#so then I had to call the pharmacy AGAIN to let them know to expect it after lunch and to Please Fill It

[obstinatecondolement]

Wish it weren't such a Herculean task getting my fucking meds organised every time.

[masivechaos]

don't panic!

── ☆ dads! wolfstar x gn! reader

── ☆ Request: yes / no

── ☆ Synopsis: you get sick while Remus' at work and Sirius tries not to panic

── ☆ Warning/content: reader throws up, my English

── ☆ a.n.: 1k words-

masterlist/ marauders masterlist / navigation / taglist 

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.──

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

Remus was out for the day– working at his bookstore as always– leaving you and Sirius alone, as it was the winter holidays, you were back home from Hogwarts for two weeks.

Sirius thought he could handle it. After all he had been your father for the last 14 years, him and the werewolf adopting you when you were 2 and half, and he knew how to take care of you alone. Also, you were 16 now, old enough to occupy yourself alone without Sirius needing to watch after each of your actions to make sure you’re not doing anything stupid, like eating candle sticks (which you would often do around four years old).

But when at 10 in the morning, which was already suspicious– you were an early bird, you came into the living room with disheveled hair and drool in the corner of your mouth, Sirius felt like you were his six year-old little girl again.

“Papa… I threw up…” you said weakly, that was definitely not the way you wanted to wake up today.

Sirius’ face dropped. Remus was the one who knew how to deal with this, he was more composed and calmed. Everything was going to be okay, you were just a little sick, nothing severe he thought.

“I’m sorry, pup” he said as he rose from his seat and walked to you. “Where did you throw up? Your bed?”

You nodded, tired. “Tried to go to the bathroom but it was too late.”

He grabbed a tissue and wiped the corner of your lips “It’s alright, I’ll clean it up.” He was trying his best not to appear nervous in front of you. He pressed the back of his hand to your forehead “Merlin, pup. You’re burning.” You had fever, the alarm rang in his head.

He took a deep breath “I… It’s going to be alright,” he said for both you and him. “It’s just a fever” he whispered to himself. “You should take a shower. No a bath. Or maybe you need to go to the doctor. But should we go to a muggle one or a wizard one?” That was it, he was really panicking.

“No,” you chuckled tiredly. “It’s probably a stomach bug, I just need to rest.”

“Rest,” he repeated “Yeah rest okay, we can do that.”

SIrius led you to the sofa and let you lay there, pulling a blanket over you. “You need painkillers for the fever,” he reminded himself, cursing himself for not giving one to you earlier. “Uh… don’t move.”

You answered with a hum, there was no way you were going to move just a single toe.

Sirius stood in front of the pharmacy shelf… What muggle medication did you need again? After some time, he grabbed ibuprofen and hoped he got it right.

He came back with the pill and the water and saw how pale you looked. “Pup… are you okay?” he asked.

“I…” you whispered before gagging “I’m gonna–”

Sirius’ eyes widened. No, no, no Why didn’t he think of this earlier? Panicked, he rushed to the kitchen and grabbed the first bucket he could find, making the rest of the cupboard fall in the rush. He went into the living room again and placed the bucket underneath you, “It’s okay,” he whispered, trying not to let his worry show.

He patted your head as you threw up, trying to calm down. He waited for you to be done before he reached for the phone– he was never more thankful that Remus obligated them to have those muggle things.

He called Remus’ work number. “Remus?” he called anxiously

“Hi? Sirius, it’s you?” he asked, not expecting him to call.

“Yes uhm… Y/n threw up and has fever and I don’t know what to do, I already gave a painkiller but I don’t even know if it’s the good one and- and they threw up again and they look so tired, I’m so worried and I don’t know what to do.”

He heard Remus let out a short chuckle on the end of the line “Woah, Woah, Woah… calm down… I know it’s scary, but Y/n will be alright. Just stay by their side. You got this.”

“Are you sure? Because they look so pale and I’m so worried and- what if we need to go to the hospital?”

“We won’t need to go to the hospital. We’ll go to the doctor tomorrow and they’ll be fine in a week, alright? I come back home during my lunch break if it can help but please don’t panic”

“Okay,” Sirius said, “Okay…”

He hung up and went back to you “Hey, Pup… are you feeling a little better?” he said softly, managing a little better to hide his worry

You nodded, already almost asleep. Sirius went into your room and removed the dirty sheets, throwing them in the washing machine. He then grabbed the bucket and cleaned it up before putting him back next to the sofa. He stood there, watching you tenderly, he pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.

“Papa..” you whispered.

“Yes, pup?”

“Can you stay with me?”

Sirius smiled “Of course, pup.” He sat down next to you and wrapped his arms around your back, pulling you close.

–

Remus came back around noon, a little worried. He knew Sirius could manage to take care of you but he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. 

He opened the door only to find Sirius holding you, both of you asleep.

Remus smiled to himself. He could finally be reassured, you were alright. He walked closer to you both, pressing his lips to your forehead and then Sirius’ temple “Now, that’s my family” he whispered with a quiet chuckle.

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.───･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.──

⋆ ★ wolfstar! dads taglist: @ell0ra-br3kk3r @rhydianissuperior  @loveeharrington @princess-paramour @gilmore-angel @heartfucks @songs4themoon @moondemon123 @mystic-writings @siriusblackstwin-deactivated202 @goodoldfashionedluvergirl @garfieldsladybird @spookydarkwitch @duxpuella @imshiningjustforyou @vancitycharlie @doyouknowwhoyouare13 @venussflytraps @dori-and-gray @maddipoof

[finnsbubblegum]

I’m Sorry (Joel Miller X Reader)

Pairing: no-outbreak!joel miller x f!reader

Warnings: car accident, miscarriages (let me know if i missed any)

Summary (Series): reader as Joel’s neighbor. Joel’s wife left him so Joel asked his neighbor for help in babysitting Sarah. 

Words count: 1.7k

A/N: I’m trying to make this as a rom-com, hope you like my new series! This is part 15 of Where It All Starts. But it can also be read as a standalone. I'm so grateful for all of you! Thank you for your comments, reblogs, and likes ❤️ There are still more chapters for this series so stay tuned! Love you!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Epilogue

“Should we go to my parents house this weekend and tell them?” You were sitting on the exam bed while waiting for the doctor to print your sonogram picture.

“Yeah, that’s a great idea.” Joel nodded.

“Sorry it took so long. Here, I printed five for you. And don’t forget to get the vitamins at the pharmacy before you leave.” The doctor passed you the sonogram pictures and a prescription.

“Thank you, doc.” You and Joel thanked her.

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you on our next appointment.” She smiled.

“Do you want to wait here and sit while I get this?” Joel raised the prescription. 

“I’ll come with you.” You linked your arms to Joel’s.

“Hi, Joel.” A familiar woman and man stopped in front of the two of you.

Joel sighed. He didn’t expect to meet his ex-wife and her boyfriend again. At the obgyn in all of the places? 

“Hi.” You greeted them with a forced smile.

“Congratulations to both of you.” She pointed at the sonogram picture in Joel’s hand.

“Thank you.” You looked at her while you rubbed Joel’s arms.

“Congratulations to you too.” You pointed your eyes to her protruding belly.

Joel’s ex-wife was pregnant with her current boyfriend. She was bigger than you so it was obvious.

“I hope you’ll be a good mom this time.” Joel sarcastically said to his ex-wife. 

Even though it had been a few years, he was still hurt by her and he still hated her. He could never forgive her for what she had done. She failed her daughter but why did God give her a second chance to be a mother? He wondered. Life was not fair.

“It’s okay.” She grabbed her boyfriend's wrist as he stepped forward to Joel almost starting a fight.

“I will, Joel. I’m sorry. I hope to see Sarah sometime.” She brought up Sarah.

Joel groaned and rolled his eyes. You rubbed his arms with your thumb to calm him.

“Sure, we can set a time.” You smiled at her.

Joel turned his head to you and widened his eyes. He wanted to make his ex wife suffer by not allowing her to meet her daughter. 

“Thank you, (y/n). I hope you and your baby are healthy.” She put her hands on your upper arm.

“You too.” You smiled and parted ways.

In the car

“You okay, there?” You asked Joel as he was quiet since your meeting with his ex-wife.

He stayed quiet, not answering you.

“Joel, baby?” You called him.

He only hummed and looked straight while driving.

“I get it. You’re mad at me.” You nodded, holding the seatbelt on your chest.

“Yes, I’m mad at you. What the fuck was that?!” He raised his voice.

You trembled. Hands gripping your seatbelt tighter.

“You’ll let her see Sarah?!” He hit the steering wheel.

“I’m sorry. I just thought-I’m pregnant now and I know how a mother is connected to her baby. She grew Sarah inside her for 9 months, Joel.” You started sobbing.

“Don’t you dare cry now.” Joel growled.

“Joel, please. I’m sorry.” You cried.

“Fine, I’ll call her and tell her she can’t see Sarah anymore. If that’s what you want.” You took out your phone.

“Don’t.” Joel started driving faster.

“What do I do? What do you want me to do?” You sobbed.

Joel cleared his throat and didn’t answer you.

“Joel! Slow down! You’re gonna get us killed!” You screamed.

He kept on pressing the gas pedal and speeding up.

“Joel! Please! Stop the car! Stop it!” You cried as you screamed.

Joel hit the brake suddenly as he saw the red light. You panted as the car stopped so suddenly. Then the light turned green and Joel pressed on the gas pedal again.

"Baby, I'm sor-" Joel didn't finish his sentence. 

*car crash*

A speeding car suddenly crashed from the left side. Joel’s reflex tried his best to turn the car avoiding the crash but the car turned in circles. You screamed as the car turned. Your hand instinctively wrapped around your belly protecting your baby inside your belly. You hit your head as the car crashed. You and Joel blacked out for a moment. 

“Baby..” Joel opened his eyes and groaned at the pain. 

Joel turned his head to you but you were unconscious. He panicked and hurriedly took off his seatbelt. He was shaking.

“Baby, can you hear me?” His bloody hands cupped your cheeks.

“Baby, open your eyes. Open your eyes for me, baby, please.” Joel tapped your cheeks with his palms and sobbed.

Your ears were ringing and your vision was blurry. You blinked your eyes a few times as you heard his voice. All you could see was him, blood and pieces of glass everywhere.

“Where are you hurt?” Joel looked up and down to your body.

“J-joel..” You called his name.

“Baby, you hurt? Tell me.” He cupped your cheeks.

“Wait here. I’ll get you out.” Joel immediately got out of the car and ran to your side. 

He was in pain but he ignored it. Your safety was his priority. You were more important than him. 

“Come here, put your arms around me. I got you, baby. I got you.” Joel put his arms around you to help you out ignoring his pain.

“J-joel. I’m in pain.” You shakily put your hand on your abdomen and squeezed it.

“I know, I know. I need to get you out first. Come on.” Joel tried to lift you.

“Joel, the baby.. I can’t lose the baby.” You cried as you felt warm liquid flowing to your thigh.

“Shit.” Joel looked down to your skirt and saw blood.

“Joel..” You cried looking through his eyes.

“Eyes on me, baby. Eyes on me. Don’t look down.” He tried not to panic so you didn’t panic.

“Joel, everything hurts..” You cried on his shoulder as he dragged you out of the car. 

“Somebody call the ambulance!” Joel shouted.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry.” Joel cradled your head as he laid you on the ground.

Thankfully, a stranger called an ambulance and they came right away. The paramedic laid you on the wheeled stretcher and Joel’s heart broke. He blamed himself. He didn’t know what he should do. He followed you inside the ambulance and held your hand throughout the way to the hospital. You squeezed his hand in pain and he brought your hand to his lips.

“Please help my wife. She’s pregnant.” Joel begged the nurse as she brought you inside.

“Sir, you need to get treated too.” The nurse invited him to the examination bed to get treated.

Joel’s head was bleeding. His bones probably dislocated or fractured but he didn’t care. His focus was only you. He felt extremely guilty and his chest hurt. 

“Sir, we’re sending your wife to the operating room. It’s best if you get treated while you wait.” The nurse repeated again.

“Save her, please.” Joel sobbed. 

“We’ll try our best.” The nurse smiled.

Then Joel followed the nurse and got treated. He called Tommy to watch Sarah for a while but he told him not to tell Sarah what happened. Then he waited for a few hours and shook his legs in anxiety. Joel stood up right away when you were brought out from the operating room.

“How is she?” Joel asked the doctor with his casted arm.

“Sir, I’m so sorry for your loss. We couldn’t save your baby. And your wife needs a lot of rest. We need you to stay strong for her.” The doctor felt bad for telling Joel such bad news.

Joel cried as he looked at your weak body laying on the hospital bed. The nurses pushed your bed to your room while Joel followed beside you. Joel stayed beside you all the time when you were still sleeping because of the drugs.  He slept resting his head on the bed beside you, holding your hand, never letting you go. In his mind, he kept thinking how he would tell you when you regain your consciousness.

“Joel?” You whispered as you opened your eyes a little.

Joel raised his head right away when he heard you call his name.

“Hey, I’m here, baby. I’m here.” Joel stroked your head.

“Where am I?” You tried to remember what happened and your head hurts.

“You’re in the hospital. We got into a car accident.” He explained the main points.

“My head hurts.” You put your hand on your head then your stomach.

“Joel- The baby. Please, tell me it’s okay.” You started panting as you panicked.

“Baby-I-” Joel couldn’t find his words.

“Joel-please-” You sobbed.

“I-I’m sorry.” He cried.

“Joel! No! Please!” You cried gripping his shirt.

“I’m sorry, baby. It was my fault. I’m sorry.” He cried and buried your head to his chest hugging you tight.

You cried so loud. Your tears wet his shirt. You didn’t expect this would happen. 

“Bring him back! Bring him back, please!” You screamed and tried to get out of the bed looking for the doctors.

You used him for your unborn child because you could feel it would be a boy. But now he’s gone. Your baby boy was gone. Your heart was shredded into pieces at the fact you couldn’t protect your baby.

“Baby, you need to lay down. You need rest.” Joel held you from standing up.

“Don’t touch me!” You threw his hand away from you.

“It’s all your fault! None of this would happen if you didn’t speed up!” You yelled at him. Tears falling down your cheeks.

“I hate you! I hate you! And I hate myself!” You took off the IV needle that was inserted on the back of your hand and stood up.

The nurses came inside as you tried to leave the room. They held you and put you back to your bed. Your heart rate was rising and they decided to give you sedatives to calm you down. Joel cried as he saw you like that. He was guilt-ridden and helpless. He never wanted to hurt you and now you hate him. 

To be continued…

A/N: I wasn’t planning about this but when I was writing for this chapter my hands kept typing it this way. I don’t know if you like it but I hope you like it!! ❤️

Taglist:

@lovelyygirl8 @skysmiller @moonlightdivine @crocodiile @angie2274 @pulchritudinousrogers @peqchsoup @msecho19 @happinessinthebeing @nyotamalfoy @nakedmoondiaries @dzaga890 @pa1g3-t0mm0 @prettysbliss @wanniiieeee @one-sweet-gubler @x-ap0llo-x @feministfanboi @ordinarylokix @afterglowsb-tch13 @padgraysonssram8re @tomorrowseverything @hummusxx @iranispunk @mrsyixingunicorn10 @likeanimagepassingby2 @mediocrewallflow3r @pedr0swh0r3 @mxtokko @dorck26 @cascactus28 @cheyxfu @stupidthoughtsinwriting @undermoonlightwalk @bigmoodyjoody @humanbug @sarahhxx03 @krisviciousx @quixscentsposts @dgct2 @dgraysonss @heybabyshae @fluffyspaceprincess @toottmblr @avengersfan25 @xixxala @dianaffddz @onzayhe @violetwitchmcu @welcometomyworldwithoutrules @kelh27

[hexgaywire]

"Taking Care of You While You're Sick" (HC)

[Nijisanji EN Boys Edition]

Ft. Vox Akuma, Sonny Brisko, Ren Zotto, And Hex Haywire

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Disclaimer and Reminder; this is based on the characters made by NIJISANJI, not the people behind the character voicing them. If in the future the person expresses or states that fics of this nature makes them uncomfortable I will 100% remove this or anything I write about the characters involved.

F,M,GN?: GN

Warning: Ren swearing like once? Other than that none

Word count: 958

Authors note: Listen if I had to pick one man from each group to take care of me it would be these four. I'm being selfish, I'm sick, and biased but I hope you enjoy regardless. (This is also really short, I wanted to write some feel good stuff, I'm sorry)

Reminder that my requests are open! If you wanna send me one please do!

-------- ••• ------- ✧ °✧° ✧ -------- ••• -------

Vox is very observant and notices you're a little off right away

He takes to canceling whatever he and you have on your schedule today

You have errands to run, laundry to do, homework to do? Too bad you've been bed ridden

He refuses to let you put any stress on until you're 100% better

Vox takes you home and sets you up to be comfortable

"I have to make a quick run to the grocery store, call me if you need me for anything"

He really was quick because it couldn't have been more than 15 minutes before he returns with an arms full of groceries

He fixes you a cup of tea, checking your temperature while you sip on it

Vox rummages around in the groceries and pulls out some fever reducers and gives them to you to take

While you relax he makes you the best soup you've ever had

You didn't realize how hungry you were until you ate, Vox is just happy you're enjoying his cooking

Vox insists on staying the night and won't take no for an answer

He may be a (voice) demon but he's a demon who cares for his clan

Sonny works a lot so he's a little slow to figure out your sick

It was a cough in the middle of a sentence you tried to suppress that got him

Once he realizes your sick, similar to Vox, he sends you home immediately making sure you are not doing anything else except for focusing on getting better

He ties up things at work quickly so he can come over and take care of you, he even takes a couple days off just for good measure

You're not expecting the VSF Commander knocking at your door with your favorite comfort food, meds, and vitamins

But you know it's always welcome

After he makes sure you eat he cleans up for you and then suggests you go lie down on the couch

Sonny does some light food prep for you so you don't have to strain yourself when your hungry

You fade in and out of consciousness while you watch Sonny Brisko putt around your home taking care of little things

When you eventually drift off to sleep he gently checks your temperature with his hand and deems you stable enough to carry to your bed

After tucking you in he can't in good conscience leave, what if something happens??

Sonny grabs a wet cloth to place on your head and eventually sits by the edge of you bed to watch over you

He too eventually passes out and when you wake up you see him there...

You feel safe and cared for knowing Sonny is at arms reach, just for you.

Ren is still learning about human culture

So when your voice comes out horse, he laughs and asks

"What's up with your voice?"

You explain to him that you aren't feeling well today and apologize

"YOUR SICK!? Oh shit uh I've been told about how to deal with this! Let me help you? Please."

How could you say no to him

Ren whisks you away to your room stating it was crucial for humans to get plenty of rest when they aren't feeling well

You can't argue with that and tell Ren you'll take a nap

Once he's sure you're asleep, he runs out to the pharmacy

He returns with almost the entire pharmacy, just in case....

You awake again when Ren places a towel on your head

He smiles down at you hand hands you some water as you sit up

"Staying hydrated is also important when you're sick, the towel thing is also important for... something probably"

You laugh as he rustles around grabbing something else

He hands you a fist full of pills, that's when you notice the stack of medicine boxes behind him

You gently explain to him that taking that amount of medicine could potentially make you more sick

You list off a few medicine names and he hands them to and you take them

"I guess I still have a few things to learn when it comes to taking care of humans..."

You gently squeeze his hands and thank him for being here, because being sick alone is scary

You're lucky Ren is here

Being sick often, Hex hones in that your feeling sick before you do

"You should head home. You're sick."

You're dumbfounded you had stuff that needed to be done, but your thoughts of work are interrupted by the oncoming of a splitting migraine

Resigning with a sigh you excuse yourself to your home

Not two minutes after you settle into bed you get a knock at your door

You're greeted by Hex carrying his favorite soup for the both of you

You invite him in and he asks you to sit and he'll grab anything you need

While the two of you eat Hex turns into a mother hen and asks you for all your symptoms and how your feeling, constantly checking on you

Hex is honestly an angel, he cleans up after you eat, grabs your medicine from your medicine cabinet, he even offers to do any chores you need immediate help with

You feel selfish for making him worry

He assures you that you'd do the same for him, you have done the same for him

It's the least he can do to help ease the burden while your sick

He helps you back to bed and meekly asks if you want him to stay

You'd be honored to have him stay especially since he's such a good caretaker

You thank him for his help and again he says he's just happy to look after you

-------- ••• ------- ✧ °✧° ✧ -------- ••• -------

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Febuwhump Day 7 - Suffering in Silence

LU in Healthcare! Feat. Warriors and Legend, PTSD and difficulties with empathy and difficult patients

XXX

Warriors rolled his eyes as he heard the patient yelling.

Legend shot him a bemused, somewhat disconcerted look. "Look, I get people can be dramatic, but he is hurting."

"He bruised his hip," Warriors snapped. "I've seen the films. Literally nothing is broken. He has no medical history to denote that this is aggravating something that already exists. And he's screaming for the entire ER to hear. He needs to suck it up. I gave him an ice pack to hold him over until the pain meds get verified by the pharmacist, I'm not denying him anything, but this is excessive."

"Yes," Legend agreed as the man screamed again, making people pause and turn their heads. "It is excessive. But maybe he's never had a bruised bone before. They hurt. He's in pain. People express pain differently."

"Obviously," Warriors grumbled, rubbing his forehead as a headache developed with another yell from the room.

Legend watched him, his eyes becoming more discerning. "Link... just because you've been through some serious shit doesn't mean everyone else should understand that. I... I get that the military makes you build a tolerance, but not everyone goes through that."

Warriors paused, closing his eyes and trying to regulate his breathing as the patient hit the call bell.

"I... look, I can tell you're angry, and I can't really... understand why, but--"

"Because people here get to just make demands and expect us to wait on them hand and foot when others are dealing with so much worse and never ask for such things," Warriors snapped before he could stop himself.

Yes. This patient was in pain. Yes. He would treat said pain. It was cruel not to do so. But that wasn't the issue, it was the entitlement, the demands that came with it. I'm in pain, I can't reach something that's within reach. I'm in pain, give me food. Why can't I get fucking food? My mouth is so fucking dry and you're denying me that?! Warriors had heard it again and again, had explained multiple times to multiple people that if someone is going to get surgery they can't ingest anything or they might vomit and aspirate during surgery, he'd seen a grandmother with a broken hip politely deny pain medication and apologize for even needing to be there while others like this one made sure to let the entire world know he had a bruise.

Fuck. Warriors chewed on his lip. Civilian life was certainly different.

Legend huffed mildly. Although the army nurse expected some snippy remark, his friend instead bounced his eyebrows briefly and looked away. "Yeah, I get that." But then the travel nurse looked back at him, holding eye contact. "But you can't take it out on him."

He's still a person. He still deserves respect. He's in a rough spot and you know it.

Warriors sighed and nodded, walking away. He needed space to calm down, somewhere he couldn't hear the screaming.

The screaming. The agonizing screaming of his brothers-in-arms as they lost legs, as they bled to death with nothing he could do about it. The patient's yells pitched higher, morphing into a woman's yells instead, and Warriors felt his heart stop. His world shifted, he wasn't in an ER anymore, not in Castle Town, not in--

"Hey, looks like pharmacy verified the med," Legend said from the nurses' station. "I'll give him the medicine, okay?"

Warriors swallowed, leaning against the wall, counting to ten over and over and over. "Yeah. Okay."

[neuroprincess]

Abbott Elementary - Having a second baby with Melissa Schemmenti (Headcanon)

Melissa Schemmenti/Female Reader

Classification: Fluff, Angst

Warnings: High-risk pregnancy, slight smut reference

Word count: +4100

Part One | Part Two (soon)

- The idea of a second baby wasn't in your original plans and both of you are so caught up in being first time mothers that at no point does it cross your mind, but surprisingly it does Melissa's mind. During Luca's one-year anniversary party she comments on how only one of them doesn't seem enough, a thought that returns in the quiet of the night a couple of weeks later after she watches you breastfeed your son while she reads him bedtime stories. The feeling of domesticity and joy doesn't leave her mind, so the redhead knows she definitely wants to have a second Schemmenti baby;  

- She is a little nervous to bring up this topic, after all, you did it the first time and there is a background of fear that she is burdening you with the desire for another baby so early, LuLu is still between comings and goings in weaning, now he can run, speak small sentences and has the whole process of defraying the child, in addition to the routine of working mothers, the ups and downs that can yield a great night's sleep or a next day with an extra dose of caffeine. However the idea of your children being close in age and being best friends speaks louder, scenarios are formed of you walking with them, how Luca would be with his younger sibling, etc;  

- This is what the teacher keeps in mind as a source of courage to bring up the topic while you are doing the nightly routine, she has all the pros and cons on the tip of the tongue, presenting everything eagerly, if she had given you time to speak she would have heard a simple "Yes, I do!", which happens after half an hour of speech;  

- LuLu is about to complete his third semester of life when you finally make a first attempt after going through the whole process of hormones, consultations and procedures again. There aren't many expectations considering that the happy news of the coming of the firstborn came only on the third attempt and you thought you would have to go through the whole emotional roller coaster of negatives because unlike the previous pregnancy there was no nausea, swelling, mood swings and period came down before the 14 days to take the test. But one day before the boy's first daycare presentation you felt sick while Mel was helping him practice the dance, holding on to a thread of hope you do a pharmacy test, not believing the results, another four are done, and finally a call to the obstetrician because you don't understand the lack of symptoms, finding out it's normal to still have periods in the beginning. You let a tear of joy fall, the Schemmenti family is growing; 

- The next day you suffer trying to hide the excitement and after leaving work early do a blood test, just confirming the pregnancy. It's too much to keep to yourself, you can't wait to tell your wife and almost cry while watching your son dancing in a lion costume, reminding you how small and cute he still is, realizing that soon there will be another one, if fate decides another mini Melissa. And he seems to feel, as some theories on the internet say, suddenly running up to you after the presentation, not wanting to leave you until arriving home and when the redhead realizes she starts joking about it (because she is the favorite so far), at the same moment you throw into the air any plans to make an elaborate surprise, mentioning that babies feel when their moms are pregnant again. She can barely contain emotion as she hugs you, thanking you for the family you are giving her, and Luca, even not knowing exactly what it means, is the "big bwudda";  

- Then you have to explain to him in a ludic way about how the family would grow and soon there would be a baby, which you represent with a teddy bear, the boy doesn't understand the concepts very well, but seems like a good thing so he smiles joining in the cheer, which you understand as a good sign while hugging him lovingly;  

- It was just finding out about the pregnancy that the baby started to show it was there, in the first trimester morning sickness hits you one to three times during the day, more than in the other pregnancy, in compensation there are fewer trips to the bathroom, nausea is selective to very sweet or strong smells, contradicting all the maternity books you feel more energetic and to everyone's delight you don't reject any food, in fact your appetite increases, your wife constantly feeds you, happy to say you eat for two;  

- Barb is the first to know, even before the Schemmenti family, and it's LuLu who unwittingly tells her about the pregnancy. It's one of the Friday dinners you have with the Howard couple, the boy is on her lap eating some tortellis when Gerald talks about his older brother, the wife getting excited about some story about the same and of course your son was jealous of that, trying to get her attention back to himself, so he lets out the news excitedly "I'm a big bwudda!". The table goes silent and the best friends stare at each other, Gerald stares at you, then everyone stares at Luca and you sigh, trying to explain that the plan was to tell them in a different way, standing up to show the little 10 week bulge. The couple rushes to congratulate you, hugging your family ecstatic and happy to be a part of this new phase, just as Melissa was with them when they had Taylor and Gina; 

- The next to know were your family members, you waited until the first trimester to tell them considering it was safer due to the possibility of miscarriage in this period. First is your family and then the Schemmenti, they can't believe that their daughter is giving them two grandchildren in a row when they had already given up on having just one come from her, so no surprise that her mother cries with happiness when she receives a cardigan and crocheted little shoes, while her father receives a mini Philadelphia Phillies uniform printed with the number 9, along with a note saying that now he has a baseball team (his favorite sport) of grandchildren. There are lots of hugs, kisses, expert parenting advice and a new trip through the photo album, now focusing on your wife with the siblings, especially with Kristin Marie because they are for sure the most chaotic duo and have the best photos, LuLu loves to see everything pointing out who is who repeating with Nonna;  

- Kristin only gets a t-shirt written "Worst Auntie" thrown at her, it's kind of fun to watch the two insult each other and the blonde dropping the worst stuff about Melissa while telling you to pray that the child, who she already calls Gizmo #2, isn't born identical. Like the fact that her sister threw a chair at her before they turned 10. And the fact that she lives covered in bites in the shared nursery. This is confirmed by their mom. A week later she is proudly wearing the t-shirt while Luca wears a small one with "Worst Nephew" written on it, which she herself ordered to match. Melissa's nightmare becomes more and more reality, the two are joined at the hip, after all, they are two Gremlins;  

- The team is not so surprised by the news, living with you every day they notice little signs that remind them of the first pregnancy, the limitations, the nausea, the glow and all the extra care that Melissa has around. On your day off you show up at school, your son in one arm and a box of decorated cupcakes in the other, you are wearing a light and loose dress, like the other clothes for keeping the pregnancy hidden. She approaches and scolds you for carrying so much weight, which is contraindicated by the doctor, how it can harm you and the baby as well, Barb joins in and the two of them make you sit in the common room waiting for the rest of the staff. They soon show up, without any surprise going to attack the box, except for Gregory, and open big smiles when seeing the theme of the decoration. Janine is the first to run to hug you, followed by Jacob and then the rest of them in a big group hug, all joking as they already knew; 

- As soon as she found out that you are pregnant, the redhead bet the baby's gender, being absolutely sure that you are having a little daughter, she always uses the fact that the Schemmenti have a good intuition and are good at betting in her favor. LuLu seems to agree. This time you also enter the bet, believing faithfully that you will have another boy, just like Mr. Johnson, Gregory and Barb. Alongside Melissa are Janine and Jacob, Ava is the one who mediates the bet. And she is the one who is responsible for the revelation for the matter of impartiality, at 16 weeks the gender can finally be seen in an ultrasound, the result is passed to her. It's a weekend event, all of them and family members are gathered in the home garden, each one is dressed in the color of their bet, you look anxiously at the big balloon (which may be filled with light green = boy or lilac = girl) that Ava is carrying and you choke with surprise when your son approaches with the little plastic fork, poking the latex with curiosity. Dust falling on both of them, leaving him covered in lilac. Mel got it right... again; 

- She is called "Tesoro", "Piccola", "Dolce" and "Cara Mia", all nicknames in Italian referring to how small and calm the baby is, almost no trouble at all, delicate face and fingers whenever appearing on the ultrasound, the little girl doesn't step on your internal organs that often and seems to sleep most of the time. She is also her "Sweetheart", this seems to be the favorite because even though your daughter is calm she has temperamental days and your back suffers the consequences for the change of mood, being called by her Mama like this seems to be the only thing that makes her stop moving;  

- Music is another thing that calms her down, while Luca liked to listen to children's books and long talks, she likes music, any kind of music that Mel, and only Mel, sings makes her a good girl for the rest of the day;  

- The second trimester starts out peaceful, she doesn't show up as much as her brother did and you still don't have to change clothes sizes, even though you eat twice what you did before, with a great appetite that extends to the beginning of strange cravings, a preference for sour and crunchy things, sometimes mixing both, luckily this seems to make the nausea cease. There is still some dizziness, headaches and although not gaining as much weight you feel the legs are swollen. Emotions stabilize after weeks of mood swings, libido increases, you become more physically affectionate. The breasts increase significantly and this is Melissa's doom, you catch her staring at them brazenly many times, after the initial shyness she asks to touch them too, barely being able to hide how this excites and delights her;  

- She knows very well how stretch marks from giving birth can still bother you, so imagine how much you suffer in anticipation with the body changes happening, before it starts to bother you more or make you feel insecure the redhead shows up at home with a dozen specific body creams for stretch marks and massage. You try to argue that these marks only appear in the third trimester, without success, she argues how prevention and moisturizing the skin are great allies for when this moment arrives, but you both know it's just an excuse for her to give you long and tender massages; 

- Of course you have experienced the effect of pregnancy on your sexual life before, when you were expecting Luca you barely had sex for months and when it happened was just intense. But this time your libido is at an all time high, every massage or simple touch can make you extremely excited. Melissa is more than happy to satisfy your desires, even if it means morning sex for a whole week or you waking her up in the middle of the night to tell that you are too horny and want her to work it out;  

- This is what goes through her mind when you wake her up in the middle of the night, instinctively turning to kiss you and green eyes twitching in confusion at the sight of the scared expression on your face, pointing to the sheets where a bloodstain is forming between the legs. She gets up waking up immediately, looking for warm clothes and towels to take you to the hospital, Barb and Gerald arrive in less than 15 minutes to stay with Luca, the great friend praying for you the second you walk out the door, your wife having to practically carry you as the abdominal and lower back pain is too much to handle. Neither of you cry on the quick car ride, but Melissa tries to reassure you that everything will be okay, that the daughter is strong, words she herself tries to believe struggling not to let fear and panic take over her as well. She wants to be strong for you. When the nurses rush you to the emergency room, she lets her tears come out;

- After a series of exams, which the teacher accompanies without letting your hand go, the doctor reassures you that it is not a miscarriage, as everyone feared when they saw your situation, but that you have a high risk pregnancy due to preeclampsia that developed from the fourth month on, which you didn't even realize, thinking that the occasional dizziness, headaches and swelling were part of the package. This condition provide high risks for placental abruption, the cause of the pain and bleeding. She ends by saying how lucky you are that it was a minor episode, otherwise there would have been a high possibility of losing your baby girl, which she calls a miracle; 

- From this moment the pregnancy is treated as high risk, besides the complications of the condition there is the constant danger of a very premature birth that would put both of your lives at risk, medications are administered to prevent contractions and the worst from happening. A birth plan is drawn up in which the priority is that you carry the baby the longest time your body allows. Just the idea and all the complex medical terms scare you to death, Melissa is freaking out inside and as much as she tries to hide you feel it in every touch or word, she is 10x more delicate and protective than she ever was before;  

- Your diet is completely adapted with low salt and foods that do not contribute to the increase in blood pressure, you have to measure pressure every day to check if it is under control, after all, the only cure is childbirth. She is super supportive and shares the same meals, no matter how much both hate it because you are used to heavy and full of spices dishes. LuLu is the only one who continues to eat normally, with a lot of tantrums he refuses to eat the same thing, but deep down you know that your wife helps him to finish the dish, the intention is what counts;  

- And the main recommendation is absolute rest, it drives you completely crazy, not for having to stay in bed most of the time or sitting outside, but for Mel watching you like a hawk 24/7. She accompanies you to all the appointments, monitors the medication, gives you massages every night, makes sure you don't make any unnecessary effort, that you get all the love and care. Melissa becomes more protective than ever and does everything to make sure you are well, the first thing is to convince you concentrate exclusively on taking care of yourself and focus on the pregnancy, which makes you a full-time housemom/housewife, without the housework part. Do you want to mop the floor? She can do it while you sit in the armchair. Luca is running around the house having a tantrum? Don't stress, she can handle it. If you asked the moon, be sure that she would give it to you, symbolically or otherwise. She is a naturally overprotective person with those she loves, but when you got pregnant with LuLu you saw the worst side of this trait, which only got worse with the second pregnancy. The redhead is clearly stressed, not surprisingly as a working mom and wife, added to the fact that she won't let you do anything to help; 

- This situation only improves when you reach seven months, which was almost impossible according to the doctors' expectations, you have a history that only contributes to negative predictions, the previous birth having been premature too, even if only by two weeks, preeclampsia and placental abruption are the triad of your risky pregnancy. Melissa lies down next to you after her biweekly appointment, head resting gently against your 28-week belly, she mentally notes that she still has to do a nightly massage, but the tiredness is just too much. Sleep almost takes over until she jumps up when feels something, the always calm and quiet little girl kicks for the first time, right in her face. It's not very strong, just enough for both of you to feel and see the small foot move against skin, it's frighteningly enchanting for both of you, she is so involved that even forgets to record it immediately, finally managing to record a few seconds of movement. Of course the baby had moved several times before, but never kicked like this, it's as if she wants to reassure her moms that everything will be okay. This is the first time in months that you sleep peacefully and well;  

- Luca didn't understand what being pregnant and being a big brother meant until the beginning of the last trimester, right after his two year old birthday. At the party Sofia's mother, the girl who is his best friend and also second cousin, shows up at the party with a baby in arms, he had seen her pregnant with a huge belly and suddenly the dots connected in his little childish mind. You are going to have one of those smaller creatures and he cried a lot during the event in realization feeling deceived, he really believed that you were going to give him a teddy bear, explaining why he constantly asked about when the baby was going to come home. What you do the next day, a small bribe to explain to him again about the baby sister's arrival, LuLu is a little upset about having to share moms with someone else, but soon cheers up when you talk about him having someone to play and make a mess with every day; 

- The little girl will have her own room, initially you thought of making the siblings share the nursery, but you gave up after Kristin Marie's revelations and the possibilities of them disturbing each other's sleeping routine, it also seems easier to take care of them separately. The extra room, for a long time used as storage for the hundreds of toys and educational supplies, is soon renovated, her cousins assume the function, giving you a lilac room, the furniture is in gray and Ipe wood, a large closet full of clothes you bought and won. Just like the firstborn's, there is no specific theme chosen. Days later you realize that some stuffed animals have disappeared from his room, the search for the lost toys leads you to the newly assembled nursery where most of them are, lying around, sloppily decorating the lower shelves, and the one you gave him for birthday is in the crib. "My sissy gonna like Romy!" Luca says excitedly pointing to the bunny, which has been named Romy. You and Melissa face each other, a big tender smile, deeply touched by the cuteness and lovability of your son, delighted at how he is going to be a good big brother;  

- You read dozens of name idea books, in the end being between Carina and Olivia, the first considered for the meaning "Pure, Beloved" and Olivia for being a name Mel has always liked, plus it means "Peace". As a good big brother, LuLu wants to be part of the choice of his sister's name, upon hearing the options he immediately falls in love with Olivia. Little hands touch your belly lovingly as he talks to her, calling her Liv all the time, because he can't speak the whole name, and asks if sissy Liv, as he now calls her, can hear him, she kicks against the little hand as an answer. He stands delightedly celebrating and when you look to the side you find your wife in tears watching their interaction; 

- Olivia's entire pregnancy was a big roller coaster, no matter how much you planned the process in anticipation everything seems to have gotten out of hand in many ways, she was an initially asymptomatic baby, had a disastrous baby shower, then the development of preeclampsia and the placental abruption that scared you to death, from that point on there was so much worry that you almost forgot to enjoy the pregnancy. Of course she would make her arrival another scary roller coaster ride. The day after you are completed 33 weeks of pregnancy and the day before the appointment with the obstetrician you feel a pain so intense that you can hardly get out of bed, the redhead immediately comes to rescue. Everything is very fast, she runs around the house gathering items and Luca on the way to take you to the hospital, first leaving the child with the grandparents, before you notice you are already in the hospital bed with the doctor saying that labor is too advanced to be delayed. Liv decided this is a good day to come into the world;  

- Melissa holds your hand the whole time and says a hundred encouraging words, trying to reassure you that everything will be okay, it's almost 8 intense hours of powerful contractions and lots of swearing until dilation allows you to have the baby. You've had a baby before, taken classes, already knew what to expect and you're still scared at the moment of pushing, a hundred possibilities running through mind while the nurse tells you to push again. Your wife looks you in the eye, a proud smile on the face and whispers "You can do it Amore mio, she's almost here, just one more...", this gives you the strength to keep facing the fear and pain. Minutes later she kisses your forehead telling you how proud she is when you both see the little human in the doctor's hands, but the happiness is immediately replaced by extreme worry, there is no crying, no movement and the staff moves to do the Apgar score on the newborn, you are freaking out inside waiting for someone to tell what is going on. Soon the nurse appears with the little bundle of joy wrapped in a blanket and a smile on her lips, you and Melissa look at each other relieved; 

- There is a reason why the birth was so exhausting for you and worrying for the doctor, why she didn't even cry, Liv literally was born sleeping, making absolutely no effort to help you through the process. Which is a reason to laugh after all the tension. The little girl is so small, calm and fragile that you are too afraid to touch her. Olivia Ann Schemmenti came into the world at 6pm, just one month after her brother's birthday, 4 pounds and 17 inches consistent with prematurity, a copy of you with Melissa's eyes, the opposite of LuLu in personality, perfect in every way, your little miracle. 

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Schemmenti Family Masterlist

[idontlikeem]

guess who's baaaaack to talk at the void about sad stuff againnnnnnn

don't read if grief and death will trigger you

also don't read if you're going to take this back to your little group chat and titter about how overdramatic and pathetic and pseudo-intellectual i'm trying to be. or do. i can't stop you. make your own peace with that i guess

so next saturday is my mom's....i guess memorial is the best thing to describe it as. a bunch of her friends are coming into town, and me and my family obviously, and we're going to a place that was special to her to read some poems and scatter some of her ashes. i'm driving back on monday and spending the week at my dad's. i have a really busy day tomorrow so i was trying to get most of my packing done today.

and like...what do you pack for something like that? it's not a church thing so there isn't your church-standard dress code, i'd know what to do with that. so i kind of just walked into my closet, glanced around, and threw it all into my suitcase without looking too closely at anything i picked.

i'm a notorious overpacker. something mom always used to laugh at me for when i'd come home for holidays, but really it's her fault, she was too, it's one of the many things i got from her. i keep telling myself that this next trip is the one where i'll use my packing cubes and really be thoughtful and judicious about what i pack instead of bringing 20 pairs of underwear for a weekend trip because what if i shit myself six times a day. that sort of thing. buuut.....this trip, i didn't really even try. my suitcase is stuffed and honestly....

i've been fighting off flashbacks for the last two weeks, as this trip got closer and i had to finalize coverage for my time off, let people know i'd be out of town, etc. i keep zoning out in the middle of the day, in the middle of tasks at work even, and suddenly i'm back to the days leading up to when my mom died, the things i said and did, and even the day itself. i was walking today to packet pick-up for my run tomorrow and suddenly it was february and i was walking in a daze to the pens-wild game up here, the night before i drove back to my parents' because i already had my ticket and my dad called me that morning to tell me i needed to come down—frankly, me driving that day wouldn't have been safe anyway. but i walked the same path and it was like i was there again, knowing what was coming the next day and trying to pretend it wasn't happening so i could TRY to enjoy this game.

(i did. a dear friend of mine reached out to the pens and had them bring me a game puck at intermission. it didn't help, like, not really, but the fact that someone was thinking of me enough to do that definitely did. that puck lives at my desk at work now.)

or like, i'm sitting at work in the middle of some boring admin task i have to do, half listening to the finance bros i work with talk about the vikings, and all of a sudden it's this past superbowl, and my mom just got home from the hospital and i had to drive to go get her meds from the pharmacy that were absolutely critical for her to have that night, but they wouldn't give them to me because the pharmacist fucked up the intake of the prescription and my dad had to call the doctor and have it reissued.

or my youngest brother texts me something, and i'm back calling him the morning she died, telling him he needed to leave work and drive down now because there were only a few hours left. he didn't make it in time. i had to wait outside the house when i saw he was getting close on find my friends to tell him. he collapsed into my arms sobbing when he realized why i was crying so hard standing out there waiting for him.

it's scary. it keeps happening. i did not expect that eight months later the memories of that week would still be so immediately present in my head, nor did i think i'd be experiencing this. i don't know what my brain is doing or why, and i don't know what to do to make this stop.

(therapy, yes. medication, possibly. less repression, most definitely. how does one find the time to get that stuff set up when there's still so much else that needs to be done every day to simply survive?)

i have to read a poem next week. my mom picked three, one for each of me and my brothers. we are supposed to decide who does what, and none of us want to be the one to voice an opinion. it's going to have to be me who starts that off, because i'm the oldest.

how am i supposed to do this?

[kingovharts]

Okay so i know you already did a long version of this but i love the confusion that comes with it.

The opposite of that ask you had. The ROs thinking a mozzie bite is a hickey during the crushing stage 😅❤️

I have already answered the one where ROs mistook a hickey as a mosquito bite here.

I will just make this as a continuation of that ask!

Under the cut cuz I don't trust myself keeping this short lol.

Yudai Sakaguchi: Happy noises. Honk honk!

"Oh, MC, I see you had fun again last night. You have a hickey on your neck, again," Yudai said as you got into the car. The two of you had agreed to eat at a Japanese restaurant since he was craving some katsu-don.

"Ah, haha, Yu, it's a real mosquito bite this time," you replied, feeling embarrassed. Last time, he thought your hickey was a mosquito bite, but this time it was the opposite.

Yudai's smile widened. "Oh, then I guess we have to stop by a pharmacy to buy you an ointment for that hickey of yours."

"Mosquito bite," you corrected.

"That's large enough to mistake for a hickey," he retorted.

In summary, he had fun teasing you all day about this mosquito bite of yours.

⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆

Vivienne Ramos: Is very very very embarrassed.

"Did Jenna forget to be careful again when giving you hickeys in noticeable places?" Vivienne asked after noticing the small purple patch on your neck once more.

The two of you are in your family's car on the way to meet your father. You recalled the time when Vivienne mistook a hickey for a mosquito bite. It seems she thought the same thing this time.

"Ah, Viv, no. It's a real mosquito bite this time," you replied, turning to face Vivienne and showing her your neck to prove it.

Vivienne fell silent for a moment, taking her time to examine the purple patch on your neck.

"I see. I apologise for assuming," Vivienne said, her eyes avoiding yours.

⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆

Héctor Alonso: Is also amused lol. Ready to call pest control.

"I know I really shouldn't invade your privacy too much, but could you ask your activity partner not to give you hickeys where people can easily see them? Look, it's on your neck again! What are they, a vampire?" Héctor greeted you with fake scolding as soon as you entered the living room.

"Thank you for your concern, Héctor. I'll be sure to let them know next time. Unfortunately, this time it's a real mosquito bite," you responded, noticing Héctor holding his phone to his ear.

"Hello, is this pest control? Yes, could you please come to the address I'll send you via text? As soon as possible, please. Yes, mosquitoes and all. Thank you." He ended the call and smiled at you.

"Really, Héctor?" you asked in disbelief.

"Hey, at least I wouldn't have a hard time figuring out what's on your neck in the future if we get rid of the mosquitoes here."

He then abruptly added, "Wait, what do you mean 'next time'? You mean there's going to be a next time?!"

"Well… I am single," you retorted.

"Wow, I might joke about you being a star sometimes, but I hope you're not a neutron star," Héctor quipped.

⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆

Matyáš Dvořák: His brain malfunctioned.

"Hi MC, I see you have a hickey again. Was it Jade? They should be more careful next time. Most of the Gods here are open-minded, but they’d rather not see that," Matyáš whispered. Both of you were in the archive room.

"Well, it's a real mosquito bite this time," you whispered back, glancing around to see if anyone else was in the room.

"Ah…" Matyáš seemed lost in thought.

"Ah?" You expected him to laugh, as he did last time when he mistook your hickey for a mosquito bite.

"I don't know whether to berate myself for mistaking it as a hickey this time or feel relieved that it's not a hickey," Matyáš said, still looking dazed.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Yeah, I'm sure you won't get it."

⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆

Genevieve: Is smiling so brightly you will think that she is the epitome of happiness.

You were walking down the hallway when you saw Genevieve sitting on one of the benches near the entrance. You made your way towards her.

"Oh, hello MC, glad to see you," she greeted, then her eyes fell to your neck. She added, "I apologize, I don't have an ointment with me this time. Is that a hickey?"

"Haha, thanks, Gen, but there's no need for ointment. I already applied some in my room before coming here. And no, it's just a mosquito bite," you responded.

"I see," Genevieve said with a smile, one that seemed too bright.

You wondered why the two of you suddenly fell silent, but you noticed Genevieve still holding that wide smile.

"Why are you smiling?" you asked, confused by her behavior.

"Oh, darling, I'm just feeling immense happiness." You blushed at the nickname.

"What made you happy?" you asked, trying to ignore the sudden drumming of your heart.

"The mosquito," she replied. You stared at her, as if she were the weirdest person ever.

"Okay…?"

⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆ ⋆⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺⋆

A Wadia: Still a blushing mess. But a lot more calmer this time.

You were talking to Amala/Amrit when you suddenly noticed they had gotten too quiet. Looking over, you saw them staring intently at your neck, a blush evident on their face. You could already tell what they were thinking without even asking.

"It's a mosquito bite," you said, attempting to dispel whatever idea they had about the purple patch on your neck. You remembered what happened last time when they mistook it for a hickey.

"I didn't say anything, though," Wadia replied, trying to hide their face after being caught.

"You know you're very loud, right? Anyone would think something's wrong with you if you got too quiet," you playfully retorted.

"At least I don't have mosquitoes in my room," they jabbed.

"At least I don't blush at the mere sight of a hickey," you shot back.

"That's a foul," they responded.

[janicho88]

I Got You -Chapter 5

Pairing- Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Female! Kazansky reader

Word count- 2,084

Warnings- Language, mentions of domestic violence, injuries, and abuse, abusive boyfriend, hurt reader, protective Jake. If I missed something, please let me know.

A/N- Before we get any further into this, there will be a few differences from the movie. Ice was sick, but beat it, the aviators are there for a six-week training, not three. I'm sure there are going to be Naval inaccuracies. This one has been sitting in my WIP since last fall. First Jake story, I hope I can do him justice. The first few chapters will be a little heavy, but we will move past that. Thank you to @slightly-psycho-multifan for beta'ing!

Summary- When you have finally reached a breaking point, you call the one person you trust for help. He’s never seen you as more than a friend, but he is the person you know you’re safest with.  It’s been months since he has had so much as a text from you, but Jake Seresin would do anything for the Navy princess he met years ago.  The pilot knows she means more to him than he ever will to her, but he will do anything for her.

Series Masterlist

Penny is still sitting across the street, after Y/N has made her way back inside the house.  ‘What is she doing here?’  Penny asks herself.  It wasn’t long ago Sarah had been telling her how upset she was about not seeing her daughter in a few months.  The distraught mother told Penny, her daughter barely even calls anymore. 

As she goes over the conversation in her head, she swears Sarah had told her Y/N was living in LA with her boyfriend.  Oh, has she heard the complaints about him from Ice and Sarah, but they couldn’t seem to get their daughter to see what they did.  So, what’s she doing here now with Jake?  As Penny drives away from the house, she knows what it is Jake owes her to repay her for this little trip.  Answers. 

Back on base the aviators are getting ready to suit up and head back to the ready room to wait.  Or in Jake's case, just head to the ready room. By now, everyone is just leaving the agitated aviator to himself.  By the time the last pair of planes is in the air, Jake can’t take the boredom of just sitting around anymore, especially with his lack of sleep. As the sound of dogfighting comes over the radio, he shuts his eyes.  It will just be for a second.  He’s awoken a short time later, by Hondo yelling his callsign.  Apparently, he came to dismiss the group for the day.  The others have already cleared out, and Hangman tries to gather himself.  

“Sorry Hondo.”

“What’s going on with you today, Hangman?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Hopefully that nothing is taken care of tomorrow.’

“Yes, sir.”

Great Jake thinks as he makes his way to the locker room.  Everyone is on his ass today.  He doesn't bother changing, it’s not like he did anything today. Just grabs his bag from the locker and tries to leave.

“Yo, Hangman.  You comin’ to the Hard Deck tonight?” Coyote questions before he can get out of the locker room.

“Can’t tonight.  I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“I’ve got things to do.”

“Is that thing the reason you were late this morning?  Should we expect you to be grounded again tomorrow?”  Rooster tries to push him.

“Where did you disappear to last night?” Coyote asks. 

He doesn’t stop to answer his friend or rival, just hurries out of the building.  First stop, the pharmacy, to drop off your prescription.  Then a quick stop at the Hard Deck to pay Penny, followed by a grocery run, then back to the pharmacy. 

Throwing on a smile Jake makes his way inside the bar.  Amelia is at the counter working on something, and Penny is wiping out glasses behind the bar.  

“We aren’t open yet,” Amelia calls out as Penny turns.

“I know, I just need to settle up with your mom for a favor.”

Penny quickly looks at her daughter, before turning back to the aviator.  “Let’s go outside.”

Amelia stares at the two of them as they exit the building to the back patio.  Her mom has been a little weird this afternoon. 

“Thank you so much for helping me out with that, Penny.  I really appreciate it.”

“Is Y/N Kazansky at your place?”

Jake stares at her for a moment, how does she know?  “I’m sorry, what?”

“Don’t lie to me, Jake.  I saw her grab the food.  There were bruises on her face too, I know it.”

Sighing he walks away from Penny and over to the edge of the railing looking out over the water.  Penny comes and stands next to him.   

“What’s going on?  Sarah told me she was in LA.”

“It’s not my story to tell.  She doesn’t want anyone to know she’s here.  Please, please promise me you won’t tell anyone?  That includes her parents.”  He turns his head to look at the bartender next to him.

“How long has she been here?”  When he doesn’t answer she continues on.  “You want me to keep this secret, I need some answers.”

“I went to LA last night and picked her up.”

“That’s why you ran out of here like your tail was on fire.”

“Yeah.”

“The bruises.”

“Not my story, but I intend to keep her from getting any more.”

"Was it the asshole she was dating?"

Jake turns, surprise in his eyes as he looks at Penny. He opens and closes his mouth a few times as he tries to figure out his answer.

The bartender takes pity on him, "I've heard about him from her parents. They don't care for him."

"Yeah, I never did either. That was before I found out what I did last night."

"Did you ever tell her?"

"No. I thought she was happy, and I was just..."

He trails off, but Penny has seen the two of you together in the past to get an idea of where his comment was heading. Jake was jealous. She won't bring it up right now, understanding you are going to need some time to heal from whatever Josh did. Maybe, just maybe this time you two have together is just what you both need.

Penny reaches over, and puts her hand on Jake's arm, “I won’t tell anyone.  If you or her need anything, please let me know.  I’m here for both of you.”

“Thank you.  What do I owe you for today?”

“Nothing.”

When he goes to argue, she stops him.  “I mean it.  She’s like a second daughter to me.  I would do anything for her.”

“Thank you.  I need to get going, still need to get to the store and back to pick up her prescriptions.”

“Keep me updated, alright?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As he’s hurrying through the grocery store, Jake realizes he isn’t up for making dinner tonight and calls in an order at a nearby Italian restaurant while he’s in line to checkout.  Once he picks up your meds, and dinner he is finally on his way back home to you.  

Walking in the house, he announces himself so you know it’s him coming in.  Seeing you walk around the corner in his old sweatshirt stops him in his tracks. It stirs feelings inside him he thought he had pushed down years ago. 

“Hey Darlin’, I’m sorry about lunch.  Captain wouldn’t let me leave today.”

“It’s okay,” your raspy voice answers him.  You don’t miss how Jake’s shoulders tense when you speak.

“I have your meds, and grabbed you some cough drops, hard candy and tea for your throat.  I didn’t know what would help best.  How are you feeling?”

“A little sore, all over.”

“I’m sorry.  We’ll get some medicine in you, and see if that helps.  I picked up dinner, wasn’t really up to cooking tonight. It's been a day.  I thought pasta might not be too hard to swallow if your throat was sore.”

“Sounds good.”

“Take a cough drop or something and sit down, while I get this put away.  Then I’ll plate up your pasta.”

Sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter, you watch Jake move around the kitchen putting everything away. He looks over at you while he’s standing in front of the open freezer.  “Did you ice your wrist today?”

Slightly shaking your head, Jake sighs. He’s barely been home a half an hour and you’ve already done something to upset him, you tell yourself, way to go.

“Darlin’, you need to ice it a few times a day. We can’t let all these frozen peas from yesterday go to waste now,” he tries to tease you, but it goes over your head.

“I’m sorry,” you whisper, staring down at the floor.

You can hear Jake’s footsteps as he walks over to you.  “Hey, you don’t have to be sorry.  I just want you to feel better, and icing your wrist and maybe even your bruised ribs will help that along.”

After you give him a slight nod, he moves back to the freezer and grabs you two bags of frozen peas to ice the top and bottom of your wrist.  

“I found this at the pharmacy, but it won’t be ready to use until tomorrow.”  Looking over at him, Jake is holding up a wrap around ice pack.  He continues on when you don’t say anything.  “I thought it might be softer than the peas or the bag of mixed fruit.  Especially right now when it’s so sore.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s no problem princess, I’d do anything to help you feel better.  I just wish this never happened to you in the first place.”

“Me too,” you whisper so softly, he barely hears you.

“Okay, well let’s get you some food and pain pills.”

Moving around the kitchen Jake grabs your pills and sets them in front of you on the counter, then dishes up a plate of alfredo and sets it down in front of you.

“I’m going to grab a shower and change, I'll be right back and join you.” 

Standing in the shower, he turns the shower head so it is blasting hot water on his tight shoulders, trying to relieve some of the tension that's worked its way in today.  Tomorrow has got to go better, he can’t take another day like today.

Jake heads back downstairs after throwing on a tshirt and sweatpants. Once he fills his plate, he sits down at the counter next to you, while you pick at your own food. 

“Is it alright, or would you like something different?  I picked up a few cans of soup, I can warm them up if you would rather have that.”

“No thanks, I’m just slow.”

On base Maverick has a meeting with Cyclone and Warlock after the hops finished, exiting Cyclone’s office he runs into Hondo leaving for the night. 

“Night Hondo.”

“See you tomorrow Mav. Oh hey, before I go, do you know what was up with Hangman today?  When I dismissed them for the day he was sleeping in the ready room.”

Maverick sighs, running a hand down his face.  “No I don’t.  Cyclone informed me, he told him one more screw up and he’s gone.”

The older pilot heads to his temporary office to write down some notes for the day before taking off. If he pulled a file on Hangman, well no one needs to know that right?  Looking through the file the captain confirms what he saw himself yesterday, the lieutenant is very good.  But if Seresin’s head isn’t in it, and he’s going to start acting out of line like today, Maverick knows he isn’t going to be able to pick him for the mission. That means he’ll have to pick Rooster, and he can’t do that, the kid isn’t ready.  And he isn’t ready to lose another Bradshaw.  The other problem is, can he trust Hangman to look out for anyone besides himself?  Taking note of the pilot's temporary contact info in the folder Maverick takes off.

When dinner is picked up you follow Jake to the living where he flops down on one end of the couch and puts his feet up on the coffee table. Looking between the chair and the other end of the couch, you decide you would rather be closer to Jake and curl up in the other corner. 

“Is there anything you would like to watch?” he questions. 

A slight shake of your head is the only reply given.  He turns on the news, when that half an hour is over, he flips through until he finds the Hallmark channel. Turning slightly you send him a questioning look.

“Honestly, I’m too tired to pay attention to much right now.  There isn’t a game on tonight, you don’t care for the horror movies that are on.  You can watch your happy ending, I can watch my eyelids.  You thought he was joking until someone started knocking at the door a short time later, and you turn to find Jake sound asleep.  The pounding gets louder before the person on the other side starts yelling.   

“I know you’re here, I need to speak with you.  Open the door!”

The noise finally stirs Jake, who takes one sleepy look at your terrified face and is instantly awake.  Jumping off the couch he moves to the front door and looks through the peephole. Turning back to you, he mouths “kitchen,” and points that way.  He doesn’t open the door until you move.

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 6

IGY Tags

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[pensat-i-fet]

Wrong first impression (Ferran Torres x Reader)

Part 2

**So no one requested this but I wanted to write it and here we are 🤗😅 allow me to be that person every once in a while. And enjoy!! ❤️**

Word count: 2335

Masterlist

Wattpad

“It’s so early”, I complain on my way to Patacona Beach, where we have to do some early morning training.

“It’s the perfect time to train. The only people there will be tourists finding a spot to put their beach umbrellas”.

“I guess”.

But Jorge is actually wrong, because when we get to the area of the beach we always use for our training, there is someone else there.

"Buenos días" (Good morning), we say when we walk past them

"Buenos días".

I know that guy…

"Is that Ferran Torres?", I whisper.

"Who?"

"Right. I forgot you know nothing about football".

"Oh, a footballer player? I can see that. Very fit".

"And of course you would notice that".

"I mean fit body for his job".

"Sure, darling".

We keep placing the equipment on the sand, same as Ferran and his trainer.

"So, who does he play for?"

"Barça but he used to play for Valencia".

"That tone lets me know the break up wasn't good".

Comparing a player leaving for another team with a break-up is a pretty good analogy, actually.

"He left to go to England so whatever. But then came back and celebrated scoring against us".

"Did he take his shirt off? For the celebration, I mean".

"No".

"I can see why it bothered you then".

I just roll my eyes.

Since I don’t want to be here all day, we get on with the training. I’m still recovering from a small injury so it’s vital I make sure not to overwork certain muscles. And that also means we have to stop several times for Jorge to make sure we’re doing it right. He’s my trainer but is also studying sport medicine so no one can help me more than him.

“I need more tape. Let me run to the pharmacy quickly”.

“Ok, I’ll rest”.

He’s always forgetting things so I’m not surprised. And I can use the rest so I sit down, stretching my legs every couple of seconds so the muscles don’t get too cold.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ferran doing the same. His trainer is also gone…I wonder if he forgets things all the time as Jorge does. When he notices me looking, he smiles and I just give him a small smile in return and look away.

“Are you an athlete too?”

“Yeah”.

“I don’t know if you know me. I’m…”.

“I know you”.

“Was that a good I know you or a bad I know you?”, he laughs and some past thoughts flood my mind again. I might have had a crush on him before he left for City.

“Let’s say neutral”.

“I’ll take it. My trainer had to go talk to another client. Where’s yours?”

I didn’t expect him to make small talk but I guess it’s better than sitting here alone.

“He forgot to bring more tape. He’s lucky I can’t fire him because he always forgets something”.

“You can’t fire him…because he’s your boyfriend?”

“What?”, I try not to look disgusted but can’t help it.

“I mean. I get trainers might have to be a bit touchy but he was a lot touchy and you smiled at each other a lot, so I assumed…”.

Was he staring at us the whole time or something? “He’s my brother”.

“Now I get why you looked so disgusted. Sorry”.

But instead of looking sorry, he just starts to laugh.

“You’re so weird”.

“I’ve been called worse”, he shrugs, standing up and walking to where I am.

When we got here, it was still pretty dark but now the sun is rising there is a gorgeous orange hue around us. One that makes him look even more handsome. And the fact that he's not wearing a shirt doesn't help. Damn it! I'll go back to thinking about his celebration.

“Do you want to train with me?”, he asks, offering his hand. “They might take a while and we don’t want to get cold”.

I hesitate for a second before taking his hand and letting him help me get up. “I’m recovering from an injury, I can’t do much”.

“That’s ok. What sport do you practice?”

“Athletics. I participate in as many categories as I can qualify for”.

“Impressive. I just run and kick a ball”.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Torres. You score sometimes too”.

My comment brings his laughter back. “Valencia or Madrid then?”

“What?”

“The team you support. Because you don’t seem to like me much”.

“If you insinuate again I support Madrid, I’d like you even less”.

“So Valencia…”.

He walks to where his equipment is and I follow. Why? I don't know.

"Do you ever do boxing to train?", he asks me, picking up the gloves.

"Yeah, kickboxing too but I probably shouldn't force my legs too much. Not without Jorge supervising. Jorge is my brother, by the way. Not my boyfriend".

"A lot of athletes have affairs with their trainers. It wouldn't be that strange".

"Have you had any with yours?"

"Not with my trainers. But with some of my training partners…well, it happens".

I know it happens because that's how I met my ex but I'm not going to tell him. Also, I can tell he's flirting and I'm not interested. So agreeing with him would only give him the wrong impression.

"Who does the punching first?"

"You need the practice more", I say and he raises an eyebrow. "Because of your fight with Savic. He clearly won so you know, you need to practice for next time".

"Do you think he won that fight?", I nod. "You might have to watch it again. Or we could recreate it so you see I was in control the whole time".

When I look up to meet his eyes, I realise how close to me he is. And how nervous he's making me feel.

"So, do you want to start or not? I'm happy to punch you".

My words make him smirk but he moves back a little. "Show me what you got, then".

I take the gloves he's offering me and look down at them, trying to take deep breaths that aren't too obvious. It's just the crush I used to have. I'm sure of that. Nothing else.

I didn't lie when I said we do kickboxing for practice. And that's why the punches aren't enough. I'm itching to kick too. My legs are a lot stronger and I want to show Ferran how strong I am.

"Move back so I can kick you".

"Wow, I heard about that flirting technique but I thought it only involved insulting. Kicking me too…well, it could be worth it".

I bit my lip, trying to resist his teasing. "You might want to move one of your hands lower".

"Why?"

"Because you're making me want to kick you somewhere else that's not protected like your hands".

But he just laughs and puts his arms up so I can kick.

I try both legs slowly and when I feel more confident, I kick with my right leg. Hard.

"Jesus! You're strong".

"Regretting your teasing now?"

"Kinda…".

I just smile before the next kick and then I feel it, a little discomfort on my thigh. I put my head down and groan, frustrated.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm feeling something on my thigh. It's the same whenever I exercise too much. I can't wait to fully recover because I hate being only 50% fit".

"I get how you feel".

His voice sounds softer and I look up at him and see understanding in his eyes. He's obviously had injuries too.

"We can switch now. So I have a little rest…", but before I have time to finish talking, I see Jorge coming back.

I might have forgotten about him for a second.

He looks at me and then at Ferran, curious.

"I was trying not to get cold but I hurt myself a little".

"You what?"

Hearing about that takes all the weird ideas off his head. Just what I wanted.

"I stopped before I fully hurt myself. It's just the same discomfort I've been having".

"What did you make her do?"

Something people don't get is how protective of me my brother is. Too much sometimes.

"It was my idea, Jorge. Let's just go back and finish our training", I tell him, grabbing his arm. "Thanks for keeping me company, Torres".

"No problem. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I've got gym tomorrow".

"Ok. Another day maybe".

"Maybe".

Jorge makes me sit immediately so he can touch the area that hurts and make sure it's not something worse than overworked muscles. And once he's happy, we finish the exercise routine we always do at the beach.

By the time we are done packing our things, I see Ferran stretching after finishing his own workout. We have to walk past him on the way out of the beach and when he looks our way, I wave at him. That gets a smile from him before he waves back.

"How did you end up training with the footballer? I can't leave you alone".

"He asked me and I thought it could be a good way to keep moving while you were away".

"Right", Jorge's tone is already annoying me before he keeps talking. "What was his name again?"

"Ferran Torres".

"Didn't you used to have his shirt?"

Of course, he remembers. "He was supposed to be our next star so I guess a lot of fans did too".

"Was that the only reason…".

"Stop talking", I say, glaring at him.

"Got it. But if you want a new one, he might be happy to get one for you".

Ugh, siblings!

                                      **

The next day, we start the day at the gym and once I'm back home, I shower and put on a nice summer dress to go grab something to drink with some friends.

We’re meeting at a bar we only go to in the summer, since it’s closer to the beach. But when I get there, I check my phone and realise how early it is. Typical. I’m early and they’ll be super late.

I make my way to the terrace anyways. I can have a drink while I wait for them. And then I hear voices coming closer and assume it’s the owners who saw me get here, coming to see what I want to order. But…it isn’t just them.

"Let's go outside to take a photo. Maybe there is someone around who can take it for us", says the lady I recognize as the owner. “This lovely girl can help us maybe. And I’ll take your order in a second”.

She notices Ferran looking at me and I say a very shy hi to him which he returns.

"Oh, you know each other?"

"Sort of”, he says.

"Can you take the photo, darling?"

"Of course".

I get up and pick up the phone she’s offering so I can take the photos. “Done”.

She checks the photos, showing them to Ferran.

"Look at you. I've known him since he was a baby, you know?", she says looking at me. "And now look at him. So grown up and handsome".

Yeah, I can agree with her on that second part.

“Since you know each other, you keep her company for a second and I’ll be right back to get her order, ok?”

I sit down and Ferran stands next to my table.

"Done with training for today?"

"Yes, we did gym in the morning and now time to relax".

"Cool. Are you meeting someone?"

"Some friends but knowing them, they won't be here for another half an hour".

"If you want a drink while you wait, I can ask for it. They never allow me to pay so you’ll get it for free".

"It's ok. I can wait …".

"What do you usually drink?"

"Nestea?"

"Be right back".

"You don't have to…".

But he doesn’t listen to me and a couple of minutes later, he is back with my drink and a little tapa.

“Do they make you work for them?”

He chuckles. “Sometimes. You know, I’m glad we meet again. I got the feeling that your brother, not your boyfriend, was a bit mad at me. I’ve been thinking about it”.

He had? “He’s ok. Just worried about my injuries”.

“Still. I don’t like giving such a bad first impression. Unless he hates me too and it wasn’t really the first”.

“He doesn’t care about football. You’re safe”.

“What about you? Do you hate me?”

I shake my head. “Just got the wrong impression when you celebrated that goal against us. But I guess you’re not that bad”.

We stay in silence for a second and I eat some of the olives to keep myself occupied.

“I’m going on holiday tomorrow”, he says, surprising me.

“Ok?”

“And then I’ll go back to Barcelona”.

“Are you trying to get somewhere with this information? I don’t think I need your schedule”, I say, chuckling slightly.

“Do you ever go to Barcelona for competitions?”

“Pretty often, actually”.

“Can we meet when you do?”

“To go to the beach for a morning training?”, I tease.

“I was thinking about going on a date but I guess there is time for that too”.

We both just look at each other, our faces getting closer slowly. I guess that crush never really left.

“Hi! Have you been waiting here for long? And who is this?”

I move back and turn to see my friends. “Hi, this is Ferran. He was just keeping me company while you got here. And you’re early…for once”. How inconvenient.

“I’ll go now”, says Ferran and I panic a little because if he leaves now, I won’t see him again. “Nice seeing you again”.

He moves closer to me again to kiss my cheek as a goodbye. But before moving away, he whispers in my ear. “Send me your number in a DM on Instagram. You know my account”.

[wundergeek]

Honestly, it is absolutely wild the level of absolutely no health care that trans people, and especially trans mascs have to suffer through.

What do I mean by this? Glad you asked.

* When I came out as trans at the start of the pandemic, I went to my doctor and asked for a referral for help. She responded by saying she didn't know what trans meant. Then did not offer to learn or educate herself in any way. I ended up paying $9000 out of pocket for my top surgery because public funding required a referral from a GP, and there was no way to get a new doctor in 2020.

* I have educated multiple DOCTORS about non-binary pronouns. Ditto with therapists

* Trans masc and experiencing perimenopause? Have fun never getting any medical care about literally debilitating symptoms. I didn't realize I'd had brain fog for TWO AND A HALF YEARS until T made it go away.

* Related: I have a fibroid apparently and it took like a year to get a referral to a trans inclusive gyno - who is 40 minutes away by car - who I don't see for another two weeks.

* Also, none of the T side effects I'm having problems with were things I was warned about. Instead it was all "this will impact your fertility" (good!), and lots of vague euphemisms like "bottom growth", which didn't in any way prepare me for the three days I spent sitting on ice packs when bottom growth started. A warning about 7/10 nerve pain would have been nice.

* Similarly, no one told me that "bottom growth" not only includes clitoral enlargement, but also the vulva becomes more scrotum-like. Which. Great! I have bottom dysphoria, so that's helpful. But again, 7/10 nerve pain accompanied by "holy shit why does my junk look so different all of a sudden????" is something I would have appreciated knowing to expect.

* The two pages of drug information I was given with my first vial of T didn't even MENTION THE EXISTENCE of trans masc people. Not even ONCE.

* I've been training kung fu really intensely for several years and have put on approximately 10 pounds of muscle in 8 weeks, which is causing ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS. Iron deficiency. B12 deficiency. It's been awful. But T is "supposed" to make your iron go up, so I'm having to do a lot of tests and run around to prove to my doctor that the problem is that I accidentally got jacked too quickly so she'll let me have some goddamn B12 injections, and in the mean time I'll have to put up with fatigue and excruciating muscle cramps during my kung Fu classes for at least another three weeks.

* Even just figuring out where to get my goddamn injection supplies has been a fucking saga. The pharmacy that initially filled the prescription was like "get supplies from [local nonprofit that supports AIDS and injection drug users]". Helping trans mascs the pharmacy is too lazy to help is NOT their mission, but they kindly gave me some supplies after I drove across town to see them. Then my regular pharmacy gave me a sharps container (the first pharmacy just fucking sent me home with some needles and didn't say anything about disposal!!!), so I figured I could get some there, but this morning they were like "we don't stock those, call around I guess idk". I had to call my doctor, then go back to the first pharmacy, and buy five weeks for way too much money while I order supplies online.

(Realistically I should have just done that first, but I've never had to do injections and idk just foolishly thought that pharmacies would serve that need? Stupid, I know.)

So yeah. Honestly I'm just so fucking done with this fucking ignorance. It takes EFFORT to be this clueless about how to provide basic fucking health care in 2024, so why can't the majority of care providers clear a bar that is already on the fucking floor???

[ficclings]

Lost - Chapter 3

Previous Chapter  // Next Chapter

Taglist: if you would like to be tagged or I forgot to tag you, let me know! @laymegentlytorest @im-sinking-in-mud 

When she thought back to her human family and all the lessons, they had taught her; one of them being “Do not talk to strangers,” she had followed this all the way into adulthood.

She was pretty sure she could break this rule when it came to the man that had saved her life; she was certain her adoptive mother would be eagerly nudging her to talk with that cute smile.

“Can you stand?” the man arched his eyebrow as his sharp features almost glared at her and she quickly nodded half expecting him to at least offer her a hand to get to her feet.

“Good, get up and follow,” his entire demeanour reminded her of a strict teacher and she bit her lip to stop herself from yelling at him.

She was shaken up, terrified and exhausted from running from a horde.

Where was the compassion?

Instead, she struggled herself up from the floor and followed her saviour to the room he had appeared from, an empty office room where the door on the other side of the room had been barricaded with half of the desks and chairs in the room and the other half was ready and waiting by the door he’d come through.

Clearly, he had thrown things to the side to save her and this made her feel a little more relaxed around him, knowing that he had to compromise his own safety room to save a stranger.

“You got a name, Spots?” his voice made her jump and she quickly went to help him re-barricade the room.

She eyed him cautiously and had to once again, bite her lip to prevent an insult as she noticed him rolling his eyes.

“Well, I’m Lee Know and I just saved your arse,” he pointed out as he reached into a bag on the floor and she was immediately on edge once again; her fingers tightening around the baton.

“Here,” he murmured and she flailed her hands in the air as she tried to catch whatever he’d thrown at her.

A bag of crisps.

“Thanks,” she replied quietly and Lee Know let out a laugh at how comically fast she ripped into the food, a bright red blush appearing on the hybrids face once she realised.

“How...how have you been surviving in here?” she asked with a mouthful of crisps, crumbs all over her cheeks.

“Not that difficult when this place had water coolers and vending machines on every floor,” he pointed out sitting on the floor and groaning as he stretched his legs out in front of him, “plus it’s easy to hide in here because of the amount of rooms,” he closed his eyes, “though it would be a lot safer without people jumping through windows and bringing a horde with them,”

She paused in her eating and frowned at the smug grin on the man’s face.

“I was trying to lead them away from my friend,” she explained with a blunt tone that stopped whatever atmosphere had built and Lee Know looked at her with question.

“We split up for just a few seconds,” she added looking away from him, “he went to the pharmacy and I went to check out what direction to go; I was only around the corner and they were just there and I knew that when they had seen me that I would only bring them back to my friend so I had to abandon him!” she rubbed at her eyes as she felt them sting with tears, “I’m scared to go back and find him as one of them, despite my trying to save him,” she whispered and Lee Know broke his silence with a loud sigh.

“Listen,” he started rubbing the back of his neck, “I’ll help you get back to wherever you came from...y’know, as long as it’s close by” he offered and then dug around in his bag again, finding a pack of tissue and chucking them over to her.

“We need to wait for daytime though,” he pressed a button on his watch to make the face light up and held his wrist up so she could read it, “darkness only adds to the fuckery that’s already out there during the day,”  

She nodded despite wanting to leave.

Be smart for a bit she hugged her knees as she sat on the floor.

“I’m just going to call you Spots, by the way,” he added with a snarky chuckle, “name or no name, that’s what I’m going to call you,”  

It surprised her when a small laugh left her lips but she nodded at him.

“Fair dos,”  

Though silence fell over the newly acquainted duo, she couldn’t help but feel ever so slightly bad that she just couldn’t shake the anxiety rippling through her at Lee Knows almost absent response to taking out quite a large group of zombies.

His shirt was starting to dry now but it was still covered in other people’s blood and his shoes still held small chunks of flesh in the grip ridges of the underside of his shoes.  

The less said about the state of the baseball bat, the better.

She could only come to the conclusion that he had been in this building since the outbreak and was used to dealing with zombies; even more than herself as she was still living in her home with Felix.

“How’d you manage to get a baton, thought they were illegal for civilians to own?” Lee Knows ridiculously attractive face morphed into an expression that made him look considerably younger, which was saying something as he was clearly already a young man.

“There was an officer that had turned,” she flicked her wrist to make the baton stretch out, “he wasn’t going to use it and I kind of...needed it to get away from him,” she mumbled flinching a bit at the memory.

“What about you?” she asked pulling at her tail, “don’t normally find office workers carrying baseball bats,” she smiled shyly when he chuckled at her comment.

“Believe it or not, this place has a sports center down below all of this crap,” he explained, “there’s a batting cage and so,” he waved his own weapon, “baseball bat; just added the wire from one of the fences around the building,” he paused in his short story as he watched her slightly spotty dalmatian ears wiggle whenever she moved.

“Um,” he puffed out a small smirk, trying to ignore the Hybrid features of the woman before him; it was hard though, to not touch something that looked soft and fluffy, “I can add some wire to your baton if you’d like?”  

She looked at him with interest and then considered her weapon, looking rather naked compared to his decked-out bat.

“You would do that?” she tilted her head once again.

“Of course,” Lee Know almost looked downright offended by her assumption, “I don’t want any more zombie, least of all hybrid zombies,” he waved his hands in the air when she started to frown at his comments.

“What I mean,” he rolled his eyes, “is that the hybrid zombies are so much faster than regular human zombies, they have that primal instinct as well so when their humanity is gone, they all turn back to how their animals would be in the wild,” he grimaced and she couldn’t help but wonder if he had witnessed such a scene.

“I’ve only seen a couple of hybrid zombies,” she noted thinking back to right at the beginning when she spotted a small group of hybrid zombies chasing down a crowd of people, their eyes wild and their jaws snapping.

“Well, you guys are fast!” Lee Know laughed quietly, “no zombie can really keep up with you lot unless they have you cornered somewhere,” he sighed loudly as he reached out and gave in to the temptation, his fingers gently stroking her ears making her nearly jump out of her skin.

“Sorry,” he flinched his hand backwards with a playful grin as he saw the blush appearing on her face once more, “your ears are really cute,” he was so straightforward that it genuinely made her pause to try and figure out how to respond to a person like Lee Know.

“People seem to enjoy my ears,” she pulled at her tail again, shyly, “my friend always strokes them when we’re watching films or playing games,”  

Lee Know noticed how she beamed upon mentioning her friend and he found himself smiling with her.

“I think it’s an anxiety thing for him,” she pondered as he gaze fell to the dirty floor they were both resting on, “so...if it helps, you can do that...too,” she pulled at the fabric of the carpet and then at her tail before finally finishing my covering both of her hands with her sleeves to try and stop that habit.  

“I’m actually looking for another couple of hybrids,” Lee Know pointed out and his chocolate brown eyes flickered to meet hers, “well, a friend group with a couple of hybrids in it,” he sighed and then leaned back on a few boxes that looked less than comfortable; eyes now shut.

“Are they family?” she questioned carefully.

“Might as well be,” he replied with a soft smile, “they’re a pain but as the cheesy movies would say, they are my pain,”  

She found herself laughing once again at the drenching of sarcasm coming from the man, his attitude and humour quite different from Felix’s.

“If I manage to get back to my friend, I’m sure we could help you find them,” she suggested before yawning loudly and without covering her mouth, allowing Lee Know to see her fangs, “he’s always wanting to help people,” she added with a sleepy smile and brought her bag onto the floor so she could eventually use it as a pillow.

Lee Know didn’t reply.

She assumed he had fallen asleep, a small blessing as she all but crashed after her offer.

[bangchan-mytruelove]

An Alpha A Bit Different

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Pairing; Omega!Bang Chan x Alpha!Male!Reader

Themes; Omegaverse AU • Fluff • Smut • Angst • Enemies to Lovers(not really) •

General Content Warning; expected stereotypical behavior (for omega and alpha alike), mentions of past trauma, reader has a hard time eating, plot slightly based off of "connected", reader is younger (born in the 02) and taller than chan (about 5 inches/12cm), mention of anxiety attack, reader can't look at his own reflection, reader and chan are really insecure, reader has good parents (shockingly), mentions of hyunlix being canon, minsung mutual pining, harassment.

Word Count; 2.3k

Summary; After finding out his best friend was looking for a place to move in, Jisung tried to convince (M/n) to move in with him, but after having the alpha avoid him, Jisung decided to simply drag him over to their apartment, where (M/n) met Chan in person for the first time.

Chapter 1; Meeting 3RACHA.

!please, reblog and leave feedback to let me know what you think about this fic~!

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(M/n) grew up hearing from people around him that he was different from other alphas, and he always thought that was a good thing, a bright smile on his face whenever he received such a compliment. After all, every alpha he's ever met was egocentric, self-centered, possessive, and toxic, that's why he thought it was a good thing that he was referred to as different.

But one time, when he was only a sixteen-year-old boy, he stopped to see the faces of the people that called him 'different'. Alphas, omegas, and even betas looked at him with disgust and disapproval.

That was the first time (M/n) thought that being different was a bad thing. And for the first time in his life, he felt disgusted at himself for also being an alpha that didn't meet anyone's standards.

In this world, alphas and omegas are naturally attracted to each other, their pheromones being responsible for this, making (M/n) feel as if his life as an alpha had already been decided by the universe, his destiny already decided, telling him to only fuck and procreate with omegas.

And he hated the feeling of wanting to follow through with that animal instinct. To claim an omega as his and impregnate them, over and over again, marking their body so everyone would know they were already taken.

On days like those, when his rut was dangerously close, he would lock himself in his room, beating himself up and the world for making him an alpha.

"Why couldn't I haven't been born as a beta...?" His whisper would vanish into thin air, not reaching anyone's ears but his, and he would go back to holding himself back until his rut was over. His senses were overly sensitive to everything, noise, taste... smell.

He lived like that for a few years, receiving judging stares from people who disliked his personality, telling him that whatever he did wasn't proper for an alpha like him, and he had enough.

Heading to the nearest pharmacy, (M/n) bought his first box of scent blockers. Translucent patches he had to stick over the scent glands on his neck, right below his ear, and he kept living on as if he wasn't an alpha, not really correcting anyone who assumed he was a beta.

It's better this way, he would always say, convincing himself that it didn't affect nor hurt him in any way.

_____

"Why didn't you tell me you were looking for a place to move in?" Jisung's voice sounded absurdly loud in his ear, making him frown as he leaned as far away as he could while having his best friend's arm around his shoulder.

"I didn't wanna bother you, hyung," Jisung dismissed his words with a sway of his hand, quietly muttering an 'aish~'.

"I thought I told you that the boys and I need a new roommate," (M/n) frowned and looked at the omega still hanging onto him.

"What happened to Hyunjin?" Finally releasing him, Jisung sat across from him in the café they decided to meet up for some lunch.

Grabbing the cupcake on (M/n)'s plate, Jisung took a bit out of it, its frosting covering his upper lip and the tip of his nose, "He decided to live with his boyfriend or something like that," picking up the napkin under the now empty plate, (M/n) lifted his hand up to wipe Jisung's frosting stained lip and nose, making the male smile happily at his sweet gesture.

The instinct told (M/n) to take care of omegas, and Jisung was one, and he was pretty careless so it was something normal to him at this point.

"You would be living with me, Changbin, and Chan, wouldn't that be awesome?"

(M/n) didn't know much about Jisung's roommates, the only one he knew kinda well was Hyunjin, but him being two years younger than his best friend made it difficult to know Jisung's friends well enough. Changbin is a senior, Hyunjin and Jisung are juniors while (M/n) had barely started the year, making him a freshman. Now Chan was a different story, he knew only the man because of some photos Jisung showed him, the man wasn't a big fan of pictures but there were those rare occasions.

Chan had already graduated two years ago, and he worked in the music industry alongside Changbin and Jisung, forming the trio, 3RACHA. (M/n) heard a few of their songs, and he liked them, a lot, going as far as to ask Jisung for the file once the track was finished. The one single important thing that he knew about Chan, was that he was an omega.

And it may be rare however not impossible for an omega to be quite big and muscular, and that's exactly what Chan is. Or that's what Jisung always said about him. (M/n) wouldn't know, he doesn't know the male and he's usually wearing baggy, loose clothing so is not noticeable at all.

"So, what do you say?" And (M/n) remembered what they had been talking about, unwillingly on his part.

He doubted for a few seconds, wondering how he would feel if suddenly a stranger came to live in with him, "I don't know, hyung, I don't really know you're friends-" the male took another bite of the cupcake he stole.

"Not an excuse," (M/n) sighed at that and somehow came up with something to make the omega drop the subject.

"How about I go to your house, and meet your roomies? Then we can decide how everyone feels about it, okay?" Pondering (M/n)'s decision, he shrugged and nodded once.

"I already know I want you as my roommate anyway, and Changbin hyung will like you too," His words did very little effort in helping (M/n), after all, Jisung didn't say a thing about the male he was worried about.

Chan.

_____

After unsuccessfully trying to avoid Jisung, (M/n) ended up getting dragged all the way to the apartment he shared with his friends. He had been coming up with excuses to not go there for the past two days, but Jisung was smarter than he looks, and he ambushed (M/n) when he was walking out of his last class.

"I don't care if you have plans today, you're coming with me," and (M/n) realized he shouldn't have ignored his gut feeling telling him Jisung was planning something when he didn't even try to persuade him earlier in the day.

I can't believe I actually thought he gave up... He lamented to himself while letting himself get dragged all the way to his best friend's apartment. It was a good walking distance, he noticed, unlike the train he had to ride for an hour to get to college.

On the way upstairs to the second floor, Jisung mentioned that Changbin was the only one in the apartment since he only had morning classes and Chan went out, something about his job and going grocery shopping. And even if he knew the only other omega wasn't in the apartment, (M/n) knew his scent must be lingering inside, so before Jisung opened the front door he took a deep breath and followed his best friend inside.

Gently pressing on the scent blockers on his neck, (M/n) walked in and followed Jisung, looking around the place, seeing a few windows opened, probably to not make him feel suffocated by the strong scents of two omegas and the mild scent of a beta. At least he knew his alpha scent wasn't gonna last around for long once he leaves.

Wary of the place he was in, (M/n) kept his hands in front of him, holding his right wrist with his left hand, making sure not to take deep breaths too often.

Hearing a door opening, (M/n) peeled over Jisung's shoulder, seeing a rather short yet muscular man walk out of a room. That's Seo Changbin, (M/n) has seen him around a couple of times, and they have made small talk on a few occasions, but he didn't know much about the male.

"Oh, (M/n), I've been waiting for you, man! Jisungie said he was gonna bring you over but he never did," Changbin patted his shoulder hard, maybe a little too hard, and (M/n) had to hide his pained expression the moment he remembered Changbin not only lifts weights, but he also does boxing.

"I've been... busy with stuff," (M/n) ignored the look Jisung sent at him, that look that said 'you were obviously avoiding this, don't lie', but he didn't comment on his blatant lie.

They talked for a few minutes, mostly Changbin did and both males got to know a little bit more about each other. And Jisung came into the living, finishing what seemed to be a chocolate bar, neither realized that he had gone to the kitchen in the first place.

"Do you know when Chan hyung will be back?" And right before Changbin could answer Jisung's question, the front door opened, and an incredibly captivating scent reached (M/n)'s nose.

He didn't really feel Chan's scent before, especially with how subtle it was, but now that he was back in the apartment he felt it as if he was standing right next to him, presenting his neck at him, letting him smell him for as long as he wanted.

From where he was standing, (M/n) saw him as he closed the door and locked it, turning around with his eyes down on his phone, the same hand that held the keys. A backpack hanging off his shoulder and a grocery bag in his hand.

And suddenly, he stopped abruptly before taking another step forward, his nose twitching slightly as he frowned, his nose caught the scent of another person. Not quite sure what they were since it was very weak and subtle.

He looked up and made eye contact with (M/n), who stared at the floor, slightly embarrassed at being caught staring so shamelessly. Jisung ran at Chan and brought him further into the living room, and seeing them standing next to each other, (M/n) noticed that Chan was the tallest of the three.

Wrapping his arm around Chan, Jisung extended his arm in (M/n)'s direction, who kept shyly looking somewhere else that wasn't Chan's intense stare, "Hyung, this is (M/n)~!" Chan seemed confused at Jisung's words, and he turned his head to look at him.

"Your alpha friend?" The way Chan said the word 'alpha' made (M/n) frown slightly, keeping his head down as he felt hurt by the tone of a complete stranger. He could already tell Chan didn't want him there.

(M/n) heard Jisung sighing and after looking up, he saw his friend sending the older male a disappointed look, "Hey, (M/n) is not like all those brainless alphas we've met, he's actually kind and thoughtful," (M/n) saw how Chan seemed to be skeptical about that, but he let out a short sigh.

"Is he our new roommate?" (M/n) only shook his head a couple of times, giving a negative response to the question.

"I'm not-"

"That's the plan~!" Rudely interrupted by Jisung, (M/n) looked at his friend with a tired look.

"Jisung," he said with a neutral tone of voice, making the male look at him with a wide smile, but (M/n) proceeded with his response, "I'm not sure, I don't wanna rush things and make you guys uncomfortable," even though it seems like I already did, he couldn't help but comment to himself, the clear look of disgust and disapproval on Chan's face, the same expression that made him hate being an alpha.

Changbin realized (M/n)'s mood and he walked closer to him, patting his shoulder again, only more gently this time.

"Well, I don't mind you living here, you're kinda cool," with those words muttered, Changbin beckoned Chan over to them, "You'll like him once you get to know him, hyung."

Frowning unsure, Chan took a deep breath and sat his backpack on the couch before heading to the kitchen, most likely to place the groceries away.

"Fine."

_____

For the next hour and a half, (M/n) was awkwardly sitting between Changbin and Jisung, rarely getting into a conversation with Chan, who still seemed a little unsure about getting close to him, physically and personally.

And with that, (M/n) couldn't help but let that small voice wonder why such a beautiful omega reacted that way once he learned he was an alpha, the instinct telling him to protect and reassure him of whatever uncertainty he may have, and (M/n) mentally beat himself over for that.

That was the same behavior other alphas had, thinking that they had to protect omegas because they were weaker, and inferior to them, and (M/n) didn't like that.

In the end, not wanting to make things even more awkward and uncomfortable for Chan, (M/n) said goodbye, all the while keeping his distance from the older omega and he left the apartment, mentally preparing himself for the long journey back to his house.

Looking out the train window, he wondered if he should become their roommate or just keep living in his parents' house, he couldn't bear knowing he would make Chan feel uncomfortable in his own house.

_____

For the following week, Jisung kept bothering him every chance he got, finding him every break to ask him if he already decided to move in with them, and at some point, on an impulse to make the male finally shut up, (M/n) accepted.

He was worried about Chan the most. He hasn't been able to stop thinking about the omega, seemingly liking him more and more, despite only seeing him in person once.

He was especially worried since it seemed he liked Chan more than Chan seemed to like him, and he was scared of what could happen with their cohabitation.

(M/n) didn't voice his worries and concerns, and like that, he moved in a few days later.

But if (M/n) would've known that living in that apartment was gonna make him act like those alphas he so deeply despised... he would've refused without a doubt.

[aishangotome]

Minamoto No Yoritomo: Chapter 1

(Gathering my magical power, I'll break the bond with Tamamo... and definitely open my own pharmacy!)

Thinking of the ordinary and lovable daily life, Yoshino encouraged herself and looked straight ahead.

Yoshino: Nice to meet you! Everyone.

Yoritomo: Alright. Good determination.

Yoritomo's eyes shone brightly, gathering the moonlight.

Yoritomo: Of course, what happened today must be kept secret. If you have any problems living in the Imperial Palace, tell these guys here.

Tamamo: I'd like you to introduce us again. I already know your name, but you were quite busy earlier.

Yoritomo: Alright. You too, remember it well, Yoshino.

Yoshino: Y-Yes.

Yoritomo: This tall guy with droopy eyes is my vassal and the muscle of the Kamakura shogunate, Morinaga Adachi.

Yoshino: ...Muscle?

Morinaga: That expression is a bit confusing, but... I actually go out to battle and command soldiers a lot.

(His demeanor is gentle, but what he does feels like a warrior.)

Yoritomo: Next, also a vassal. The glasses guy, Kagetoki Kajiwara.

Kagetoki: As Yoritomo-sama's vassal, I mainly handle domestic affairs and the management of vassals.

Kagetoki: It is also my duty to eliminate incompetent people from the shogunate. Be careful.

(Just as he looks, he seems a little scary...)

(...But, he was called the glasses guy, so that's okay.)

Yoritomo: Finally, this is Shigehira Taira, who I'm allied with. His role is...

Shigehira: The common sense guy!

Shigehira bit back before Yoritomo-sama could continue.

Shigehira: Listening to this, couldn't you introduce me a little better?

(His face is so well-proportioned that it's hard to approach, but seeing him talk, he's quite emotional.)

(Hm? Come to think of it, 'Taira'...)

Yoshino: Shigehira-san, are you from the Taira clan?

Shigehira: What, is that bad?

Yoshino: N-No, it's not bad, but...

Flustered by his grumpy reply, Yoshino glanced between Yoritomo-sama and Shigehira-san.

(The Genji and Taira clans were supposed to be opposed to each other, right?)

Even I, who am not well-versed in politics, know that Yoritomo-sama, the leader of the Genji clan, defeated the Taira clan in battle.

Shigehira: Right now, I'm just under Yoritomo-sama's umbrella. I don't have any obligation to explain more than that, right?

Yoshino: I understand...

(There seems to be some circumstances, but it seems like he doesn't want me to pry.)

Yoritomo: And I am the shogun, Minamoto no Yoritomo. Well, I don't need to explain, do I?

Morinaga: Yoritomo-sama is the black-hearted one, isn't he?

(Morinaga-san also says quite a lot with a smile...)

Yoritomo: Don't praise me. I'll get embarrassed.

Yoritomo-sama brushed off Morinaga-san's words without looking angry.

Yoritomo: That's all for the introductions. For today, I'll show you to your rooms.

Yoritomo: Tomorrow, we'll talk about the future. Alright? Yoshino, Tamamo.

(He speaks like someone used to giving orders.)

(Thinking about it again... I was meeting with an incredibly important person.)

Yoshino: Yes...! Thank you for the room.

Now that the crisis has passed, I'm not sure how to act towards Yoritomo-sama.

Tamamo: I can't wait for the feeling of a futon after a long time. Have them prepare a comfortable one.

Tamamo: Also, for breakfast, I want grilled fish and inari sushi.

Yoshino: Hey, Tamamo!

(As expected of a yokai...! Unlike me, he has no hesitation.)

Tamamo is calm despite my panic.

Yoritomo: You're a more brazen beast than I thought.

Kagetoki: Why not just let him sleep in the grass?

Kagetoki: If he has his own fur, that should be enough for a futon.

(Harsh... Kagetoki-san and Tamamo don't seem to get along.)

Tamamo: Kagetoki. You're often called a sneaky glasses guy, aren't you?

Yoshino: Sneaky glasses guy!?

(That was an amazing insult!)

Kagetoki: Unfortunately, tonight is the first time I've had the experience of being called that.

Kagetoki: But I wouldn't mind sewing your mouth shut and making it the last.

(Oh no, Kagetoki-san isn't backing down either...!)

As I watched nervously, Morinaga-san burst out laughing.

Morinaga: Tamamo... You're funny. You're great.

Kagetoki: You're laughing too much, fluffy muscle man.

Shigehira: Hey. Seriously, stop this pointless bickering.

(Huh? But...)

Yoshino: Shigehira-san's shoulders are trembling a little too...

Shigehira: ...It's your imagination! Your eyes are playing tricks on you.

Clearing his throat, Shigehira-san flatly denied it.

(Is that so...? I feel like he was trying to hold back laughter.)

Shigehira: More importantly, I want to go home now.

Yoritomo: Well, it's time for the kid to go to bed. Kagetoki, put Shigehira to bed.

Shigehira: Who's a kid, who is!

Morinaga: Don't get mad, Shigehira. If you sleep early, you'll grow taller.

Morinaga-san patted Shigehira-san's head.

Shigehira: S-Stop it! Just because you're a little tall...

Shigehira: In general, it's not very convincing coming from someone who stays up late gambling.

Morinaga: You're so young, Shigehira. I grow my body through sleep and my brain through gambling.

Shigehira: ...Liar!

(I can't tell if these people get along or not.)

Wondering, I coughed softly.

Yoshino: Just listening to the conversation, it's hard to believe it's between the shogun and his close aides.

Morinaga: You'll get used to it soon.

Yoshino: I hope so...

(They seem to be quite unique individuals. Not all samurai are like this, are they?)

Kagetoki: Now... It's true that I'd like to rest soon. We've been moving around unnecessarily tonight.

Morinaga: That's right. ...Well then, good night, Yoritomo-sama.

Yoritomo: Ah. See you tomorrow.

Kagetoki-san and the other two bowed their heads slightly to Yoritomo-sama.

Yoshino: You all don't live in the Imperial Palace?

Kagetoki: Of course not. Since you don't seem to understand, let me tell you...

Kagetoki: You should remember that it's a special thing for you to live in the Imperial Palace.

Yoshino: Is that so...?

Yoshino: Oh no, I'm getting even more nervous.

(I'm already unsure how to behave...)

Yoritomo: There's no need to be reserved.

As he said this in an arrogant voice, he casually pulled my arm...

(Ah...)

Yoritomo: After all, I intend for you to be 'especially' useful.

I was involuntarily captivated by his sharp eyes that were so close.

(What a forceful person... Even if he is the shogun...)

I try to maintain my composure and search for words to respond.

--CHOICES--

I'll do my best...

I'm dreading it

Yoritomo-sama, please

----------------

Yoshino: Y-Yoritomo-sama... Please don't forget your promise to protect me and Tamamo.

Yoritomo: Excellent. The stronger your spirit, the more fun it is to tame you.

Yoritomo-sama laughed loudly and suddenly released me.

Yoritomo: Come. I'll gladly welcome you to this Imperial Palace.

Yoshino: Thank you...

(Sigh... If I'm this flustered now, will I be okay in the future?)

After greeting the other three, I followed Yoritomo-sama through the heavy gate.

My heart began to pound with the anticipation of the turbulent days to come.

(If I had known before coming to Kamakura that I would be living in the same building as the shogun, what would I have thought?)

(Yeah... I probably wouldn't have believed it.)

That day, I slept soundly in the room I was given... Perhaps because I was tired, I didn't have any dreams.

-

The next morning--

I was summoned along with Tamamo and visited Yoritomo-sama's room.

Next to Yoritomo-sama, Kagetoki-san was standing by, his glasses glinting coldly.

Yoshino: ...Yoritomo-sama, what did you say just now?

Yoritomo: I said, I'm appointing you as my personal attendant.

Yoritomo: From now on, when I leave the Imperial Palace for official duties, you'll accompany me.

(You're joking, right!?)

(Being an attendant means taking care of personal needs, right?)

While I'm confused, Tamamo laughs cheerfully next to me.

Tamamo: Oh, am I an attendant too, Yoritomo?

Kagetoki: You stand out too much. Besides, you have no intention of listening to anyone anyway.

Tamamo: You're quick to figure out my personality in one night, Kagetoki.

Kagetoki: Don't make careless remarks when you had no intention of hiding it in the first place.

Yoritomo: Tamamo is considered my guest. You can do as you please, but don't cause any trouble, okay?

Tamamo: I can't promise that.

(Certainly, if Tamamo pretended to be an attendant, it would be strange no matter how you look at it...)

Yoshino: Wait a minute! I'm just a pharmacist, you know?

I raise my voice as much as I can and try to protest.

Kagetoki: It can't be helped. We need to strengthen Yoritomo-sama's personal protection in preparation for Yoshitsune's attack.

Kagetoki: Military force can be suppressed with military force, but magic power cannot be prevented.

Tamamo: I see, so that's why Yoshino is needed.

(Needed...)

Yoshino: So, being an attendant is just a name, and in reality, I'm a bodyguard?

Yoritomo: That's right.

Yoritomo: Tamamo, can she still use your ability to steal magic power even if Yoshino is away from you?

Tamamo: Yes. There's no problem.

Yoritomo: Good.

Yoritomo: Yoshino, you're lucky. You can gain valuable experience.

(Not good at all!)

Yoshino: I don't know any etiquette, and it's absolutely impossible for me to be an attendant to someone as important as the shogun.

Yoritomo: You don't need to do anything. Just walk behind me and sit next to me.

Yoritomo: It's a simple job that even a monkey could do. Or are you less than a monkey?

Yoshino: Less than a monkey!?

(What a way to put it...)

Just as I was about to retort, the sliding door slid open.

Morinaga: Yoritomo-sama, it's almost time for you to go out. ...Oh.

Morinaga: Yoshino, Tamamo, good morning.

Yoshino: Ah, good morning, Morinaga-san.

I was given a refreshing smile that blew away the tense atmosphere, and I returned the greeting.

Yoritomo: You came at just the right time, Morinaga.

Yoritomo: Carry this woman outside. I intend to take her with me, but she's not very obedient.

Morinaga: Oh...

(Morinaga-san...?)

Yoshino: I believe you're a good person, Morinaga-san!

Tilting his head, Morinaga-san put his hands together apologetically.

Morinaga: I'm sorry, Yoshino. I'll buy you your favorite sweets at the market next time.

Yoshino: It's not a matter of sweets... Wah!?

Before I knew it, he quickly approached and lifted me up effortlessly, causing my vision to shake.

(So high!)

Yoshino: Put me down...

Morinaga: Don't struggle, don't struggle. It's only scary at first.

Yoshino: I'm even more scared now!

Yoritomo: Let's hurry. If we're late, it'll mess up the rest of the schedule.

Kagetoki: Have a safe trip, Yoritomo-sama.

Tamamo: Yoshino, I'm counting on you for souvenirs.

Yoshino: How can you say such carefree things!?

(What about my will!?)

I protested as much as I could while being carried like luggage, but...

-

(This is what it's come to.)

After crossing the border on horseback for a while, we transferred to an oxcart that had come to pick us up.

(This is the first time I've ridden in an oxcart... but)

I don't seem to have the luxury of enjoying it right now.

Yoritomo: Hey, how long are you going to keep pouting? You're troublesome.

Yoshino: I'm not pouting, I'm nervous.

I retorted while feeling the rattling vibrations under my butt.

Yoritomo-sama, sitting across from me, had a look on his face that said he didn't care at all.

Yoritomo: Oh, is that so?

(Since I'm going through this because of Yoritomo-sama, he could at least be a little more sympathetic.)

(He probably thinks it's natural for a commoner like me to obey him.)

I took a small breath to try to regain my composure.

Yoshino: By the way, where is this oxcart headed?

Yoritomo: It's one of the countries under my umbrella. I've been invited to a banquet.

Yoshino: A banquet? Is that official business?

I blinked in surprise at his answer.

Yoritomo: What? You have a problem with that?

Yoshino: No... It's just that, since you're going out of your way to travel far when you might be targeted...

Yoshino: I thought it must be a very important job...

Yoritomo: Well, that's too bad for you.

I stared at Yoritomo-sama, who shrugged his shoulders, in disbelief.

(I did say I would cooperate with the Kamakura shogunate, but I never thought I would be dragged to a banquet.)

Yoritomo: You're a stubborn woman. Just give it up already.

I was showered with amused laughter, and I couldn't help but purse my lips...

Yoritomo: Ha, you have such an easy-to-read face.

(Huh?)

Yoritomo-sama leaned forward with a mischievous smile.

Creak... the wooden floor creaked faintly.

Yoshino: Y-Yoritomo-sama?

(So close.)

I involuntarily stepped back and my back hit the wall.

Yoritomo: Where are you trying to escape to?

Yoshino: Ah...

Yoritomo-sama's hand rested on the wall, cutting off my escape route.

Yoshino: What are you doing...?

Yoritomo: Who knows?

Yoritomo: How should I make a woman who's not interested in my orders obey me, I wonder?

(What does that mean...?)

His sweet, poisonous voice gradually seeped into my ears.

Yoritomo-sama looked down at me, who was holding my breath slightly, with amusement.

Yoshino: Make me obey... I'm troubled by you saying such selfish things!

Yoritomo: Selfish things, huh? Let me tell you, my intentions are the shogunate's decisions.

Yoshino: That's...

Yoritomo: Give up, there are fates you can't escape. After all, sacrifices are necessary for the greater good.

Yoritomo: Your feelings and the shogunate's decision. It's obvious which one I'll choose, isn't it?

Yoritomo: If you say you don't understand... I'll teach your body. From now on, thoroughly.

(Ah...)

My heartbeat quickened, unable to stop the slight fever stirred up by his words and gaze.

As I lost my words, the oxcart shook suddenly.

(Whoa!)

Yoritomo: Have we arrived?

Strong arms easily caught my shoulders as I stumbled.

Yoritomo: Too bad, huh? I'll continue this later.

Yoritomo-sama stood up, screwing his smiling gaze into my eyes once more.

(I was completely teased...!)

Yoshino: Stop it already. Do you enjoy teasing people?

Yoritomo: It's quite fun to see you get so worked up.

(This person really has a terrible personality.)

I thought angrily as I also stood up.

Following Yoritomo-sama, I got off the oxcart and...

-

(What is this...!)

A large crowd of people lined up on both sides of the road, bowing their heads towards us.

The samurai at the front stared at Yoritomo-sama with a tense expression.

Samurai: Yoritomo-sama, welcome.

Yoritomo: It's been a while. I'm glad to see you're well.

(Ah... His attitude is already different.)

His face, pasted with a perfect smile, looks like a completely different person from a while ago.

Samurai: I'm honored. We have prepared a seat for you to rest from your long journey. Please, this way.

Yoritomo: Thank you. I'm looking forward to it.

Yoritomo-sama walked proudly through the center of the bowing people.

(He really feels like a person in power.)

(Is it okay for me to follow him...?)

Yoritomo-sama turned around as if reading my hesitation, and even that movement seemed calculated, with the sleeves of his kimono fluttering beautifully.

Yoritomo: Come, Yoshino.

.

.

.

.

.

Chapter 2

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[gamebird]

I had cancer surgery three years ago. I have regular check-ups watching for it to return. Last one was two days ago. In it, doctor asks if I have problems with hot flashes. I say no. He looks confused. I tell him I have problems with brain fog and concentration, sometimes focus and motivation. I remind him I've brought this up for the last 3-4 appointments, they've told me to go to a sexual health expert (even though it's not primarily sexual; although I have become basically asexual); they've told me to talk to my general practitioner about it (which I did and they did a full blood workup and said they had no idea).

He brushes this off and says there's a new medication that might help me. I ask, 'With the brain fog?' He says it's mainly for hot flashes but yeah, maybe, who knows? He hurries on about how he's going to give me 6 weeks of samples and I can find out if it helps. And I'm like, 'Okay, I guess ...?' There's a little more back and forth where he tries to reassure me that 60% of his patients have been helped by this stuff even though it's very new and there's not extensive history and I eventually concede that yeah, sure, give me the free stuff and I'll look at it.

I take the free stuff. There's a little towel and a pill caddy in the 'Welcome to X medication!' intro box. There's a whole themed intro box for these pills.

At home, I do some research. It's for hot flashes. It has no other listed purpose. The side effects and risks seem tolerable. The kicker is that it retails for $750 a month with a discounted rate of $550. I laugh - it's about what I expected.

But now that I understand what their deal is, I go ahead and try it.

So that's two days ago, right? I've taken this pill twice. I have not had brain fog for the last two days, although I have had disrupted sleep and 1 loose stool. I understand data. This is way too small a sample given the 'comes and goes' brain fog thing. It means nothing at this point.

The nurse from the doctor's office calls me (TWO DAYS!) saying she'd called my pharmacy and the Indian Health system didn't cover the pills so let's get me set up with a different pharmacy so I can get them there. And I'm like, 'I'm not paying for this stuff. I told the doctor up front - I don't have a problem with hot flashes. It's over $500 a MONTH. I'll take the free ones - and by the way your package had four weeks of pills in it, not six - but I'm not paying for this.'

She tried to talk me into it. Honest she did: 'aren't they helping you? Do you feel any effects? Don't you want to stay on it? We could set you up for them just in case.'

I laughed and told her, "I wish you showed this level of enthusiasm addressing my actual problem." (or, you know, addressing my cancer)

And she was, 'what problem is that?' with this sinking tone in her voice, like I'd told her I'd kicked her puppy.

I explained the brain fog. AGAIN. (To be fair, I don't know that she was the nurse in the room with the doctor or had any knowledge of my case other than a file.) So I also explained I'd been bringing this up for two years, had referrals about it, was keeping daily records at home trying to get to the bottom of it, was annoying my friends about it, had moved up my retirement schedule because of it, was trying decongestants and mushroom gummies for goodness sakes trying to find a solution. Maybe it's long COVID. I don't know and that's why I keep asking the medical professionals every time I'm in front of them. Or on the phone with them. Like her.

Yeah, no, the hot flash pills are a nice idea but my brain is not so far gone that I'm going to pay $500 a month for that 'nice'. Anyway, she said she'd look into routes where I could get it cheaper and rang off.

I still wish they'd show that level of tenacity and enthusiasm fixing my real problems.

[dailyrandomwriter]

Day 753

Randomly, one day, because the thought came to me (as it sometimes does with my brain matter), I checked my supply cupboard to see how much of my in-use medical supplies I have left. I have a system where there are backup medical supplies kept in a closet. When I order supplies, I then take those down and put them into the cupboard and drawers to be used, and then when the new supplies come in, put them up in the closet.

This ensures that if there is ever a backorder I have at least a month grace for the new supplies to come in. When this happens it often means I just have to order new supplies again sooner than I would expect to ensure a proper backup supply.

I do this for all of my supplies, except for lubrication because it’s a very common item. Most places will have at least one box floating around somewhere, and since pharmacy policy is to call me when they’re on backorder to let me know, I generally have some time to come up with a plan.

Unless the order got messed up, which was why I now was facing the reality that I’m probably two weeks away from ordering new supplies, despite the fact I have a full order of lubrication. Why? Because that is the only supply I do not order backups of, due to the fact they’re easy to get a hold of.

If you knew they were on backorder.

Which I did not, and no one told me, because they also ordered the wrong size of lubrication. 

It has been an experience for the past two weeks,, as mentioned in my post about not attending my game meetup, my portable, individually, sanitary lubrication packets were on backorder, and I didn’t know until I opened up the box that contained my new order of supplies.

In which I will fully admit to being a dumbass and not opening it right away. I trusted that what I ordered was in, and didn’t double check when it arrived. So imagine my surprise. Instead of six boxes of 100 individual packets, I had one box of six large tubes. Using a tube isn't horrible (in fact it lasts longer than the box of packets) but you do have to be careful of contamination. 

Something that is difficult to do out in public. I’ve complained about this before, most accessible washrooms are designed for mobility needs only, not for medical needs. This means you’re balancing supplies off of toilet paper dispensers, those metal trash things installed to the walls, on top of toilets or (if you’re in an individual bathroom) doing the stretch to the sink to grab the medical supply wrapper. There would be a non-zero chance I would drop a tube on the floor and lose that whole tube. 

So going out was a problem.

Complicating matters was that for reasons no one understood, I was charged for the right supplies, but the wrong ones were ordered and given to me. This made refunding difficult because they couldn’t refund me for the tubes, because they didn’t charge me for the tubes. In fact, I got a free tube because that was the only thing I could use while they re-ordered those supplies, with the understanding that I had already paid for them…

Because they couldn’t refund me so easily.

Apparently, no one got the memo… twice.

Not accounting for the fact that for a bit, no one knew where the fuck they went to.

I got a call two weeks later, on a Friday, asking if I had received my medical lube, the answer was no. So the poor guy promised to call me back once he figured out where it was, as it had arrived. Late afternoon rolled around, he called, said it had arrived and since I had to go out anyways, I said I would pick them up. Normally I get them, and the 10 other boxes of medical supplies delivered but it was just lube. Also, there was a stop right outside the pharmacy on my usual route and I have a rolly cart.

Not a problem.

I showed up, with my rolly cart, ready to drag the shipping box full of boxes of lube back home, and at first everything was fine. Until, I noticed, because the box was open, there was a receipt in the box. If I had been two decades younger, I would have not mentioned it out of fear of being wrong, but as it was, medical supplies are expensive and so I asked him.

Did you charge me for that?

The answer was yes, in which I had to explain that I never got that refund, these supplies were already paid for. So he had to give me the refund that I didn’t get before. 

Fine, it was fine. I went home, put the supplies away right away and refilled my travel bags so I can go to my game meetup on Sunday. Everything was fine, the weekend was great, I had fun at my outing. 

No problem.

Monday rolls around, and I get a call, it is from the pharmacy. From someone completely different saying that my supplies have arrived. 

What?

I told her that I already picked up my supplies on Saturday, did they order double? She pauses, and goes to check, tells me there were no notes saying I had received my supplies. She will also give me a refund.

Because the pharmacy has my credit card number they charged me for supplies I already picked up.

Supplies, I should not be paying for anyways because I didn’t get a refund the first time.

I probably at some point need to check my credit card to make sure I don’t owe more money than I actually do, but it was a reminder that my pharmacy since Covid has been a hot mess. I’m not angry about it, and was at the time more amused.

Though I do realize as I’m writing this, that that whole thing was very unacceptable, the amount of errors was actually pretty bad for a single order.