didn't you? they'd treated you with such care, hadn't they? bathing you, feeding you, dressing you, and even visiting you. anytime they were around you, your heart would speed up and you'd get a weird feeling in your stomach.

that meant love, did it not?

subconsciously, you furrow your eyes and grit your teeth. they didn't love you. they were just crazy.

well, maybe they weren't crazy, maybe just misled. you've yet to learn about erwin's past, but based on the way he acts, you assume that it might be a sensitive topic. that had to be the only logical solution, right?

but if they weren't crazy, they'd let you outside, right?

but then again, the outside world could be dangerous at times. when you went outside last time, you did get scuffed and bruised because of the concrete. maybe they just wanted to protect you? that had to be it.

you open your mouth to reply, but the sound of your door opening and closing has you slamming it shut.

"she's still crying," levi asks while walking closer, frowning at how you grip erwin's hand tighter.

"it's best if i let you and her speak about it," erwin says sadly, letting go of your hand and making his way to the door, "alone."

you gulp as soon as erwin shuts the door behind him, staring at levi anxiously. he plops himself next to your body, just like erwin did before.

"please don't hurt me..."

sighing, he lays himself down next to you and pulls you close to him.

"i'm not going to hurt you," he pulls your head into his chest and wraps his arms around you, "not unless you deserve it."

"but...," you quiver, "you were so angry earlier."

"i wasn't angry. i was just... nervous, i guess. and it wasn't at you, or because of you, it was at the mess."

a silence floods the room as you relax in levi's embrace, heat once again spreading to your cheeks.

"what made you puke? i know lunch wasn't that bad," levi grumbles while rubbing your back, arm slightly stiff.

"erwin... was telling me about his case. the one about the girl getting kidnapped...," you tense up again while levi sighs.

"why would he tell you that? i swear he's gonna end up shooting himself in the foot one day," he shakes his head, "you're not like that girl."

"how so..."

"we did it because we love you, not because we wanted to use your body," he scoffs, "surprised you think of us that lowly."

"n-no! i-i don't," you exclaim.

"i know, i'm just teasing. but don't doubt us like that. we want to love you and care for you, not use you," you trace your finger in a circle at levi's sentence, embarrassment washing over you like a wave.

"you love me?"

"yeah, wouldn't do what i did otherwise."

"i think..." you furrow your eyebrows, unaware of the slightly shocked expression of levi, "i think i love you too..."

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyojin #snk #aot fanfiction #snk fanfiction #levi ackerman #snk levi #levi x you #levi x reader #erwin x levi #shingeki no kyoujin levi #levi aot #erwin x you #attack on titan erwin #erwin smith #aot erwin #erwin x reader #sorrels.allforus💒#sorrels.darkcontent👛

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basicjetsetter · 4 years ago

Text

Part I

♡ Pairing: Peter Parker x Black!FemaleReader

▹ Warnings: Mild Language, Triggering Content

▹ Words: 4.6k

▹ A/N: Buckle in. This is going to be a long ride.

“No way!” Your friend Manda squeals. “Those were the exact words?!”

You smoosh a frantic hand over Manda’s mouth and shush her, then slightly pop up from your seat to scope out the packed bus, making sure none of your schoolmates heard her outburst. To your relief, only a few close students glance over with little interest and barely anyone in a wider radius catches Manda’s words over the buzzing clammer of other conversations. Blowing out a satisfied exhale, you turn back to your friend, removing your hand from her mouth with a teasingly reproachful frown.

“Tell the whole world, why don’t you?”

She giggles, “My bad. But can you blame me? This is huge!”

Thrilled warmth floods into your cheeks from her enthusiasm. She’s right. This is huge, and you might have secretly sought this exact reaction because only Manda’s trademark, earsplitting squeal stamps news with the seal of authenticity. It’s real. You heard your Destined Words.

The same jitters from when you woke up this morning skitter up and down your spine, sharpening your senses to the max, making it easier to recall the words that floated into your subconscious—words from a bodiless voice. Your Soulmate.

I’ve got you.

Your mind handles the precious words like a porcelain tea set, carefully deciphering the voice pitch and attempting to match it to a face, knowing its efforts lie in vain because the words’ owner only becomes apparent when they speak them to you.

Some inner part of you distinctly translates the words into a comforting assurance, an assurance one might receive after coming home from a long day’s work and walking into the soft embrace of a lover. It weaves itself around your mind like a consoling safety net, painting an image of a lover better than you’ve ever imagined and everything you’ve ever hoped for.

You couldn’t have hand-picked a better day than today, Midtown High’s field trip to the MoMA, to gush over the words with Manda while admiring spectacular, thought-provoking art pieces. One of the perks of going to Midtown High is their fantastic field trips. You circled this Friday on your calendar at the start of the semester because while you loved being in a school centered around technological sciences, you were excited to study artists’ colorful, eclectic expressions and how their cultural personalities materialize in the stroke of a paintbrush.

“You’re so lucky,” Manda says, trying to pull off a pout. Her vibrant smile triumphs. “Only three days after you turn eighteen, and you hear your Destined Words. I’ve got four more months before I file a complaint.”

You sympathetically rub her shoulder, her oversized, long-sleeved denim jacket rough to the touch. “It’ll come. Just don’t wait for it.”

“Oh, I know it’s coming. I just want it to be something as cute as yours, you know.” She shudders, “My cousin Alonzo said his Destined Words were ‘Sure, whatever.’ Can you imagine that? Finally being mature enough for your Soulmate and that’s the first thing they say to you? I mean, sure, he and Tanya are super cute together, but ugh. Those words?”

You snicker, “Let me guess. You’re expecting a grand gesture?”

Manda nods with a dead serious face, though she could never truly pull it off with her full lips and Cabbage Patch Doll cheeks. She’d have a better chance at getting away with murder than intimidating someone with her cute little frown. “If I don’t hear the words ‘Where have you been all my life, you breathtaking, drop-dead gorgeous goddess,’ then I’m demanding a full refund.”

You blankly stare at each other for a beat before you crack, both of you laughing until your sides ache and you’re gasping for air, not caring for the teachers' hushes from the front of the bus.

“I just can’t believe I finally hear the words, you know,” you say as the laughs fade. “It’s like a fairytale come true.” You lean your head against the cool glass window, watching the placid cerulean waves come into view as the bus drives onto a bridge. “I wonder what they’re like, if I know them. If they’re nice. My mom says she already had a mega crush on my dad, so when he said the words, it already felt like they were together.”

Manda sighs dreamily. “I bet they’re cute. And super smart. Those words seem kind of thoughtful, too, so that’s a bonus. And, hey, don’t worry so much.” She gently knocks her shoulder against yours. “They’re going to love you.”

You weren’t scared that they wouldn’t love you. Everyone who finds their Soulmate never doubts that that is their person. What pins a tiny knot of anxiety to the pit of your stomach is how it will happen.

As a young girl, you spent countless nights dreaming of the sequential events leading up to the day you finally met your Soulmate, orchestrating the moment like a scene from all the rom-coms you binged. Your person accidentally bumps into you either in a hallway or on the bus or in the lunch-line, gazes deep into your dazed eyes, then declares their love for you with some cliché phrase before scooping you into their arms and planting a kiss on your expectant lips.

I’ve got you.

The sweet words drifting in your head do their best to ease away the anxiety. You have nothing to worry about. The meeting will play out the way you fantasized, if not better. All because of those words.

“We’re all gonna die!” Ned Leeds shouts from the middle of the bus.

All heads snap to the right windows. In an instant, densely packed bodies swarm from the left side to the right, sandwiching together to search for what Ned was staring at, some opening the windows and craning their necks for a better look. You grunt as someone digs their elbow in your ribcage to see more, and you tensely shove them against the back of the seats in front of you before peering out of your window.

It’s a sight no eyes could miss. A large, metal donut levitates in the clear sky, an obstruction not there mere seconds ago. You gasp in wonder, but not fear. Surely, the Avengers, Earth’s mightiest heroes, will have this taken care of before the sun sets.

The bus driver, an old man with a smile as sly as a fox and pearly white hair, casually calls out, “What’s the matter with you kids?! You’ve never seen a spaceship before?”

“He’s got a point,” you shrug as Manda gapes at the driver with incredulous eyes, then rounds on you as you calmly sit back down. “We always get so worked up over these aliens, and nothing ever really happens. The Avengers got it handled.”

“You sure? Because that looks a little menacing.” Manda worries at her lower lip, anxiously sneaking peeks out the window. Many students stay plastered to the scene.

“Positive.”

✦ ✧✦ ✧

The appearance of the metal donut effectively sullies your experience of the MoMA. None of the tour guides thoroughly explain the paintings' and sculptures' meanings or historical relevance. Instead, they string together incoherent sentences about person, place, and time as they gape at the video feeds live-streamed to their phones. Even Manda stays glued to her screen, chewing on her lower lip so hard you're surprised she hasn't punctured it.

Fifteen minutes into the tour, aggravation chafes into you like sandpaper, rubbing your skin raw. You waited months for this trip. Months! You'd be damned if a few pesky aliens took this special day away from you. You weren’t afraid. You had no reason to be.

Fed up, you take matters into your own hands and stealthily break away from the group, tip-toeing back to an intriguing wall of paintings and observe it by yourself.

One painting catches your eye early, drawing you to the middle of the wall to study it further. Its tag reads The Lovers, René Magritte, Paris, 1928, Surrealism, Oil Painting. There are two people, a man and a woman, painted with white cloths shrouding their faces as they share a seemingly intimate kiss. You lean in closer, noting the almost murky atmosphere and how it lends to the mystery of the kiss. What did Magritte want you to think when you analyzed this piece? What questions did she want you to ask?

You derive two: Is love mysterious and complicated as the atmosphere suggests, or is it intuitive and straightforward as the veiled lovers suggest? And, would the love still be the same once they lift the veils?

Beep. Beep. Beep. All the phones in hearing range chime out three urgent trills, nearly ejecting your soul out of your body. Clearing your head with a shake, you pull your phone out of your back pocket. You don't even have to unlock it. The news alert flashes up like a hazard light. Tony Stark Missing.

You blink. What the hell is going on?

"Are you seeing this?" Manda whispers, sidling up to your side.

You nod, at a loss for words. Iron Man is missing? How? What happened? Did it have something to do with the metal donut?

You blink harder and take another long look at the notification, hoping it was a typo or missing a few words, words like Tony Stark Missing Iron Man Suit. Hell, even Tony Stark Missing Cheeseburgers. Anything but what's on your screen.

Somewhere in the background, Mrs. Kramer, your Art teacher, roll-calls the students to the front entrance. "Okay, guys, time to cut the field trip short."

Your shoulders sag. This can't be happening. Is it really that serious?

"Peter? Peter?" Mr. Dell calls out, clenching onto a clipboard with shaking hands. "Has anybody seen Parker? Peter Parker?" he inquired, looking over the students' heads. A bead of sweat gathers on his forehead, even though there is virtually no heat in the building, and it's a breezy, 72-degree late-spring afternoon in New York City. "Where does this kid always sneak off to?"

Ned stuttered out, "He, uhm, Pe-Peter left early, sir. Family emergency."

"An emergency? Was it so important he couldn't at least notify the supervisors?" Ned bobbed his head up and down, keeping his eyes stapled to the floor in a manner that hinted at no further comment. Mr. Dell huffs, "Alright. But he's getting detention, and I have half a mind to put you in there with him, Leeds."

Ned's face screws up in a chastised grimace. "Sorry, sir. Won’t happen again."

Your eyes linger on Ned as he pulls out his phone and rapidly taps at the screen, probably sending a strongly worded text to his best friend, rebuking Peter for roping him into his antics and nearly earning him a week's detention. You don't know much about their friendship, but they appear tied to the hip at school.

Ned's a nice guy. Reliant to a tee. You had the pleasure of partnering with him on an art project in Kramer's class a few weeks back, spending a considerable amount of time joking while diligently rendering an interpretation of Van Gogh's A Starry Night on a five-by-five foot canvass. During that time, he often complimented your paint-smeared overalls and your hair's ever-changing up-dos. He seemed like such a great friend to have.

Peter, on the other hand, is a tough nut to crack.

You only ever shared one class with Peter Parker. Spanish last semester. You remember him being too antsy for your liking, always checking his watch impatiently, answering questions too fast, bouncing his leg up and down, acting like he had someplace better to be and better things to do. His impatience never made sense to you until you heard some girls in the locker-room whispering about his Stark internship and how lucky he was to be working for the Tony Stark.

When the internship suddenly halted, and Peter landed himself in the longest detention sentence you'd ever heard of, you started to take more notice of him only because he was around more often. He was sort of cute in a boy-next-door kind of way with his science pun tee-shirts and smooth, tousled brown hair. For a brief time, you fleetingly considered asking him to Homecoming, but the futility of such a question wasn't lost on you. He noticeably crushed on Liz Toomes, and you were confident Peter's pining for her meant destiny twined their paths.

But Liz is gone now, and there's a growing 90 percent chance Peter's set his sights on MJ. Brooding quirky girl ending up with boy-next-door, now that match made perfect sense, just like a rom-com, or even better, an 80's teen romance.

Manda tugs on your arm, her hands forming a shackle around your wrist. "Come on. They're getting back on the bus without us."

Sure enough, you two were nearly the last ones in the entrance, the remaining students filing out of the door. You rush after them and reach the bus doors right before they shut, huffing in unison. Manda doubles over and grasps her knees, heaving.

"Here," you gasp. "We're here."

Your driver tuts, swinging the doors back open. "Good thing you two made it in time. This bus waits for no one, not even me. Come on," he says, waving you inside. "Let's get this show on the road."

You trudge back to your designated seats, collapsing against the plastic covering as the adrenaline subsides, replaced with the forgotten dread of the trip's abrupt end. You lean over and peer out the left side windows when the bus rolls over the bridge again, surprise rattling ominously over your bones as you find the metal donut gone from the sky.

Where did it go? Did the Avengers get rid of it?

Your hand still clamps your phone. An annoying, slight tremble in your hands trips up your fingers as they try to type in your passcode, but you succeed on the fourth try. You scroll through your social media, hoping beyond hope that someone captured the Avengers' victory or something close to a victory, something that proves the news headline wrong. Stark's probably lying low, too beat down to show his face to the press.

The far-fetched lie makes you internally flinch. You don't know much about the guy, but you're more than a thousand percent sure Stark wouldn't hide from the press if he won anything.

A sinking horror clogs your chest as you obsessively watch clip after clip, onlookers recording some unconscious guy in a red cape being invisibly bound and trailing after the commanding hand of an elongated, greyish-blue alien. Spider-Man tries to get the red-caped guy back, swinging through the city and dodging billboards, his webs clinging to the departing ship's underside, Iron Man flying into the sky after them.

It’s bad. Oh, sweet heavens, it’s bad.

Maybe it’s not that much of a big deal. Yeah. Yeah, it’s probably nothing. The end of the videos suggested the Avengers gained the upper hand on the fight, so maybe, just maybe, the alien was fleeing—fleeing… with a captive. Hurtling off into God knows where with Iron Man and Spider-Man onboard.

It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine.

Your back flattens to your seat and your unseeing eyes meld to your phone, the thunderous beats of your heart stifling the rest of the world into silence. The air is thinning.

Your ears are buzzing.

A vice clenches your chest.

It’s fine. It’s fine. It’s fine.

The dubious mantra and vague words of your Soulmate blend into an all-consuming cacophony of words, gelling together in a chant of solace.

It’s fine. I’ve got you. It’s fine. I’ve got you. It’s fine.

By the time the bus drops off the students at Midtown and you and Manda quietly walk in the direction of home, the mixture of affirmations fans away the panic settling around your chest, bringing back a semblance of your earlier confidence, or rather, what was left of it, which wasn't much.

Outside the apartment complex, an overwhelming amount of residents’ windows glow, most of them probably stuck to their couch, replaying the recent events on any major news network and speculating the whereabouts of our mightiest heroes.

It takes a while to dawn on you that you and Manda are the only ones standing outside. On the entire block.

Nothing stirs. Even the bodega on the corner appears closed for the day.

It's five o'clock on a Friday afternoon and there’s plenty of light left.

Emptiness pours out of every alley like ink spilling from a broken bottle, blotting the whole surface of the street with the absence of human activity. A tree's rustling leaves are so startling your breath locks up and you jump. Manda doesn't say anything, recovering from the sudden noise herself.

Leaving the deserted streets behind, you and Manda glumly walk up the steps of your apartment complex and up to your residence on the third floor. The apartment is eerily silent as you toss your keys on the kitchen counter and lock the door behind Manda.

"When are your folks getting back from their honeymoon again?" asks Manda, shrugging out of her jacket and toeing off her sneakers, leaving them propped against the wall by the door.

Habit controls your body as you open the fridge, grab two Sprites, set them down on the counter, then reach for the half-finished bucket of Red Vines from the top cabinet shelf. "Sunday morning, I think. They only have the weekend off. Want some pizza? I can call up Joe's."

"Please and thank you," she says, plopping down on the couch. The old thing croaks, its springs wheezing under the unwelcomed weight.

The maroon monstrosity is a family heirloom, dating back to your grandparents' time. Mom loves it, claiming it adds the right amount of character to the drab living space, knowing fully well that anyone with fashion sense would never describe any space she inhabits as drab. Dad is adamant that it's one spill away from handing in its resignation.

Picking up your house phone, you confirm, "Extra-large cheese and olives?"

You don't know why you ask. Ever since the inception of your infamous best friend "crash-overs," cheese and olive pizza starred as the staple meal: that, and a bucket of Red Vines your dad occasionally steals from. Maybe you asked for normalcy or maybe to confirm Manda's plan to stay for the rest of the night. What you do know is you don’t want to be alone.

She hums a distracted yes, turning on the TV and upping the volume to listen to Channel 10's news reporter recount the fight between Iron Man and the alien.

Though already burned in your memory, the images douse your body in bone-chilling fear.

You turn your back and dial in the order, not at all surprised that Joe's is still up and running. Once the employee confirms your order and promises a speedy delivery, you grab the drinks and candy and place them on the coffee table, ignoring the TV.

"C-can you turn it to something else?" you quickly pipe up as you sit next to Manda, unsuccessfully hiding the tremor in your words. "I don't think I can stomach the news right now."

"Yeah, sure." Slow and reluctant, Manda switches the input and goes into Netflix. "Anything you wanna watch?"

"Teen Wolf."

Manda groans, "Again? We've seen that a million times."

"Oh, come on," you groan back, playfulness strained in your words. "It's a classic. You can't say no to a classic."

She gives you a dour frown, one that still couldn't land an inch of seriousness on her amber-colored cherub cheeks, until she relents from the weight of your puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, but only because of Michael J. Fox. Next time, I'm picking."

Neither of you really pay attention to the movie or touch the pizza when it arrives. In fact, for most of the night, Manda scrolls through her social media, watching what you can only assume are today’s events. Sometimes she’d put the phone down when you politely asked, but it unfailingly ended up right back in her hands, so after a while, you stop asking. When the movie’s end credits roll around, and you dress into your pajamas, put away the remaining slices of pizza, and call it a night, both of you climb into your bed. She is still scrolling.

You try and force yourself into REM sleep, keeping your eyes shut until you hear Manda’s heavy breathing beside you. The clock on your nightstand reads 9:53 p.m.

Yawning, you curl up into a tight ball on your side of the bed and wish your mom and dad were here to help you get out of your head. Manda can’t do it when she’s so caught up in hers, and you don’t think you’d be able to tell her how scared you are. It’d only scare her more.

Tony Stark is missing. Manda would have screeched her head off by now if anything changed.

I’ve got you.

Yeah, but Tony Stark, the freaking Iron Man, is missing.

I’ve got you.

You can’t possibly understand how bad this is.

I’ve got you.

You audibly huff against the reassuring words, but they eventually do the trick in temporarily pushing the worry away, allowing you to fitfully slip into dreamless oblivion.

Seven hours later, you wake to a text from your mom. The sunlight is so bright in your room you lower your phone’s brightness all the way down, squinting at the small letters.

-Coming home early bbygrl. Dad says hi and he misses you lots hunny bun. xx

A titanic-sized weight lifts off of your shoulders—something you hadn’t even known was there until you re-read your mom’s text and verify the timestamp.

They’re on their way home, where it’s safe and you can all keep an eye on each other. Niagara Falls is just a six and a half-hour drive from here and Mom texted two hours ago, so they’ve got a couple hundred miles left. You don’t care about the distance. As long as they’re coming home, you’re fine. You can wait.

The morning’s activities in your residence pass into a weird déjà vu of last night. Manda is awake before you, sitting on the couch with a bowl of cereal in her lap and the TV turned on to Channel 10, the volume slightly lower from last night. A bit peeved, you ask her to switch it to some cartoons while you pour yourself a bowl of Frosted Flakes.

She goes back to scrolling on her phone, sparingly taking bites of her soon-turned soggy cereal. You perch on the arm of the couch, far away from Manda's screen, and munch on your cereal in silence. This whole situation sucks enough without Manda’s constant doom-scrolling, but her utter silence is wearing your nerves thin.

Three full episodes of SpongeBob play on before you heave tempered sigh and set your finished bowl of cereal on the table and face Manda.

“Do you have to do that?”

She doesn’t even spare you a glance. “Do what?”

Unbidden anger flows through you like magma spewing from a freshly erupted volcano, flaming into your veins and flaring your heart rate as you yank her phone away and toss it behind the couch.

Manda stares at you like you’ve lost your mind. She may be partially right.

“Why the hell did you do that?”

You scoff, “Oh, I don’t know, maybe I like talking to my friend once in a while. Maybe it’s mentally damaging to watch the same thing over and over and over again, and I was just trying to save you from brain rot.” You stand up and cross your arms over your chest, letting the rage propel your words. “Seriously Manda, give it a damn rest.”

“Why?” Manda crosses her arms too, glowering up at you, close to achieving a convincing frown. “Because you’re ‘positive’ nothing’s going to happen, right? It’s just aliens. No prob.”

You hold your tongue, waiting for her to air out all her frustrations because she’s right. She’s right to throw your words back at you. Yesterday morning you were totally sure of the Avengers, and not much has changed. You still firmly believe they’ll win whatever this fight is with the aliens, but you know scrolling through your phone for updates won’t do anything but boost your anxiety, like it’s doing to Manda.

When you think the coast is clear to speak, you lowly say, “I get it.”

“You get it? You get it? No, mama, you don’t get it. Because, see, if you got it, my phone wouldn’t be collecting dust behind your couch!”

“You needed a break, Amanda!” You shout back at her. “That phone’s never left your hand since you got here.”

She snaps her fingers as if she reached an epiphany. “Attention. That’s what it is. I haven’t given you enough attention today and you’re feeling left out of the spotlight. Newsflash, hon, the world doesn’t revolve around you. Other things are happening besides you hearing your Destined Words.”

“Wh-what?” you balk. “That… no, that’s not what this is about.” You’re not even sure where she even came up with the conclusion that you needed something as stupid as attention right now. Did she think you were that self-centered?

She cocks her eyebrow challengingly, “Alright, then tell me what it is. I’m all ears.”

“Me hearing my freaking soulmate has nothing to do with this! Nothing! And I’m not some attention-starved lunatic. Christ, Manda,” you roll your eyes, letting your hands fall with a slap against your sides. “It’s about you watching the news all day like… like this is the end of the world or something. We’ve gone through this. New York has gone through this. Alien attacks are nothing new, and I’m tired so sick and tired of you…”

You slow down, raising a soft hand to your chest—strange, tugging sensations sprout somewhere deep, deep down within you. So deep you're not sure it's actually there.

“Sick and tired of me what? What?” Manda pressed, the almost-frown lessening as your head tilts. “What’s wrong?”

You gradually shake your head. There’s no conceivable way to articulate what’s happening to you because it’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced. You feel… tingly, like every single hair follicle on your arms and legs rise, standing on high alert.

“Something’s not right.”

The tugging intensifies dully. You gasp against it, desperately clawing at the front of your shirt with the pads of your fingers, seeking to protect something tangibly nonexistent. It’s like someone’s fingers pinch a taut guitar string inside your chest, pulling on it with increasing pressure, pulling it further and further until it can’t move an inch, holding it the apex in a deathly promise that, with one final tug, the string will give.

I’ve got you.

Everything happens within a second.

You whimper out an anguished yelp as the string abruptly snaps.

Manda leaps to her feet and grasps your shoulders, begging to help.

Then, right before your eyes, Manda’s body begins to dissolve.

“M-Manda...? Amanda, wait! NO!”

She falls away into a pile of ash on your floor.

You drop to your knees, screaming.

And so does the rest of the world.

...

Part II

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