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starry-mist · 1 month ago

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"We've got a surveillance team in place." That's great. Will you remember this in a few hours? Will they, even? Why were they so "discreet" as to let Eva near Charlie's laptop when they knew she shouldn't be on it?

And the lapses in judgment just keep coming.

Sarah is not jealous AT ALL. Nope. Not picking up anything.

Such a mess.

Like, how can I not pin this on the whole team?

Every. Single. One. Every one of them fucked up in this episode.

I know they call Eva a libertarian, I see her more as an edgy wannabe anarchist.

And then he gives her his phone too. Forget Sarah, why didn't Jesse burst into the house?

I would like a word with this writer.

I can't decide if he was thinking "I'm so screwed" or "I wonder if Sarah is watching".

I don’t think he was thinking. At least not with his brain.

This is the only slightly disapproving look I can find. I mean, given the circumstances, she could have said something.

Seriously, screenwriter (I think it’s Jennifer Kassabian,) I just wanna talk…

I... have questions. Like, where did the paramedics go? Did she make them abandon the ambulance? And was that before or after she tied Rex to the stretcher? This scene was executed sloppily.

So very sloppily.

I relate to Eva’s description of the fog of depression. It’s been a rough year for me in that regard.

Eva: “According to what your laws allow?”

Me: Oh STFU, you live in a society.

The more they show that cliff, the more confident I become that Rex would have survived it and Charlie wouldn't.

Random, but I’m pretty sure I drove past that cliff when I was in Newfoundland. (Yeah I know it has a lot of cliffs but I swear it looked familiar.)

Poor Charlie. He's definitely not okay. I wish they'd written something deeper about what's wrong with him.

I wholeheartedly agree.

And they all made mistakes. I still don't know where to pin the surveillance failure, there were two people in the van. They should have intervened in two separate instances, one to take the laptop away from Eva and one to intercept the masked guy who also might have strolled right next to the van. Am I to presume that they put cameras inside the house and not outside? Where they suspecting Eva more than they suspected someone would show up to kill her? In both cases, they failed.

All of them. I blame all of them.

But I remember from the first moment this episode came out, reading about how he was in a position of power. And in that scene, to me, he always comes off as... powerless. Lost.

I was one of the ones who made one of those comments and my rationale is face value: white male cop, in position of responsibility for the security of this vulnerable (at least we’re led to think so at the time) woman. Did she initiate? Yes. Should he have stopped it? Yes, absolutely and so should Jesse and Sarah but as previously established, none of them were at their finest in this episode. Now, looking at the situation, was Charlie actually the vulnerable one who was taken advantage of? Absolutely. My face value commentary is just about the surface level power dynamics at play that is the main reason this episode gives me the ick.

In this one we do see Charlie visibly upset. I'd have liked to see the rest of the team more worried about him or even frustrated and not understanding his predicament. I'd have liked friction more than getting a mention in the finale. There was something there worth exploring.

Yes to all of this. But apparently we are expecting too much from this show beyond the surface level stuff they give us. We’re the ones who will always want them to go deeper, and I don’t think the writers necessarily get to or perhaps want to explore that depth as much as we would like. Because at its heart the show is supposed to be about super doggo, and not so much the humans’ feelings. But as s4 and s5 have proven, they can do both. And sometimes they do it well.

Okay I made it through. The rest of the season I can mostly stomach.

Hudson and Rex S04E07 - A Stab in the Dark Web Part B

Sarah is not jealous AT ALL. Nope. Not picking up anything.

"I'm so going to take advantage of this information."

Like, how can I not pin this on the whole team? Joe suggested that Charlie's place was the best place for Eva to be in, when they already thought that they were compromised, which meant that they should have assumed their home addresses were compromised as well. Charlie leaves Eva alone at his house so that Rex can go pee instead of calling either Sarah or Jesse to take him out, which would leave one cop in the van and one guarding Eva, instead of having two in the van (which helps at nothing) and zero in the house. Then we have the house which is supposedly under surveillance by Jesse and Sarah, supposedly watching, but they don't alert Charlie to the fact that Eva touched his laptop. Once Charlie realizes that she's done that, he takes her explanation at face value and doesn't ask Jesse to check his laptop.

The graphic for the disappearing chat messages on the dark web is fun.

I've had some contact with libertarians over the years, more than I'd personally like. All the talk about revolutions and whatnot, and their fondness for the dark web are indeed real. When crypto had first risen, lots of them were salivating at the idea of an unregulated and anonymous form of currency, and even more when they discovered private cryptocurrencies (which supposedly offer an extra layer of anonymity). It's funny, though, that they thought even for a bit that governments and banks would let them do that. Anyway, what I want to say is that Joe wouldn't know how to talk to that person at all. But let's disregard that.

"I can't believe that I left her with a laptop and she opened it! I said no electronics!"

And then he gives her his phone too. Forget Sarah, why didn't Jesse burst into the house?

It's true that the way some drugs are regulated actually hinders some people who could benefit from them, instead of helping. Still, in that moment, Eva is pretty much selling a sob story to Charlie, which isn't even the whole truth since she also needed those drugs for herself, to try to get him on her side.

This is a very appropriate distance.

Sarah looks like she'd fallen asleep and just woke up for the good part. Which would actually make more sense than whatever they were doing in the van with Jesse.

First time I watched this I was like, eh, let the guy kiss someone if it's not Sarah. I hadn't realized he was entering his slut era. Also, yeah, Sarah, they are, this is a very astute observation.

And Jesse is entering his pervert era.

I can't decide if he was thinking "I'm so screwed" or "I wonder if Sarah is watching".

I love that Rex is thoroughly disappointed by that development. Rex was all of us in S4.

And then the ninjas attacked. I'm assuming our surveillance is too busy watching the Charlie Hudson show to see the guy approaching the house?

Dude had knives everywhere. Charlie was lucky he wasn't hit (and I was unlucky).

"I'm having a really bad day. Thank you for letting me get off some steam."

This is the only slightly disapproving look I can find. I mean, given the circumstances, she could have said something.

What a plot twist! She lied and she used you, Charlie. Also, again, where were the rest of you when she was using Charlie's laptop?

More bad news.

I... have questions. Like, where did the paramedics go? Did she make them abandon the ambulance? And was that before or after she tied Rex to the stretcher? This scene was executed sloppily.

Congratulations, you finally figured out why he wouldn't leave Eva's side. I think that played a part in Charlie trusting Eva.

Their brilliant ideas to subdue an angry guard dog is: pet behind the ears, put jazz music... Are you kidding me? At least Jesse thought of food.

I feel like they should have made Mercurius seem more scary and money-hungry or even power-hungry.

In which season?

Sorry, that's just funny. I really don't think he's ever made the first move.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Oh god, he still doesn't get it. Because it was easier for her to manipulate you when you didn't have all the facts!

Bold of you to assume that Charlie would follow, but he's definitely not at his best. This is actually using Rex as Charlie's weakness, unlike the previous episode. Although I don't think Charlie should risk that jump regardless. Also, really, a dog wouldn't have made it? I find that hard to believe, they seem like better jumpers than humans. And have more legs.

Yeah, even at his worst, he will do the right thing.

Oh, yeah, we forgot all the hitmen that might come for her. Whoops.

The more they show that cliff, the more confident I become that Rex would have survived it and Charlie wouldn't.

Angst.

Joe: "There's nothing you or any of us could have done." Except for your jobs, but better?

Poor Charlie. He's definitely not okay. I wish they'd written something deeper about what's wrong with him.

And this is Eva letting Charlie know that she made it and even had time to hack the app to let him know that she's okay.

I like this episode but it always makes me think of what it could have been if it was another show, another production and another network involved.

Once again, I'd like to focus on the fact that after a certain point in the episode where it becomes clear that Charlie's head is not in the game, no one says anything about it. No one pulls him back, no one asks if he's okay or even what the fuck he's doing. I guess they keep all the second-guessing for the last episode of the season. Charlie tried to do his job until the very end but I think the distractions were just too much for him and they're indicative of his state of mind.

Again, this less than stellar performance from our characters is a great reason for Adele to show up and say that they need more oversight. But some part of this would have to make it to the reports for that to happen.

I've written thoughts on this episode before. I'd pointed out that Eva notices some sort of kinship and attraction between her and Charlie and she tries to use them to her advantage. Which is why the morality of their kiss is more complex than it seems at first glance. At first glance it might seem like he's the one taking advantage. He's not. Is it still wrong that he let her kiss him, and from the way the scene is shot, for several seconds too? Yes. But I remember from the first moment this episode came out, reading about how he was in a position of power. And in that scene, to me, he always comes off as... powerless. Lost.

I understand the contradictory opinions this episode causes. Personally, I like the episodes where there is an upset. We have too many episodes where everything feels like another day on the job, and it doesn't seem to affect them in either way and the repercussions begin and end in that episode. In this one we do see Charlie visibly upset. I'd have liked to see the rest of the team more worried about him or even frustrated and not understanding his predicament. I'd have liked friction more than getting a mention in the finale. There was something there worth exploring.

I'll say again that it would have been a much better storyline to write something about depression or PTSD for Charlie rather than heartbreak throughout the season. Or a combination. He has been through a lot. Maybe I'm asking again too much of this show and this belongs to fanfictions.

#hudson & rex #the great hudson and rex rewatch of 2024

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jalapenokpoppers · 3 years ago

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Stray Kids reactions to S/O being an animal lover.

Fluffy fluffy fluff.

Warnings: none. Not proofread I guess.

A/N This. was. So. Cute.

(D/N=Dog’s name)

Chan: Berry, Cavalier King Charles spaniel.

•He’s literally this 😍 emoji whenever he sees you playing with animals.

•Let’s say you two are walking through a park, when a loose dog comes running towards you.

•Not in a mean way, it just wants to play.

•The dog comes up to you, and starts licking you, and nuzzling you.

•*Cue the 😍.*

•The owners come up and start apologizing, while you assure them it’s all right.

•When you’re done talking with the owners, Chan grabs your hand.

•”Where are we going?”

•”Australia. You need to meet Berry.”

Lee Know: Soonie, Doongie, Dori.

•The minute he sees you playing with his cats, you’re going to need to call an ambulance, because boy is dead.

•Just watching the loves of his nine lives life, playing together on the floor.

•uwu.

•Takes so many pictures.

•Buys you all matching sweaters .

•FAMILY PHOTOS WITH HIS KITTIES-

•Apparently Doongie is kind of a brat, and Minho would be so jealous if you got the kitty to snuggle with you.

•”B-but Doongie? Don’t you want to sit with daddy instead?”

•*Cue Doongie hissing from your comfy lap.*

Changbin: none.

•Binnie doesn’t have any animals, but he takes you to Seoul’s bunny café!

•Loves watching the bunnies swarm around you.

•Just watches you coo over the bunnies with a 🥺 face.

•Bends his head towards you.

•”I’m half bunny too.🥺”

•When you pet his head, like you do to the bunnies, he melts.

•He loves to spoil you, so if you ask if you can have a bunny, he’ll buy two for you, since bunnies should be in pairs.

•He acts like he doesn’t really like them, when they’re actually his babies, and he’s so soft for them.

Hyunjin: Kkami, long haired chihuahua.

•Oh boy, oh boy.

•You know that video where Hyunjin is trying to get Kkami to give him a kiss but Kkami is like. 😑

•Yeah, he gets jealous when Kkami gives you kisses, but not him.

•But is also like.

•”Well if Kkami loves them, that means they’re my soulmate.”

•Honestly gets so emotional, because like. Look at his S/O playing with his doggie.

•He finds it so intimate, and domestic.

•If he’s being serious, that’s the moment he realized you’re his forever person.

Han: Bbama, bichon frise.

•Poor guy is allergic to animal fur. :(

•BUT. Good thing bichon frises are hypoallergenic.

•Sits on the floor, playing with you and Bbama.

•Why do I see him as one of those people who loves to smack dog’s bellies.

•Lots of snuggles with the three of you.

•Gets jealous if you spend too much time with his doggo though.

•”Can we cuddle without Bbama for once, Y/N? 🥺”

•”HoW dAre yOu. He iS oUr cHild-“

•Let’s it slide, but doesn’t let Bbama sleep with you two. :(

•He might let him sleep with you guys every once in a while, if you ask him nicely.

Felix: none.

•Two words.

•Puppy cafés.

•Unlike Changbin though, he WON’T buy you an animal.

•Sorry.

•He’ll take you to puppy cafés all you want though.

•Just makes that 😁 smile he does, watching you drink your beverage, and play with doggos.

•Loves to pet one on his lap while watching you.

•Buys you all the animal plushies.

•Names them all for you.

•Your bed is just completely taken taken up by animal plushies now.

Seungmin: none. Daengmo, IKEA golden retriever dog plush.

•Ok but. Cuddling with Seungmin, and his dog plush.

•I know it’s not a real animal but still.

•Seungmin is also a puppy himself

•Pet his head.

•You’re literally his biggest weakness, so if you ask for a puppy he’ll get you one.

•He tells you the dog is all yours, and he’ll have very little to with it, but in the end Seungmin ends up loving the dog more than you love it.

•You didn’t think that was possible.

•Jealous of the attention you give a new puppy though.

•”I need a kiss for every kiss you give the puppy. 🥺”

•Calls it your child.

•omg he’d call you D/N’s mommy.”

•Another dog belly smacker.

Jeongin: none.

•Also won’t buy you a pet, sorry.

•He tells you he’s already your baby who needs lots of attention, so why would you get another one.

•Kitty cafés though.

•Loves the sound of cats meows.

•He can’t explain it, it just calms him.

•Is literally like.

•“That’s my S/O!!”

•Whenever all the kitties swarm to you.

•Tells everyone how good with animals you are.

•Might promise to get you a kitty when you get married.

•And you’re all like.

•”When we what?!”

•And he’s just.🤗

#stray kids #stray kids reactions #stray kids fluff #bang chan #lee know #seo changbin #hwang hyunjin #han jisung #lee felix #kim seungmin #yang jeongin

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sappy-and-sapphic · 2 years ago

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My thoughts on Gap the series, episode 1, in no particular order. It's kinda long, oops

The dome shots in this show are so pretty. Dome shots, my beloved.

On that same note, the cinematography is very good for this show. The colors, the styling, the sets and the lighting are brilliant. It's so colorful and beautiful.

It's very telling that Mon always have some pink in her outfits so far meanwhile Sam always have black in her outfits.

Mon is in love already so the pink. And her first outfit was mainly white, showing her innocence.

Black has many meanings. It's elegant and classy, a nod to Sam's high position.

It's also a color associated with evil and darkness which can be a nod to Sam 's reputation in the company and also her bleak life, devoid of colors.

The first time we see Sam in white is after Mon 's introduction to her life which could mean things. White isn't in Sam 's color palette before that dress despite how well it goes with her usual black.

The styling team is doing a tremendous job all in all. I love Mon 's earrings, I want all of them. I want Sam 's white top/cloak/dress. That's the most gorgeous piece of clothing that I ever saw.

Sam's heels in her introduction were so gorgeous too. I don't like heels and I still want those.

The whole dream dance scene was so good. I melted when dream Sam put dream Mon 's hand on her own neck. This is what I live for.

Baby Mon is so fucking cute. The cutest kid ever.

Mon adopted Sam's pet then? Omg that's a great trope. It means more shots of the cute doggo, right? Right?

Meeting your soulmate when they saved your life might be cliched but I love it.

I really should have seen the parallel coming.

Sam saving Mon when Mon wondered if Sam has changed too much was chef's kiss. That was dramatic irony done well.

The writing is so good so far. I am so happy.

Freen and Becky look so good. They're such pretty women. We're really winning today.

I am really liking the rest of the supporting cast so far. They're all fun to watch.

Yuki is a good friend. Even I would pull Mon 's cheeks at the first opportunity. Mon is so cute.

Mon 's parents are so cute together. It shouldn't have taken me this long to figure out that he was her stepfather but this is on me.

Sam 's grandmother is really horrible. God, that ultimatum was awful.

So that company is basically Sam 's only ticket to freedom 😭

Is Sam the thirdborn? I really wanna know the full deets about what happened to her siblings.

Kirk is really nice for a forced fiancee. I wasn't expecting to like him this much.

Sam's entrance to the office really gives me Devil wears Prada vibes and I love it.

Tbh Mon shouldn't have just stood there while everyone was rushing but then again how else would Sam get a good first look at her future wife then.

Not me clinging to Sam asking if Mon is okay when they fell on the stairs. See the ice queen cares!

Was that bracelet a gift? It costs 5 million baht and 50 million baht seems to be the goal for Sam's deal with grandmother. So was that just an arbitrary number that they decided on? Sam doesn't actually needs that money?

Poor Mon is really disappointed that her idol is not like what she thought.

Mon, you are really gone for Sam. She really said I don't want to be in this country if things don't work out with Sam.

Very gay of her tbh, I say this as a queer woman in love with another woman who would totally change countries for my gf.

When we see Sam pinning for Mon, then what? How will I survive that.

I loved the humor so far in the show. HR lady saying she didn't wanna go job searching again, the dinner scene with Mon 's parents, Sam cracking a joke and the reaction 😂

Sam, you could have just put Mon 's purse away or moved around. Why do I feel like you are just trying to talk to Mon? And then being rude to hide it.

The next office scene: Yup, called it.

Sam and Kirk 's friendship looks so precious. I hope it remains this way.

Sam really likes candles, doesn't she? Gift her candle when the time comes, Mon.

Grandma's house has servants but Sam's doesn't. Hmmm. Interesting.

Sam's signature color is black so far but her car is yellow which is very eye catching. That's an interesting combo of colors.

#gap the series #gap the series episode 1 #thai gl #sam x mon #ash rambles...

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deathordemise · 4 years ago

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Everybody shut up. My turn with the skephalo writing stick >:(.

Okay so, it’s Fae! Au hours

Bad lives in the woods with his dog. It’s a bit far away from the village, and a bit secluded. He’s kind of a medic? Twice a week, he sets up shop in his little stall of the village market and sells plant based medicines. Lavender tea, aloe salve, whatever the hell my grandmother insists turmeric powder can do in bath water, that kind of stuff. The village people think he’s a little odd, but ultimately he’s a kind guy who caters to their injuries. They high key suspect he’s a witch but there’s no magic involved, he’s just hella good with plants.

Bad is lonely though. He lives alone with his doggo. Besides his market stall hours, he doesn’t talk to any other human beings at all. He spends most of his time tending to his garden.

He’s lonely but content with the life he lives for now. He’s calm and complacent.

Until something starts fucking up his garden.

The flowers are trampled, the fruits are eaten,the berries stripped from his bushes. A bite has been taken out of his pumpkin. A whole goddamn bite, skin and all. Who does that??

Decidedly less calm, Bad puts up a fence around the garden to deter any woodland creatures. Maybe they’ve never bothered him before, but hey, the deers may have gotten braver.

It’s a no go. The next morning, something has jumped into the raked pile of leaves and scattered them everywhere. All of his herbs ? Gone.

He digs a ditch all around the fence and fills it up with water. There! If the thing was tunnelling under, there isn’t a chance now. If it was just jumping over the fence, well Bad better pray that it can’t clear both.

Tomorrow comes and there are flowers floating in the water , like a scene from the chapel windows. Shiny ribbons have been threaded through the fence wire, the whole thing is pretty enough that he doesn’t immediately notice the smashed watermelon and by extension, the watermelon juice painting of a dick at the side of the cottage walls.

By then, Bad has come to the conclusion that is a person who’s doing it. At his wits end, he despairs about it to the local blacksmith, Sapnap who’s just like “lmao sounds like fae folk. Put a salt circle around it.”

And he does.

Bad does not anticipate being awoken at 3 a:m by someone furiously knocking at his door. Blearily, he stumbles out of bed draped in two blankets, Rat at his heels, and he pulls the door open, glasses shoved hazardously on his face.

There’s a person on the other side of the door. He’s tall and so very pale. There’s flowers woven into his hair , and he speaks urgently. Bad doesn’t register anything at all, still blinking sleepily. He doesn’t register long pointed ears nor cat-like eyes. He’s vaguely aware he’s being pulled out of the house, and to his garden.

Someone is sitting cross legged on the ground, hands covering their face, while someone stoops behind them, hand on the other person's shoulder. Both of them are shaking with laughter. Someone else comes up to Bad, their hair long and talons on the tips of their fingers. Their entire body seems to be ever shifting, never quite settling on a physique under the moonlight. Also overcome with giggling , they gesture beyond the fence.

A man stands in the middle of Bad’s garden. The absurdity of the situation has woken up Bad quite a bit. He sees shimmering, translucent wings. He sees unnaturally bright blue freckles, almost glowing against otherwise dark skin. He sees the despair and frustration on the man’s face.

“What?” his voice cracks with uncertainty. This is not real, he tells himself. You’re hallucinating and you’re going to wake up tomorrow morning to find a trashed garden with no pretty and strange men in the middle of your herb patch. Bad rubs his eyes, and the fairy stamps his foot.

“Salt circle ?” He cries, “You put a salt circle around it? How am I supposed to get out?”

“How did you get in?” Bad asks. The fairy blushes blue, and shrugs.

“I’ve got no fucking clue. Let me out.”

“Language” he mutters and sweeps his foot across the salt barrier, disconnecting the circle. Immediately, the fairy is up close, looking him up and down. Bad stumbles backwards with a sharp inhale.

“Hello.” He waves nervously, and immediately gets dirt thrown in his face.

Looking back on it, Bad probably should have seen this coming. He shouldn’t have let the fae drag him out of his bed in the middle of the night. He definitely should have kept the salt circle intact. Sue him for poor decisions, but when a fairy throws a little temper tantrum in the middle of your garden, interrogation is not a priority.

And yeah, he was going to ask a few questions but as it turns out, having dirt in your eyes is quite disorienting.

By the time he wipes the soil out of his eyes properly, the fae folk have disappeared into the woods.

Aye, it started out with just a little information post but then the Wattpad fanfic writer jumped out. It just jumped out and I’m so sorry. I haven’t written anything coherent since 2019 so forgive me if it sucks lmao. Uh, asks are open if anybody’s interested, and maybe I’ll get around to writing more ? It was actually surprisingly fun to do, I forgot how much I enjoyed writing . Anyway!

Asks Are Open!

#skephalo #skeppy #badboyhalo #idots #justvurb #zelkham #f1nn5ter #if you squint #Spifey #mcyt #fae au

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addictofsupernatural · 5 years ago

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OHSHC Rewrite: Episode 1

Starting Today, You Are a Host!

Host Club x reader

Summary: Y/n meets new people and fall into a whole new world.

Warning: mentions of past trauma

Word Count: 4.4k

Episode Masterlist

Nerve wracking. This was very nerve wracking. It was one thing to go to a school full of rich people, but it was another for it to be in a different country. Though you felt nervous, this was a giant step into a new life.

You had highlights dyed in your hair for a while now, but didn't know if the school allowed it, so you hid it up in a beanie with only your bangs peaking out. You also didn't know if they allowed crop tops, which was what you had on right now due to your unattended laundry, so you put a big sweater on to hide that as well.

Everyone stared at you. You expected nothing less, considering you weren't wearing a school uniform. You kept your head low and your mouth shut, though it was starting to bother you to have all those eyes on you for no reason. It's rude to stare.

After school you wanted to find a quiet place to study. All three of the huge libraries were noisy, for some reason, so you ventured into trying to find an empty room. There was a music room that looked uninhabited, so you opened the door.

"Welcome to the Ouran Host Club."

A gush of wind came and you stepped inside to see 6 guys standing there, greeting you.

"Oh." One of the twins said. "It's just a guy."

"Host Club?" You quietly asked. "Um, I'm sorry! I didn't know this place was occupied. Sorry."

You turned and reached for the handle, only for both twins to lean on each of your shoulders.

"You said sorry twice." The said in unison.

"I'll just leave now—"

"You must be the foreign honor student, Mr. Y/l/n."

You looked back at the boy with the glasses giving you a small smile. "I'll ignore the Mr part for now, but how did you know my name?"

The tall blonde one gasped. "You're the exceptional honor student from y/c?!"

"It's quiet interesting seeing a commoner with the audaciousness to come here." The guy with glasses said.

"Commoner?" You repeated, taking in the name.

"You should feel lucky." He continued. It did do injustice for your nerves to hear that, but you tried to not let the innocently rude words effect you.

"So lucky." You sighed.

The blonde man rushed over to you and slung his arm over your shoulder. "I think it's wonderful for a commoner such as yourself to come and study us. It'll set an example for other commoners and you'll be a hero to all of them. Long live the poor!"

"Am I supposed to not find all of this offensive?" You asked as you ducked out of his arm.

That's when a small boy jumped onto you, causing you to instinctively catch him. While in your arms he could feel your hidden breasts against his head, which made him the second person in the room to catch on.

"Wow, y/l/n huh? That's a really weird last name. I like it though, it's interesting. I hope we can be friends from now! "You were honestly confused at to why there was a little boy here, so you gently ruffled his hair and put him down.

"That'd be nice." You sweetly said. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh. Who knew the honor student would be so openly gay?" The blonde man shrugged.

"What?" You asked, though you were ignored again.

"So then, which would you prefer?" He pulled your arm to each of the boys. "Is it the strong, silent type? The loli-shota type? The mischievous devils? The cool type?" He got extremely close and grabbed your chin, whispering, "Or maybe you'd like me."

You jerked yourself back, walking backwards as the twins and the blonde were walking towards you. "Please don't get so close when I don't even know you! I'll leave you all be now—"

You bumped into a table, and a vase fell and shattered as a result. "Now you've done it commoner." Said the twin with the higher voice. "That was a Renaissance vase."

"We were gonna sell that at the auction. The bidding was going to start at 8 million yen." Explained the other.

"8 mi..." Your voice was barely a whisper as you looked at the shattered glass. You then began to internally panic, causing words to just spew out. "Oh my gosh okay okay I am so so sorry I should've expected something like this cause of my luck and it's just like me to be a screw up and–" you let out a deep breath before scrunching up your nose and turning to them. "I need to pay you back."

"With what money?" The twins said.

"Holy crap this is bad." You began shaking your leg. "Okay, what do I do then?"

"Well Tamaki, what do you think we should do?" The glasses guy asked, still giving you a small smile.

"There's an old saying that we should all live by! When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

"I'm in rich territory, does that mean I need to do as the rich people do?" You asked, being unconsciously sarcastic.

He chose to ignore you and go on. "Since you don't have any money, you will have to pay us back with your body!"

"Can you please rephrase that—"

"Starting today, you are the host club's dog boy!"

It all happened so fast, and next thing you knew you were coming back from the store with their grocery items. Was this going to be hell? When you got back, you thought about the club while walking in the halls. It was their job to make women happy. That probably meant you would have to put on a brave smile.

"Hey there, little piglet. Did you get everything on our list?" Tamaki senpai smiled at you.

Brave face. "Yup, everything you asked for sir." You smiled brightly.

His eyes widened, and he zoomed over to you to pull you into a crushing hug. "Aww, you're too adorable!"

"Please let go!"

"Why? I'm not done hugging you yet!"

"I don't..." You looked around for help. "Mori senpai! Help me please!"

He made eye contact with you before swooping in and picking you up. You clung to him out of panic. Why would anyone smother strangers like that?

Mori senpai let out an inaudible gasp. He was now the third person who figured it out. "Uh, Mori senpai," Tamaki said. "Don't you think that was a little much?"

"No." He said, putting you down.

"Thank you." You said sweetly. He nodded and went back.

"Wait, doggo," Tamaki called to you, picking up the grocery bag. "What's this?"

"Just what it looks like. Coffee." You said as you walked over to him. "And I have a name."

"I've never seen coffee like this before." He ignored you again as he sat down on a couch.

"Are those the ones where it already has the beans grounded up for you?" Kaoru asked.

"No, it's instant coffee." You said.

"It's... Instant?" Some girls asked.

"Wait a minute, I've seen this before!" Tamaki widened his eyes. "It's commoner's coffee! They don't have time to make it themselves so they use this and it magically appears."

Someone watching this quietly asked, "Commoners don't have time to ground their own coffee?"

"Why is everybody staring?" You asked before sighing. "Nevermind. If you want I'll go back and buy a more expensive brand. Sorry."

"No no, let's keep it." The whole crowd gasped. "I think I'll try it." Another gasp. "I'm going to drink this coffee!" Everybody began clapping. "Y/l/n~ this coffee won't make itself~"

"I guess that's my cue." You said to yourself.

"Wait, commoner," Hikaru said.

"What's up with that ugly outfit?" Kaoru asked. "Can you not afford a school uniform?"

You giggled. "Do I look someone who can afford a school uniform?" They giggled again. "I'm used to public schools, so I wore a random shirt. I don't know if it fits this school's standards though." The twins heard your giggle, and we're now also figured it out. "I've actually been meaning to ask, is there a rule against dyed hair?"

"Dyed hair? No." Kaoru said.

"Oh good," you sighed. "Cause I have some highlights."

"Then what about your shirt?" Hikaru asked.

"It's a crop."

"A crop?" The twins asked in unison.

"Come to think of it," Kyoya spoke up. "Nobody ever asked you what your first name is."

You took off your beanie and let your hair down. You then took off your sweater and put it on top of your bag in the corner.

"It's y/n. Y/n y/l/n." You then walked over as everybody remained silent. "Thank you Kyoya senpai. Nobody else actually cared about my name. Means a lot." You smiled.

"Of course, now it's time to go make the coffee."

"Yes sir." You made it while everybody else remained silent. Tamaki couldn't take it anymore, and exploded.

"You're a girl?!" He barked.

"Yeah?"

"Why would you hide that?!"

"I wasn't trying to, and you shouldn't treat someone different because of that either way." You then turned to everyone else. "Coffee's done. Time for me to get back to work."

"But–but—"

"Tamaki, we still have guests to entertain." Kyoya reminded. He shook out of it and began flirting again, and you took this as an opportunity to start with your other chores. You began to clean up some plates and tea cups as everybody fussed over the coffee.

"Oh Tamaki, you've taken the joke too far. You have a delicate taste, your pallet can't stomach that crap. It's obvious you're just doing it to please her." You looked over to a very pretty girl, sipping her tea. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was just talking to myself."

"Of course ma'am. Would you care for any more food or drinks?" You quietly asked.

"No, you can leave now." You smiled and nodded, walking away with a bad feeling about that girl.

You were then cleaning up the coffee cups, watching other girls become fascinated with it. As you cleaned up they stopped to look at you. "Oh, you're the commoner honor student right?" One asked.

"Yup. Did you ladies enjoy the coffee?"

"Very much so. It did not taste poorly, and it was surprising to see how quick it was to make."

"Well, us commoners are always in a hurry to keep up with our bills." They giggled, though you didn't realize you were being funny. "Anyways, I'm glad I got to share my poorness with you."

The giggled again. "You're so funny y/n."

"Thank you. It's sweet of you not to call me a dog." You said, grinning afterwards. "And wow I never thought I'd say that."

They giggled again. "Are you enjoying Ouran Academy?"

"Hell yeah, it's awesome! Who knew there can be so many buildings in a building!"

"You have an interesting way of speaking." One laughed out.

"Well I didn't think so until I got to a whole different country. I totally forgot about the whole bowing to people thing when I left y/c. We don't do that there."

"Oh my goodness, really?!"

"Yeah, you have no idea—"

"Y/n, Honey senpai spilled." Hikaru called out. "Come and clean it."

"Oh, I have to go. It was nice talking to you ladies." You then hurried over there.

They then went back to their hosts. "What were you all talking about?" Tamaki asked one girl.

"Not much, just talking." She said. "It was very fun and pleasant."

"I wish we could've talked more." Another girl said.

"She's coming by." The third girl tried to say quietly.

"Y/n, come over here." Tamaki said. As you walked over his eyes ventured down to your opening stomach. "I heard you had quiet the chat with some ladies."

"Yup, I thought it was a very nice little talk." You said, smiling at them.

He grabbed you and crushed you into a hug again. "Your smile is so cute! You need to learn how to be more girly! Now promise me you won't wear any more of those dirty poor boy clothes."

"First of all, personal space please! Second, those clothes are comfy. And crop tops aren't for dirty boys."

"That's debatable." Tamaki murmered and blushed.

"Y'know, we think it looks pretty cute." The twins said against your shoulders.

"See? Hikaru and Kaoru aren't judging me on how I look." You hugged each of them at their side. They then both blushed out of surprise, not that you noticed.

"Don't trust those shady twins! They just want to take advantage of you." He then grabbed you back, nuzzling up against your cheek. "You know what, why don't you two make yourselves useful and grab an appropriate school uniform for my little girl."

"Little girl?" You asked, pushing him back a bit.

"Of course! We're a family after all, and now you're my little girl!"

"That's weird." He then suddenly started sulking in the corner, to which you felt bad about. You went over to him and sat on the floor next to him. "I'm sorry if I made you upset. I'm actually glad that friendship is that important to you. It's not often you still see that, and I'm happy to be a part of it."

His eyes began to shine. "Do you really think so?!"

"Sure!"

"Aww, you're so cute!" He squished your cheeks.

"Uh, boss." Kaoru said.

"The female uniforms were still in the process of being made, so all they had were male uniforms." Hikaru explained.

"Oh, that's actually better for me." You said. "I'm not much for dresses." You then took the outfit and went to the changing room to put it on. You came out without the blazer, the tie being loose, and the top button being undone. "Are you sure I can keep this?"

"Well the tailoring was messed up so they were gonna throw it away." Kaoru explained.

"Oh, perfect." You smiled.

"No, not perfect!" Tamaki popped up in front of you. "WHY WON'T YOU WEAR FEMALE CLOTHING?!"

"Are you trying to say I don't look good in these clothes?" You teased.

"Wha– noo~" His eyes began to tear up. "I never said that!"

"So you were thinking it."

"I WASN'T THINKING THAT AT ALL! Please y/n, I think you're beautiful, I swearr~"

You began giggling. "Senpai, I'm just teasing. I understand that you didn't mean that at all. It's okay."

He gave you puppy dog eyes. "Really?"

"Sure." You said lightheartedly. You wanted to ruffle his hair from how much of a puppy he was acting like.

"Then why would you tease me like that?" More puppy dog eyes.

"If I'm staying the Host Club's dog until I graduate, I might as well have fun while being here." The twins were busy laughing on the ground, while everybody else watch you two. Nobody could make Tamaki like that except for Kyoya.

"She's so funny." A girl mumbled.

You patted Tamaki's shoulders. "Straighten up senpai. You still have an audience waiting."

"She's right you know." Kyoya said. He then happily sighed. "Okay everyone, back to work."

You wheeled around the tea, hearing someone whisper, "She's coming."

You stopped and smiled, furrowing your eyebrows. "What?"

"Nothing, just that you don't react normally to Tamaki. No one has ever made him flustered like that before."

"Not only that." Another girl said. "You just seem so fun. It's like you don't give a care in the world. We're not used to people being so care free, so it's very fun."

"That's very sweet to hear. It's nice that you guys all care about whatever I ramble on about." You poured them all tea. "Maybe I should be a host too. I could tell stories and we could all hang out."

"That'd be very pleasant." One said as the other two nodded.

The red headed girl from earlier laughed. "How sweet of you three to make her feel good about herself. She seems like a person who needs to be praised."

"That was a little harsh Ayanokoji." One of them said.

They all looked at you frowning, but you didn't want them to pity you. You mustered up a smile. "More tea ma'am?"

"No, that'll be all. You can leave." She smiled as she sipped on her tea.

"Of course." You then walked away.

Kyoya heard everything. You passed by him, frowning and looking downward. "You mentioned being a host. It's an interesting notion, in it's own way."

"Don't worry Kyoya senpai, I know my place."

He didn't look back at you, only staring at his notebook. "Your place, huh."

"Would you care for anything?" You asked.

"Just some answers." He continued to write in his book. "What do you consider your 'place'?"

You chuckled. "Not here. I know how lucky I am to be here, and that I shouldn't push it. Especially after breaking something."

"I see. Well, I do like your suggestion of being a host." This gained the attention of Tamaki.

You had your back to him as you cleaned up a table. "I was joking."

"Yes, but most people seem to enjoy hearing you talk. It'll help gain money for your debt."

Tamaki flipped and landed right in front of you. "Why would you do that?! Don't tell me you're not interested in men?!"

"I didn't say I wasn't. I just think that these girls might also have fun by laughing and not just being flustered. Having someone to talk to can be refreshing."

His eyes began to sparkle again. "This could work! Having more females could get you in touch with your feminine side. Starting tomorrow, you are a host!"

The next day you were sitting on a couch with the three other girls you talked to yesterday with you. "So y/n, what was your life like before you came to Japan?"

"Oh, you guys don't really wanna hear about my boring life, do you?" You leaned back on the cushion. "I thought we could talk about you ladies."

"We're actually very intrigued by you. We all want to know more about your life."

"Yeah, it seems like you lived in a whole other world."

You grinned, looking around. "Well, this does feel like another world. It feels like a dream come true."

"Were you poor?" Someone blankly asked.

A few people turned around to listen in. You chuckled. "Yes. For a commoner, I was on the more poor side."

"You mean there's a poorer side?"

You chuckled again. "Yup. Instead of commoners, we like to call ourselves middle class. Or at least in y/c we were. There were those who had not bad jobs with not bad incomes, and there were others who actually struggled maintaining enough money to get by."

People began to stop talking and began listening in. "What were your parents then?"

You kept your smile on your face, but stared out the window. "My dad was a lazy asshole who never worked a day in his life, but I guess he didn't seem that way when my mom met him. My mom was an honest and hard working accountant. She used to say that he was nicer to her, sweeter, and not a lot of people were kind to women where she lived. She told me she thought he could make her happy."

They all listened intensely. Even Kyoya stopped writing, and watched you from his side view. You looked over the the three girls. You weren't used to having people really listening to you, but it did feel surprisingly nice. Like the weight on your chest was being lifted little by little.

"What happened?"

"It wasn't until she was pregnant with me when she realized it was all a lie. And it wasn't until after I was born when he showed her that he loved alcohol. He was angry when he drank, and he always drank. Mom got sick when I was about 6, and by that time being angry turned into being violent."

"Did he ever hurt you or your mom?" You looked her in the eyes, and she gasped, knowing the answer. You didn't answer that question.

"A few months later she passed, and I ran away the same day."

"Where did you go?"

You kept your voice steady and calm. "I was living in the streets. Stole from this liquor store to eat. The woman who owned the shop caught me, but she wasn't mad. She invited me into her apartment, fed me, bought me new clothes. She's good to me."

"Did you keep living with her?"

You nodded. "She called the cops on my dad before putting me into the foster system and becoming my new mother the right way. Took a few months before she could foster me, but she didn't hesitate to fill everything out and put down her name for a daughter."

"What happened after that?"

"I worked at her liquor store, made some friends, found out I was really good at learning things in school. Then I saw that there was an opportunity to go to a prestigious school in Japan. After seeing a lot of injustice in the neighborhood I lived in, I decided that I wanted to be a lawyer. So I studied, learned Japanese, and when I got in Maria sold the liquor store and we moved here."

"Maria?"

"My second mother. The one who adopted me."

"I see. So you came here with her then?"

"Of course. We wouldn't abandon each other." You turned to them and smiled. "It's nice to know when you're wanted."

The three of them were in tears. "That's so sad." One said.

"Oh, no no no, don't be sad girls. It's fine, honestly! I'm happy that I found a new family, and I'm happy for being here. I don't like tears, so please don't cry for me. It makes me sad."

The three of them smothered you with a hug. "WE'LL KEEP SMILING FOR YOU Y/N!"

You giggled. "Thanks girls." You then looked around. "Has everybody been listening in?"

"No!" You heard from the twins. Everybody quickly turned away from you.

"Well that's very embarrassing. Thanks guys." You blushed and looked down. Tamaki pulled you away and gently grabbed your arms.

"Y/n, listen to me. I promise you that we will do our best to make you feel as comfortable as possible." You were going to answer, but you noticed something when you looked out the window. "What's wrong?"

"My stuff..." You frowned. "I'll be right back."

You ran outside to get your things. Your bag was thrown into a lake. As you ran you saw that princess, Ayanokoji. She gave you a side eye, and something told you to stop running.

"Oh, it's you." You didn't look back, and neither did she. "You can charm everybody with your words, but I hope you know that to Tamaki you'll always be a second class citizen."

You said nothing as you kept running. Once you got to the lake you took off your shoes and socks, rolling up your pants and going in to fish out your stuff. What you couldn't find was your wallet. That would be good money gone to waste.

"You've got some nerve running out on me." Tamaki said, watching you. "Hey, why are your items all wet?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm just looking for my wallet. You can go back, I'll be there in a bit." You didn't notice him take off his socks and shoes until he got in as well. "What're you doing?"

"Helping you look."

"But you'll get all wet." You felt bad for making him do this.

"A little water never hurt anybody." You stopped what you were doing you watch him. "Besides, people are always telling me I'm dripping with good looks. Oh, I think we got something here." He showed you your wallet, though you just kept staring at him. "Why are you staring at me?" He then smiled. "You're not falling for me~ are you?"

You scoffed and smiled, grabbing your wallet from his hands. "You wish."

"By the way, how did your things end up in the pond?"

"Don't worry about it, let's just go back to the club."

Later that day, to your dismay, Princess Ayanokoji requested you. You politely asked her what she wanted to talk about, and she asked about you digging through the pond.

"I see, that must be terrible. I don't know what I'd have done if my bag got thrown into there." She then chuckled. "And you even got Tamaki to dig through that dirty lake water. Impressive."

"I don't see what's so impressive about it." You shrugged. "I suppose he's just a nice person who'd do that for people."

"You know it's just a little obsession with you. You're new and exciting, but pretty soon Tamaki will lose interest. I mean really, you're just another pretty face."

You frowned, looking into your tea cup. "Jealousy can make a beautiful face very ugly, don't you think?"

She widened her eyes before pushing the table to the ground, causing tea to spill on your lap, and slapped you in the face. "How dare you?! Someone help me, the commoner tried to steal my bracelet! Somebody do something!" The twins said nothing as the dumped water on her. "W...why did you do that?"

Tamaki pulled her up and into his arms. "Ayanokoji, I'm disappointed in you. You were the one you put y/n's bag in the pond, weren't you?"

"You don't know that!" She angrily said. "Do you have any proof that I did?!"

He sighed. "You're a beautiful woman Ayanokoji, but you aren't classy enough to be our guest. If it's one thing I know, it's that y/n isn't that kind of woman."

As she ran away crying, Kyoya handed you a girl's school uniform. "Since you got tea on your uniform. I know you wouldn't prefer a dress, but it's what we have, and it's better than a wet outfit."

"Yeah, thanks senpai."

You went into the changing room, putting on the dress. You were thankful for it being long. You didn't want anybody to the scars. You stared at yourself in the mirror, wondering if you looked okay. You sucked up the doubts and went out.

All the club members turned to look at you. Tamaki stared at you. "Y/n... wearing a... dress?"

"Senpai!" You walked over to Tamaki, taking his hands. "I forgot to say thank you for helping me find my wallet. I thought you were really cool today."

Tamaki's face then began to redden as you smiled.

---

Author's Note: Please comment and let me know if you liked it. I really want to keep this going and make fillers of my own.

AN #2: Also just ask if you want to be tagged in future stuff.

197 notes · View notes

libsterslobsters · 4 years ago

Text

Black Dog...

A Bucky Barnes x Reader fanfic

A/N: The motherfluffer strikes again! I know I said I was going to do a pt 2 of "What Is and What Should Never Be", but I was sitting with my doggo tonight and this is what I was inspired to write. It's more of a prequel, I guess.

Summary: There's not much Bucky wouldn't do for his best girl, but when she suggests they get a dog to help them readjust to life after the final battle with Thanos, he's not so sure it's a great idea.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/ fem! enhanced! Reader

(reader can see moments into the future as well as understanding all languages and processing new information quickly, plus she's also a super soldier)

Warnings: Slight angst, mild swearing, fluff!, mentions of PTSD and panic attacks, No editor, we die like men

“You want to do what?”

Bucky considers himself a fairly reasonable person (well, there is the “was brainwashed for over fifty years” part) and he prides himself on valuing whatever his girlfriend (fiance he reminds himself, she kept the ring on for five years) says instead of only listening to come up with a response, but this time, he’s almost certain he’s heard wrong. At least, he hopes he has.

“I want to get a puppy.”

That’s exactly what he thought she said. “Or really a dog of any age.” Where to begin with that suggestion.

He likes dogs. He had one before the war. But that was back when it was safe to walk through Brooklyn at night, not to mention walk your dog along the sidewalk after dinner. Back before sudden noises in the night, however light or normal they are made him bolt upright in bed and reach for the knife he still keeps on the nightstand just in case. Before fighting “bad guys” was part of his every-day life, and way before he himself had become a bad guy. All of that considered, there’s only one way he can answer.

“I don’t think so, doll.” The corners of her lips turn down and her eyelids lower.

“Oh.” She’s more disappointed than she’ll let on. Maybe there’s a way to smooth it over.

“Why did you want a dog?”

He takes a seat on the sofa next to her (they were going to settle into their usual after work activity; watch something neither of them will remember later as an excuse to be together, usually with her legs resting in his lap and a bowl of popcorn between them) and silently wills her to look up, not be saddened by something he’s done. Goodness knows she’s had enough of that to last a lifetime already, and the wedding isn’t for another month.

She shrugs, still absently picking at her pilling sweater.

“There’s been studies done on how having a pet helps lower stress levels and raise seratonin levels. That helps with PTSD and sleep disorders.”

Something that used to just apply to him, but after Thanos, it’s as often her waking up from a nightmare that felt just a little too real or staring at words in a book that she’s not even seeing long after midnight.

“Plus-” She laughs, but it’s not the unbridled sound he treasures, it’s… bitter somehow. “-it’ll be like exposure therapy. We’ll be forced to leave the apartment for more than groceries and work.”

It seems as if the outside world has become even louder and more unbearable since the world ended and restarted again.

“All of that sounds good-” There’s the beginings of a smile on her face. He hates that he’s about to crush it all over again. “-but what about the logistics of it?” She frowns, clearly confused. “We don’t know where we’ll be living once your lease is up-”

“There are plenty of other apartment complexes that allow pets.” He nods.

“Yeah, but not all of them. And on top of that, when we’re away on missions, who’s gonna look after the pooch?” She seems to be considering it, mulling it over, then-

“Here me out: we train the dog to come with us on missions and do reconnaissance.” The smirk on her face lets him know that it’s a joke. Good. Then she’s not completely devistated.

“If the situation looks too tough, we’ll send him out ahead of us. While he’s licking their faces and their guards are down because even the worst of the worst can’t resist a cute puppy-”

“We storm the place?” She nods, shoulders shaking in a quiet laugh.

“You’re catching on! And, we can order a special doggy uniform since you can find anything on the internet these days.”

That’s the final straw, and before he can even consider it, he’s laughing too.

“You do make a pretty compelling argument, but let’s stick a pin in it until this thing-”He indicates her left hand, which is now resting casually against his thigh. “-becomes official.”

“Fair enough.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

She’s doing better now, she thinks. Better than she was for the past few months. Still, after her last class at the community college lets out (so many new enrollments now that the population is back to normal, and the majority of them have no memory of the hell those who survived the snap endured for five years), she sits in her car for a solid half hour, shaking and crying her way through a panic attack. When it passes, she reaches for the makeup bag hidden in her purse and, in an effort that’s really muscle memory at this point, repairs the damage to her face. There. Nearly normal.

Driving home is considerably more difficult than it used to be now that there’s more cars on the road, but the route is familiar, so that’s some comfort. Not everything changes. She really should pick up some potatoes and cubed beef for tonight’s dinner, but after the day she’s had, facing a crowded supermarket seems like just a step too far. Takeout, then. Maybe a pizza. After all, she’s got the same chemicals running through her veins as he does, which means their metabolisms can keep up with excess calories. It’s one of the better side effects of being “enhanced” as her file is labeled.

She’s so busy thinking about which toppings to order that she barely manages to swerve in time to keep from hitting the animal slowly limping towards the curbside.

“Shit!”

The miriad of horns honking from behind and beside her let her know that her decision isn’t a popular one. Still, she eases the car to the curb and as soon as the coast is clear (she should just run into traffic… no, that’s an intrusive thought, acknowledged and dismissed), steps out.

The animal made it across, at least. Animal, because she can’t be sure what species it is. It’s trying to get away from her, but the poor thing is limping badly, so there’s not much chance it’ll manage that particular feat even if she weren’t faster than the average human. She approaches with caution (if she were to be bitten, would it even effect her? More than likely not) in case she startles it.

“It’s alright.” She’s got it cornered now, and she can see that it’s a dog. A pathetic lump of matted fur and mange with at least one broken leg, but a dog none the less. She crouches, holding her hand out in front of her, palm open.

“You’re okay, sweetie. I’m not going to hurt you.” The poor thing is shaking, letting out low growls that quickly turn to whimpers as soon as she touches it. “You’ve had some tough luck, haven’t you? Yeah.”

She can’t tell what color it is under the filth and… her breath catches in her throat… blood. Black for now, but maybe a lighter color once it’s washed. However, the tongue that peeks out from a swollen muzzle is unmistakably pink. “Good boy. Or girl. I’m not going to look close enough to find out right now. Don’t worry.” It’s not a huge dog. She could probably lift it. That is, if it’ll let her. “A car hit you, didn’t it? Hurt that poor leg of yours.” She leans closer to get a better look. No collar. A stray, more than likely, and definitely a mutt. The decision is made. She’s not leaving it here.

“Alright. I’m going to get you some help, but that means I have to pick you up. Now, I’d appreciate it if you’d kindly refrain from biting me when I do that, okay?” She takes the blink as agreement. “Here we go.”

She must look strange, emerging from an alleyway in the middle of Brooklyn with at least thirty pounds of unidentifiably colored dog in her arms, but if any of the other motorists notice, they don’t let on. Thank goodness for technology. With the press of a button, her car unlocks and she’s able to deposite her new friend in the passenger seat before settling behind the wheel once more. “Siri, show me the nearest animal hospital.” Once the gps is online, she adds as an afterthought, “Call Barnes.”

___________________________________________________________________________________

Somehow, when he picked up the phone and the first words out of her mouth were, “Bucky, you’re not gonna believe me…” he didn’t expect it to result in him sitting in a veterinarian’s office an hour later, waiting to hear about a dog he’s never seen. Well, that’s not quite true. She did snap a quick picture. Even though he knows it probably wasn’t at it’s best, that had to be the most pathetic lump of fur and fleas he’s ever laid eyes on, through a photograph or otherwise. He’s not even sure it had both ears!

None of that matters though, because now he’s sitting there, pretending to study his phone with his baseball cap drawn low over his eyes and a pair of sunglasses to boot while she flips through the same magazine for the fourth time. If he’s being honest with himself, he doesn’t think the dog’s going to make it (actually, it might be kinder if it didn’t, the pooch is in such bad shape), but he’s decided it’s best not to bring that up. Time will tell.

“Are you mad?” That’s the first thing she’s said since he arrived and she informed him that they’d taken the dog back for immediate surgery.

“That depends. Did you walk into traffic to save him?” It probably wouldn’t hurt her, considering she’s strong enough to stop a car if she really wants to, but it’s not exactly a healthy habit to get into. Especially if they’re trying to be inconspicuous.

“No.” She flips another page. “Although I may have swerved to avoid hitting him, then chased him down into an alleyway and cornered him by a dumpster.”

That sparks a memory from the early days in Romania, the ones where he thought he was dating someone for the first time since the forties (albeit, moving very, very slowly) and she was under the impression that he saw her as a little sister. Her apartment was the equivalent of “low rent” and when, halfway through ‘Singin’ In the Rain’, a rat made it’s unfortunate appearance, she told him, “No, don’t kill it! Just get rid of it!” while standing on top of the coffee table (because clearly, that was so much safer than the floor). In the end, he did catch the rat (thanks to her precognition), and they safely moved it and it’s nest into a quiet corner of the courtyard. That’s when he realized he was in way over his head with this girl, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. It’s still one of his favorite memories, so-

“ ‘Course not.” She doesn’t look entirely convinced, so he wraps his arm around her, pulling her close despite the plastic waiting room chairs. “Why would I be mad at my girl for having a big heart?”

She chuckles, leaning into him. “You mean I’m a softy.”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

Before she can reply, the door swings open. It’s late, and they’re the only ones left waiting, so it’s no surprise when the woman in scrubs stops in front of them.

“Your dog made it through surgery, although we did have to amputate the front left leg.” Huh. That’s the same one he lost. “We also took the liberty of giving him his rabies and heartworms shots, and since you said it’s a stray, we’ll call animal control to pick him up once he’s awake.”

That’s for the best. She may have a thing for hard luck cases, wounded animals, and lost teddy bears, but it’s not like they can keep the dog. He’s come around to the idea of getting a pet at some point (maybe he’ll surprise her at Christmas), but an animal that’s in that bad of condition… it’s a lot of work, and he’s not sure either of them is up for it (well, if truth be told, if he’s up to it).

“Did you want to come back to see him?” She looks up at him, clearly trying to get a read on what he’d rather do. He could just say no thanks, they’re alright. It’ll only make things harder when they have to go home. But, it’s obvious she wants to, and he’s not great at telling her no.

“Sure.”

He’s panicking just a little as they walk through a maze of corridors and metal doors that lock behind them. Calm down, it’s just a vet’s office, not a prison. You’re not going to have to fight your way out.

Finally, after the dozenth turn, the vet announces, “Here we are. He’s still a little groggy, and we had to shave him. It looked like he could use a trim anyway.” and pushes open another locked door.

Even with his leg repaired and his fur at least partially groomed, he doesn’t look like much. There are indeed two ears; one of them is just crooked, folding down instead of sticking straight up. He still couldn’t guess at the breed, but with all the muck washed away, it’s still a black dog. There’s an I.V. attached, and Bucky’s expecting that the most it’ll do is whimper if it’s touched, but as she approaches the table and gingerly begins to pet it between the ears, the dog’s eyes open, and it licks her hand.

“Hey, boy. You made it through. I knew you were a fighter.” Is it sticking it’s tongue out and- “Whoa. Your breath could take out an army!” -attempting to lick her face.

“We think he’s about eight months old. May get a little bigger, but not much.”

He’s a decent sized dog. Not exactly one you’d chose to guard your house, but not a lap dog either. And he seems friendly.

“Some nice people from animal control are going to come get you once you’re all better and they’ll find you a good home.”

Unlikely. After all, the dog’s a tripod. He’s going to regret asking this, but-

“Is there anything else wrong with him besides the leg?”

The vet shakes her head. “Nothing that a flea bath, mange treatment, and a few good meals couldn’t fix.”

So really, it wouldn’t be THAT much work. He’s seen plenty of dogs who can still walk with only three legs. He needs to get ahold of himself. The dog might not even like him. Animals are funny; they can tell a bad person from a good one, and if he’s being honest with himself, he’s not sure if he qualifies as the latter after all he’s done. There’s only one way to find out.

“Hey, boy.” He reaches out his hand (the metal one, because even if it’ll heal quickly, he’s not crazy about being bitten) and scratches under the dog’s chin. “You had a hard day, didn’t you?”

The dog sniffs at his arm and then, wonder of wonders, his back leg starts to kick. “But you still seem pretty happy even if you are a little worse for wear.”

He really shouldn’t do this. It’s a lot of work, having a dog of any kind. They don’t know where they’ll be living once her lease is up, and oh yeah, they’re getting married in three weeks. But, the big puppy dog eyes look up at him (the dog’s looking pretty desperate too), and he knows his decision’s made.

“Think Stark ever designed armor for dogs?” Her brow knits in confusion.

“You know, since we can’t very well have him out there on missions without some sort of protection.” There it is. Recognition.

“Are you serious?”

“No.” The beginnings of a smile freezes on her face. “There’s no way we’re taking an innocent dog into a situation with hostiles. Are you nuts?” That laugh gets him every time.

“So we’re keeping him?”

He nods.

“We’re keeping him, doll.”

She hasn’t looked this purely happy in ages. For once, the memories of the past and worries about the future are completely forgotten, and that makes it worth it. That, and, well… he is a pretty cute dog.

Author's note: here's a picture of my good boi and writing pal, Rigby.

#bucky x reader #bucky x oc #bucky barnes #bucky fic #avengers #captain america #marvel #marvel cinematic universe #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fluff #post endgame #the winter soldier

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amaya-chwan · 4 years ago

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Takeaways from Therapy Game: Restart Chapter 09

HELLO FRIENDS! And we’re back at it again with chapter 9 featuring our favourite dorks, Shizuma and Minato! ❤️💛🎉

Sensei was kind enough to post the first page of this chapter on her Twitter! 🥰😍😘

“I thought you understood, but men who fail to keep their promises deserve punishment, okay?!” --- The text next to Minato.

That’s just 🔥🔥🔥🥰😍🔥🔥🔥

Let’s get right into the takeaways, shall we? It’s a shorter chapter this month, but it is very focused on Shizuma’s residency journey while juggling his house hunting schedule with Minato, and with that, a lot of dialogue. There was also a lot of technical terminology I had to keep looking up ;A;

In this chapter:

Minato is an angry, scowly boy when Shizuma doesn’t keep his promises!😭

Poor Shizuma, he’s torn between keeping his promises and his work. 😭 😭 But I’m proud of you, Shizuma! 👏👏

Minato, my son, I am glad you are getting the simple happiness you deserve! Your patience really is a virtue! 🥰😍❤️

Onodera... really lacks person skills. Is she a recluse? Or someone with poor social skills? I hope we find out?? And she honestly... is so stoic. I cannot read her at all. 😅😅

SHIZUMA, I CAN FEEL YOUR DEDICATION TO AND LOVE FOR ANIMALS THROUGH THE PAGES! You are so very capable of being a vet and I’m glad you are getting the experience you wanted and needed to succeed! ❤️🐶🐱🐹❤️

Also, your k*nky thoughts during work really bit you in the butt, didn’t it, Shizuma? 🤣

Shizuma’s smile makes everyone weak. 🥰

And that’s it for this chapter’s takeaways! For a more detailed breakdown/summary of this chapter, please continue after the cut! As always, I promise there is a surprise (or two) at the end! 😉✨

Our chapter begins with a grumpy Minato sitting in a cafe. The shop attendants peg him as a celebrity of sorts because of his good looks, even though his face is hella scary to them.

We find out that Minato is annoyed and upset because his and Shizuma’s house hunting date (set for Shizuma’s next day off) is cut short since Shizuma is observing an operation in the morning on that day. In a flashback, he tells Minato that he should be able to make it in time for their afternoon appointment.

In that same flashback, Minato recounts his plans to Shizuma of going to a hotel and having a quickie with Shizuma to alleviate his pent up frustrations before heading to their appointment. He then continues to vent his pent-up frustations on Shizuma, saying “Will you take responsibility if my desires reach their limit and explode during our private house tour?”

Shizuma is caught in a bind and really wants his surgery to finish sooner, to which Minato responds by saying Shizuma isn’t the only person who can do this surgery. Nevertheless, Shizuma knows this is an invaluable opportunity for him, and promises Minato that he will make it in time for their 2PM private tour. Minato, still looking a little annoyed, tells Shizuma that he’ll be waiting in the cafe in front of the real estate agency and to meet him there. He warns Shizuma that if he is even a minute late, he’s will go home and never house hunt with him again. Shizuma then promises that he’ll be there!

The flashback ends, and we realise that today is the day of their house tour. Minato is caught up in some “Super Narrow-Minded Time” and worries if he’s going to be all alone with a girl, only then to remember Shizuma openly confessing to his colleagues that he’s dating Minato and that there’s no need to worry.

Minato looks over at the real estate agency and, in deep thought, reflects on how he never thought he’d be living with someone and, despite it being a weird feeling to him, he didn’t think he’d be able to have such an ordinary, simple “happiness”. He smirks to himself and says that he should be nice to Shizuma when he gets to the cafe.*

The scene changes to Shizuma, who will be our main focus for the rest of the chapter. He is observing Onodera in surgery along with her brother. They go through what happened with their patient (i.e. the dog belongs to Onodera’s brother’s daughter. The doggo ingested skewers and it appears to have gotten stuck in the dog’s throat/stomach). While talking about the suggestions from the neighbouring clinics on how to treat the dog--trying to get the dog to vomit and if that doesn’t work, they’ll have to do invasive surgery--Shizuma, having encountered her brother before, didn’t know they were related at all since they have different surnames.

Her brother goes on and vouches for his sister’s amazing skills as a vet, cutely calling her by her name “Akira”, to which she clicks her tongue at him. They have some short sibling bickering afterwards, and Onodera then reveals to Shizuma that he’s mainly there to keep her brother in check (i.e. babysit) and not so much hands-on experience.

With Onodera’s brother being a chatterbox, Shizuma is unable to ask critical questions during the procedure and wonders why he is even there at all.

We then see Onodera extract all the contents stuck in the dog’s throat (?) without having to do invasive surgery. Her brother is overjoyed, but she is appalled that the dog ate so much trash and hair. She then tells her brother that she won’t be helping next time unless they take better care of their dog and their house (so the dog doesn’t eat so much dirt and trash). Onodera then tells Shizuma, who she again calls Iijima-sensei and not Ikushima-sensei, to clean up.

Fast forward a bit and Shizuma is happily looking after the dogs being treated at the hospital/staying overnight. There is a thunderous roar and two dogs approach Shizuma to be hugged, to which he obliges. Knowing he has a lot of time to spare and will make it to the appointment, he thinks back to Minato and wonders if he is afraid of lightning. He then thinks of some naughty NSFW thoughts, imagining an X-rated scene in which Minato is scared of thunder and lightning and that affects their love-making session (in a good way 😉).

Another thunderous roar is heard, much louder than the first, and the dogs are so scared, they wet themselves... and pee on Shizuma’s scrubs and pants. (Also, we find out Minato isn’t afraid of T&L).

Going to the locker room to change, Shizuma is being nuzzled by the dogs, who appear to be very apologetic to him. He awkwardly smiles while thinking that the dogs peeing on him was punishment for his NSFW thoughts at work. While changing into his pants (but not scrubs), Onodera walks in and sees him in his boxers. Very flustered, he tells Onodera she’s walked into the wrong room. She then takes Shizuma to get his clothes washed, all the while the awkwardness in the room continues.

Breaking the silence, Onodera applauds Shizuma for his work in the OR, thinking he’d be more annoyed by her. He then tells her that it’s all thanks to the teachings from Hayami-san and everyone else at the clinic and from Onodera during the operation earlier that day. Onodera comments that he’s getting along with everyone in the clinic, to which Shizuma responds with how things were off to a rocky start at first, the nurses were scary and hostile, but now they can talk and are even going out for flower viewing together.

Onodera reveals she wasn’t invited to that and hasn’t heard of it until now, and Shizuma just sits there feeling bad. He then invites her to join them next time for a drink together. But she just says all his efforts in befriending everyone at the clinic would go to waste if he does that.

Before Shizuma can react, an elderly-ish woman and her daughter hurrily enter the clinic with their sick dog. They are Nakajou-sensei’s patients, but it is her day off today, so Onodera asks what she can do for them while telling Shizuma he can go home. The dog has been in labour for a couple of hours and the last puppy hasn’t come out. Onodera berates them for not bringing their dog in sooner.

The women are taken aback, with the elderly one clapping back at Onodera, expressing her worries and inexperience in a situation like this. Onodera, with her lack of people skills, essentially tells her to be quiet, saying a C-section is the only option for them--a natural birth isn’t possible at this point anymore since the dog has been in prolonged labour and is exhausted.

The elderly woman, angered at Onodera’s stoicism and bluntness, says she will go to another hospital if Nakajou-sensei can’t come in. Before anything escalates any further, Shizuma comes into the room with the patient records and diffuses the situation. With his very personable approach to the women, he speaks to them calmly and introduces himself as he was with Nakajou-sensei during their last consult. He pets their dog, named Hana-chan and praises her efforts**, while also calming down the women, telling them he understands their worries while sharing his own dog’s birthing struggles, trying to build that rapport with them.

He explains that given their dog’s current state, it would be wise for them to reconsider taking her to another hospital and keeping Hana-chan here, vouching for Onodera’s skills and assessment as a well-experienced vet. He asks them to believe in Onodera. The elderly woman thinks about it, and then tells Shizuma she will leave her dog in their hands ONLY if Shizuma stays with Hana-chan the whole time.

Shizuma, knowing that he might miss his private house tour and anger Minato, is resolved to helping his patient and says he will definitely stay to help.

And that’s it for this chapter! It’s a bit of a long read again and we get a slightly suspenseful cliffhanger here... will Shizuma make it or not? Will Hand-chan safely deliver the last puppy in her litter? Will Minato see Shizuma soon? I guess we’ll find out in the next chapter! 🥰

Since Minato and Shizuma don’t really have a lot of panels together, please enjoy two little snippets from this chapter~ ❤️💛

(*) Minato, thinking in the cafe

(**) Shizuma with his patient, Hana-chan

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR READING! 💜 📢 As always, please support Hinohara-sensei by purchasing her books and CDs! 📢

The next chapter will appear in next month’s Dear+ (the December issue) out in November and the cover page will feature our adorakble pair! ❤️💛

🎉⚠️🎉 ALSO in next month’s issue, there will be a Therapy Game Mini Drama CD 🎉⚠️🎉 Sensei is treating us a lot this year!

If you wish to order the magazine, I’ll be more than happy to let you know where I purchase mine, so please feel free to message me/comment here and I’ll let you know! 😁

As always, stay safe during these turbulent times and look out for each other and for your loved ones! 💜

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nad-zeta · 5 years ago

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Arthur Doyle: Battle of the Flirts

Fandom: Ikemen Vampire

Pairings: Arthur Doyle x reader (Fem Bi reader)

Genre: Slice o life

Warnings: Alcohol

Words: 1650

Comments: So this is my first ikevamp fic lol its probs ganna be shit cause you best know i didn't proof read before posting lol(˶◕‿◕˶✿) Thanx so much @zazax42 for giving me the suggestion/idea! Hope yall enjoy it!

｡.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’ .*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’･ﾟ｡.*:・’ﾟ: ｡.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’ .*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ

The week seemed to drag on and on, and you were overloaded with chores. You had finally finished doing all the housework for the day, and to be honest you were absolutely exhausted.

It was a miracle that you still had enough energy left to drag yourself up the stairs. Once you made it to your room, you threw yourself onto your bed. Vic hopped up onto the bed and looked at you with his big brown eyes.

“You know you have caused me a the biggest headache today.” He gave a small whine as if to apologise for the trouble he had cause you, and you couldn't help but give the poor doggo a tired smile, there was no way you could stay mad at him, especially when he gave you such cute puppy dog eyes.

“It’s alright Vic you are forgiven, just don’t do it again.” He wagged his tail and licked your face and proceeded to dash out of the room, probably to cause some more mischief, no doubt.

You turned your head to look at you cupboard hanging open, you spotted the little black dress you had bought yourself a few weeks ago. Geez, how long has it been since you’ve been out with friends? Since arriving at the mansion it has been all work, thanks to a certain slave driving butler.

Your thoughts were interrupted, when the British writer entered your room. “You look positively exhausted love,” he looked down at you, with eyes filled to the brim with love and affection.

You were dramatically sprawled out across your bed. “And whose fault would that be, my dearest Arthur.”

Arthur gave you an apologetic smile as he flopped down on the bed beside you, “yes, well, I suppose I should apologise for Vic’s behaviour”.

You propped yourself up on your elbows and narrowed your eyes at your lover. “You do realise I spent the whole afternoon picking up shredded pieces of Mozart’s sheet music off the lawn, not even to mention the fact that someone had to talk some sense into the grumpy musician, as he was insisting on giving your precious dog away in your absence. Plus Sabastian had a field day with taking all his frustrations out on me, for what Vic had done.”

Arthur then sat up and kissed you on your temple, “thank you love, for defending Vic’s honour, and I am terribly sorry I wasn’t here to help clean up and listen to Mozart’s and Sabastion’s whining. Although you must admit, angry Sabs is quite the amusing sight,” Arthur said with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

You cracked a little smile, “well, I suppose I got to see that big vein pop out of his forehead, hehe and also it was pretty funny to see how red Mozart got in his anger. I wish you could have seen it! I didn't think anyone could go redder than poor old Isaac, but after seeing Mozart so angry, I think he could give apple boy a run for his money.” Arthur chuckled at the thought of the angry butler and pianist, “It sounds like both you and I deserve a stiff drink for, the troublesome day we both had.”

“More like two stiff drinks, for all the complaining I had to endure today,” you said with a bright smile as you gave Arthur a quick peck on the lips.

“Well, then hun, hows about we go to the bar for a drink or two, I’ll meet you at the main door in 30 minutes.” You smiled and quickly got dressed, you decided to wear that pretty black dress that has been hanging in your cupboard for weeks now.

After 30 minutes of changing and getting ready, you met Arthur by the front door. “Why, don’t you just look positively fetching, in that pretty black little number,” Arthur said while gently taking your hand in his and leading you out the entrance to the waiting carriage.

“Right back at ya,” you chuckled while doing your awkward finger guns.

The place was super lit, and it was amazing that you and Arthur managed to find two open seats at the bar. “Two whiskeys on the rock please.”

You and Arthur sipped on your drinks and enjoyed the light banter that flowed between the two of you. Just as you were making a witty comeback to one of Arthur’s flirty comment, the bartender placed a drink down in front of you, “From the woman in the pink dress,” he said with a wink and a smile.

“Ah I’m sorry about that Luv, it seems the women in his bar hasn’t received the news yet, that I am a taken man,” before Arthur could finish his comment the bartender corrected him, “Excuse me, sir, I think there has been a misunderstanding, this drink isn’t for you, it is actually meant for her,” he nodding in your direction with a smile.

You gave Arthur a bright smile, “ohoho, it’s for me, is it.”

You burst out in laughter and said in a mocking voice, “it seems the women in this bar hasn’t received the news yet, that I am a taken woman.”

Arthur took a big sip of his drink, trying to mask his embarrassment. You eyed him curiously and gave him the biggest brightest smile. For a big old flirt, he certainly was cute, especially the way his ears would go all red as he blushed.

He playfully put his hand over your mouth to muffle your laughing, “Okay okay, I get it, you’ve had your fun,” he gave you his signature smirk while still carrying remnants of the blush and embarrassment on his cheeks. You cradled Arthur’s cheeks in your hands, still wearing a big grin, “don’t be cross dear, you know I used to be quiet the flirt back in the day.”

Arthur’s eyes lit up in curiosity, “is that so.” You kissed the tip of his nose and let go of his face, “jip, no man or woman could resist my charm,” you said as you gave him a flirty wink.

“Well my luv, I can most definitely see that, because you certainly are, a-dor-a-ble,” he said while giving you a little boop on the nose. “I’m not cute, I’m sexy,” you huffed out with a slight pout.

“Of course you are sweetheart, you are most definitely the cutest fluffies woman in the whole world,” he said while patting your head and ruffling your hair.

“Oooh I’ll show you cute Arthur Doyle!” You then pulled your lover into a headlock, ruffling his hair the same way he had ruffled yours moments ago.

“Well then love, how’s about a friendly little wager”, you let go of him and narrowed your eyes, “I’m listening..”

“The one who can get the most women’s telephone numbers in the next hour wins,” Arthur said with the most playful glint in his eyes.

“What’s the catch?” you asked eyeing him suspiciously

Arthur smirked at you and continued to explain the rules. “Loser has to pick up after Vic for 2 whole weeks and has to be the winner’s personal slave for the day,”

You gave Arthur a challenging gaze and decided to raise the stakes slightly “Alright but, the loser also has to do the laundry for the next two weeks and has to change their name to Deez Nutz for the duration of the time.”

Arthur thought for a second and then nodded “Alright, time starts NOW”

The two of you scattered into your own directions and started working your magic on every woman in the bar, no woman was safe. It felt like mere seconds had passed, before the hour was up. You and Arthur regrouped at the bar and presented each other with the phone numbers that you managed to get.

“I’ll go first luv,” the two of you counted all the scrap pieces of papers and napkins together, “let’s see if you can beat 5, luv, you know there is no shame in backing out of the bet now, although I will take great pleasure in calling you Deez Nutz for the next two weeks,” Arthur said with a triumphant smile.

“No, no don’t worry about me old boy, I am quite confident I have this in the bag, I hope you like doing laundry.” You emptied out your purse and pockets of all the pieces of paper, you also showed Arthur’s your arms and hands as three women had written their phone numbers on them.

“I… I can’t believe this,” Arthur looked at the stack of phone numbers in disbelief. “I believe that is 15, I win”, you playfully patted and ruffled Arthur’s hair. “Looks like we know who the cute one is and who the true sexy one is after all. I do believe, I warned you that I was quite the ladies lady back in the day,” you said while bursting into laughter. “Plus nothing screams sexy like this sexy black dress”, you said while tracing your hand over the curves of your body. Your black dress was perfect, conservative enough not to show too much, yet body-hugging enough to show off your every curve.

Arthur simply hung his head in defeat. You couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him “Aww don’t be cross with me, love”, you gave him a little kiss on the cheek and gently took hold of one of his hands lacing your fingers with his “You know, even though I am a babe magnet, my heart will always belong to you, Deez Nutz,” you said while pushing your lips together trying to stifle a laugh.

Arthur simply groaned and buried his face in is hands. This was most definitely going to be the longest 2 weeks of his life

Turns out your horrible day want so horrible after all

｡.*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’ .*:・’ﾟ:｡.*:ﾟ･’ﾟﾟ:。’･ﾟ｡.*:・’ﾟ:

Lol hope yall enjoyed ✿◕ ‿ ◕✿

#ikemen vampire arthur #ikevamp arthur #ikemen arthur #ikemen arthur conan doyle #ikevam arthur #arthur x reader #ikevamp arthur fanfic

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fulgensun · 4 years ago

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; about Spira - through the Fiends Tales

I said I would have done it, and here it is. While not being a very good in-game mechanic, one which can even be soft-locked in case YRP level up too fast, the Fiend Tales in FFX-2 aren’t completely silly, or useless in my opinion. They offer much to think about, mostly because they do reflect a non-idealized vision of Spira -- contrary to what Tidus’ POV may offer us, before shifting into something else, something bigger and closer to reality. The Fiend Tales are, in fact, stories of Spirans, people who died somehow and turned into monsters -- some before, some during and some other even after the events of both FFX and FFX-2.

They narrate their tales to Yuna, presumably (she has to catch them, after all), and find a way to either ascend to the Farplane or to avenge their death, if violent one. They are common folk, priests, heretics, Al-Bheds, elders, children even -- ! What I found fascinating was that their tales did offer slices of common life of all major Spiran cities, routines, dangers for certain workers and habits, even traditions... all part of a Spira we haven’t really seen in-game; for what use is a firework festival in Besaid to a future Summoner or their Guardians ready to eradicate Sin, for example hmm ? Yet it exists, in the FFX universe. SO. I decided, for rp sake and to also make things a tad tidier, to list and explain here some of the things about these Spiran Tales that I consider cute, funny, important or worth some more thoughts. I’ll leave the specific Tales next to the info, too.

-- Children in Spira attend a school, the Temple School. Obviously founded by the Temple, it makes sense it provides a basic education while indoctrinating them to Yevon -- which isn’t hard to do anyway, before and during FFX; orphaned children are also taken by the Temple / Temple schools, most likely trained to either become priests or warrior monks in adulthood. Monks, specifically, are trained to what gets called ‘Yevon Academy’, which prepares them for military life; its volunteers move to this academy and don’t see their family till they graduate, but can write them letters. [ Doggo the Coyote, Big Mama the Protochimera, Jaws II the Xiphactinus, Happy-Birb the Peregrine ]

-- The Tale of Happy-Birb is very sad, and refers to children and temple. I feel it gives us a good example of how hard life could be, for... a rather gifted kid. “ I always kept to myself in a tiny room in the temple, staring outside my window. I had no friends, no family to look out for me. If I were to suddenly vanish one day, would anything be different? Since I was supposedly orphaned after an attack by Sin, I was raised in the temple of Kilika. They tell me my parents were killed by Sin, but I know it’s a lie. Why would I be the only one to survive? The monks told me I had to be strong to provide hope for the future of Spira. I didn’t want to go on living in such a sad world. So I decided to take a gamble. One night, I fled the temple. [...] But when I encountered a fiend in the woods, I froze. I don’t want to die, I screamed. I truly wanted to live. ” Don’t the monks’ words sound familiar, to you? It’s speculation, but it sounds like this child exhibited the potential to become a Summoner, his family refused to let him train as one and they were disposed of -- so that the child could come into the “custody” of Yevon and ‘provide hope’. Summoner potential isn’t hereditary, mind that, but you kinda get the mentality that might have made Braska think Yuna wasn’t safe in the religious capital of Spira. The boy, here, was just ten years old.

-- Spira has a considerable amount of criminals, for a world that should - utopically, be united by the tragedy Sin represented for everyone. Thieves considering burglary their very ‘grand career’; killers having no remorse in deceiving old people to obtain their inheritance; Al Bhed hitmen sent to kill Yevonite children in temples or wandering priests, children kidnappers, kids thieves in Luca killing one another for money, etc. [ Bulbasaur the Purpurea, Mittens the Couerl, Brick the Bicocette, Bolt Josh ]

-- Engagements are a quite serious thing, considering a family could not bless the union if the suitor was of a lower class (even between relatively common people), or just too poor to be deemed worthy. A refined girl from a well-to-do family in Bevelle was forbidden, for example, to love a young sailor. Engagement rings are also a thing, and the Moonflow riverbanks are lovers’ favorite dating spot. [ Frosty the Flan Pallido, Boko the Chocobo, Venom the Gucumatz ]

-- So many Tales from children, it kinda gives off a very sad vibe considering they too can turn and not reach the Farplane. Many are attacked by monsters, some lost in the desert, way too many others have drowned by the Moonflow when left unsupervised. One Tale tells even of a young thief, a child, who died in jail. Being Spiran kids seems dangerous. [ Lesser Josh, Squelch the Amorphous Gel, Scooter the Vespa, Nexus the Dark Elemental, Widow the Black Elemental ]

-- The Tales narrate of children’s stories and legends. To make their children behave, tell them to stay put and be good, else ‘they will turn into fiends’: the more they misbehave, the uglier their monster form will look. Another old legend says spirits of people who died a violent death make their way to the Moonflow to bloom with the moonlilies. I found this last one is very similar to the old bedtime story in the FFX novel, where Old Spirans believed the souls of the dead bloomed as flowers in the Farplane. With the advent of Sin, though, and the spread of religion, this tale was forgotten. [ Petal the Ochu, Cyanide the Assassin Bee ]

-- The Temple of Macalania is sinking, as Shiva’s Fayth is no more and there is nothing to freeze the lake now. Many people remained trapped in their rooms inside and died during the sinking, like some wives and children of Macalania priests, for example. The few survivors performed their funeral . [ Mayo the White Elemental ]

-- Apparently, people living near Gagazet have a rite of passage for adulthood, which takes place as a boy reaches 20 years of age. He must climb the peak of the mountain alone in the dead of the night and bathe in the first morning lights. Needless to say, it’s quite dangerous, but the Tale is pretty funny. [ Wuff the White Fang ]

-- The excessive usage of machina, by the time of FFX-2, is starting to pollute the water and air. It is said fish and birds are starting to suffer because of it. [ Daisy the Haize ]

-- The punishment for murder, in Spira, is execution. Hissss the Kukulkan was sentenced to death, mistaken for the killer when he was a mere witness of said murder. He spent one year in the cell of Bevelle -- most likely Via Purifico ones (all monsters in Via Purifico are people who were executed nearby -- aside from Omega who was taken to the ruins), to then being sent to the gallow.

-- Malboros have very long lifespans. Their average one is about 300 years, and a legend says the insides of a Malboro over 500 years old are linked to the divine. There’s a legend of a monk who was swallowed by a 700-years-old Malboro, survived the digestive fluids and returned to his people with his battle garb still on. [ Vape Nation the Malboro ]

-- In Luca, if the Goers win Blitzball matches, pubs and bars offer everyone free drinks. In Kilika, instead, barmaids also dance, which is seen as quite the spectacle. Men usually flock to those bars to drink and also bring gifts to the most beautiful dancers, even ending up in fights for their attention. [ Jub Jub the Archaeothyris, Venom the Gucumatz ]

-- Religious Spirans believe in reincarnation. Yuna mentions it in the Ultimania too, referring to her father, and theorizing if, one day, she’ll ever have the chance to meet his soul again, born anew somewhere in Spira. It kinda goes against the principle of souls dwelling in the Farplane, but it’s useful to remember those are mere illusions anyway. A tale says that ‘when looking into the water of an oasis after a sandstorm, you can see yourself in a past life’. [ Venom the Gucumatz ]

-- Footage of Zaon becoming a Fayth exist, and are stored inside long-gone and deactivated machina still found near Zanarkand Ruins, which once served to protect the couple during the Machina War. One of these footages shows Zaon embracing Yunalesca, and her promising him her love and to return safely. [ Punt the YAU71 ]

-- Music seems important in Spira. Yevon Maesters hire musicians, since the most popular music seems to be Yevonite one -- religious, solemn type, played with harps, horns and strings. There seems to be an annual Yevonite concert for the Maesters too. Still, Spira’s most rebellious teens have started rejecting such old-fashioned music and guitars are spreading among youth nowadays. [ Casper the Lich ]

-- At some point in Braska’s pilgrimage, the trio arrived in Bikanel and got separated. A Cactuar and Jecht met at the oasis; the man taught the friendly fiend how to play Blitzball and signed its ball. “ A guy with a huge sword wandered into the oasis. He had strayed from his traveling mates, and he stayed with me for three days. He taught me how to blitz! We didn’t speak the same language but I had fun. I’m clumsy, so it takes a lot of practice to get better. He used to say ‘The only thing the untalented can do is practice!’ with a big laugh. [...] I heard a rumor that said he was dead, but it’s just a rumor, right? ” [ Needler the Cactuar ]

-- A Besaid Festival exists, and it includes a fireworks moment. While Luca has a Eating Contest, where the competitors have to eat 200 crispy-outside, juicy inside Luca sandwiches. The local champion was poisoned before the contest started. [ Akao the Sahagin Prince, Mr Creosote the Anything Eater ]

#meta tag.#[ i left out the most stupid and absurd like.... belgemine's bootleg noah's ark ]#[ or just people who turned into fiends bc they were stupid ]#[ or worse ]#[ as well as shinra being whatever that is ]

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alolanrain · 5 years ago

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Found Family!AU *Christmas Addition*

Because I’m in a hella big Christmas Mood(Tm) and I talked a lot with @hiddenbyfaeries over this.

Hi yes, Gym Leader Opal is now Ash’s Great Aunt on Giovanni’s side

And also Reluctant Great Uncle Kabu is a thing as well

So like imagine little bby Ash and Gary flying to Galar with Daisy and Delia to see Graunty Opal to make a bunch of deserts for the other Galar league officials

And Grunkle Kabu gets pulled into the shenanigans and there’s so many pictures of all the younger kids covered in flour while a younger Opal and Kabu stand on the outer side of the group smiling and laughing

even tho Rose wasn’t a chairman just yet

He was shadowing the older head Chairman who Ash and Gary absolutely adored but Ash hated Rose with a passion

But just imagine Ash leaving for his journies and both he and Gary couldn’t help make cookies but they would face time Graunty Opal and Grunkle Kabu the day of Christmas together if the two boys could

But then Ash and Gou get sent to Galar for some mission or something and Opal and Kabu find out and kinda abduct the two for baking time

And Opal does the grandma thing where they guilt trip poor Gary into coming down

And THEN Bede joins in

And suddenly there’s posts from the gym leaders and Bedes acc

And everyone is like “wait WHAT!?”

Because no one knew that Opal and Kabu even had an inkling of any other family members

besides Opal having Bede but their not even technically family and a lot of people just thought that Opal was even around Bede just to train the kid enough so that the boy could take over her gym

But then everyone realize’s its fucking Champion Ash Ketchum and most of the worlds new found favorite Professor Gary Oak

Bede just brags about meeting Ash and Gary but quickly gets embarrassed because both Opal and Kabu coo over them and take a shit time of pictures to post on their rarely used Twitter and Pokegram

So Rose comes down with Leon, and Hop who was tagging along with his older brother, and Oleana bc they were Christmas shopping for their respected families together

So the. Leon gets Piers and Marnie to come as well

And all three kids kinda freak out bc there’s Leon but also ASH KETCHUM and GARY OAK

But Ash and Gary are both glaring daggers and Rose who does them back bc he still remembers the twerps after ten years still

But then Raihan and the younger Trainers got into this little fight on who can take the best Christmas picture with Ash, Gary, and Gou

And then it becomes this kind of... contest???

Where all the Gym leaders + plus the kids would try and get the most Christmas themed picture with Ash, Gary, and Gou

Even Oleana gets in it a little with a picture here and there but it’s usually with just a single person out of the trio

Like a picture of Oleana and Gary out and about with some coffee/got chocolate and they look like their Christmas shopping

A picture with Ash and her looking cute in matching Christmas sweaters by an outside fire place that looks like it’s back behind Kabu’s house

And surprisingly a picture of Her and Gou sharing a large scarf eating candy canes while watching Gary tripping over his feet on an ice rink while Ash laughed while helping him up

But like there’s a picture Leon posts on his Twitter of The trio with the little ones looking for a Christmas tree with an added video of Ash and Gary calling each other thots and other names while disagreeing with what tree they should get while Gou and the kids are laughing in the back ground.

Raihan post a picture with Melony teaching Gary and Alister how to sled down a hill properly while Ash, Gou, and Bae pelt each other with snowballs at the bottom

Nessa posts a picture with the gang + the other gym leader + Marnie and Sonia showing off their nails that were all Christmas themed decorated

And everyone else is just e a t I n g this up

And it hits the national news and every one who knows Ash and Gary are just laughing

Then Ash’s Legendary™️ bs starts uo

So Opal post pictures and videos of the Trio playing in the snow with the Legendary Doggo’s and it’s the most like/shared/retweeted post she ever had

Opal and Kabu win though because they posted a side by side picture of the four + Daisy during their first Christmas baking session and the newest picture of the four + Gou

And Daisy ReTweets with the words “I’VE BEEN REPLACED!!!!” But it’s all in good humor

Delia finds all the pictures taken while the three are up in Galar and prints them all out and past’s them in multiple scrap books with older pictures that were taken in some places during past Christmas and that would be Opals and Kabus New Years present when Delia could finally come back up there to celebrate with everyone else

But then there’s pictures of Ash and Gary teaching Gou and the three younger trainers how to make perfect cookies and other deserts

And it’s posted to Ash’s AND Gary’s account with the words:

“Teaching the new family generation how to make the best Christmas desserts! ❤️”

And their all covered in frosting, flour, other cooking stuff

And just Christmas fluff that gives everyone more insight into Ash’s and Gary’s life

God now I can imagine Ash bringing like a shit ton of his friends who don’t have good families to a party a few days before Christmas and both Opal and Kabu just adopts them all

Opal teaching Gladion, Ritchie, and Cilan how to make traditional Christmas cakes while Kabu teaches Lillie, Alain, and a few others how to properly decorate and wrap Christmas presents

ALL OUT SNOWBALL WAR!!!!

It happens exactly at 12 in the morning

Ash comes bounding down the halls with the younger trainers (Max, Bonnie, Marnie, Bede, Hop, and a few more people) from outside with the war cry of “MERRY CHRISTMAS FUCKERS!!!!”

They bust into the rooms of people who get worked up the easiest and p e l t them in snowballs

Everyone gets into this since they were all staying and Opals mansion because it’s the only resident that could hold them all

Kabu is the only one out of the very older part of the family to get into the fight

Agatha, Delia, and Opal choose not to be apart in favor of recording and taking a lot of pictures

But everyone’s dressed I. Their winter gear and PJ’s screaming and having so much fun

That the war last HOURS until everyone’s near freezing to death

Then they would all go back and change into warmer Pajamas and the three women who stayed out would disperse hot chocolate and drinks with a bit of alcohol to the older trainers and parents/siblings who can drink

Ash and Gary would be determined that Opal and Kabu go first on opening their presents under the massive 20 something-foot tree

But that’s on the actual Christmas Day

Before that Opal, Kabu, and Melony would drag the trio and the younger trainers (like Alister, Bonnie, Max, the Alola crew and a few more kids) to go see the giant 40 foot tree in the town square near Opals gym light up

Then they would split up and go to different kinds of shops and meet back up for dinner somewhere

HHH JUST FAMILY FLUFF

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theuntamedproject · 4 years ago

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"If the face says nothing, listen to the heartbeat" - Lan WangJi, Mo Dao Zu Shi (Weeks 3+4)

https://zhtheuntamedprojec.wixsite.com/theuntamedproject

... those who have read the novel know the real context of this line in the scene BUT taken out of context and used in a completely different (*cough* our) scenario..."If the face says nothing," translates to "Even if we seem calm on the outside,""listen to the heartbeat." translates to "we're so stressed to the point of ventricular fibrillation." (dunno if that's even a likely story but the overly exaggerated point still stands: we just handed our uni applications in and we're dreading admission tests and awaiting interviews...)

Quick overview

So aside from school work and university prep, TUP has taken up whatever spare moment either one of us has. However since Zara's Physics coursework began (good luck Zara!!) and both of us prepping for our respective admissions tests, we've decided instead of marching onwards with research on architecture and other food science related stuff, to settle on more relaxed Google seshes on MDZS (and totally not using this as an excuse to read the source text again) and beginning to design the buildings on CAD and paper.

So I'm going to introduce to you the barebones framework of what we plan to include in the design: characters, buildings and effects~ apologies in advance for not including the accents/tones in names (I cba tbh ;-; )

Characters

Because all these little dudes are just going to be cut out gingerbread men, we could include as many characters as possible (we did say we're making a universe are we not?). Those in italics are "maybe" characters depending on the dough remaining (or whether we like them to be part of the universe or not...) or how much gingerbread we're willing to eat ourselves (though huge shout out to everyone thats offered to eat our spare and broken gingerbread during materials testing - which I will get to a bit later :3)

Gusu Lan (the pretty sect)

Lan XiChen / Lan Huan (Sect Leader - simped so hard for his sworn brothers that both of them ended up dead)

Lan WangJi / Lan Zhan (repressed gay but we love him still)

Lan Yuan / Lan Sizhui (he's part of the Lan sect now goddamnit)

Lan JingYi (the most unLan Lan yet has the highest chance of being the next sect leader lmaoo)

Lan QiRen

Lan Yi / Lan An

QingHeng-Jun (Twin Jades' father)

Madam Lan (Twin Jades' mother)

Yunmeng Jiang (arguably the only "normal" sect here...)

Jiang Cheng / Jiang Wanyin (Sect Leader also an "angry grape" as put by Zara)

Jiang YanLi (OUR QUEEN)

Jiang FengMian (loved Wei Ying more than Jiang Cheng lol jk xd)

Yu ZiYuan (BAMF)

Wei Ying not included here since technically he defected from the Sect (; - ;)

Qinghe Nie (fans and sabers my bros)

Nie HuaiSang (Sect Leader - yeah, I can't believe it either)

Nie MingJue (noooooooooo)

Honestly, I swear this clan is either "big muscles or big brain?". If you have neither, you can't be part of their clique. I mean sect.

Lanling Jin (rich rich rich rich rich)

Jin Ling / Jin RuLan (Sect Leader - totally not named after Wei Ying's crush/ husband's family)

Jin GuangYao / Meng Yao (*smiles*)

Jin ZiXuan (peacock but JYL's husband nonetheless)

Jin GuangShan (gross)

Jin ZiXun (double gross)

Mo XuanYu (literally did not sign up to any of this. He just wanted to end his suffering at Mo Manor)

We decided against including everyone from Mo Manor since they literally died within the first few chapters of the novel / first episode of the drama so were kinda irrelevant. Also, we don't care about them like we care for the Lan Sect members either.

Off topic side rant, Zara has been on my case whenever I bring up Jin GuangYao. I have to say, he's way more lovable in the drama than in the novel (didn't really leave much of an impression on me in the novel, NHS did a better job at that). I'm here to briefly explain why this boy is misunderstood and deserved more than what he got (and also why you should love him because he deserves love).JGY is a poor soul who's goal in life was to please others because no one was ever satisfied with him. His mother wasn't satisfied. His father wasn't satisfied. Hell, even his sworn brother NMJ wasn't satisfied with him eventually. BUT GUESS WHAT Xichen the angel is the only person that showed any love or thanks to JGY that's why he didn't kill him in the end - he wouldn't kill people that actually cared about him. IF ONLY EVERYONE ACTUALLY PAID ATTENTION TO HOW CLEVER AND CUNNING THIS MAN WAS, THERE MAY NOT EVEN BE WENS THREATENING THE WORLD. end of brief rant.

Qishan Wen (too hot, hot damn)

Wen RuoHan (Sect Leader - could have taken over the world if his children weren't incompetent)

Wen Qing (half the reason why included this sect)

Wen Ning / Wen QiongLin (the other half of the reason)

Wen Yuan (WE NEED THIS BABIE ALONGSIDE SIZHUI OK)

Wen Chao (questionable)

Wen ZhuLiu (also questionable but less annoying than Wen Chao)

Rogue cultivators (including people we didn't really know where to put)

Wei WuXian / Wei Ying (Can work out how to cultivate resentful energy, fight against the biggest cultivation clans in the world and gain a formidable reputation as the Yiling Patriarch yet can't figure out that Lan Zhan has a crush on him. Makes it look like cultivating resentful energy is easy as pie.)

CangSe SanRen (Wei Ying's mother)

Wei ChangZe (Wei Ying's father)

Xiao XingChen (honestly, the nicest guy ever. Could rival Xichen in terms of kindness. But then again... where did that kindness lead either of them? Moral of story: screw kindness)

Song Lan (Wen Ning's dead buddy~)

Xue Yang (he was cool in the novel, a bit questionable in the drama ngl)

A-Qing (didn't report her situation to the police...)

Baoshan Sanren (without knowledge of her existence, Jiang Cheng may have given up on life after he lost his golden core)

Ouyang ZiZhen (I didn't know who he was at all from the novel (ie he left no impression) but since he's technically part of the juniors, we have to include him)

Wang Ling Jiao / Jiao Jiao (just so Wen Chao has a friend perhaps... I don't know if we're that kind)

Su She (ew. just. He's not our favourite. The whole thing could have gone smoother if he didn't exist)

Luo Qingyang / Mian Mian (that one girl that made Wei Ying think Lan Zhan was straight)

Whew! That's all the character's we've considered! We have yet to come up with individual designs for the clothes and what not but at least we know there are going to be straight up cutting them out using the gingerbread man cutters.

Also! let's not forget:

Li'l Apple (didn't sign up for any of this either)

Fairy (gift from JGY to JL, also good doggo)

All the bunnies in Gusu (yes.)

All the fans and sabers in Qinghe (it's part of their aesthetic)

Locations and Buildings

This section's going to be MUCH shorter than the previous one haha since we've basically come up with 5 main buildings and in 7 locations. We're planning these buildings to be architectural masterpieces (okay, that's a slight exaggeration but that's the point). These buildings will take SIGNIFICANTLY more time than the gingerbread characters and is the reason we've put so much effort into researching what would make the most stable type of building. This is because we've planned to mirror the buildings as close as possible to the drama. We haven't yet drawn 2D sketches as I've left that job mostly to Zara (sorry!) so it's sort of hard to describe in words but by next post, we hope to have these down~ (though please see the mood boards from Zara's post previously)~

Gusu Lan - Cloud Recesses

The Wall of Discipline

The Courtyard

The Orchid Room (the main classroom/hall)

Yunmeng Jiang - Lotus Pier

The Main Pier

Lotus Pod Lake

Qinghe Nie - The Unclean Realm

The Main Courtyard and stairs

Lanling Jin - Koi Tower

Koi Tower

Qishan Wen - Nightless City

Main building and stairs

Yiling - Burial Grounds

The Mountains (and farms/Wen settlements)

Demon-Slaughtering Cave

And of course, Yi City.

We don't know if we want to include any more places but we'll let you know if there are any changes to this list. Plus the effects of LEDs and other arts and craft jazz besides gingerbread, we plan to make sure each Sect get's their own spotlight~

Please enjoy our baby Cloud Recesses, they're going to grow up and be a fine specimen of society worthy of the Lan name :D

The plan going forward

Although unfortunately, things haven't gone totally to plan due to fairly busy circumstances, we still have some major events along the way before starting to build the whole thing (which would probably be around mid-to-end of December) which have indeed started preparing for. Including:

Material testing gingerbread and icing (ie finally, bringing our research to the real world) - a lot of gingerbread will be made, so thank you to the willing volunteers who wanted to eat our failed experiments!

Finding / creating a suitable recipe for the gingerbread people

2D and 3D sketches of the buildings

Designing costumes for the gingerbread people

Another thing that we kinda want to do is to make this project benefit the wider community (we wanted to set up a GoFundMe at some point and raise some money for charity~). But we don't know how to do that as of yet T-T . Any ideas, feel free to contact us and let us know! We want to help others through this project (if at all possible haha)!

#mdzs #update #characters #gingerbread #gusulan #yunmengjiang #qinghenie #lanlingjin #qishanwen #weiying #lanzhan

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urflowersdied · 5 years ago

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junebug

Long time no see! I’ve had a really rough past few months regarding finding the motivation and creativity to write, but I’ve been really wanting to get back into it. I wrote this piece in January of last year - 2019 - but left it to rot in my Google Drive... It’s not the best piece of writing, I’d say, but I feel the need to just put it up so that I hopefully can move on and post a more recent piece of writing soon-ish. Quarantine is boring me to the brink. Hope you’re all well and can get some enjoyment out of this! x

He had never cared for an animal on his own before, but Harry was convinced that every pet owner gained some sort of extrasensory perception - or rather, a sixth sense - upon deciding to house a little creature. With previous family cats, or even the hamster that his sister had convinced their parents to adopt when he was about 4 years old, his mother had handled all of the arising problems herself, usually trying to keep her children out of the sad aspects of living with a pet. Therefore, 23-year-old Harry didn’t have any pre-existing experience with spotting illness in animals, yet when he woke up one morning and saw Juniper - his little Jack Russell Terrier - not already impatiently sitting by her bowl, tail wagging about, that he sensed something was... off.

Now, two days later and Juniper still refusing to move about more than absolutely necessary (usually she would join him on his morning runs, zoom around his apartment after tennis balls and properly beg him to take her on another walk when he got in from lectures and classes), an immensely worried Harry knew he had to take action. The only issue was that veterinarian visits weren’t exactly easily affordable on a student budget. Sure, he could always contact his mother and request a little support, but he was well aware of her current financial situation and had previously made the decision to help her out rather than ask for money.

It seemed as though the stars aligned for him when he brought up his struggles to Adam, who often spared him an ear to let him vent about various issues. He had been Harry’s friend ever since they found themselves seated next to each other in the introductory lecture to their Psychology degree. In their two and a half years of friendship Adam had offered lots of (sometimes unsolicited) advice to Harry, which had rarely been useful. But this time around, Adam’s proposition might have the actual potential of leading towards a useful solution for his problem.

“Do you remember that girl David used to date? I think…. Emelie? Erica? Can’t really remember. Anyways, one time at pre-drinks I got into conversation with her - wanted to know who was silly enough to go out with that git. She told me she was studying to become a vet! Can you believe? She seemed really smart so I don’t really know what she was doing with… Not that important, actually. Few weeks later Sarah’s cat wasn’t feeling great and apparently she came by to do a check-up for free. Think I’d be able to get you her number if you wanna give that a shot!”

So here he was, stood in his kitchen at 7 am, waiting for this vet student to reply to the text message he’d sent her. Turns out Adam got the name wrong during their conversation and apparently she was actually called Emma, but that wasn’t really of any importance to him. What was important, instead, was that she would get back to Harry as quickly as possible. He was eyeing his little pup nervously, having just spent an exhausting night alongside her, and even though he knew it wasn’t really proper etiquette to contact someone before at least 8 in the morning, he really couldn’t help himself. Hopefully this Emma would be able to fulfill the high praises Adam, and upon inquiry their friend Sarah as well, had sung about her.

It seemed as though she was off to a good start, because no more than 10 minutes later he was alerted of a new text message through the bell-noise of his phone. Harry had been crouched next to Juniper, who seemed to currently prefer residing in the dog bed he had placed in the living room, but quickly shot up and slid towards the device on the kitchen counter.

“Hello Harry! Yes, this is Emma! I could come by and take a look at your pup after classes, which would be around 5. Would that work for you? I don’t want to promise that I’ll be able to do much, but I can definitely tell you what other steps you should take. Send me your address and let me know if that time works for you! x Emma”

_______________________________________________

The light succession of knocks on his front door startled Harry. He had gotten in about an hour ago, after attending two lectures which he hadn’t completely focused on. While waiting for who he was hoping he would dub “saviour” by the end of her visit Harry had busied himself with cleaning the place up and doting on his poor doggo.

As he pulled the door open, some information lodged itself into place in his head. How could he have not made the link before? She had attended some pre-drinks and various night out’s on the arm of David, a tosser that was - sadly, really - the roommate of one of Harry’s better friends. He had never been fond of David, but remembers the moment distinctly in which he had laid eyes upon this girl now standing in front of him.

Remembers how his heart had beaten a little faster, because she truly looked like the sweetest girl around. Remembers how she had shot everyone the kindest smile as she was being introduced. Remembers how he had been convinced she must be mad and incredibly naive, for he knew no other reason why she would hang around his asshole acquaintance.

“Oh, hi! I figured it was you, but wasn’t entirely sure!” Her voice pulled Harry out of his little daydream. He felt a little taken aback, but reciprocated her enthusiastic smile and tone of voice while greeting her.

“Hey! What a surprise, didn’t know you were studying to be a vet. Thank you for stopping by, Emma.”

She toed off her shoes, discarded her winter jacket on the coat rack by the door and turned back towards him. He pretended to not notice the small once-over she gave him, for the sake of not making her uncomfortable before she just did him and his dog a huge favour. “So, where’s your pup? Juniper, is it?” Harry immediately led her towards the living room. Upon catching sight of the miserable looking animal, Emma, seemingly not being able to hold back, let out a tiny coo and immediately moved towards her.

“I’m honestly not really sure what happened. One day she was fine, coming on runs with me and going ballistic in the flat and then the next she was barely able to get up. I’ve never really cared for a dog myself before so I didn’t really know if she was just in a mood or hurt, but her situation didn’t really improve so…” Harry trailed off, keeping his eyes fixed on his dog as Emma lowered herself to the ground. The extreme amount of nervous energy coursing through his body almost made him want to chuckle. If this was how badly an ill dog affected him, how would he be able to deal with his own children in the future?

Hovering a hand over the dog’s head, Emma addressed Harry. “Are you alright with me touching her?” The young man hummed in agreement, willing to do just about everything at this point. “As I already mentioned in my text, I can’t really promise I’m gonna be able to help. I also just wanna let you know that I’ve obviously not finished my degree yet, so I’m not a legit veterinary yet. So I really need you to be aware of that. I won’t do anything that I’m not one hundred percent sure of, but I can definitely give you an assessment of her situation, at the very least.”

Harry was aware of this. It was also the information that his friend Sarah had given him. Emma was still at university, therefore not a licensed vet yet, but apparently extremely careful and trustworthy. And because taking at least a look at some other student’s sick animals was a great way to put all her training into practice, she did these sort of check ups for free. He appreciated Emma’s reiteration of this disclaimer though, and immediately let her know that he was alright with the situation.

And to be honest, had he not previously been made aware that she was still in the process of getting her degree, he probably would not have noticed any difference between her and the fully fledged veterinarian that had come round to his mother’s house a few times when he was younger. Emma had an extremely calm aura surrounding her, which put Juniper - who had been jittery every time Harry approached her - at ease quite quickly.

The next few moments introduced a concentrated silence to Harry’s living room. He didn’t quite know what to do with himself as her hands softly reached out towards different parts of Juniper’s little body, so he started gnawing on his lips and continuously shifting his weight from one leg onto the other and back. This seemed to amuse the girl on his living room floor, because she took a second to let her gaze move from the intense focus on the animal towards its agitated owner. “How about you sit down on the couch? Think you being stationary might help calm the pup down a little bit.”

So that’s what Harry did. Took a seat on the cushioning and waited for any potential questions he knew she was bound to ask him. When Emma spoke up after a few more moments, the questions she asked seemed pretty standard to him. How old was Juniper? What did she weigh? How often would he usually take her out on a walk? Did she still eat like usually? What was her behaviour like when she wasn’t feeling poorly? He answered every question she posed to the best of his abilities, but couldn’t really help and inquire himself after a while: “What do you reckon is the problem, then?”

She gracefully angled her body towards Harry’s sitting form. That was something he had been noticing the entire time she had conducted the little examination - Emma exuded grace and tranquility. She had only directed the most delicate of touches and softest words towards Juniper, and even though she had not made any sort of body contact with Harry, he had also felt immensely soothed simply by her presence. He wondered if that was just her natural demeanor or a way of handling herself she had acquired during her veterinary training. “From what you’ve been telling me about her being really energetic and playful usually, just like any Jack Russell Terrier really, I’d say it’s very likely she had some zoomies and hurt herself during. Looks and feels to me like there’s a little issue in the back of her vertebrae.”

Emma’s explanation made a lot of sense to Harry. Juniper was a very lively dog and often had little bursts of energy that she released by dashing in and out of every room in his small flat, jumping on various pieces of furniture and gliding around the wooden floors. It was likely that she had been a little overzealous and one point and gotten herself hurt without him noticing, even though that made him feel a little inadequate as a pet owner. “And… so… what happens now?”

With a few light pats on the top of Juniper’s head Emma parted from the animal and got back on her feet. “Well… Gotta be honest here, I don’t feel comfortable doing an osteopathic procedure on my own because I haven’t really mastered that training yet, but you’re in luck.” Harry motioned for her to follow him and the two of them stepped into the kitchen. He wanted to let his dog rest a little bit, and because he was sure animals understood the human language more than they let on, he located their conversation about her health to another room. “My dad’s got an animal osteopathy clinic up in Manchester. He’s supposed to be coming down to London for dinner tomorrow anyway, so if I butter him up well enough he’d probably be happy to take a detour before that and do a little session on Juniper.” After taking a little glance at Harry’s increasingly worried face - because he hadn’t ever really been aware that there were osteopaths specialised in animal care and also would any of this this hurt his pup even more? - Emma quickly added: “And don’t worry about paying him. He owes me a favour for helping out in the clinic for free during busy weekends.”

Harry hadn’t planned to tear up, he really hadn’t. Such a reaction wasn’t usually in the cards for him - sure, compared to his friends he was quite the emotional fella, but he was studying to be a psychologist and usually had his wits about him - but the gratitude he felt towards this tiny helper, who had just randomly appeared in his and his dog’s life, was indescribable. Here stood this gentle young woman, who had made time in her probably super busy and hectic student schedule to take a closer look at his dog because he struggled to afford a real vet visit, and who had miraculously calmed Juniper, who had been nervous and in pain, down seemingly by just entering the building, and now she was offering him her dad’s osteopathic services, also free of charge? How could he possibly hold it together in the face of such kindness?

Apparently, his depiction of emotion was a little surprising to Emma. With widened eyes she observed as he tried to get a grip, seemingly not really knowing how to approach this man who she had only spoken to a couple of brief times.”Sorry, sorry. That’s… Yeah, that’d be amazing. I’ve just been really stressed about this and you’re being really nice and just… thank you, really. Sorry.” Harry shot her an appreciative smile while willing the moisture in his eyes to subside quicker.

Catching a glimpse of the digital clock on his microwave, Emma let out a surprised noise and made a move towards the front door. “You’re alright, don’t worry about it. I’ll text you early tomorrow to figure out what time would be good for you, yeah? I’ve got to dash now, though. Got a paper to finish for this class of mine”, she said as she tucked her feet back into the black boots she had entered his flat in.

The last thing she said to Harry as they parted ways for the night made his cheeks light up with a rosy glow. Because he really had tried to clean his living space up well enough before she arrived earlier, wanting to seem put-together and rational for this (as he then had believed) stranger. It seemed as though he either hadn’t done a good enough job or Emma had, in addition to all of her other attributes he had taken notice of, a keen eye for observations. “Oh yeah, I think it’s super endearing that you’re willing to sleep on your couch to make her more comfortable. You seem like a great owner, don’t stress about it.”

________________________________________________

The shrieking laughter of his friends still reached Harry, even as he distanced himself from them and closed the door that connected Adam’s living room to his kitchen. He hadn’t really been in the mood to get hammered tonight, much less to make an appearance at some random bloke’s birthday party, but here he stood anyways. Already empty wine glass in his left hand, waiting for everyone’s intoxication levels to rise so that they could make their way out. The sooner Harry and his mates got to that celebration, the sooner it would be acceptable for him to duck out and return to the safe, warm, and especially calm confines of his flat.

Harry really didn’t pay attention to his surroundings as he was scavenging various shelves for the bottle of wine Adam had shooed him off of the comfortable armchair for. Adam was always a keen but awful host. He didn’t have any quarrels about their group of friends hanging out at his little apartment, but would make everyone else in attendance tend to any arising hosting duties - like sticking your head into the deep unknown of his cluttered cupboards to locate a new bottle of red. When a charming giggle erupted from behind him, a startled Harry turned around immediately. As his gaze fell upon his current favorite person in the world - yes, he was aware that he had a knack for dramatising - the alarmed heartbeat in his chest declined towards a way slower thud. “Don’t scare me like that.” He raised his hand to his chest theatrically in an attempt to garner a repeat of that wonderfully melodic giggle, and succeeded. After a few short seconds of exchanging glances and smiles, a thought crossed his mind: “Not to sound rude, but what are you doing here?”

Emma took a step closer to him and grabbed one of the long-stemmed wine glasses that had been placed on the kitchen counter by Sarah earlier in the evening. “Honestly, not completely sure. Adam - he’s your friend, right? - texted me out of the blue and so did Sarah. Said that even though I’m, and I quote, ‘thankfully’ not seeing David anymore I’m still invited to hang out with the gang so… Here I am, I guess.” The bright smile which appeared on her face was almost enough to lessen the annoyance rising up Harry’s throat. Almost.

No matter how hard he tried to keep mum, the endeared exclamations about his new acquaintance just broke past the barrier his lips had tried to keep aloft. Sitting in another early morning lecture, Adam had asked how the meeting with “little miss doctor” had gone - because of course that nosy shit was going to pester him about it - and Harry just… erupted. Had entertained his friend’s digs for information and explained how much of a calming effect the vet-in-training had supplied not only to his dog but him as well. How (pleasantly) surprised he had been to learn that he actually kind of knew the woman that appeared by his front door. And Harry didn’t really regret bringing Adam up to speed on that first meeting - he had arranged it, had he not? -, but rather he was embarrassed by his retelling of the following evening.

Emma and her dad had knocked on his door shortly after 6, excuses spilling from the woman’s lips about her class had run late and the older man slightly eyeing up Harry from behind his daughter’s body blocking the doorway. After a few initial moments of awkwardness, which Harry wasn’t really sure of why they had arisen, the trio moved towards Juniper’s sleepy figure, still located in the living room.

While her father went to work on his new patient - and now Harry was aware from whom the girl standing next to him had inherited her vast amount of calmness - Emma turned towards its owner. “She’ll be back to knocking into all your furniture during her zoomies in no time.” And man, had Harry felt assured by these softly spoken words.

During the whole procedure Harry fought a little battle in his mind. He didn’t really know this girl at all, did he? Hadn’t interacted much with Emma other than run-ins with her latched onto David’s arm - he had thought about that relationship quite a lot the previous night and he really could not come to a logical conclusion as to how that had established itself, but he was grateful that she seemed to have seen the light and dumped him a while back - and her visit to his sick dog which had taken place a mere 25 hours back. Yet she had displayed such an openness to him, that he just felt incredibly indebted to her.

He had wanted to repay her in some way, and perhaps selfishly use that opportunity to spend more time in her enchanting presence, but with her father there he could not find the right words to extend her a casual dinner invitation. And exactly this sentiment had Harry really hung up when he described the events of the past two days to Adam. Harry had wanted to ask Emma out, but in the end just couldn’t gather up the courage and he felt his chance had now passed. Juniper felt a lot better and there was no need to seek Emma’s veterinary advice.

Turns out, Harry’s friends weren’t as complacent as him and had decided to take matters into their own hands, inviting her to their get-together not purely out of kindness but also to create another opportunity for their friend to get off his arse and ask the sweet girl out already. And Harry was grateful, for sure, he just wasn’t prepared. He would have appreciated a little head’s up.

As it currently stood though, the evening was shaping itself up to becoming intriguing.

#harry styles fanfiction #harry styles #fanfiction #harry fanfiction #one direction fanfiction

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batty-babe-blog · 6 years ago

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Ya gal needs to veeeeeent!

o4 | 28 | 19

So, one of the many reasons I've gots zero relationship with extended family members is because they assume I'm some foaming at the mouth psychotic monster who treats my mother poorly for funsies.

She worked really hard laying out that trope throughout my bebe Bats years, so I never developed close relationships with any of them. And still today at the ripe ole age of being an old biddy people still assume this. And I get it. I might do the same exact thing. Cause without context I come across like a nutso loon in this mother daughter relationship.

But let's take out all the physical and psychological abuse she either directly inflicted on bebe Bats or permitted her boyfriends to inflict. Let's erase all the abuse society at large can def agree was classic child abuse. Let's just list some the mundanely maddening things.

So, two days ago was the deadline for me to buy one of my besties birthday gifts and have it arrive before her birthday. I'm a broke babe and two weeks ago I ordered a gift card from my employer using this weird bonus point system. So, free gift card! I've never done it before and had no idea how long it would take for it to arrive. I've been checking my mail box every night when I get home just waiting. No gift card! So I used a credit card I'm not suppose to use to buy it last night.

Yeeeeah. My mother was here while I was out this past Tuesday without my explicit consent. She checked my mail. She set it on my table beneath a note pad she wrote a note on. It looked like a single spam flier for gutter cleaning. Nope. I went to throw it away today while cleaning my kitchen and my gift card I'd been waiting for is beneath the flier beneath the thick af big af note pad. Raaaage!

She was here for an hour a couple weekends back to take myself and my spawn to dinner. I'd cut her out for six months. Zero contact. This was the first time in over six months I was allowing her around my precious baby. My guard is up! Spawn and I take our doggo for a ten minute walk so he can go potty before we leave.

In ten minutes my mother has reorganized my pots and pans and taken the few dishes from lunch in my sink and put them in my dishwasher.

1. Unlike my mother who lives on the garbage food she raised me on, I cook dinner from scratch every single night. It helps keep my ED controlled. It makes me happy. I look forward to it! Every single night I am using a MINIMUM of one pot or pan. They are organized perfectly to meet my usage needs. I've been asking and then telling her to leave my shit alone literally my entire life. It's my home! Those are my high end wildly well taken care of pots and pans! Some you can't stack in the way she wants because you will DAMAGE them! I am a broke bitch. I need these things to last me as long as humanly possible.

2. I went to go pull a fancy af chefs knife I use for breaking down meats, cause again I'm a broke bitch and breaking down shit myself saves me a lot of money, from the dishwasher. Why? It has to be hand washed and hand dried afterwards to keep it in its best condition for as long as possible. BROKE BITCH takes care of her shit. I reach in to grab the knife, which is facing up, and end up cutting the side of my hand on a dinner knife that is also facing up. I have been telling her to stop flipping my knives up my entire adult life. Not only is it unsafe for grown folx.. My spawn helps me unload the dishwasher. Sharps go down so his little hand don't require stitches. It's how it's done in MY HOME.. that I pay for! With MY silverware, that I pay for!

I have to wrap a towel around my hand. That takes a minute to find because she's moved those from their designated drawer.. go outside.. and text scream at my bestie to keep myself from stabbing my mother to death with my blood stained dinner knife.

This woman in no way respects my autonomy as a human being separate from her. It doesn't matter if I ask nicely or beg or scream or threaten or demand.. she's always going to do things exactly how she wants to do them. And even when I express how much this upsets me in a totes calm and collected and rational way.. she pretends I'm attacking her, points out that she was just trying to help, and usually crying points out how ungrateful I am.

And that dinner we has? She complained and bitched the entire time about how slow the server was. My spawn actually told her that she should be nicer. And, yanno, I.. her adult daughter.. have been working for tips in some compacity for thirteen years.

She's a miserable old cunt who can always find something to bitch about. The conversation around that dinner was me trying to redirect her from talking shit about her fifty something year old baby sister. Her baby sister had just moved into her dream apartment after moving multiple states away alone. Mother kept making comments about how nice it must've been to marry and divorce rich. Yeah, baby sister is the most educated family member. She was the first woman to ever win this certain scholarship. She's a published author. She got into Duke for a graduate program.. She didn't marry rich. She married another brilliant person who's created many of the advertising icons you, dear reader, are well aware of. He's been interviewed by Barbra Walter's. He's got a damn wiki! And they were married for 25+ years! She put her own career pursuits on hold to raise their three children. Their divorce went smoothly. She deserves every bit of "his" money and retirement and investments she got. I mean.. ffs. She gave up alimony to secure that he continue financially assisting their mentally ill child into said child's adulthood.

She's smart and caring and funny and single for the first time in her life at fifty. Let the woman teach yoga and do ballroom dancing and go to Broadway shows with her brilliant daughters and fly across the country to visit her equally brilliant and kid son and son in law! Let her take her adult children to Disney once a year. Let her travel the country one summer to collect stuff for her NEXT book. Let me be low key jelly that she wasn't my mother. Lawl.

Like I'm sorry you're too poor to retire at way too close to seventy, got four failed brief af marriages under your belt, haven't gotten laid in a decade, none of your siblings will speak to you by choice, neither of your grown daughters will visit you, neither of your grown grand sons will speak to you period. Maybe you wanna fucking examine what role you played in all this misery you call a life!

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musicallisto · 7 years ago

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☀ Little Red Seal (pt. i)

In honor of the end of ES. These dorks have lighten up my Fridays for two years and I will miss them entirely. Hope this can make you crack a smile and remind you of better days.

word count: 3100+ words summary: In which Quinn leaves for six days because of a family affair and has no one to take care of her enthusiastic dog while she’s away - fortunately, her eleven loyal best friends are here to save the day. author notes: This will be mostly fluff and fun, but some bits are more stressful like this part! no romantic pairings, everyone is friends. AU: the gang finally reunited, alive and well being huge irresponsible dorks. the ending we deserved tbh. This will be in six parts, because otherwise it will get way too long. I randomized the pairs/teams for this series because I thought it would be more fun! Enjoy!

“THANK YOU SO much for coming on such short notice. You’re really taking a thorn out of my side,” Quinn repeated for the hundredth time at least, pacing furiously everywhere in her living room.

The nervous sound of her heels resonating against the wooden floor - click, click, click - had been the only audible sound for five minutes now as the redhead tried her best to keep her sophisticated bun neat and in place. Michelle had tried to count the amount of times she had paced like a caged lion apparently looking for her phone or her car keys, only to find out they were in her hands the whole time, thanked them for coming around and then went back to gallop around the sofas, but she had lost count after the seventh time.

“Really, it’s okay, Quinn. We’re happy to help,” she replied for the hundredth time as well, her hands furrowed in her pockets - she was this close to walking up to her best friend and having her sit down and keep calm for a second. She was going mad just by looking at her raging wandering.

“Yeah, we love doggos,” Craig added, gently petting the auburn fur of the English Cocker Spaniel, obediently sitting on his right. “They kinda remind me of me. Fun, sporty and a bit smelly.”

“I’m sure taking care of Rónán will be super fun,” Michelle enthusiastically continued, smiling widely. “And you know we can always call reinforcement if we need it. I promise you there’s nothing to worry about!”

Quinn sighed, leaning on the arm of her sofa. She looked down at her furry best friend with a kind smile - it was the first time she was leaving Rónán for more than a weekend, but an important family matter had come up and she was unable to decline the invitation. It would be six days, six days during which she would be away, not knowing if her energetic companion would be alright, and she probably would have freaked out completely if Michelle and Craig hadn’t sensed her despair and volunteered to take care of him for all the duration of her absence. Quinn was perfectly aware Rónán could be... a handful, and she didn’t want to burden her friends with such a charge at first, but when she realized she had no backup plan and after they actively convinced her it was really their idea and they were more than eager to spend a week with the happy young dog.

“Okay, so remember that Rónán has to be brushed - once a week should be enough -, and don’t forget the scissors for the underside of his paws, and to clean his ears, and give him a treat when you’re done with the upkeep, and grooming takes more or less three hours, but you won’t need to bathe him though, his dry food is under the sink, oh and never, ever give him chocolate and-”

“Quinn”, Michelle scowled, adopting her best surgeon voice, the authoritarian yet gentle one that tolerates no riposte, “we will be okay. Do you think I’m the type to be careless? Rónán is in good hands with us. If you should be worrying about someone, it’s Craig.”

“Hey!” the big man barked, outraged. “I don’t see why. I’m perfectly fine and - whoa, careful, pup! That was my foot!”

Quinn laughed, her habitual smile finally adorning her features. Craig and Michelle were going to be amazing keepers for her precious companion, she could be sure of it. Glancing rapidly at her watch, she got up, grabbed her suitcase, hugged her two friends, reminded them she owed them big time - to which Michelle answered the only thing she asked as a repayment is that she stopped thanking her -, affectionately ruffled the top of Rónán’s head and disappeared through her front door, heading to the airport, leaving her best friends together to look after each other, for better or for worse.

As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, Craig heaved out a sigh, mixture of relief and pure terror.

“Man, no pressure, right?”

“Okay, Craig, I know about your tendency to... cut loose from what you’re told to do, but... please don’t screw up. Quinn trusts us and this means the world for her.”

“Uh, excuse me? I don’t ‘screw up’. I’m a pro.”

“I’d call throwing into a bonfire six months’ worth of Sean’s essays a pretty big screw-up.”

“Yeah, well I-”

He was abruptly interrupted by a high-pitched whine at his feet. Looking down, Craig was taken aback by the pleading eyes of the puppy and his sadly wagging tail, as if he were desperately trying to tell his new masters something with his canine sorrow.

“Aw, Meech, look, he’s giving me the puppy look! He must want us to stop bickering.”

“Craig, he’s literally a puppy, that’s why he’s giving you the puppy l-”

But Craig had stopped listening to the med, crouched by the dog’s side to reach his little height, his face leaning to meet Rónán’s, their noses almost touching, a huge smile spread on his lips. He could feel the dog’s highly discouraging hot breath blowing directly on his face, but at that precise moment, the adorableness of the small animal had simply erased every other sensation.

“Ain’t that right, huh, pup? You’re whining because you want us to stop fighting and you want us to stop fighting because you’re a goooood doggo,” he slurred with an abnormally deep voice, contently scratching the furry, auburn chin of the pet.

“Please, Craig, he’s literally whining because he’s hungry,” Michelle snapped at him, crouching down beside Craig and carefully taking Rónán in her arms. At the mention of the last word, the dog excitedly looked down at his new savior, his new goddess, the one who had understood the deepest of his desires: food.

“Oh, you’re probably right. I’ll get the food!” Craig exclaimed, energetically running to the kitchen, leaving Michelle with her newest patient.

“We’ll take good care of you, don’t worry,” the surgeon hummed under her breath, lovingly petting the top of Rónán’s head, right between his enormous, curly, and absolutely adorable ears. “And don’t be afraid of Craig...,” she laughed to herself, still caressing the puppy, her gestures kind and motherly, something she had never noticed in her. “He can be a handful at times, but he’s nice, you’ll see.”

“Meech! Where do I find the dish?” resonated from the kitchen door, left wide open.

Michelle, laughing heartily now, carefully set down the dog; he immediately started wagging his tail, more vigorously now, and raised his eyes, full of hope and belief, to the young woman.

“I should probably help him,” she murmured with a smile.

It was undeniably going to be a fascinating week, to say the least.

“Why do you hate me, Meech?”

“What do you mean? I don’t hate you, Craig.”

“I dunno. You’re always mean and sassy with me. It’s like you despise me.”

The two young adults were sprayed on the couch, a cold Heineken each open, their eyes glued on some reality TV program on television - something about ladies competing for a foreign King’s hand - without even taking in the information flickering in front of their faces. The night had fallen for some time now; Michelle hadn’t looked at her watch for a long time, but she estimated it must have been three hours since Quinn had left them with Rónán. So far so good, she had thought to herself after feeding the animal. Craig turned out to be more delicate than she could ever have imagined with the small beast, caressing his fur with gentleness and even giving him a few treats after his meal - he had insisted, arguing that he deserved a dessert since he, unfortunately, couldn’t have alcohol. Michelle had rolled her eyes, but let him proceed nevertheless. They had nearly collapsed on Quinn’s sofa after grabbing refreshments from her fridge - she wouldn’t mind, right? Although they had spent very little time with the dog, allowing him to play around the house without paying too much attention to him or being glued to the poor boy, they were exhausted, as though the mere concept of being in charge of someone was physically draining.

Michelle sighed heavily. It was true she was accustomed to having her snarky façade on whenever she talked to other people, but that was the way she was, the way she had been brought up and forged through adolescence - and Craig, although far from being stupid, had a harder time understanding that than the others.

Because she didn’t have any special resentment towards Craig, right?

“If you haven’t noticed, I’m that way with everyone. Jake acts like that too and you never whined because he ‘hated you’.”

“But it’s like it goes deeper than that with me. Is it because you hooked up with my best friend?”

“Jesus, Craig, I know subtlety is not your forte, but-”

“I know you think I’m stupid,” he continued, bringing the freezing bottle to his lips and swallowing a large mouthful of beer. “You’re not the only one. That’s my role. I know it. I’m the dumb jock. And Sean is the nice jock. I get it. But you know, it would be cool if you didn’t constantly treat me like a... nobody. A good-for-nothing, yanno. It’s... It gets tiring.”

Michelle remained silent, her beer hanging over a precipice of rugged carpets and white sofas. She had never thought about the effect her behavior - coupled with all the others’ - could have on Craig, since he had always looked like someone who wasn’t concerned one bit about the way people viewed him. All of sudden, she was at a loss for words, conflicted, her fingers shaking a little.

“Listen, Craig, I-”

Her sentence was cut sharp by a brusque sound coming from behind the sofa, far from their field of vision. Michelle, suddenly tensed, placed the bottle on the coffee table and straightened up, eyeing the back of the piece of furniture.

There wistfully sat Rónán, his long, fluffy ears apologetically sweeping the bright wooden floor of the living room, looking down with a grimace and a canine frown at a pool of brownish vomit at his paws.

“He threw up,” Michelle announced, a wave of sympathy and concern engulfing her, just like when one of her patients had a negative reaction to one of her treatments.

“Oh,” Craig sighed sadly. “I guess you don’t really like chocolate, huh, little guy?”

Michelle froze instantly. She turned her iron gaze towards an oblivious Craig with an agonizing slowness.

“You. Gave. Him. What?”

“Uh... chocolate? I read dogs like ch-”

“For fuck’s sake, Craig, chocolate is toxic for dogs!” Michelle yelled, standing up in a swift movement, half of her bones cracking at the unexpected gesture. She tried to hide the anxious trembling of her fingers by running a desperate hand through her mane. “In what timeline and in what dimension did you think it was a good idea to give him chocolate?!”

“I-I don’t know!” he screamed in return, eyes darting furiously between Michelle, his beer and the terrified-looking puppy, who apparently didn’t understand the sudden racket. “He was giving me the puppy look, I-”

“It’s a puppy! It’s the only look it has!” Michelle continued roaring, her hands flying around her body to give more credibility to her anger now. “Please- stop thinking!”

“I-I-I’m sorry! I screwed up! I didn’t know-”

“Of course you didn’t! You never know anything! This is serious, Craig! It can be lethal! Just... just... just clean up this mess and I’ll take care of Rónán!”

“Can you.. cure him?”

“I operate on kids with appendicitis, Craig! Not intoxicated Spaniels!”

“R-Right!” he exclaimed, running to the bathroom, frantically searching for a floorcloth to salvage Quinn’s floor.

Michelle ran to scoop the shaking puppy in her arms as delicately as she could. Truth to be told, she had acted all severe and confident when facing Craig, but she had been transported by exasperation and nerves and had, in fact, no idea what to do. She had been trained to give heart transplants, not save a dog from food poisoning! She didn’t even know if it was grave enough to go to the vet, and even if it was, she had no idea where she could find a clinic still open at that hour, or just any clinic, really - she didn’t know the neighborhood, and definitely didn’t have the time to check on the Internet, and even less stroll around the streets with the dog cradled in her arms hoping to stumble across a green cross...

What could she do? What did she know that could be useful? What had she learned about humans that could be applied to animals? What would Quinn say if she found out they had put Rónán in such danger? Would she hate them? Would she ever trust them with something important? Was she really that irresponsible? She never made those kinds of careless mistakes, she was trained, she had specially studied to face those critical situations, never to let any detail escape from her mind, and yet there she was; could she consider herself a good surgeon after all? What could she do, what could she do? Could she try to give him water, just like she would have done for a patient with food poisoning? But for a dog? Would it work? Could she try that artisanal remedy? What could she do, what c-

“What are you doing, Meech?” Craig called out from behind her back, a mop in one hand and a water bucket in the other, running to the lump-filled stain. “Either get him to the vet or make him throw up but don’t stand there like a lemon!”

His voice was full of a sense of urgency, so uncharacteristic: Michelle could witness he was deeply regretting his actions and wanted to make it up to her, to Rónán, to Quinn, and to himself. Abruptly sent back to reality, Michelle stammered inaudible words, almost dropping the pup. “Michelle, you got this. You’ve had worse crises.” Her inner voice rang strong and sharp inside her mind, and all the critical decisions she’d had to take in her life flashed before her eyes in an instant. Taking a deep, cold breath, she ran to the bathroom, holding securely the ginger puppy against her heart, whose eyelids were starting to flutter heavily. She knew how to make a dog vomit; she had been overwhelmed by nerves and the fear of Quinn’s hatred if something bad happened to Rónán while he was under her responsibility. She had completely lost her composure, something that never happened normally. Something she had been prepared, educated to avoid for years. Biting her lip, she scanned the drawers for a syringe, but her research remained fruitless; Rónán had now gone completely immobile in her arms. She was about to leave the room when her eyes caught the sight of a little note on the sink - picking it up, she recognized Quinn’s cursive handwriting... and the address of her habitual veterinarian. She breathed out the longest sigh of relief in her entire life.

“Craig!” she called. “Take the keys, we’re going to the vet!”

The drive home was lulled by the soft sound of an indie rock song playing on Michelle’s car radio. Craig, riding shotgun, glanced every now and then at the sound asleep, fluffy figure on the backseat with fondness. His armored, football heart had been pierced by the big, black eyes of the red puppy. Rónán was out of danger thanks to the treatment provided by the veterinarian, much more elaborate than anything Michelle could have ever done. Her fingers drummed mindlessly on the steering wheel, biting back yawns. In the end, she had panicked for something merely trivial that could’ve been resorted with a simple visit to a clinic, but she was terrified of letting Quinn down that she had let her nerves get the best of her. She was eager to finally let the Cocker rest in his bed, and sleep herself. It was close to midnight and she was starting to feel the rampage of a migraine closing in, like claws tightening around her temples.

“Hey, Craig?” she asked softly, partly because her headache was dangerously threatening and partly because she didn’t want to be rebuffed violently.

“Hm?” the man groaned, his eyes fixed on the escaping night road outside the window.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier. You snapped me out of it and you... were actually the calm and reasonable one,” she laughed nervously. “And I’m sorry for the way I treat you. I didn’t think it affected you that much, I wouldn’t have if I had known about it. I’m sorry. Really.”

“Nah, it’s okay, Meech,” Craig shrugged. “You stressed out. It happens. And I’m kinda used to being seen like that by now.”

“But that’s the saddest part of it. You shouldn’t be used to being taken for granted. I want to make sure you get used to being treated like a damn hero. Because that’s what you are. You’re way too cool to be taken for granted.”

A small smile crept onto Craig’s lips, unstoppable.

“Yeah, guess I’m freaking cool after all. But thanks, Meech.”

“Now don’t tell anyone I went soft on you or I’ll choke you with my Gucci.”

He laughed, and she smiled to herself, a bit revived after the nerve-racking events of the evening. Looking up to the rear-view, her eyes met the peaceful puppy, wiggling instinctively in his sleep, his ears folded back on his eyes like an umbrella protecting him from the outside world... and her grin grew even wider. It seemed like a young, carefree, hairy companion was exactly what Michelle needed to unwind, and put things into perspective.

A dim, blue light suddenly filled the passenger compartment of the car.

“Taylor asks how the babysitting is going,” Craig distractedly announced, typing something on his phone.

A puckish glint lit up in Michelle’s eyes, still focused on the road.

“Tell her she can come meet the little guy if she’d like.”

#endless summer #playchoices #pixelberry #choices stories you play #one-shot #writing #michelle nguyen #craig hsiao #long post

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